Another Visit to Weston Turville Lake

  

I took a swift look at the nearest lake just down the road, but without a camera, and I walked all the way to the water’s edge; there was not a single bird on the lake and only two anglers on the far side, and sadly no sign of the water bailiff whom I had hoped to contact.

I returned to the car, after I had spoken to the Water Bailliff for Tringford Reservoir who told me that it was already packed out down there, so I decided to drive down again to the lake at Weston Turville. I had no idea whether it would be equally packed at this lake, but felt it was worth a try, and if it was then I could take a look at how easy it would be to park close to the nearby canal, as I had learned that there were kingfishers along that stretch.

It was a pleasant surprise to find that the long lay-by was far from crowded, yet once I had got through the entrance and climbed the Bank steps to the top, I found numerous groups either walking or gathered at some of the jetties. Out on the lake the main species of bird were Mallard and Coots, and in the distance Swans; at first I saw nothing of the Grebes, but then I spotted a flash of white in the distance, and took a look through the camera, and it was one, but way too distant. I spotted its mate after a bit, and they spent a lot of time diving, and then I had to scan far and wide whilst counting to 35 to 45 seconds — I have never been able to predict where they would reappear! Occasionally they would come closer, sometimes    further out.

On this lake visit there were also a couple of dinghies out on the water, only one glider was soaring above in the warm sunshine. Occasionally I would get into conversation with some of the other visitors, with my enquiring into where I might catch sight of kingfishers either here or on the nearby canal. Today’s different subject was a brief encounter with a radio controlled speedboat. And later I even met up with the parents of the boy whose speedboat it was!

I had earlier thought that the far shore was only accessible to anglers, but. Learned there was a higher level path that led behind the reed beds, and the last images were taken from a hide. I cannot claim this gallery of shots were exciting, but I was using the 1.4x Converter and some of the Grebe shots would haven impossible without it.

A New Lake to Visit — Weston Turville

On the last visit to my nearest lake, Marston Lake, I met a man who mentioned two others that may well be worth a visit, one at Clayton, and the one I chose to visit first, which was at Weston Turville, which looked very promising as parking close by seemed to be achievable. So on a very warm and sunny Good Friday, I set off in hope. My SatNav however, possibly due to an overload of families heading off for the Bank Holiday weekend, was definitely not being at its most helpful, and the lags meant that on several occasions, it was so slow in informing me of direction changes, I missed several vital turnings, resulting in various diversions to get back on course. It was not however a bad omen.

Initially, so that I had a good idea of the location, I took only one camera, the 7D MkII with the 24-70mm lens so that I could cover the ground speedily to get some idea of the layout, and I travelled a good distance to reach the farthest reach of the lake and to the canal beyond, which was the Wendover arm of the Grand Union Canal, at Halton.

This walk provided me with further signs of the new season, with its fresh young leaves emerging all around, after I had made various detours to reach the lakeside and get an indication of numerous possible vantage points, that might prove useful, I headed back to the car to get a tripod, the Benbo, and the longer lens, the Sigma 60-600mm Sports lens on the EOS R body. With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, I should also have picked up the 1.4x Converter. Initially, I tried setting two the tripod’s legs in the water, hoping to remain really low, but there was no satisfactory way I could get a convenient height, so erected it on the Bank instead. For quite a while after having spotted a lone Grebe in the distance, he never came particularly close, which was a shame; had I taken along the Converter, it would have been a considerable advantage — next time!

It was good to wind down as for various reasons, the last couple of weeks have been stressful, so much of the time was spent observing and hoping, and my patience was rewarded by the Grebe coming very slightly closer, but the ‘pièce de resistence’ was the Swan making a noisy flapping from the far end of the lake and heading straight towards me! It alerted me, and I managed to twist around and fire off a few shots before he came in to land. I was so pleased, that it rounded off the afternoon, and I immediately packed everything up, and headed very happily back to the car. Once all the kit was safely packed, I headed home, very happy, and I hope what I captured makes anyone viewing the gallery equally as pleased with the end result.

Woburn Park Visit in Pale Sunshine

  

I readied my kit, which in this instance was a tripod with a fair leg-spread to support the EOS R and the Sigma Sports 60-600mm lens with a ball head, I had two destinations in mind, but fate dealt me a different hand, and when both venues lacked attendance of aquatic birds for the first choice and windsurfers on Brogborough were conspicuous by their absence, I decided on a different venue – Woburn Park, with its deer.

Upon arrival, it looked as if I might have lucked out once again, but after a trudge with heavy gear, deeper in proved initially no more promising, I retraced my footsteps. Upon my arrival back at the small narrow lake by the entrance, the deer had relented and started heading my way from the hill, heading straight for  my stretch of water, and a drink. Initially, the stags journey towards me was made largely heads-down, which is far from being the most interesting pose for any photo! I therefore carefully watched to see when one would look up, and preferably look my way, also, it would have been generous had they formed interesting groups, rather than an amorphous mass of grass-chomping heads. I tried to assess when one might look up long enough for me to compose an interesting group.

I stayed by the island of grass by the stretch of water till they had quenched their thirst and headed up the hill away from me – rear views are generally of less interest, so I made my way out, and back to the car. As I set off the Pavilion-like building was lit beautifully, so my architectural instinct kicked in and I took a few views of this before  considering my photography had ended. Even then there was still one last series of shots to catch my eye, a swan was nesting in the reeds, and was busy with some housekeeping, so I tried to capture some shots of its labours. So my trip was rewarding.

Tring Spring — Reservoir’s Birds

Armed with the EOS R and Sigma Sports 60-600mm lens I head for Tring Reservoirs in anticipation of reasonable light and a plethora of aquatic birds. One thing I have learned is that I can never guarantee what I might find, and this is no exception. I could never have predicted what turned out to be the classic images of one rare bird I only caught sight of due to another visitor to the lake who mentioned it was out on the lake. I turned around, and there it was; he also mentioned that the day before its partner had been alongside, but he reckoned it was probably back at the nest.

I had chosen the lightest tripod, a carbon fibre one on this occasion so, but with the wrong head, thus on many times during the day, I took to using it as a monopod to give me the freedom of movement. This day was also one of those in which I had turned off the preview of the mirrorless body, to give me an uninterrupted view whilst shooting, as mentioned by Canon's Frankie Jim, and slowly I am gaining in confidence with this body, but there are some aspects I still have to master as I still do not have the fluidity I had with DSLRs. However, I cannot complain about the image quality, it is truly excellent; really helped by many more pixels.

My time spent at the reservoirs on this day just missed some rain at the end, but the angry Coot and the beautiful colours of the Mandarin Duck were the highlights of this trip to the lakes, making it all worthwhile.

The most telling time with this camera body will be when shooting sports such as windsurfers, powerboats and cars at Goodwood, if I am lucky enough to get there this year, and in terms of local opportunities, I need some wind and sun for me to capture those. I am still trying to learn how to get the best out of shooting confidently with the mirrorless body, so the best for that will be some decent winds.

Newton Blossomville – Becomes My Destination

 

The original plan was to continue my search for nearby lakes or stretches of river that are easily accessible from Marston Moretaine and give me a chance to be close enough once parked to be able to carry my heavy tripod to a suitable spot to observe and capture wildlife activity. To that end, I first looked at both Google Earth and recent OS Maps of the area. I thought I had located the nearest likely spot, but the traffic was moderately heavy and in my haste took the wrong turning, which resulted in a long detour before I was back on track. To compound the wasted time, I realised there was no access to the area I had contemplated!

However, I did have another option, and found myself in a familiar location, and the sun was finally breaking cover though half-heartedly, I briefly called in on a newly updated barn, housing a Car Repair and Paint Spray booth to chat briefly with the owner. After a brief chat, I continued on my way heading towards the charmingly Olde Worldly-named village of Newton Blossomville. Before arriving I spotted inviting landscape of undulating fields with young, and just opening fields of Oilseed Rape, and there was a parking spot ideally located at the best viewpoint!

There was enough light that I had no need even for a tripod, and this was too good to miss. There was another opening immediately opposite the car, so no climbing involved either. I  had the EOS R with its flip out screen so both high-level and low level shots were possible and I needed the light to give me as small an Aperture to have good Depth of Field, and since there was a gusty breeze, a reasonably high shutter speed, I varied my Shutter Speed as well as my Aperture to get the best chance of both a lack of movement, and a reasonable depth of field, relative to my choice of viewpoint. So the aperture varied from f/7.1 to f/9, the Shutter Speed from 1/250th to1/800th and the ISO I kept at 200˚, to keep the Noise level down. All shots were using the 24-70mm lens.

In addition to the undulating fields at various stages of growth, I found the nearby pylon was beautifully aligned to give the next pylons in a symmetrical positioning with an early shot in the bag, but with poor lighting and a chance later with the sun co-operating! And of course the golden colour of the rape at its base to add colour and season to the shot.

Having got a few shots, I put the camera back in my bag in the boot, when I heard the gentle clip-clop of horses’ hoofs in the distance, I took a quick check then took a few shots as they approached me, and they stopped for a brief chat. Since they seemed interested, I handed the lead rider one of my cards, in the hope of a possible additional viewer of my work on the blog.

Before returning home, I took a quick look on the far side of the village where I had taken shots of harvesting last year, and noted that they had Oilseed Rape there in place of Wheat. I also enquired about the nearby lakes opposite where I had parked as to possible avian wildlife.

Marston Lake Woods – Signs of Spring

I decided to take a look at Marston Lake in case there was some avian activity on the water, but all I saw were a few Coot and and a couple of Cormorant, but no sign of the Grebe pair I had seen on my last visit, and even those birds I saw were distant. The walk through the woods to the lakeside which last time had daffodils in bloom, now displayed withered flower heads atop their stems looking very sad. However, the new leaves on some trees were fresh and healthy, and despite the lack of sunshine were welcoming.

Presumably the lack of sunshine meant the few ladybirds I saw were lethargic and I may be mistaken but where hawthorn are in abundance, I rarely find much birdsong, and certainly on this afternoon, the only sounds were those of cars, bikes and vans passing along the lane beyond. My walk through the woods could not be described as silent, as with every step I was breaking branches noisily underfoot, so no chance of creeping closer to an unsuspecting bird unless it was deaf!

The early leaves of the Horse Chestnut were a luscious green, hanging as if wet before they gain strength and flatten out. Many of the trees I walked past were heavily covered with what I took to be forms of lichen, and where branches had broken and the wound healed they would often seem like eyes, and with imagination you could see faces, hence why I chose to capture these. On this occasion I did not take any shots of the numerous holes I spotted that I presumed were badger setts, because none looked in any attractive as some I have seen on occasion. There was a single clump of Primula which caught my eye as there were two twigs whose juxtaposition made the whole seem like a drawing of a tree, hence why I took that shot, and I promise I never moved anything; I simply took the shot from the angle that gave me the impression.

Undoubtedly sunshine would have improved the scene, but the purpose of my visit was to take advantage of the lower angles the EOS R offered due to having the flip screen, and to familiarise myself to the new way of working with a mirrorless camera, and every shot was taken with the one lens the 24-70mm with macro facility, and the flip-out screen allowed me use a low angle viewpoint.
I have an apology to make – I slipped up with this gallery earlier, and it failed to appear – IT DOES NOW – Sorry!

A Climb to Millbrook Church

As many who know me will realise, I rarely travel without a camera, and on those occasions, I will have made a conscious decision not to be taking photos, or my family will have made that decision for me! Yes, I do have a phone  that Sports a camera, but for me that is not a serious option. For several years my choice has been a single lens reflex, and although I started as a Nikon devotee, there came a point where I opted to jump from film to digital, and at that juncture Canon offered a better quality than Nikon, so I jumped ship. 

Both camera makers spent the early digital years, swapping the lead in terms of quality or ease of use, but as I simply had to wait a short while when Canon was behind before the next model made a jump, I stayed loyal. This was as much due to my investment and the prohibitive financial cost of making such a jump. Both systems are very equal, and there are subtle handling differences which would mean at critical moments I could fail to capture a shot.

Recently, as I made the switch to a mirrorless body, I fell into just such a situation. I had my recently acquired EOS R and Sigma Sports 60-600mm crash to the ground, and whilst both were being repaired, I went back to my DSLRs, only to find I had lost the fluidity in the handling, that used to be second nature! The differences are only slight, but my brain is less agile than it was when I made the jump to digital all those years back!

I made a trip to my accountant today, and on the return trip, I parked the car in the village of Millbrook, and grabbing the camera I took a steep path up to the top to see what the views might be, and whatever else might be of interest. It was only when I reached the summit and saw the view, that I realised I had actually been to this same spot before, but on that occasion, I had started from the opposite side of the same hill! It had not been a wasted journey, but it was one of those forehead-slapping moments!

The end result is a single page gallery of what caught my eye, and certainly gave me a quality that justified my purchase, and its flip screen made all the difference to the ease with which I was able to get the low angles of some of the shots, and also the landscapes, due to the lack of shutter vibration, coupled with the larger pixel count inherent in the file size increase over my 5D MkIII, had I taken the same shots with the latter.

It was a useful opportunity to become more familiar with the EOS R for when I need to work swiftly and intuitively in the future.

Harrold-Odell Country Park Birds

 

I now had the EOS R mirrorless camera and Sigma Sports 60-600mm lens back, and was keen to set everything up again, and also having learned from Canon how to shoot sequences with breaks in shooting, without the interruption of the saved files in the viewfinder until I needed to review the captured images. I did not find it as fluid as when using a conventional DSLR, but with practice I believe I will manage to master it. When you learn how to set this up, it is straightforward, but I had to find the setting by asking my Canon Guru!

Now if I need to review the image I click Preview rather than have to wait as the sequence is displayed in the viewfinder, when what I was trying to do was continue shooting once an action continued. Thus far it is not as fluid as my earlier experience with a mirror flipping, but I am hoping I will master it with more practice. One piece of advice offered was to slow the frame rate, but that would seem counter-intuitive, but I will explore all this as every opportunity arrives. What I have already found is that the quality of the captured images exceeds that of the earlier lenses due to the reduced camera shutter vibration and the larger inherent file size; in other words the image quality exceeds what I previously achieved. Another factor also comes into play in low light levels; the image brightness improves both the cameras ability and mine to focus accurately.

The adapter to use my existing investment in lenses is yet another benefit of the move to a mirrorless body, but it has been a steep learning curve, and as yet I do not have the fluidity I experienced with my earlier bodies (and my brain is older, and less tractable!) My own body has a similar issue with my wonderfully stable Benbo tripod, whose weight is a severe issue when travelling on foot for any distance!

On this trip the only bird that was in any way special was a lone Grebe, but the trip was mainly an exercise to gain confidence in the mirrorless body and the Sigma 60-600mm lens, which I fulfilled albeit not spotting the incorrect setting of colour temperature, which fortunately I was able to sort in ‘post’! I still have further settings to reinstate, but for anyone considering the change to the EOS R, fear not.

Marston Moretaine Church – Environs' Bird Life

I have been in pain due to inflamed bowels for several days, and now the medications are finally having some effect, and the lack of exercise gave me cause for concern — sunshine came to my rescue, and made it possible for me to give my bowels some gentle massage whilst being distracted by the onset of Spring around me as I concentrated on capturing some of the boundless beauty that was a mere short, gentle walk by the local semi-detached church — the tower and chancel are separate entities, with a story of an annoyed God punishing the Villagers by parting the two asunder!

The one thing of extra note is that Capability Brown definitely did Not design the surrounding environment, perhaps the angry God decided the church should be hidden from casual view, by enclosing it from most angles of view beyond, with trees and bushes. This is sad, since the architecture is quite appealing, though entrances deemed in need of being sealed do not appear to have been given much love, looking very utilitarian. l have therefore made a conscious effort to take the viewer’s eye away by choosing an angle that leaves the original arch visible, but the blank wall is obscured by a bush to spare the blushes of the diocese.

I have tried to find angles that show Nature giving us a glimpse of what the coming season offers, and details that caught my eye as I gave my body a gentle work out. I used a lens that gave a general view in my initial walk, then returned later with a longer lens that allowed me to isolate  a view of what I found of interest, and get something to drink to keep me hydrated and allow my body to recover.

By pure chance I spotted the courtship of a pair of pigeons, and the longer lens on the second trip was fortuitous. Since my walk was solitary, the camera provides both company and the chance to capture the scenes I find and share them to a wider audience whilst keeping my eyes attuned to the differing challenges in capturing the colours, atmosphere and happenings around me.

Whilst I was beyond the trees, on the early trip I was surprised to see an egret fly overhead, heading South South East between two other lakes to the south, and this was what had prompted me to come out for the second excursion with the long lens. I also spotted a flock of doves that circled the buttressed tower of the church before landing. This narrative is more than a day late, since I went to Elstree to collect my repaired EOS R from Canon, and  yesterday saw the return of my Sigma 60-600mm lens so therefore I had been delayed in completing the processing of  the shots taken from both trips as I wrote this. I will now let the pictures tell their own story.

Marston Lake – Offchance Visit

It was possible there might be some breaks in the cloud cover, so I took a chance to see whether there might be some avian activity on the small fishing lake that is a short drive from home. Once I was lakeside, I spotted some distant evidence of anglers, but no one actually fishing, but there was a pair of crested Grebe in the middle of the lake, and they were heading towards the bottom area of the lake towards the enclosed area. I therefore took my Benbo tripod-mounted camera down the right hand path to the last swim on this side of the lake. Sadly they did seem to be heading further away, which was a shame as I had not taken along my 1.4x Converter.

Although initially the pair had distanced themselves from me, but by the time I was ready to shoot they had come slightly closer, and I had been watching the territorial dispute behaviour of Gulls on some of the branches of submerged trees by the extensive reed beds to my left.

Once the Grebe pair had seemed to begin their ritual courtship dance, I began to hope this might develop, but although the early signs looked hopeful, the interaction lacked precision timing and it seemed as if this was one dance that did not gell. Perhaps, it was not yet warm enough, or simply a trial run. I went back to concentrating on the Gull activity, and the immaculately groomed male Mallard ducks as they sailed with their less colourful partners. I also recorded the last Autumn colours in the hedgerows and the fresh Spring blossom just appearing on some of the branches.

The brief spell at this lake was still fruitful whilst I await the repair of the EOS R and damaged personal Sigma 60-600mm lens, whose return is hopefully less than a fortnight away.

Briefest Brogborough Visit with Biting Wind

          I was thinking that with a stiff breeze, there might be a chance of some activity on the nearby lake, but upon arriving at the Car Park for Brogborough’s windsurfing and paddleboarder afficianados; I found there were few takers.

          It was a bitterly cold late morning, with an added bonus of a biting wind, perhaps the cold was enough to deter all but the hardiest of windsurfing sailors from venturing out on the lake. Only when the winds don’t blow do the paddle boarders take to the water. However, on this occasion the low temperature was enough to deter all but the most determined, unless some were hidden from view the total was a mere half dozen.

          Sam Barnes who runs the show reckoned the cold would not draw too many on this occasion, and it was a while before the number, rigged and on the water, rose to three, which meant it was worth my while to put the camera onto the Benbo tripod and set up on the shore or the jetty to get shots of any action that caught my eye.

          I cannot promise that what I captured was earth shatteringly exciting, but before leaving I did take a few shots of the Benbo with it as Hero, because last weekend I learned that the Distributors, Paterson would very much like to see shots of the Benbo in action.

          I moved it around the shoreline with the lake and windsurfers as background in a small gallery to say thank you for their very useful, and firm tripod. It takes to water well, since the lower leg sections are closed at the bottom, so can be immersed in more than a foot in water with impunity.

          Click this link to view the Benbo tripod I used for these shots with the 5D MkIII and Sigma Sports 60-600mm

http://www.fntn.co.uk/rodwp/BenboTerritory

Aylesbury Mayor’s Concert – Concert Band at St. Mary's Church

Although the need for a ‘Roadie’ for my daughter is hardly necessary now she is no longer playing Baritone Sax, I still enjoy the excuse of her Concerts to meet up and keep my hand in (read shutter finger!) covering her concerts — I enjoy the music, the company, and it gives me the chance to keep in touch with her and the children, on a reasonably frequent basis.

I travelled over to her house with my camera and lenses, and on this occasion we went to the venue in her car, as my longer wheelbase might have proven a tad tighter when taking the spiral in the Car Park she intended using, so on this occasion it was I who was the passenger. We made our way through the shoppers and arrived moderately early and though we arrived at the familiar church, both of us found that with the layout being reversed relative to the last time we visited it was unsettling. However, the shock over, it seemed a far better orientation. Another bonus was our visit was in daylight, and the sun was shining brightly, and the church was surprisingly warm too!

On the last occasion, not only was it dark, but I found it necessary to use a monopod for stability, on this occasion, I was able to use even my long lens handheld, and without resorting to high ISOs and the attendant noise. Nevertheless, I spent the freedom of movement that the rehearsal offered to capture as much of the informality to record the life of the Band’s natural interaction, and record some of the Band’s members who are normally less featured through being hidden behind the front rows, such as the percussion section, and the lone guitarist.

This church offers no high viewpoint, which could offer the chance of  capturing some of the less visible musicians, but rehearsal gives me the freedom to make amends, and since my shoes were clean and dry, I took the opportunity to gain some height by standing on a chair every so often. The Mayor arrived early and immediately busied himself shifting chairs into an ordered layout that put the front rows a tad further back, which meant the Band had space and the audience’s ears stood a chance of a reduced volume of sound to improve their appreciation of the music. The opportunity of  projecting a hardworking Mayor offering a helping hand was too good a chance to miss!

The beauty of taking photos at the rehearsal is in the capture of some of the lighter moments, as well as the chance of differing viewpoints, and although I am sometimes close to the action I am careful to keep a respectful distance and tread carefully, and silently. However it does mean that outer garments and various bags do make their presence apparent, and often the less formal dress does mean the images tend to be less useful from a Publicity standpoint, but they do provide a record of the fun and enjoyment of the participants. On a previous occasion, I separated the Rehearsal and Concert images, but on this occasion, I have provided one complete entity, and I hope this gives the true flavour of the event. One last point; Carl Quaif and Marie Biswell, who compèred and signed from the distant platform are seen in the gallery far better than could be seen by the audience, by my using a long lens to drag them closer. I hope this means that the blog audience can put a face to each of these two distant figures and a disembodied voice.

Stockwood Discovery Centre, National Wildlife Photography Exhibition

The Wildlife Exhibition offered an ideal opportunity to visit both the Gardens and the Gallery, so I arranged with John Sentinella, and Jan Tysoe to meet up there. It provided the chance to view the stunning work of others in the exhibition area, and the opportunity to take our own photographs of the bounty of new life within the garden at the beginning of Spring this year.

I arrived first, and John who had parked elsewhere joined soon after, with Jan coming in after a spell doing Pilates. I had taken a brief stroll around before their arrival.

We all took a look at the fine work of others, and John later left us after the wander around the Exhibition, Jan and I stayed longer before going around the gardens in the search of subjects that caught our eye. It will be interesting later to see Jan’s images, to see what I might have missed, because she has the advantage of knowing what is likely at this early time of the season. I must also find out what differences she found between a lens I lent her to compare with the one she uses.

On the whole we were lucky with the light and the weather, and later we adjourned to the cafeteria for a hot chocolate to catch up. We parted and I made a call to a fellow photographer, Colin Bowles to see whether I might visit him and his wife, to catch up on their news before heading back up to Marston Moretaine, and it was a good move because from there it proved a really good trip back, rather than up the crowded M1. Altogether, a very productive and enjoyable day.

Interesting Multi-Purpose Vehicle - Right Outside!

At the junction of Squires Road and Station Road, Marston Moretaine is a rectangular flower box on the left as one enters, and on the other a fire hydrant; this morning a large multi-purpose vehicle pulled up close by the latter. Since in an earlier life I had worked at a Photographers in Weybridge who had one very frequent user of our services for photographing their various body conversions to standard chassis, the sight of this vehicle  seemed to be calling me to bring out a camera and take some photos. That company from my earliest days in commercial photography was Hawson Garner. 

We would drive to the client and follow in our own vehicle, or be collected from our studios in Weybridge High Street, in the vehicle to be photographed, either way we would  be given a brief for the shots needed, if there were more specific details to be highlighted we might meet up with the client or take the brief from their driver, the most frequented site for the pictures was at a spot by the banks of the Thames. I just tried seeing whether using Google Earth I could find the spot after all these years — I failed! Perhaps after the length of time that has passed perhaps I should not be too disheartened!

Back to the present; I just felt that as the sun was shining, despite being from the wrong direction,  I just had to get out there and get some shots. I did wonder how many shots I might get before the man had finished his task, and helpfully the Stop cock attachment was the wrong size which forced a delay before one of his colleagues came by with the correct-sized key, giving me a few extra minutes. Eighty shots was not too shameful in the time.

Back in the day, I was shooting those shots on 5x4 sheet film with a Sinar, and on a tripod — these images are in full colour and have been tweaked, and available the same day, whereas I would be in the darkroom to unload the slides, heat the tanks to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, clip them in frames and stay by them in the dark for the Development time which was around eleven minutes raising and lowering the frame each minute, before transferring them via quick rinse into the Fixer for another ten minutes, they then had 30 minutes wash and twenty or so minutes in the Dryer —  that only got us to the Negative! The printing of the half- dozen or so shots would take probably another hour or two to get exposed, developed, and printed also in the dark before being washed and generally glazed on a heated stainless steel drum. With other work going through in the same time frame our regular turnaround would be three days, though obviously if needed more quickly this could be reduced, though not the price! Rush fees were the way to allow us the time to work efficiently rather than in mad bursts!

Today’s images taken in the morning, reach the blog in the same day and they possess both quantity and quality. And I am not even being paid for these!

Marston Lake Bird Activity

          The sun was out and it was warm for late January, so a short drive to the nearby Marston Lake seemed like a good idea, since with no wind, the other lake at Brogborough would not be likely to be hosting windsurfers (the clue is in the name!) and Stewartby mainly hosts powerboats and sailing dinghies, and those two exponents tend to be weekend activities or require a wind.

          On this visit the Camera was the 7D MkII, the lens was the Sigma Sports 60-600mm augmented with the 1.4x Converter, since the birdlife on this lake tend to keep their distance.

          On my last visit I had spotted a lone young Grebe, but on this afternoon, there did appear to be a pair, and later there was a tentative exploratory dalliance,  but it petered out without the ritual offering of weeds. Unlike previous visits where I only spotted two Cormorants, there were at least half a dozen and some did take to the air to search for their prey, but the seemingly choice spot were two clusters of dead trees that seemed to warrant a territorial dispute, but the occasion I witnessed, the two established birds hung on and the attack failed.

          As ever, every so often the Coots would become bellicose and there would be some noisy flapping as one bird would launch an attack on another. From my observations Coots seem bad-tempered fairly frequently, often continuing for several bouts, but on this occasion, this petered out fairly speedily. A pair of Swans glid serenely across the lake fairly aimlessly, and unlike the last visit here, there were fewer gulls, and one Tufted Duck seemed to consider one gull to be on its patch, and made a menacing torpedo-like dart at one, but the gull simply took to the air before settling back on the water, comparatively unfazed.

          Alongside a pair of Tufties a single bird of a different species of duck had attached itself, and it was not simply a female of the species, I took an enlarged image, that I plan to send to my Birding Guru to learn just what bird it is, but if anyone else knows please let me know below in Comments.

          The visit was a pleasant way to relax, and get the feel of the lake, and already I have noted the signs of Spring appearing, though listening to the forecasts, this may be premature, since there are still warnings of snow.