Tringford Sunday Drifting

The next few weeks will see me tied up carrying out a time lapse series of images of the refurbishment of a retail interior, so since the weather forecast was good for a change, I took the opportunity to take a morning in a boat with Bob Menzies on the reservoir at Tringford, knowing there was a possibility I would be tied up giving some advice regarding software and hardware to a young artist in the afternoon.

It was pleasantly cool with a light breeze and the water close by the jetty was crystal clear, so the fish could see and therefore avoid the attentions of the anglers! So it proved for the only angler that took to the water on Tringford that morning, and as Bob and I went out he came in for a break.

We headed down towards the Pumping Station, gently approaching three herons, one of which was on a nest. Although I thought there may be young, we saw nothing in the nest after that heron flew off and circled around. This year has seen fewer heron that last year which is a shame as these birds are the epitome of graceful elegance. Overall we have seen fewer birds on all three of the Tring reservoirs, and this may be due in part to the fierce winter, the amount of rain over the recent weeks and Cormorants depleting the fish stock. We gently drifted around the bottom end looking in the clear water for signs of fish, and saw none, the fish that were to be seen were jumping in the top corner close to the main road, but only one took a sniff at the lone angler's line.

Marsworth and Tringford Grebes

An early start allowed me to get to the Canal end of Marsworth reservoir, just before the lock to see what I could find near the reed beds. I n the first location I chose I was out of luck, but when I moved to where an angler was below me, I was almost in line with a gap in the reeds on the far bank where I spotted a grebe nesting. I gather from another angler this spot is known as the suicide pitch as the slope is so treacherous, more especially when wet, which of course is most of this year! One parent patrolled along the reeds; from my observations seemingly concerned for ducks with evil intent. Certainly as I was packing up the guard grebe made a pretty determined go at one of the ducks, and the duck took off in a hurry!

I then set up on the bank level alongside the path between the two reservoirs, Marsworth and Startops End that led back toward Tringford, where I captured a few common tern patrolling parallel to the bank, before heading to the main road to see if the pochard was around still on the far side of Startops, I only saw a single female. I returned to Tringford on the far side from the Anglers pontoon and was privileged to see a grebe find and swallow no less than two fair-sized freshwater crawfish, and fortunately it was so engrossed in feeding that it stayed close to the shore to my delight.

A Quiet Corner of Startops

There was little bird activity above the Marsworth reservoir as I walked past several anglers relaxing hopefully beside twin lines by the side of the path from Tringford reservoir. Upon the surface there were the usual mallard, coots, and pigeons overflying. So I walked beyond and turned towards Startops. Spotting a flurry of small birds flitting between the bank-based trees and the bushes at the water’s edge in the corner, I watched for a while standing, then walked slowly towards the steps and sat just below the bank side on the top step, and the birds ignored me.

I stayed shooting either side of my vantage point as sparrows and pied wagtails flitted back and forth, often coming quite close to where I sat, before deciding that maybe I could represent danger and flying back from whence they came or looping out over the water and landing just beyond me on the steep banking. They were feeding well on various fly species, but since I never saw them swallow, I presume these were for their offspring possibly in a nest either in the hawthorn or other trees to my left where the branches offered shelter. I have only rarely seen the pigeons come down to the water’s edge, but one did, and foraged in the same area the wagtails and sparrows were frequenting.

Considering sparrows are now so rarely seen, perhaps the conservationists should study this habitat, as they have been flying across this corner for all the years I have visited these three reservoirs; something must suit them.

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2012

1. By the House

For only the second time I was being driven to Goodwood, this time by John Sentinella. We had planned to leave at six o’clock, and I was completely ready from around five to six. Soon I heard John’s purring Jaguar approaching, and all my gear was already outside in the porch, so I quickly showed John a picture of a Le Mans Jaguar that I took the evening before when it pulled up outside the Pub on the far side of the road, in case he knew the owner, as I had learned that the owner lived locally. He did not. I popped it back inside and we put everything aboard and set off.

We took a slightly roundabout route going through the recently opened Liphook tunnels, and arrived just after our planned arrival time of seven-thirty in light drizzle, having been in blue sky for most of the journey down. We decided exactly what to take with us and set off from the car park. Our first port of call was the Super Car Paddock, uncrowded on arrival, though within minutes became packed. We strolled through the Style et Luxe and headed for the House, so that I could capture shots of the latest installation, before that was swamped by the public. This year's theme was in celebration of Lotus.

Having grabbed a few Installation shots from differing angles, I headed inside Goodwood House to say thank you for the tickets sent to me, and learned that earlier in the year Lord March had put on an exhibition of his private photography at the Bermondsey Gallery; his wife’s PR lady very kindly gave me a catalogue. Walking outside, who should be heading my way, but Charles, Lord March just finishing a video interview; I took a quick few shots for myself before approaching him and thanking him personally. I was amused that out of the corner of my eye, the cameraman moved to shoot our meeting! Later in the Style et Luxe area I spotted Brian Johnson of AC/DC being mobbed by fans.

2. Bloodhound SSC

Another highlight came with my visit to the Bloodhound stand where I was in conversation with some of the SSC staff and later the current Landspeed record holder, Andy Green. I also caught sight of Richard Noble who is due to pilot the craft. It is truly massive and involves considerable new technologies involving processes from Formula 1 for the nose section, and the aeronautical industries for the central section and naturally the propulsion. What I photographed was the tenth iteration of the craft; they are currently working with the eleventh and still need more funding in order to make it to the attempt on the record in South Africa.

3. Typhoon / Eurofighter Display

A lone Typhoon performed in front of the house, but for much of the time, it was at a considerable distance, presumably for safety reasons, and some of that time was also somewhat cloudy which was a shame.

Because of several changes of routes and heavy traffic, my family arrived after an arduous three hour journey, that normally would have been just an hour. Trying to meet up proved fraught, due to overcrowded networks, but we did manage it, and either together or in groups we all thoroughly enjoyed the day.

4. On the Hill

I met several different and interesting people, and was able to pass on a few hints to some I met. The two vehicle-focussed meetings at Goodwood each year should not be missed as there is such a variety of activities, and so much to watch and learn, I cannot recommend it enough.

Stockwood Saturday – Warm and Windy

I had managed to clear everything in preparation for the family trip to Goodwood for the Festival of Speed meeting, so having used the Wednesday afternoon to cover Luton Hoo’s Walled Garden, I decided I would pay the Stockwood Discovery Centre a visit, as I was sure the flowers and insect life would not disappoint.

I was right, there was an incredible panoply of colour on display, and the Centre was crowded with young families enjoying the afternoon sun. I had found some interesting and unusual flowers with beautifully textured leaves in the bed at the entrance, so I took out the camera even before going in! I headed for the lavender once within the walled enclave, which I was certain would be attractive to the bees, I was not expecting to see just how hard it was for them to do their pollinating! The sensible ones didi not fly off when the breezes blew, they simply clambered from one flowerhead to any that were nearby, which at least meant there was more time they spent static than had there been less wind.

Once again the long greenhouse was locked, and on this visit I was too late for anyone to let me in there, and anyway there was plenty for me to shoot in the limited time I had left before they closed for the day. I only saw one hoverfly on this visit which I found surprising bearing in mind the moisture from recent rains.

Even though several days have passed since I took these shots, I have already used some of the images in a birthday card for my sister-in-law, and I have yet to load all the Goodwood shots from the following day, but the delay was all worthwhile as I was busy doing a ‘real’ job for a designer pitching for a Royal Mail project involving a hand colouring from an original black and white image; now completed and happily approved.

Floral Abundance at Luton Hoo's Walled Garden

I had not visited the Walled Garden at Luton Hoo for some while, so it was pleasant to see more new signage and the expanded area of the garden. The recent rains, and warm nights meant there were blooms in abundance, which meant that in some areas the younger plants that had seemed well-separated, had now become dense areas of overlapping species providing an artist's palette of extraordinary variety.

Although bright, it was very humid, and as I worked close in, the bees provided continuo as they serenaded through their favourite repertoire. One corner close to the greenhouses was particularly redolent of the scent of its flowers. Every once in a while a breeze would come, and the grasses would sway, but ironically they often occurred when I was trying to capture a single slender bloom, and I would be trying to hold still in an awkward stance and would find my glasses would steam up, and I'd have to break off just as the wind died back down!

I had arrived somewhat late and was probably on site for an hour, and as I finished shooting a few drops of rain desultorily fell, but stopped almost immediately.

Testing the new 'Boomerang' Plate

Back at the Focus on Imaging Show earlier this year, I tried to find a manufacturer interested in the production of a camera plate that would add functionality to the ease of use a gimbal head when using lenses of around 300mm. My issue was that with very long and heavy lenses these proved really efficient, but the lesser mass of say a 300mm f/4 did not work as well. I reckoned that there was not sufficient leverage from gripping the camera body because of its proximity to the axis of the rotating arm and the centre of gravity of the lens.

Panning was fine using the bulky upright of the gimbal head, it was the vertical movement which was less efficient, to test out my theory I angled a straight bar forward from the camera baseplate and added a pistol grip that was now in line with the centre of gravity of the lens/camera body, and with the added leverage of the pistol grip the balance of effort in both panning and raising or lowering of the lens was more equal resulting in far smoother use of the gimbal head with such a lens.

This morning Calumet came up trumps with a prototype of what I envisaged, and I set out out to test whether it worked by taking my Canon 7D, 300mm f/4 and gimbal head and the newly christened 'Boomerang' plate to the Grand Union Canal near Wilstone, and the gallery of images here is the result.

Obviously I have no idea whether Calumet will produce the plate, but for those photographers who would like to have smooth and controlled movement from the less weighty and shorter focal length telephotos, this plate opens up the world of gimbal heads, and I think it's the way forward – it is far more controlled than a ball head.

I only used the 300mm lens here and was only disappointed that the two kingfishers I spotted that sped like Exocet missiles along the reeds did not return later, which would have been the real test! But I did spot a Muntjack and a mobbing of a mating pair of damselflies by a mating pair of water boatmen!

Smart Objects – What are they?

Photoshop over the last several versions has moved to more and more non-destructive editing.

Smart Objects is just one of the ways this has been achieved.

What is meant by non-destructive?

It means that whilst working for a client or one’s self, the changes that are applied to the image file can be restored and re-altered differently; it means that when a client changes his/her mind, it does not mean a complete rebuild, or painful de-construction.

One of the simplest ways in which this can be accomplished is to apply a Layer Mask directly to a layer, rather than erase a section, which would be destructive by being non-reversible.That is not strictly so if one has had the foresight to check the History Option to allow for Non-Linear History, because under those circumstances one could step back to before the erasure, and paint from the earlier complete state. However someone who operates in that mode is likely not to have set this option anyway.

Select History Options from the flyout menu, top right

then check the box against 'Allow Non-Linear History'

   

When colour correcting: rather than work directly on a specific layer or layers, an Adjustment Layer is best applied above, which can either be linked only to the layer immediately beneath, or all those layers below. This means that the alterations can be made, yet later returned to and applied differently.

 

Here the mask is fully operative  

 

Here the Mask has been switched off temporarily

Since an adjustment layer has a layer mask option available by default, the mask can provide the means to apply the effect preferentially to specific areas, and this mask can be either altered at a later stage or switched off by holding the Shift key and tapping the mask icon for that layer. Since it is a toggle, that in itself is non-destructive.

This shows that in Colour Balance, I reduced the red component within the Shadows

Because I knew I might need to alter the size of the image I was bringing in to the existing image, at a later stage, and did not wish to lose its original quality, I made this a Smart Object from the flyout menu in the Layers panel.

Selecting a layer in the Layers panel and using the flyout menu to Convert to Smart Object

I took two photos: one of the remote in the hand, the other the Speaker Dock with the iPhone inserted. The idea was to combine the pair into a single image, whilst giving me the opportunity to alter the relative sizes of each at a later date.

This is where the concept of Smart Objects comes into play. The Smart Object is a file within a file, which in the Master image seems and behaves like a single layer. In the corner of the image icon within the layer is a label as shown here:

This shows the small label in the bottom right to designate this layer is a Smart Object

Double-clicking this image icon in the layers panel will open the image as it was last saved as a Smart Object (it is stored as a .psb file within the Master file). This means that even if you scale the Smart Object to small size, followed by enlarging it, each transform is made from the original file stored in the Smart Object, so it does not lose the initial quality of the file.

Here is a montage of the two files where the background of the Speaker Dock has yet to be scaled down, followed by the final relative sizes. But, at any time thereafter I can rescale the elements without adversely affecting the original quality of either image.

Here both images are the same size they were taken

Here they are at the relatives sizes I decided as I was primarily showing the Remote

The layered Master file contains both images at their full resolution, offering maximum scope for non-destructive future editing, as both elements are Smart Objects within a single file.

Wandlebury Woods Visit

The sun had slunk behind the clouds by the time we set off for Wandlebury, but that was not enough to dampen our spirits. Despite the girls telling me that there were no ponds or lakes, we had barely entered the park before coming across a small jetty alongside a reedbed. There were numerous pond skaters or water boatmen, a pair of mating damselflies, a leech, a wounded damselfly and numerous newts. We stayed a few minutes there hoping that the damselflies might come nearer, but it didn’t happen, and the wire covering over the wood planking was hard on the knees when we bent down to get nearer to our subjects.

As we left Catherine decided to challenge the girls by bursting into a surprise run between them, and I captured the happy blur as they sped off into the woods. I was soon asked for one of the cameras, and it dawned on me I could have brought all three along as I effectively had three willing sherpas to carry them, without overburdening myself! I will remember in the future!

Holly remarked that she could well understand why I loved taking photos as she became fascinated by using the camera with the macro lens, and within minutes Poppy wanted some time with the camera. Occasionally I would swap over or swap lenses between the bodies. Catherine was using her iPhone as well as one or other of my cameras, so the gallery contains images taken by all of us at one time or other.

Catherine enjoys standing on her head and this always results in help from the girls, though I am not certain whether this makes it any easier. She also likes to practice jumping, so this gives me practice at capturing the peak of the action, and both girls enjoy climbing trees, running and jumping. We were recently described as a very ‘huggy’ family at Joshua’s christening, and this was also much in evidence. We did not get to cover the entire circular walk, because it started to rain, but it gave us a good dose of fresh air.

When post processing I did a bit of exploration of some subjects in black and white and with toning.

Warm Wednesday at Stockwood Discovery Centre

I had not visited the Gardens at Stockwood for some while, and I knew that it would be a mass of late Spring colour, and judging by my own garden, the bees would be hard at work pollinating.

I was not disappointed. There was such a variety that I was there far longer than intended, I was spoiled for choice. I had travelled light; with just the Tamron 90mm Macro lens on the Canon EOS 7D with ringflash attached. I specifically wanted to limit myself to just this lens as it would allow me to concentrate on detail. The reason for using the ringflash was to grasp the opportunity to freeze any bees if they came into frame, even if in flight, and I did succeed on a few occasions. The beauty of the Tamron as opposed to the 100mm Canon macro is I am able to move in closer, and it is nevertheless a very crisp lens.

Dancers End Walk

I learned that BBOWT – an ugly Acronym for the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, had a Nature Reserve at Dancers End, Just off the A41, and it made great play of this being the site for the Duke of Burgundy Species, well sadly I never saw any butterfly beyond a lone Cabbage White, flitting around the lower field before even entering the Nature Reserve. I met up with a couple who have visited regularly to walk their dog for the past twelve seasons, and they have never seen one. Later still I met a man who was doing a survey and he has not seen any for several seasons either.

Had that been the only reason for visiting I would have been sorely disappointed, but I was planning to enjoy the walk and just see what was there, so my enjoyment was not curtailed, but since so much is made of this species, I do feel they should update their information.

Upon arrival at the Car Park, what struck me was the fine architecture of the Pumping Station, it was sad to see that it was faring so badly from neglect, but it is an imposing sight, and I do hope that it is restored before it crumbles into oblivion.

The walk really begins after crossing a field of knee high grass and the road to entrance. On a Summer Sunday I do advise you cross that road with cautions as the route is favoured by cyclists who rush silently down the hill in fair numbers due to the remoteness of the lanes hereabouts. When I arrived it was before eight, so very quiet, but when I left, I had to stop and pull to the edge every fifteen yards, and they were using the lane in both directions!

Anyway back to the walk. The first stretch is across an open field, but no sooner do you go through the gate it becomes a slog as it it is steep, and thoughtfully there are steps, but with three heavy cameras it drew sweat and had me puffing in the heat, there are defined paths, and within the woods the flora is very varied, with some areas full of birdsong and others unnaturally silent, and over to my left as I climbed there was a very strange bark, though what made it I never learned. It was very loud and short and definitely was not a dog. I heard it later as I returned from the central meadow, it sounded very much like a warning but I have never heard any sound exactly like it.

I have tried to capture some of the feel of the place and was surprised to find a few clumps of bluebells that were still fresh, as elsewhere they have been over for some time. I can certainly recommend a visit if you want complete serenity and enjoy solitude; it is a step back in time.

No Duke of of Burgundy butterflies, peace, tranquility, Dancers End Pumping Station, Nature Reserve, BBOWT

Warm May Afternoon, at Tringford

The afternoon was warm, and the reservoirs seemed an inviting thought, as I had not been down there for a while. When I arrived it was surprisingly quiet with little bird activity on Tringford, so I took to Marsworth and Startops along the path between the pair. I found myself chatting to a trio of walkers who wondered whether I knew of a pathway behind the reeds – the only route I could surmise was beyond the stream, and highly unsuitable for a group clad in sandals and bare feet! We walked along further and I heard fish splashing vigourously at Startop's edge, and they informed me it was the fish spawning.

Although I had no polariser for the lenses I had with me I did try to capture some of the activity, but the water was so churned that it was extremely difficult to do the scene justice, but Nothing ventured nothing gained.

There was a single heron that was in the distance that would occasionally reposition itself on some of the  stands in the middle of Marsworth, and it could be seen to duck when the terns or gulls swooped nearby. There is something rather charming about a heron's graceless launch into the air and its landing, whereas in flight it is exquisite. I took a shot of greylag goose in flight over Tringford, and only realised when processing the shot that circling above was a red kite!

I returned to Tringford where I met the bailiff and an angler who was using a catapult to send food pellets out to attract the fish to unbaited food; hoping to benefit later from their acceptance of the same food when baited.

Grand Union Canal at Hunton Bridge

An angler had mentioned that kingfishers were in abundance along the canal around Hunton Bridge, and I thought he mentioned Mary Capel’s Wharf, but maybe that was a failing of my memory, as search as I might online, I found nothing beyond who she was and her connection to Cassiobury Park and her marriage to the owner, the Earl of Essex. However on my return from a long walk in both directions from Hunton Bridge, I used the phrase Lady Capel’s Wharf, and realised I had all but arrived there when I came to the White Bridge, which gave onto the Grove.

The gallery of images depicting my journey along the towpath, initially cover the distance towards Hemel Hempstead, before returning to Hunton Bridge and setting off in the opposite direction towards Watford. Rhodadendrons were just coming into bloom on the far side from where I joined the path. much of the journey was within the tunnel of overhanging trees, but in the sunlight beyond I first spotted a comma butterfly i the hedgerow, then just beyond I spotted a snake swimming leisurely from the far side, asking those I met what species it was, proved to be fruitless and despite an angler’s insistence it was an adder, it turned out to be a grass snake!

At a fork in the canal, a family of swans had settled with its cygnets, and then beyond the towpath alongside a lake was an amiable dinosaur, followed by a crane and a heron, the crane being of the species ‘mechanica’, and one I recognised from my time photographing progress work at the Foresters Development in Harpenden over the last eighteen months.

A robin was gorging itself on a worm; though spotting wings, maybe this mouthful was not for itself but possibly for its offspring. A recent set of apartments along the far bank looked extremely appealing in the pleasant sunshine, and the repetitive shapes of the flyover supports I found fascinating as I passed beneath. The locks, the curves of the canal’s travel and the bridges also have charm as do the manicured lawns of some of the private dwellings along the route, but it does disappoint me to see so much discarded rubbish alongside such amenities and I felt this was epitomised by the plastic throne in the undergrowth by the ashes of a small fire and crushed lager cans. How is it difficult to bring back lightweight empty cans when it was so easy to carry weighty full ones?

Birds of Prey Centre Visit

The Saturday outing was a practice for Sunday’s visit, courtesy of my daughters Catherine and Lizzy and Tim, to the Bird of Prey Centre at Old Warden and Shuttleworth College. I arrived in slight drizzle, grey clouds, and early. I had no real idea as to what I should expect, and thought I would be learning how to take good photographs of the birds in static situations and on the wing, but it soon became apparent it was a day of opportunities to see a wide range of different birds, and in the morning we would have the chance to have the birds placed in fairly natural situations within the woods, on branches or tree stumps.

Our mentor for the group was John who joined us carrying what resembled an Indian’s charpoy, or low bedstead frame without the springs which had four owls of differing species and sizes tethered two per side; this rack he carried much like Victorian ladies had hoops beneath their voluminous skirts. Every so often one owl in particular would lose his footing and end up upside down with wings a-flapping, which meant John had to stop and reset him upon his perch, none the worse for wear.

We would walk along the path to spy a likely setting, and the group would be asked to choose which of the four was to model for us – Decisions, decisions, everyone at first was too coy to choose, giving John the opportunity to chide us. During one particular session, a red kite flew overhead and was calling which set the model owl and one other very much on edge as they felt threatened, and became very distinctly alert; the original kite was also soon joined by another and both soared low around the top of the tree canopy, presumably as one or both of the kites had a nest nearby.

A very generous buffet lunch was provided for us, and this break gave at least some of us a chance to gather more suitable footwear, or other lenses for the afternoon session which involved short flying trips with a variety of birds from the Centre’s collection arranged so that we all had the opportunity to capture these magnificent birds in flight. At first I thought it might be best to shoot from the side and pan, but I quickly learned that was far from the easiest way, and soon realised the success rate was vastly improved by having the bird fly more or less towards me. As I gained in confidence and success, I then experimented with zooming from the 200mm end of travel to 70mm as the bird approached, leaving Canon’s engineering expertise to handle keeping focus as it grew larger, but I made the transition from tele to wide in order to avoid clipping the full wingspan. I had earlier used a prime  lens of 300mm, believing in panning, but soon realised that the zoom had a much higher success rate, especially as by shooting from the moment the bird left the perch, this set the focus for the servo to retain the same object (the bird in this case) sharp as it tracked towards me.

I was very pleasantly surprised by how effective this proved, but I still needed more practice – one skill I did hone was the ability to delete failures – shots with clipped wings, or the bird of the moment disappearing out of frame on any of the four sides, or more prosaically, being either out-of-focus, or blurred due to too low a shutter speed! Since I was operating with Aperture priority, it came as quite a shock that due to the low light levels, I could find my self shooting at 1/40th of a second until I took up the ISO to somewhere around 1000! You do however get great sense of speed with the extreme blurring of the background, but an even higher chance that even the subject is blurred!

I have to say a great thank you to Catherine for the present, and to the Centre for what they had organised and provided – I had a really great time. If I had a criticism, it would be that we could have been given badges that gave our first names, because I believe that would have made the group gel more. Apart from John our mentor and guide, the only name I learned was Keith, and this was as we left! Oh, and a few of the birds’ names, but here it was perplexing a female bird named ‘Bruno’?

DNA Meeting at Rhubarb Café

It is some time since the DNA had met up, but it certainly seemed worth the wait as everyone was in good spirits and it was not long before the whole room was a hubbub of animated conversations, with greetings followed by the anecdotes of all that had happened since our last gathering.

There were also many new faces, which is always a good sign. Mike Benjamin called everyone to order to ensure the staff were informed of our meal choices, moneys were collected and pre-meal drinks were already being consumed as we made for our tables. After we had enjoyed our Jacket Potatoes or Lasagne, Mike announced our Guest Speaker, David Kirkland who had been one of the architects at the inception of the Eden Project.

David delivered his presentation with measured ease as he drew on his belief in sustainability and Creativity drawn from Nature, to explain how the project was started by Tim Smit who despite offering no money, inspired architects, engineers, construction companies and banks to help him make use of the EU grant to bring future prosperity, jobs and life to Cornwall at a time of low employment and severe underfunding. His vision and the architects' desire to tackle the task despite all the difficulties that had to be overcome carried the enterprise forward, and David illustrated all the challenges that lay ahead and how it was tackled. It was an inspiration to this audience which rightly applauded him for giving us all something to consider in the present economic circumstances. So thank you David, and thank you Andy Coomar for inviting him to speak to us.