Snow Gives Way to Sun

Saturday brought the first sun for some time, offering a respite for birds and animals to take to the open with a chance to feed. In my case it gave me a short opportunity to get out and capture some of the scenes in good light just before it was all washed away in the thaw.

I drove out past the gates to Luton Hoo's walled garden, over the treacherously icy hill past the water treatment plant and take shots on the top of the further hill, and looking back to the Hotel that was once the great house, and home to the Werner Collection, famous for its collection of Fabergé Eggs.

Then on to Codicote with its fine church, and Claggy Bottom and the wonderful setting of its cottage farmhouse. From there beyond to Welwyn, and back via Wheathampstead to East Hyde, where I spent the rest of the day enraptured by the racing river and how it had enticed all the local birdlife in abundance, though it was somewhat overwhelmed by the large number of gulls, that did however give me the opportunity to see that Canon's alignment of my 300mm and EOS7D had made a difference as I practiced capturing the gulls in flight.

Fortunately several knowledgable birdwatchers visited the same bridge and they generously pointed out rarer species of birds than gulls, swans, Canada geese and mallard ducks, that I had not even spotted, such as the snipe and egret. The snipe was so distant, that in the gallery it is a far smaller image due to the cropping necessary to show it at all!

The heron looked bitterly cold as it hunched up in a tree, a magpie watched from afar, a red kite over flew, the pied wagtail ventured from the muddy bank to strut across the patches of snow amidst the grass tussocks, and a robin and jackdaw were tempted to the parapet by seeds and nuts I had laid along it. Courtesy of the aforesaid experts spotting the wagtail and kite, they also pointed out the landing of a kestrel on the nearby pylon. To them I am very grateful – I need every help I can get to spot such birds.

As I left with the clouds covering the sun once again, I got a shot of shy sun and rich yet pale orange glow diagonally behind a skeletal tree on the brow of the hill as I left. The water level under the bridge had noticeably risen over the hours I had spent there, and I have no doubt the banks will recede still further over the next few days and swamp much of the fields close by.

Chaulington

A new name ventures to become a name on the lips of residents of the hamlet of Chaul End and the villages of Caddington and Slip End in the coming months or possible years.

As the etymology displays its origins clearly, it has been well-chosen. Whether it becomes a word spoken harshly or with warmth depends on how what is discussed in the eponymous newsletter is received by those to whom it has been sent.

Where is Chaulington? Well, as I have mentioned above its name comes from the two places most affected by the proposal put forward by Vauxhall and promulgated by PPS Group, an organisation who have experience in tackling projects considered ‘tough’ for their clients and is situated between Chaul End and Caddington.

There is an undoubted need for housing within this county and in fact, the rest of the country. The site has merit. However, it is not the siting that is in contention, as can be the case, it is the effects on existing infrastructure that can cause friction, and that is given no mention within the newsletter. Nor is there a face or name  behind the proposal, a failure I have mentioned in a letter I have written to the email address given in the newsletter.

I have asked for permission to visit the Vehicle Storage Depot to take photographs, and have been at pains to mention that I am not partisan, since at this early stage, the newsletter is the entirety of the information to hand, and my interest is to serve the community, both as it presently stands and how it moves forward. Perhaps if my access is granted and maintained, my words and photos can be a force for the good, of all concerned.

It will be most interesting to see how long it takes for a response and whether I get a name, or permission to take photos – Watch this Space!

Sunless Snow – Whipsnade Woods

The snow had stopped falling, but still not even milky sunlight, but with no excuse to stay indoors I ventured out, knowing the challenges of trying capture snow scenes, without some sunshine. The exposures have to be just right to hold the detail in both the darkest and lightest areas, such that afterwards I have the chance to somehow achieve the snow’s whiteness without losing detail of footfalls in the snow, yet at the same time bring out some texture in the blackness of the branches of trees.

Fortunately Lightroom is able to do this for me, but not without considerable effort balancing one control against another, I hope that I have succeeded in the shots I have captured in this gallery. Thinking back on the trip out I realised it took me as long to clear the car of frozen snow as the actual drive out and back, and tonight more snow is forecast, so I will have the same task tomorrow when I need to do some re-provisioning, and the journey involves hills!

Caddington – Non-stop Fine Snow

Snow is wonderful when the sun is shining, it covers much of the ugliness and angularity of a village scene, but without the sunshine, no delineation between sky and horizon, brown, slush-laden main roads and constantly-falling fine damp sleet-like snow, it is somewhat dismal and the devil to capture any detail. This was what somewhat dampens the spirit of the weekend. Had the snowfall abated and the sun shone milkily, the sounds would have been more shrill as families made the most of the days. It would have lightened the gloom and raised spirits and more than made up for the lost working and classroom time, and made the coming of Monday more bearable.

I did find that the few who did venture forth were generally cheerful, and acknowledged my presence in the main, but certainly to several of the men I encountered I was invisible, they never so much as lifted their heads as they passed me by, alone in their own unsmiling worlds trudging begrudgingly by with no care for others’ company. I am sure the sight of the sun would have lifted their heads and their spirits.

So the pictures from that afternoon stroll are to capture some of the brighter signs and some of the shapes and colours to be found when you look around.

Mishmash of Subject Matter

Dripping Taps to a plumber represent a potential for earning, however for myself they represented an opportunity to check out the alignment of a lens and camera, and once I started trying to capture it, it became a fascination in what is actually happening. I know it all has to do with surface tension and a battle between those forces and gravity, but to see it in action is endlessly intriguing; what to our eyes is an intermittent stream is often fast moving globules of water, that as they start their downward journey stretch the surface envelope to breaking point.

Where was I whilst watching all this unfold? Well, it was a 300mm lens on a Canon 7D which meant the first major issue was getting far enough away from my subject, and yet be at the closest focussing distance of that combination, and the tap was in the downstairs shower room basin and in order to be low enough and distant enough I was seated on the closed loo, pressed firmly against the wall behind me and handholding the camera. Hardly ideal from the point of view of my study, but at least I was able to check whether what I was viewing was represented in the image file, and it was!

The rest of the shots in this small gallery represent a trip, possibly my last to my sister-in-law at their pile near Cliveden, as it has been sold, and is scheduled for demolition – it will then truly become a pile; this time, of  rubble. Sad, as the house has seen some happy times over the years of Richard and Glory’s ownership. Daughter, Virginia was over from India and we all sat around the kitchen table chatting in low warm light in the late afternoon, and Joshua who is fascinated by my cameras and in fact anything mechanical or technological was hell bent on taking some pictures so I positioned the camera on the table to so he might be able to look through the viewfinder and once he found the shutter release went at it as if it were a machine gun – the scatter approach managed to capture one shot of Gloria and Virginia as they patiently awaited the release of the shutter, that was both correctly focussed and steady, and the patience in the subjects’ expressions is fairly obvious and rather nice!

Big Al who was against the large window was less easy to capture but is an  interesting study of concentrated disinterest. Taking any shots of Joshua under such circumstances was impossible short of flooding the area with light and trying to keep him far enough away to be able to be able to focus on anything more than a pointed sticky finger or a snot-laden nose!

It was a short but enjoyable visit along with Lizzy who is wishing the arrival of my next grandchild will hurry up and arrive!

January Photo Miscellany

The last few weeks have provided me with few photographic opportunities, but some subjects have come before my lens, so the gallery I am putting up now is very much a miscellany of situations that have come my way.

Receiving several of the large bars of Toblerone provided one such occasion – having broken off a piece, I noticed that the silver foil left on, closely resembled the snow up on a mountain, so I resisted the immediate imperative to scoff the chocolate and instead brought my camera to bear!

Only yesterday I was up in London to visit one photographer in UCL, and having helped in a very small way as Tony Slade’s assistant whilst we held conversations as he worked, I then headed for Clerkenwell to visit my erstwhile retouching colleagues in The Colour Company, and although when I first arrived only John Swift was working away at his screen, I was soon joined by both his wife Annie and another past retouching friend, Steve Warner.

I had taken the opportunity to grab some Furniture and Interior Design shop windows before calling in, so this brought the changes I had noted within the Clerkenwell area into the conversation, before I set off once again to the studio of Geoff Dann, where he was coming towards the end of the day’s shooting of farmyard scenes for Trina. When this came to the end and she left for the evening we both ventured upstairs where I joined Lizzy Perry to chat over a welcoming cup of tea.

Today after clearing work in the morning I took off on a visit to the Stockwood Discovery Centre, where I took a few quick shots in the park area, and a squirrel on a wall, then wandered into the Museum area where the Wildlife Photography exhibit was, and where amongst the permanent displays was a small display of Varda by visitors from Pakistan. The disappointment for me was that two boxes for visitors in which to place comments had no forms for them to fill in, and only a couple of ladies came in to view the shows whilst I was there. I had packed away my camera before leaving when I noticed the light on a figure by the exit caught my eye. I grabbed that shot before the moment passed!

Christmas Family Dinner

This year has seen a new man in Catherine’s life – Jonah; and he generously invited me to join Catherine and the family to join him for Christmas Day. I was made to feel very much at home and it was far from a last minute thought, as his daughter Carly and husband Paul, and her mother and her husband must have known I was joining them as they both gave me presents when greeting me with Christmas wishes, making me feel extremely humble, as I had been aware that Carly and Paul would be there, and guilty that I had not thought to bring them anything.

We were all in the lounge barring Jonah who had his red Santa pinny on and was busy putting the finishing touches to the banquet that was to follow, away in the kitchen, but he did break off to welcome me. My entrance seemed to be the catalyst that started much activity on the present distribution and unwrapping front, followed by much oohing and ahing, and wows from twin grandchildren Holly and Poppy, followed by hugs and kisses.

The lighting was as warm as the atmosphere, as we all began chatting, and I learned Barry was guitar-playing Folk Singer, and Carol was a teacher, Paul was in Banking and Carly helped disadvantaged families within a London Borough. Much of the conversation revolved around memories of travel across Africa and the Far East, and this continued when we all were summoned to the Dining room and the sumptuous meal of beef, turkey, pigs in blankets and all the trimmings.

Two sets of crackers were pulled, one hand-crafted and one bought, the latter with the obligatory riddles, accompanied by the customary groans, Jonah was the last to join the table and was praised and thanked for the delicious spread before us. Whilst still in the Dining Room after eating our fill, we did attempt a new Trivia Game, but soon decided it was better played in the lounge, but to begin with, our ability to fathom the rules was no better in the new venue! There was much hilarity and good-humoured frustration, but we then decided on a change, and it seemed as if more time was spent trying to understand the rules than was actually involved in playing the game. Setting time limits was not universally accepted as being fair, and was a source of much banter and recrimination, and after both games, I think I was on the losing side, but it was marginally less hostile than playing  Monopoly!

Teas and coffee followed on and peace and relaxation took over; all too soon Carol and Barry were saying their goodbyes, and later I made the opening gambits towards leaving, and after more hugs and kisses, I thanked everyone and with Catherine acting as lookout I drove out of the gate, taking her directions to reach the A505 and set off for home. Most shots in the gallery were taken at 5000 ISO with very slow shutter speeds at almost full aperture; often at no more than 1/15th of a second!

Sawston Village College Annual Concert

Once again the opportunity comes around for me to photograph my young grandchildren as they perform in the Cambridge University Church of Great St. Mary’s. As usual the church was packed, and despite it being December it was extremely warm within. The girls had been dropped off earlier whilst we parked the car, and this year there was no queuing to get in.

We had decided to sit up in the gallery, but ironically this did not really provide the viewpoint we had anticipated, but it did at least offer me the chance to move around.

The service started with organ music followed by a hymn, with two verses sung by the Madrigal Singers, followed by the Bidding Prayer from the Reverend Bruce Waldron. After another hymn sung by soloist Sam Fitzgerald and the Madrigal Singers again, the first lesson was from Genesis Chapter iii read by a governor of the school, Mrs Polly Stanton. The Chamber Choir then sang, followed by another lesson, this time from Year 7 student, El Mayo, from Isaiah ix, then we all sang The First Nowell, followed in its turn by a lesson from St Luke i read by parent, Mrs Kate Brett. There were further songs from the Choir and Madrigal singers, who also sang verse 2 of O Little Town of Bethlehem, this time followed by a lesson from Luke ii read by staff member, Miss Anita Langdale.

The Recorder Group played In Dulci Jubilo with passion, but this piece is so powerful, I felt the Organ should have been chosen, and as if in agreement, soon after it came in with great gusto for a later hymn introduction!, but before that came another lesson from Luke ii from Year 9 student, Birte Mattes, followed by the Junior Choir singing Diamond Bright.

Then followed It Came upon the Midnight Clear and more from the Madrigal Singers, and a lesson from St Matthew i read by Year 11 student Januree Harris Hercules, and Chamber Choir singing The Lamb, and God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen and a lesson read by the Assistant principal, Mr Peter Wallace,. from St. John i. The rousing penultimate hymn: Oh Come, All Ye Faithful allowed me to sing one of my favourite carols, prior to Rev. Bruce  giving us a prayer and Blessing leading on to the Madrigal Singers with A Clare Benediction from John Rutter.

The final hymn was Hark the Herald Angels Sing followed by applause from the whole congregation in gratitude for a splendid and entertaining evening. The organ played us all out as we crowded every exit waiting for all our young charges.

Frosty Countryside at Sunrise

Lousy English weather, a cold that has hung around (still not shaken off!), and helping others out has kept me from taking photos for the blog for quite a time, so when I gather there was a possibility of freezing fog followed by sunshine, I prepared for an early start.

There was a heavy frost but no sign of freezing fog, so shots of lacy frost riming the trees did not happen, but as I was up before the sun, there was a fair chance of some pictures. I took a couple of shots as I passed through Whipsnade, and found a chance to park before the turn off to Ivinghoe Aston, where I captured one mounded field catch the first rays of the rising sun and turned gold.

The mist covered the view towards Billington Church which slowly appeared as the sun rose higher, having stopped a while there I carried on down the hill towards Ivinghoe, stopping briefly at Pitstone Windmill before branching off the main road to Pitstone Hill, where I took more shots especially the abstract shapes of ice in frozen puddles, before continuing on to Aldbury and across towards Wigginton. I knew that the daughter of an erstwhile colour printers lived in Wigginton Bottom, but the name of the house eluded me, so I thought I would search it out, but alas the lady was out, but I dropped a card in the door, hoping she might remember me and call back sometime.

I had hoped to meet up with my daughter and grandson, but I did not hear from her till I was almost back home, but I am due to help with converting their bathroom to my grandson’s bedroom over the weekend, so nothing was lost.

Tringford Anglers' Do

Wednesday Evening was the Annual Gathering of the Tringford Anglers, and I was honoured by being invited to join the assembled group, so to repay the compliment I took along my camera to record the event.

Ironically, I arrived early, and so felt obliged to wait in the Car Park behind the Anglers’ Retreat till the appointed time of six o’clock, and as a result met up with ‘Stumpy’ as he parked alongside, so we chatted, until he put in a call to Bob; only to learn that he was already ensconced in the bar! Our turn to join him.

The bar was filling, but as I had never met everyone together, I was not sure who were members, and who were simply the regular patrons, but Bob I knew so headed that way. As the evening progressed I brought out a couple of A3 contact sheets of fishing-related images I had put together over the last couple of years and a handful of finished A4 images, and these did the rounds. As a result, some of the assembled guests were able to see what I had shot of themselves, and some were even able to relive the moments of some the their captures I had taken.

When the buffet was announced, many of us moved to the annexe where caged birds were merrily chirping away – for buffet read Banquet; the food was both excellent and abundant and heartily enjoyed, but there was far too much left, so several lucky visitors came away with Goody boxes!

I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to chat with some of the members and learn about their daytime occupations, and hope to meet many during the next season. So thank you Bob for inviting me along.

Autumn Colours as Leaves Fall

A drive on the warmest day of late, with little more than the occasional light breeze – this is how it should be in the English countryside; not the grey damp, mizzly days to which we have been subjected recently. I parked in a spot between two large puddles of indeterminate depth on the edge of a wood near Codicote, because I had just spotted wonderful dappled sunshine and shadows displaying the colours I consider truly autumnal: golden brown fallen leaves, bronze and green ferns, and dark brown and black tree trunks with rich green moss carpeting their feet.

At first I took only the 24 -105mm zoom, but spotting a robin and a tit flitting from branch to branch and a squirrel, I returned for the 300mm. How shortsighted of me! I should have covered all the bases, because I now no longer had surprise on my side! The sunshine was intermittent, which in some cases was handy as the lesser contrast could be beneficial, but generally I do like the brightness of sunlight., though really then, flash would come in handy, and I rarely venture out with flash unless I specifically need it.

The sounds from some hidden birds was tantalising, because they travelled around and above me with no form to show me what species was responsible, at least the robin, with little more than a whisper of wings against the ferns remained just a few feet from me as it circled.

I spotted at least three grey squirrels, one on the ground the other two leaping from branch to branch and scurrying up the trunk to the highest reaches of the tree, but one only of this pair remained in sight, intent on munching leaves from small twigs.

Having spent some time in the woods spotted some dramatic clouds across a field and stopped promptly to grab the shot of the tree against this backdrop, and then followed the road to Ayot House – I should have taken note of those clouds as I barely managed the shots of the house before being caught in the rain! I then continued my return trip when the sun came back out, so I stopped again, this time to wander along the river by East Hyde.

Interesting Tringford Friday

Once again I cleared all I could by early afternoon, and decided that I had not been in contact with Bob the Bailiff at Tringford Fisheries for a while, and a restful afternoon at the reservoir is quite appealing on a day that had the possibility of autumn sunshine. I put in a call to check Bob would be there, and set off, with every intention of taking some paperwork to my accountant in Ampthill at the end of the day, having also called her to see that was acceptable.

I arrived at the car park and walked along to the jetty, and no sign of Bob. I returned to the car to collect my camera and relaxed on the end of pier with my 300mm, occasionally taking shots of a gull that was circling at the top end, and heading into wind towards me keeping an alert watch for fish below the surface. Having watched this unfold for a while I called Bob and learned he was in a meeting. As I got up I was amazed at what I saw in the shallows only a few feet in front of me the brilliant colours of a large freshwater crawfish! Even though I had no polariser, and was faced with the wind creating constant ripples to the water surface, I was determined to record this because I reckoned this specimen was a good ten inches end to end!

I heard the clang of the gate and went back to the car park expecting Bob, but it was two other anglers who explained a friend had joined Bob at the Anglers’ Rest Public House and so he had stayed on! When I used to work at Pelling & Cross (now Calumet) their local hostelry was the ‘Doctor’s Surgery’ and their custom was such that the landlord moved with them! So much for Office Meetings!

I should show more respect for  my friend, as when he returned he made good his offer to row me down to the bottom end of the lake which gave me more opportunities to gather shots of herons. When we came back from this trip, I offered to take Bob home, and in Cheddington we stopped off at the Three Horseshoes, where I imbibed a half of bitter shandy, and we chatted to his local friends at the bar. A while later another local entered and hailed Bob, I looked up and it was a face that was extremely familiar to me, fellow photographer, Kevin Sansbury – neither of us knew we both knew Bob! What a small world! I stayed longer than intended, which meant my trip to the accountant was not made till Saturday! My life seems governed by serendipity, I plan very little to an exact timetable, and I had no idea how this trip would end – colourful crawfish and learning Kevin and Bob knew each other!

Autumn Afternoon at Stockwood

Decks cleared by noon and the sun was still around after clearing the morning’s mist, and though clouds were beginning to gather again, I decided it was worth filling up with petrol then dropping by Stockwood Discovery Centre in case there was any colour to be found in the gardens.

At first sight, it did not look too promising; the beds outside had been cleared, presumably for Winter bedding plants, and once through the entrance and past the Café, it certainly looked very end of season. I came across Jan one of the gardeners, and stopped to chat to get an idea as to where there might be some flowers eager to be captured by my lens. I drew her attention to one I had spotted, and learned it was a hollyhock, so that added just under 90% to my knowledge of flower names! Later I met someone who asked whether I knew all the names of the flowers, I replied that Tulips, Daffodils and Dandelions was about my lot, and I had already forgotten the new addition!

I may not know many of their names, but I do take a fair amount of time looking for details, lighting and texture, and as often as not I go for leaves rather than flowers. One leaf was in bright sunlight and from the front is drab, but backlit is quite another matter – it is a rich red, so I took shots front and back to illustrate the dramatic difference. I look for contrasts and shapes, which means I may often look at a group or section for some time before selecting one particular viewpoint. When I look back on today’s images I am surprised by just how much I found. This is very much a testament to the diligent work of Stockwood Discovery Centre’s gardeners, their choice of plants for every season, their weeding, their tending, their siting and their display.

It was also good to know that the stolen Wenlock Jug was now back where it belonged.

Woburn Deer Park

What does a photographer do when his main working computer develops a thin vertical green line from top to bottom of his screen? Although not debilitating in its own right, it could be a precursor to further problems, so it has to be taken to repairers and that means I suffer its loss for several days. It was marginally out of warranty, but Apple agreed to carry out the work under warranty, and it had been arranged that I take it to the Milton Keynes Apple Store.

When I took it in I was advised it could take anywhere between five to seven working days.

Upon this basis, I swapped out the faulty machine with a much older less powerful, though larger screened model, and connected up to those discs whose contents were the most vital for my continued working. I also made a complete clone of the Mac that was going for repair, but unfortunately it was unable to boot this older machine, so I sincerely hoped I would not be delayed too long.

Once I had worked as far as I could go, I chose to take advantage of the sunshine, and do what photographers do, I went to take pictures, and the location I chose was the Deer Park at Woburn. I arrived in the continuing sunshine and blue skies, but ominous black clouds were amassing, and soon the wind rose, and it began to drizzle, but I moved into the lee by some trees and continued shooting, and for a while it stopped raining, but the sun was shy and hid behind clouds, just occasionally casting its light on parts of the landscape, before new dark clouds arrived and the showers started again.

As I walked up the grassy path towards the House, my phone rang. Surprisingly, it was the Apple Store Milton Keynes who had only received the Mac from me the day before, to say it was now ready for collection. I thanked the chap for expediting the repair and asked when they closed, was told six o’clock, which meant I had a chance to get there just before they closed – I turned around and began the long walk back to reach my car and journey onto Milton Keynes. I arrived with half an hour to spare, and bought the Camera Connection kit for the iPad by way of saying thank you, and now have the task of putting all my kit back as it was! I would not be able to post process all the pictures till it was all up and running again, but it gave me an opportunity to tidy all the cabling, vacuum all the accumulated dust and check it all out. That made for a very long evening! I did start on looking at the photos, but after all the exertions, I had to give in and get to bed. This morning I caught up on all the email, and finished culling and the gallery is just going up.

Then I have to get off to London to the AoP Awards where I am collecting one for Martin Evening who is indisposed, where I will also be meeting up with Geoff Dann.

Marsworth Kingfisher

Seemingly it is difficult to avoid a very early start if you are to successfully take shots of kingfishers, the weather forecast was for the next day to be clear and dry despite the last several days having been wet and windy. So I made up my mind to prepare my kit for a sortie to Marsworth after little more than four hours, but out of synch with my established body clock, so sleep was more than a tad perfunctory.

Having parked the car, I put the lens and camera on the tripod, and took the almost empty camera bag along with the three-legged seat, a groundsheet and spare battery, and set off in the moonlight, but I was soon in the tunnel of trees and little more than the occasional glimpse of the moon filtered through the branches until I emerged by the reeds of Marsworth. A mild glow was appearing on the eastern horizon, as the full moon was setting slowly in the west, the puddles on the gravel path reflect the sky glow weakly, as I trudge towards the lock and the final tricky descent to the waterline.

In the dark and with the tripod, gimbal head and long lens over one shoulder and the camera bag from  my neck on the other side, it was difficult to make my way down the slippery path and by the hawthorn and other bushes, none of which can hold my weight, so balance is important. I made it down with a few pauses to test the ground beneath my feet, and into the brighter gloom at the fallen tree and the water’s edge. I now had to set myself up on the slippery and rotten bark and the most tricky part was finding secure purchases for the tripod legs, but eventually I succeeded, seating myself carefully entwined by the tripod legs on the groundsheet. Despite the cold, my exertions had warmed me considerably!

In totally unavailable light I caught my first glimpse of a kingfisher after an hour’s wait, I could barely see the branch upon which he had alighted, and he flew off only a couple of seconds later, but that at least gave me the hint he might land just there later, and it was closer than I had hoped, so not taking a shot was less of a disappointment. It was to be another forty minutes before he returned, and by that time the sun was up, and lighting the reeds, and the upper branches of the trees on the far bank.

I was to be graced just once more with the presence of a kingfisher, and then a long and fruitless wait as all the previous warmth left me, and my legs and bottom became stiff and seemed to weigh far more. Eventually I succumbed, packed up my gear and left; the small gallery has near duplicates, but gave me a neat grid, I was disappointed by far too many that lacked good focus, which was not good news as I had manually focussed all the time.

I have a long way to go yet.