Unusual Angles in Toft

Motivated by a Camera Club project, I took my Fuji X100V on a walk round Toft taking images from the ground, looking up, looking down etc. For close ups, I attached a 250X close-up filter. 

Swiss Garden at Old Warden

We hadn't visited the Shuttleworth Collection and Swiss garden at Old Warden for several years and so decided on a visit there yesterday, remembering the cafe for an old-fashioned brunch and large areas of wild garden beyond the formal area in the Swiss Garden. Unfortunately the cafe has been modernised and, just our luck, the kitchen was closed. The gardens are still impressive for the tall trees etc but it has all been 'tidied ' up and certainly is no longer the haven it was for insects. These are all I found in a 90 minute visit - the Welsh Chafer (brown beetle) has not been reported on the NBN atlas anywhere in the area so was an interesting find. The strange looking bug is a nymphal stage of the Tree Damsel Fly. Certainly the very hot conditions did not favour an insect hunt except for the Four-Spot Chasers.

Light Painting

Last night, Peter Wood treated us to an evening of his light painting displays. We were inside in a large Hall - not ideal as the light tended to bounce off door frames etc in the background but the polished floor made a great reflective surface to add an extra element without having to find a safe area of shallow water! I start with a Kingfisher as I had seen this on his FlikR site and definitely my favourite (www.flikr.com/photos/hugobia)

Polar Fair in Cambridge

Our second venue for night photography in Cambridge on Sunday was the Polar Fair - very busy generally but found a few quieter spots to record the kaleidoscope of colours and shapes. Last couple moving the camera during Live Composite mode (ie camera is taking 1sec exposure continuously - I don't think it records how many shots)

Cambridge Christmas Build-Up

Some images from Cambridge Camera Club trip on Sunday and what more appropriate for Christmas in Cambridge than a punt full of Choir members singing carols! We spent the first hour around the Market and King's Parade as the light faded and gradually the sky brightness matches the light below (so called Blue hour). At this time, there is less dynamic range so easier to capture images with even lighting and less harsh shadows, which makes it especially flattering for portraits etc. I was also playing with the Live Composite mode on my Olympus camera which continuously adds anything lighter to the image - usually used on a tripod (very good for water reflections and light trails) but can also be used 'on the move'. Last image not quite what I wanted - need the phone on a tripod as well as the camera but like the way the lighter areas bleed into the phone image.