Weston-Super Mare is Being Rebuilt

Would you want a room even for £15 in the hotel above left.

The Pier View Parlour is closed along with the Grand Pier but there is plenty of rebuilding activoity going on in WSM at the moment.

Here is one for my collection of dogs and owners with matching hair colour.

Macro Images from Botanic Gardens

First Migrant Bird arrives

Chiffchaff singing in Toft Wood this morning

- the first migrant that I have heard.

Trials on White Balance

Two images taken inside Great Wilbraham Barn with automatic white balance

Images below are similar views also taken with AWB and then the white balance corrected in Lightroom

The last image is taken with custom white balance by photographing a white card and setting the camera's custom white balance before shooting the scene. Colour rendition looks better but would need further trials. Anyone got comments on theoretical value of the two approaches?

Favourite primrose image

The flowers are just coming out in the west Cambridgeshire woods. These primroses were taken last year with 16mm lens. I am looking forward to repeating with the 15mm fish-eye to compare the image. It involved lying almost in a stream to get below the flowers.

Frog Spawn Appeared overnight

Very complacent frog sitting among newly laid frog spawn.

Primrose and celandine

A couple more spring flowers at their best at the moment

Spring is here

Beautiful sunny day today, so all the coltsfoot are in full bloom on the banks. Strange plant in that it has flowers before the leaves appear.

Millie and Ruby's relatives at Crufts

Red (on left) is Ruby's nephew once removed - definitely a family likeness.

Not know name of the setter on the right but was from Millie's breeder and very like her when she was younger.

Closeup into a thistle rosette

Motion in the Ring

Took a lot of these at Crufts. I like the flow of this one but I guess there should be something sharp. Unfortunately everything is moving in different directions, including the ears, in an Irish Setter

American Cocker Spaniels at Crufts

I want to illustrate the enormous bond that exists in so many cases between owner and dog, even to the matching of hair colour.

Images from Flyball at Crufts

Need a soundtrack to go with these images as the dogs bark continually while waiting their turn over the jumps.

Paddling pool 2

There is a loneliness about paddling pools in winter. No happy splashing and laughter, just discarded rubbish and silence

The Drummer

Taken with rear curtain flash to attempt movement of the drumstick - more or less worked.

1/60th sec f4.0. Manual focusing. Flash set ETTL and rear curtain.

Lincoln Cathedral

Generally the light was not good as very cloudy but a couple of sunny intervals gave interesting light through the windows

Paddling Pool in Winter

Seals

Common (left) and Grey (below) Seal Pups at Natureland Seal Sanctuary in Skegness

Orchids at Kew

Image taken with 15mm lens in the Victoria Greenhouse.

Images from Kew

The crocuses opened in a brief spell of sunshine and snowdrops are at their best.

Our Cats

Very typical picture of our mother and daughter cats meeting in a doorway. Good swerve!

Shift lens

Taken with 24mm shift lens - f22 and 2 second exposure using manual exposure and manual focusing - back to the old days! It certainly slows down photography but is very relaxing when there is plenty of time for those snaps!!

Trials with Peacock Feathers

Enlarging just a small part of the frame taken on the Canon 5D still gives an acceptable image for projection.

Happy Birthday Ruby

8 years old today.

After the Snow

Toft meadow this morning after heavy overnight snow and then rain.

Burwash Farm

Image from last Friday in Barton

Bikes at Clare

Sunshine after the snow.

Peterhouse College Cambridge

Attracted by the elegant lamps in Peterhouse, Cambridge's oldest College that still exists, founded in 1284.

Our Dogs enjoying the Snow

Ruby and Millie, our Irish setters enjoying the snow. They spend a lot of time rolling in it and then chasing each other.

Blue skies at Wimpole

Beautiful day at Wimpole - lying snow, ice and dark blue sky.

The lake is half frozen and the coots spent a lot of time chasing each other across the surface

Grantchester Meadows

A couple more of my favourite trees - this time in Grantchester and after the snow.