Experiments with my converted Infrared camera

I had an hour to play with my digital camera that has been converted to take Infrared shots.
I read on the web that the white balance should be set to custom setting by photographing a white card. I then took shots with both JPEG and RAW. Below shows the two unadjusted files.

I had downloaded a Photoshop action to process files taken with infrared digital cameras. This increases the contrast and then does some colour swapping using Channel Mixer. This works well with the JPEG file that has had the white balance correction but also gives an interesting effect with the RAW file

Each of these files was then converted to BW with Channel mixer - here the RAW files, as expected, gives a superior result.

I obviously need to do a lot more experimentation and theoretical consideration to achieve a consistent result.

Attempts at Photographing Skippers

It has been a busy week preparing for Cambridge Open Studios so I have only just got round to looking at the far too many images that I took of the Skippers and Bees in the lavendar plants at Belstead House last weekend.

I tried both my 50mm Macro and a 180 mmm lens that Jane kindly lent me. The 50 mm lens allowed enough depth of field to get the whole insect in focus (first image) but the close-up detail and the diffuse backgrounds with the longer focal length were great.

My favourite is the bumble bee just launching off the lavendar

More from Suffolk

We visited Orford Ness on Saturday on a very hot sunny day. I decided to concentrate on using my 15 mm fisheye to take the flowers on the island.
The yellow-horned poppy grew in lots of places on the shingle. It was not easy to photograph as the long seed pods that give it the name made it very difficult to fit in the frame.

The other dominant flower on the shingle was sea campion

Cambridge Camera Club Weekend at Belstead House near Ipswich

The Friday evening three of us went down to Levington on the Orwell and enjoyed a quiet stroll along the river looking towards Harwich docks. It was a very calm evening with a nearly full moon reflected in the water.

I wasn't sure which of the images I liked best so have included both for comparison, one concentrating on the sky and the other with foreground interest.

Chaos

I thought friends would appreciate this accidental shot taken in the chaos of my studio as I prepare for Open Studios on July 11-26th.

Loo in a Barn

Came across this very spacious loo in Devon.

It felt quite daunting to have so much space around - it is normally 'the smallest room' in house descriptions.

Poppies in the Mist

It is a great year for poppies and other wild flowers.
This field is near Barton and gives the feel of Provence with the line of trees. It was taken early on Sunday morning when there was quite a thick mist.

The blue flower is chicory and has always grown around the area but I have never seen so much of it as is present this year in with the poppies.

Foxgloves

The foxgloves were at their best in Devon last week so I couldn't resist putting up a couple of images

Goodbye

Unfortunately my holiday in Devon only lasted a couple of days as I had to return when my mother was taken into hospital. As I left our cottage, the cows obviously wished to say goodbye. I particularly like the elegant legs on the second image.

Westward Ho

A few pictures from Friday's visit to Westard Ho. The Bathing pool is the one where I learnt to swim as a 5 year old and hasn't changed that much over the years.

I think I prefer the pebble and round pool picture with fewer clouds in the sky - I have many versions of the scene but this is the only one with a relatively straight horizon.

The matching of the sky and the pebbles attracted me in the third image.

Budleigh Salterton

A couple of images for the Wider View Series.
They need the horizons straightened. I think I prefer the vertical framing for the second image.
While drinking a mug of tea sitting at one of the tables, I noticed several dolphins playing around the buoys in the bay. I mentioned it to a local and there was great excitement as, contrary to my belief, they very rarely observe dolphins there.

Lyme Regis

Four images from Lyme Regis yesterday evening after all the rain had passed through. The large ammonite in the rock sets the location.

Butterfly from Slimbridge

Help needed to identify this blue butterfly photographed at Slimbridge on Monday. Looking at images on the web, the nearest is the Large Blue (though my specimen appears a bit faded compared with the published photos). There were a lot of red ants in the meadow where I found this - discovered this when kneeling to photograph the butterflies.

The Large Blue is not listed for Slimbridge so I am puzzled.

Someone has suggested that it is a very faded Common Blue so better go with that.

Bath

A couple of pictures taken in the gardens in Bath after a busy time at the RPS Visual Arts' Assessment Day. Congratulations to Neil for being recommended for an ARPS with his panel of mountain pictures. Very well done.

Another Kingfisher

While downloading and sorting yesterdays 'snaps', I found this one that is a little clearer than the other one I have posted.


And this is the one that got away

Slimbridge

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust headquarters at Slimbridge has changed a lot since I last visited. They have a very large collection of ducks and geese from round the world but I concentrated on the wild species - in particular, the Kingfishers and Herons. The kingfishers are onto their second brood and the young from the first were around along the river chasing each other. I wished I had a really long lenses as there were some great action shots. This one perched close enough for a reasonable shot.





The Heron spent a long while staring into the water but, unfortuately, didn't catch anything.

















Thunderstorms arrived over the Welsh hills later in the afternoon giving sone atmospheric skies.

Wicken Fen

Out of sequence, but here are a couple of images from the RPS Nature Group outing to Wicken Fen on Saturday. The weather was a bit dull early but it warmed up around lunch time and then the 4-spotted chasers became active. I liked the shape of the dead reed and waited for the chaser to arrive. Fortunately they keep coming back to the same perch.

Visiting Gloucester

I stopped in Gloucester for a while this afternoon and took a ride on the Big Wheel. The view was impressive - the Historic Docks are being rennovated with lots of Retail outlets but the area was pretty quiet for a fine Sunday.

May Bumps Cambridge

The weather forecast was fairly pessimistic for Thursday evening but I decided to visit the Bumps on the Cam anyway. In fact the light was fantastic with dark clouds and sunny intervals.
The first picture shows one of the women's crews rowing pass Fen Ditton Church up to the start point at Bate Bite's Lock. It is an event peculiar to Cambridge - first of all, the May Bumps, like May Balls occur in June. The boats go off at regular intervals and the aim is to 'bump' the boat in front. This normally takes place on the corners. In the second photo a 'Bump' is about to occur.

If this happens, the front Cox raises a hand and both boats retire to the bank. The victorious crew decorate themselves with greenery from the trees along the river while the losing team can find the long journey back very tiring. The two boats will swap positions in the next line up.

Norfolk Poppies

It is odd why just one field of rape seed should produce such a wonderful display of poppies while similar fields around have just a few red patches.

This one near Swaffham is one of the best I have seen and was just at its peak yesterday.






Although the hairs show up best on a sunny day, yesterday's dull conditions worked OK with backlighting and there weren't the usual bright shiny areas to detract.