Cromer in Infrared

We walked along from West Runton to Cromer today. Liked this shot of Peter and Ollie with Cromer in background.

I waited a long while for a van to move from front of the pier - by then the sky had clouded over but still gave an interesting IR shot - all the curved lines took my eye.

I also tried a lower viewpoint - needs a better monochrome conversion to give more contrast in the sky.

Barn Owls in Norfolk

Today I revisited the site where I saw a barn owl leave the barn yesterday evening. I went a bit earlier and was rewarded by the sight of the owl leaving the barn as I approached.

When I was there yesterday I went into the barn and saw the nesting box up in the eaves. I was aware that there were still noises coming from near it but thought at the time it was rats. Today I decided to have another look at the box and photograph it. Just as I raised my camera a second owl came out of the box . I didn't have a fast enough shutterspeed for a clear photo but was thrilled to see it so close. I left quickly, sat a little way away and the owls returned to the area.

September Summer Day at Wells

It was more like July than end of September in Norfolk today. A view of the beach at Wells-next-the-Sea. Another image for my Sky Reflects the Land series

We took Ollie for is first real taste of the sea and met up with Ruby and Millie (and El)

Peter and Ollie in Norfolk

Peter and his greyhound outside holiday cottage at Plumstead Green near Holt Norfolk.

Wuthering Heights

One of the colour infrared images taken at the CCC portrait shoot at Madingley Hall on Sunday.

It made me think of Kathy haunting Heathcliffe in Wuthering Heights - too many late nights this week I think.

Predatory shieldbug

An image from our trip to Wicken Fen yesterday - oh if only it was all in focus - this shieldbug predates caterpillars - it carried this one around with amazing strength as it must have weighed much more than it.

100 macro lens

This image was more satisfactory as the shieldbug was still and all in the same plane of focus so could use F16 but still some of legs out of focus.

The spider spinning its web was taken with a ringflash with the camera set to Manual (200th f32) and hence a better depth of field.

Looking Up

A couple of pictures from a recent walk around Cambridge looking up at the ceilings in King's Chapel and in the Round Church.

Clair and Paul's wedding

To view Clair and Paul's wedding photos go to my website and request a client user name and password.

Happy Birthday

Millie is 8 today having been born on an unforgettable day September 11th 2001.

Here she is enjoying an unusal quiet moment during our morning stroll

Rose

Still testing my Sony for closeup - used the flash on this and surprised that it illuminated even when close to subject. Rose about 10cm diameter.

Windy Sky

The sky at lunchtime today was so striking that I took the camera a couple of hundred metres up our track to get a clearer view.

Infrared really brings out the cloud and vapour trails

Sawfly Larvae

Not an easy subject I have discovered - the larvae are reluctant to extend their tails in the same plane and also swing the tails suddenly just when the shutter is being released.

Macro Pictures with Sony H50

I have acquired via a rewards scheme a Sony DSC-H50, which has an amazing 15X optical zoom and also focuses to 1cm. Today I tested the macro.

For web photos and small prints, it seems very good. There is no RAW facility and fair amount of noise and chromatic aberration so large prints may be out but useful light camera for keeping in the car for those unmissable moments
Thanks to Tricia for an enjoyable morning photographing in her garden and eating breakfast.

Under the Rainbow

Drove back from Berkhampstead yesterday through hail and rain storms but was rewarded by some of the brightest rainbows I have seen for years. The one on the left is illuminating a field just by the M1 near Woburn. Cambourne is at the end of the rainbow on the right.

Play of light,shade and ferns

Some intriguing images from the Well House at Ashridge House. Many thanks to Terry for showing me round the house and especially this wonderful window in the basement of the house. It was lit from a grating at ground level and the play of light and shade as the sun went in and out was awe inspiring. In the first picture the sun is behind clouds so the contrast is low enough to make out all the features of the window frame and the grating outside. As the sun comes out, shapes appear on the window pane

Thethird image shows the maidenhair ferns that are growing under the grating. In the fourth image, the camera has focussed on the dirty glass in the window with soft outlines of the ferns behind.

The last two images show progressively closer images of the light playing on the dusty and cobwebby glass.

A Sculptor's Garden

A couple of images from John McGill's (Sculptor) garden in Toft.

Infrared Images from Cambridge

Definitely weather for Ducks on Friday. Many of the tourists taking punt trips were provided with umbrellas

Very pleased with the Water lily images - looks like an Xray in that you can see through the overlapping leaves.

It is very unpredictable as to what colours are generated by the infrared making the processing stage very interesting.

In the Blink of a Frog's Eye

Just for fun - how a frog keeps his eyes clean

Sign of the Times

Some pictures from a closed-down petrol station in Eversden - great subject for infrared

The Best of the Bunch

I have only just had time to sort through the Red Kite pictures and find the best of the many hundreds I took on the afternoon that we spent at Llandeusant. Mostly I have kept just the sharp images but there are some where the attitude of the bird is unusal and these have stayed (at the moment!)

More images from ICBP

A couple of images of a very acrobatic Lanner Falcon. Most of the birds that the Centre flew were young birds still in training but this Lanner Falcon was an experienced flyer and performed the most amazing acrobatics.

International Centre for Birds of Prey

We called at the International Centre for Birds of Prey on the way back from Wales. It is situated near Newent and has a very extensive collection of raptors. They have a very good record for breeding from their captive birds including a Golden Eagle.

Visit their website (www.icbp.org) to learn more about the Centre.

These two peregrine pictures were taken during one of their flying displays - I love the graphic nature of the images - remind me of the paintings in the Thorburn bird books that I have treasured since I first became interested in bird watching.
The Yellow-billed kite image isn't unfortunately very sharp but I was so amazed by the Concorde impersonation that I have shared it on my blog