Infrared at Wimpole

I took some images at Wimpole in the snow last week and have just started looking at them and experimenting with different workflows for converting to Monochrome.

The first pair show the original RAW image and its equivalent conversion to monochrome, adjusting the colour mix in Lightroom to produce the best contrast image.

The second pair use a profile made for the Infrared camera and then converting to monochrome in Lightroom (http://khromagery.com.au/ir_raw.html). I prefer the second conversion with the DNG profile

Snowstorm at Wimpole

Just as we were leaving after a walk round the grounds at Wimpole Hall a heavy snowstorm started. The sun was still out giving an amazing golden light.

Unfortunately there wasn't time to get the uncluttered view of this clump of trees that I had taken earlier.

Welney

I visited Welney Wildfowl Trust on Tuesday - the water level is very high and much of the water is frozen. Because of the deep water, there were very few swans feeding on the reserve but plenty of ducks - mallard, pochard,widgeon,gadwall,tufted and pintail were all present.
The Mute swan posed beautifully in front of the notice that reads Winter Wonderland.



One of the Mute Swans spent a lot of time showing off his exquisite feathers. I thought the pair with ice worked well as a monochrome. It almost looks as if the swan has broken off from the ice shelf as the wing sculpturing matches the edge of the ice.
.
The Mallards looked puzzled by the ice while the Whooper swans just felt at home as it must be very like their breeding grounds in Spring in Iceland

Moonset

The moon was extra bright this morning so decided to go out and try some photos. The first photo was taken before dawn and the sky was wonderful pastel shades. The second was taken after the sun had risen and was shedding orange light on the fields.

Amber on Ice

A rather surprised labrador having stepped on the ice and broken through.

Garden Birds in the Snow

A couple of images from the recent cold spell when the garden seed heads proved very popular with goldfinches and blue tits. The images were taken in poor light and through the double glazing but I like the muted colours and backgrounds.

Madingley War Cemetery in the Snow

I decided to take a break from the decorating this morning and review some of the images I took after the recent snow. Here are four from the American War Cemetery.

I had to take the trees first as I love their curvy branches. It had snowed and there had also been freezing fog overnight so all the branches were covered in snow and ice.The frozen water was an almost pure cyan colour. The sky at this stage was grey as there was still high level fog. A little later the fog lifted and there were glimpses of the sun. I changed to the 15mm fish eye as I kn ow it will shoot direct into the sun with no appreciable flare.

The sky cleared for a time but the light was a pastel orange. This is my favourite (well so far!)

98th Christmas

For those who know her, I am posting this picture of Edith enjoying the sunlight in her room at Home Meadow.

?Reject

I realised I had taken this with too slow shutterspeed and was about to throw the file away; however, when I reviewed the image, I decided I like it better than some of the intentional images

Another Day and Different Light

Today was the most magical day so far in this cold spell with the trees coated in ice and sparkling all day. Here are two pictures from neighbouring Hardwick Church taken as the sun was setting and one view across the fields as I returned home.

Windy Sky

Impressive skies again this morning - lots of high level cirrus in a huge arch across the whole sky with smaller cumulus at lower levels.

Sunset in Toft

24mm lens (left) and 15 mm fish-eye lens (right)

So I painted the wall and then time for some sunset pictures in Toft. There were amazing colours all round the sky.

Irresistable Image

I should be painting a wall but couldn't resist posting this image to share - taken on an early morning walk from Barton to Grantchester

Lowlight Photography Cambridge

A couple of images from this evening's club outing to Cambridge to capture the hour or so around dusk. Although the light was great, it was very icy on the pavements and very cold, so I didn't hang around.

Toft after the Snow

This is Toft this morning as the sun rose

Millie in the Snow

Millie enjoying the snow today (more pictures later of Toft after the bad weather)

Here Comes that Bad Weather

A day later and blizzards are sweeping across East Anglia. This was an early snowstorm in King's College this afternoon but, by the evening, continuous snow arrived in the Cambridge area driven by strong winds

Warning of bad weather?

This was the sunrise this morning - if the old saying is correct then shepherds are warning of bad weather to come.

I have recently cleared part of a very tall hedge and was very pleased to be able to capture the sky in all its glory this morning. There is still a small piece of Leylandii intruding so a bit more clipping is needed. As this must be nearly as far south as the sun will rise in a year, I now need to extend the area only to the north to be abe to view all sunrises

Fog

A foggy picture for a foggy day

Parasol Mushroom

Very surprised to find these large Parasol Mushrooms in a field in Toft (growing under Horse Chestnut).

I noticed them at the beginning of the week when there were still some young caps but by today the caps are fairly nibbled.

Taken with my Sony on Close-up mode and using flip-up screen means I could get down low without getting totally soaked.

Fast Food Portfolio

Posted these 5 photos that form my print portfolio for the camera club competition

They are taken on a camera that has been adapted for Infrared. The magenta RAW image that comes out of the camera can be adjusted in Photoshop by swapping blue and red channels but I do my adjustment in Lightroom by using the Camera Calibration box. I have built a Profile for my IR Camera using the DNG Profile Editor. This camera Standard can be applied to all the IR Raws. The temperature can then be adjusted to get the preferred colour range or converted to monochrome.

Bikes and Railings

Not a very original idea bt enjoyed bikes and shadows in a sunny Cambridge.

November 30th and still green

Photogaph taken in Cambridge on Monday - many of the trees still have green leaves.