Fowlmere Tree Creeper and Garden Dunnock

No sign of the Kingfisher from the Spring Hide but a very close Tree Creeper was some compensation. It pulled a grub out from the bark.

The Dunnock was in full song in the garden this morning along with the first ChiffChaff of this spring.

Lichens in Toft Wood

Toft Wood was first planted in 1995 so it is less than 20 years old but the lichens are flourishing on the trees. The yellow one is Xanthoria parietina or similar species and the grey one a Lecanora species. It is thought that the large increase in these particular

families of lichens is due to the increase in nitrogen levels from vehicles etc.

Emperor Moth

I tried various methods in an attempt to photograph a Female Emperor Moth. The moths are on the wing from April onwards - this female has hatched from a pupa that was kept indoors over the winter (thanks Bryan!). It is a day-flying moth although the females do not fly much at all being quite content to sit on a twig, smelling nice and waiting for the males to flock in.
In our area the caterpillars feed on hawthorn, blackthorn, meadow sweet etc .
I like the first picture best though I know black backgrounds are generally frowned on. I placed some black paper against the window directly behind the moth so there is light coming through the wings. I used 1/32 power ring flash to slightly boost the colours. The second attempt has natural light through the wings and has picked up the green colours of the background. The one on the log is again a combination of very low power flash and natural light. All taken with 50 mm macro lens.

M6 Services

Not sure quite what attracted me to this scene but crossed the bridge at the M6 services and felt this lonely sign sort of summed up the place.

Images from Bath

Just to show I didn't restrict myself totally to the Fisheye - I had a 50mm lens with me as well. I hoped to find more chair pictures but these were the only two that appealed. I liked the row of red chairs just waiting for someone to visit them.











This single chair abandonned outside a warehouse has a continental feel to it. Looks hot and sunny but was actually quite chilly.

They are rebuilding the lower part of Bath near the Bus and Railway station and have completed the first phase. So far they have created an attractive area by using pale stone and very traditional shaped arcades. It will be interesting to revisit when the next phase is completed later in the year

Evening Pictures from Bath

A couple of images taken on a walk along the river at Bath - loved the strange candy sticks that the slow shutterspeed and unsteady hand have produced.

Travels with a Fish-Eye

Five images taken during my train journey to Bath.





The first two are of Royston station.The motion blur go-faster stripes painted on the train make it look as if it is moving but the lettering confirms that it is stationary.


















The third image is St Pancras with the International terminus to the left. I like the complimentary colours in the brickwork and ironwork. Even the lady's suitcase matched.










The fourth image was taken on the Circle line to Paddington. I managed to get central to the open door and it was lucky that a person sat on each side of the frame and are both using ipods.











The fifth image is another take on 'Mind the Gap' with a Great Western train at Paddington. This one needs a larger image as ther are lots of interesting cameos inside the train.

Trip into Cambridge

We arranged a club outing to Cambridge today and were rewarded with some wonderful skies and storm lighting though the threatened showers did not arrive till after we had finished. The dark sky and brightly lit buildings as we walked out of Clare College were amazing.

Birds at Wimpole

A few pictures of Mallards on the Lake at Wimpole this morning. The light was very good.
The male Mallards spent a lot of time abusing the females.

Any ideas on this raptor - most likely Sparrowhawk but does look very 'chunky' and was gliding very effortlessly so wondered about Goshawk

More Images from Clumber Park

The sun came out towards the end of the morning and I am pleased with the picture that I took of the solitary Oystercatcher. The image of the Greylag Geese is beautifully rim lit but does make it look as if the bird has been pasted onto the background. The Black-Headed Gull had quite a green cast reflected from the vegetation so works a lot better in monochrome.

Landing techniques in birds

I spent a bit of time at Clumber Park on the way to Spalding and attempted pictures of the birds in flight and landing on the lake. The various techniques used by the birds depends very much on the shape of the feet. The Canada Geese used their large webbed feet like water skies and were very elegant as they came into land. The Moorhen's long toes without webs cut into the water so they generally use the technique of running very fast across the surface.
The light was far from perfect so I intend to revisit the topic on another occasion.

The composite of the swan landing is for Phil just to show it is not just airplanes that sometimes do a double bounce landing (click on the image and it is large enough to make out the impressive belly flop).

Park Hill Estate in Sheffield

Park Hill is a council housing estate constructed between 1957 and 1961. In 1998 the estate was granted Grade II listed building status. Following a period of decline the estate is currently being renovated by the developers Urban Splash.
The Park Hill Flats were inspired by Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation. Construction is of an exposed concrete frame with yellow, orange and red brick curtain walling. The concept of the flats was described as streets in the sky. Broad decks had large numbers of front doors opening onto them. Each deck of the structure, except the top one, has direct access to ground level at some point on the sloping site. Cobbles from the terraced streets surround the flats and pave the pathways down the hill to Sheffield station and tramlines. The lower two pictures show the three stages with some flats still occupied, others empty and vandalised and the third stage of stripping out all but the concrete shell and refurbishing.

Visit to Sheffield

Spent a very enjoyable few hours looking round Sheffield City Centre.
The first image is looking up into the rennovated lantern of Sheffield Cathedral.
The Lantern was repaired in 1998-99 with new windows designed by Amber Hiscott. The shapes of the lantern contrast well with the tiled floor.

The other images show the mixture of architecture that comprises the centre of the city.

Carmine Sunset

As part of the Travelodge series, tonight there was an amazing colour sunset from Sheffield TL window - almost magenta but I think carmine probably describes the colour fairly accurately.

Images from Evesham

This morning was very frosty but clear with a very bright blue sky. The images here were taken a short walk from the Travelodge along the river so not quite from the window (defeated in trying to make interesting picture of the Little Chef outside my window). The river reflected the sky to give a lovely range of colours in the first image. The dead grasses produced more muted colours in the second image.The Canada Geese flew past while I was photographing a couple of hot air balloons.The predominant tree is the Alder and I thought it made an interesting backdrop for the Wood Pigeon.