Starlings at Blackpool

We cancelled a trip to Otmoor to see the starling roost on Saturday as they had left the reserve during the week. I was therefore delighted to watch a large display of roosting starlings at Blackpool. They rested temporarily on the big wheel on the South Pier before leaving this and wheeling around before finally roosting under the North Pier.

Water Rail

A visit to Wicken Fen this morning was rewarded with great views of a Water Rail - normally a very shy bird.

Audley End

Four pictures taken of the frost at Audley end on Tuesday morning. The soft colours in the panorama shot gives it the look of a painting

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Epping Forest

I was staying in Iford overnight on Monday so came back via Epping Forest. There had been freezing fog overnight at higher levels and the trees in those areas were covered in hoar frost. Even when the sun broke through mid morning the frost remained.

Frosty Morning

After a couple of milder days, last night was very cold again and the birds quickly came to the apples that are on the ground this morning. Lots of Fieldfares, Blackbirds and Starlings. A single Redwing came but was a lot less bold than the other species.

Art at the Varsity

If anyone is in Cambridge on Tuesday 7th December between 6 and 9 pm, do come and meet me at the new Hotel on Thompsons Lane in Cambridge where myself and four other artists have their work displayed.

Snow in November

Not had much time for photography recently but wanted to record the November snow on my blog. This is partly for Brian and Sally out there in Thailand basking in the heat. Also because I make a diary book of the blog each year and like to have any unusual weather patterns to look back on. The diary is very easy to make using Blurb books. There is an option Blog to Book and this downloads all the blog entries into a 7 by 7 in book. I do quite a lot of moving of pictures to adjust the page layouts as it comes in with one post per page.
So far our part of Cambridgeshire has only had a light cover of snow but more is forecast so watch this space.

Night Photography in Cambridge

This was taken when it was completely dark so the trees are lit just by light from the buildings opposite. 30 sec exposure, f4 and ISO800. It was then colour corretced taking the cloud as neutral grey.

Other shots taken on the same night but using smaller aperture to give starburst effect to lights

Ultra Macro

Three images from a trip to the Botanic Gardens using the 50mm macro with life-size converter and a 25mm extension tube.

Birthday Party

Fun at a first birthday party for Isla. If you were at the party and wish to view the photos they are at http://www.photoboxgallery.com/4214. The password is Isla's brother's name.

Edith's Embroidery

Here is the display of my mother's embroideries in the Church, which we photographed before we took them down after the Funeral on Thursday. They encompass nearly 70 of her 98 years and show many changing styles and interests. The beautiful fire screen sampler is probably the earliest piece depicting a different flower for nine months in very fine needlework. The 'zoological' ones were inspired by my drawings while I was doing Natural Sciences at Cambridge. Later pieces show visits to Kew, bluebell woods, New Zealand rain forests and an East Anglian carved angel roof.

Trinity Punts

A couple from a morning in Cambridge with Linda and Robert showing the different pictures you can get from the same spot depending on the aperture (f3.5 in first; f8 in second) and where you make your focus point.

Very dull lighting but a bit of mist to add some atmosphere.

Cambridge Infrared

Posting a few infrared photos from a trip this morning with Martyn and David. I have also put a Gallery of Cambridge Infrared photos on my website

I love the colours that some scenes like Clare Chapel produce in infrared and it also shows the differences in the various materials used for clothing. All the gowns in the procession are black to our eye but synthetic materials obviously emit a lot of infrared compared to cottons or wool.

Westonbirt, A tribute to Edith

For those who knew her, my mother, Edith Grady, died early Saturday morning at the age of 98. She loved Westonbirt and so I continued with a long-arranged weekend trip to see the autumn colours with Phil, Shelagh and Miles - thanks for your company. We were rewarded for getting there early by a beautiful misty morning with all the trees decked in dew drops. The leaves have gone from many of the trees but there were still some hanging on making wonderful backlit subjects.

Cambridge Firework Display

A couple of images from a very wet bonfire night on Friday in Cambridge. The fireworks at one stage were vanishing into the clouds and smoke so lots of oohs and not many aahs. The crowd scene at the end was my favourite from the evening.

Goodbye to Guernsey

Final early morning view from my bedroom window and time for a short walk along the coast before getting flight back to UK. Many thanks to my hosts, the Guernsey Salon for looking after me and showing me their beautiful island. I will be back.