Havergate Hares

Great location for Hares - shame about the weather. It started raining as we left Orford Quay and got heavier as the day progressed. The Hares were fairly obliging to start with and even a bit of chasing and mating but soon all they wanted to do was shelter from the rain so we did the same.

Wild Herons and Captive Owls in Wiltshire

These Herons come into feed at the Hawk Conservancy site in Wiltshire. I have been once before and the weather was exactly the same - thick cloud and cold. I would love to see them in good light as they come fairly close. The Great GreyOwl and Snowy Owl gave great flying displays.

Stourbridge in the Mist

Today the mist hang around all day and a visit to Stourhead Gardens produced some lovely atmospheric views of the lake. I have put a set of the misty scenes on my website http://www.pin-sharp.co.uk/galidx.php?gal=18&sec=65 and above. Below are a few extra images from the visit. The wild daffodils and camelias are in full bloom.

Bath in the sunshine

A few images from an afternoon stroll round Bath.

St Albans Heronry

As I was passing St Albans on the way to Bath , I thought I would have a second attempt to locate the Heronry having been thwarted by heavy Saturday traffic last time. The light was not good and the Herons were not doing a lot but did manage the classic Heron with twig shot. The last Heron shot was taken with the camera on live view - it gave a very sharp image of the static Heron. The Coots were fairly quiet as well - this couple gave a good display of aggression.

Building the Dream

I haven't posted much recently as photography has been a bit on hold while I completed the 120 prints for my new talk on The Seaside and also an entry for one of the categories in the RPS Print International . The latter took a long while to adjust as the image was taken through a slightly tinted window and straight into the sun. I very much like the final image as it reminds me of my time at a nursery school above the Thames in Greenwich area when I spent breaks looking out over the dockyards and enjoyed the cranes and the tiny workers like ants. I was under five at the time but can still recall the scenes vividly.

Lakeside

I stopped off in Lakeside Shopping Centre before my talk to Thurrock Camera Club to have something to eat and couldn't resist a few shots including the above moon and pylon. I was using the G12 compact so quite impressed with the quality of this photo. It also meant that there was no objection from the Security staff to a few shots of the interior. The yellow fluorescent light and blue evening sky in the first two worked well but the later shots I have corrected the white balance.

Focus on Feet

I visited Focus on Imaging show at the NEC yesterday. I managed to only purchase one battery (apart from a new toy for Phil). As usual it was a lovely sunny day outside but at least this gave some interesting light inside. I spent a lot of the time looking at feet it seems.

Rye Meads

I visited Rye Meads RSPB REserve today. After early rain, the sun broke through and gave lovely lighting on the Tufted Ducks, Teal, Green Sandpiper and Little Grebes.


The Tufted Ducks demonstrated how synchromised diving should be done. The action shots of Grebe displaying, Shoveller taking off and Coot aggression didn't quite work but enjoyed trying the shots.

Polarising Sheet Photography

Another technique that we will try at Freshers tonight needed a bit of practise - a polarising sheet on a lightbox both without a polarising filter - light background and with - dark background. These taken with G12 - should get better quality with tripod and SLR .

Insects Awake

Today was warm (57degrees) and sunny after the early fog and this Honey Bee and pair of Ladybirds certainly thought spring has come.