Burnt Orchids

I accepted an invitation to visit a site in Bedfordshire with a colony of Burnt Orchids. Not an ideal day for flower photography as it was pretty dull with a strong breeze so getting enough shutterspeed and depth of field was a challenge. The site also has Pasque flowers and, in the beech wood, White Helleborines. Thank you Richard (http://richardrevelsphotography.com) for showing me these.

Last evening The Halfords Tour Series visited Peterborough. It  is a ten round city centre cycling race series with 50 minute race for women and 1 hour for men. I tried various ideas during the two races. Panning for the men's race was very difficult as they moved very fast and we are close to the action. I tried 1/40 second to 1/200 sec and found around 1/160th gave the most consistent results but not very exciting.The last two shots were taken towards the end of the race and you can see the effort that they are making 

Wicken Fen

Went to Wicken early to see if any Hobbies up catching the emerging dragonflies. No Hobbies but very acrobatic Black-Headed Gulls after the mayflies in the reeds.

40s Weekend at Bletchley Park

 Lots of people dressed up in period costumes to photograph at Bletchley Park today. The light was very bright and contrasty so I found the images work best with low contrast and saturation. Even Sadie got into the spirit.

Welney after the Floods

 There is still more water on the Ouse Washes than I have seen before in May. It is preventing the nesting of many waders though I saw at least four egrets that were enjoying the wetter conditions. The Reed Warbler above flitted around so fast that I was pleased to get even this much clear of foliage.

Contemporary Sculpture

There is a contemporary sculpture exhibition from 28th May at Waddesdon Manor till October.Major sculptural works by the world’s leading contemporary artists including  Anish Kapoor (mirrors above),  Robert Indiana (LOVE) and Antony Gormley (recumbent figure)  were already on view in the gardens. I liked the interaction in the last image where it is definitely hands off

Waddesdon Manor

I visited Waddesdon Manor on the way back today. It is a magnificent renaissance-style château built by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in 19th Century to display his outstanding collection of art treasures and to entertain the fashionable world.The Victorian garden is considered one of the finest in Britain with its parterre, seasonal displays, fountains and statuary. At its heart lies the aviary, stocked with species once part of Baron Ferdinand's collection.

Stowe Landscape Gardens

I visited Stowe Landscape Gardens today on my way to lecture in Oxford. Temperature hit 25 degrees and clear blue skies - such a contrast to the last week of cold cloudy days. Good weather for the infrared though the foliage is so fresh and active that there is too much light and contrast around 

Wicken Fen on a Dismal Day

Today was cold and grey - more like February than mid May. We went to Wicken looking to photograph Hobbies catching mayflies - the mayflies were all immobile in the reeds and I only saw one distant Hobby . There were several Cuckoos; the lady above nearly trod on this one before it broke cover. Also caught in flight Marsh Harrier, Black-headed Gull (picking mayflies out of the reeds), Swift and Kestrel