Kingston-on-thames

 Stopped in Kingston-on-Thames last night in one of the more interesting locations for a Travelodge. I was made very welcome by their Camera Club and especially by Sue who provided me with an excellent meal before the meeting . Kingston-on-Thames appears to have a thing about telephone boxes, traditional, modern and neglected!!
The Bentall shopping centre is one of the most interesting ones that I have visited - built on cathedral proportions complete with stained glass window.

Blackfriars and Tate Modern

 I spent a few hours in London after an abortive attempt to hang the London Salon Exhibition in Croydon today due to an error on the part of Fairfield Halls staff. Blackfriars mainline station  has been given a makeover. At the Tate Modern, they appear to be constructing a cathedral of the Barcelona Gaudi building dimensions in the Turbine Hall. This is all part of the extension to the museum - disruptive at the moment but should make a lot more space for exhibits and refreshments in the future.

Damsels Down the Garden

 Azure and Large Red Damselflies on on the wing at last after a late start and is surprising what else lurks in the foliage.

Water violets

 The Water Violet, Hottonia palustris, is putting on a splendid display at Lakenheath this year. Despite its name it is a member of the family Primulaceae.

St Tuguals Chapel on Herm Island

HDR of Five Shots 2 stops apart                            Middle Exposure

     

 While on Herm we set 6 tasks to keep us and the other photographers occupied. One of the categories was an interior shot. The first image is taken with the Sony RX100 in-camera HDR mode with 6 stops difference.  The others are 5 bracketed images (2 stops apart) taken on the EOS 5D processed with HDR Effex Pro2. The fourth image is a single exposure shot just to compare with the previous HDR.

Lakenheath

 Lakenheath car park was full up even at 10am when the reserve officially opens. This was due to the presence of a Red-footed Falcon and a Savi's Warbler. We didn't see either but spent an enjoyable day trying to catch on sensor the various reed dwellers - Whitethroat, Bearded Tit and Reed Warbler - and the acrobatic movements of the many Hobbies there.

Kingfishers Again

 The Kingfishers are now very busy feeding chicks so lots of opportunities for pictures. They always wash straight after leaving the hole but guessing where they will dive is very difficult.

St Apolline's Chapel Guernsey

 During our time in Guernsey we visited St Apolline's Chapel, a very small chapel with limited natural lighting and some veyr old wall paintings. This was a chance to shoot bracketed exposures for HDR. I now have HdrEffex Pro2, which has done an excellent job on the five-exposure sets (2 and 4 stops over and under exposed).