Spring is Underway at Paxton Pits

I hoped to find a pair of Great Crested Grebe displaying but, although they were obviously paired up and seeing off intruders, no display today. However lots of breeding activity from the Cormorants etc although the tufted duck males are still going around in large rafts.There is a family of Golden Eye not yet left for northern parts. Male Gadwall and Teal are looking immaculate.

2015 Cambridge Sevens Rugby Day

On Wednesday I photographed a day of U18s 7-a-side Rugby at Cambridge Rugby Union Football club with teams competing from various schools some quite a distance from Cambridge. There was some great fast open play - this together with the misty conditions made exciting photography though a bit more light would have been welcome. Many more photos on Chris Fell's site

 http://www.chrisfellphotos.com/20150318cambridge7s/

Markers of Spring

As usual on March 21st I recorded what is blooming in the garden (well yesterday in the sun actually). A little bit behind last year (http://pin-sharp.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/markers-of-spring.html) with Coltsfoot, Primrose, Red nettle, Sweet violet, Blackthorn and Alkanet in flower, together with Japonica and Forsythia but the Ivy-leaved toadflax is not yet out.

Guildford Cathedral double Takes

I stayed  overnight after talking to Guildford Photographic Society yesterday, and decided to pay  a brief visit to Guildford Cathedral before driving home this morning. It is a modern building,designed by Edward Maufe and not consecrated til 1962. I liked the very light and sparse interior and spent a bit of time on double exposures with the Fuji. The first one is my favourite - a wall light added to an arch with a window. Unfortunately the whole of the nave ceiling has to be replaced due to the deterioration of the acoustic plaster on the ceiling vaults, which contains asbestos.  

Portraits from Crufts Dog Show

Just a selection of portraits from the Hounds and Terrier Day at Crufts

Pooley Country Park, Tamworth

Last week before talking to Tamworth Photographic club, I visited Pooley Country Park, which used to be a Mining Area. It was the first mine to generate its own electricity (from excess steam) in the early 1920s, and also the first to have pit head baths, which were opened in 1928. The Colliery eventually closed in 1965 and parts of the house, outbuildings and the colliery buildings had to be demolished due to mining subsidence. Now it is a patchwork of silver birches, other trees and pools with the Coventry Canal and boatyards along one side.

Stowe Landscape Gardens with Infrared

 I visited Stowe Landscape Gardens on the way down to Bath on Tuesday with my Digital Infrared Camera. Lots of trees, buildings and wide vistas.