Interesting Weather at Dovercourt 2. Lighthouses

The 'Low Lighthouse' and 'High Lighthouse'  were built in 1863 to aid navigation into the River Orwell on which the busy ports of Felixtowe and Harwich are located. The lights exhibited a fixed white lanterns until 1917 when both Lighthouses were discontinued. They were restored in the 1980s and are a tourist attraction for the area.

The light changed rapidly with very impressive cloud formation that often echoed the waves breaking on the shore. The three vertical shots at the beginning were taken at 1/320, 1/15th and 1/4 second (all handheld!)

Interesting Weather at Dovercourt 1. Beach Huts

Appropriate that, after lecturing on photographing in all weathers the evening before, yesterday should have produced a lot of the wet and windy kind. Several rainbows during the morning with bright sunshine and great cloud formations, interspersed with rain and sleet. First the beach huts with that iconic lighthouse to follow!

 

Manningtree, Essex - Trying the Plastic Holga Pinhole Lens

Snow flurries and strong winds greeted my arrival at Manningtree to lecture in the evening  on photographing in all weathers! Undeterred I set off along the Stour in the afternoon and here are a few shots with the Holga pinhole lens with some comparisons to a conventional lens. I liked the dreamy result that it creates - looking like high summer on a very grey day!! Lots of birds on the estuary mud for future reference. I got as far as the Mistley Towers before turning round as dusk fell. Thanks for your hospitality overnight Jenny - very comfortable

Continuing London Skyline Saga

Final entry from the Greenwich trip of the skyline in January 2014 versus the one taken in November 2017 showing the enormous sprouting of buildings during these years

Queens House, Greenwich

It is great that the Queen's House is now free to enter and is a treasure trove of paintings and architecture. Designed by Inigo Jones in 1616 it is filled with works of art representing the 400 years by artists including Gainsborough, Canaletto, Reynolds, LS Lowry, Stubbs and Hogarth. I enjoyed the Tulip Staircase, the first centrally unsupported helical stairs constructed in England, and the Great Hall in particular. 

Rainham Marshes, RSPB, on a Very Quiet Day

I stopped off at Rainham Marshes on the way back from Kent - beautiful sunny day but very little about in the way of birds - hoping to see the firecrest (or even goldcrests) but no luck. Anyway, here a record of what I did see for the diary: juvenile Chiffchaff, Magpie, Pied Wagtail, Lapwing, Little Grebe, Teal, Snipe and Ruff.