Refined Decay in Launde Abbey Gardens

We are spending the weekend at a Nature Photographers' weekend  at Launde Abbey, an Elizabethan manor house, extensively modified, originally built on the site of an Augustinian priory.Thomas Cromwell owned but never lived in the house but his son, Gregory, lived at Launde Abbey for ten years before it passed to other families. Finally, in 1957, Cecil Coleman and his wife purchased the abbey and presented it to the Diocese of Leicester. They paid for the conversion works to make it into a retreat house. It has extensive grounds including a splendid wall garden with a fairly derelict greenhouse complete with negelected peppers, tomatoes, cacti, flowers etc. Phil and I spent a couple of hours there on Saturday playing with double exposures etc.

June - Lost Files from Farne Islands

While on our trip to the Farne Islands in June this year, I took some images with my 10-24mm Fuji lens and then was unable to find them on the computer and had wiped the card. Of course, in my mind, these were the best images ever. Today I found them filed in a strange place on my laptop and, although as always reality falls short of expectations, I am very pleased to find them.
Here Arctic Terns in aggressive mode in two different lightening situations and therefore processed differently.

Signs of Autumn at Cambridge Botanics

The Botanic Gardens in Cambridge is looking slightly autumnal and altogether stunning as always. Sadie was on the second of the required two days off school with the sickness bug but was well enough to enjoy a trip out. 

Wrest Park Portraits: Alice in Monochrome

The other model at the workshop on Friday was Alice. I have chosen to present these in monochrome as the contrast of the red dress, blue wallpaper and cream and gold woodwork gave plenty of opportunity for contrasts and for hiding background distractions. (Colour image included at the end.)

End of Storm Lorenzo

The weather was much better than the original forecast today with a dry sunny afternoon, finishing with a dramatic sunset in the west and double rainbow in the east.

Masterclass at Wrest Park

Several members of CCC attended a Masterclass on colour balance in portraiture run by colour Confidence at Wrest Park. This is a topic I haven't visited for a time. The first image shows without and with colour correction. The tutor's (Kevin Wilson) style is very much to place the subject close to the background rather than the shallow depth of field portraits that I have generally taken. He certainly knew exactly what he wanted from the model - Kyran in this case. I liked the colour palette's chosed for backgrounds but did find that wall papper a bit much. Here colour images - many will satisfy me more in monochrome I suspect.