Birds around Exeter

We went for a walk round Aylesbeare Common looking for Dartford Warblers. Very few birds around but a male Yellow Hammer performed well and also a Willow Warbler



We then went to Ladram Bay, a cove with red sandstone cliffs and standing pillars, which were dominated by Herring Gulls. One of them caught and consumed a crab watched by a hopeful pair.

Inca Terns at Living Coast Torquay

A couple of sharp images for Ian in agreement that the 100-400 mm can produce very sharp images when performing at its best. See his blog to follow the dialogue!

Tractor and Gulls

Difficult conditions to photograph but I couldn't resist the patterns of the gulls in the air as they followed the plough

Beach Huts at Exmouth

Today was cold and grey in contrast to the previous sunny days. Not a particularly good day for the beach but a few hardy souls were braving the wind on Exmouth promenade.

The beach huts in Exmouth are separated from the beach by a fairly main road, which must be a bit noisy and polluting on a busy summer day. There was only one occupied today and here two ladies were enjoying doing a jigsaw as the cars passed by.

Redshank

Some images of Redshank taken in very contrasty light. They were busy displaying and mating with a great deal of noise.

Stourhead

We walked around the Stourhead Estate this morning in beautiful sunshine. This family were worried they would spoil my photo but I assured them that they added greatly to it! I used the fish-eye on the daffodils and oak tree, photographing at two distances from the flowers. I like the more distant one best.

Red Kites

We stopped near Watlington on our way to Newbury today and spent a while photographing the Red Kites in beautiful lighting.
Clouds built up later and the kites look great silhouetted against the sky.

Other Images from Pensthorpe

Great to see a hare fairly close from the woodland hide. The holly in the background is a bit distracting but he didn't want to pose anywhere else. The Lapwing and Redshank were having a constant fight for territory.

Nature Red in Tooth and Claw (and Beak)

Spring is in full flow at Pensthorpe with lots of the birds displaying and mating. There are also the first ducklings around. This is a sad but very common occurrence - a Lesser Black-backed gull has come into the lake edge and waited till the mother mallard was not able to guard all her 12 ducklings and then made off with one. Only a small thumbnail but you can see it larger by clicking on the image

Tests on Lenses (for Phil!)

Taken with the 100-400 X 1.4. 300 X 2 and 100-400 with no extender. I fear you can see the difference!

Reed Buntings

We spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing Reed Buntings - always one of my favourite birds and I was not disappointed.

Some of the males had very black heads, others were more mottled. I particualrly like the brown head of the female plumage and this bird was very photogenic as it kept lifting its head feathers.

I wanted to get the birds in flight but didn't manage one that I was pleased with - Phil has a great shot on his blog. It is a good excuse to go back again (and again ......)

Grantchester Exhibition and Our Swallows are Back

I have missed quite a few days as the Exhibition at Grantchester has taken up all the daylight hours (and more). The weather was not good over the Easter weekend here in Cambridgeshire so we were disappointed with the number of people walking around the village and therefore being tempted to visit the Exhibition. However, we were delighted to welcome many of our Cambridge Camera club members and other friends as well as a fairly steady stream of visitors new to us from all round the world!

My best-selling image was of snow in the Orchard Tearooms (it felt as cold as this in the Hall first thing in the mornings!) and also the Mill Pond in Autumn.

Our Swallows returned for the first time today. Great to know they remember their way home.

Black Country Portraits

I used my free return ticket to the Black Country Museum today and the weather was very similar to our last visit in November - very cold, windy and wet. I used the Shift and Tilt lens, which meant a very slow rate of working as I find the most reliable way is to put the camera on live view and focus using the magnifier.

Day in Walsall

It was particularly cold and wet today so I decided to revisit the New Art Gallery at Walsall, having greatly enjoyed exploring it a few years ago. It houses the Garman Ryan Collection - Kathleen Garman was Jacob Epstein's long-term Mistress (and eventually wife) and mother of three of his five children. The collection has lots of fine sculptures but also pictures by Epstein and by his son Theo Garman who died at the age of 30. Having soaked up all the wonderful images in the Gallery it was the toilets, which are lit with a purple light, that made a lasting impression. In the second image the cubicles can be seen reflected in the pedal bin lid.

The art galery itself is very photogenic with lots of warm wood floors, walls and ceilings and staircases.
I also went round the town and felt the Victorian Arcade was in complete contrast to the modern Art Gallery

Feathers

Spent a while at a captive bird place and decided to concentrate on the various feather patterns. The feathers belong to a demoiselle crane, a grey pheasant peacock, a pelican and a small black and white cormorant.

Tilt and Shift in Northampton

As the weather was pretty uninspiring today, I decided to give one of my under-used toys an outing. By using the lens shifted sideways with some tilt you can get some candid shots with only the subject sharp.