Sculptures from Chippenham Park

Chippenham Park

This was our first but certainly not last visit to Chippenham Park to see their snowdrop display. Extensive gardens with a lot of interesting statues (subject for next blog). These were mainly taken with 100mm macro lens but the final one, which is my favourite, was with the 24mm TS lens.

More on the screen printing

Again a couple of weeks has passed on the screen printing, so I am recording details of the various stages to help future attemps.

The screen is attached to a small printing set up (the paper on the underside of the screen was only needed as this screen extended further than the other two separations). When the screen is lowered, it activates a vacuum pump that ensures contact between screen and paper during printing. The area of the vacuum bed that is not cover by the screen print is masked off with newsprint. Registration marks are placed on the bed so that each piece of paper is identically placed (nb make sure paper has exact corners). The first separation is then printed - I chose a transparent mid blue for the first screen. The ink is dragged across the screen by pulling the squeegee at 45 degrees to the screen. The screen is lifted and then the print area is flooded with ink by pushing the squeegee back.

To print the subsequent screens, it is necessary to align the registration marks correctly. To do this, tape down a piece of clean film over one of the orginal prints and print onto this. Then move paper around under the acetate till it is exactly in register and place the registration marks. Remove acetate.

I printed the second screen first all over with a transparent dark blue. Some work was then done with the blue filler to cover the nearest tree trunks and branches and with bleach to open up the sky ares. I then chose a transparent very diluted black (using 1 to 5 parts of black to extender) for the sky area (masked off the trees) and a more opaque grey (diluted white with extender) for the back trees and tops of branches.

All it needs now is the third (black separation) screen.

Wicken Fen

Despite the rain, we decided to go on our planned outing to Wicken Fen. There weren't many birds around - this rather sad-looking collered dove in the rain was about the best bird photo of the day but the sun came out later with great opportunities for abstracts, backlit reeds and a dramatic sunset.

Catkin time

The Hazel catkins are in full 'bloom' with the small red female flowers still visible. The Alder female flowers are miniature versions of the old dry cones.
The Hazel bush by the brook in Toft is covered in catkins every year and glows golden. I tried a slow shutterspeed as the catkins blew in the wind.

Near Collision

Five frames showing a close shave as two surfers nearly collided. I like the last one best in many ways but the hand is over the face.

Bournemouth on a Windy Day

The wind was force 7 or 8 today - much to the delight of the surfers.
It also resulted in two North American birds turning up in Poole Harbour- a Ring-billed Gull and a Long-billed Dowitcher

More from Tattersalls

Two more auctioneers fromTattersalls. They moved so quickly that it was difficult to catch just the right moment with the hands and expression.
Of th evening shots, I particularly like the one looking into the arena with the people's shadows.

Visit to Tattersalls

Today we spent the afternoon at Tattersalls Horse Sales in Newmarket. Thank you Anthony for arranging this visit. Great fun though I tended to get carried away with watching the bidding rather than taking photos. First image of the beautiful sales room is 15mm fish-eye view, second 16 mm corrected lens. Then a couple of the auctioneers and a bidder.
More to follow tomorrow.

Texture Time

I was leaving a house today after doing a framing job in Cambridge and noticed these wonderful suckers from a Virginia Creeper that had been stripped off the wall. I then took a couple more textures - first a small fungus growing through a hoarding on East Road and a brick wall alongside the road that has been eaten into by traffic pollution.