Grey Heron Fishing Paxton Pits Cambridgeshire

There were not a lot of birds around yesterday morning at Paxton but we did watch a Heron fairly close catching a fish and swallowing it. Dull conditions so only 1/1000th and iso1600 (Fuji) but good enough for story board images

 

Nosey Cat Helps With Infrared Testing

Ian has lent me his infrared converted Fuji XE-2 and so took it for a walk round Toft with three different lens to see how I got on as my infrared conversion (known as 'The Brick')  is of a Canon 1D mkII which is definitely not a travel camera. All three lenses proved ok when a monochrome profile is applied (8mm Samyang fisheye and 23mm and 35mm Fuji). The results are different to my Canon conversion - in monochrome they are very reminiscent of the back and white infrared film that I used for years and I liked this. I didn't get on so well with colour images - the first is the only one in this set I liked and there I have desaturated everything except the eyes. I made a custom profile for conversion but was not able to get a colour rendering that I liked and the two wider lenses showed 'hot spots' in the central areas - see last three images. 

 

Quiet Moments in the Cambridge Crowds

At this time of year, Cambridge is very full of tourists visiting the town and especially the colleges and River. however there are still quiet backwaters .

Concrete Supreme - RAF Bentwater Cold War Museum

For those fellow unofficial members of the Concrete Appreciation Society (yes it does exist), here are a few images of the huge concrete structure that now houses the Bentwater Cold War Museum. Some of the original rooms exist such as the decontamination showers and the Operations Room, but for me it was the edifice itself that took my eye, spoilt only by the glass front entrance hall that has been added. An american, who was stationed at the site in the 1980s, gave us all the details of the 120 war-ready airplanes, their staffing, munitions etc. This served to reinforce my feeling of the utterly futile waste of the immense fortunes spent on the ‘Cold War’ and what good it could have done spent on humanitarian projects?

 

Playing with Monochrome Conversion - Silver Efex Pro and Infrared

I have been experimenting to see which is the best way to get a monochrome from my infrared images. Image 1 is my choice for this scene. This is a Silver Efex conversion done on the original raw file (Image 2)before applying my custom profile (image 3). If I use the monochrome conversion in Lightroom and adjust the colour sliders, then the conversion from the image with profile applied (Image 4) is the more satisfactory but it isn't possible to get the separation of subjects and background that you can achieve with SEP control points (Taken in Clare Gardens Cambridge)

Infrared Punts, Cows, Trees etc in Cambridge

Here are a few softer images from a sunny late afternoon in Cambridge showing that, even on the busiest of tourist days, there are always quiet places.