Lake District IR

I recently had a short break in the Lake District.   I started off with 2 nights in a Travelodge just outside Penrith, before moving to Grassmere Village for 3 nights in much nicer accommodation.  The main purpose of the trip was to knock another 6 hills off my 'to do' list (190 done, 24 to go), but I did leave one free day for photography. On this day, I chose to take a circular walk around Grassmere and Rydal Water.

The weather for the whole trip was better than deserved, in mid-October, in the Lakes.  But, this was a largely overcast day.  Even this far north, the unseasonably warm September/October meant that there was still little colour change to be seen in the leaves.  I chose to concentrate on IR images with converted Canon 40D and either a 24mm or a 50mm prime.

Botanic Gardens - Later That Autumn

I took another trip to the Botanic Gardens for Autumn colour.  This time with other CCC members.  Like last time, I was in search of subjects for the Pep Ventosa technique.  I was able to find a couple of suitable candidates.  Plus a few viewpoints for straight shots.

Wandlebury Country Park

 I recently joined other CC members at Wandlebury Country Park for a fungi hunt.  At first we weren't finding much.  Luckily Ann has a very keen eye and was able to find a number of interesting little specimens.

In Search of Autumn at the Botanic Gardens

On a sunny Saturday, I visited the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge, to see what Autumn colour I could find.  There wasn't much.  A few tress had changed, mainly the acers, but even they weren't quite at their best.  Most of the big trees were still very green.  I found one decent specimen that had just enough room around it to try a Pep Ventosa style image.  I also found a clump of sulphur tuft fungi on a fallen log, plus the odd interesting leaf.

Lensbaby Autumn

We recently had a speaker at the club who talked about different lenses and the creative influence these could have on your images.  This talk made me do a couple of things.  Firstly it added a couple more lenses to my Amazon wishlist.  Secondly, it made me dig out my Lensbaby Composer.  Before the leaves were stripped from the trees by the recent storm, I used this for some slightly more creative autumn shots. The Lensbaby Composer can be tricky to use, and I find that my results with it are very hit and miss.  Frankly, more miss than hit.  And, I was using it with the widest aperture insert, which always ups the jeopardy.  But, it did give me my most interesting shots from what, photographically, has been a very poor autumn.

Little Fungi In Waresley Wood

Not long after shooting the ivy in Cambridge, I spent an afternoon in Waresley Wood in search of fungi.  There had been quite a bit of rain in the proceeding weeks, so I thought there would be lots.  I was wrong.  I found a few little black things (Dead Man's Fingers) and a several little white things (Fairy Inkcap) and nothing else.

Cambridge Reds

 Autumn seems to off to a slow start.  Thank heavens for the Boston Ivy which is showing its autumn glory.

Richmond Park - Deer

These images were taken at the start of the month, before the increase in Covid restrictions for London.  I was in the park for dawn, along with a couple of dozen other photographers.  Maybe it was becasue it was a Sunday, but there did seem to be many more 'togs than on my last visit a couple of years ago.  The morning started quite cloudy, but eventually the sun broke through and, for a while, there was some lovely light.  I saw one proper fight between a dominat male and a callenger (my first one after many such mornings), but it was too far away for decent shots.  I had to make do with some practice fencing between younger males, a huge amount of bellowing and, another first for me, one stag getting the reward for his hard work. 

Autumn by iPhone

A quick post (whilst I continue to sort through a large number of red deer photos taken at the start of the month).  The images below were all taken with my iPhone, using the Hipstamatic app, whilst walking around St Neots on a rather grey day.  They were all taken using one of my favourite 'lens' and 'film' combos.  For anyone interested, the 'lens' is Salvador 84, which gives the distorted double exposure look, and the 'film' is Kodot XGrizzled, which gives the slightly distressed look.