Lake District

At the start of the month I had a week in the Lake District, staying just outside the park on the western side.  It was mainly a walking trip rather than a photography trip.  I managed to cross another 12 Wainwrights off my list (174 done and 40 to go, since you ask).  The weather was far better than we had any right to expect of the west coast in early March.  Hardly any rain, but plenty of wind.  The first two and half days were nothing but blue skies.  After that it was nothing but grey skies.  The transition happened in about 20 minutes while we were having lunch.

I did manage a few photos over the week.  This barn owl was quartering the field next to our cottage on the first two nights.  Sadly after that we didn't see it again.  Maybe it was too windy to hunt.

This little tower could also been seen from the cottage and looked lovely in evening light.

Whereas, Loweswater was looking great in the morning at the start of a walk.

On a windy, but overly grey day, we visited Devoke Water, to try some 10-stop photography of an old boat house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I left my camera behind for one walk, because the forecast was nothing but grey.  So when a break of light did come, I had to resort to the iPhone.

The Scafell range from the top of Hard Knott.

The final walk of the week was fairly short and we had some time to kill before the pub opened.  Luckily, in the Lakes, you are never very far from a waterfall.

A Few More From Wisely

Tidying up Lightroom before a trip away, so here are a few more shots from RHS Wisely.

I was taken by the abstract nature of these shrubs.

The hot zone had a Jade vine, which was just coming into flower.

Robins are often confiding, but this one was a tart.

 

There were many interesting statues throughout the gardens.  This horse head was probably the most dramatic.  Made of beaten lead, I loved the play of light across the surface.

 

Leaves in Mono

I recently visited the RHS gardens at Wisley in Surrey.  I  particularly wanted to see the tropical glasshouse.  This is a modern structure, only opened in 2007.  It's a huge building, 12 metres high and covering 'an area of 10 tennis courts'.  So even in the hot zone (and in a mask) it didn't give the claustrophobia can sometimes accompany a trip to the palm houses at the Botanic Gardens or Kew.

I spent a lot of time focussing on the shapes and textures of the leaves.  I was less keen on all the green, and there was a lot of green (I sound like Ann), so I decided to turn all the images mono. 

 

Church of St Mary Magdalene, Madingley

I recently joined other club members for a meet-up at Madingly Hall.  As well as getting to chat to people in real life that I now typically see on screen, I was also keen to photograph a few things I missed last time.  In particular, the interior of the parish church.  It's a lovely space, and I spent a pleasant hour playing about with viewpoints.

Pinhole Photpgraphy at Wimpole

I have a Holga pinhole lens for my Canon 7D.  I have not used it in a long time.  So last weekend, on a rather grey and misty day, I took it to Wimpole.  One reason I don't use it much is that the hole is too big.  It's really less of a pinhole and more a 6-inch nail hole.  The exposures are a lot shorter than for a proper pinhole aperture.  Even with quite overcast conditions, and shooting at ISO 100, I didn't need an exposure time longer than 5 seconds.  Even so, it's a fun thing to play with occasionally, and it did suit the conditions.  The mono conversions were done quickly in Lightroom and are deliberately grungy.

Pomegranates

With all of the dull weather in recent weeks, I have been playing around with some tabletop still life photography.  This involves a lot of gathering props, setting up shots and being disappointed by the results.  I was sort of happy with these simple shots, until this week's CCC excellent talk from Polina Plotnikova, which showed me what really good still life should look like.  The key points seemed to be pre-visualise better and think bigger.  Oh well, more to do. 

Normanton Church

The whole Christmas period has been dark, grey, and occasionally rainy.  It has not inspired me to get out with the camera.  Until today.  The wind picked up, blowing the cloud through with some good sunny periods.  Perfect 10-stop conditions.  I headed to Rutland Water to have a go at Normanton Church.  The low sun lit the church perfectly and I spent a pleasant couple of hours taking long exposure shots, until the best of the cloud was gone and a wedding took over the church.