Spring Monos

Recently, in my social feeds, I have been seeing a lot of high contrast monochrome images of plants and flowers. I wanted to give it a go, so I took a few shots at the Botanic Gardens and have been playing with them in Silver Efex.

Tate Britain - A Few More

A few things from Tate Britain that drew my eye. 

Tate Britain - The Forbidden Staircase

I was in London last weekend. With the prospect of yet another wet day, I headed to Tate Britain. While I do enjoy all the art on offer, what I have always loved about Tate Britain is the building itself. It has some beautiful spaces. This time I was taken by one of the staircases and spent some time taking abstract shots. Eventually I drew the attention of one of the security guards. Apparently I wasn't allowed to take photos of the stairs. It was okay to shoot all the art, but not the building. That required 'a pass'. When questioned, he was a little vague of the reason and detail for any of this. Luckily I had what I wanted, so went on my way. Although I might take a few more photos of these stairs. next time I'm in.

 

Lackford Lakes

so far this year, there has not been much in the way of clear skies and sunshine. Certainly not on a weekend. So when there was a brief window of good weather on a Saturday, I used it for a trip to Lackford lakes. I was keen to see a starling murmuration, and I had read that Lackford was a good location. I arrived around lunchtime. The reserve was busy and I was lucky to find somewhere to park. I passed the afternoon photographing small birds around a few feeding stations. 

People stated gather for the murmuration from about 3.30pm. The starlings started to gather from around 4.30pm. Much of the time the birds were overhead. On the plus side this, the sound of all those wings beating was very clear. On the minus side it was tricky to get it all in frame. I regretted not bringing my wide-angle lens. There were no raptors around, so the starlings only began to tightly bunch in the final few minutes. Pretty much on the stoke of 5pm, the birds dove down into the reed beds and the show was over.

iPhone End of Year Roundup

Here is a selection of my favourite images from this year that I shot with my iPhone.

 

Glencoe and Rannoch Moor

I stayed at the Kingshouse for Christmas again this year. After a very grey first day, for the rest my stay there were blue skies and sunshine. Temperatures never reached much above freezing so the boggy parts were firm and easy to walk on. Sadly the lack of cloud meant that I didn't see the stunning sunrises and sunsets that Scotland is capable of, but then, you can't have everything. 

 

Mayfair Christmas

Last weekend, I was in London for lunch and a show. In between, there was time for a stroll around the posh bits. Starting in Berkeley Square, our walk included New Bond Street and the Burlington Arcade. The Christmas decorations were just as lovely as you would hope could be achieved with a awful lot of money.