Anglesey Abbey Interiors

I had a rare day off yesterday. I decided to visit Anglesey Abbey, in the mistaken belief that on a Friday, at the end of the snowdrop season, it wouldn't be that busy. It was heaving. Most people were in the gardens, so I took shelter in the house. The formal rooms on the ground floor weren't that interesting to me, but I did like the basement kitchens. I love a detail and there were lots to focus on.

 

Stretham Old Engine - Details

Whilst those that knew what they were doing set up studio flashes, gels and smoke machines, there was plenty of time to explore the details of the pumping station.  And there were plenty of details to admire.  As well as the original steam powered rotative beam engine, there was the later diesel engine and a workshop full of bits and bobs.

More from The Mosque

Another set of pictures from the Cambridge Central Mosque.  Starting with some detail shots from inside, followed by some images from the Islamic garden and portico.  It was a rare sunny morning, which gave some interesting shadows, both in the atrium (see previous post) and the portico.

 

 

 

 

 

Dahlias at Anglesey Abbey

Last weekend I visited Anglesey Abbey for their Dahlia festival.  There were several artful arrangements of the cut flowers dotted around the grounds, which personally I didn't find all that interesting.  Instead I headed to the section of the garden that had the living blooms.  Here Dahlias of all shapes and colours could be found. 

My plan was to use the variety of flowers for some creative images.  I started with some in-camera double exposures.  These are much easier with the Olympus EM1 than with my Canon 40D, thanks to the ability to see the first image in the view finder when framing the second.  For some shots I chose two contrasting flowers for the double image.  For others, I used the same flower, turning the camera between the first and second shots.

 

 

After that I tried some intentional camera movement.  These were much more hit and miss.  I tried spinning the camera during the exposure, but I couldn't get the swirls I was after.

 

Finally, apparently not everyone likes "fluffy" images, so here are some straightforward detail shots.

Cambridge Botanic Gardens

I went to the Botanic Gardens to test out a 60mm macro lens that I have just bought for my Olympus E-M1 Mk II.  I took a tripod with me, but it turns out that these are no longer allowed in the glasshouses.  So, all of my shots had to be hand-held at wider apertures, which meant this wasn't quite the test I was hoping.  But, at least the light camera and very light lens made hand-holding much easier than it is with my Canon 7D Mk II and Sigma 105mm.