Fungi at Brandon Country Park

A few fungi pictures taken last weekend at Brandon Country Park.

 

A Little Flower Creativity

I was a bit bored and fancied doing something a little different.  So I headed to Wimpole, to try some in-camera double exposure shots of the last of the flowers.  I spent an enjoyable hour or so (photographer's time) playing around with various flower combinations, before heading for tea and cake. 

All of the images are two shot combinations taken with my Canon 7D, in multiple exposure mode, and a Sigma 50mm macro lens.  I have tweaked the settings a little in Lightroom, but otherwise they are pretty much as shot.

 

 

 

Architectural Abstracts Around The O2

After spending the day wandering around Greenwich, we caught the bus back to North Greenwich station.  The sun was beginning to drop and I was drawn to the buildings around the O2 Arena, behind the station.  I spent a while (too long apparently) shooting abstract images in the lovely early evening light.

 

Reflections in a North Greenwich Hotel

Last Saturday, I was in  Greenwich for the day.  Starting off at the North Greenwich tube we walked to the Naval College.  It was, for the most part, quite a sunny day, and the first the first thing that caught my attention was the Intercontinental Hotel next to the station and the Dome.  The sunshine and large expanses of glass created some lovely reflections, especially of Canary Wharf on the opposite bank of the river.  Plus the odd person checking in or out added some extra interest.

 

 

Dragonflies

There are plenty of common darters still on the wing.  I recently had a very obliging one pitch in my garden for a feed.  I found another helpful specimen at Paxton Pits, along with a couple of common hawkers and a damselfly (no clue which kind, they all look the same to me).

 

 

Seaton Delaval Hall

Seaton Delaval Hall is a National Trust property in Northumberland, dating from the 17th century.  In 1822 the main house was gutted by fire, and has remained an empty shell ever since.  Thanks to the help of local people, the kitchen and stable wings were saved, together with family portraits, furniture and archives. The central house remained a roofless ruin until about 1859-60, when wall tops were rebuilt to support a new roof, and cast-iron columns were used to strengthen internal walls. Further restoration was conducted in the early 1960s, including replacement of windows, restoration of the upstairs gallery in the main hall, and paving of the floors. 

The west wing, originally servants quarters, became the family house in the 1950s until 2007. Today it houses the usual collection of old furniture and paintings.  But it is the great empty space of the main house that, for me, was far more interesting. It's a place I could quite happily revisit many times.