Something creepy for Halloween

Given that it is Halloween I thought I would post something creepy.  I had found a couple of spider pictures the other day which I was going to use but then this morning we found a beautiful spider had built its web in front of the kitchen window which meant that I could get clear shots front and back.

I have used my 100mm macro lens so was able to get in nice and close which means there is lots of spooky detail. I had to use my tripod as well, to keep the camera steady  and make sure I could keep the image sharp. I know spiders are not to everybody's taste but you have to admit these look pretty good. The middle one is my favourite.  Enjoy... if you can!

Parisian Chic

In January 2012 as a treat for my mum's 70th birthday the family paid for her to go Paris, I was the lucky one who got to go with her, to one of my favourite places.  A few years previously mum had come with us on our family holiday and we took a trip into Paris with the intention of visiting the Louvre, somewhere she had always wanted to visit. Unfortunately on that occasion we had visited on a day when the museum was closed and so mum said I would have to promise to take her again in the future.I never tire of Paris, it is such a beautiful city and so it was easy for me to go back with my mum for such a special occasion.

It was a fantastic couple of days, we stayed in a luxurious hotel just off the Champs Elysee and we visited lots of the sites, most importantly we got to spend a good long time at the Louvre taking in the wonderful works of art.  As the trip was about my mum I left my camera at home and just relied on my mobile phone's camera for the small number of shots that I took.

The two pictures I have chosen for today's blog showcase Parisian style from two very different eras.  The first is contemporary and was taken in the foyer of our hotel, the second was of a staircase in the Palais du Louvre and so reflects the style of a time long past. I love the golden apple, it is a fun piece and blended really well with the decor. The staircase shows that even in a compact space something functional has been made a thing of beauty and style.  That's Paris for you.

Refraction

Following on from yesterday's image I have chosen two pictures taken in Delamere Forest one snowy morning in January 2013.  Although it was really cold there was a slight thaw and there was water dripping from the trees.  These two images of a water droplet were taken handheld using my 100mm macro lens.  

I really like these photos. What caught my eye at first was the sunlight glinting through the droplet and then moving to a different angle the trees in the distance appeared. 

Reflection

Today I'm getting some help with my blog because I very clumsily took a fall down some stairs in Liverpool injuring my right arm so I cant type. 
     
I have posted pictures of reflections in water already where the aim has been to get the clearest reflection with minimum of distortion. The picture I have chosen today was taken in a pond in the Forest of Dean and rather than a pristine reflection I think in this picture the ripples add an interesting dimension. There is very little in the way of colour but for me this enhances the overall effect.

Butterflies

Today's blog post is exactly what the title suggests, I have chosen four pictures of two butterflies.  

The first two were taken using the camera on a mobile phone I have applied a slight adjustment in Picasa to sharpen the images.

The third and fourth were taken in the Forest of Dean using my Canon 6D, the resolution is clearly much better and apart from cropping the pictures slightly no other adjustments have been made.  

Butterflies make good subjects for photography because of the vivid colours, the different shapes and patterns but they can be really difficult to photograph since they rarely stay still long enough but when they do the patience pays off...

Antique motors

I suppose the title of today's blog is slightly misleading because the pictures are not of engines or of complete cars but they are close ups of antique cars at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu .  When I visited the museum with my son I enjoyed looking at the cars on display but what struck me about some of the vehicles was the attention to detail and the little touches that you would never see on any of the mass produced cars today.  For example how many cars have you seen with wicker umbrella holders?

The bespoke gearing, wheels and suspension was a joy to see.  The styling of some of the bodywork was also a work of art and you could see how the design was really pushing the boundaries.  

I have picked a couple of pictures of bonnet ornaments, everyone would be familiar with the Angel and the RR from a Roll Royce or the Bugatti symbol but what about the Swallow... (I can't remember what the other one is so if anyone can help me out I'd be very grateful)

I have also chosen a couple of wheels which might seem an odd choice but again the quality and attention to detail really impress.

Beaulieu Abbey

So yesterday I posted a couple of pictures of falcons that were taken while on a day out in Beaulieu.  The display was in the cloisters of Beaulieu Abbey and we were lucky that the rain which had been forecast held off just long enough for us to enjoy the presentation.

The Abbey was built in 1204 by Cistercian Monks on land given them by King John. The Cistercian Order originated in France so it is no surprise that the architecture has a medieval French quality which is evident in the photos I have chosen today. 

The first picture shows the quadrant and the church , the other pictures show the exterior of the Domus which was the monks' main living quarters. I like the first image with the "monk" because it gives added interest to the shot but my favourite image is the second one, I like the angle of the shot and I really like the varied colours of the flowers and shrubs aginst the stone walls.

Canon EOS 6D 24 - 105mm f4 @ 47mm f6.3 ISO 100  1/400s

Canon EOS 6D 24-105mm f4 @ 32mm f 6.3 ISO 100 1/320s

Canon EOS 6D 24-105mm f4 @ 45mm f5.6 ISO 100 1/500s

Falcon

If you have seen previous posts you will know that I like birds of prey and today I decided to share a couple of pictures that I took this summer while on holiday with my youngest son down in the New Forest. For most of the time we were cycling or walking but one day we decided to go to the motor museum at Beaulieu.  Within the grounds of Beaulieu abbey there was a falconer with a variety of birds on display.  

I particularly liked the two falcons a Peregrine Falcon and a Gyr Falcon and I have chosen one picture of each of them for today's blog.  The Peregrine is sat in a position called "mantling" and held the pose long enough to get a couple of good shots.  The Gyr also held a similar pose but  I have chosen more of a close up shot.

These are really splendid birds, when Falconry was at the height of its popularity these birds cost the equivalent of £250,000  which is quite staggering.  

Storm Cloud

In the summer of 2004 we had a family holiday in the Burgundy region of France.We stayed in a rural gite a short drive from the town Autun in the Morvan National Park.  It was a lovely area, with some great scenery and some pleasant villages.  The nearest village Anost has an annual fete where the locals come together to make a massive omelette, tasty...

One evening as we were sat out eating dinner I watched this cloud developing, it rolled its way across the sky unfolding new shapes all the time.  I like the smooth top surface of the cloud which resembled icing on a cake which was in contrast to the rest of the cloud which was in constant turmoil.  Within a few minutes the sky which had been clear and blue all day was filled with this this massive cloud  and it became suddenly dark and the storm which followed produced some of the loudest thunder and most impressive lightning I had seen.

I have chosen two pictures of the cloud as it developed.  I wasn't able to take many more because we had to run for shelter very shortly after... the pictures were taken using a Konica KD 400Z digital compact camera.

A Bird in the Hand

I was going to post another Delamere Forest photo today but then something happened this morning as i was getting ready to go to work that changed all of that.

I had gone back up to the bedroom to get a jumper and saw a bird fly across the room and settle on the curtain rail.  I was completely taken aback because none of the windows were open and I could not work out how the bird had got in.  I could see that it was a blue tit and it was obviously a bit distressed flying from one end of the room to the other.  I got my camera and took a couple of quick shots while it rested on top of a box on the wardrobe keeping a safe distance from me.

I then went to open the blind on the velux window and immediately the little bird flew to the window, it rested on the frame and as I lifted my arm to open the window if flew and settled on my arm and then flew into the bathroom.  At first I couldn't see it then found it clinging upside down on my towel.  I took one last picture then gently took the bird in my hand, it clung to my finger and I took it to the opened window.  I opened my hand to release it and it just sat there for several seconds before flying off.

It was a lovely start to the day and although the pictures aren't great in a technical sense I think they are worth sharing.

As for the mystery of how it got in I deduced that it must have come in through the extractor fan in the en suite, I guess it had been sheltering there during the gale force winds yesterday and overnight.

A Morning Walk

I'm late posting today but as this is a daily blog I wasn't going to let it slip...Today I have chosen a picture of a dog walker, normally I try really hard to get shots without random people in them.  It can be quite frustrating at times waiting for people to move out of the frame to get what I think is the best picture.  On Saturday however, even though my main focus was taking pictures of the trees and the changing colours when I saw the man walking towards me in the distance with his two dogs I knew it would add something to the final image.  Most of the time it was really quiet in the forest, there were very few people out and about but this area is popular with dog walkers, cyclists and runners and by including the man I think it adds some context to the image, the colours are great but for me, including the dog walker there brings the picture life.

 

Canon 70 - 300mm @ 100mm f18 ISO 4000 1/40s

Autumn Leaves

Between 1988 and 1990 I was lucky enough to play alto saxophone in a swing band, I wasn't very good to be honest and I didn't play for long enough to really develop any skill but it was always a real buzz to play on stage.  I know this blog is about photography but when I decided on the title for today's post I remembered one of the tunes I really enjoyed playing so here's a link to Autumn Leaves played by Miles Davis which is well worth a listen.

Back to the photos though... Today I am posting a few more shots from my morning walk in Delamere Forest on Saturday.

The first one is a splash of colour, as I was setting up to take this picture the peace was shattered firstly by a Jay crying out in alarm and then two dogs barking at me, I greeted the dogs but they continued barking and kept a safe distance from me.  Their owner commented "don't mind them, they've never seen anything like you before"  I didn't quite know how to respond to that so I wished her a good morning and got back to taking pictures.

The second image was taken from underneath the trees in the first one looking along the path which I followed into the forest.

The third picture has less vibrancy with predominantly green shades and just a slight hint of orange, giving promise perhaps of richer colours to come.

How Lovely Was the Morning...

Having just uploaded my pictures from yesterday I have chosen two to post here today, the autumn colours were quite vivid and I was able to take a number of photos which highlighted the brilliance of the early morning light and the different shades of green and yellow leaves and over the next few days I will post some of those pictures.

In the first picture today I like the way the early sun is casting through the upright pines and onto the bracken on the forest floor.  It was taken at 7.42.am. before the sun was properly up and so the colours are quite muted.  It was so peaceful and quiet with the only sounds being the birds and the slight breeze in the treetops.  I have cropped this picture slightly as in the original there was a little too much of the bracken in the foreground, with the crop I think the image is more balanced.

The second photo, of the bench, is one that I really like.  As I walked along the path I came across this spot, it was pleasantly warm facing into the sun, it felt like a good place to stop and enjoy the quiet of the early morning.  Having taken this photo I sat for a few minutes and absorbed the atmosphere before continuing my walk.

I was so glad I chose to go out early and I hope the pictures that I share over the next few days give you a sense of how wonderful it was.

Canon EOS 6D 24-105mm f4 @ 24.2mm f10 ISO 20,000  1/40s

Canon EOS 6D 24-105mm f4 @ 97mm f8 ISO 4000 1/40s

Elterwater at dawn

Yesterday I decided that I would get up early and head off to Delamere Forest to get some early morning pictures of the trees and the changing leaves.  One of the benefits this time of year is that dawn comes at a civilised hour.  Sunrise today was at 7.44 am and so I really didn't need top set the alarm of get up at stupid o'clock to get out for the first rays of sunshine.  So why did I wake up before 5.00 am?  I guess it was the prospect of getting out walking and taking pictures, I was excited and having woken at 5 I couldn't get back to sleep.  I arrived at my destination at around 7.20 and there was light enough to take a few pleasing shots.  For the first hour of my walk there was no one else around and even as time went on there were just a few dog walkers and cyclists so it was really pleasant.

Anyway I haven't had time to upload and sort through the photos I took this morning but I wanted to choose a picture of an early morning scene.  I have selected a view of Elterwater in the Lake District.  I was camping in Langdale and had got up at the crack of dawn, given that this was in June 2010 sunrise was around 4.30 am and so it was a seriously early start to walk from the campsite to Elterwater and this picture was taken at 5.37 am.  The sun was coming up behind me over Loughrigg and it really brings out the colours in the lake and the fells on the opposite side.  

Let me know if you think it was worth the effort of getting up so early for this shot.

Canon EOS 450D 18 - 55mm f3.5 @ 18mm and  f4  ISO 200 1/250s

Foxglove

So I have updated my blog to give it a new look.  I think it looks much better now and I have made an adjustment which means that if you want to leave a comment it is easier to do it, and if you want to leave a comment anonymously that's possible too.  I've put a couple of links to other sites which I like and so if you are interested you can also check them out.  If you have any problems with anything on this blog then leave a comment and let me know, it is still something I am developing and hoping to improve over time.

Anyway for today's picture I have gone back to summer 2009 and I have had to search through my external hard drive to dig this out.  When you see it you may wonder why I have gone to that effort for a photo of a flower.  Well I was asked on Facebook to post a picture of a Foxglove so that's what I have done.  

This picture was taken in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire while I was camping with my boys.  We had gone for a walk looking for wild boar but apart from a few muddy tracks we didn't find any and I ended up taking pictures of woodland flowers and butterflies.  I like the colours of the flowers.

Let me know what you think.

Foxglove

  

Funnels

Today's pictures were taken in July this year at Herne Bay on the Kent coast.  A little further along the coast is Reculver with the imposing ruins of a Saxon monastery on the cliff which may well feature in this blog at a future date.

The pictures I have chosen for today are two different views of some unusual funnels or vents which face inland above the promenade.  It is unclear what purpose they serve and I haven't been able to find any information about them.  I think however that they make an interesting subject and I think they work equally well in colour or black and white.

I would love to see your comments about the pictures and if anybody can help me with what exactly these things are I would be very grateful.

Stranded bus

In December 2012 I was lucky enough to take a trip to Utah, it was lovely to visit friends and family some of whom I hadn't seen for many years.  It was also a sad time as I said goodbye to my eldest son as he started his two year mission. 

The winter weather was something I hadn't experienced before and provided lots of great photo opportunities.

Today's photos were taken in Provo Canyon.  My daughter and I had gone for a drive surprised at how clear the mountain road was in spite of the temperature (-13C) and the deep snow on the verges and in the valley.

We pulled off the road and hiked a short way down to the river where there were a few hardy locals waist deep fishing.  I took a number of photos from this spot which was where a railway crosses the river and weaves its way along the canyon.  There was no visible trace of the tracks under the snow but the sign marked the point at which the tracks crossed our path.

In the other picture I like the way the fence draws the eye in and then in the distance there is a yellow school bus apparently abandoned on the opposite bank.  As we took in the scene Rachael and I mused about how the bus had got there and whether it would be have to wait until the following spring to be removed/rescued.  I am sure that I will go back at some point in the future and I will make a point of finding out if it is still there.

Canon EOS 450D 18 - 55mm @ 23mm f7.1 ISO 800 1/4000s

Canon EOS 450D 18-55mm @ 18mm f7.1 ISO 800 1/4000s

In The Pines

So for today I have chosen one picture from August 2010.  It was taken in the Forest of Fontainbleau about one hour's drive from Paris.  We had gone for a walk to look for some interesting rock formations formed by volcanic activity.  

Walking along one forest path I saw this pine needle just hanging from a single gossamer thread, I was really surprised to see it and tried to get a picture, there was a gentle breeze so it required a lot of patience to get this picture while it was still.  

Fungi

Today is day three of my photos from Bickerton Hill and the Sandstone Trail.  From the title of the blog it will be obvious that the pictures will be of fungi.

This is a great time of year for fungi and within just a few metres  there were several varieties to be seen, the photos I have chosen for today show a small selection of what we saw on Saturday.

Many of the fungi we found were a bit ravaged by wind, rain or the trampling feet of walkers and their dogs and I tried to find the least damaged specimens for my pictures.  Some which were growing on decaying wood or tree trunks were easy to get to while those growing on the ground required a bit more effort, personal dexterity and the full capabilities of my tripod in order to get close enough and hold the camera steady enough to get the shot.

In three of the photos below I think I have managed to get the best specimen but the fly agaric (the red one) has a chunk taken out of the stalk which appears to have been eaten away by some small creature, I could have chosen to take the shot from the other side which was undamaged but I thought the missing piece added something to the image...

Canon EOS 6D 24 - 105mm @ 95mm f4.5 ISO 100 1/50s

Canon EOS 6D Canon 100mm f2.8 macro f8 IS0 200 1/40s

Canon EOS 6D 100mm f2.8 @ f8 ISO 160 1/40s

Canon EOS 6D 100mm f2.8 @ f8 ISO160 1/30s

Ancient Stairs

Following on from yesterdays offering I have two more pictures from Bickerton Hill.  At the top of the hill is an Iron Age hill fort known as Maiden Castle which apparently was one of a chain of forts overlooking the Dee Valley and the Cheshire Plains.

The Sandstone Trail  is a 34 mile path which links Whitchurch and Frodsham and it crosses Bickerton Hill.  Walking up to the fort the path becomes steep in places and there are a couple of stone staircases to make the going a little bit easier.  I am sure the paths aren't nearly as old as the fort itself but they seem pretty old and I think that they add something to overall atmosphere.  I also think they make quite good photographic images so I have decided to post a couple of pics today.

Stormy Skies

Today has been a good day, I've been able to do lots of my favourite things.  I've been out walking with my boys, I've taken several good pictures and I have baked some delicious Double Choc Cookies and as I write this blog I'm munching on one trying not to get crumbs in the keyboard...

So today I have a couple of brand new pics to share and over the next few days I will have more from my outing today.

We had originally planned on going up to the Lake District but the weather forecast was a bit dodgy so thought somewhere closer to home would be best.  I settled on Bickerton Hill overlooking the Cheshire Plains, a place I have visited a few times and there is always some interesting fauna and some great views. The photos are taken from slightly different points on the hill looking towards North Wales, Wirral and Liverpool in the distance. Although the skies behind us were bright there was a storm heading our way and just after I'd taken the second picture thunder rumbled and crashed all around us and prompted us to head back to the car before the deluge...

So I hope you enjoy the pictures and while you are doing that I'm going to get another cookie ;)

Canon EOS 6D 24-105mm @ 35mm f8 ISO 100 1/200s

Canon EOS 6D 24-105mm @ 80mm f4.5 ISO 100 1/160s

Cairns

Today's images were taken in summer 2012 during a holiday in Brittany.  These miniature cairns were scattered around a small area of the rocky promontory at Cap Frehel.  There was no explanation as to why people had started the practice but there were hundreds of them and I thought they make an interesting subject. 

Canon EOS 450D 18-55mm @ 37mm f7.1 ISO200 1/800s

Canon EOS 450D 70 - 300mm @ 200mm f5.6 ISO 250 1/1600s

Raptors and Owls

I am always excited to see birds of prey in the wild, I can remember watching a Goshawk swoop low past me one evening walking in an enclosure in the New Forest, and it is always a thrill to see large raptors flying above the motorway or perched on telegraph poles etc. Two weeks ago I got really excited to see a male Hen Harrier flying near Markington in Yorkshire.

Getting  photos of them is however quite difficult and good close-ups are even more difficult so when I had the chance to get up close to some at The Raptor Experience in July last year there was no way I would miss the opportunity to take some pictures.  Today I have picked a couple of my favourite pics from that day...

Juvenile Bald Eagle

Red Kite

Barn Owls