So if you have seen my blog recently you will know that I have been doing a series of "Reflections of Venice" and if you haven't seen them they're well worth a look.
I haven't posted anything for a couple of days so decided to come back with something bright and colourful which hopefully will catch your eye.
It was a lovely evening and I was lucky enough to get home from work in time to enjoy a brief spell out with my camera.
I had gone down to the common to photograph my daughter-in-law and George the horse that she looks after. While we were there however George got spooked by this guy in his powered paraglider. He and his colleague took off from the common and took a flight across Liverpool Bay but in the process the noise of their motors startled George and a couple of other horses out for an evening ride.
That being said I quite fancy this activity, I can imagine what a wonderful sensation it must be to take off from a field and then gracefully look down on the world below gaining a new perspective. Especially on an evening like this when the sky is clear and the sunset gives a beautiful golden glow.
I would love to be looking down and maybe even taking a few shots, but I also love this image especially the way the light catches the leading edge of the parachute and the face of the pilot.
Long Tailed Tits are so cute and they are often seen in small chattering flocks and as the evening sets in they will huddle together in small groups to keep warm.
I love this shot especially as you can see that spring has arrived with the blossoming pussy willow.
This is not actually a decoy but is a living and breathing Mallard drake. He was sat enjoying the Saturday sunshine at Mere Sands Woods. He almost looks carved from wood and I think I caught him blinking or sleeping.
He was so still and the water was so calm I was able to capture such a good reflection.
Walking through the woods at Mere Sands I was treated to the beautiful sound of so many song birds.
Spring has arrived and as the woodland comes to life with green shoots and blossoms you can feel a change in the air.
One of the prettiest songs on my walk was that of the wren and I managed to spot a couple in the shade. They are very small, very timid and they move about very quickly making them very tricky to spot and even harder to photograph.
I love the way they use their tails to balance just before flying off. They are just so cute.
I was curious to know why the Wren is known as a Jenny Wren so did a little research and dug up a few interesting facts.
They have a powerful song which I have mentioned already, but did you know they can hit two different notes at the same time?
They are quintessentially British birds and are one of our most common songbirds, in the past they were know as "King among birds". In German they were called "hedge king" or "kinglet".
They eat insects, spiders and even tadpoles but perhaps surprisingly they also like a piece of cheese.
The term Jenny Wren applies because they are fiercely protective of their young and the female in particular will be extremely vocal to alert her brood against danger, and this has led to a tendency to view wrens as female leading to the moniker Jenny Wren.
I think you would agree with me when I say that the Great Crested Grebe is a stunning bird.
It is regal, sleek and streamlined and has the most beautiful plumage, and it has a fearsome beak which it uses to catch fish while swimming under water.
It is known for its amazing courtship rituals when the adults perform a balletic dance. I had gone to Mere Sands today in the hope that I would witness this but obviously I had picked the wrong time. This chap stayed a safe distance away so getting the perfect shot was really difficult however I am fairly happy with these two.
I had a really enjoyable time at Mere Sands listening to the birdsong as I walked through the woods and sitting quietly and undisturbed in the various hides around the mere. There weren't that many different species of birds to see but it was so relaxing and a perfect opportunity to de-stress.
Sometimes it is really easy to choose a picture to share, sometimes I even know days in advance what I will post here and I get impatient as each day goes by waiting to reveal the next picture.
Today however for some reason I have had a hard time reaching a decision.
This is another of my Reflections of Venice. Originally it was in a portrait orientation and I had cropped it a little tighter and while I really liked the image I wasn't 100% convinced by it. However rotating it through 90 degrees and expanding the view slightly it became a different image altogether and I love it.
I have called it "Blue Flame" because I think it does look a bit like flames only blue with white highlights. It also looks a bit like sand art and I really like the range of different shades and the different layers of light and dark.
As with all of this series of pictures there is so much going on in the image and each time you look you can see something new.
In the early morning this gondolier makes his way gently through the quiet canals as the city wakes up and the locals go to work.
In the background the famous Bridge of Sighs is illuminated by the sun almost as if a spotlight is being trained upon it
Could this be a winner?
That's not for me to say but this is the image that has been selected for the Williamson Gallery Open Exhibition 2019. I was disappointed that the image I shared yesterday wasn't selected as well but I think this was definitely the better of the two images and I am really really happy with this.
It is yet another of my Reflections of Venice series and I have titled this picture Marco Polo because it is a reflection of the exterior signage to the Margo Polo glass works on Murano.
I love the random shapes, the loops and whorls, I love the green of the water and I love the writing that draws you in.
I hope that you love this image as much as I do and I hope that it is well received by the judges and visitors to the exhibition, please leave a comment and let me know what you think.
So today I have another of my Reflections of Venice series and this is one of the Venetian Sunrise images that I am super proud of.
It is also one of two images I submitted to a local gallery for an open exhibition that opens on 30th March. I found out today that this picture was not selected but my other one (which I will post tomorrow) has been. So while I am a little disappointed, because I love this shot, I am staying positive because my other image will be on display and getting some good exposure.
One of the things I like about this shot is the transition from turquoise through brown and sand to bright blue all held together by loops of black. I also like the irregular swirls and the glossy sheen. I also love the fact that moments later the image had changed making this a unique view captured in time.
This is another of my reflections of Venice, I was sat on a jetty on the island of Murano looking across to the city of Venice and this reflection caught my eye. The bright afternoon sun lit up the posts supporting the jetty and created this lovely pattern in the rippling surface of the lagoon.
With a lot of the pictures in this series it isn't immediately obvious that you are looking at reflections or that it's water, but here there's no doubt. As with the others though each time you look you can see something different. In this one I can see a Seahorse, at least an abstract representation of one although that maybe because I love seahorses and i may be "programmed" in some way to spot them.
I haven't posted for a couple of days so wanted to start back with something special from my Reflections of Venice.
There is a mesmerising quality to this shot with the swirls in the surface of the water almost like eyes, or perhaps peacock feathers. Whatever you can see I hope you will agree this is quite special.
This cool reflection is of the Faro San Giorgio Maggiore in the last of the evening sun.
I like the transition from blue to gold to green as the reflection moves from sky to stone and then shadow.
Here is another of my reflections of Venice series and I think this is a really strong image.
I have cropped and rotated this shot of two buildings reflecting the early morning sun in one of Venice's narrow canals. It looks a little like a seismograph or perhaps a colourful electrocardiograph. It also looks like it is made up of layers of paper, the top part resembling a wasps nest.
I love this view because each time I look I see something new. What do you see?
This abstract view of the Rialto Bridge reflected in Venice's Grand Canal was the last picture I captured on my recent trip to the city. It wont be the last one I share though as I still have some wonderful images to share, and hopefully very soon I will also have some exciting news.
The bridge spans the grand canal and is a popular spot to shop or to stand and take in the magnificent view and the atmosphere of the city. I love the way the lights from the bridge stretch out in coloured pillars creating loops, whorls and curls, the white light reflected in the middle almost looks like a fingerprint.
Today's images are cropped from some pictures I shot of a magnificent glass sculpture of a Christmas tree in Murano which is famous for its glassware.
However although it was a fabulous structure I think it looks better as an abstract image.
This is such an iconic image from Venice.
The fero da prora is the ornament on the prow of the gondolas and as well as looking nice it is truly functional and the shape itself is symbolic.
The Fero is there to act as a counter balance to the gondolier who stands at the back of the gondola. That surprised me because it doesn't look that weighty but as it curves around the whole front of the boat it is more substantial than it appears at first glance.
A little research revealed that the S shape represents the Grand Canal that flows through the heart of the city, the six prongs facing forward represent the six districts of Venice while the prong pointing backwards apparently symbolises the island of Giudecca and the curved top represents the Doge's cap, while the inner curve at the top is said to symbolise the famous Rialto Bridge
In between the six prongs there are three additional items which represent the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello.
So what I thought was just a nice ornament actually is so much more, I am glad I took a few moments to find out and hopefully you will appreciate that effort. More importantly I hope you like this picture as much as I do
There really is something special about this image. There is so much colour and so many intricate patterns and all it is is light on water.
A few moments before a small boat had chugged past creating ripples across the width of the canal and what had previously been a recognisable reflection of a beautiful building became an ever changing abstract image with light and shadow,and in places it was almost like gold leaf spread across the waters surface.
Here's another of my abstract ripples and reflections pictures.
I love the light, depth and motion in this image.
I am loving these images and hope you are too.
I was going to crop two images from this one shot but I think it works really well as a single image with the transition from light to dark and with the contours giving a sense of movement and depth.
I love this picture, it really does look like fire and water.
It is another reflection from Burton Mere, taken this past weekend.
You may be surprised to learn that it is the reflection of some new willow shoots growing on the bank of a small island in the mere. The shoots are bright golden orange and as they catch the sun they look glorious against the dark background of the old wood. And of course as you can see here they create a wonderful abstract reflection in the gently rippling water.
This sequence of shots was captured on Saturday at Burton Mere. This handsome Mallard drake was having a bit of a wash and brush up and with a little patience I was able to freeze the moment in time.
It seems like a lot of effort to me but it is an essential part of keeping in tip top condition.
Here is another of my series of abstract reflections.
This one was shot in Venice.
I love the liquid gold that is light reflected early morning sunlight captured between the blue on one side of the image and the green on the other.
I think it is possible to see a face in the image, maybe a face hidden behind a mask which is fitting really as this was taken while Venice was preparing for its' famous mask festival.
Today it was my intention to share more pictures from my recent trip to Venice but instead I have picked some images from a photo shoot this morning that were inspired by some of the pictures I shot in Venice.
So, I went to Burton Mere RSPB Wetland Reserve. I wanted to get there early before the weather turned bad and I almost turned back because the sky was clouding over and I thought it would be a washout. I was glad however that I didn't turn back because as well as getting a few nice shots of birds I was also able to capture some more ripples and reflections.
I have always enjoyed sharp and clear reflections but I have tended to look at the bigger picture, to see mountains reflected in the surface of a calm lake in the early morning for example. However, in Venice I noticed the more abstract scenes that appear when you look closely at the reflections in detail. There is so much going on in these images with the play of light on the surface of the water, the contours and even textures that you simply would not see if you just glance casually as you pass.
The first two images are cropped from the same picture and I think they are amazing, especially the first one which looks as though it is lit from below.
I like the third image because of the blue highlights reflecting a break in the clouds.
You cannot tell from these pictures what is being reflected because they are just a small part of the overall scene but I think they work really well and I know that I am going to enjoy looking closer at reflections when I go out with my camera in future.
Here is my last selection of shots from my riverside walk last weekend.
The first two images are different views of the stack I shared yesterday and the final two are of the largest and most challenging stack which including the base rock is made from 17 stones and I was really pleased that it stayed upright. I was tempted to put another pebble on top but decided to play it safe.
I really like this one, in colour you can see the stones lit up by a chance ray of sunlight that snuck through the clouds and I think the final image has a really moody quality to it.
I like the fact that these look part of the landscape but they have a fragile quality too which is at odds with the solidity of the rocks themselves.
As well as working on the three stacks that you have seen over the last few days we (my son and I) attempted a stone arch. We failed but I think that if we had selected smaller stones and gave ourselves a little more time we would have succeeded.
