Saturday 30 November 2019

An Early Start



I set out from home just after 5am and set off for the Lake District hoping to get some early morning winter sun. It was -2 C when I set off from home but when I arrived at Glenridding on Ullswater it was -6 C, my hands where painfully cold as I walked long the shore trying to get some good shots.

By now it was 8.30am and the sun was up but here the "steam" rising off the lake formed a thick canopy closing everything in. 

Despite the cold and gloom I think I managed to get some nice atmospheric shots, including these two of a small sailing boat sitting calmly at anchor.

I have used long exposures to enhance the eeriness of the low cloud/fog.

I came back a few hours later after the sun had burned off the clouds and it was a different scene altogether. In time I will share some of those but I have lots more to share from my first proper day out for ages

Saturday 23 November 2019

A Head of Steam



The weather this weekend and last has been awful and so I have had no real opportunity to get outdoors with my camera and as a consequence I haven't posted anything for a little while. If you missed my last pictures of the Kingfisher do make sure to take a look as I was really excited to get those shots.

For today;'s offering I have stepped back in time, to July 2017 to be exact, when I had stayed near Whitby and took some time to visit the North Yorkshire Steam Railway workshops at Grosmont. It is a fantastic place to visit and you can see the dedicated mechanics and engineers at work restoring the magnificent locomotives from years gone by.

I love the powerful steam engines but I also like the newer diesel engines that replaced steam.

Looking at these images I have some great memories of my time there and I hope these pictures convey to you some of the power and majesty of the great locomotives.

Monday 11 November 2019

Little Beauty





So following on from yesterday's post here are a few more shots of the stunningly beautiful kingfisher that made my day.  

As I said yesterday conditions weren't perfect and so I have had to compromise slightly with the settings to get the shot. 

When you consider that this bird is only about 16cm in length (that's the size of a sparrow) you will appreciate how difficult it is to photograph. That, it's incredible speed and the fact that despite its electric blue plumage it is actually very hard to spot means I was absolutely thrilled to get these shots at all. All that beauty tied up in such a tiny little bundle...

Sunday 10 November 2019

Holy Grail




For so long I have wanted to photograph a Kingfisher, I got a few shots in this location a couple of years ago but they were not really very good as the bird was  much further away and only stayed put for a few seconds. It has become a been a bit like the search for the holy grail.

I cant say how many times I have gone back and how many hours I have sat patiently waiting without even the slightest glimpse. This Saturday I went back, after a long and stressful week in work I was happy just to sit quietly to clear my head and unwind even though it was really cold (just above freezing) and with heavy rain on its way. I was so thrilled when this beautiful bird flew in and perched nearby and sat scanning the water for its next meal. He moved to a different perch and then onto another (I am saving a couple of shots for tomorrow) again patiently searching for a tasty snack. He stayed around for almost 15 minutes giving me plenty of time to get several shots and basically making my day.

I really am pleased with these pictures although I know they could be better, the light and weather conditions meant that I needed to use a wide aperture and very high ISO which gives the images a grainy quality and trying to compensate for that I have lost some of the finer detail. So in the search for the perfect shot I am sure to go back. Who knows how long I might have to wait but I am up for the challenge. 

In the meantime I am pleased to be able to share these shots and if you like them please look out for more tomorrow. And feel free to leave a comment below...

Friday 1 November 2019

Grey Dagger


This is the caterpillar of the Grey dagger moth, named because of the bold dagger shaped markings on its wings. The moth has a wide range, across Europe, North Africa. Iran, Asia  Siberia and Mongolia, among other places.

An alternate variety is the dark dagger and the caterpillar of the dark dagger moth lacks the distinctive horn in this variety.

This one was busy stocking up on food so that it can over winter as a pupa before emerging in the spring as a beautiful moth.