A Step Back in Time

 

This is Kaysersberg, a small town in Alsace, France. Not far from Strasbourg and Colmar, and close to the border with Germany. The heart of the town is comprised of cobbled streets and beautiful half timbered houses that date back more than six hundred years. It is a town that embraces its heritage and during my recent visit towards the end of November the town was preparing for its annual Christmas fair. I was pleased to be there before the crowds of people arrived because it was quiet and the charm of the place was unspoiled.

Surrounded by the hills of the Ballons des Vosges and the famous vineyards this is a wonderful place to visit at any time of year but in the winter with the clear crisp air and the smell of wood smoke there is a special feeling of calm, it is almost magical, especially with the Christmas lights.

The buildings are brightly coloured but as these pictures were taken during the evening and the light was poor I have chosen to present them in black and white. If it were not for the TV aerials and the fairy lights you could easily think these were pictures from long ago and that perhaps very little has changed here over the centuries.

Regal Eagle

 This is an African Fish Eagle, this species of eagle lives in Africa and feeds on fish, in case that needed clarification :)

Its range is across sub Saharan Africa wherever there are large bodies of open water. It is the national bird of Namibia and Zambia.

From the first picture as it launches itself from the tree it is quite deceptive in that this is a really large bird, with a wingspan of up to 2.8m (9 feet) it is incredible that it is so manoeuvrable is such a tight space. Once in flight it is agile and graceful and a really beautiful sight. At one point during the display it swooped between myself and my mum, its wings tucked in with mere millimetres from each of our heads.

At rest on a post having snacked on a dead chick it struck a fantastic pose and fixed me with an intense stare as I looked at it through my camera's lens.

My favourite images are the second and fourth. On the second one as well as converting it to black and white which works really well I have tried out the newest update to the masking tool in Adobe Lightroom, this is not something I have tried before and I am really happy with the result. It is now in my list of all time favourite pictures.

Lanner Falcon

 This is such a stunning looking bird, so perfectly adapted to make it a deadly hunter. It feeds of small birds and bats, it will fly to about 3000' and then stoop at high speed to snatch its prey on the wing. 

They are so effective as hunters that they are popular in falconry and are bred in captivity. One bird recently sold for over $70,000 dollars.