Old Masters

 

So I may have gone a little over the top with the number of pictures for today's offering but I couldn't help myself. To be honest I could have shared loads more images of these beautiful flying machines.

This is the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight performing a flying display at Rhyl in August. I have been privileged to see these fly on many occasions because I used to live very close to where they are stationed at Coningsby in Lincolnshire. I would hear the sound of the Merlin engines and rush out of the house to see them overhead, it was always a joy.

Of course the history of these aircraft is sad as many pilots were lost and it is a fitting tribute to see these planes preserved. The Lancaster is the only flying example of the plane in the world.

I remember stories that my dad told of watching these planes in action above the south coast of England where he lived during WWII which were exciting and frightening at the same time. 

Fly Past

 This incredible bird's piercing cry could be heard every day as it flew along the valley in search of prey.

Most often it flew some distance away but occasionally it came close enough to get a good look and just once I had my camera ready for the shot as it swooped overhead. Not only did I hear its cry but also to powerful rush of air as it flapped its wings above me. 

One Night in Alsace

 I have not long returned from a week's holiday in Alsace, a truly beautiful region of France. We stayed in a fabulous cottage on a hillside 700m above a village called Fraize. On the second night of the stay there was a beautifully clear sky and although the moon was in its third quarter and very bright it was still possible to look up and see more stars than I would ever see in the sky above my home in the North West of England. So of course I couldn't resist getting out there to capture some pictures of the stars.

For the first image I have stacked 22 separate 20 sec shots to try to capture part of the spiral of the milky way. It is far from perfect I know; I did not use enough dark frame shots to reduce noise in the image hence the annoying horizontal line, and of course despite using the tree to the right of the image to mask the moon it was so bright and some of the colours are washed out. Even so the number of stars visible in this shot is incredible.

For the second image I have gone for my second ever attempt at a star trail and I am really pleased with this one...

I took a few test shots to try to get the image framed right. The illumination of the house is entirely from the moon across the valley. The cottage had a security light over the front door and to avoid setting that off I had to climb in and out of the dining room window which was fun especially when I startled a local cat that was hunting in the hedges close by.

This image is a composite of 204 shots each of 30 seconds so taken over a 2 hour period. There was a 3 sec cooling down period between each exposure and I have had to eliminate some shots because of a plane flying through which left an annoying yellow streak through my first attempt at processing this. Actually this was the third attempt because for the first one I was aligning the stars rather than setting up for a star trail so it was very disjointed and I thought I had messed it up. However taking the time to review it meant I finally got it right even though i had been ready to abandon the project altogether. I am so glad I stuck with it and hopefully you will agree that it was worth it.

Cosmos

 

It is over two weeks since I posted last and it is incredible because I have so much to get through, but after long days at work mostly in front of my computer I just haven't really felt like taking more time looking at a screen and concentrating on processing images to share.

That being said today and over the next few days I can see myself spending an awful lot of time sorting through files and photos so perhaps there will be more to see. Who knows this might not even be my only post for today...

For today though I have selected two shots of a variety of Cosmos, a plant from the daisy family I believe. This one has luscious pink petals and a radiant yellow centre which really made it stand out. The texture of the petals as they curl seems to give movement to the flower even though it is perfectly still.

In the first image I just adjusted the contrast a little but in the second I wanted to try a completely different treatment, converting it to black and white, pulling up the contrast and increasing the blacks and shadows to create what I think is a really effective image. I love it, the movement in this image, to me at least, has the feel of fire and smoke. Maybe it is just me but however it looks to you I hope you will agree that it is a pretty cool photo.