Timeless

 For part of my recent trip to the USA I was very fortunate to stay for 8 days in Utah with an older couple  who I had got to know when they were living as missionaries in the UK in 2004. It was wonderful to see them after such a long time, and although sadly the gentleman has some problems with his memory we were still able to feel the close friendship we had formed all those years ago.

I asked him about some of the things he had done in the intervening years and he said "Oh I don't remember that now, but it is all written down in my journal" and his wife explained that until recently he had kept a written record of his life, and she has been putting them in order so that she can write a book for their children and grandchildren so they too can share some of his experiences.

I was thinking about this over the past few days and how I had been encouraged to keep a journal when I was younger but it was never something I took seriously. I never really thought that my life would be interesting to anyone else. Now that I am older, a parent and a grandparent I have tried to recall events and stories that I would want to share and I know there are big gaps and maybe I should have kept some sort of record.

To a certain extent my blog can be a record, not just of the things I have seen or felt interested enough to photograph and a record of some of the places I have been and things I have done but also as I share some of my random musings which perhaps give a sense of who I am. At the same time this is a public document and as a private person I have to hold back on some things too.

Anyway, the photos I have selected for today and the title "Timeless" seem to fit with these ramblings. 

Here are the pictures and the story behind them follows after...

We stayed in California for the first week of the trip and one of the highlights on out itinerary was to visit one of the redwood Forest state parks. We had booked tickets for a ride on a steam train at Roaring Camp/Bear Mountain near Felton. Due to a misunderstanding when we booked and probably in no small part to the effects of jet lag we arrived, believing we were in good time only to be told we had missed the train. However luck was on our side because the previous departure had been delayed and the knock on effect was that our train was also delayed and we just managed to take our seats for a truly memorable ride up the mountain surrounded by the most magnificent trees.

You can see why they are called redwoods from the first two photos which show the inside of one tree which has eroded over time and to a certain extent resembles a slot canyon.

The final two images don't really do justice to the reality of the circle of trees which was like a cathedral in its grandeur. To stand in the centre of this circle looking upwards, hundreds of feet to the canopy was a really humbling experience. It was just me who seemed to feel this because everyone who stood in the circle looked up in awe and seemed to speak in hushed voices. 

In other places on my trip I saw the effects of forest fires, where large areas of forest have been damaged and on my last day, driving to the airport I drove through any area north of San Francisco where a wild fire was burning on the hills along near the freeway and I was reminded of how fragile our planet is and how we need to take better care of our natural treasures.

Colditz

 Colditz, a beautiful town in Saxony was a stop off point on the drive to Dresden on our 2018 road trip. Following a visit to the famous castle which stands above the town it was nice to relax and explore a little before setting off.

In the main square there was a fabulous bakery and café where we bought some delicious cakes and then we ate them sat by the fountain. It was just as well that we did because on the next stage of our trip which should have taken about an hour, allowing us plenty of time to find our hotel, explore Dresden and find a nice restaurant, actually took us almost 7 hours. There was a terrific storm but this unfortunately caused a landslide which blocked the motorway leaving us stuck for 6 hours. This was certainly an unexpected adventure and by the time we reached our hotel in Dresden everything was closed and we went to bed hungry but grateful for the delicious cake we had eaten earlier in the day.

Hen Borth

 

Just one picture today, it is an image I have worked on this afternoon, trying hard to get it right.

I collected these pebbles from the beach at Hen Borth in Anglesey and originally I photographed them in the boot of my car while I was camping nearby on Friday night. I took the original photo using my mobile phone and I thought it looked really cool. I wanted to print it and hang it on  my wall but no matter how I cropped it or tried to resize it I couldn't get it to fit properly. It was so frustrating and after a while I had to give up. 

That's when I decided to recreate the image, this time using my DSLR and framing the stones a little better. I had to clean out the boot of the car from some of the dirt and grass left over from the camping trip and then referring to the original picture on my phone I organised the stones as closely as possible to how they were first time round, I took three shots using different settings and then selected this one. I had to do some spot removal in lightroom to tidy up the image. I then adjusted the shadows and brought out the blue tones to match with the colour theme of the other pictures this will hang with. I am really pleased with the result and I hope you will agree this picture is a real winner and so worth the effort I went through to create it. It is definitely too good not to share!

City of Lincoln

 

A couple of weeks ago I went to Mere Sands Woods hoping to do a bit of wildlife photography. I was disappointed by the lack of birds on the lake so I just walked around the woodland and stopped at a spot overlooking some fields and enjoyed a break in the sun.

Over in the distance I could hear the planes doing their displays at the Southport Air Show and was beginning to think I should have gone there instead when In the distance I heard the low rumble of four Rolls Royce Merlin Engines powering the Avro Lancaster from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight based at Coningsby in Lincolnshire. This is one of only 2 Lancasters that are airworthy. 

Having lived for some years in close proximity to Coningsby I was lucky to be able to see this magnificent aircraft on many occasions and I always get a thrill when I see it now. 

That Grinds My Gears

 I recently visited Erddig, a National Trust property in North Wales. It is a lovely old house in beautiful grounds, it has a rich history and is a place I have visited several times in the past with my family. 

On this occasion it was a bank holiday and the place was heaving, there was no space in the car park and there were so many people it really was not the quiet day out I had envisaged. It was a harsh reminder of why I normally stay home on bank holidays.

I didn't bother going into the house itself, the thought of having to squeeze through masses of people was too much so I stayed outdoors and tried to enjoy the gardens. I got some nice shots of some flowers and I managed to find a quiet corner to sit and reflect and as the afternoon wore on many of the families had left and a more calming atmosphere descended before it was time to head home once again.

On the way out a National Trust volunteer reminded me that there was a smithy and wood workshop just off the courtyard and so I popped in for a quick look.

For me this was, perhaps curiously< the highlight of the visit. I love this sort of place, I love the smells, the old tools and machinery and I love the memories that come flooding back of visits to my grandparents. Both my grandfathers had shed/workshops with lots of old tools which they looked after carefully. On Saturday afternoons we would spend time talking and tidying and sometimes making things or mending things.

It also makes me think about how much things have changed and how we have become such a throwaway society compared to the past when we would routinely restore and mend things That makes me sad so i am going to stop here and go back to remembering  my Saturday afternoons with my grandads.

Needles

 Here are two views of the Needles seen from Hurst Castle.

I have some happy memories of the Isle of Wight, as a child I had an aunt who had a gift shop on the island and we would often have day trips to visit her. I remember the ferry to Ryde then walking along the pier and then bus rides across the island. Sadly I haven't been back to the island since I was small and I imagine that it is a very different place 50 years on.

I have always been fascinated by the Needles rocks and lighthouse, because you can see how the power of the sea, its tides and currents, have eroded the chalk cliffs and shaped the landscape.

From the top of Hurst Castle you can see the powerful currents at work through the solent.

Although they are similar views I have given them slightly different treatments. In the first I think the boat in the foreground adds interest and gives a sense of scale. I have adjusted the exposure slightly to enhance the colours in the sky but apart from that all I have done is crop the image to give it a better balance. In the second image I have cropped it and applied the auto white balance setting which gives an overall warmer tone. 

If you look closely you can see three small vessels near the lighthouse which do give a sense of scale but you do have to look really closely.

Whitby Harbour

I recently managed a very brief break from everything and I headed over to Whitby on the Yorkshire coast.

It is some time since I was last there but each visit has some good memories attached and this was no different. It was a really hot and sunny day so landscape photography wasn't really on the cards but as evening approached the light changed and there were some great photo opportunities.

Whitby is built along the banks of the River Esk as it flows into the North Sea and the sunlight and reflections made for some nice images, I hope you will agree.

Old Yellow Legs

I am stepping back in time a little bit for today's blog. I have mostly been posting landscapes (though not exclusively) over the past two weeks and so I thought I would go back to some wildlife shots.

I have shared a similar shot of this Lesser Yellow Legs previously but its such a lovely little wader that I wanted to post another. It was nice still evening and the light was perfect. I love the way the light reflected off the water makes the birds white breast glow.