Share this:

If I could look upon a single scene everyday for the rest of my life I would choose this place, Wast Water, high in the fells of the Lake District. Wast water is a remote area of stunning beauty, I use the word stunning as that is the feeling you have upon first casting your eyes on this place. I remember so well driving through the lanes as they became smaller and more uneven, cattle grids interrupting the drive and the sensation that your wing mirrors were so close to the dry stone walls, that the slightest deviation from the centre of the road would lead to certain removal of said mirrrors! But, that moment when I drove over another cattle grid and passed the National Trust sign for Wast Water I took such a gasp of breath and promptly stopped the car, walked several paces and simply stood in awe at the view before me . The sheer height of the scree covered slopes rising almost vertically from the deepest darkest waters to touch the crystal skies, the contrast to the flat grassy outcrops manicured by the weather, the far shores framed by the rising majesty of Kirk fell, Red Pike, Great Gable and of course the most celebrated of Lakeland peaks Scafell Pike, Englands highest mountain. No written word could convey that feeling on that day in that place. Beauty yet a sense of foreboding combined in a single landscape, pleasure and pain await the cocky conqueror of its peaks, a place where first you loose your breath and then your heart.

http://www.visitcumbria.com/wc/wastwater/

 

Share this:

This struck me as quite a comical moment, I’m sat at the car wash in town whilst the guy does the attended pre-wash bit, spraying the alloys and jet-washing the windscreen, I have the radio on even though I know at some point the radio will lose signal! He beckons me to move forward onto the bit that rolls your car through the automated car wash and advises me to engage neutral but leave the engine running, I haven’t seen him here before and so he does not know that I am a regular here and so know the drill well (after an incident where I automatically switched off the engine which resulted in losing the power-steering which in turn resulted in  my car being bumped along as the wheel were locked in the wrong position…..hmmm embarrassing!!)……anyway, just as the light goes green and the car lurches towards the huge rolling blue brushes and fluroescent purple foam the radio starts to play ”At The CarWash” by Rose Royce! So there I am, sat in my car in the middle of the car wash singing ”At the Car wash” at the top of my voice…….coincidence or what???

 

 

 

Share this:

Share this:

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and continued success in all your endeavors!

Share this:

 

Share this:

Driving to work a few days ago I couldnt believe the amount of rain that had fallen, flooding lanes and villages on my route, turning ploughed fields into shallow lakes. One field in particular borders the lane that I drive and the water had risen to almost the height of the road, swamping the fences and overflowing into the ditch, luckily it had not breached onto the lane! The light at that time of the morning was soft and low and the colours it cast across the water was so soft, like a watercolour painting. As I drove past I saw 2 swans appear from the edge of the flooded field and glide regally into sight, taking great pleasure in their new found home. I just had to stop! but as always there was so much traffic behind me so I drove to the end of the lane and then promptly turned round and headed back, stopping a few yards away on the grass verge, careful not to go to close to the saturated ditch. Then, would you believe it! My batteries died in my camera!! Admittedly it was only my small pocket camera but I was livid! Marching back up the lane to the car I had only one option, to use my phone camera, so not quite the shot I wanted, definately not as crystal clear and sharp as I would have liked but still a pleasing shot.

Share this:

Although I have been out with my camera over the last few days Id like to share the last few shots (that I consider blogworthy!) from  my weekend away in Sussex. Having spent several hours just watching the waves roll in and people pass by I decided that it was time to head back to the car before it got too dark to see the path. So, wandering alongside the inlet that flows in from the sea I wasn’t too fussed about taking any more shots…but then thats always the danger time! Just when you think there is nothing left to capture there in front of me was the most serene views of the inlet softly disappearing into the night…..a heron flew low level along the water but sadly my camera and lens were not quick enough to capture its elegant flight at low light, but the memory of that walk back to the car will stay with me a long time…..

Share this:

Following on from my last post I wanted to continue the story from my weekend trip to Sussex. The weather was absolutely perfect when I reached the beach, the sun was shining, the sky was the palest blue reflected in the sea and there was a slight breeze that seemed to propel the waves into the shingle beach, sometimes with a gentle nudge but occasionally with some force! I have often read JDT Photography’s blog (if you haven’t Id seriously recommend it!) and wished that I had the opportunity to photograph the coastal landscape and so this was a real treat for me! I wont even begin to tell you how many shots I took at Birling Gap beach, but it was more than a few! The one thing that I learned was that you have to have bucket loads of patience as nature will deliver a photo opportunity only when she feels like it……oh and the other valuable lesson was that when you are lying down to shoot the waves, make sure you can get up super quick when that wave is a little larger than you expected!!!

 

 

Share this:

My work colleague and friend Maggie lives on a canal boat and needed to visit the local chandlers (I think that’s what you call a shop that sells boat things!) which is situated alongside the canal at Brinklow, Warwickshire. So, I thought it would be a nice change from sitting at mt desk for lunch and also a good chance to maybe catch a picture or two. I wandered down the towpath onto the grass and stood for a moment watching a boat coming towards me, steam rising from the chimney as it made its way peacefully between 2 rows of moored boats, some aged and other pristine. As they neared the lady at the front of the boat called out to me with much excitement, announcing that they had been accompanied for several boat lengths by a Kingfisher! Now, the illusive Kingfisher is a bird that I have wanted to photograph for sometime, but spotting them is extremely difficult and this lady had also tried to grab her camera but missed her opportunity and so as they passed I tiptoed towards where they had seen it and stood quietly, hoping for a glimpse! But it was not to be, well not in the 2 or 3 minutes I had as we needed to head back to the office. But, upon looking back at the images, on image 29 if you look really closely at the boat moored on the left of the picture, you can just see the head of the Kingfisher as it sat on the edge of the roof!!! Now I know that to the seasoned bird photographers among you this is a pretty poor effort, but firstly I didnt know at that stage that he was there, and secondly if I had known I would have focused on him! Im on holiday next week, I know where I will be heading!

Share this:

As soon as I arrived home tonight I was determined to photograph something, even though it had started to rain quite persistently. So, I wandered around the garden looking for something, anything, but then turning around to have another look I saw this little chap flutter from the safety of a conifer tree and land un-elegantly on to the wet grass. There he (or she) sat for some minutes, at first quite still, almost statuesque, stuck like glue to the bubbles of rain before managing to find the energy to launch back towards the conifer and disappear into the thick foliage. So, having got a couple of quick shots I too headed for the shelter of my house, and disappeared like the butterfly out of the rain!