My G9ii Journey

As you may know, I'm a member of the St Neots & District Camera Club. Each year we have 6 internal competitions and in each, members can submit one image in 3 of the 4 categories. This year I'm focussing on the colour print, mono print and mono projected image categories.  The reason I'm telling you this is that in our competition this week, I got my best result ever. And this being my own personal blog, I feel it's ok to blow my own trumpet a bit  😀.  So, marked out of 20, my entries scored 18, 20 and 20. I've never had two top-scoring images before. Anyway, here are my entries MONO PRINT - "At Rest"   (18) COLOUR PRINT - "Hanging by a Thread"  (20) MONO PROJECTED IMAGE - "Tranquility"  (20) I can't see me ever topping that so maybe I should retire from competitions at my peak  😀 Thanks for looking Den

A photographer-friend and I visited RSPB Sandy in search of some fungi photos. You might think it strange that we chose an RSPB site to look for fungi but in my experience, it's a better place for fungi than it is for birds. Having said that, I know little about either and other more knowledgeable people might disagree. None-the-less, we had an enjoyable afternoon (and saw more fungi than birds 😀). For non-photographers, the closer the camera is to a subject, the shallower the depth of field  - in simple terms the amount of the image that's in sharp focus and not blurred. One way to get around this is to take a series of images with different parts of the subject in focus and then use software to merge them together to give a fully sharp image . This process is called focus-stacking and the photos here were taken using this technique  Ok, if anyone is still awake and reading this 🙂, here are somd of my images from the afternoon.  Thanks for looking at my blog. As always...

Despite having visited Bradgate Park a few days ago, I wanted to go again with the u3a Photography Group. No two days are ever the same for photography.  Towards the end of the previous week, the weathermen had been predicting sunny spells for the trip but they then changed their minds and opted for overcast skies. There was some drizzle in the air when we arrived but that soon cleared and the rest of the day was dry with a hint of sunshine now and then. I think we walked a bit further (and higher) this time and when lunchtime approached, we took the easied option and headed back to the village. It would have been good to meet up with others from the group but my knees (and a friend's) were beginning to suffer - coming down the hill had been harder than going up. The stags were much more obliging this time and we were able to get some decent shots of "The Rut". One of my shots happened to capture one stag "in all his glory" prior to mounting a doe but that won...

Westland Lysander When I first saw this event advertised, I thought it was a bit expensive for me. But then a friend told me he was thinking of going and it only took me a few minutes to persuade myself to join him. I do enjoy night photography but struggle to find good subjects locally. Adding to the appeal, the Collection's Westland Lysander was going to be the star of the show. It's one of my favourite aircraft and well-suited to a night-shoot because, during the Second World War, under the cover of darkness,  it flew across the Channel  and landed in fields in France where it was met by the French Rssistance. Agents were taken to/from France as well as returnibg escaped prisoners of war to the UK. One of the airfields they flew from was just down the road - RAF Tempsford. There is now a small museum there where visitors can stand in the barn where agents waited for their flight into occupied territory. When I was there, I felt very humble thinking of those brave men and wo...

The Old Geezers went to Bradgate Park last year and we decided it was worth a return visit. The main attraction for us was the "deer rut" which takes place at this time of the year. We arrived at about 8.30am and put on wet-weather gear as it was drizzling. Thankfully that stopped after a while and we had a good walk, seeing and photographing quite a few deer.  Around lunchtime, a threatening sky prompted us to head back to the car but the rain (quite heavy) beat us to it and we sheltered under a tree for a while. When the shower passed we headed downhill again. Unfortunately someone, who shall remain nameless, slipped and fell but thankfully, apart from being a bit shaken, he didn't injure himself. This same person felt unwell during our visit last year and was promptly banned from any future trips to Bradgate (not really 🙂).  I think we all found the walk quite tiring so it was nice to find a cafe for a bit of lunch. I had a Philly beef ciabatti which was absolutely de...

Two good friends, JH & JH, invited me to join them on a trip to RSPB Lakenheath Fen. Having had a rough, dream-filled night, I wasn't on great form at the start of the day but they were patient with me and gradually my mood lifted - thank you both. After the hour or so drive to Lakenheath, we arrived just before 9am and headed for the Mere Hide. Lakenheath Fen is a long, narrow reserve and unless you're happy to stay near the visitor centre, there's a bit of walking involved. A few years ago, I had more stamina than I have now and would happily have walked further but this time I was pleased to get to the hide, as much for a chance to rest as for a chance to take some photos. We stayed in the hide for about 5 quite quiet hours but we did see a Kingfisher (or two), a Great Egret, Buzzards, Hobbies and some dragonflies and damselflies. Some people saw a Jay and some Bearded Tits but they escaped me. Anyway, while it wasn't a great day photographically, it was good to ...

Four of the Old Geezers took the train to London and then made their way to Kensal Green cemetery.  It turned out to be much larger than I expected and contains a mixture of old and not-so-old graves. The weather was quite kind to us with some sunshine at times. I found the day quite tiring but good company kept me going. After leaving the cemetery,  we found a small burger place where a chatty waiter served some tasty food. The road outside was closed by police following an incident - apparently a woman had lost control of her car and hit some pedestrians.  According to a policeman, there didn't appear to be any serious injuries but they'd been taken to hospital for treatment.  Photographically, I found the day quite challenging and after a quick look, my conventional photos aren't very exciting. But I'd also taken my infra-red camera and I think that gave better results. Here are some of those shots ....

Not long after my last blog entry back in May, I suffered a major gout flare-up which was more severe and longer lasting than any of the previous ones I'd had. For a few weeks, I spent most of my time on the sofa watching rubbish TV or trying to sleep. I totally lost interest in photography and that lack of motivation lasted longer than the gout attack. Thankfully that interest has returned in recent months and I've decided to start blogging again.  My first Photo-Outing in October will be with my friends, the "Old Geezers", to London and we'll be concentrating on Kensal Green cemetery.  Cheerful souls aren't we!  :) As before,  please feel free to comment on my photos/blogs and it helps me if you sign/initial your comments.  See you soon Den