Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings

Way back in January (when the temperatures were much cooler than of late) a small group of Cambridge CC members visited the Avoncroft Museum of Historical Buildings near Bromsgrove.  We were en route for the Smethwick International Exhibition of Photography, and fancied going somewhere interesting before the doors opened.  It was cold, damp and misty, but the cafe (housed in the old Co-Operative Society building) catered for our every needs when it was necessary to warm up.

I haven't done any monochrome for a while, so I processed these while the temperature was too hot to venture outdoors.

An excellent place, and we must go back when we have a bit more time to spend there.

The Usual Suspects at Wicken Fen

Last Saturday, Harriet and I decided to wander up to Wicken Fen to see what we could find.  It was hot and hazy, so we eventually settled down in the West Mere Hide for a bit of shade.  We were treated to the occasional kingfisher, hobby and marsh harrier, but none of them came within photographic range.  Typical!  Instead I had to make do with a family of mallards which were patrolling the area in front of the hide.  By the way, the splodges in the pictures are not sensor dust spots but small black flies which were absolutely everywhere.

On the way back to the visitors' centre I spotted a couple of skippers on comfrey.  Botany is not normally my strong suit, but this was a plant which I recognised from my childhood since my grandfather was a herbalist and used to grow comfrey in his garden for medicinal purposes.

More Lakenheath Wildlife

Well, maybe not proper wildlife, but Homo photographicus instead.  Always a good subject when nothing else is available...

Lakenheath Wildlife

A couple of weeks ago, a small band of hardy nature photographers from the RPS headed out to the RSPB Reserve at Lakenheath Fen.  Being "Flaming June" the weather was cold, wet, cloudy and windy.  Perfect weather for photographing wildlife, in other words (not).

On the plus side, the conditions meant that there were lots of snails in evidence.

A longhorn beetle...

...and a couple more snails.

While the weather might not have been at its best for photography, we couldn't complain about the wildlife on show.  A couple of kingfishers were busy in the area where we based ourselves, and then someone spotted a bittern right at the other end of the lake.  It's a golden rule of bird photography that the subject is either too far away or moving too fast (or both) and this specimen was no exception.  The following sequence are virtually 100% crops of images taken with a 300/2.8 and 2x converter at around ISO 2000.

The bittern was minding its own business, having a good preen.

Although it had taken a while for us to spot the bittern, a swan saw it immediately and took exception to its presence, making a bee-line for its hiding place.

There followed a bit of a staring match...

...and then then the bittern decided that enough was enough.

Not great pictures, but an amazing piece of nature.

Speaking of "not great pictures", here's another rubbish shot of a kingfisher hovering.  Again, a 100% crop with the subject about half a mile away (well, that's what it felt like, anyway).

Slightly better, here is a female reed bunting on a stick (where else?).

Not a great day, photographically speaking, but definitely one of my better nature days having never seen a bittern before (always heard, never seen).

A Grand Day Out to West Mersea

A couple of weeks ago, Chris Fell and I decided to have a Grand Day Out (TM) to West Mersea.  This was partly because the Essex coast was Chris's old stamping ground, partly to give Amber (aka The Dumb Blonde) a walk, and partly to test out some Fujinon lenses which had been very kindly lent to me.  All the pictures are taken on the Fuji X-T1, and the majority are with the 35/1.4 - a little lens which I fell in love with (and now own).

West Mersea has mud aplenty, and Amber lost no time in doing some serious investigation.

There's only one solution to muddy feet, and that is to go for a long swim in the sea.  Pure heaven for a labrador on a hot, sunny day.

A little terrier took exception to Amber swimming, and so decided to yap at her from the bank.  Amber ignored the upstart initially, but then decided to get her own back (after having a good shake, naturally).

As well as mud, West Mersea is known for its seafood - especially oysters - and there were plenty of shells littering the shore.  That lens is sharp - even at f/1.4!

Chris himself had recently acquired a new Olympus OMD, and so was putting it through its paces before going away on holiday.  Nice camera; pity about the legs.

Not much wildlife around on the beach, but I did find this rather wonderful specimen.

The X-T1 is an amazing device - especially when paired with prime lenses.  The quality is superb, and the handling is very similar to top notch film cameras (such as my old A1).  The feeling of nostalgia is palpable...