ShareMondays2018 – Take Off

ShareMondays2018 – Take Off

ShareMondays2018 – Tangled

ShareMondays2018 – Tangled

I love that there are still some leaves on the trees bringing muted Autumn colours into early Winter. This week has been hectic! I only got the camera out for a short while yesterday afternoon on a visit to the Woodland Gardens, in Bushy Park, with my hubby. It was really nice to spend a couple of hours relaxing and wandering through the woods, without any pressures or deadlines! Speaking of deadlines, it’s just one image today for all three Monday challenges, ShareMondays, Fotospeed and WexMondays. Hope you like it!

ShareMondays2018 – Still They Stand

ShareMondays2018 – Still They Stand

Still They Stand

The stone ancestors
Through the eons still they stand
Quietly watching

ShareMondays2018 – Autumn’s Angel

ShareMondays2018 – Autumn’s Angel

This sight of this little egret at Bushy Park on Saturday morning lifted my heart! That glorious, bright white shining in the morning sunlight, set against the rusty browns of the remaining Autumn leaves. Has to be my ShareMondays and Fotospeed choice today!

ShareMondays2018 – The Deep Shadows

ShareMondays2018 – The Deep Shadows

I went to the Tower Of London last Wednesday, to witness the commemorative sound and light display, Beyond The Deepening Shadows: The Tower Remembers by Designer Tom Piper and Sound Artist Mira Calix. Yeoman Warders, members of the armed forces and a team of volunteers proceeded to light the installation, gradually creating a circle of light, radiating out from the Tower as a symbol of remembrance.

It was so evocative, eerily beautiful and a thought provoking tribute to those who fought and died during the First World War. With an estimated 40,000 visitors watching on Wednesday evening, I felt lucky to have a view and was delighted to be able capture some images, so that I could portray the emotional impact that this event has had on me.

As the Yeoman Warders directed the many volunteers to their areas, I couldn’t help but think of prisoners of war, paraded in line, heads hung low, their steps measured and cautious. Under spotlight and the wavering flames of the torches, shadows appeared on the Tower wall. They could have been the shadows of lost soldiers. Wilfred Owen’s poem Dulce et Decorum est came straight to mind:

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.

I felt like I was looking down into those dreadful trenches, transported into the past and standing witness to the extraordinary sacrifice of so many. The music was hauntingly beautiful, an extra dimension to this evolving installation. You can download it free HERE to hear the words of war poet Mary Borden’s Sonnets to a Soldier in this specially commissioned piece of choral music.

Set against the backdrop of the Tower with it’s own history as a palace, a fortress, a prison, a museum, with the walls covered in so much of the symbolism associated with wartime, this was a stark reminder of the tragedy of war. I want to say a personal thank you to the Historic Royal Palaces, the Tower Of London and all those involved in the production from it’s conception through to the final note, the extinguishing of the last flame. I was moved to tears.

ShareMonday2018 – Light Up The Sky

ShareMonday2018 – Light Up The Sky

I finally got round to photographing fireworks properly last night! This is from a local display held at Imber Court. I took a while to work out the location I felt best to view the display’s large fireworks at a bit of distance. A nearby recreation grounds proved to be perfect. I think I need a different lens for future shoots, something in between my two Fujinon lenses. I was pretty pleased with some of the results though! My lead image is a double exposure at ISO200 for 5 seconds. There’s movement with some crisp detail and nice black skies. My second image was very experimental so I would love to hear your thoughts. It was exposed for 20 seconds to get multiple bursts and maximum movement but the skies weren’t as black as I would have liked! Next time I may have to remember, remember a filter or two 😉

ShareMondays2018 – What Am I?

ShareMondays2018 – What Am I?

Need a clue or two?

1) I haven’t fully grown yet!
2) I am growing from the duff
3) I thrive in the damp
4) I live under a golden canopy
5) I will pop if hit by a raindrop!
6) My skin is very tough
7) Believe it or not I’m edible!!

Still not enough? Check the tags 😉

ShareMondays2018 – My Own Impression

ShareMondays2018 – My Own Impression

This was the scene I wanted to see at Bushy Park but the mist had lifted at this point! I loved the poise and composition with this stag by the lake though and had to create my own impression. A bit of Nik Analog Efex and some Topaz overlays soon brought my vision together! I also processed it with more detail using Topaz Clarity. Which scene do you prefer?

ShareMondays2018 – Intensely Autumn

ShareMondays2018 – Intensely Autumn

A quick edit on my phone of this scene from NT Winkworth Arboretum went down rather well with family and friends on Facebook on Saturday, so I figured it needed a proper process and a bigger audience!

ShareMondays2018 – Where’s Jenny?

ShareMondays2018 – Where’s Jenny?

Spot the wren! Not too hard to find with the Fujinon 100-400mm with a 1.4x tele-converter, but it is quite a challenge finding and following these birds in the grasses and reeds of Papercourt Meadows, alongside the Wey Navigation, with the naked eye. It’s a haven for wrens and I would estimate that there was an individual wren every few metres along the short stretch between Papercourt and Newark Lock. My tips for finding them are to find a good habitat spot, go early morning or evening, listen for the chatter or song, keep very still and look for movement (perhaps with binoculars or spotting scope) in the area where you can hear them singing. In this case I tracked the wren’s position by watching the grasses moving and kept the camera focussed on those areas, waiting for little Jenny to pop up into view. Be patient, let the wildlife come to you! Information on habitat can be found on the RSPB and BTO websites.