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This was one of many in a really bright scene as I got there late due to the thick fog and a lone tree. Thanklfully this little boat came down the stream and i got the paddles as a cross.
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Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens. Single shot, refinement and 7:5 crop in Affinity Photo.
Delighted to find a species new to me while looking for slime moulds. This genus of fungus has several members - and colours. Bigger than slime mould sporangia but not much.
Access Denied. So often my photography muse, the Black Jetty. Originally built to pipe crude oil from ships and take service vehicles overhead. Now made inaccessible from the land to even the most reckless. Sections of the former vehicle ramp lay broken in the nearby woods.
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What else can I say about this thing? It's compositionally awkward, usually dissecting river views right across the centre of the frame. It's ugly beautiful, but if only some safety work were to be carried out it could be a marvellous viewing platform for the River Thames. But there's lingering questions of ownership. The local council concern themselves solely with preventing our feral youth from killing themselves...
Flatford, Suffolk, England
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Built in the mid-15th century, Valley Farm is a medieval open hall house and would have been home to wealthy yeoman farmers until the early 1900’s. Valley Farm was acquired by the National Trust in 1959 with the Field Studies Council as a sitting tenant.
The Field Studies Council is an environmental education charity. Founded in 1943, they provide residential and day field trips for those studying natural history, the environment, biology or geography.
Focus stack 16 images, Fuji XT3 + Fuji 10-24mm
The castle is situated on the Laich of Moray, a fertile plain that was once the swampy foreshore of Spynie Loch. This was originally a more defensive position than it appears today, long after the loch was drained.
The motte is a huge man-made mound, with steep sides and a wide ditch separating it from the bailey. The whole site is enclosed by a water-filled ditch, which is more a mark of its boundary than it is a serious defensive measure.
Duffus Castle was built by a Flemish man named Freskin, who came to Scotland in the first half of the 1100s. After an uprising by the ‘men of Moray’ against David I in 1130, the king sent Freskin north as a representative of royal authority.
He was given the estate of Duffus, and here he built an earthwork-and-timber castle. Freskin’s son William adopted the title of ‘de Moravia’ – of Moray. By 1200, the family had become the most influential noble family in northern Scotland, giving rise to the earls of Sutherland and Clan Murray.
In about 1270, the castle passed to Sir Reginald Cheyne the Elder, Lord of Inverugie. He probably built the square stone keep on top of the motte, and the curtain wall encircling the bailey. In 1305, the invading King Edward I of England gave him a grant of 200 oaks from the royal forests of Darnaway and Longmorn, which were probably used for the castle’s floors and roofs.
By 1350, the castle had passed to a younger son of the Earl of Sutherland through marriage. It may have been then that the keep was abandoned, possibly because it was beginning to slip down the mound, and a new residence established at the north of the bailey.
Viscount Dundee, leader of the first Jacobite Rising, dined in the castle as a guest of James, Lord Duffus in 1689, prior to his victory against King William II’s government forces at Killiecrankie. Soon after, Lord Duffus moved to the nearby Duffus House. The castle quickly fell into decay.
A return to Two Tree Island. The old boat, abandoned many years ago it seems, and that sky seem to herald the last days of summer. The waterproof camera bag is to hand. Are we ready...?
Two Tree Island, Essex UK
Last one for now - the great thing about Wednesday's storm (other than the show itself) was the fact it lasted so long. It meant I was able to get round a few different spots to see the northern lights in a range of locations.
This is my favourite little copse of trees in Lanark. I've photographed them in all sorts of conditions, but never ever did I envisage a shot like this :-)
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Tilbury Cruise Terminal, Essex UK on a cold and windy December afternoon. Here is where the Windrush Generation first disembarked in 1948. Today, cruise ship "Ambition" makes ready for her departure to warmer climes.
Two adders (Vipera berus) warming up together. One melanistic and the other wild-type colouring. The black snake was far more tolerant than its chum who was the lookout for the pair.
I certainly was. Busy day, chasing my tail. Eventually an afternoon walk with the dog with no particular purpose in mind cleared my head and gave me this so I’ll share it with you. He’s not even in it, having wandered off somewhere else. As a listening dog he’s hopeless…☺️
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Northlands Wood, Corringham, Essex.
SOOC at 16:9, HEIC file from iPhone 11 to JPEG in Flickr.
From the Richard Harvey Studio One
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EF50mm f/1.4 lens, single shot, torchlight at 2:00 o'clock position, speedlite off camera to lower left (1/32 power). Minor adjustment in Affinity Photo and 11x8 crop.
Joy is…
Joy is a boy and his dog.
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This is also my first presentable experiment in off-camera flash. EL-100 Speedlite via TTL cable placed on tripod to the upper right of the er...model. (Thanks pal!). The camera was supported on a box but I kept some ambient light and a high shutter speed.
Ok, so there's obviously a shadow cast to the left of the figure. Actually I quite like that. But simultaneous left and right side lighting is not beyond me. Neither is pulling the tripod over due to the very stiff cable, but only 3 times so far. 😆
This not a set up for serious studio portraiture but it will certainly do me as a creative set up for close ups. Wireless is for another day.
(SooC exposure, 10x8 crop)
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From the Richard Harvey Studio One
A rekindled interest in people shots leads me to watching this couple taking an afternoon stroll along the River Thames at Tilbury, Essex. It’s not about the scenery (thankfully). It’s about the moment. And a click of the shutter one second sooner or later makes all the difference. Then the moment has passed forever.
This may or may not be the moment. But I’m not using a long zoom on this stuff (tsk…). But I’ll keep looking!
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Tilbury, Essex UK
Our lone red deer has been rutting with the fallow bucks and from his limping I think he has come off worst. Although he is twice the size of the others he is finding it tough this year.
Part of my 'Duffus Castle through the seasons' project.
The castle is situated on the Laich of Moray, a fertile plain that was once the swampy foreshore of Spynie Loch. This was originally a more defensive position than it appears today, long after the loch was drained.
The motte is a huge man-made mound, with steep sides and a wide ditch separating it from the bailey. The whole site is enclosed by a water-filled ditch, which is more a mark of its boundary than it is a serious defensive measure.
Duffus Castle was built by a Flemish man named Freskin, who came to Scotland in the first half of the 1100s. After an uprising by the ‘men of Moray’ against David I in 1130, the king sent Freskin north as a representative of royal authority.
He was given the estate of Duffus, and here he built an earthwork-and-timber castle. Freskin’s son William adopted the title of ‘de Moravia’ – of Moray. By 1200, the family had become the most influential noble family in northern Scotland, giving rise to the earls of Sutherland and Clan Murray.
In about 1270, the castle passed to Sir Reginald Cheyne the Elder, Lord of Inverugie. He probably built the square stone keep on top of the motte, and the curtain wall encircling the bailey. In 1305, the invading King Edward I of England gave him a grant of 200 oaks from the royal forests of Darnaway and Longmorn, which were probably used for the castle’s floors and roofs.
By 1350, the castle had passed to a younger son of the Earl of Sutherland through marriage. It may have been then that the keep was abandoned, possibly because it was beginning to slip down the mound, and a new residence established at the north of the bailey.
Viscount Dundee, leader of the first Jacobite Rising, dined in the castle as a guest of James, Lord Duffus in 1689, prior to his victory against King William II’s government forces at Killiecrankie. Soon after, Lord Duffus moved to the nearby Duffus House. The castle quickly fell into decay.
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A favourite tree on a popular walk through the New Forest. I love these "broken" trees but like reflecting on the life they've had and how much they still contribute to the character of the forest and how important they are to the health and wellbeing of the forest ecosystem.
Focus stack of 20 images, Fuji XT3 + Fuji 10-24mm
The castle is situated on the Laich of Moray, a fertile plain that was once the swampy foreshore of Spynie Loch. This was originally a more defensive position than it appears today, long after the loch was drained.
The motte is a huge man-made mound, with steep sides and a wide ditch separating it from the bailey. The whole site is enclosed by a water-filled ditch, which is more a mark of its boundary than it is a serious defensive measure.
Duffus Castle was built by a Flemish man named Freskin, who came to Scotland in the first half of the 1100s. After an uprising by the ‘men of Moray’ against David I in 1130, the king sent Freskin north as a representative of royal authority.
He was given the estate of Duffus, and here he built an earthwork-and-timber castle. Freskin’s son William adopted the title of ‘de Moravia’ – of Moray. By 1200, the family had become the most influential noble family in northern Scotland, giving rise to the earls of Sutherland and Clan Murray.
In about 1270, the castle passed to Sir Reginald Cheyne the Elder, Lord of Inverugie. He probably built the square stone keep on top of the motte, and the curtain wall encircling the bailey. In 1305, the invading King Edward I of England gave him a grant of 200 oaks from the royal forests of Darnaway and Longmorn, which were probably used for the castle’s floors and roofs.
By 1350, the castle had passed to a younger son of the Earl of Sutherland through marriage. It may have been then that the keep was abandoned, possibly because it was beginning to slip down the mound, and a new residence established at the north of the bailey.
Viscount Dundee, leader of the first Jacobite Rising, dined in the castle as a guest of James, Lord Duffus in 1689, prior to his victory against King William II’s government forces at Killiecrankie. Soon after, Lord Duffus moved to the nearby Duffus House. The castle quickly fell into decay.
In about 1923 Mr. Edwin Cash sunk a well to extract mineral waters, covering it with a domed structure in the "classical" style. Subsequently the water was found to be contaminated by drainage running down the hill from the nearby sanatorium and the venture was abandoned. The structure remains to this day, a partial ruin hidden in the woods. Some people claim it is haunted by the spirits of children from the sanatorium.
Cash's Well, Martinhole Wood, Nr. Corringham, Essex UK
One day I'm going to start a project: photographing the BT Tower on Croker Hill from as many different places as possible. We see it from our back window... and it can be seen in the distance on this photo. It's one of those constants that we forget about and suddenly notice every now and again.
Thanks for looking!