Rick’s News

I was messing about in the garden this week – enjoying the fine weather!!  Here are a couple of shots taken with my sigma 105mm macro lens:

Dandelion

Spider caught in web

Enjoy!

Rick

It was such a nice day yesterday, I went for a stroll to Leybourne Lakes and took a few shots along the way:

Footbridge over A228

Race Horse

Swan on the Lake

Serene

Please throw the ball...

Trees and Water

Cascade at the Abbey

Pretty Flower

Bluebells in Leybourne Wood

Sheep Grazing in the Afternoon

Who you looking at?

Cute Lamb - Where's the mint sauce...?

After such exhaustion – it was good to round the afternoon off with a pint of frothing ale in The Bull…

Time for a beer...

More soon…

Hi – I have gone back to ’school’ and signed up for the DSLR Skills course run by Practical Photography magazine.  As part of the course we are encouraged to find ‘Study Buddy’s’, fellow students on whom we can rely on for support, feedback and friendship.

Our first get-together was at Leeds Castle on Thursday 11th March.  It was a cold day – and there were only 3 of us present, myself, Trevor and Cath.  So I took a couple of portrait shots to start off with:

Trevor

Cath

After introductions over an over priced coffee at the Castle Entrance we set off to see what we could shoot…

Talking Photography

Stopping by the bridge – Trevor and Cath immediately get into  deep technical discussions (I think…)!

The first wildlife soon appeared:

A peacock struts its stuff

No fear from this particular bird – but insisted on moving making it difficult to get a great shot.

Peahen in all her glory

This peahen however, seemed to like posing and was much more co-operative… animal lovers may correct me if it isn’t a peahen, as might be an albino peacock!!

Fantail

From a different angle…

Still Showing Off

Nothing inspirational here – but I like messing about with tones.

Cool Tone

Trevor and Cath

Trevor eyeing me suspiciously as Cath tries to find an angle.

Close-up (uncertain vegetation).

For the next series of shots I decided to practice some close-up shot and try and capture some textures…

B&W Close-up

B&W can save the day when t he light is dull…

B&W Tree in Silhouette

A silhouette type shot and a high contrast shot of a tree trunk.

Stark Tree

Of course we couldn’t forget the Snowdrops:

Snowdrops

Snowdrops

Photography is about uncomfortable positions

Reflection with cool tone

More messing about with tones and Lightroom presets….

Female Bust (Sepia tone)

A shot of the statuary.

Black Swan

Finished up with a shot of a Black Swan who obligingly approached us as we headed towards the exit after another cup of over priced coffee at the cafe in the Courtyard.

All-in-all, a thoroughly enjoyable day despite the cold and often dull light.  Thanks to Cath and Trevor for an enjoyable pint in The George just up the road from the castle.  I am definitely looking forward to more study buddy sessions.

That’s all folks – more soon…

Rick

I have just returned from a week in the Lakes.  The weather was foul most of the time, but we managed to have a fun filled week anyway!  Last Sunday morning we took a trip to the Via Ferrata, along the Honister Pass. Click http://www.honister-slate-mine.co.uk/via_ferrata.aspto visit the website.

You don’t need to be an experienced climber, or to have a great deal of upper body strength to do this. You do, however, need a bit of bottle! The Via Ferrata was introduced in WWI to help troops navigate the alps. Here are the pics which I didn’t take because I had other things on my mind:

The Ascent Begins

Very scary…

Twitchy bum time!

The climb takes between 2 and 3 hours…

About mid way through the climb here

Clinging on - do I look nervous??

Ceris, my eldest daughter follows close behind. She had a great week, having got the A level results she needed to go to Warwick!!

Ceris follows behind me...

My youngest daughter, reaches the overhang. She did fantastically well as she was very scared.

Rianne

The whole thing was Mick’s idea – so cheers mate, a man can’t have enough ways to scare his kids!

My good friend Mick leads the way

Rianne perseveres…

Rianne navigates a tunnel used by the Slate Miners

Ceris does so too.

And so does Ceris.

Tired and nearing the top.

Myself and Mick about to emerge into daylight

At last we reach our goal! No casualties .

At last - the summit!

Here are a couple of shots I did take:

Jutinder and the girls in more relaxed mode.

I like this moody shot of a solitary tree on a Tarn not far from Coniston.

Small tarn near Lake Coniston

On Tuesday, we climbed Scafell Pike and what a slog it was. The higher we went, the worse the weather turned! Howling wind and driving rain was the order of the day. I didn’t get many pics as it was a struggle keeping the camera dry, but will post some soon.

In between epic adventures we relaxed in a number of fine local hostelries. Inns I can definitely recommend include: The Black Bull, the Crown Inn, The Sun Hotel (all in Coniston); The Church Inn and the Wilson Arms at Torver; The Drunken Duck (not far from Coniston) and the Queen’s Head at Troutbeck. Locally brewed beer was available at all of them! Favourites include: Hawkshead bitter, Hawkshead Gold, Hartley’s XB, Tag Lag and Coniston Bluebird (Champion beer in 1998)!

So all in all, a fantastic week, even if I did miss out on the heat wave back home.

More soon…

Rick

A super day out yesterday at Teston Country park! The annual Kite flying shindig took place – although to the absence of wind, there wasn’t actually that much kite flying going on However the weather was perfect, as were the picnic fare and beverages.

After the kite flying – we returned to Nick’s for a bit more R&R! See last photo to see Nick enjoying his swimming pool:

Harry & Shannon enjoy the sun

Here are a few selected shots of the day:

Nick

Nick & Family

Rianne

Teenager with mobile phone shock

Brighton Kite Flyers (inc Nick & Harry who aren't members!)

Me in a silly hat

Harry Finally Flies!

Nick in his beloved pool

Garden Table