Upon the recommendation of a friend, Natalia and I decided to visit the magnificent grounds at Wrest Park. At this English Heritage site, we were treated to beautiful landscaped gardens, lakes, and an opulent mansion reminiscent of The Palace of Versailles outside Paris. The site was owned and occupied by the de Grey family during the 19th century, and has been recently restored to its former glory. The staff were all extremely helpful and friendly and we thank them for a lovely day out.Alas, the blue skies were a little shy this weekend, so I have rendered some of the images in black and white to provide a more classic look. I hope the photos encourage you to make your own visit to this wonderful place and perhaps to become a member of English Heritage.
Another sunny Sunday beckoned myself and friend Natalia to visit another National Trust venue, this time stunning Polesden Lacey, a majestic Edwardian House set in the beautiful Surrey countryside. The grounds are beautifully arranged and tended with seas of tulips and daffodils all over the estate. The house has some quite opulent interiors, with furnishings that are both lavish and of the age. I hope my photos here can do them some justice. Most are in colour, but some are rendered in black and white. Occasionally, I would photograph Natalia in the scene outdoors, to lend the image some scale. All the images were taken with one of the Nikkors 35mm F/2 AF-D, the 50mm F/1.8G AF-S, or the Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8 (used as a 16mm prime). There may be one or two below taken with my phone too, the Nokia N8.I hope you enjoy the photos, and perhaps make your own visit to this beautiful place.
A break in the winter weather allowed Natalia and I to visit Scotney Castle in Kent, a beautiful and scenic place managed by the National Trust. Scotney House is preserved to an elegant fascination with ornate bedrooms and furnishings, enlightened by the friendly and helpful guides. The grounds shimmered in the sunlight, and the castle, while small, provided no end of photographic opportunities, particularly of its famous reflections. The recent cold weather probably delayed the spring bloom, but some daffodils were out in force.All the images below were taken with one of the Nikkors 35mm F/2 AF-D, 50mm F/1.8G, or the Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8 at 16mm, effectively acting as a prime wide angle lens on the D600. A few images were taken with my phone, the Nokia N8.I hope you enjoy the photos below and perhaps make your own visit to this wonderful place.
Lisa and Rich took me to the fantastic Leu Gardens in Florida, a beautiful landscaped garden with sumptuous foliage and vibrantly colourful plant species of all kinds. There was also a lake with abundant wildlife, including egrets and herons, as well as ospreys and turtles. We also had a lovely tour of Leu House Museum, a testament to Harry Leu and his family who founded the gardens and donated them to the city of Orlando in 1961.Lisa and I had a great time snapping the kaleidoscope of plants and flowers. I hope you enjoy the photos and make your own visit there one day.
Had a great time at the Brevard Zoo during my stay in Florida, happily only a few minutes away from Lisa's home. Both Lisa and I made the most of this small but very well kept zoo, with some truly excellent exhibits. A highlight were the incredibly loud Howler Monkeys - I'm certain the entire park could hear them. Lisa and walked around the entire zoo before settling at the jaguar enclosure, waiting for an opportunistic shot. I have presented my efforts below in no particular order, and all images were taken with the Nikon D600 and Nikkor 70-200mm VRII and 1.7x TC.I hope you enjoy the images and perhaps make your own visit one day to this excellent zoo.
Spent a lovely warm day at Daytona with Lisa during my trip, where we drove along the world-famous beach and hung out at the pier. We also checked out the Daytona Speedway, although while we were there it was Bike Week, which meant a kaleidoscope of coloured Harley Davidsons. In amongst all the bikes, bikinis and gift shops, I was feeling a little lethargic with respect to taking photos. I shot with either the 35mm F/2 AF-D or my phone, the Nokia N8, and grabbed shots wherever I could. Sometimes, you just want to take it all in. It’s a great beach with beautiful white sand and Bondi blue water, and it was a great day spent with Lisa. I hope you enjoy the photos.
Had a taste of genuine Americana during my trip to Florida when I attended a couple of baseball games. This was the first time I had ever seen baseball played let alone photographed it. Lisa's partner, Rich, was the umpire at both games, and I really intended to get some shots of him, but I couldn't help indulging myself and photographing other aspects of the game. Because of my position, most of the shots are of the batsmen. The images are from games played at both night and day.All the shots were made with a Nikon D600 and Nikkor 70-200mm VRII with or without a 1.7x Teleconverter, and between ISOs of 6400 and 12,800.Well, I am pleased with these shots from my first ever baseball games, and I hope you enjoy them too.
Just returned from a wonderful vacation in Florida, where I went to visit my dear friend Lisa. She and her boyfriend Rich went out of their way to show me some amazing wildlife to photograph, and I have presented a selection here. Florida is a warm state with an abundance of alligators and birdlife everywhere, almost on Lisa’s doorstep! I managed to capture a variety of wildlife at both the Merritt Island and Ritch Grissom Wetland areas. I didn’t manage to see any manatees, but they’re not a very photogenic species anyway! For the last shot, taken on my camera by Lisa, I got within a few feet of a huge wild alligator basking in the sun. Inside my heart was pounding from the fear of knowing that it had the ability to move in a split second and could run at up to 25 miles per hour. As exhilarating as it was, I was also relieved to be out of there! But I wanted that shot J Other images show egrets, herons, butterflies, otters, turtles and more. All these images were taken with the Nikon D600 and Nikkor 70-200mm VRII + 1.7xTC. While not the longest focal length for it, one can get so close to the wildlife in Florida that it proved ample for my needs. I hope you enjoy the images.
After a big shopping spree this afternoon, my friend Natalia and I decided to chill out at the excellent RAF Museum. I had been here before, of course, but this time I didn't have my camera with me, only my phone, the Nokia N8.What was that about the best camera being the one you have with you? Well, today it was my phone. Others may worry about pixel-level sharpness and noise etc, I simply care about getting a half-decent image. And in the absence of my DSLR, this phone enabled me to do that.Since I have posted shots from both the Museum and my phone before, I thought I would be a little different and render all the images in black and white, something that the subjects actually lend themselves to quite well. The historical significance of many of the exhibits seem to benefit from the slightly aged B+W look. As usual, I try to look for different angles, sometimes following geometry of the aircraft or simply homing in on individual details.I hope you enjoy the images here, and make your own visit to this excellent museum.
As I said in my Cambridge post, I was so impressed by the King's College Chapel, I wanted to dedicate an entire post to it.The chapel is world famous, being one of the finest examples of late perpendicular Gothic English architecture. The chapel was built between 1446 and 1515, and the stained glassed windows were completed in 1531. Photographically, the architecture is a paradise of wonderful geometry, leading lines and fascinating light. I spent quite some time trying to capture the windows and high ceilings from a variety of angles, as well as capturing some small details as well. The magnificent stained glass windows reminded me of the those in Saint Chapelle in Paris.Most of these images were taken with the Nikon D600 and Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8 at 16mm (as a DX lens the Tokina will vignette heavily at length less than 16mm), and some were taken with the Nikkors 50mm F/1.8G and 35mm F/2 AF-D.I hope the images are good enough to encourage you to make your own visit to this architectural marvel.
My friend Natalia and I decided to take advantage of the sunny weather and headed to Cambridge. I had already explored Oxford with my friends, Genka and Petar, but this was my first visit to Cambridge.Much like Oxford, Cambridge is replete with colleges sporting architectural marvels from centuries past. The various chapels were particularly ornate, and the King's College Chapel, famous for its stained glass windows, deserves a blog post to itself. Absolutely stunning.Thankfully, Cambridge is a walkable town, bustling with either tourists or students, and we managed to explore quite a bit of it. We took in the River Cam too, full of punters punting, but the air was a little too cold for us to sit in a boat for any length of time.All the images were taken with the Nikon D600 and one of Nikkors 35mm AF-D F/2, 50mm AF-S F/1.8G, or the Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8 (at 16mm).Well, I hope you enjoy these photos and make your own visit to Cambridge one day.
Yesterday Jena and I decided to see the butterfly collection at RHS Wisley. The freezing cold outside was a stark contrast to the necessary humidity inside the glasshouse where we enjoyed a multitude of butterflies fluttering around us.The exhibit was extremely popular and people of a full spectrum of ages were there. For reasons passing understanding, I was slightly comatose yesterday, but I still managed to eke out a few shots. I used mainly my Nikkor 18-200mm attached to my Nikon D40. I hope these images demonstrate that what can be achieved with a consumer zoom lens and a 7 year old DSLR. For sure, some had macro lenses, and there was a time when I owned a very good macro lens myself, but I think these images capture the butterflies in their full body glory and colours.I have also included a shot of Wisley House and a few samples of the many plant varieties on display.The butterfly collection is on display until February 24th, so I would get down there as soon as you can to enjoy it.
Snow is a great excuse to photograph animals, and while the rest of the United Kingdom shut down, Jena, Natalia and I decided to brave the snowfall to see the beautiful cats at Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire. We were not disappointed. I had been to Paradise Wildlife Park many times in the past, and this was just as enjoyable as previous visits. The excellent keepers there not only let us in, despite the weather, but they also fed the cats so that they would emerge from their enclosures to be photographed. They even asked us where they should place the meat so that we could get the shots we wanted! Thank you keepers!There are many fantastic exhibits at the park, but we focused mainly on the cats. It was a noticeable irony that the only cats that were willingly outside were cheetahs, ordinarily designed for the African savannahs. By curious contrast, the snow leopard and Siberian tigers were nestling indoors. The snow leopard and white bengal tigers were eventually coaxed outside by the promise of meat. Between photographing them, we found some respite in the warm reptile house, home to the snakes and Chinese alligator.Despite the freezing conditions, the three of us had a great time and Jena very skilfully navigated the icy roads to deliver us home. I hope these images will encourage you to make your own visit to Paradise one day.
The weather was sunny in the west country yesterday, so my friend Natalia and I headed to Bristol, a city that I have visited many times but never really photographed intently. Odd, because I really like the city. It's clean and spacious, full of beautiful architecture and quaint little roads and cobbled paths. As a university town, it has a fair contingent of students, so the place feel like a young person's city. Bristol has a busy history as a trading stop and port, and there are still plenty of reminders of its maritime influence along the quaysides of the River Severn.We took in the magnificent Bristol Cathedral, another incredible cathedral; we followed this with something completely different in the Bristol Aquarium. Impressive enough, but, alas, no large sharks.We worked up an appetite by walking along the quays towards the SS Great Britain, the famous steam ship designed by the celebrated engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. After lunch on Cabot Hill, we managed to quickly take in the views from Cabot Tower, and then, after a brief stop at the Wills Building of the University, headed to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which always looks spectacular at night.I captured everything with my humble Nikon D40, and used mainly the Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8, and the 50mm F/1.8G in the Aquarium. Despite the high resolution sensors that are the norm today, the D40 still holds its own, especially the RAW files. The ergonomics aren't so great, with many functions requiring a journey through the menu, but it still captures pleasing images.Well, I hope you enjoy these photos and maybe make your own visit to this lovely city.
Yesterday was a slight break in the rainy weather we've been getting, so my friend Natalia and I went to visit St Alban's Cathedral. I have no religious subscription whatsoever but I enjoy photographing the ornate architecture that is usually found in churches and cathedrals.It was started in 739 AD by the Romans, but they ran out of recycled bricks. Then the Normans invaded and they found some stone and finished it in the 11th Century. One can still see the Roman brick work and Norma masonry in juxtaposition. Over the centuries it fell into disrepair as its maintenance was too expensive. During the Dissolution Of The Monasteries under Henry VIII, the many depictions of saints in the cathedral were defaced, and the building was looted. In the 19th century, some wealthy benefactors decided to restore and revive the Cathedral. It has the longest knave of any Cathedral in the UK.It is presently free to enter and relies on donations for much of its upkeep. We took a free tour inside that was given by a lovely and highly knowledgeable lady called Molly. All these images were shot at around ISO 800 on a Nikon D40, using any of Nikkors 50mm F/1.8G, 35mm F/2 AF-D or the Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8; the latter two lenses were manually focused as the D40 has no drive motor.I hope you will visit St Alban's Cathedral if you are ever in its vicinity. It is a fascinating and beautiful building.
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