Tuesday 22 December 2009

Aaah!


Li'l red robin.

Thursday 17 December 2009

Mumbles Lighthouse


Mumbles lighthouse is near Swansea. The Kittiwakes lined up for their portraits.

Thursday 10 December 2009

Graffiti


Taken on the South Bank.

Wednesday 9 December 2009

Swan getting airborne


Like bees, swans were never meant to fly, but they do.
Eventually.

Tuesday 8 December 2009

Javelin


Duxford's Gloster Javelin.

Saturday 5 December 2009

Aussie Lizards


Bearded Lizard (Amphibolurus Barbatus) from the Australian deserts.

Monday 30 November 2009

Raven cruising


There must be quite a large brain in that domed head. It was using the updraft from cliffs to search the shoreline.

Sunday 29 November 2009

Piece of Cake


Willy Hackett? Of course he will. Mr Hackett was the pilot of this 1930's Dagling training glider at Old Warden in October.

Saturday 28 November 2009

Old Cogs


I tried this pic in both colour and B&W. Colour and bit of posterization seemed to suit it best.

Tuesday 24 November 2009

Coal Yard


The coal yard at the Black Country Museum, Dudley.

Sunday 22 November 2009

Car Park


Creative car park colouring on a Sunday.

Wednesday 18 November 2009

Lantern


A light-box treatment of a frail seed pod.

Sunday 1 November 2009

Breaking Rock's Halloween Gig










Breaking Rock: Jo on vocals, Pete on keys, Matt on guitar, Sean on bass and Ann on drums





Sunday 4 October 2009

More Shuttleworth Birds


The light was dramatic at Old Warden this afternoon and got better as the sun sank. These are the Hawker Demon and the Gloster Gladiator.

Friday 2 October 2009

King Vulture


One of the Shuttleworth birds.

Thursday 1 October 2009

Fulmar


Another image from Hunstanton earlier in the year. As the bird turned, the sunset was reflected from the ochre-red cliffs onto its underside.

Wednesday 30 September 2009

Walking on Water


It's just the shallows on Wells-next-the-Sea beach that make it look as if Olly is running on water.

Wednesday 23 September 2009

Jupiter Engine


A cylinder head and valve gear of the Bristol Jupiter aero engine at Shuttleworth.

Tuesday 22 September 2009

Scary Spider


Must be dangerous to something with stripy legs like that. From the other side it looks like a burger bun.

Monday 21 September 2009

Willie


By 'eck, did ah really say that? Ee bah gum!

Sunday 20 September 2009

Winnie


It is a truth universally acknowledged that all babies look like Winston Churchill. Young Finley is doing his best to live up to the tradition. Once he had belched a few times, he looked more like William Hague.

Saturday 19 September 2009

Red 'Kite'


Sorry about the ancient slang! I just like the colours of this picture.

Tuesday 15 September 2009

Red Kite



This kite with the fancy tail and missing wing feather was a frequent visitor to the Black Mountain site. I love the curiosity in this look at the flickering mirror of my camera.

Friday 11 September 2009

Lunch Control


These flying cats just try too-oo hard ....

Sunday 6 September 2009

Launch Control


One of the eagle owls at Shuttleworth leaving his perch. Talk about "flying cats"!

Thursday 3 September 2009

Frog

A friendly neighbourhood frog in our pond.

Sunday 30 August 2009

Lapwing


A chiaroscuro of one of my favourite birds, with lovely iridescence on the wing.

Saturday 29 August 2009

Stone Age Electrician


A combination of textures, colour and era seen in sculptor John McGill's garden. I didn't notice the dragonfly on the statue's head at the time.

Canon Can


An amusing photo opportunity at the preserved prefab at Duxford.

Tuesday 25 August 2009

Twiggy 2


Time for a change from black and white to .. er.. black and white (with a touch of red). This bird deserves the 'twiggy' title more than our kindling-collecting kite. Aerial elegance.

Sunday 23 August 2009

Thursday 20 August 2009

Miner's Bedroom, Blaenavon


This view is from the miners' cottages at the Ironworks Museum at Blaenavon.

Wednesday 19 August 2009

kite art


This is one answer to the question of what to do with the less well-focussed pictures.

Monday 17 August 2009

Nora No.5


Nora is one of the exhibits at the Big Pit Museum at Blaenavon, where black and white was again suitable. Not so suitable was a photograph of Margaret Thatcher under a sign saying 'Mines Rescue Service'.

Twiggy


Another of the snaps of this handsome bird. We were spoiled for photographic opportunities, and I remembered my 1982 trip to mid-Wales with Gerry Cotter where we had a only a couple of sightings of far-away kites.

Friday 14 August 2009

Dudley scene


The broad streets of Dudley town centre have more than their share of empty shops.

Wednesday 12 August 2009

Blue Sky Buzzard


This is a dream image for a bird photographer - beautifully-marked buzzard, every feather, leg and eye sharp. Mid-Wales, 300mm lens, 1/2500th sec. at f/9.

Tuesday 11 August 2009

Red Kite


After yesterday's rain at the Black Mountain Kite Site, today brought better light. The sky was full of thermalling kites and buzzards, but we had to wait more than two hours from the official feeding time before the birds came down, and by then everybody else had gone. Autofocus worked better when the kites came towards the camera and were big in the frame.

Sunday 9 August 2009

Black and white cows


After using a DSLR for ages, I discovered that you can take photos in black and white. And add filtration. So I chose a suitable subject. The oil refinery in the background is at Rhoscrowther.

Sparrowhawk


While photographing peregrines and kestrels on Ramsey Island, a sparrowhawk appeared and hung in the updraft long enough to be snapped. No idea what it was doing there - it's a woodland bird and there wasn't a single tree or even a bush on the island.

Friday 7 August 2009

Museum of Speed


Parry-Thomas's restored car 'Babs' at the museum overlooking Pendine Sands, where the speed records were made.

Wednesday 5 August 2009

Catching Kittiwakes in Flight


While fishing off Mumbles Pier, this young fisherman caught a kittiwake flying past. Ann held the bird while two fishermen untangled the line and the cross bird flew off unharmed.

Tuesday 4 August 2009

Kittiwake Capers


This juvenile kittiwake was refused permission to land back on Mumbles Pier by the older generation.

Monday 3 August 2009

Ann in cafe


For two days now I've been reminded to get out of the 180 degree view of her fisheye lens, so I took this flattering pic of her with it, but as usual it turned out nice again! Barry Island.

Saturday 1 August 2009

Stuffed Crufts


Surprisingly real toys from Crufts 2009

Friday 31 July 2009

Oystercatchers on the Orwell


Two oystercatchers who waited for hours in the same place to have their photo taken.