JLPPC go to Kew

A very sunny April day at Kew with the JLP photography club.
Having made my my way to Kew via rail replacement bus to Hounslow, then train to Kew I arrived at the gardens just before 10 A.M. Headed to Snake's Head Fritillary flowers and they were in good form but not for much longer as they were starting to go over.

Met up with the group at 10:45 at Victoria gate then headed off around the gardens with Neil, who is recording a year at Kew so he knows a huge amount about the gardens.
There were plenty of people about but not so many as to make it uncomfortable. Took plenty of photographs of the flowers and glass house close ups.

Picnic lunch on the grass outside the Orangery then on via the fritillarys to the lake.

Group split up at 4 P.M. but I stayed on for another couple of hours to take advantage of the improving (less harsh) light.  Found a Golden pheasant deep in the pines near the Redwood Grove.

Early Saturday morning walk around Stroude

Having thought about taking pictures of naked trees I thought I’d better get on with it as Spring is well under way and the leaves and blossom is appearing. Having looked out the train window on the way to work, between Egham and Virginia Water, there seemed to be some good candidates for a walk.

Up at 6 A.M. and out to Stroude. Walked up past Whitehall farm and then under railway line. Lots of birdlife around and nice sunny morning. Unfortunately, not many isolated trees so the planned photos did not materialise. Still, I found a good spot for photographing steam trains as they head out west. (near the Proctor & Gamble building by the old pedestrian crossing).

On they way back down Whitehall Farm Lane footpath did take some photos of trees, young calves and a Jackdaw.

 

Technorati Tags: photography. stroude,walk,local

ACC Q1 DPI Competition

Tuesday 22nd is the first quarter digital projected image competition at Ashford Camera club. I have an entry for all three categories Nature, General and Portrait. These were taken on the Isle of Muck, Isle of Eigg and at the Chinese New Year celebrations for the year of the rabbit in London's China town.

The Nature picture is of a horse on the beach at Gallanach on the Isle of Muck.

This scored 9 out of 10, good points being the mixture of foreground, middle ground and background, the horse looking into the picture and colours in the sea.

The general picture is the photogenic red roofed cottage on the Isle of Eigg but with a hiker approaching to distinguish it from other similar shots.

The judge did say this was a typical 'chocolate box' image and there were probably some more interesting shots up amongst the rocks in the background. He also checked the walker was approaching the cottage as my title was 'Nearly Home'. They do take the title into account. The failings of the picture were also associated with the colours, which were a bit muted and could have done with more saturation in post capture.

The portrait was taken amongst the crowds at the Chinese New Year celebrations in London in February 2011.

This also scored 9 out of 10. The judge liked the 'moment' caught in the shot and commented that these shots can be hard to capture in such a busy scene; he wasn't wrong there. 

So, quite pleased with 26.5 out of 30 on the evening. 

The next competition evening is back to prints on 3rd May.

Ashford Camera Club website - http://www.ashfordcameraclub.org.uk/

Summer bulbs planted 11/02

Freesia and Dutch Iris bulbs from Poundland planted in the garden. Let's se what comes up.

New Neighbours?

Sunday morning, 20th February and a Blue Tit is investigating the nest box outside the kitchen window. There was quite an interest last spring and even some nest building but no eggs laid. Fingers crossed they decide to stay this year.

ACC Q1 Print competition

The first quarterly print competition took place on Tuesday, 1st February. The normal categories are General, Nature and Portrait. I put in two prints, both printed to A4 size at home (must do a blog entry on equipment used) and mounted on cream card.

The general picture was taken in Camden with the JLP photography club and is of a large soap bubble with pedestrians behind.  The judge scored this at 8.5

The second picture was a nature picture and was my shot of a Mayfly taken at Wraysbury in 2009. This was well received and scored 9. The points against were just that the body was a little dark compared to the rest of the image.

Ashford Camera Club website - http://www.ashfordcameraclub.org.uk/

Boiler fitted and working

At 4 PM the British Gas fitter (Chris) left the house having completed all the work for the new boiler. The system has been fully flushed and bled. The expansion tank had very dirty water in it. The radiators all (except one) have thermostat valves and the new flue and condensation pipes are fitted and plastered in. I now have taps to drain the system (inside front door and by boiler) and also a tap on the pipe leading to the expansion tank.
There was just one problem. The electrician could not find the cable that controlled the room thermostat so could not wire this in to the new controller. To get around this a wireless controller will be fitted, but owing to the the bank holidays and Christmas break he could not get hold of one this year. It should be a quick visit in the new year to replace the old thermostat and fit the controller to the hot water tank.
All in all very pleased with the job. It was well done and resolved some underlying issues (rounded off bleed taps, corrosive water and missing drain taps) with the system. It is already noticeable that the radiators are warmer.