A walk in the park

When I arrived in Maidenhead for my monthly visit for work last weekend, the sky was clear and the sun was shining to I dropped off my bag and went for a stroll around Ray Mill Island, which stands in the middle of the River Thames. Everything was looking very verdant, enhanced by the sunshine and even the ducks seemed more chilled out than normal.

View fullsize

Spring blossom everywhere…

View fullsize

I know grey squirrels are foreign interlopers, who pushed out our native red variety, but this chap was so trusting I couldn’t help but be won over by his inquisitive nature. He came within a couple of feet of me, no doubt hoping for food, but had to settle for posing for a portrait when I proved to be empty handed.

View fullsize

Photos taken 13 April 2024

All creatures, great and small

There was a time when I was a regular visitor to the British Wildlife Centre, but after a three year absence I was keen to return to see which animals would be out and about. The foxes took a little persuasion in the shape of some tasty morsels of food during the keeper’s talk, but once Ted and Basil emerged they were more than happy to loiter in front of my camera.

View fullsize

On the prowl…

It’s hard work being a fox, didn’t you know?! Click on any image to see it enlarged.

View fullsize

View fullsize

I think this inquisitive portrait of Basil is perhaps my favourite from the day - who could resist those eyes?

View fullsize

Down at the otter enclosure, more portraits awaited me, lurking by the pool or yawning in the sunshine.

View fullsize

View fullsize

I’ve never had much luck photographing the pine martens before, largely because my camera’s autofocus struggled to lock onto them behind the wire of their enclosure. My new Panasonic G9II showed just how much better the autofocus is and I was thrilled to capture this intense stare.

View fullsize

Down at the water vole pool the marsh frogs were showing very well and croaking in loud choruses. The first time I heard this sound was at Rainham Marshes three years ago. I couldn’t seem them then, and assumed I was hearing a flock of ducks quacking until I was told otherwise! The recording below was from that day in 2021 and gives you a glimpse of their very own frog chorus!

View fullsize

View fullsize

As Marsh Frogs call, their cheeks puff up into round balloons, which look very comical. I was able to catch this head-on view by leaning over the wall and placing my camera just above the waterline.

View fullsize

The cutest animals of the day were definitely the stoats, who were racing around, having tremendous fun. Catching them on camera was something of a challenge, but the feeling of satisfaction when I succeeded made it worth the effort!

View fullsize

View fullsize

Photos taken 11 April 2024

Tiger Bay

There was a time when Cardiff Bay was the largest coal exporting docks in the world, but you’d barely know it now. Known among the locals as Tiger Bay, on account of the fierce tidal current in the nearby stretch of the River Severn, it was home to workers from more than fifty countries at its peak. As coal exports declined it fell into a state of decay and the local area lost its sense of purpose for many years. Today it’s a thriving destination for tourists, the arts and the Senedd, home of the Welsh government, so I was excited to explore the architecture with my camera.

View fullsize

It may have been a Saturday when we visited, but the Senedd was open for visitors and it was fascinating to compare its in-the-round central chamber with that at the Scottish Parliament Building, which we visited last spring. Looking up from the viewing gallery allows you to see the cedar lined funnel which brings light and ventilation into the debating chamber.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Back out into the public area of the building, the funnel leads into a ceiling with the most amazing, swooping lines. These lines are made from Western Red Cedar cladding, a timber chosen because it will require no treatment for a century or more.

View fullsize

I spent ages looking for interesting juxtapositions withing the lines and these three are my favourites. I’m sure it contains many more possibilities, given enough time and a variety of different focal length lenses!

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

After lunch we popped into the imposing Pierhead building, which was built as headquarters for the Bute Dock Company in 1897. It was designed by William Frame, whose mentor was William Burges, the architect of Castell Coch, which I visited last year. With its Victorian gothic brickwork and colourful ceramic tiles you can definitely see the shared architectural genetic lines between these two buildings.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Some of the ornate details to be found among the terracotta features of the Pierhead. Click on any image to see it enlarged.

View fullsize

View fullsize

The terracotta fireplace caught my eye, but I wonder how clean those colourful tiles in the hearth would have remained in the days of coal fires?!

View fullsize

Looking back down that imposing staircase.

View fullsize

Photos taken 6 April 2024

Second time lucky

In early February I visited a muddy field in Devon in the hope of visiting a quiet redundant church. The welcome from the resident sheep was warm enough, but the door of the chapel remained steadfastly closed, despite my best efforts to persuade it open. Two months later I found myself in the area again so I decided to have another try.

I quietly let myself in through the gate and carefully picked my way across the muddy field. The sheep had gone, replaced by a solitary but equally friendly pony. I suspect visitors are infrequent, especially in the winter, so I stroked his nose to say thank you for the welcome.

View fullsize

My destination was Ayshford Chapel, a 15th century building built as a private chapel for the Ayshford family who lived next door at Ayshford Court, but today it’s cared for by the Friends of the Friendless Churches.

View fullsize

To my delight, despite this winter’s incessant rain, the door responded to my weight this time, opening to allow me a glimpse of the beautiful, salmon pink interior - a reward for my persistence. For a small chapel in such an isolated spot the depth of colour was wonderful - a lovely contrast to the greyness of the skies outside.

View fullsize

To my joy the sun also came out periodically, bathing parts of the chapel with a golden glow - exactly the sort of light I love seeing in churches, albeit infrequently this winter.

View fullsize

View fullsize

On the altar I found the Ayshford family bible, stored in a beautiful wooden casket. To avoid the attentions of mice and the droppings of bats it was protected with a transparent plastic box but I lifted this off for a few minutes to take my photos. before covering it up again.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Even when the sun went in the light was beautiful; the gently coloured coloured glass allowing soft pools of light to catch the simple oak pews.

View fullsize

View fullsize

A few smaller scenes from around the chapel. It was only when I checked my photos later that I realised a small snail was resting up beneath the door hinge!

Click on any of my images to see them enlarged.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

The small organ was covered with a cloth, but I sneaked a look beneath. I don’t know how often it gets played but the bellows still work and I spent a few minutes pedalling away to play a little Bach.

View fullsize

The chapel’s one big memorial, to two members of the Ayshford family who died in the late 1680s.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Just before I departed the sun appeared again and I think these are probably my favourite photos from my morning at Ayshford Chapel. Thank goodness I gave it another try - my persistence was definitely rewarded!

View fullsize

View fullsize

Photos taken 5 April 2024

Ghostly London

I’ve really enjoyed working on my new ‘Station ghosts’ project, but until this point most of my photos have been taken while I’ve been travelling, as I wait for trains to arrive. Last week I took a more deliberate approach and headed into London with the express intention of using some of the underground stations as backdrops for my ghosts.

The day before I called out to my friends on social media to suggest stations which had interesting architectural features to act as a stage, and I received some fantastic ideas. The station at Canary Wharf was already on my shortlist, with its dramatic top-lit escalators descending into the gloomy depths, so this was where I started my day. Sure enough, the escalators at both ends of the station gave me plenty of opportunities to catch some movement among the commuters passing through.

View fullsize

From Canary Wharf I headed for the Jubilee Line and this meant a change of trains at Westminster Station. The heavy, brutalist architecture has so much potential, but I only managed to capture a few frames before a member of staff told me photography wasn’t permitted, so I moved on. I was pretty certain this wasn’t true, but had no evidence so it didn’t seem worth arguing. Having checked the Transport for London website I discovered I was indeed correct and photography (providing it’s for one’s own interest and not a commercial shoot) is permitted. This was a useful lesson learnt and next time I’ll take a printout of the relevant page of the TfL website with me as evidence!

View fullsize

Heading north on the Jubilee Line my first train terminated at West Hampstead so I took this as an opportunity to use the Art Deco architecture as a backdrop for a photo. The next station up the line (Kilburn) has similar, even more photogenic features, but it was too bright to achieve a slow enough shutter speed - that will have to wait for another day.

View fullsize

From Kilburn I strolled the mile or so to Kilburn Park Station, on the Bakerloo Line, which is even more photogenic. The exterior and interior are decorated with beautiful glazed ceramic tiles but the feature that really interested me was the elegant cupola above the two escalators. I’d gone armed with a suitably wide angle lens and was delighted to find a staircase between the escalators, from where I could safely capture the movement of people descending into the depths, with the cupola above them - exactly the framing I’d hoped for.

View fullsize

Photos taken 3 April 2024

Excellent catting weather

Lucy loves this time of year, as the weather improves and creates pools of warm sunshine around the garden. Today she did a spot of big game hunting, catching a fully cooked chicken drumstick - heaven knows where from! After that it was time to relax on the patio, soaking up some of the sun’s rays.

View fullsize

We always leave one tomato pot free for Lucy - apparently on a warm day it’s the perfect spot to relax!

View fullsize

View fullsize

All in all, today was an excellent chance for some quality catting!

View fullsize

View fullsize

Photos taken 30 March 2024

It's all about the wheels

We’re only just at the start of the classic car season but the combination of a sunny day and a coffee and cars gathering at a garage nearby was too good an opportunity to pass up. I went along with my camera and a single prime lens, but with few preconceptions about what approach I might take.

My eyes were immediately drawn to this scarlet Chevrolet Camero which was catching the sun down one side. I’ve never really felt the desire to own an American classic car, but you can’t deny they’re photogenic!

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

From there I found myself focusing mostly on wheels - looking down into cars, or using the windows to frame them, as I did with this Mini Cooper.

View fullsize

I rarely photograph modern cars at these events, but the light falling into this Aston Martin was too good to ignore!

View fullsize

A gorgeous, race-ready Jaguar - simply gorgeous!

View fullsize

View fullsize

If only they made cars with dashboards this stylish today…

View fullsize

Photos taken 30 March 2024

An alternative view

During last weekend’s Society of Recorder Players Festival I was tasked with capturing some photos of the event for the Recorder Magazine, but that didn’t stop me looking for something a little quirkier than straightforward record shots. Having fulfilled my brief I look for alternative views of the festival, using the access I had to different viewpoints.

During one of the massed playing sessions I crept up onto the stage behind the conductor so I could silhouette her against the players beyond, catching some of them looking up to check if they were in the right place.

Later in the session I found myself in the midst of the orchestra so I could catch a photo of the composer of the piece being played. While there, this little scene caught my eye among the great bass players.

View fullsize

Saturday night was a ceilidh evening, with lots of enthusiastic dancing doing on in the school hall. Once again I crept up on stage (with the band’s permission) to try and catch a sense of movement among the dancers. This took lots of tries, to catch the band fairly still while the dance floor is a whirl of motion - not perfect but I’m pleased with the effect!

View fullsize

Photos taken 22 & 23 March 2024

Portals to the sky

I made my first visit to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford today, after a long absence. I’d hoped to be able to train my camera towards the skies, testing the new model’s tracking abilities on aircraft in flight. Sadly the sky was full of white, puffy clouds but not planes. Instead I simply photographed what interested me and these two images were my favourites from the afternoon. They may not share a common colour palette but one thing they do have in common is their purpose - portals through which aircraft scale to head off into the skies. I’ve always loved the architecture of the old hangars at Duxford, but there was something irresistible about the way the light was catching these elegant wooden doors.

The metal doors to one of the more recent hangars are more industrial in nature, but their weatherbeaten metal was positively glowing in the sunshine and addition of a red tractor and yellow trailer made a colour combination I just couldn’t pass up!

Photos taken 29 March 2024

Unseen passengers

My journey to Birmingham for the recent Photography Show didn’t quite go as planned, with delayed and cancelled trains. Rather than just sit around drinking coffee I decided instead to use the time to continue my station ghosts project. I began upstairs in Euston Station, capturing translucent passengers as they disembarked from the escalator.

On my return journey I had a few spare minutes before my train but instead of ghostly people we have a ghost train charging past the platform!

View fullsize

Finally I made it back to the tube and each time we stopped in a station I took a few snaps, looking out onto the platform. Once again, the people waiting for trains seemed oblivious to the movement around them.

View fullsize

Having said that, this chap does have a concerned expression on his face, as though he’s sensed the ghostly shape passing behind him!

View fullsize

My final image came from a different day, when I found myself passing through Swiss Cottage tube station. I couldn’t resist using its fabulously elegant escalators as the backdrop for some more ghostly goings on!

View fullsize

Photos taken 19 March 2024