Whatever The Weather

So the forecast is poor, but what the hell. We're going to head north for a few days. I plan to take the Ebony and the Nikon 35mm, the D200 and the F3. It will be good to get some fresh views. I might even see the sea.

Yesterday I went to a Scottish Downhill Mountain Bike event. Got some good shots on the D200. Very hard to catch the sense of energy and motion. I prefer the "blurred" shots.

Last night we heard a bird scratching and fluttering against the window. It was a newly fledged wren from our nest. A saw two of them and mum was chirping excitedly from the undergrowth. I also discovered that a blackbird has decided to set up home in the scented rose bush by the front door. Not the most convenient spot. At least she'll have some peace for a couple of days while we are away.

Jenny

I was able to get a good shot of Jenny Wren as she brought insects to her chicks. It involved hanging out the upstairs window to a dangerous extent. But the shot was worth it. Because Jamie had borrowed my Nikon 18-200 I had to use the Sigma 24-70. I always feel it's a bit soft. I may try again this morning with the Nikon.

Cave Dweller

On Sunday I discovered that an old house martin nest at the front of the house had an unusual resident. A wren has taken up residence and is feeding her family of chicks. We sat in the afternoon sun and marvelled at this thumb sized bundle of energy bustling back and forwards with endless beak-fulls of food. I've never heard of such a thing before. Amazing. If she's still there on Saturday I'll try to photograph her.

A very annoying thing I discovered on Sunday was that I had misloaded some darkslides. I tried to develop my river photos from last week. I was using up the last of my DDX developer. When I unloaded the dark slides I discovered that the negatives were loaded with the emulsion facing away from the lens. I didn't even bother running them through the process. I new they would be poor quality and binned them. It was just four sheets but at 65p a sheet it is still irritating.

So I developed the shots I took on HP5 on Saturday. The negatives look fine. I've decided to concentrate on the Delta 100 for the next while. The HP5 is good for portrait work where shorter exposures helps. But I don't need it most of the time. I've loaded up most of the darkslides with the Delta 100 - the right way around! I've only got four HP5 shots left. I plan to order some more film, the Delta 100, for when I'm off next week.

Small World

It was so warm and sunny. Macro called. The old quarry pools drew me in. Dragonflies and damselflies. The early ones. A Four Spotted Chaser, and a Large Red Damselfly. Baby newts amongst the Common Sundew drew the eye. They tried to hide from me, and the sun, in the shade of the bog plants. On the sundew a trapped crane fly stared back. Motionless in the glaring light. Held by sticky dew drops. Waiting. Red means danger.

Low Flow

It was a hot and sunny Saturday. We sat in the sun by the burn. The world breezed by. Carole sat and read. I walked the Ebony up the stony bed, only possible because of the low summer flow. Interesting rocks abounded. I picked up two interesting stones for my collection.

The sun dipped behind clouds now and then allowing some shots with the Ebony. Black and white, HP5. Not the ideal choice of film as the light was bright. Delta 100 would have been better. But the negatives look OK.

Greta

Last week I discovered that a pair of the Spotted Flycatchers which frequent the garden had set up home under the wood shelter. I call the female Greta, as she just wants to be alone. She sits pretty tight unless anything dramatic happens - like cutting wood. We try to give her as much space as possible. She's in a hard to photograph spot, but is a delight to have around.

Down By The River

Last night I took the Ebony down to the river to photograph some of the rocks. I haven't developed anything yet so I'm not sure how it will come out.

The riverside was peaceful and pleasant after the hot sun of the day. I didn't see a soul. As I started to leave I noticed a small colony of newts on one of the ponds. It was too dark to photograph them and I didn't have the right gear with me anyway. I promised myself I would return in the morning. Which is exactly what I did.

In the morning light I was able to get a couple of decent shots of the newts on the D200. And I also identified them as Palmate Newts. Beautiful little creatures about 7cm long.