OUTER SUBURBS 142 – PICNIC TABLE AND SEEDING GRASSES, AFTER RAIN

 

 

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After an early shower, the sun rises above a children’s playground and autumn is just around the corner.

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Technique: TG-5 at 80mm (equiv); 100 ISO; Lightroom, starting at the Camera Portrait profile; south Bristol; 29 Aug 2019.
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BIRDS 111 – LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL

 

 

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This image is best viewed enlarged: click onto it to open a larger version in a separate window. and click onto that image to enlarge it further – recommended.

Lesser Black-backed Gull – giving me quite a fixed stare!  The medium to pale grey upperwings are typical of this bird, and the dark markings on the white head appear in winter.

This is one of the common, larger gulls in the UK, being found around coasts and lakes, and also as a scavenger in towns.  I grew up alongside gulls in a seaside town and have always liked them and viewed them as a normal part of the landscape, but many think otherwise, both because of the mess that these birds can make around human habitation, and for their sometimes aggressive behaviour.  Walking around south Bristol, taking photographs for this blog’s Outer Suburbs series, I sometimes have these gulls come down to have a look at me, but as I’m never carrying/eating any food there’s no problem – although I do always invite them to come down and try their luck – if they’d like a spot of bother, that is …

Technique: Z 6 with 70-300 Nikkor lens used in APS-C mode to give 450mm; 800 ISO; spot metering; Lightroom, starting at the Camera Neutral v2 profile; Herons Green, Chew Valley Lake, Somerset; 18 Oct 2019.
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BIRDS 110 – MUTE SWAN

 

 

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This image is best viewed enlarged: click onto it to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to further enlarge it – recommended.

An adult Mute Swan rests beside the waters of Chew Valley Lake, Somerset – while keeping a watchful eye on me!  It was a stormy day, dark clouds, rain and bright sunshine following each other in quick succession, and I was drawn by the way the light washed over this bird, creating shadows and highlighting textures.  Adult swans have white plumage, but this one’s head and neck are tinged pale brown due to the bird up-ending in the lake’s muddy waters when feeding, and the underparts are also slightly darkened.

This is the swan commonly found in many parts of the UK, sometimes becoming semi-tame – as here – around inland waters and also harbours.  Two other species of swan are wilder and less common winter visitors.

Birds are big with me >>>  I was a highly committed birder 1967-2002 and, while a photographer of many things now, I have never lost my love for our feathered friends.  In this instance though, that love is tinged with respect: these swans can weigh up to 11.5 kgs (25 lbs) and have wingspans up to 2.2m (over 7 feet), and they can on occasion be distinctly aggressive.

One of the many fairy tales (aka imagined realities) that help provide the foundation of Our Great Nation is that all swans belong to the monarch.  Well, maybe there is actually some piece of legal paperwork somewhere stating just that, but having fairies at the bottom of my garden seems an eminently more realistic and desirable alternative.  However, for those believing differently, I do have an exciting range of bridges for sale/lease.

Technique: Z 6 with 70-300 Nikkor lens used in APS-C format to give 450mm; 800 ISO; spot metering; Lightroom, starting at the Camera Neutral v2 profile; Herons Green, Chew Valley Lake, Somerset; 18 Oct 2019.
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OUTER SUBURBS 141 – EARLY MORNING 23

 

 

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Due to my carelessness, this picture is most probably not sharp.  Thinking of other things (Full English Breakfasts … probably …) I loosed off at 1/13th second when using a 100mm equivalent telephoto >>> and later could only hope that the camera image stabilisation would make it all right.  Anyway, whether said stabilisation has done the job or not, this is my only shot of the scene and here it is!

So >>> walking beside a blaring main road and glancing eastwards, I liked the contrasts between the first faint pinks of the sunrise and the various colours of the house lights.  The Outer Suburbs were awake and preparing to take on whatever the day might throw at them!

Other images in this Early Morning series – from both rural and urban settings, and from Kenya too – are here: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 .

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Technique: TG-5 at 100mm (equiv); 800 ISO; Lightroom, starting at the Camera Portrait profile; south Bristol; 3 Oct 2019.
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I AM THE LIGHT

 

 

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I am The Light

above

The Crossing of the Striped Horse
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OUTER SUBURBS 139 – EARLY MORNING 22

 

 

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Landscape – mostly vertical – with streetlights, traffic signs, trees, telegraph pole and early morning murk.

Other images in this Early Morning series – from both rural and urban settings, and from Kenya too – are here: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 .

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Technique: TG-5 at 100mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom, starting at the Camera Vivid profile; south Bristol; 26 Aug 2019.
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OUTER SUBURBS 138 – GARDENS IN SUBURBIA

 

 

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Front gardens >>> tasteful modern Minimalism perhaps >>> or yet another example of the ongoing subjugation of All Things Green to convenience and The Age of the Car?

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Technique: TG-5 at 100mm (equiv); 250 ISO; Lightroom, starting at the Camera Vivid profile; south Bristol; 19 Aug 2019.
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OUTER SUBURBS 137 – PARKED CAR 7

 

 

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Parked, claustrophobically; hemmed in by the blank, looming masses of the built environment, within which – we can only hope – warm domesticity universally prevails.

There are earlier images in this Parked Car series here: 1 2 3 4 5 6 .  Each will open in a separate window.

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Technique: TG-5 at 100mm (equiv); 320 ISO; Lightroom, starting at the Camera Vivid profile; south Bristol; 22 Aug 2019.
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OUTER SUBURBS 136 – PLANT GROWING AMONGST GARAGES

 

 

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In hardly the most visually pleasing of surroundings, a low angle beam of autumn sunlight still manages to conjure a moment of magic as it sneaks in between the scarred walls of old garages and illuminates the single natural and visually appealing thing there.

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Technique: TG-5 at 100mm (equiv); 400 ISO; spotmetering;  Lightroom, starting at the Camera Portrait profile; south Bristol; 17 Sept 2019.
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BRISTOL 154 – KING WILLIAM AVENUE

 

 

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The wonderful exterior colour of the King William Ale House, a favourite watering hole of mine in Bristol city centre.  An old pub, with good beer and comfortable seating – just the place for quiet  afternoons of decadent imbibing and good conversation by those of us in the retired classes.

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Technique: TG-5 at 25mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom, starting at the Camera Vivid profile; rotation; Capture NX2; King William Avenue, Bristol city centre; 1 Oct 2019.
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