There and Back

This Challenge gave me a rather tough time as there is not a lot happening on the fields around here in April. Fields have mostly started to grow, so maybe some spraying but not a lot else. However, a few drives around the area gave us some ideas, as we could include animals, machinery, and the like. Anything, in fact, that said `agriculture`. The first port of call was a field with five, (yes five!) tractors in it, mounding up potatoes. The patterns created were interesting, so to start, a few images of them in action. I just love symmetry! This time I capture four tractors in one frame This field is possible of onions given the patterns - groups of four mounds Plastic is omnipresent on farms. It is used to wrap silage, to cover crops, in tubing for irrigation and to transport feed and fertiliser. According to a 2010 report from Defra, 45,000 tonnes of agricultural plastics are produced every year in the UK. The biggest contributor to this problem, making up over 40% of the total agri...

On a very cold and drizzly morning in March I found myself on Pin Mill beach, camera in hand and with a challenge from Gill. This was to take all images at 50 mm (no zooming) and obviously no cropping when we processed them. It's harder than you initially think as you must be very careful in watching the edges of the image you are about to take as you mustn't crop!  When composing an image in the viewfinder, it was necessary to alter your position rather than alter the camera. This resulted in muddy feet several times as the tide was on the turn from high tide. Anyway, here are a few of my images of the ship graveyard. A very brief interlude of sunshine was very welcome at this point. Side view of one of the above boats Ropes thrown on the ground making a pattern One rusty hull of a houseboat One lone rowing boat Another view of the old houseboat The remains of an old anchor A view further along the river Orwell away from the boats.    Index of posts  

Hedingham Castle grounds have been known for some time for having a beautiful display of snowdrops in the springtime, and although I had been there before, we decided to take Izobelle in her half term holidays. Luckily, it was a lovely day, weather wise. The snowdrops are planted mostly on the banks, which were part of the moated area in the past. Firstly, an image of the remains of the castle itself. Hedingham Castle is arguably the best-preserved Norman keep in England. The castle fortifications and outbuildings were built around 1100, and the keep around 1140. However, the keep is the only major medieval structure that has survived, albeit less two turrets. It is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument. The manor of Hedingham was awarded to Aubrey de Vere I by William the Conqueror around 1086. The castle was constructed by the de Veres in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, and the keep in the 1130s and 1140s. To accommodate the existing castle, a ...

This morning was spent wandering the river side in Southwold with a brief of `DETAIL` as our objective. It's interesting what you actually see when looking closely at things you normally just give a casual glance!  So here is my offering of things that I focused on and recorded. It is surprising the little things, patterns or objects, which come into focus when you are concentrating like this. Well worth the effort.    Index of posts  

One of the things I have noted for this winter is the frequent occurrence of frosts and the picturesque scenery created by them. Just wandering around the village provided some lovely images. Here are a few of them. Around the playing field area with even the spider's webs looking beautiful covered in frost. Not sure what the spiders think. Then a couple of images of the river Brett partly froze. Frozen leaf on the frozen ground. Then a couple of images across the fields to Shelley Then onto Sudbury where these three images were taken on Sudbury meadows where the previous rutted field was now solid in ice. All very picturesque and well worth the cold fingers and toes!    Index of posts