Bouncing rain!

31st August 202131st August 2021 By cpadmin

In August 2021 we had some bouncing rain. It rained stair rods and it rained cats and dogs! The Weather forecasters have been saying how many, meaning how few hours of sunshine we have had in August 2021! It rained so hard that the drops were bouncing from the table on our patio. Not wanting to miss an opportunity I opened the patio doors, set up the tripod and started experimenting.

This post has two images from a collection images of rain drop “bounces” from more than one shower on more than one day.

On the image above with the plant pot, the “bounce” here is about half an inch across, we also see its reflection. The plant pot saucer is about 1 foot diameter. There is also a bubble and its reflection in the foreground. We can also see some stair rods coming down, one straight into the bounce.

And the rain came down — A single area of impact and its volcano like bounce

The bouncing rain above hits the table and then projects upwards like a volcano or a firework pretending to be a volcano.

See more images of the bouncing rain on the Compass Photography Website

Summer Garden delights

13th June 202113th June 2021 By cpadmin

Summer Garden delights shows two images of startling flowers captured in the garden today. The first image shows an an Osteospermum, possibly the Sunshine Beauty variety. This flower is also known as African daisy and I believe it originates from South Africa. I love the shades of the flower petals as they turn from white to yellow to brown in the summer sun

The second image shows eight of the eleven large red poppies in the back border. Three are yet to burst bud. The sun shines through the petals in this mid day capture. It gives the feel of having a light bulb behind them. These poppies have large bright red bowls formed by their flower petals and they have large black centres. A close up of these centres can appear as if they are large spiders!. The RHS website has more information on poppies.

It really is a joy to sit out in the garden in this lovely warm weather and see the summer garden delights. The Compass Photography website has a page of eight images of the startling flowers, all captured today. Follow the link

Summer will be here soon

21st May 202121st May 2021 By cpadmin

We all hope summer will be here soon and this wretched wind will blow away. The image below shows the field just over the road from Papermill Lock in between Danbury and Boreham in Essex. Papermill Lock is on the River Chelmer and it forms part of the Chelmer and Blackwater navigation. It connects Maldon and Chelmsford. Additionally, a great attraction here is the teashop, called Papermill Lock Tearooms. As well as that you can walk along the towpath and look at the boats, even feed the ducks and swans. Finally, of course you can sit and have tea and cake and watch the world go by.

On the day of my visit the field opposite Papermill Lock was full of buttercups. The yellow dots of the flowers went as far as the eye could see. Tall rye grass is also poking up in the front of the image. The sky was blue, with hardly a cloud to be seen. Summer will be here soon and I am sure we will get days like this one from 2019. To reach the Lock you go from Danbury down the Ridge and North Hill. From Boreham you travel along Mowden Hall Lane and North Hill.

To view more images of Essex click on this link and see the Great Places to go in Essex

Great view of Maldon

14th May 202114th May 2021 By cpadmin

You get a great view of Maldon from over the water on the Heybridge side of the Blackwater. Its a long walk round from the carpark, especially on a hot summers day. It was going to be 30 degrees centigrade on the last day of July in 2020 and so I was in position here before 10am to catch the high tide. This image shows the Hythe Quay, with a line of Thames barges moored alongside. There is a row of old buildings at the back of the quay including the Maldon little ships club. This recalls the “little ships” which went to Dunkirk in 1940 to collect the troops from the beaches. Sitting majestically atop the image is the church and its which steeple. The water tower also pokes its head above the trees, however we are not high enough to catch site of the Moot Hall.

A surprise?

It was a surprise to me that there was a grassy bank between the Heybridge side of the River Blackwater and the Hythe Quay. When you stand on the Hythe Quay side you are not aware of the bank and the further water after it. It must be visible from higher up though. Perhaps if you know where to look you can make out the bank in the middle of the water?

Still when all is said and one it is a great view of Maldon! More images from this shoot can be seen on the Compass Website. You can find out more about Hythe Quay here

Bright colours at Hyde Hall

16th April 202116th April 2021 By cpadmin

On todays visit there were bright colours at Hyde Hall. I visited on a sunny morning in mid April 2021 and wandered around the grounds. I came away with 95 images. Of these I saved 34 and discarded the rest. This post has three of the images. Firstly, and without doubt my favourite image of the day is image of Bergenia Schneekoenigin. This lovely chain of small pink flowers goes up and down across the image. It was not until I subsequently looked over the images that I was aware of the chain effect!

April at RHS Hyde Hall — Bergenia Schneekoenigin

The next image is a close up of the bright yellow Mahonia Aquifolium is next in the sequence. Bergenia cordifolia Purpurea has strong pink and purple flowers. I am sure it would stand out in the dark!

The Magnolias are out or alternatively coming out at this time of year. The pinky white raspberry ripple flowers are strongly in bud, whereas the white Magnolia cylindrica flowers are out. These last ones have undoubtedly suffered from the frost, as the brown petals show!

A new page on the website shows ten of the images I captured during this visit to Hyde Hall. Click here to go to that page

There are lots of bright colours at Hyde Hall. Its well worth a wander round. Check out their website

Low tide Sunset

16th March 202116th March 2021 By cpadmin

Low tide sunset is one of a collection of image capture on the river crouch at the Hullbridge Crossing, South Woodham Ferrers side. The setting sun was a strong orange globe and offered possibilities. The brown mud tempered by enthusiasm. High tide would have offered much more photogenic opportunities, nevertheless we were where we were! This image shows the sun reflected in the pink finger of water which is extending to the shore from the centre of the river. While the sun is setting people are walking on the river bank. Their reflections also appear in the water. The chocolate coloured mud is also turning golden under the setting sun.

Following other attempts, the position of the camera has moved to capture the globe reflected in the water. This shows the challenge of capturing images of a sunset at low tide. The position at high tide is different. Reflections are frequently offered from different positions. It is undoubtedly worth noting that a wet suit would be required to get an image from this position at high tide! So perhaps not! This image does show the pink water, which like a finger is lengthening as the water returns.

Six more images captured at this time can be seen on the Compass Photography website. Use this link to see them

RHS Hyde Hall after the snow

21st February 202121st February 2021 By cpadmin

Snow fell in Essex for the first time in several years, these images show RHS Hyde Hall after the snow. This had meant that local photographers have been short of recently captured local snowy images. Captured on two different visits the images show different aspects of the gardens in the cold conditions.

The first image looks from the winter garden across the grass to Clover Hill. Our eye follows the tracks of an earlier visitor across the grass. The shadows tell us that winter daylight will soon be ending. Secondly, we have an image captured from the middle of the winter garden, note the cornus in the foreground. The eye follows the path as it winds this way and that up the slope to the hilltop garden.

Without doubt the red and orange of the Cornus Sanguinea midwinter fire stands out against the snow and the bright blue sky in image three. It was great to be at RHS Hyde Hall after the snow, however it was freezing cold. More images from this shoot at Hyde Hall can be found in the latest images section of the Compass Photography Website. These include inquisitive robins, lens ball images and snow blown over a frozen lake.

You can also look up the RHS Hyde Hall website from here

Frozen pond on a freezing day

8th February 20218th February 2021 By cpadmin

Frozen pond freezing day — Frozen pond on a freezing day

Frozen pond on a freezing day is the third image of the same pond I have published. Captured at 0900 on a very cold morning this image offers little comfort. Two previous images of the same pond have been published, however this one is darker and more foreboding. The sky is overcast and it is snowing. There is more snow on the ground in this image. Snow lies on the arms of the large tree.

There is a distinct wintery image to this picture of the pond. The tree does reflect in the ice, however they are much less striking and dull. Bare branches of the bushes frame this image as they reach out to the pond. Moving around the pond to capture the image was a treacherous venture. I have been asked where this photogenic pond is. It is at the rear of Blackwood Chine in South Woodham Ferrers in Essex CM3 5FZ. Top Barn Lane is what this stretch was called originally.

Snow is on the ground and the forecast leads us to expect more later. The plan is to make the most of the snow. We get it so rarely these days, however there is always the concern of safety. More snowy images will be published on the Compass Photography Website Latest Images – Compass Photography Group

Pond in the snow

8th February 20218th February 2021 By cpadmin

Here we see the pond in the snow. This image captures the same pond from the same vantage point as the post of a few days ago. Snow, that local rarity, fell as the image is captured. It made the image less sharp and a little blurry in parts, however reflections of the tree are still visible in the water. Getting to the vantage point was a little more tricky though. Under foot the ground was muddy and slippery. Still you have to suffer for your art! This image was captured in the late morning yesterday, however the pond was frozen over this morning. The resulting image is much darker and not as attractive this one of the pond in the snow. The clouds are heavy and create a sense of foreboding.

There is a complete covering of snow on the ground today and it is so recent that there are no footprints in it. There is a covering of snow on the arms of the large tree today.

This image has a gentle sprinkling of snow on the bare bushes and snow in the air too. The falling snowflakes can best be picked off against the brown area on the trunk. Its such a rarity to have snow that I am going to go around and about to capture more images of snow later. Have a look for these over the next few days at Latest Images – Compass Photography Group

Reflections in the Pond

1st February 20211st February 2021 By cpadmin

Water in the pond — After all of the rain the pond is full of water

There are reflections in the pond! You may be scratching your head thinking why is this remarkable. Bear with me. This pond is very near to our house. Unsubstantiated legend has it that the pond was created in the dim and distant past when builders dug the Essex clay to make bricks. No one really knows if that is true. A neighbour who was present in the 1980s when the present houses were built said that the pond always used to be full. He said that “things” were dumped in the pond during the building process. When they were finishing off the builders pumped the pond dry and took the stuff away.

The pond is normally dry now days. When we get a lot of rain the water will accumulate. Recently, there has been enough rain to please Noah, so the level of water is high. There is more than two feet of water in the centre. One day last week the sun was out and I managed to capture an image of the water and the reflection of the tree in the water. There is just enough space to capture the spreading arms of the bare tree in the area of the water.

Last year a pair of ducks came quite regularly to take residence and its hoped that they will visit again this year.

This image is in the “latest images” section of the Compass Photography Website. Click here to take a look at them

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Category: Essex