Category: Heritage

Bluebells in Bicknacre

By cpadmin

Bluebells in Bicknacre – image of the week

Bluebells in Bicknacre is an image from Thrift Wood nature reserve in Bicknacre. Thrift Wood is one of Essex’s hidden gems. Hidden in plain sight as lots of people drive past it en-route from Danbury, through to South Woodham Ferrers.

The Essex Wildlife Trust manage Thrift wood. Getting to the wood is not easy, there is no car park. There is a small “pull in” on the B1418 where you can park. The wood has lots of paths to stroll along and round back to where you started. You can see more about Thrift Wood on the Essex Wildlife website for Thrift Wood.

This is a great place to go and see the bluebells at this time of year. It seems that the bluebells are a week or two early this year. Captured today at tea time as the shadows lengthened, these images show the carpet of flowers in Thrift Wood. The bluebells will probably come out further in future days.

Have a look at our other images at www.compassphotography.co.uk

Equipment: Sony SLT-A65V

Settings f4.0, 1/100, ISO 100

 

Bluebells in Bicknacre
Bluebells in Bicknacre at Thrift Wood Nature reserve
Bluebells in Bicknacre
Bluebells in Bicknacre at Thrift Wood Nature reserve

Jayne Kirkby Guest Photographer

By cpadmin

Jayne Kirkby Guest Photographer. Jayne has placed seven great images on our website as our guest photographer. Each image is of a harvest mouse. The tiny creatures are captured in slightly different ways in each image. You are invited to visit our website and take place in a poll to vote for the images you like best. Originally I had the mice down as field mice. A friend who “knows about these things” emailed to say that they were harvest mice. You learn something every day!

Here is one of the images. This is the link to Jayne’s gallery on our website where you can see all seven images and vote for the one you like best.

www.compassphotography.co.uk

Harvest mouse
Harvest mouse 1

Looking out down river!

By cpadmin

Image of the week – Looking out down river!

Looking out down river is the statue of Lord Nelson. The statue is in Greenwich, outside the Trafalgar pub and well worth a visit. From this position Nelson gets to see all of the boats travelling up and down the Thames. It is as if he is watching over the comings and goings. The traffic on the river is much less than it used to be though. Less traffic does allow you to see the sweeps of the river as it snakes around and back again. In the distance you can see the Millennium Dome. On the left of the image is Canary Wharf.

The statue was erected in 2005 to mark the 200th anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar. The Nelson statue was created by sculptor Lesley Pover after being commissioned by Trafalgar owner Frank Dowling.

The pub has great views over the river from the bar. Lots of people like to have their photograph taken with Nelson and he usually obliges without a grumble! Find out more about the statue using this link

Equipment: Sony SLT-A65V

Settings f6.3, 1/320, ISO 100

Looking out down river!

Solitary and desolate at Bradwell

By cpadmin

One October day last year Shru’s ‘Chatty Walkers’ group took a drive to the solitary and desolate Bradwell on Sea. The ladies usually walk for health and this day’s adventure was to seek out St Peters Chapel. The walk was breezy but it was a fine sunny day. The chapel, we concluded was the oldest building that any of us has been in.

In this shot is the lookout building which was quite run down. The shadow of the building draws the eye in to an up the building in this portrait image. Shru particularly likes the criss-crosses of the supporting wood beams that form the lower structure. Setting the image in black and white adds to its starkness, desolate and solitary feel. The open door forms an invitation to climb up, step in and look out of the windows to the sea. The whole place has quiet a solitary and desolate feel to it.

Settings:

Canon EOS 7D Mark II EF-S 18-135mm IS STM

F5.6   1/1250 ISO 100

Solitary and desolate at Bradwell
The lookout at Bradwell on Sea

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Curvy Round house

By cpadmin

Image of the week – Curvy Round house in Hastings 

Curvy Round house image of the week
Curvy Round house – image of the week

This lovely round corner house is found in the back streets of Hastings, on the South Coast of England. In the TV series Foyles War this house became the home of Detective Christopher Foyle. Michael Kitchen played the detective in the series set mostly in World War 2 and Honeysuckle Weeks played his assistant. 

No straight bits

I love the curves of the building and the fact that it is sits on a curve in the street too. The door panel is the only piece of straight wall! It would be lovely to see the inside of the building. Construction work was taking place in adjacent properties on the day I visited. This meant I had to work round a skip and make sure that it and other builder’s materials did not appear in the image! I noticed a lot of small grey stones in the gutters and at the side of the road, some are just visible in the picture. These were probably used to mask the double yellow lines in the television shots. I found Hastings an interesting place to visit, there was lots to see there.

Equipment: Sony SLT-A65V, Tamron 16-300mm

Settings f5.6, 1/640, ISO 100

Adventure in India

By cpadmin

Adventure in India December 2018

Shru’s adventure in India lasted for two weeks in December 2018. This iconic building has been on her ‘bucket list’ for a very long time.

Adventure in India
Taj Mahal

It was her first time touring the ‘golden triangle’ since she was 4! The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum made from marble. The guide informed Shru that the white marble changes colour depending on the light. Further, the minarets on the four corners are built slightly angled outwards. This prevents them collapsing on the tombs in the event of an earthquake!

This shot was chosen from the many many captured as the reflection in the water feature is shown this famous building in a different view.  There is movement in the water but the building is still recognisable.

Canon EOS 7D Mark II EF-S  18-135mm IS STM

F11   1/8000 ISO 6400

Curvy Tree Charlecote Park

By cpadmin


Image of the week

Image of the week – Curvy Tree Charlecote Park.

curvy tree Charlecote park
Curvy tree Charlecote park


Charlecote Park is grand 16th-century country house, surrounded by its own deer park, on the banks of the River Avon near Wellesbourne, about 4 miles east of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. It has been administered by the National Trust since 1946 and is open to the public.

To the left hand side of the main house is the stable block. The path leads down to a bridge and onwards to the deer park. On the first weekend of the year, this pine tree caught my interest for the curvy way its trunk had grown upwards.

Perhaps the tree had been bent into a stake in earlier years. However, now the trunk turns right then it comes back to vertical at it progresses upwards. This is nature’s way of autocorrecting the mistakes that we humans make!

The house was not open to look round when we were there, Charlecote Park would make a lovely place to go again in the summer.

NB: This is the second go at this post as the original one did not transfer the image to Facebook!

Equipment: Sony SLT A65V, Tamron 16:300mm lens. F4 1/500, ISO 100.

Image of the week – Curvy Tree in Charlecote Park

By cpadmin

Image of the week – Curvy Tree in Charlecote Park.


Image of the week – Curvy Tree in Charlecote Park. Charlecote Park is grand 16th-century country house, surrounded by its own deer park, on the banks of the River Avon near Wellesbourne, about 4 miles east of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. It has been administered by the National Trust since 1946 and is open to the public.

  • curvy tree Charlecote park
    Curvy tree at Charlecote park

To the left hand side of the main house is the stable block. The path leads down to a bridge and onwards to the deer park. On the first weekend of the year, this pine tree caught my interest for the curvy way its trunk had grown upwards.

Perhaps the tree had been bent into a stake in earlier years. However, now the trunk turns right then it comes back to vertical at it progresses upwards. This is nature’s way of autocorrecting the mistakes that we humans make!

The house was not open to look round when we were there, Charlecote Park would make a lovely place to go again in the summer

Equipment: Sony SLT A65V, Tamron 16:300mm lens. F4 1/500, ISO 100.

January Colours at RHS Hyde Hall

By cpadmin

January Colours at RHS Hyde Hall today.

A display of Colour at RHS Hyde Hall today

January colours at RHS Hyde Hall today. A cold misty day, we scraped ice off the car to get it going.

  • January Colours at RHS Hyde Hall
    The partially frozen lake
  • January Colours at RHS Hyde Hall
    Yellow Mahonia
  • January Colours at RHS Hyde Hall
    Undulating hills
  • January Colours at RHS Hyde Hall
    Callicarpa bodinieri
  • January Colours at RHS Hyde Hall
    Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’

When RHS Hyde Hall opened today there was a queue of schoolchildren but very few normal members. The walk around the gardens took over an hour, it was too cold to linger anywhere. Ice covered both ponds in parts and some of the plants had a covering of frost on them. Yet if you looked there was colour. The Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’ was particularly vibrant. Here there gardens have enough space to place enough plants together to provide a spectacular show of yellow and red colours. Yellow Mahonia plants were also striking and looked good in close up. In focus in one image in the foreground, the purple berried Callicarpa bodinieri is set against a background screen of yellow Cornus sericea. Pastel shades were also on display in the winter sky over the lake and the undulating distant hills.

See our galleries of other images from Hyde Hall

Equipment: Sony SLT-A65V, Tamron 16-300mm

Settings: F5.6 1/50 ISO 100

    On the right lines!

    By cpadmin

    Waiting for Passengers

    On the right lines! This image was captured at Crich Tramway Village, Derbyshire, in October 2018.

    On the right lines!
    Glasgow tram ready to depart

    The venue ran trams on into the evening during half term week in October. Here the tram prepares to depart, watched over by an old police car and a “Dr Who” police box.

    There is a warming feel to this image, emanating from the light sources. Light from the tram’s spotlight turns the rails golden. The light also highlights the trams path, which is to slew right at the points on to the outward track.

    A queue of people (off camera) is waiting to board the two trams, which are empty at the moment. It was a real joy to play with the camera at this venue in the night time setting. Well worth the journey!

    Number 22 originates from Glasgow, the tram behind this one is from London.

    Equipment: Sony SLT-A65V, Tamron 16-300mm

    Settings: F5 1.3 ISO 200