Despite my January optimism, February has been quite a disappointment. Mostly the issue is timing, with sometimes a decent amount of sunshine during the week but then densely overcast skies at the weekends. It’s infuriating. It didn’t help that my car had something of a fit while we were visiting friends in Lincolnshire – enough … Read more Not a Fab Feb
Gimme a Break of Dawn It’s happening at last! The days are getting noticeably longer. It’s no longer nighttime when we arrive at work, nor when we leave at the end of the day. Granted it’s barely light – dawn and dusk – but it’s a start! It’s cold, though, and that’s still an issue. … Read more Daylight At Last – January Update
After a relatively warm November, the winter temperatures definitely arrived. Over the last few weeks temperatures have dipped below freezing repeatedly overnight, sometimes to the tune of 3 or 4 degrees, and one or two days they’ve failed to get above freezing all day too. Although the temperatures climbed again before the end of the … Read more December Update: Fridays and Weekends
Today, Boxing Day, would have been Maisie’s 13th birthday. To commemorate the event, I planned a tour of some of the destinations that Maisie and I most frequented. One place in particular, the upper Wharfe valley between Hubberholme and Hawes, was a favourite haunt and I have hundreds of photos and videos of Maisie playing … Read more Happy Birthday Maisie
Silence in the courtyard, silence in the street… At work we have entered “the quiet period”. There is little to no new work in, or even on the horizon, and nothing is currently expected until well into the new year. During the busy period, we dreamed of this time. Now that it’s here, I think … Read more November Update: Colonies and Sanctuaries
The long story It’s now more than a year since I picked up my Nikon D5300 on Gumtree and once again it’s coming into its own. In July 2021, I posted about the advantage of having a 24 megapixel APS-C camera over a 36 megapixel full-frame camera for macro work. Once again I’m doing the … Read more D5300 Beats The Crop Out Of The D800
With temperatures beginning to plummet and the hours of daylight melting away from both ends of the day right now, the time available for photography is becoming incredibly precious. Now that we’re into October the sun won’t rise until we’re at work and it will have set before we leave for home. The only times … Read more The Weekend Photo Warrior
Having bought this lens so late in the season, I was determined to get out and use it as much as possible as soon as possible. It’s partly a case of instant gratification and partly to fend off any risk of buyer’s remorse. Not that there’s any risk of suffering buyer’s remorse, though. Spoiler alert: … Read more The Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary In The Field
Something that’s common to many photographers is what’s known in the community as “GAS”. Gear Acquisition Syndrome is a recognised condition that can afflict any photography enthusiast at any time, and manifests as an obsessive drive to prepare for a photography-related eventuality that *may* never happen, by purchasing equipment and accessories often only very peripherally … Read more The Last Lens I May Ever Need To Buy
Last week, Sheryl and I made our way over to Cheshire to meet our friends Lynne and Mike. It’s a year since they tied the knot in Lymm, and they were returning to celebrate their first anniversary. We were privileged to be invited to join them, and arranged to meet them at the Gauntlet Birds … Read more Running the Gauntlet
