December 2020 – Photographic Musings……… Or

Well, what a year that was…

It’s been a horrid year in lots of ways, and I bet a lot of us will be glad to see the back of it.. I’ve tried to see the bright side, but sometimes it does get you down, and I worry very much about what 2021 will bring – at least in the first half of the year. Fingers crossed the vaccine will work, and that more will be on the way soon…..

The weather has turned a bit more wintery recently, and so getting out and about has been a bit more difficult – however, there have been some good days this month, and the colder weather has brought waders to our beaches.

Twice this week, I’ve been able to nip to the coast, and see what’s about as the tide recedes.

The problem, if you will, with this time of year, is that not only does it get dark early, but the light changes fast. It started off dark grey, I was focussed on the Dunlin. I kept shooting for quite some time, varying ISO and shutter speeds, and any other factors that I could. The penny slowly dropped that the light had changed completely, the sky was blue, the light was stronger, and warmer, and things were picking up …

It looked like summer through the viewfinder……..

The blues became incredibly intense, to the point that it didn’t seem realistic.

And, as suddenly as it came – it went……

It got a little later in the day – people were thinning out – fewer dogs on the beach, and just one chap with a metal detector. He was up and down the beach – moving the birds on in front of him….. waiting to be moved was a Little Egret, it hung on, and hung on, and suddenly was off, in a flurry of water and wings

I was just thinking to call it a day, when I spotted an Oystercatcher on the shore – there was a group of 4, and each time I got close, they either ran up the shoreline, or flew away – this time, one remained behind – and puttered around in the water…..

What made this attractive to me now, was the light, and the colour on the water…..

Fashion photographer Barbara Bordnick once said “we walk by wonders every day and don’t see them. We only stop at what shouts the loudest”.

I feel it is a photographers duty to stop and see things that don’t shout out. Everything has some beauty, even the simplest of things. We just need to learn to see them, and take time to collect the images. It’s at this time – we stop saying “but, there’s nothing here to shoot”.

I think this will be the last blog post of the year…… so I want to wish you all the Merriest Christmas you can have – take care of yourselves. Maintain that social distancing – it’s the best thing we can do for each other –

Keep shooting – stay safe…..

See you in the new year… may 2021 be a better one…..

Twelve Months of Covid – December

The festive season is nearly upon us – the world looks grey and cold but there are red berries, and hopefully something to look forward to.

Looking back, there have been some good things to come out of what seems like a perpetual lockdown. Nature has had time to breathe, and I’ve taken more photographs than I thought I would back in March.

Zoom has been a lifeline to many – the Royal Photographic Society, have put on more talks and presentations than I’ve ever been to. I feel more a part of that than I have in all the years I’ve been a member.

The camera club has flourished. We have had more speakers in the last 10 months, than I’ve seen in the last 10 years….. it’s been inspirational.

Yes, I’ve panicked a lot, cried some, worried about friends and relatives all over the world, but somehow, for us at least, we got through to December without too much tragedy.

I’ve learned how to make silly things, and edit them – I’ve used a lens ball more than I thought I would – and I’m half way through a course that will let me use the drone commercially…… (Assuming I pass the exam of course)….

Next year has to be better – I can only hope the vaccination process comes on, and that we can all move into a better stage of our lives by Easter……

Take care, stay safe, keep your distance…………

On the first month of covid – we went to Woodhall Spa
On the second month of covid – we went to Humber Bridge
On the Third month of covid – we went as far as the garden pond
On the fourth month of covid – we were still in the garden
On the fifth month of covid – we went on bike rides, but mostly stayed at home
On the sixth month of covid – we went to the local woods
On the seventh month of covid – we headed to the beach
On the eighth month of covid – we stayed in again
On the ninth month of covid – we flew……
On the tenth month of covid – we headed to the woods
On the eleventh month of covid – we went into the wolds
On the twelfth month – we are requested to stay indoors and only meet relatives for a 5 day window………..

OH, and I know this is early, but Merry Christmas !!!

Twelve Months of Covid – November

This month, hubby comes down with a cough, a cold, headache, fever – and I just ‘know’ it’s the Virus….. at 3.30am on a Sunday morning I’m ordering an online test…. it arrives Tuesday afternoon – he does the test at home and posts it off into an NHS priority post box for collection at 5pm – the results come through by text Wednesday afternoon – negative……. he’s just got a cough……

Relief…… I’ve spent two days in crisis mode.. I wonder what people go through with relatives in hospital that they can’t visit (and not for the first time feel a sense of terror, and things being out of control)…. It’s quiet where we live – a very low density of population, but it’s coming -we have our backs to the sea, so there’s nowhere to run to.

We come out of lockdown 2 on December 2nd, and Lincolnshire is in the highest tier….

November is also deer rut time – this year I don’t go, nor do I go and visit the seals that haul up at Donna Nook to give birth to their pups. I find that the viewing area is closed off anyway.

I return to the woods…. bathe there, walk there, meditate there…….. it’s quiet, peaceful…….

No fireworks this year, no bonfire night – no Halloween trick or treaters….. I did buy pumpkins but just made them into a winter soup…..

The mornings are cold, and misty – we drive out into the Wolds and launch the drone – the fog is thin but covers the hillsides and makes for a dreamy landscape…….

December is coming all too soon -with the promise of a relaxing of rules for five days….. part of me wonders what is going to happen during that time….. will it make things worse……

The consolation is that there are more vaccines coming onto the market – we hope………

Twelve months of Covid – October

The days get shorter, the nights get longer and colder. I want to sleep the winter out, and wake up to a covid free world. Leaves are falling. Bats look for a winter roost – we put bat boxes up in the local churchyard.

There’s good news at last – the prospect of a vaccine….. and at last I’m able to get a flu jab…..

Out to the beach again, with a friend – we go in different cars, but are able to get a coffee at a real cafe… we enter and leave wearing our masks, but the ‘normalcy’ of sitting inside with a bacon bap and drinking tea and coffee, brings back memories of the halcyon days last year when this was all but commonplace.

I try the drone this day- but the wind is so strong it won’t move forward. I take a photo and put it away…..

I get out with another friend for a walk in the woods. Explore somewhere I’ve never been before… the colours are amazing, and I temporarily forget that there’s a problem in the world…. my friend talks about ‘forest bathing’ – and I can see his point. I come away feeling relaxed and yet energised….

I even start to learn a bit about fungi – which is abounding in these woods…. Amethyst Deceiver….. beautiful but I wouldn’t fancy it for breakfast.

Twelve Months of Covid – September

Summer is starting to fade, the weather is cooler. Birds that have been with us over the summer, are starting to leave.

Butterflies are going into hibernation now, and so are we, as Covid starts to pick up again. The kids are back at school, and universities are open.

I try to get out with the drone a bit more – feeling that I might know a bit about how it all works. Try not to worry about what’s going on in the world. Start to enjoy the view from the air, and carry on from there.

Dawn is getting a bit more manageable as we move through the month – we are allowed out more, so we take the opportunity of getting to the beach early.

More people about than we thought, exercising, and walking – not many photographers about though…. so we can relax a bit……

Twelve months of Covid – August

It’s August before the sunflowers bloom in my garden – I’d had a go at planting them in 2019, but the wind destroyed them. This year, the weather is better, and they stand 8 feet high. I need a stool to get up high enough to take this picture.

It should be school holidays, but the kids have not been in school for a long time – home schooling is ‘the’ thing, but not everyone can. Lives are on hold for everyone, but talk of ‘getting back to normal’ is on everyone’s lips. Even though we have no idea of what ‘normal’ is any more.

Still, there’s stuff in the shops – loo roll is plentiful, and I can get hold of flour, yeast and other things more easily – better yet, the supermarket made the first delivery to me since March.

We both went to the dentist – another thing we hadn’t done for a long time….. still, the weather is good but there are rumblings of Autumn, and warnings that the virus is picking up again……

Twelve Months of Covid – July

Sumer is i-cumin in—
Lhude sing, cuccu!
Groweth sed and bloweth med
And springth the wude nu.
Sing, cuccu!

I never did see the Cuckoo, but I did hear it, frequently and early in the morning…… Bats are around at night, but I can’t photograph one, despite trying. They are snapping up insects and midges – we enjoy the flying display.

Warm days, long evenings, warm breezes, the scent of flowers….. the virus niggling still in the background……

We engage speakers from France and Wales, and I do more and more talks across the UK…

The highlight of July – or not – as the case may be, was getting stuck in mud on the Cleethorpes Fitties. Knee deep in mud, loss of wellington boot, and in the end trudging across a beach covered in filth – feeling smelly, and also pretty frightened. I’d fallen over twice, once flat on my back – and my companion was equally unhappy. Fortunately I’d managed to get the camera back in the bag before I fell. The image above is the one I took just before getting stuck.

I never did find the wonderful kind lady who gave me a huge pack of wet wipes when I got back to the car – everything I touched was covered in mud, and it was weeks before the boot of the car was clear of detrius….. I wish I could find her and say thank you properly….

I have much more respect for tide and time these days……..

I spoke to the manufacturer of the camera bag, and they were kind enough to send me a bottle of cleaner – which did an excellent job of getting all the mud out of the nooks and crannies …..

Twelve months of Covid – June

June – and the weather is still good – cases of the virus are coming down, and we breathe a little. Zoom blooms with the flowers, and more and more meetings are being held on line. Our club settles into a routine of speakers, the odd competition and amazingly – lots of inspiration.

I’m seeing a good speaker sometimes twice a week, and I’m booking people for our own club – members are sending us money to do this, and standing orders are being set up. We find that we now have an informal Zoom director, treasurer and event booker….. most of the membership are coming to meetings twice a week, and the other parts of the club are slowly joining in too.

I start to get more zoom bookings to do talks, and judging – and it’s great to see people from all over the country. We even do some judging in Western Australia….. it’s incredible, and gives us some relief from the dreaded virus.

I’m able to get out a bit more and get some photography in – sometimes even with a friend now – though we are careful and go places in separate cars. The local woods start to look good, and then……

a mutual friend says they have a drone to sell…. do I want to go halves and buy it – so we do….. June got a bit more interesting, though we had no skills – still we both sat a CAA test, got registered, and went off to play out.

The bird hide was still in use though, and now the chicks are ready, and being fed…..

We are relaxing a bit – even the virus seems to be receding some……

Twelve Months of Covid – May

Zoom takes off with a vengeance during May – it’s not the same as meeting people face to face, but it’s the next best thing…..

We’ve invited club members to come and join in, and they are all enthusiastic… and in a moment of enthusiasm, I book a speaker for the club – our first one…. (it was not to be the last by a long way)….

The weather is still good – my ankle is healing nicely, and I’m starting to get out cycling again, though cautiously.

I broke out the bird hide – though it’s not very well, and some of the struts are damaged. Super glue to the rescue – now I’m able to sit outside and watch the birds – nesting is underway, and it’s good to pretend that I’m actually not at home at all but somewhere dramatic to bird watch…. it’s good to see all the activity at the feeders.

It’s good to experiment too – and play with backdrops and water.. I remember that I used to spend a lot of time experimenting, and try to get back to that. Some images start to emerge, and with that and cycling more I’m sort of enjoying being stuck at home with my other half……

Trying to not worry about the pandemic going on all around us is difficult though, with no reprieve and 24 hour news….. I start to stop watching the news, as panic sets in…. We turn to Netflix and Amazon Prime for some relief, but still with the knowledge that for others it’s really not going very well at all…….