After several days with almost no sun, this day held promise, but the high wind did require some thought be given to how to reduce windchill; in sheltered areas this was less of an issue and with no rain. I set off south via country roads in case trunk roads were congested or suffered from wind-related accidents, and headed towards Tring Reservoirs.
I chose a heavy corduroy overcoat and my fingerless gloves with silk gloves beneath. I can say this was indeed a good choice, because when topped off with a woolly hat that came over my ears, I was not in the least bothered by the cold! The wind did dictate a heavy tripod, so my load could not be classed as light in weight, and necessitated changes over which shoulder I carried the assembled Gitzo-mounted, 7D MkII, with the 150-600m Sigma lens. This was as much to check nothing had worked loose as to give me a rest.
On the journey I was called back by a government-sponsored survey that seemed almost impossible to avoid, so although I concentrated on road safety, I put less effort into choosing the route I was taking and no sooner had this been completed, my phone rang again and it was the Water Bailliff for Tringford Reservoir, so I stopped in the wide entrance to a caravan park to take the call. Before leaving I spotted the Ivinghoe Beacon’s iconic shape in the distance so decided to grab some shots with it on the distant skyline before continuing, since Bob was just leaving having been there for some hours, so there was no hurry.
I had forgotten to bring my key to the parking area which was a shame, but at least there was plenty of space due probably to the cold. I assembled my gear and headed towards the canal, and found myself able to cover River and Canal Trust making their way through the locks which made interesting images of their transit. The reed beds had suffered a battering in the last few days of heavy wind, but every so often those that still stood made interesting pictures, and were a sufficient challenge to capture, as were a Pochard and Gull, and so rather than lump the three disparate groups of images into a single gallery, I have given them a gallery each, which are Canal Trust Transit, Pochard Preening, and Attempted Gull Landing Aborted.
So here are their Links – Click on either of the images to reach the relevant gallery thumbnails.
It was good to be outside taking photos again, this day at least had some sunshine!
No comments:
Post a Comment