London - Indian Summer in St James Park

The warm weather earlier in the week brought the office workers and visitors out in St James Park...

 

.....as well as the incredibly friendly squirrels with the autumn colours in the trees.

 

This young squirrel posed beautifully for me on a branch with lovers carvings.

 

Walking past the lake, Gulls were performing, trying to be the first to catch the visitors crusts.

London - Film Crew on Location in Green Park

Walking through Green Park in the early morning film crew vans were arriving and setting up.

 

In the late afternoon the crew were still there and between shots.

Taking up another angle, I got one shot, this photo of a young girl, an actress I presume, yawning after a long day's work. 

I had obviously attracted their attention, as after taking this photo, their security came up to me asking what I was doing?  Explaining that photography was my interest, I decided, having got my shot, I would make my way home rather than get into an argument.  But it make wonder if they could have stopped me taking photos?  It was in a public place after all.

Dog Discovers Beached Sperm Whale

I took this photo of my dog during my walk on Happisburgh Beach Norfolk in September this year

 

The dog examines the baby whale!

A more scenic view of the sea carved timber groyne.  With a little imagination...



Kent - Henry VIII's Helmet at Leeds Castle

This horned helmet on display at Leeds Castle was was commissioned by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I for Henry shortly after he came to the throne in 1509

 

 

Love the glasses - Most bizarre!

Norfolk - Happisburg Sea Defences

A trip to Norfolk this September.

 

Sea defences

Pebbles caught in a groyne



 

The colours of sea worn timber of a groyne,  rusted metal and greens of algae on the post (not sure if the dog pawprints adds to the ripples in the sand?)

London - Greenwich Foot Tunnel Entrance

An afternoon's visit to Greenwich this September.

 

The domed entrance to the foot tunnel above the shaft, with Canary Wharf and the Cutty Sark.

Shadows on the cobbles.



The late afternoon sun illuminating the glass dome.



Bored in London

One tourist is not interested in the guide's so informative talk in a London Park!

 

London - August Birds St James Park

Walking through St James Park to and from work, plenty of birds on the lake

 

Grey Heron hiding on a coot's nest

Coot delicately feeding its young.  Who would have thought that the coot has a dark side when bringing up their young, only feeding the stronger of its brood?



Three photos of a Black Headed Gull in non-breeding plumage (winter) taken from the bridge





 

The yellow of a Cormorant's throat

London - Shoreditch Graffiti

I had a walk around Shoreditch one lunchtime earlier in the year and was amazed by the graffiti.  Not to everybody's taste, but it kept me interested.

 

Simplicity of design.

A modern twist to Rene Magritte?



"Art is a lie that makes realise the truth" Picasso

Detail of stickers on a door



I missed plenty as can be seen if you google "Shoreditch Graffiti".  Another walk when I am in the area.

Grey Heron in Flight and Fishing

Photos of Grey Herons this summer.

 

One June morning this adult flew over me as I walked the canal bank.

Normally they change direction if they are flying towards you, but this waited until the last moment.



 

A juvenile with a small fish.  I claim no fieldcraft skills as this bird was skulking in the shadows by the bank right next to the footbridge in St James Park in central London as tourists passed close by on a sunny day this month.

London - Ammonite in lift floor

Travelling in a lift in a London City office block, I noticed that there appeared to be a fossil in the stone tiles of the floor.  On closer inspection, to my layman's eyes it was an Ammonite.  A quick google search showed that the rock was not marble as I had originally thought. This is because the original limestone that is metamorphosed under high pressure has been altered too much for fossils to be preserved in a recognisable form. Fossils do occur but this is extremely rare and tend to be small.  More likely to be polished limestone which retains its fossils

 

This Ammonite fossil was about 10cms across.

 

The strange mauve blue was cast by the lighting in the lift.  Where my shadow fell at the bottom was more like the natural colour of the stone.  It is a bit clearer when I converted the snap to monochrome.

 

Who would have thought that when this ammonite died and fell to the bottom of the sea millions of years ago (amonites were around 400 to 65 million years ago), it would be travelling up and down in London City lift.



Ivinghoe Beacon - June Insects and Weather

A few photographs from a walk on Ivinghoe Beacon a couple of years ago

 

The caterpillar of a Burnet Moth (probably the 6 Spot as I have not seen others varieties here) with a Scabious coming into flower.

 

A moody sky with shafts of sunlight breaking through the clouds

 

Ox-eye Daisy with a Gall Fly

London - Wall Art or Burglary?

Spotted on a walk through Shoreditch looking for graffiti, I spotted this scene, which raised a couple of questions.

 

Had the man just finished the wall art? ....

 

....or was he acting as a lookout for a man on the roof?

 

PS. Unusual place for a tube train?

Lee Valley - Rye Meads RSPB Reserve Birds

I have not been able to take any photos of the countryside recently, and thought that a few photos of birds taken two years ago during May on a morning's visit to the RSPB Reserve at Rye Meads would fill the gap.  Whilst I was unable to take any photos of rare birds (and there are a few), I did get a few  photos which I thought were of interest

A Mallard with a Moorhen's reflection

A Heron spreading it's wings to break before landing with little disturbance to the water

A Common Tern.  Not as sharp as I would have wanted but a beautiful and elegant shape

Scotland - Geese in Flight

Photographs taken in Scotland at the end of September last year.  Skeins of Geese were flying in south on a couple of occasions this day.  They were too far away or high to identify, although I suspect they were the native Grey Lag that frequent these parts or Pink Footed? 

Above the clouds shrouding Beinn Ghobhlach taken from the far side of  Little Loch Broom above Badcaul.

Flying overhead at Gruinard Bay

Geese with photoshop 

London - Liverpool Street Station

Photos from a couple of walks around and about Liverpool Street Station.  I seem to be into Black & White at the moment when it comes to urban subjects.

The East entrance early in the morning.

The roof above the concourse.  I was asked to stop taking photos after this by security and couldn't take all the angles I wanted.

The platform from Exchange Square (sadly through glass with reflections in the top).  Would have been great with steam trains with smoke billowing around.

The Gherkin from outside on a grey day

A man in danger of being crushed should the reclining figure decide to roll over.  The impressive and imposing work of Fernando Botero in Exchange Square.

London - Cutty Sark at night

An evenings stroll from North Greenwich ended at the recently Cutty Sark which has been completely renovated following a serious fire.  The hull and the dry dock is now completely sealed with a glass canopy.  Certainly not everybody likes this architectural feature, but is allows for some interesting photographs taken from outside. 

This particular evening there was a music recital down in the depths of the refurbished dock

The new canopy hiding the bow when viewed from the outside (it is my angle of the camera that is causing the list)

The geometric shapes of the canopy, and hull and support bracing makes an interesting view (pity about the entrance on the left that spoils the overall effect)