Saturday 15 December 2012

TANGERINE REFLECTIONS


Traveling out from the Craig Goch Dam, I chanced on this River running like a ribbon of mercury, interrupted by the reflections of a setting Sun. I normally never have this kind of fly by, back light Image, from the side of a Road!.
More information here ; Photo

Saturday 1 December 2012

LOOKOUT FOR THE GEMINIDS



  The Geminids Meteor shower December 13th/14th a Date every year, you can see just one possible way "life", arrived on this planet, Meteorites. 
 Those innocent Meteors we see each Year, were
 much larger in the early bombardment, 
When the Earth was being formed. 


The above Image was taken on December 14th 2013, you can see on the top left of the picture, a solo Geminid meteor. 


  An over exposed enlargement of a different meteor, But.............what is the visible line shooting off the Meteor?(almost probably a plane or satellite). 
 
As i write this the rain is coming down, but that rain would not be
here but for Icy Asteroids and Meteors delivering it to the planet, Billions of years ago.
The Iron core of our Earth that gives us Gravity, was delivered to us
from across the Universe, and what's even more remarkable,
the Iron in your Blood (which we cannot live without) originated
 from the Iron within Meteorites!!
So next time your out in the dark ( if you can find any dark? ), look
up, and watch out for those Meteors, and think of our Origin and
our ultimate destiny. 
You can find a dark sky map of the UK here;
 http://www.darkskydiscovery.org.uk/images/darksky01.jpg 
The Welsh Marches are very dark. As are parts of Scotland. 
In the south there is always North Exmoor.
 
 As i posted HERE in January this year.
this year most of the meteor showers have the Moon out of the way,
so its much easier to see Meteors in the night sky.
you can see the Geminids in the UK, on December 13th into the early hours 
of next day (14th). on the evening of the 13th Meteors should start to
appear after 9:00pm, so not too late, but if you stay up till after midnight
you should see the peek of the shower at around 2:00am. no one can
predict the weather for the 13th and 14th but the Geminids, if the sky's
 are clear will be the best Meteor shower of 2012.
Predictions are for 60 to 70 Meteors per hour at it's peek.
The Geminids Meteors radiate from the constellation of Gemini,
the diagram below is facing North 10;00pm December 13th
 Find Orion the Hunter in the South West, Gemini is above,
you will need to look anywhere else but Gemini, if you
see a Meteor trace it back, if it shot from Gemini,you
have seen a Geminid Meteor, my camera will be set
on Bulb and Iso 400, Manual/Infinity, on a sturdy tripod
with remote release, exposure; my preference is for
9 seconds or less, using a 20 mm lens, any longer and you will get
 the Stars-trailing, unless that's what you want?. All makes of camera
require variants on the above set-up, experiment, and don't forget 
to release the shutter when your satisfied you've
 seen a Meteor in your frame.

The arrows show GEMINIDS
If i manage to capture an Image of the Geminids, I will be sure to 
update this page with a Geminid Image,
watch this space. 
For More on Meteors & Meteorites see here   http://lunarmeteoritehunters.blogspot.co.uk/
Wrap up warm, two of everything and Good luck
with the weather. 

Acknowledgements; Thanks to;
http://www.timeanddate.com/     for the count down timer.

Sunday 18 November 2012

AUTUMN START




 Autumn, as I promised a return visit to Waylands Smithy,
it turned out to be a real gem of a Autumnal day.
Excellent  conditions, light wind and good light, with
a bright Azure sky.
The Avenue of Beech trees, which have had a selective prune of their " widow makers", still looked good with their Copper coloured leaves.

Have to add a caveat though, the Summers wet and windy 
weather, has made the early leaves fall !!.
But don't let this put you off going out to see the remainder
 of the Autumn season.

The Images left and right are of the forest path, that brings you to
Waylands, keeping you off the deep muddy road.

the full Image is seen below, looking more like a Autumn
cathedral than a forest.




You can see the full Image "Here"
or below.



 
This next image is the about face of "Cathedral Fall"
facing the Sun, a desaturated rendering giving my Sony 20mm a chance to show the effect of working with a high aperture f16, the result is subtle floor light and a nice star effect around the Sun!.
The full Image can be seen " Here "





The final Image was the goal of the trip. The Autumn Avenue
of Beech trees at Waylands Smithy.
The full Image can be seen " Here "


Although some selective pruning had taken place
all the main trees were still in tact, and the Autumn colour
was superb, well worth the trip down to Oxfordshire.
Now all I need now is a snowy winter trip.







       

Monday 4 June 2012

FALL TO THE RIVER NENE

Falling but holding on, refusing to give in and stubborn to the end.
That description describes a few of my older relatives
and may sound familiar to yourself, and your family, or it could
 describe close friends. But I am actually referring to this
old tree Salix fragilis (Crack Willow), in 
Northampton shire, close to the River Nene.
Another tree is growing out of the Willow, I only
identified it weeks later, as being an Elder, the association
with the Willow is termed ; epiphyte. The Tree
is only a stones throw to the Village of Wadenhoe.  
 You can find the full size Image HERE .

 
The Small spring & stream that flow under this gravity defying tree,
run down to the River Nene ( to the Right & out of view ).
While processing the Image I noticed the face to the left side of the tree,
It stands out with a bold expression, against the pool of water.
   

If you have a trip to Wadenhoe, walk by the old church (St Michael & All Angels)
 a very atmospheric building, 800 years old and still in use today. 
The other area worth an explore is the Nene way, a River walk 
along the scenic Nene, though when i visited it
 was running high with the recent heavy rain. 
I have a desire to make a return visit, SOON.

Friday 18 May 2012

WILD GARLIC & SNAILS

Locations for Wild Garlic, in a fine looking wood are a rare combination, so
 some research was required. Google Images was full of Images
 but, most were vague and not many locations were
 mentioned, on the click through.
But one stood out, and it's location was revealed as Millington wood.
An ancient wood containing mainly Ash and Beech, with some conifers
which are being felled in favour of the chalk loving Ash.
The open wood encourages the chalk plants to flourish, but at the end
of Millington wood, Wild Garlic grow in abundance, in fact the term "carpet"
describes it's appearance perfectly.


Click HERE for the full wide view.
Millington Wood is located in the East riding of the Yorkshire
Wolds, and is designated an SSSI, A site of special
scientific Interest. As you enter the wood, you will be stopped in
 your tracks, by the sound of Bird Song, that will fill your head,
and as you walk up the Wood, the Onion/Garlic smell, hits you, I'm
already thinking about my sandwich's. 
But I'm not here for lunch, my mission is an Image of the
Wild Garlic, so higher up the Wood I slowly walk, taking in the
many Ash trees that were planted, to re-establish the what
would have been here, hundreds of years ago.

When you get to the far end, a steep climb is in order,
this is where most of the Ramsons grow. I had left my 50mm
lens on the Camera, so had to switch to a wider 20 mm lens,
in order to get more scene in the frame, there is no easy
way to step back here, and you feel like a trespasser
if you step onto the wild Garlic, so most photos are taken
from the Wood path or fence.


To view the full image click HERE
A view point on the path , gives a fall-away view you can see the
route you ascended from here. I turned this Image into
 a Monochrome, I always shoot in RAW format, in order to
convert to Black & White. I bought a Walking
Magazine"Country Walking" the other day (Country Walking),
 it was celebrating it's 25th Birthday, and inside was a walk
in the Peak district national park, they titled it
"The White to Dark way",I thought it was a great
Title for a Black & White photo, but no doubt it was used before
 many moons ago, I think my next location
 may be the White or Dark peak.
    







Saturday 28 April 2012

RAINBOWS & PRISMS

Spring time in the Peak district, big sky's sunshine & showers  a perfect mix for
Rainbow chasing. Ashbourne was the starting point then on to
the Manifold Valley via the village of Grindon.
Parking at Weags Bridge along the Manifold way, heavy rain was
hammering down, so a flask of tea made an appearance
and i waited till this large shower ran out of steam.
A Year earlier I had missed a bright Rainbow upon the Larkstone lane,They
sometimes only last a few minutes, not enough time to set up
a tripod and camera. So armed with weather information
and the fact that it was April and it was very showery, my timing was spot-on.

I am always conscious of how much petrol it takes to get me to my
destination, both in cost and the environment, so it has sharpened my
ability to plan & time my many trips to all over the UK.

Here we go, it's stopped raining now so off i trek, up the Road I had driven down,
not far up the hill the brolly came out and down it poured, a rivulet ran down the
 side of the lane. I thought:
"Have i arrived on the wrong day?"
So now I am thinking, this rain is not letting up, but as i reach the top of the lane
the rain slows, I'm not heading back down the Lane, so i climb the stile, over the
right of way and get set up. Forty five minutes and the sun showed his face and
the rain and hail continued to pour, a Rainbow appeared right in front of my
view, right opposite "Larkstone Lane".


 The rain lasted long enough for me to get a number of images, in the
original image you can make out a second fainter Rainbow, and in this
next image you can see the hail raining down through the Rainbow!!
I worked out that the rainbow was only 350 meters from my camera,
hence the image only contains a small part of the
Rainbow's Arc, it would have taken a super wide angle
lens, to get the entire arc in the image,
or a much further distance, and that's part of the problem
the rain in front of you can be a few meters or miles
away, nature and luck plays it's hand.
In the left of the above Image shows the darker area of sky called
"Alexanders Band", it is darker due to the formation of
a secondary Rainbow above the main primary Rainbow.
See HERE for a more detailed photo.


Click on the Hailstones Image above to enlarge it!.

Below is my poor drawing and novice explanation
of how a Rainbow is formed in the rain drops, my example
is a typical double rainbow, once you understand
the principle of dispersion of the sun light
the magic is shattered, but not the wonder. if my
explanation is wrong, then tell me and I will amend.


1. Light enters the Rain drop at (B) and is refracted..............................
2. From the surface of (B) it is refracted down to (C).............................
  3. From (c) the light is again refracted down to(D)..................................
 4. The light is now fully split into it's different wave lengths.................
 5. Dispersion is the term used, for the final exit out of the rain drop..
 You should now see all the colours of the Rainbow...........................

 A Rene Descartes style sketch
The primary Rainbow you see in the drawing is the lower arc,the
secondary is the upper Rainbow, or second Rainbow you sometimes see
if you see two Rainbows then note the upper one will
appear mirrored and often looks upside down.
If you look at the drawing again, and follow the secondary light ray
you will see it travels from A2 and strikes the bottom
of the rain drop at B2, and so on until it exits at E2.
The primary Rainbow; Light enters at (B) into the rain drop and 
is refracted clockwise round to (D), but............
The secondary Rainbow; Light enters at (B2) into the rain drop 
and is refracted anticlockwise round to (E2).
The clockwise and anticlockwise does explain to (me) why we
see the secondary Rainbow as an upside down Rainbow.
Well that's the best i can do for an explanation as to how a Rainbow 
is observed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day I returned to try other areas of the Peak district,
bands of showers were still forecast, so there was
a good chance I would see more Rainbows.
Traveling from Grindon I kept the sun to my left, with an eye
on my right, it was only a few Miles later I saw a
Rainbow in a field, it's end seemed to cross through a gate.

It also passed through an open triangle of Blue sky, a very pleasing
Image, and literally chased along the road.

To see the full "Rainbow Gate" image click HERE

A final Quote from Sir Issac Newton ; From his book "OPTICKS"
"In a very dark chamber, at a round hole, about one third part of an Inch board, made in the shut of a Window, I placed a Glass Prism, whereby the beam of the Sun's Light, which came in at that hole, might be refracted upwards toward the opposite Wall of the Chamber, and there form a coloured Image of the Sun"


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How to remember your rainbow order
Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain

                                               

 
 




                         

Monday 5 March 2012

SOLO JACKDAW IN LATHKILL

I have often walked the length of the Lathkill dale Valley which is situated in the White peak National park area.

                                   LATHKILL DALE     © John R Arrowsuch
On this occasion i traveled through the village of  Monyash to start my Image gathering along Lathkill Dale Valley, the date was the day after the summer solstice 2010. After walking for almost a mile i came upon a high rocky outcrop ( i know one photographer titled it the "guardian", and indeed it does look like it's looking out over the valley, watching!!! ).

  The Outcrop   © John R Arrowsuch
Alongside the knoll there was a Hawthorn bush positioned to the left, and at the base of the Hill a collection of Limestone rocks, not to mention the fragmented wispy clouds. So all the elements were there for my Image.

The setup for my Camera was low-down to get the Limestone rocks in focus, looking at my program settings, it was set for Aperture priority F18, for this type of shot i would normally use Manual control, allowing me to set my focus on the infinity \infty and then back it off a little, thus giving me a sharp image from the limestone rocks, through to the high outcrop,
this method uses the Hyperfocal distance it's worth learning, if you intend to take up landscape Photography.
But...........as every photographer knows sometimes you barely have enough time to set up when a instant opportunity presents itself.........................


    SOLO JACKDAW © John R Arrowsuch
....................the Solitary Jackdaw was that opportunity, and i just managed to line the camera up and press my remote shutter, and .........a satisfying image was the result.

But the old saying "more haste and less speed" comes to mind, next time i will set up gear sooner than later, and be ready, if only life could be as easy.

Hope you like the Image. Solo Jackdaw 
By solo i mean not in a flock, they usually wheel round the high outcrop in a joyous squawking group called a  "clattering".

PS. I never did see another solo Jackdaw over the Knoll, well until the next time?.

Saturday 28 January 2012

METEORS AND IMAGES

I'm new to blogging so go easy on me, my usual public persona and where i feel more at home is my web site;  http://www.amethystlandphoto.com/

So why not sign up ( on the right under " follow by Email " ) just enter your E-Mail address, and i will alert you next time i have a new post on this Blog. Your email address will not be used by a third party.

1833 Leonids meteor storm
All things Landscape I maybe, although i do go out into the late night trying to get  illusive image(s) of the annual Meteor showers, the  UK weather and Moon light usually gets in the way.
I well remember my late Fathers interest in the Stars, so one foggy night myself and Brother set out to see the 1999 Leonids Meteor shower;  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonids  , we made a trip up to Cleobury Mortimer to a view point, the mist all around we saw many meteors through the thin cloud, all colours Blue, Green but mainly  White coloured, and two or three Earth grazers. This trip sold me hook, line and sinker for future meteor showers trips, and the  ambition to photograph them. I had a film camera on that night but sadly it was too misty for any top quality image(s).

Recently I have borrowed a DVD of "The Walton's" series 1 Episode 6 "The Star", I'm not a big fan of TV or the big screen, but.........this Episode is all about a meteor that is seen to fall to earth by the Walton's Grandfather, who sees it as a harbinger of his final fate, but in the end it turns out to be his saviour. If you find time to watch this, be prepared for a sinder in your eyes :-) unless you are a unemotional cold hearted troll ;-) . If you were to find a meteorite that large,  you would have a thing more precious that Silver or Gold.

It's been said we are made of the same materials that our stars are made of,
 well ............those meteors were also made of star material, so whenever i see them fall to earth it gives me a strange Déjà vu ( literally; "already seen" ) experience. No firework display can ever come close to that old as time spectacle a "Meteor shower".

 THIS IS A ADVANCED NOTICE ; Make a date to see a Meteor shower this year and every year. Almost all the different types of Meteor showers display on their respective date(s), give or take a day, so it's easy to plan a trip to see them each year. See the IMO link below for dates on which to view them.
See Here for the Geminids meteor shower. 

The following  was my attempt two years ago to bag a fast moving meteor image for my archive, see here; http://www.amethystlandphoto.co/articles_155008.html   the main peek dates are August 12th; the Perseids and December 13th; the Geminids. On these dates this year is especially free from moon light making for a greater number of meteors to be viewed, so get out there ( dress warm two of everything helps  ;-) ).

I use IMO, a very informative web site, a good source of years of collected and up and coming meteor observing. Go to the bottom of the page ( table 5 ) ; http://www.imo.net/calendar/2012  you only need to look up the " Maximum date" and the "ZHR"  this is the amount of Meteors you might see in one hour!. If you have an ambition to become a Meteor observer, then scroll up ( on the IMO site ) and you will obtain information on each meteor shower throughout 2012.



Tip; press F11 ( top of your keyboard ) for larger monitors for a better viewing experience and you get to see the entrance of Wayland's smithy ( background image ).