Cold day out ( click to view photographs)

A cold challenging day's photography for me & and for the poor birds, Acton park lake was completely frozen over apart from a small patch amongst some trees at the far end of the lake, lots of people out feeding the ducks but the fish eaters where no ware to be seen  

Down the park

A quiet but cold day down at the park, the usual suspects were presant Grebe, Pochard,Canada geese,Mallard, moorhen,coot and about 30 black headed gull's.
The pair of great crested Grebe's where very active, running (as they do) up n down the lake and head shaking in that cute, courtship dance.
I am now starting to take more notice off some of the smaller birds in the park and actualy saw a treecreeper scurreing up an oak tree, a lovely little bird But you guessed it I didn't get a shot.

My first decent shot of a bird in flight (more luck than judgement )

On the next visit to the park I will have to remember to share my time between the lake & the woods also to remember to change lens to a smaler faster auto focus one. Regards Bri

RSPB Burton Mere

 General views off Burton Mere taken on the 26/01/2012

Above & below - Canada geese, Teal, Snipe, & Mallard.

Gray Heron sheltering from the cold wind.
He didn't move much in the 2 hours I spent watching from the shelter of the hide.  

Reed beds looking toward Wales

The hide in this shot is where I spent 2 hours watching the pair of Heron.

10,000 reeds have been planted to establish the reed beds

As Wallace would say to gromit A GRAND DAY OUT LAD.

My trip to Burton mere really was a grand day out, bright n cold then dark n wet then bright n wet then really bloody cold and time to go home but enjoyable non the less, on arriving I introduced myself as a new member visiting a reserve for the first time, I half expected a list of does & don't s but actually got a half hour guided tour which proved to be really helpful. The staff are proud of what they have achieved over the last few years and so they should be.

Now for the birds, there are lots n lots of geese - mostly  Canadian,  pink footed  a few white fronted and greylag s in the mix, all to far away for me to photograph with any kind of success but just seeing these large birds in flight over the Dee estuary is a magical sight.

While photographing a blue tit preforming acrobatics on a bull rush, a commotion amongst the reeds started and the biggest swan I have ever seen flew over my head! and no I didn't get a shot of that either (50/50 mute - whooper according to the experts which means it was too quick for them and not just me )  

A nice quiet hour was spent in a hide out on the marsh overlooking a scrape with a pair of Gray heron looking quite comical - see photo below, a large number of snipe and yet more Canadian geese were also present. I have no doubt that there were a lot more wild fowl present then I could see this is a large area and  I don't have any bins yet. I hope you enjoy the photographs & if you could help me by identifying the bird on the feeder it would be a big help 

 Regards Bri.  and a big thank you to all the staff at R.S.P.B. Burton mere.            

Help I don't know what this is ( Goldfinch ? )

Everyone in the hide laughed when someone said MEXICAN STANDOFF

Blue tit amongst the bull rushes  

Male Tufted duck shot against the sun 

New R.S.P.B. member an old git!

Because of all the medication I take getting out has been a bit of a problem , tablets make me drowsy - so I cant drive, it takes 2-3 hours for the fog to clear from my head every morning , all I can say is thank god for local parks such as Acton in Wrexham.
A local fishing club maintains the area around the lake & provides platforms (for fishing from) large & safe enough for wheelchair users to view from or indeed fish from, I find them handy for my tripod!. The park is a 10 Min walk away but traffic concerns mean that I can only get there if my wife or son walks with me, once there i,m as happy as a pig in - well you know
Anyway to the RSPB. I joined early this month & I am paying my first visit to a reserve on the 26th to Burton mere on the Dee estuary, I am really looking forward to seeing something other than pochard, grebe, mallard & Canada geese, not that I,m bored with my usual suspects, I just want to see something different - a little egret would be nice. As I have said before I don't want or expect sympathy from anyone. My anxiety, depression is my problem which I have to deal with but I have to admit that I feel at my best when out watching our little or large feathered friends.

P.S Big thanks to the wife - she,s driving on Thursday.  Regards sad old git.

Photo,s taken with tair 300mm

As this lens was designed in the 1930,s it suits B&W 

Taken from around 20mtrs away

About 5mtrs away

Not bad for a lens around 30 to 40 years old

Add a 2x converter & this is around 45mtrs away

I still can,t get-over how sharp this lens is 

TAIR 300mm Russian lens

In my last post I promised a report on my 300mm Russian lens the Tair 3s 300mm f4.5, and here it is in all it,s glory

Aperture set to f22.

l/h side                                                                                                        
Three things to notice 1, Large wheel at front of lens is for focusing
2, Silver leaver under rear of lens is used to release aperture mechanism
3, Large red dot above leaver is for cocking aperture (as in cocking a gun)

Red dot can now be seen as a nob - aperture set to f22 but is actually wide open, allowing bright viewing to enable easy focusing,  by taping the leaver the aperture snaps closed
It sounds complicated but you soon get used to it, the sequence is as followsThe way the FS-12's trigger mechanism works is as follows:1,first you cock the aperture mechanism and focus on the subject.
2, Then after metering you set the desired aperture
3, when everything is set tap the leaver and press the shutter release, simples
If you are interested in Russian lenses then visit .alfredklomp.com  for more info

1. First you cock the aperture.
2. Then after metering, you set the desired aperture on the aperture ring.
3. Then when everything is set, you pull the trigger.
4. The trigger flips up a rod that first strikes a plate on the lens, thereby releasing the aperture.
5. A fraction of a second later, the aperture is closed when the rod strikes the shutter hub underneath the camera.
6. The camera's shutter triggers and the picture is made.

(still under construction)

The way the FS-12's trigger mechanism works is as follows:

1. First you cock the aperture.
2. Then after metering, you set the desired aperture on the aperture ring.
3. Then when everything is set, you pull the trigger.
4. The trigger flips up a rod that first strikes a plate on the lens, thereby releasing the aperture.
5. A fraction of a second later, the aperture is closed when the rod strikes the shutter hub underneath the camera.
6. The camera's shutter triggers and the picture is made.

(still under construction)

The way the FS-12's trigger mechanism works is as follows:

1. First you cock the aperture.
2. Then after metering, you set the desired aperture on the aperture ring.
3. Then when everything is set, you pull the trigger.
4. The trigger flips up a rod that first strikes a plate on the lens, thereby releasing the aperture.
5. A fraction of a second later, the aperture is closed when the rod strikes the shutter hub underneath the camera.
6. The camera's shutter triggers and the picture is made.

(still under construction)

The way the FS-12's trigger mechanism works is as follows:

1. First you cock the aperture.
2. Then after metering, you set the desired aperture on the aperture ring.
3. Then when everything is set, you pull the trigger.
4. The trigger flips up a rod that first strikes a plate on the lens, thereby releasing the aperture.
5. A fraction of a second later, the aperture is closed when the rod strikes the shutter hub underneath the camera.
6. The camera's shutter triggers and the picture is made.

(still under construction)