A Lovely Walk

 

This off Friday I headed back to Hurstwood Woods which is rather rapidly becoming a favourite haunt of mine and Tedster's. I had loosely contemplated getting a bus somewhere, but despite having had my 1st Covid-19 vaccine, I'm still not enamoured with the prospect of using public transport to get somewhere. So grabbed the M50 and 18-150mm lens and Tedster of course and mooched along to what is a local place for me.

Being a natural environment it lends itself easily to a myriad of photo opportunities, there's always something different especially with Spring causing blossom to appear, moss covered logs, the odd abandoned dog lead hanging on a tree etc. 

This image is one of several favourites from the almost 3.5hr I spent wandering through the woods and checking out some of the various entrances into the woodland from local estates. This has been "artified" using the texture/clarity sliders within Lightroom to give a more painterly feel to the image. I love shooting up through the trees and at the moment as the new leaves begin to form you get some interesting skeletal shapes from the trunks and branches.

I'm sure other users of the woodland wonder what the heck I'm looking at... In fact one chap asked me and looked up towards the trees to his right. I'm like I'm shooting this piece of blossom right in front of me and using the other foliage as a backdrop 📷 The guy probably thought I'm weird. Whatever. I take photos of whatever catches my attention as I mooch about and with digital one no longer has to worry about limiting one's creativity to 36 exposures, or worse still, struggle to use a film up 😱 I came back with plenty of images to keep me occupied for a few more hours editing in Lightroom. Something else I enjoy as part of the photographic experience.

It's safe to say that my cameras, and Tedster have helped to keep me sane during this whole pandemic shenanigans. I try and take photos on a regular basis and fortunately because people pictures aren't my forte I get to easily find good subject matter. No need to social distance from a tree/plant/teddy-bear (delete as appropriate!)

Just another final image to whet your appetite. Again using texture/clarity sliders to create a painterly feel. I love the woods, trees in particular, although everyone loves a fern. Not too many of those about in these woods bit I did find an abandoned Christmas tree 🤣

So until I get the 2nd vaccine, which is booked for early June I think I will stick to the places I can easily (?) reach on foot, including my chats with Mum at the Crem. Actually that's something that has allowed me to see the place in all its floral glory rather than just on her anniversary, in November, when everything has died off for the winter. 💕

Walking a Marathon!!

 

Called this walking a marathon but that's not strictly true, it just felt like it ;-)

Went out for a mooch to find Mill Lane in Bluebell Hill Village, I had seen this small turning and wondered what might lie along the road. Not too much actually, just a quiet road and no pavements, but at the end was a little grassed meadow area with wooden climbing activities for the kids, plus a proper metal play area, small seats and benches and just a nice quiet area to wander around and rest. At the opposite end was a footpath that interestingly led back to Medway Crematorium!

As I was a stones throw from Common Road which runs past the Bluebell Hill Picnic Site I wandered along there for some HDR images before retreating back to the meadow for a well earned rest and bar of chocolate 😋

Then wandering down the footpath back towards the crematorium, I dropped in there to have a catch-up with Mum, I stand by her tree and have a general natter, and then walked home via Hurstwood Woods.

A grand total of nearly 17000 steps - wikid. No wonder my feet hurt... 🦶

Landscapes

 

This week's family photo challenge - Landscapes...

So took myself off over the fields looking for some inspiration with both the M50 and the deep black and white infrared compact. Not really enough blue sky and white clouds for the infrared, but took this image, trying to think "outside the box" of the view from the top of the fields looking through the new bench that has been installed.

Quite liked the effect and something a little different to the norm. Not quite on a par with the other entries, Buttermere/Yosemite from my 'bro but interesting enough for me.

Up Close & Personal

 

So the family photo challenge was "Up Close & Personal"... Dug out the mobile phone macro lens and attached it to the S20, once I'd figured out which of the three back lenses it had to cover, before proceeding to take some macro images of bits and pieces that I had found indoors. One of the ideas were coloured headed dress making pins in a pin cushion - not a bad start.

But the image above ended up my image of the day, a deliberately blurred image on a printed photo of my gawgus girl on her wedding day back in 2016. The official photographer was like, "smell your bouquet"... My daughter says - "You do know these aren't real?" His response was " just pretend!" 

So here she is, pretending that her bouquet smells amazing :-) Just love the delicate makeup and her expression. She is and always will be gorgeous to me, makeup or not, but she looked drop dead gorgeous on her big day, as every bride should.

Coney Banks Revisited

 So this morning Tedster and I set off for the Coney Banks, all wrapped up against the cold wind. A bright but chilly day. Took the hillside walk which I've not done for quite a while, was good to be somewhere else and apart from the odd dog-walker on the hillside, pretty much had the route to myself. Mostly peaceful despite a footie match playing at the bottom of the field and later on as I approached the Victory Academy school - more football in progress. One can almost kid oneself that life is normal again... Well it seems so for some people.

A group of blokes spent their morning racing quite large (and expensive looking) remote controlled buggies et al around the field, as I walked along Magpie Hall Rd afterwards they sounded just like the remote controlled boats that race around the lake at Mote Park - like very large, very annoying insect buzzing sounds ;-) Still I guess one has to be grown-up and more importantly earning, before one can afford such expensive toys. Often used to see them being raced around the Toys R Us carpark by a similar aged group of blokes on my way home from work. Boys and their toys...

Enjoyed the fresh air again and some sunshine, back home to editing in Lightroom.

Hurstwood Woods Mooch

 

Been wandering around Hurstwood Woods again this Off Friday given there was finally some better sunshine and weather on my day off. Took the M50 and kit lens along, and Tedster too of course. Turned out to be warmer than I thought and so had to at least unzip my winter coat, it was lovely and peaceful (apart from a group of kids swinging from this tree) whilst I walked along through the woods on the opposite side.

Came back via this tree and just love it's exposed roots and in this visit the lighting hitting the surrounding area. Much of the wooded area is being thinned out I think, maybe to allow more room to walk given that it's a popular local walk what with people still having to "stay local" at least until Monday 12th April. The council have been and mowed the grassed areas which makes it much easier to walk through and generally it's quite the little haven in a relatively built-up area.

The woods have been there longer than I care to remember, I went back for my first visit around this time last year when once again we were in a lockdown (are we ever out of one??) and that was probably my first time back in donkey's years. Can remember the odd afternoon school walk around there and strolling through there of an evening with Julia's Dad before we married trying to avoid the bats that collect there after dark - or used to anyway. With my long hair I was always very keen to avoid them!

All in all a good couple of hours out in the fresh air, something I don't always get the chance to do after work in the week, and a much needed escape from the daily monotony that seems to fill every waking hour lately.

Easter Local Walk #2

 

So this was yesterday's walk, along by the side road to where I work and just past the old club house where we used to sometimes have a lunchtime drink during the working week.

Walked past the local testing facility, we never thought the new coach car park would end up housing a "temporary" Covid-19 test centre. Looked pretty shambolic actually, more staff than people, very much a ghost town. Maybe that's a good sign of the times?

Ran out of pathway through this small wooded area and wasn't quite sure which road I'd come out on so back tracked along the main road and back through the nature reserve. It's been quite fun re-visiting the mono, these are using an Antique tone in Lightroom, and switched the profile option back to Colour - although these are camera mono's so no colour technically anyway!

Hopefully once the Dockyard reopens, guesstimated to be in May, I'll find some better subject matter for this genre.

Easter Sugarcraft Gift!

 

Easter Sunday evening saw my daughter dropping by whilst about to walk puppy with James's Mum, his sister and brother. James's Mum, also called Annie (!) gave me this lovely sugar crafted Easter cake in the shape of a small flowerpot of primroses. Amazeballs talent here, she's been learning over the various Lockdowns, defo think she's got it down to a fine art!

Easter Local Walk #1

 So popped out on Easter Saturday for a mooch around the local nature reserve by Horsted Park. Had initially worried that my little bit of peace and quiet had become infiltrated by the raucous teenagers but thankfully not, it was merely a walkthrough to the football field where they polished off their KFC before leaving their rubbish behind for someone else to clear up. I blame the parents, some of whom are no better for dropping their rubbish. When we were kids we were taught to take our rubbish home. Once I'd settled in to some photography it wasn't a bad couple of hours out in the fresh air and a welcome distraction from work and doing the garden - which had been Friday's chore.

Even took some in-camera monochrome, something I've not done for ages because it's usually something I try at places like the Dockyard, not quite so good for all the more natural places that I've been forced to frequent for the last year and some. Wound down the contrast a smidge, especially for a sunny day, +3 is proving to be too OTT. Also had to tweak the new profile to stop them coming out with a blue tone.

At least the weather hasn't been too bad this year, not as nice as last year but then we couldn't go anywhere last year. Not that we're in that much of a better place but things are S-L-O-W-L-Y opening up I guess although not making much difference to moi just yet. I'd like to say maybe we're getting used to it, and sometimes I think we are, and then bam it hits you how totally ridiculous the last year has been and how much of our daily lives we've had to curtail just because of some damn virus. I'm also struggling with all the transmission worries that seem to be doing the rounds because the vaccination programme is going so well and with the old and vulnerable pretty much done I can't see what it matters if it's still being transmitted? Once the rest are done too we'll pretty much be in a vaccine induced herd immunity. And the rest aren't people of ages or health that are deemed critical to protect, so what's the issue?? Better to put the energy into stopping variants entering the UK than worrying about what we already have.

Charity Coins

 

So my last charity coin arrived on Saturday, that makes a complete set with the display case which I also purchased. Need to find out how much has been raised for, in part, a submariner's charity.

So chuffed that I purchased these, will be a lovely keepsake from the latest project and something to pass on when I'm gone.

Gardening!

 

So Friday was spent doing the garden, back and front lawns plus some weeding, although had already blitzed some of it earlier a few weeks ago. Pruned the fuchsias down and tidied up the sedum. 

Spent 2.5hr outside in the cold, wish I'd had the opportunity to cut it on one of the nicer, warmer days we've had this last week but sadly work beckoned. So was bundled up as expected in long sleeve tops, sweatshirt, pac-a-mac, scarf, fleece hat and my hood up to keep out the breeze 🥶

Still was pleased to have finished the first cut of the year in such a record time for me. Gardening is so not my favourite chore, but with the lack of places to visit and the diminished photography, and having binned off the gardener last year, it's fallen to moi to crack on and keep it tidy at least.

As someone else pointed out though, it is a job where one can measure one's progress visually, which is quite useful at times given mine is a desk job, so sometimes even though you are busy there's little tangible evidence to show for it. And at the moment it's an easy (and safe) way to get some fresh air and no social distancing required 🤣

Easter Porch Display 2021

 

So this is my little Easter display in the porch, don't normally bother but once again this is a stay at home Easter for me so thought it might bring a little cheer.

The eggs in the wooden candle holder light up, battery operated. So with the LED bonsai tree that's normally in there it looked quite funky at night time...

Here it is with the lights on :-)

The little characters are some I bought last year when we could still shop without restrictions and when Covid-19 wasn't deemed important enough to worry about...