St Albans Cathedral and Abbey

The Cathedral of St Albans, http://www.stalbanscathedral.org/,  is a popular visitor attraction, but if visited on a Saturday it seems to be quieter and that allows the photographer to work undisturbed. Having said that I was trying to produce some low level pics and whilst on the floor of the aisle I was gently tapped on the shoulder by a friendly guide who asked if I could let his tour pass by and suggested I could take the opportunity to set up my camera for the next shot, all with a smile on his face. I find it a pleasant change when so many places seem to be suspicious of photographers. 

This is the picture I was taking at the time.

















Then, taking the gentleman's advice, I switched to my IR camera. I had no idea if this was an appropriate subject for an infra red photograph but, believing that nothing ventured, nothing gained, I gave it a go. Lots of rubbish pictures resulted but this one is passable, I dont think it will win any prizes but I enjoy it, its seems to have a 'sparkle' that the straight mono pictures lacked.

As I didn't have my tripod I spent much of the time looking for cameos to take, close up of details, again many have gone into the bin but these two survived.

Hidden away at the back of the building, this seems to fit in well with the ethos of the Cathedral.

Finally my favourite image of the day. I have edited several versions of this and am still undecided as to which I prefer but for the time being this is the one!

Going Round The Bend

Those who know me may think the title of this post is a description of my mental state! However it is reference to the fact that, determined to take a pic or two today, I walked around the corner to the local park, which is part of the Dunstable Downs, with my IR camera and fish eye lens.

As I took this pic, sitting on the ground, I was joined by a friendly golden retriever who seemed very interested in what I was doing. Not only did he come and 'say hello' but he then sat himself down next to me and watched what I was up to. It took his owner quite a bit of gentle persuasion to get him to continue his walk.  Anyway I continued and was pleased with this, which has been converted to black and white in PS using the gradient map and then edited using Fractalius.

Along similar lines, a dandelion seed head
from the ground. Unfortunately my IR camera does not have an articulating screen, so this involved not only sitting, but lying flat on the ground, fortunately there was nobody around, not even a friendly golden retriever.

In the forest again

You will be aware by now that Ashridge Forest is a real favourite for me. By today I needed to get out and blow some cobwebs away and so I visited again with my camera and a selection of my current favourite lenses. In my mind I also had the topics of the club competitions for our next season, yes, I know, way ahead of myself but as I will need 12 in each category I decided to start to think early and get a few possibles saved and in the bank.

This is the first attempt, I think this could fit into either the 'Differential Focus' or the 'Worms Eye View' competition, but I think its more likely to end up in differential focus, if any at all, as its probably not near enough to the ground for a true Worms Eye View, I think I can do better than this.

Whether it ends up in either competition or not, I rather like it, and that at the end of the day is all that matters.

Moving along I came across this fellow photographer honing his skills.

A good plan, get them young.










I then got back in the car and travelled down the road to the monument, where I found the start of a classic car rally, all good fun. http://www.spiritofdacorum.com/

They had an old fire engine on display which was a firm favourite with the youngsters.


I call this pic 'Too small to be a fireman'
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Finally I went for a walk amongst the trees with my IR camera, again looking for something new. I noticed that the sun was very bright and shining through the leaves of the trees. Knowing that IR seems to work well in bright light I wondered about the effect I could get if I focused on the leaves
 

Again images I rather like, perhaps a subject to be explored further.