A winter week spent scouting can lead to you noticing things that might ordinary passed you by which is why I believe passionately in (re) learning alertness and observation skills and one example is how there seems to be a unmade trail to this arch of trees.
In what is a very vulnerable section of woodland with a road hidden in the distance not only can you make out the pattern but also is valuable structure.
Here two trees frame effectively the backdrop of woodland.
Here you can see the living organisms in the tree on these two branches that go off in a V like formation.
Surveying the countryside in all its glory in Shropshire with fields and hedgerows in time honoured style (*)
These pictures were taken on the Nikon Dslr apart from * using the aperture priority auto exposure mode that allows quick working at the same time as keeping full control over what either side of the subject is in sharp focus
I did mention just before Christmas that photography was something I had always been interested in to the point I owned a Minolta manual focus film single lens reflex camera system with an collection of very high quality usually fixed focal length rather than zoom lenses that I stayed with bypassing completely the modern usually plastic auto focus models produced by Canon, Nikon and Minolta itself from the late 1980's into the mid 2000's.
I had been using a Canon zoom compact digital camera for taking pictures for my blog because as much as I love the quality of the pictures my Minolta film slr system takes, inevitably you have to wait for the films to be processed with scans done to use them for blogs so unless it was something special then I'd use the Canon.
Trouble is by design a compact camera without getting very technical give you little choice about how the end picture turns out as it's really designed for point and shoot so all you can do is just zoom in and out the lens and that's it.
What I had been wanting for a long time was a camera that gave me the creative control of my Minolta film system such as control of how sharp things either side of the subject I focused on, the ability to freeze or blur movement and use more specialized lenses.
The inability to use easily my Minolta MD existing lenses on current digital cameras was an added complication.
Fortunately I found a camera kit that was fairly well constructed, not to difficult to relearn basic things like setting shutter speeds as my Minolta had separate controls for such things where most newer camera from the late 1980's used a input dial to set them with that could form a second all digital system without being too expensive.
The Nikon D3500 is just about the most basic model Nikon do lacking Wifi and attendent GPS and uploading to social media stuff plus had a basic non touch screen LCD display but had a proper viewfinder which apart from anything else promote proper well supported handling as you look through it while taking the pictures rather than holding the camera in front of you, staring at the screen.
I feel especially in an age where it can be all too easy to track people down NOT having that information by default in your image files and them automatically uploaded to social media is desirable.
Unlike cheaper Canon offerings like the EOS4000, it does have a metal lens mount so you can use heavier lenses without risk of breaking the mount.
It comes with a so-called Standard Zoom which on this "DX"sensor model works out at the 35mm film equivalent of 28mm for wide angle shots of scenic views to 82mm which is better for taking portraits or groups of flowers with a more natural perspective.
It is a surprisingly good lens of its type having had some real horror stories in my hands over the years so lends itself to more general photography even if it's light gathering doesn't match that of my film cameras fixed length ones.
That's little different than those I tried in the 90's.
What does help with one consequence of that is it actually has built in image stabilization that keeps camera shake at bay where a slower shutter speed might be needed
There is a small pop up flash that can help for fill in flash although seriously, you cannot bet a separate dedicated flash for decent flash photography being able to direct the flash for less harsh images.
Having got that kit down by a good 25% I was looking around for a telephoto lens for it as in order of usage I tended to use my 135mm moderate one on the Minolta only occasionally using the 200mm or Tamron 300mm and wasn't wishing to have a near duplicate range of fixed length lenses where two aren't used much.
Nikon had in the twin lens kit their 70-300mm which works out at 105 through 450mm in 35 mm film terms but the twin kits were expensive especially as I wanted the one that also had image stabilizing as I find holding soon produces shakes.
As it happened I found a individual who'd bought the kit but was selling of that better version of the lens still in the I wanted in near mint condition as they'd bought another lens tested but otherwise not used in the field so when you added the camera kit cost and this lens the combination was considerably cheaper
Over the range I'm likely to use it over it will perform well enough for my purposes as again it has well designed with the only economies in the all plastic construction which is quite durable too.
It's been a windy wet kind of a day here as I've been typing up today's blog entry after something of a busy week here.
I prefer not to talk about things at various social media sites but with the removal of Sammy Going South's and Shortsfortheboy accounts although both have resurfaced there are a number of things I do feel like saying.
The first is it is not the first time a popular adult school boy tumblr has been just removed with no warnings with BennyBens and even my own TSB2 (Mk1) which is odd as at least in the past for stuff about copyright whatever you might think of it, you did get warnings first for the most part.
The second is none of these accounts could remotely described as pedophilia based being non sexual or hosting "adult content" by the everyday definition being around past childhoods, specifically boyhoods, our own school days and uniforms.
To the extent some of us may *wear* such uniforms, not one ever did so in anything other context than a being that child back in time with same rules and levels of content appropriateness that would apply to an actual child.
That's to say in simple terms it's not a sexual fetish, more a revisiting of childhood pasts in uniform which I might add in my grey jumper and shorts I am now typing this out next to my plushie.
It does appear some on tumblr DO take exception for some of us who do express personal points of view such as for instance, openly supporting boys wearing shorts at school, disagreeing with much of Tumblrs belief that 75 and rising number of genders even though I personally know senior hospital consultants who say it just isn't remotely true or take issue with the generally left wing political tone of Tumblr's social activists.
It's in the nature of things for people to have opinions on things, sometimes strong ones such my own stance on "sissification" but, you know, everybody has the right to have one and for all to be respected not thrown under the bus just cos they're not "on trend" ones and some of us may be unapologetically traditional.
If anyone is to use British slang "Dobbing" any one in, please cut it out, thanks.
Winter pretty much arrived on Tuesday so I went out Wednesday trudging on foot to observe and experience it as that cub scout in spirit.
It was a little thick in places even though we are quite a bit below the highest points just a few miles above us so I had to walk carefully avoiding dragging my feet and back in to the wood we visited before, it was little different.
You can get a sense of how the snow fell by looking at how it took to the tree getting the one in the foreground.
This interestingly shaped twig takes on a fresh look in the snow reminding one of wriggling worms
The scene is set out with the dead branch looking like a slain animal on a bed of snow in the silent winter.
I spent time making and throwing snowballs in the wood enjoying the winter as the inner child in me needed and indeed wanted, to playing as indeed I had seen bio-kids doing only a half hour before on their way to school and play group.
