Volumes from Verulamium - 2.0 » St Albans

205/365 Clouds gathering

Richard — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 14:22:22 +0000

Technical notes: Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AF. ISO 200, 1/1050 at f/3.5. Lots of fiddling with levels in Lightroom to get the Abbey visible without the sun blown out in the sky.

More March malarky

Richard — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 21:58:39 +0000

Still catching up… but there’s a treat for you in the next post. No more same old same old. In the meantime…

75/365 Fellow traveller	76/365 Shore thing

77/365 Tap	78/365 Stern warning

79/365 Last day	80/365 Dinner on the wing

A little background may be in order:

78 – this somewhat stern warning is on the Clock Tower in St Albans.

79 – The Thameslink train route stopped serving Barbican and Moorgate on 20 March – eventually the tracks will be lifted so that the platform at Farringdon can be extended to allow for 12 carriage trains (up from the current maximum 8). I was there in the morning; there were a few photographers there snapping away. Apparently the evening was very busy with people hoping to catch the last train.

80 – another shot at the wonderful Watercress Wildlife Association.

33/365 Snow!

Richard — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:28:00 +0000

Technical notes:

Nikon D90. 3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR DX @ 62mm. 1/100 @ f/4.8 ISO 800

In case anyone in the UK hadn’t noticed, it snowed today. Hey, it even reached the pages of the New York Times, so it must’ve been news! I went for two photowalks through the park and round the Abbey. Firstly just after dawn when it was stopping snowing and I thought the trains might recover, secondly at lunchtime with Sarah. This shot was from the early shoot. It was a toss-up between that one and this one for today’s pick:

A small handful of others – please do click through and have a look!

31/365 Feeding time

Richard — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 22:29:38 +0000

At the Watercress Wildlife Association reserve in St Albans. This was the first time I’d taken my tripod and just sat quietly in the hide and waited for a shot or two!

You can see at least seven goldfinches. And there were two more round the other side where you can just see a wingtip poking out. Took about twenty minutes of waiting to get so many at once.

Technical notes:

Nikon D90, Sigma AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG @300mm 1/320 @ f/6.3 ISO 200.

A couple more – click to see them larger:

Birthday bliss – Part 2

Richard — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:14:16 +0000

Saturday was time for part 2 of the birthday celebrations. We met up with some of my pals for an evening at Cosa Nostra. As ever, the food was great, the atmosphere relaxed (you never seem to be waiting too long for your food, yet you never seem rushed either) and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Oh, and they also were happy to let Sarah bring my surprise cake for us to have as desert, rather than having theirs. Yes, my lovely wife had used the time I was away in Brussels to make a scrummy chocolaty fudgy cake which we all tucked into after our pizza or pasta. I am so lucky!

18/365 Treeface

Richard — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:07:29 +0000

Neither Sarah nor I had ever been to a Wassail before. So we were a little curious as to what to expect. Well, fans of ancient English traditions wouldn’t be disappointed by the St Albans incarnation. The event started with three dances by Wicket Brood, a local morris dancing group. Then we made our way to the big tree in the centre of the orchard. A few wassailing songs, the tree was given cider and bedecked with toast (!). Then we made loud noise to ward off any evil spirits, before heading for the refreshments. Delicious local hot spiced apple & elderflower juice and many apple-based snacks! A few more pictures below:

17/365 Churchyard

Richard — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:26:03 +0000

A gloomy day in St Albans. A gloomy churchyard (St Peter’s). A gloomy photo!

Technical notes:

Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AF. 1/80 at f/4.5 ISO 200

5/365 First Shoots of Spring

Richard — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:57:50 +0000

Snow on the ground; first shoots of spring.

Still keeping going with my 50mm ‘plastic fantastic’ lens. Need to re-learn how to use it to its’ best effect.

Technical notes:

Nikon D90, Nikkor 50mm f1.8 AF 1/100 @ f/6.3.