It had been a while since I had last taken a walk around Barton Meadows and, with all of the things I had needed to do on a Sunday done, I didn’t want to just doze off on what was a lovely day. I thought a couple of miles around the nature reserve would be a good finish to the afternoon. I wasn’t going to go without the camera, though. There was some wildlife to be seen but most things were a bit distant. The cattle were in the field though. Some of them were up at the gate at the top of one of the fields and using it to scratch themselves. I find this very amusing for some reason so switched to video to capture them looking like they were really enjoying themselves. Not quite Baloo in Jungle Book but similar!
In a recent post, I told the story of my less than successful efforts to photograph the Flying Scotsman at the Watercress Line. In that entry, I mentioned how much public attention the loco gets. Given the number of large steam locomotives that there are in the country, it is interesting just how much more this one attracts visitors. If it helps the railways get some additional revenue, it is surely a good thing. Seeing as I had messed up getting photos on that occasion, I decided to try again the following weekend. The weather forecast was far nicer. Moreover, I spent a load of time thinking about what I would do. Even then, as I headed out in the morning, I had a couple of options with the things I was bringing.
I took two cameras with me and the Insta360 as well. I also had a clamp mount which I hadn’t decided whether I would use for the Insta360 of the second camera. I figured I would decide when I got there. Since the weather was nice and the Scotsman is popular, I worried that it might be pretty busy. There are limited parking spaces on the lane near the crossing I was going to, so I headed out in plenty of time. Of course, when I arrived, there was no one else around. Plenty of time to now kill!
I walked up to the crossing and found it empty. This gave me loads of time to decide on what to do. I had brought some PocketWizards with me. If I was going to use the second camera, these would be used to trigger that body.
As I unwrapped the PocketWizards, I realised that the Velcro cover I used for them would also make a nice wrap for the Insta360 handle. I attached it to the fence and wrapped the handle to the fence posts, and it provided a nice secure fit which meant I know had the clamp mount available. The Insta360 is controllable from my phone, so I was able to leave it fully extended and just activate it from the app when ready. I did a test with it when it stopped recording after 20 seconds. I have no idea why it did that so tried a couple of further recordings which all worked fine so I decided that was good to go.
While the PocketWizards can be used to trigger the second body when the first is firing, I didn’t actually want that. The two bodies were set up for different shooting scenarios – the long lens would cover the approach of the train but, during that time, it would be so far away that there would be no benefit to shooting with the wide-angle lens. Similarly, once it was close enough for the wide angle, the long lens would already be too much so I would have stopped shooting with it. Consequently, I handheld the PocketWizard and triggered it by hand when required.
I clamped the mount to the bottom of the fence with the camera at ground level looking up at the approaching train. I normally use back button focus but I don’t think that would activate via the PocketWizard, so I switched it to front button for focus and exposure. The joy of a flexible screen is that you can frame up the shot without having to be a contortionist which is good news for those of us with a few years under our belts. With everything set up, I set off a few test shots to see if everything was working. It all seemed good so now it was time to wait.
I was expecting one or two movements before the Scotsman which would give me a chance to test things out. There is a shuttle that is used to take people from Ropley to Alresford for the main event so I figured that would come through. It would be going the wrong way but would allow some practice. However, there was more than I expected. The first thing to appear was a steam loco running light in reverse from Ropley. Turned out that it was the Scotsman heading from Ropley to Alresford to join the train. That was a nice option but, of course, it had no coaches and, since it was running downhill, it wasn’t making much power. The shuttle also ran back, and forth which gave me some practice while another train rain down to Alresford for a service that would come after the Scotsman had departed for its first run.
All of this provided me with time to play around with the set up and make sure all was working the way I wanted. Then it was time for the reason for being there. The train departed Alresford pretty much on time. Since it is quite a climb up to Ropley, the loco was making lots of power and there was a banking engine on the rear too. The smoke could be seen through the gap in the trees, so we knew it was coming. Eventually it came around the corner in the cutting, and we could get some shots.
I started the Insta360 first and then proceeded to get some longer shots as it approached. As it got closer, I dropped down and photographed through the fence to look up at the loco as it came closer. Then I switched to the PocketWizard and took a bunch of it as it passed. I have no control on where the camera chooses to focus in that situation, but I was rather happy with the results. I even got some interesting shots of the driver and one of the passengers leaning out of the window. Then I took a few shots of the train as it retreated. That was very backlit, but it still made for an interesting view. And then it was done! All of that prep for a brief moment.
The people rapidly scattered and I started disassembling the things I had put in place. I had brought a small stool with me but that had never been used. Too much messing with gear or chatting to the others that had come alone. It was a very friendly atmosphere and made you feel good about being out on a sunny Saturday morning. I retraced my steps to the car. As I walked along the lane, I heard another whistle and pulled up the camera I had on a strap around my shoulder. The train that had run down to Alresford earlier was now making its run. It was skylined on the ridge above me and I just happened to be by a gap in the hedge so was able to grab a few remaining shots. Then it was time to head home.
The Watercress Line had arranged for the Flying Scotsman to make a visit to the railway. This locomotive seems to really capture the attention of the public, so it was a major event for them. They even lengthened the platform at Alresford to allow longer trains to be formed meaning more passengers could be carried. They were running on two consecutive weekends, and my sister was interested in seeing it. I was always going to be game for a photo trip. She could only do one weekend of the two and I only had one day free that weekend so that was going to be the one.
Sadly, the weather wasn’t being very cooperative. It was very overcast and there was a decent chance of rain. Even so, there were plenty of people out at the crossing we were going to when we got there. Plenty of space for everyone but definitely popular. As the time for the loco approached, I changed a setting on the camera for a higher frame rate and got in position. I decided to take a couple of quick shots before it came in to view just to check all was well. It wasn’t!
As soon as I hit the shutter button, the screen was covered in a “Busy” message. This caught me out. It wouldn’t go away quickly. I turned the camera off, but it still took a while. When it came back on, I tried again and the same thing. This time I pulled the battery and reset. Third time the result was the same. By now the loco was coming into view. Since I didn’t know what the issue was and time was ticking, I tried switching over to video and that worked so I instead videoed the train as it came by.
The video was fine but not great and, if I had planned for that, I would have done things slightly differently. However, it did recover the situation to some extent. The video I took is below.
Once the train had gone, I went home and then pulled out the camera to see what had occurred. I had made a very dumb error. It would have been easily fixed too. When changing the frame rate, I had accidentally switched to the HC mode on the R3. This is the mode that allows 194fps in short bursts of up to 50 frames. Once you shoot like this, it locks up the buffer until everything has been written to the card. Then it is ready to shoot again. What a dope. Oh well, it wasn’t a total disaster and my sister got to see the train which was the main point of being there in the first place. However, now I was thinking about a second effort. More to come…
Part of the reason for our visit to Bushy Park was because the rut was underway and I thought it might be possible to see the stags at their best. I hadn’t anticipated just how prevalent the deer herds would be. One herd was right in the middle of the trails and, while there was a dominant male that was overseeing things, there were a couple of younger stags within the herd.
These two were trying out their jousting skills. They would engage their antlers and push each other around for a bit before getting distracted by something nearby. They would look at that for a while and then get back into training. It felt like they weren’t really trying to prove anything to each other but were just getting in practice for the days when they might be genuine contenders for dominance.
Initially, I was on the side away from the sun and thought I would have to make do with that. However, it proved easier than I thought to walk around them and get shots from the other side. They seemed uninterested in the people that were watching them. After grabbing a bunch of images, I thought that video might be a better way to record their action – even if it makes it clear that they weren’t really going for it.
Every once in a while, I post about some change I have made to my processing techniques for my images. I have posted in the past about how I have been using the masking tools in Lightroom to work on images – particularly those with poor lighting conditions where the background and the subject need significantly different edits.
I have recently tweaked my approach to improve it. This involves an extra step to try and get a better selection of the subject and the background. This also addresses some of the issues I find with Lightroom’s selection algorithms. Sometimes it picks things that just don’t make sense. Anyway, I did a full process of an image and recorded the whole thing with my explanation as to why I was doing what I was doing. It is not a short video so only for those with a serious interest. However, if you want to check it out, here it is.
Whenever I take a morning walk around Barton Meadows Nature Reserve, I am hoping that I will come across some local wildlife. The most likely encounter – aside from the birds – will be the deer. I don’t always take the camera with a long lens on these walks since they are more about getting some exercise in before starting work, but I do worry that I will encounter something special when I don’t. I had seen three deer in the middle of one field so assumed I was done with deer. Then, as I came up to the corner of another field, I saw one walking along the fence line. I tried not to disturb it by staying behind the hedge and got the phone out. Eventually it spotted me and ran a short distance before stopping, turning to face me and staring. Then it ran away. Here is the phone video I got.
On a few occasions, when we have been in Stockbridge, I have spent a bit of time watching the trout swimming in the river where it runs under the road and alongside the pavement. This has got me thinking about how to get some good video of them. I figured the Insta360 X3 might be something to try. The invisible stick is pretty long which would allow it to go into the water and the camera itself is waterproof. I was too sure how the image quality would work out but, when we went to the Trout’n’About festival in the town, I took the camera along.
Initially the arrival of the camera spooked the fish which was not a surprise but leaving it there for a while meant they got used to it. It didn’t hurt that some people were throwing food into the river which the fish were way more interested in. I wanted to use the app to control things, but the connection was lost when the camera was under the water. Instead, I just started recording before putting it in the water. The images are not great, but they do give a good view of the fish moving around. Check out some video below.
I blew parts of this one. This video doesn’t have the best bit of what I saw but, if I hadn’t told you that, you’d probably not know. When the Buccaneer was being run up, they undertook a bunch of tests on various systems. The wings were folded and unfolded. The speedbrake was extended and retracted. The bomb bay was rotated. The bit I didn’t get for some reason was the blown flaps. To get the chunky Bucc on to the small decks of the UK carriers, they utilised flap blowing. Air was ducted from the compressors of the engines to the flaps and this improved the low speed lift. It had been raining when the demo was undertaken and the blowing of the flaps was really visible with the moisture getting blown around. Sadly, that is not in this video. Everything else is though.
I was at Ryde one Saturday morning watching the Hovertravel service on a windy day. Because hovercraft are not in contact with the surface, there is no grip to counter any crosswinds. The technique for operating is therefore like flying a plane. You have to yaw into the wind to offset the drift the wind produces. When taking stills, you don’t really show this but, when watching it happen, the drifting is very obvious.
Consequently, video is the way to go. I got some clips of the hovercraft coming in, first over the water and then as it transitioned to the sand flats. For the hovercraft, the change of surface makes no difference. It does mean, when the wind is right, you can get head on shots when they aren’t coming straight at you!
Friday evening and we headed to The Willow Tree, a pub in Winchester. The river runs either side of the pub and the garden narrows to a point as the river comes back together. While there are plenty of birds around, it isn’t often that you see anything swimming in the river. The occasional duck perhaps. We were quite surprised, therefore, to see a family of swans come swimming up towards us. The adults had four cygnets with them. They would go off exploring but then, one of the adults would make a few low noises and you’d see the cygnets head straight back to their parents. I figured video was more fun for this so that is what you have below.
It had been a while since I had last taken a walk around Barton Meadows and, with all of the things I had needed to do on a Sunday done, I didn’t want to just doze off on what was a lovely day. I thought a couple of miles around the nature reserve would be a good finish to the afternoon. I wasn’t going to go without the camera, though. There was some wildlife to be seen but most things were a bit distant. The cattle were in the field though. Some of them were up at the gate at the top of one of the fields and using it to scratch themselves. I find this very amusing for some reason so switched to video to capture them looking like they were really enjoying themselves. Not quite Baloo in Jungle Book but similar!
