It’s been a while since I’ve had time to take some snaps, so I made some time on a Sunday morning while my family was at church, and went for a walk to a local wetland reservation.
Lower Test Nature Reserve
Easter Trip to Cornwall
Over the Easter break, we spent two days in Cornwall. I say that, but it was really one day in Cornwall and one day driving, spread over two day. We went to Tintagel Castle and Pendennis Castle, which were both amazing. The kids were most excited, however, about staying in a hotel.
Tintagel Castle
We arrived in the late afternoon with enough time to see the castle. The weather was surprisingly good (this area of England is known for it’s windy, rainy spring weather) and we had a relaxing couple of hours walking around the castle. It seemed less of a castle and more of a large park with some ruins in it. The views down the coast were stunning.
Pendennis Castle
After a night’s sleep at a travelodge (which was actually the main purpose of the trip — the kids wanted to stay in a hotel), we went looking for Pendennis castle. I have become over-reliant on my smartphone for navigation, so the first step was to find a place with a good signal, which took about an hour of driving in approximately the right direction.
Pendennis Castle was built to protect Falmouth bay, and is another stunning place to go on a fine day. They had a special event going on, with re-enactors playing the part of smugglers to entertain the children.
Patrick’s Griffon
My colleague Pat just finished painting a Griffon, and asked me to take photos. This gave me the first real excuse to make use of the macro extension tube that I bought at a charity shop for £5. It goes with the £5 50mm lens I bought at the same charity shop. I’m happy with the results, but that’s probably due to the stunning job that Patrick did.
The Bar Next Door
My brother Ben and his friend Nathaniel are starting a band. They have a regular gig at a bar in Worthing. I popped along to watch him, and I had fun taking pictures and video of them and the bar.
The Skate Park
Noah is always eager to get out on his Skateboard. Out skate-park of choice is just outside of Romsey, and is generally quite quiet. Noah’s confidence has grown, and he goes up and down most of the ramps (though not the half-pipe). Hetty tends to be a little more pedestrian with her scooter.
The South Bank at Night
I went to London for a meeting, and while waiting for rush hour to clear (I hate travelling on crowded trains), I took some night shots on the South Bank just outside of Waterloo station.
New Toy
I was lucky enough to find an old 50mm lens in a charity shop for a very reasonable price. I have been wanting to play with a legacy lens for a while. I ordered an adaptor on ebay, and when it finally came, I took the lens out for a spin.
Exactly Ten Years Ago
Where was I precisely ten years ago? Why, I was in China.
These pictures were taken with my first digital camera, a Kodak DC-4800. As an early adopter, I was the only person on the tour that had a digital camera — image that!
This was six months into my first contract teaching English in Korea, and we had a rare break and went on a three-day tour of Beijing. Read all about it here.
Night Adventure
The problem with England in the winter is that it’s dark and rainy. Going out to take photos can be an exercise in finding sheltered places from which to shoot, or in packing up very quickly when the rain starts again. This night was a great example of this. We found a multi-storey car-park that offered sheltered views over an industrial area, and when the rain stopped, we dashed to the biggest bridge in Southampton and had about three minutes before it started raining again.
Swing!
My kids and their cousin enjoy a nest swing in a playground in Lymington.
