Tag: waterfowl

35mm · Film photography · Photography

A swan and a goose

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Last month I wrote about how I was unsatisfied with the quality of the Tamron 28-200mm lens I had and how I’d traded it in for a Nikon 70-200mm.

So far I’ve shot the Nikkor on a few occasions and the results have been noticeably sharper than those from the Tamrom, which is good. The downsides that I also discussed (size, weight, and lack of flexibility mostly) have also been borne out, but I knew this would be the case, and the improved image quality win out.

I’ve already posted a digital picture I took with the lens, but these are the first film shots I’ve shared on the blog. They were taken during a walk around the local country park, which has a healthy population of waterfowl.

Swan
Goose

Nikon F80 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 ED VR on Fomapan 400 (@320asa). Semi-stand in Rodinal 1+100 for 1 hour @ 20°.

Taken on 8 February 2026

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Queen’s Park bridge

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This bridge crosses a narrow part of the boating lake in Queen’s Park, Mablethorpe. A sizeable population of ducks, geese, and swans make the lake their home for at least part of the year, and while I took this picture a number of them looked at me hopefully in case I might have some food.

Something good that happened today…

It’s quite difficult to find a good thing today. Our team was notified that a restructure is taking place which will remove around 70% of current roles. While I had some expectation that something like this was probably going to happen, I didn’t expect it to be so significant, or to happen so soon. Obviously the affected people are shocked, frightened, and unhappy about the situation.

I have some hope that my role may be spared, but won’t find out just yet so all I can do is hope for the best. While this is obviously better than hearing my job is definitely being removed, it’s still been a challenging day.

I’ve reached out to colleagues to give support. I know how difficult these situations are, having gone through it before, and I think knowing there are people in a similar situation who will listen and share is a beneficial thing and much better than feeling alone with your concerns. I’m anxious myself, but I hope that I’ve been able to make others feel a little better by lending them an ear.

Queen's Park bridge

Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired January 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°

Taken on 21 September 2024

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Still and misty waters

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This is a photograph the lake at Rother Valley Country Park, not too far from where I live. It’s not generally a place I find condusive for taking photos because, while it’s good for walking, running, cycling etc., and there are a variety of watersports (as well as waterfowl) to enjoy, it’s location means that any sort of wide shot features the surrounding hills, most of which have either houses or industrial units upon them. While I’m sure there are plenty of great photos to be had, I’ve probably been spoilt by familiarity and don’t tend to find it very inspiring.

On misty days however, all that (literally!) fades away and the place takes on a wonderful serenity. The background distractions melt away into the haze leaving much more subtle sights.

Today’s photo is one of a pair I took at this spot. The first one shows just a ripple as the coot decided to dive beneath the surface just as I pressed the shutter. This one was taken shortry after it re-emerged.

FILM - Still

Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 & Ilford HP5+.

Taken on 22 January 2020

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

At the edge of the reservoir

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This photo was taken shortly before the picture of the flying gulls that I posted yesterday. It’s one of several I took (this one and yesterday’s with the Zeiss Mess-Ikonta, and the others with the Holga 120N).

There were a significant number of birds present. Most of them were out on the water as I approached, but they’re obviously used to being fed by people as, as soon as I appeared, the whole lot of them swam or flew straight to the shoreline and right up to my feet. They then all flew away suddenly in a cacophany of flapping wings when a lady with a dog turned up. As soon as they saw she had a big container of food for them they soon came back though, completely ignoring the dog.

I nearly had a mishap while taking these. There was a “No Swimming signpost that I thought might make a nice image, but the muddy floor was extremely slick underfoot and I almost went down on my back when my feet slipped. In the photo, the floor looks like a gravel surface, but this is misleading – it’s actually a thin layer of slippery mud with leaves dotted through it. Thankfully, my ninja-like reflexes saved the day.* 🙂

Both this and yesterdays photo both managed to find their way into Flickr Explore this morning, although the one with the flying gulls dropped from the list later on.

FILM - Reservoir's edge

Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524/16 & Ilford HP5+.

Taken on 30 November 2019

* Ninja-like reflexes = lumbering middle-aged bloke who got lucky this time.