Weir, Monsal Dale

Weir on the River Wye

(Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-70mm @ 17mm, 1/100s @ f/7.1, Composite panorama of 3 images)
A sunny but cold morning tempted me out for a walk today. I decided on Monsal Dale and walked from the A6 up to Brushfield then along the top to the Monsal Trail and back along the dale by the River Wye. After all the rain we have had recently the River was well up and much was crashing over the weir. I passed through a field of bullocks near the road on the way back to the car.

Bullocks in Monsal Dale

Cheddleton Panorama

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10 - 10 images stitched in Microsoft ICE)

This morning, while out walking Button, our dog, I decided to put the Microsoft Image Composition Editor (ICE) to the test with a large panorama. I used my Lumix compact camera set on A mode (aperture priority), with auto exposure, white balance and focus. The 10 photos looked at individually had various tints due to differences in white balance but, as you can see, ICE made an excellent job of stitching and balancing the 10 photos giving a view over a 208 deg angle. The white border at the bottom of the panorama on the right is there because I decided that the auto crop feature of ICE was a bit too fierce as I had hand held the camera rather than using a tripod. I haven't found any panorama stitching program that does a better job. (Click on the photo for a closer look.)

Sunday Morning Walk

Yellow

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10)
Here are three photos from this mornings walk with the dog. We walked along the old railway line past Birchall Playing Fields in Leek through to and along the Leek Branch of the Caldon Canal and back again. It was a cold but cloudless and pleasant morning.

Sunday Morning Football, Birchall Playing Fields

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10)

Brown -leaved Oak  by the Caldon Canal

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10)
The above photo is a vertical panorama of three photos stitched in the excellent Microsoft Image Composite Editor ("ICE") program.

Wolseley Centre and Doxey Marshes

Autumn colours at The Wolseley Centre

(Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-70mm @ 17mm, 1/250s @ f/5.6)
Today was a beautifully sunny autumn day so Lyn and I went birdwatching to the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust's Wolseley Centre and their Doxey Marsh reserve near Stafford. There are still magnificent autumn colours on the trees. The photo above shows the vivid orange of a Beech tree and the yellower shades of a Birch (and a few Mallards!)

Speeding male Shoveller at Doxey Marsh

(Canon EOS 60D,Canon EF-S 55-250mm @ 250mm, 1/800s @ f/8.0)

We saw a good selection of birds at Doxey Marsh including Black-headed and Herring Gulls, Lapwings, Mute Swans, Canada and Greylag Geese, Mallard, Teal, Tufted and Shoveller (above) ducks, Coot, Moorhen, Kingfishers, Goosander, Snipe, Blackbirds, Starlings and Crows along with several of the smaller songbirds. A very enjoyable day out.

Sunset over the Peak

Sunset over the Peak District Park

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10, HDR of 3 photos tone mapped in Photomatix))
After several miserable days this afternoon was pleasant but cold. This photo was taken just inside the Peak District National Park near Onecote. The Millstone is the symbol of the Park and is to be found where roads cross the boundary. One of the predominant rocks in the area is Millstone Grit which was used, as the name says, to produce millstones in the past.

Wolfscote Dale

Wolfscote Dale

(Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-70mm @ 17mm, 1/160s (middle image)  @ f/8.0, 3 images HDR in DDP)
Today I went for a walk through Wolfscote Dale, Biggin Dale, Hartington and Beresford Dale in the Derbyshire Peak District, 10 Kms. A pleasant walk with the autumn colours beginning to show. The River Dove was flowing well but seems to have stayed within its banks despite the large amount of rain we have had lately. Some of the fields I crossed were quite waterlogged though. I just managed to keep my feet dry!

Alton Castle

Alton Castle

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10, 3 images tonemapped in Photomatix)
Alton Castle stands high on the hill on the opposite side of the Churnet Valley to the more famous Alton Towers. The original castle dates from the 12th century but the Gothic building visible here was built in 1847 to the design of the Victorian architect Augustus Pugin for the Earl of Shrewsbury, The building is now used as a Catholic Youth Retreat Centre.