Autumn rays

Photos from the capital has been a desolate dessert of inactivity for far too long! So, just as the clear blue September skies were forecast to come to a close, I managed to catch the last afternoon of radiant sunshine before the rain drew in.

This post comes with three themes of photos. First up are a couple of examples of me playing with my circular polariser. Im still playing with this bit of kit, but i'm continually amazed by the quality it lends of any reflective surface. These first two photos show two angle of polarised light. The first, with the swan, I turned my filter to bring out the blues of the water, to crisp up with beautiful ripples across the lake surface. The second (below) was a different angle which seemed to excentuate the browns and greens of a passing teal and the foliage behind. I am still am amature with this filter so any advice/suggestions are very much welcome!

Ok, theme two. This is a continuation of me trying to develop my photographs as a whole. A little while ago (see a prior post), Lindsay commented that many of my photos lacked any sort of depth as I tended to capture subject against either sky or water. So in the next series of 3 photographs, I have tried to incorporate various backgrounds/reflective patterns to give a more wholesome photograph. Subjects are a little grebe, a teal, and a gathering of a teal a lapwing and a snipe, respectively.

And the final few. These are more for my own enjoyment. First up is a product of a long time sitting, waiting and nearly missing the moment when a snipe finally flew across to a new island. Largely due to luck, I managed to capture this shot as he drifted in to land.

The final couple are of some old favourites of mine. Gulls never disappoint in providing acrobatics that are a challenge to photograph, but give some great results. The first picture is saddly blurred, but i thought it was cool - I think this is as close as you get to a handbrake turn under wing power?!

Lastly, I really love this photo. It was early in the day when I was playing about with settings, but somehow I managed to really capture the colours of this gull. I love the orange of the beak against the blue of the wings.

Here's to hoping there will be some more clear weather soon!