Dunham desires

6 hrs of Monday was spent at Dunham Massey where instead of photographic the deer (as they weren't out, or at least I couldn't find them) I spent my time on the views and macro.

Here are just some of the shots I took.

The buildings:

The wildlife:

I'll update with more photos soon as it's taking a while to do. Please keep coming back as I'll get them all on here eventually!

Photo frenzy

Friday became the day when I used up the rest of my camera's memory card - I hadn't realised I'd got so snap-happy since buying the camera. Over 1000 photos taken since March!

I took a wander to snap anything and everything that caught my eye. Here's a very small selection of what I snapped. Enjoy & let me know what you think.

Summery wanderings

Seeing as the weather was glorious I set off for a pootle to the lanes of Dunham in Cheshire.

First port of call was Chorlton Water Park for a loop of the lake and across the Mersey.

Then past Kenworthy Wood and the lovely entrance sign for it before heading through Wythenshawe Park and past the stunning Hall.

Once in the Cheshire lanes around Dunham I came across the very sweet Sinderland Methodist Chapel.

Sculpture trail

While walking along Lord Sheldon Way I noticed a sculpture, then another, then another - all in the rather odd and potentially dangerous place of the side of a hugely busy dual carriageway!

Stoodley Pike

Wednesday became a moorland walk day as I set off across the moors above Todmorden to the towering and brooding Stoodley Pike.

I thought it'd be a great day for taking photos too, however I was disappointed to see that due to the wind, clouds and general lack of good light only a few of my shots looked anywhere near half decent - benefits of digital cameras I guess!

I think some of the better shots include the distant shot of the Pike and the closer view as they show the isolation and bleakness of their location:

Some of the views from the top of the Pike were amazing too:

Dunham

Dunham Massey is a stunning Georgian House with an extensive Fallow Deer park. With the bright sunshine creating an azure blue sky, the day was ideal to get out and take photos of the wildlife and try to get some more macro practice.

The first port of call was to the front of the house itself before hordes of people got in the way of the shot. As it was, I still managed to get some bodies on it, but nowhere near as busy as it got much later in the day.

Having turned off the main path, I headed towards one of the lakes and the exploded bull rushes - perfect nesting materials for the local birds.

The light once I set foot into one of the original plantations was lovely and the obelisk stood out magnificently. I was expecting the obelisk to be in memoriam of a loved member of the family, so I was pleasantly surprised when I read the engraving on it - "Langhorn Grove. Planted AD 1914" - this lovely monument was in honour of the trees!A lovely thought.

By another plantation I tried out my macro skills on a very tiny fern that was growing at the base of a rotten stump. A spot of lying on the ground getting muddy and wet, but I think the shot came out pretty well. Not too far from here was a fenced off are where a very talented chap turns his hand to creating sculptures out of fallen trees and stumps: side by side were the Wood Fairy Rising and this fellow - Old Stumpy.

Onwards and heading towards the old boundary wall and a small group of Fallow Bucks were grazing and lazing around a huge fallen tree. taking a chance that they might flee (a few of them did) I crept towards the tree and soon found myself within touching distance of this very handsome buck. He stayed for quite some time playing with the little branch above his head and nibbling on the grass by his feet. After he'd had enough and wandered of to the shade of the plantation, I again tried my hand at macro, this time on some bracket fungus.

The last place I visited was the large lake which housed a Koi Carp, Coots, Moorhens, Tufted Ducks and a very graceful swan.

See LiveSearch view of this locale.

Birdlife

As I've never really spent much time on bird photography a trip to Martin Mere was in order. After spending several hours there, I came away with some amazing shots of some fantastic waterfowl.

Mandarin Duck (Asia) & Carolina Duck (USA)

Emperor Goose (Alaska) & Eider (Siberia)

Demoiselle Crane (Central Asia) & Fulvous Whistling Duck (Tropics)

Marbled Teal (Mediterranean) & Common Shelduck (Europe)

Greater Flamingo (Africa, Asia & Europe) & Chilean Flamingo (South America)

See LiveSearch view of this locale

I'm in heaven

Friday became one of the best days I've had in a while after taking a wander (hike) up to Chew Reservoir where I caught some stunning shots.

On the way up:

A misty Indian's head

A rock that's been tossed around by glacial waters

The Great Wall of Chew

Reflections

The best view of all:

And back down again:

See LiveSearch Aerial View of this locale.

Panorama & Macro

I went for a wander yesterday over to Hartshead Pike as it's probably one of the best places for taking panorama shots that I know of. I tried to capture the moodiness of the skies behind the pike and the silhouette.

Despite the picture being taken at midday, I think it captured the mood quite well.

I must have really liked the surroundings as I ended up taking well over 100 shots, mainly here, but also at Daisy Nook where I tested out the macro side of things.

While walking through the trees along the riverside the sunkept glinting on a gorgeous rusty orange/mustard colour that was on the trunks of quite a few trees. As I got closer to take a look I spotted a good opportunity to use the macro lens on the amazing Lichens that were predominant on this particular bankside. Again, I think I got a little snap-happy as there were a fair few shots to plough through when I got home!

Shoot and stitch

Seeing as my camera has a 'shoot and stitch' mode and every other camera I've used (my camera phone (3meg), my brother's Canon camera and film cameras) haven't had this function I thought I'd give it a shot.

It's not the best of pictures as the trellis looks a little wonky - I'm failry sure it really isn't on that angle! But for a newbie in the field it's not that bad. Is it?