Bombing range - # 09/61

The lighthouse stands to guide mariners to safety.

The black tower and huts date from WW I right up until recent times and were used for observing and photographing (with complicated camera systems) the performance of bombs as they fell, first from tiny string and paper planes with unreliable engines right up until the 1950s and 60s when the mighty British V bombers (Vulcan, Victor and Valiant) would release nuclear test bombs from 40,000 ft and the camera systems would track them down observing their trajectory and attitude as they dropped.

The North Sea - # 09/60

Here be Vikings..............at certain times of year the wind sort of just blows them towards England. They have to come. They can't help it.

I grew up by the North Sea. I could sit here for hours trying to capture the greyness, the twinkling light, the turbulence. B&W tonality is (for me at least) the best way to show it.

Rust - # 09/59

There's nothing like a nice bit of time-expired Ministry of Defence equipment to excite the imagination.

Open barrier - # 09/58

An image of Orford Ness, Suffolk.

A photo for Earth Day - # 09/57

Nuclear Spring - Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, Orford Ness.

The Seagull - # 09/56

Over the North Sea - 18th April 2009.

Clear signs of Spring 11 - # 09/55

Don't believe everything you see. http://blog.richardtugwell.com/index.cfm/2009/4/6/On-the-Zriberg.

Is this the proof that the biblical story about planting a rod and seeing it spring up as a lively tree actually has validity? Well, yes. We all know that the allegory is correct.

This is the last in the series "Clear signs of Spring".

Clear signs of Spring 10 - # 09/54

A clear sign of Spring is: "delicate frondy things"

Clear signs of Spring 9 - # 09/53

Ephemera...........(Yesterday's Post # 09/52: white blooms, close up.)

Clear signs of Spring 8 - # 09/52

Magnolias and early blossoms shower down in swirling masses to create a magic carpet that will soon fade.

Clear signs of Spring 7 - # 09/51

The Snakes' Head Fritillary. There is a fine colony in the Wilderness Garden at Ham House. I have heard that there is also an outstanding colony of these rare plants at Magdalen College, Oxford. Fortunately the Ham House colony has both pink and white examples. It's worth enlarging the photo to see the delicate pattern on the white. Hurry to see them. They will soon be gone for another year.

Clear signs of Spring 6 - # 09/50

One can't imagine anything more uplifting and Springlike than these magnificent specimens alongside a stream in the Isabella Plantation, Richmond Park.

Clear signs of Spring 5.5 - # 09/49

......OK, the yellow and green go back in. I certainly don't want to upset anyone over Easter.

Good wishes to all of you.

Clear signs of Spring 5 - # 09/48

"Follow the light". The Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park is gradually re-awakening. The Magnolias have flowered; we now wait for the Azaleas. The tiny streams are flowing freely with fresh water draining from the natural springs in the Park.

I confess to de-saturating the greens and yellows and increasing visibility of the natural reflection of the sky in the stream. (Perhaps I should have left the green and yellow tones as they were. I was most interested in the effect of the stream and the path of light when I took the photo). When playing about I was surprised to see the effects achieved just by a very tiny alteration in the White Balance.

Camera: Olympus E3. Lens: Olympus 9 - 18mm set at 9mm and locked at f6.3

Clear signs of Spring 4b - # 09/47

A big change of mood, but only tiny changes in time. This image was taken a few moments before yesterday's. In that time the rapidly moving grey clouds (building up on the right) swept across and inspired me to convert the second image into the dramatic B&W event you saw yesterday in # 09/46. I could not have achieved the same effect using this sparkling record of a delightful Spring day.

Clear signs of Spring 4a - # 09/46

The rising angle of the sun begins to bless the northern hemisphere after a rather grim winter. The very clear light and the changing season bring dramatic skies and cloud effects that delight the eye. The large trees are still bare skeletons, the shrubs are greening up.

This is a long winded way of saying: "Bet you didn't expect this for a Spring shot!" The lighting effect was briefly quite dramatic and then passed on, carried away by a brisk breeze. I couldn't resist it. This is my vision of that moment.

Clear signs of Spring 3 - # 09/45

We walk in woods where the big trees are still bare skeletons, but here and there we are startled by a sudden outbreak of riotous blossom on a tree that will feed the birds with wild berries.

Clear signs of Spring 2 - # 09/44

A boy duck closely following a girl duck is a clear sign of Spring.

Clear signs of Spring - # 09/43

...........just as the title says. The pond at Ham Common.

Ham House Stables - # 09/42

Just for a while we'll move back to the original roots of Richmond upon Thames DP with some traditional, uncomplicated, simple, standard "touristical" photos.

Recently we have had some quite dramatic lighting effects as the fresh and very clear Spring sunshine competes with the grey clouds.

Here is a view across the old kitchen gardens of the 17th Century mansion, Ham House, towards the old stable block. The old gardens were cleverly constructed so that the walls created a micro-climate that trapped the warmth of the sun and excluded the wind. Fruit trees populate the warm walls and vegetables flourish in the central plots of earth. The garden now serves the kitchens in the cafe, providing fresh vegetables for the menu.

I immediately appreciated the grouping of the old roof lines and the shapes of the trees. On the right is the 19th Century Florentine style chimney that served the (then very modern!) heating systems.