The Spire

I went into Chesterfield today and for once i brought my camera!  Sadly i had planned on taking some shots of the older buildings with wooden fronts early on before too many people turned up but the day started grey and misty so not much good from that. No worries though as i can soon try again! However i did take some shots of the Crooked Spire, a landmark and icon of Chesterfield that is very well known. Weird how i've never taken shots of it before really, but as the day progressed i was rewarded with some lovely light and took a few shots.

Not the best but happy none the less and i do plan on visiting more often in different seasons and light conditions. Shortly after this though i went inside, something i have never done.
Stunning building! Very ornate in it's design with a beautiful high ceiling and 3 or 4 smaller chapels inside, i did pick up a little info booklet but not read it properly yet. Anyway working inside a dark building with no tripod or flash was tricky but doable and i managed a few captures at ISO 1600! As such there is a bit of noise.

These don't do the place justice at all and once i register and become better at buildings i may contact them and perhaps arrange a day where i can take my tripod in and take some proper photos (also though taking images is permitted they don't wish the images to be used for commercial purposes)

Dark  buildings may be a pain but stained glass windows are easy to photograph and the windows in this church were some of the best in terms of condition i have ever seen!

Beautiful right?

I am definitely coming back here for more images and indeed practice with exposures. Hope you liked these images and before i left i just couldn't resist taking a shot of the ceiling.

Toads!!! Glorious Toads!

*This will be a longer than normal post as when it comes to toads i become obsessed and watch every day that there about*

April 3rd
(23 Males and 2 Females)
The toads have finally arrived at my local breeding pool! Been waiting and checking for over a month now so very happy they are turning up.

The first toads i saw where actually on the road as i headed to the location (not added to the count) and i soon moved them to a safer area in Whitworth Park. I very often move frogs and toads across roads and busy pathways as they are not the fastest of creatures and rely on camouflage as defense, and as such normally stay frozen if discovered or threatened. Guess between the poison glands and the camo coloring these guys don't need to run much in more wild places.

Anyway once i arrived at the breeding area i stared to count up the toads as i always do by following a set path and pattern (little chance of double counting that way) and it was clear that i was on the first day of the breeding season from the very small number that i found.
Didn't really take many shots but did take a handful of portraits with some help with my flash.

Must have loads of these sort of shots so didn't go too mad. As the season takes off i'm hoping for some new and different images but for that i need some sunlight aswell as plenty of luck. Time will tell if i can tick the images of my wanted list!

April 4th
(243 Males and 17 Females)

Things are picking up quickly this season! Nice amount of toads and it's still early so maybe i'll get lucky and see some unusual color morphs later on? Would love to see another "White marbled" female. Anyway i took a few more portraits with flash while waiting for daylight.

As the day began in earnest (once again no light as much as mist! so annoying as there are several shots i want that need light!) I took some different type of portraits. I may have mentioned before that i have a fascination with moss? Well toads like it too....

Then later on i managed a shot i've been after for a while showing the climb many of the toads must make to get to the breeding pond. I'm not quite happy with the image though and will keep trying as the season progresses. Weather is making some of the shots i want impossible but i may get a lucky break. Wonder what tomorrow will bring!

April 5th
(146 Males and 20 Female)

After the count i waited near the small fall and hoped i could get enough light for some decent shots, i tried first by using my torch as additional light but results were poor so just had to wait and rely on very slow shutter speeds. Sadly at such long exposures i needed to underexpose to keep the water from becoming bright white!

As the morning progressed i tried more artistic captures using slow shutter speeds, wide open aperture and overhead positions with the tripod. To my surprise i managed several good captures.

Very pleased with how those captures came out! Finally ticked off some more shots off my list, sadly though i won't be able to get the underwater breeding shots or try to take some spawn (very small number obviously) for a development sequence as the water was too high from the recent rains. Most years i can get all the way around the pond but it's too flooded this time around - maybe next year!

Anyway here's one last shot before tomorrow begins  :)

April 6th
(47 males and 6 females)

Wet and rainy this morning!  Hardly any light at all and after the count it's clear the breeding season will be nearing its end, is short and normally only last about a week.  With the weather playing silly buggers i couldn't get any light shots so just a few snaps of a reddish female and that was pretty much it.

I'm hoping to get some nice light in the evening and try for more shots off my wanted list that way. Time will time :)

April 7th
(25 Males and 7 Females)

Awful day! Rain started about 6:30pm last evening and is still raining now at 7am!! The woods surrounding the pond are now completely flooded making access near impossible bar at one point, it was bad at the start of the season but now is a nightmare.  With the extra rain the "falls" are now quite powerful and although people say not to interfere with wildlife i moved the stranded toads caught out at the bottom. Toads are not strong swimmers (  Unlike Frogs toads are fantastic walkers but not swimmers) and though hardy and pretty good climbers it would have been too much, so i moved them to the main part of the breeding pond (or as close as i could in safely).

Not many toads anyway so doubtful many more will turn up now, no photos today and unless i get a break in the weather and get some sun this may be it for this breeding season. I will keep checking though and if i get a break and can find a straggler as he leave the breeding pond later on i might get lucky with some shots. There's always next year :)

Overall though i am pleased with what i have managed and i do love Toads! They really are the cutest creatures and have lots of character.
Hope you enjoyed reading this rather long post!

To the moon!

This year i have made a promise to myself to try new areas of photography, not including people of-course, and the past week i have tried my hand at Moon photography.

My first attempts were a little......hit and miss but i was quite happy none the less, given i have never even tried to take shots of the moon before. Not too sure why i haven't in all honestly maybe because i always thought you needed a massive lens or telescope. Anyway here are first attempts..

Afterwards i did some research on what to do and got some techy info. Turns out i was doing things backwards! Always did like to do things differently but armed with new knowledge i tried again yesterday and i got better results and more consistency.

 
Now i know what i'm doing i will keep trying and take some more shots whenever the opportunity arises.