RT photographics

A Wonderful Wedding in Reading!

2011-05-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

May is a month to be merry for sure, so what better time of year for a right good knees up and the joining of hands in marriage?!!

Louise and Graham were married in a beautiful ceremony at Pincents Manor in Reading, right here in the Royal County of Berkshire.

Watched by their families and their closest friends, Louise and Graham sparkled with fun and life and, of course, their love!

The rain held off, the sun came out, the smiles were everywhere and the day went so fast I felt like I was in this huge wave of happiness and it felt great!!!

Wedding photography is really hard work... I mean, really physically hard work! I could barely move for about 3 days after; my thigh muscles and shoulders and arms were burning!

Constantly looking for not only the classic, beautiful shots, but also the unposed, unaware and charming shots... the ones that really sparkle with the magic of the day, the ones that make the wedding special and personal.

But why the aching muscles?

Well, I use a fairly hefty camera for a start, and I also get myself in awkward and quite uncomfortable positions to get better angles or to get better backgrounds.

Spending a few solid hours in such positions and holding the camera in portrait mode for a lot of the time can get pretty tiring on weedy muscles like mine!

I suppose I could go to the gym or do more to keep fit, but hey ho, all that just eats into time that I'd much rather use to take my camera out for a walk!!!

So, weddings are hard work, but wow, I love it! It's so much worth the pain!! Congratulations to Louise and Graham, and all the best for a very long and happy future together!

Rebecca, X

rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk
www.rtphotographics.co.uk

To Bollington and Beyond!

2011-05-01T05:16:00.000-07:00

I'm loving this whole holiday thing!

I've been out and about again, travelling up to Bollington in Cheshire to stay with my sister and her family. Bollington is a great place; tucked into the edge of the Peak District, only a short drive from Manchester but seemingly a million miles away, it's a charming small town with a huge array of options for days out... not least of which is Jodrell Bank, talking of arrays!

I didn't visit the Jod on this trip, though I shall get back there soon if I can!

My nephews and niece are all real water babies and are often found in it or on it in one way or another! Luckily for them they have access to the canal... perfect for them to canoe / kayak / generally bob about on, perfect me to stroll along and take my camera for a walk! Leaving the poor guys at home to do their revision, I wandered along for a couple of hours to see what I could see.

It's such a peaceful place and was perfect for recharging my still rather worn out spirits!

Still on the lookout for a kingfisher moment, still not getting one, but I did get a quite nice encounter with the equally stunning heron!

Next on the list of things to do for the week was a fantastic day out on The Roaches with my good friend Andy.

High pressure gave us a superb day to explore the crags and high spots, but did also unfortunately make it rather hazy... not so good for interesting skies or distant views!

Still, it was a stunning place to be in and we had a fab day out... though I don't think Andy will be quite so keen to return to Lud's Church anytime soon!!! Long story, but the upshot was we saw it at least 3 times that afternoon! It's well worth a visit, but our poor old legs (ok, sorry Andy, my poor old legs!!), had really had enough after the first visit. Still, all good reason to get another ice cream from the handily placed van up at the car park!

A nice ice cream was also had at Tatton Park the next day! The sun was roasting again and the deer on the park had obviously decided that rather than join the queue for the ice cream van, they'd cool off quicker with a dip in the lake!!!

The deer are free to wander the park and munch grass wherever they like within the confines of the cattle grids.

They are lovely to see and it was even more magical to see them splashing about in the water to cool off! Lovely!!

The holiday continued with a road trip down to the Southampton area. Here we are on the road...

quite literally 'on the road'!!! Well, it was a long journey! Had to pass the time somehow!

A brief pitstop at Warwick Services and a video happy birthday sing song for Richard. Not wanting to look a complete nutter in the car park singing by myself, I tried to rope in the others. Oh well. At least Jim bravely came to help out his poor old bonkers aunty Becca!

It was appreciated Jim, thanks ;-) Richard appreciated it too, though I don't know that I can stretch it so far as to say he enjoyed it!!! Singing isn't my strong point. Hey ho.

Anyway, back on the road we went straight down to the Submarine Museum at Portsmouth. It's not a huge place but it really is worth a visit. By bizarre coincidence, my friend who had his birthday song that day was formerly a submariner and spent his training days here at HMS Dolphin! By even more coincidence, the museum has the propeller from his boat on display (HMS Resolution)!!

It's actually quite a beautiful thing when you look at it close up...

though I clearly wouldn't have wanted to see it at all had I been in the water! It is quite something to see though, even now after it had spent 30 years in the sea... very impressive!

HMS Alliance was also very, very impressive! The museum are hoping to raise enough funds to restore it, as it is really suffering with age and exposure to elements. Hopefully the fundraising will work in time and Alliance be brought back to her former glory.

It was fascinating to tour inside HMS Alliance. It has to be said, deep respect for all the chaps who ever worked on her and for all submariners worldwide!!!

Having spent a few very interesting hours at the museum, we headed back towards Southampton to pitch the tents.

It's been a LONG time since I've been camping and I was a bit dubious about it, but it was great! I'm going to buy me a tent now and do some more!! Not quite so sure I'll be singing along at the camp fire again any time soon, but it was a cracking good laugh!

Thanks Helen, and John, Jim,

George

and, a huge thanks to Rosie for sharing her tent with her old aunty B!

Oh, and also thanks to Jim for letting us use his hammock...

it was very, very comfy, nice one Jim!

Rebecca, X
http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Tima's Happy Dogs!

2011-05-01T04:28:00.000-07:00

They say that owners resemble their dogs, or is it dogs resemble their owners??? Either way, Tima Lund's dogs are, without doubt, four-legged furry versions of their owner! Happy, fun, full of life and energy and intelligent to boot.

I like Tima, I LOVE her dogs! A studio session with the Cocker Spaniels and the German Shepherds was always going to be fun. It was made easy by Tima's excellent handling, Helen's brilliant assistance with the tickle stick and the fantastically good-natured dogs!

First up was the Ace Man. He is still a wee man, not long out of puppy class, but he was exceptionally well behaved. Given a few minutes to bounce excitedly round the room and wag his entire body at absolutely everything, Ace settled and posed like a pro celeb!

Next up was the birthday girl, Doodle Bug. Celebrating her first birthday, she looked beautiful, behaved impeccably and is every inch a star!

Uncle Vinnie is an older paw at the whole posing mularkey, striding happily onto the set he was ever ready for his close-ups!

Pickle looked sleek, elegant and beautiful.

She's full of fun but is gentle-natured and highly intelligent. A gorgeous, gorgeous dog!

The pups couldn't be ignored... Cagney & Lacey were 5 weeks old and just had to get a look at everything and everyone. No corner was left unexplored!

Lacey already has a new home for when she's old enough to leave, Cagney will be sure to follow suit soon too. She's beautiful and intelligent, already responding to recall. Both dogs will, with the correct ongoing training and home life, make fantastic companions for the right family!

Tima won't let her pups go to just anyone, she needs to know that the dogs will be loved and looked after in the right way, so that they continue to be the happy healthy dogs that they start life as.

I know it's often said, but please, please don't get a pup just because they look cute!!! Dogs are a huge commitment for a long time. The rewards are amazing, but there needs to be more behind the reasoning to have a dog than just keeping your kiddies happy!

Finally, last but by no means least, ZeZe sat for her portraits.

A beautiful soul, ZeZe really is top! She's also meticulous about preparing for the camera!!!

Can't fault her!

Thanks to Tima and Helen for a great shoot. I hope you enjoy the photos!

Rebecca, X

http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Road Trip

2011-04-03T04:47:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a very busy one, but a smashing one!

My mate Helen and I set off from Berkshire at 10.30am with flasks of coffee, sausage rolls and a whole lot of sweeties ready for the long haul up to Dundee.

Stopping for the obligatory wees and walkies along the way, we made good time and arrived at Discovery Quay just in time for tea! Except we couldn't be bothered going out so just spread out the provisions from the road trip and had a picnic on Helen's bed! Much better idea!!

Saturday was a bit mixed, as the morning was taken up by a return to my old house to collect the rest of my things. I'd brought all my clothes and camera gear down before, but now I had to find room in Helen's car for all my books, photo albums and a large globe... oh, and a rather statuesque santa with a bell on his hat!!!

We'd made the most of the Dundee stop though, making sure we dropped by Clark's for a black pudding & egg roll, mmmm, and an apple slice to be saved for later! Clark's apple slices are to die for!!! I've had nothing like it since moving back down south and I was dribbling all the way up the M6 in anticipation!!!

So, loaded up with both calories and books, we headed across to tour my old favourite haunts. First stop was Glenshee. The weather wasn't what you'd call perfect, but it was ok.

The rain stopped long enough to take a short walk along the Callater Burn where we found a lovely place for coffee and a peer through the bins for whatever birdies might be about. Helen's hubby, Mick, had made a couple of walking sticks for us and wow, what a great idea! I couldn't believe how much strain they take off the hips and the lumbar spine!! They are amazing... and beautifully crafted too, I am so very, very impressed!

Thanks Mick!

Next stop was in Killin, but we took a slightly scenic route to go and see the caravan I lived in for 4 years when I first moved into the area. Slightly disconcerting was the fact that even after 9 years, the lady in charge at the campsite knew who I was... and she didn't even live there at the time!!! Hmmm, I took it as a positive thing, let's hope it was!

We then drove across Moulin Moor and stopped at the layby opposite Auld Mr Soutar's Hoose for more coffee and the scrummy apple slices... more like apple thins now actually, as they were buried under a hundredweight of books!!! Still tasted scrummy though!

On to Killin and a reunion with Walter, Susan and Sid, my Intrepid friends who were up for the night as well. It was a fantastic night, good food, great company and such a good laugh, real jaw-aching, belly-aching laughs! Superb!!

A few real ales and some lemon vodkas later, (and some rum in Helen's case), we stumbled up to our twin room in the attic with vague notions of maybe getting up for sunrise if the clouds cleared overnight.

Thankfully the clocks changed that night, springing forward by an hour. Again, this was a positive thing... rather than losing an hour in bed, we gained an hour of our holiday and, thankfully, sunrise was now roughly 7-ish instead of 6-ish!!! Much more sociable!

Peeping beyond the curtain at a little before 7am, I saw the sky was already pretty light and that the clouds had lifted and it had the makings of a beautiful day!

But we were very, very close to sunrise and we had to run if we were going to make it. So we did. Straight into a bog and a bootful of peaty water!! Which was nice!

Undeterred, we circled round the bog and arrived at the shore of Loch Tay with moments to spare!

The initial rush and panic over, we had time to sit and drink in the beauty of the morning and the peace of the landscape...

but, I have to be honest, wishing we'd packed a flask of coffee and thinking really hard about whether to knock on the fishermen's tent to see if they'd share any breakfast with a couple of slightly hungover photographers!

Luckily Helen found a couple of hot cross buns left over from the day before at the bottom of the bag, so we ate those instead and the fishermen were left to sleep in ignorance of how close they'd come to losing half of their breakfast!!

We wandered back to the hotel in time for breakfast with Susan, Walter and Sid, and plans were hatched for a tour round the Ben Lawers range. The map showed a promising looking drive from Killin that cut round behind Ben Lawers and then popped out at Kenmore. Perfick! Except there was no mention on the map that the road was now shut halfway along it due to enormous potholes that developed after the hard winter they'd just experienced up there!

Back in Killin, we agreed to follow the sat nav to the tearooms at Bridge of Balgie. Susan was driving ahead of us to lead the way, but by some oversight we also left our road atlas with them... so they had the sat nav and the map!

That wouldn't have been a problem if the road hadn't suddenly turned into the M25 as soon as Susan pulled out onto it, meaning we were delayed in setting off. Susan saw a blue car behind, thought (not unreasonably) that it was us and carried on following Mr Tom's instructions. We were left to follow our noses. It didn't go well.

It was very scenic and we did spot a hen harrier while out on our diversion, but we were a LONG way from any tearooms, let alone the one at Bridge of Balgie!! Deciding that the best thing to do was turn around and go back along the main road, we eventually found the turning that we should have taken first time! Oops!!

We'd tried several times to ring Walter but no signal put the dampeners on that. We were a good 2 hours behind the others before we eventually caught up, but we were reunited and all was laughed away! Slightly hysterical laughter maybe, but we laughed it off anyway!

The poor Intrepids were stoked full of tea, so it seemed a plan to make the next stop at the toilets a mile down the road. We then carried on to Fortingall to see the 5000 year old yew tree at the church. It's astonishing to be in the presence of something that has seen the whole of history in that place... absolutely mind-blowingly astonishing! Yew trees are found in just about every church yard up and down the UK. Respected for their ability to rejuvenate and grow, prehistoric and medieval peoples believed the Yew to have magical properties. I'm rather inclined to think so too!

A bite to eat and another wee stop later found us at the Hermitage by Dunkeld. A favourite haunt of mine, I was desperate to get there before dark to have a good look round.

It's a fantastic place, I've written about it before, but you really do need to go and have a look if you ever pass through Perthshire on the A9. Trust me, it's well worth the stop!

A night in Perth and then it was back down the road to home and reality again.

My life in Scotland may be done, but I can be very, very sure that I'll be back!

Rebecca, X
http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Mother's Day

2011-04-03T04:45:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago saw me over in Reading taking family portraits for Louise and Graham. We had a real laugh and enjoyed it immensely, watching the kids express themselves and just be themselves in the mobile studio. We set no time limits, it takes as long as it takes, and we had no plans that couldn't change at the drop of a hat. We just let the shoot unfold according to the kids and how they got on together... which they did beautifully! There are plenty of colour shots and some fun ones amongst dad's legs and playing with a big fluffy dog, but these are the ones I like for their innocence and simplicity. I don't know what Louise is doing today, but as it's Mother's Day and she's got two fantastic children, I hope she's doing something fab!! A lovely family, great fun and a dream to photograph. Thanks Louise, I really enjoyed the shoot and hope you did too! Rebecca, X http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/ rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Barkham Mad!

2011-04-03T04:44:00.000-07:00

Barkham Church nestles quietly in a little lane away from the hustle of the main village and is typical of the many flint faced buildings in this area. It's really quite beautiful at any time of day, but it is even more so at night I think. Lit from one side by the constantly busy village hall and on the other by the biggest full moon in 20 years (apparently... though obviously the moon itself is no bigger at all - it's just the same size as before but I guess we're a bit closer to it than we have been for 20 years!), anyway, I toddled down to the church that night (don't ask me which night 'cos it was ages ago now and I don't even remember what I did last night!!), a little uncertain as to how I'd get on. Last time I tried to take photos of a church after dark I nearly died of fright with all the strange noises and rustlings and things tugging at my jacket (turned out to be branches of a shrub but it felt very much like skeletal fingers to my heightened imagination!!). I also felt rather anxious at Auld Mr Soutar's Hoose up on Moulin Moor when I went there after dark, alone, stumbling about the boggy tussocks and trying to ignore the feelings that 'something' was at my back all the time! Barkham Church was a bit different though. This night, the strangest noise came from my keyring... I have a little pig with a blue light torch that shines from it's nostrils and oinks every time you switch it on! The torch was very useful so there was a fair amount of oinking going on, which would certainly put off anything that was lurking in the shadows with any mischevious intent!! There was also quite a noise coming from the party going on at the village hall. Not quite sure what the music was, but it certainly wasn't 'Village People' or any of the other cheesy party tunes we used to try and dance along to! Thankfully nobody came stumbling out of the party, because I'm not sure what they'd have made of a fleece-wearing anorak wielding a flashing oinking pig!! Barkham mad, probably! Rebecca, x http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/ rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Bourne Again!

2011-03-15T04:57:00.000-07:00

Last week was such a tonic for me. I've already posted about my trip to Aberlady and success at Crufts, but before that I had a fantastic few days in Lincolnshire with my very great and very true friends Margaret and Paul.

A rowdy play with Roxy helped too! What a great dog she is, I love her so much!!

After a month of crying and illness and general downright miserableness, I'd arrived in Bourne a bit of a wreck. Five minutes later I was smiling, ten minutes later I was laughing, and after a couple of hours I felt so unbelievably refreshed and revived and perked up that I really did feel born again!

Honestly, I did. It all sounds a bit drama queen I know, but it's true!

Margaret had made plans though, and what a fab weekend it was! Having arrived on the Saturday, Sunday saw us up at Fineshade Woods in Rutland for a day out with a wildlife photographer and Margaret's great friend Kat.

Kat and Malc were instantly warm and welcoming and it felt like we'd all known each other for ages... it was gonna be a really good day!

It was!! The birds came out to play, the cameras came out to play, and so did we!

It was a brilliant day out and revived me in a way nothing much else could have done! Spot on Margaret, and a huge thanks to Kat and Malc too!!

We travelled back to Bourne pretty much carefree and full of anticipation at maybe seeing barn owls in the fields where Margaret and Kat walk their dogs.

We didn't really expect too much though, as they both said they'd not seen the owls at that time of day before, but wow, within only a couple of minutes of arriving there it was, swooping away from it's nesting box in the barn rafters and across the field. Only Margaret had the savvy to have her camera ready, so unfortunately I didn't get any shots, but what a privilege it is to see such a beautiful creature so close up!

Such a privilege in fact, that no sooner had that one disappeared than another one swooped out and across the fields too! Again, no photos, but again, how special just to be there! I'll hopefully be more prepared next time!!!

Monday was also a good day out. We went in to Peterborough and had not only the best muffins in the world ever, but also a lovely walk round Peterborough Cathedral. It really is beautiful inside and, again, next time I go I shall be armed with my camera! It's stunning!!

The burial place of Katherine of Aragon and first burial place of Mary Queen of Scots, the Cathedral has a long and fascinating history. It's architecture is quite unlike that of any other Cathedral I've visited and the ceilings are magnificent. Really magnificent.

We returned to Bourne that evening and waited for Margaret's son Paul, a primary school teacher with a bit of a problem. He's a superb teacher, having been commended in previous Ofsted visits, but Tuesday and Wednesday were going to see Ofsted back again. Andrew's teaching assistant had gone sick and Andrew had a dozen fishing rods and various other things to make and do. I like a challenge and thought "how hard can it be?" ...all that was needed was to stick a length of string to one end of a small piece of cane and stick a round magnet to the other end. Easy eh?

Er, no actually! My mum has always said I'm a bit cack-handed and it seems she's right!! There was sellotape on all surfaces, including my hair at one point, magnets were sticking fast to each other... and the radiator! The strings were getting knotted and I couldn't untie them because the magnets were stuck together again!!! Honestly, how hard could it be?!!!! Still, got there in the end and Andrew had 12 fishing rods and quite a few magnetic fishes to take to work the next day, so it all turned out ok, thank goodness!

A walk across the fields on Tuesday morning and then it was time to be off to catch the train to Edinburgh. It was such a good wee break and I can't say thank you enough to Margaret and Paul. I can't wait to come back, let's hope it's soon!!!

Rebecca XX still smiling now! :-D

To Aberlady and Beyond!

2011-03-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

I first visited Aberlady Nature Reserve last year when I was feeling raw and emotional and hurt and grieving. A wee while there and I felt my spirits lift a bit and my strength to return a little bit.

So here I am again, a year on, raw and emotional and hurt and grieving. Seems I'm not quite as strong as I thought I was, but nor am I a victim. I will be back and, to that end, a trip to Aberlady was the perfect boost... as well as a trip back to Bourne to see my really fab friends Margaret & Paul, but more of that in another post!

I took the train up to Edinburgh last Tuesday to be met in the rain by my old pal John. A flatmate from our university days over 10 years ago, we've kept in touch on and off over the years and how glad am I of that? Very glad indeed. I don't know if he can be bottled, but he really is such a great tonic!!!

Having spent a few days away with Margaret and Paul, I was already feeling lifted and rested and on my way back to peace, but a couple more days with John put the cherry on the top. We laughed, I cried, we laughed again, we ate, drank & laughed a bit more and set the world to rights and talked & laughed some more. Perfick!

Arriving in the dark and in the rain, I could only get a rough idea of the view John has to look at every day. It looked good, even in the dismal light... but wow, what a view in the daylight!

John is warden at the Nature Reserve and is fortunate enough to have an apartment that looks out across the estuary, across the old shipwreck and across the salt marsh beyond, where North Berwick Law stands in majesty above this beautiful, ever-changing landscape.

The rain had stopped, the sun was out and it would have been extremely rude not to go out and embrace the wind as it whipped along the coast. We filled a flask with coffee and a box with rolls and John's home baking (Yum! He never did that when we shared a flat in Aberdeen!!), and weatherproofed & hunger-proofed, we set off for a walk round the reserve.

The salt marshes across the far side of the bay lead on to an extensive dune system, with back dunes and ponds and a fantastically shaped landscape that reminds me of a volcanic crater clothed in grass!

Home to reptiles, amphibians, mammals, invertebrates, insects and birds, this wonderful ecosystem is so incredibly beautiful but also incredibly fragile. John and his team are working tirelessly to control the dunes from the threat of invasion by non-native species... the attractive but rampant sea buckthorn to name but one!

Another threat of invasion was thwarted by these huge blocks that, although invaders themselves, are now so much a part of the landscape that they are also protectors and holders of their own small ecosystems, as lichens, mosses and small plants colonise the concrete!

Placed here in the war to protect the land from enemy tanks that could be landed from the shore, these blocks are so weathered and bedded in that they have completely embraced the natural world. Rejecting manmade ideas of war and destruction, these memorials of war now offer peace and new life. It's part of the magic of Aberlady Nature Rerserve. It really is!

Twice now I've visited the reserve when my world has crumpled, and twice now I've been restored and revived by the magic that's here. Peace and new life, here I come!!

Walking further along the coast, the landscape changes with every turn and, rather dramatically, with just about every high tide!

The rocks are astonishing, not just in beauty, but in their vast differences. All colours, shapes and sizes, the rocks represent so many different forms and types that a geologist would be in perpetual bliss! Carved by wind and rain, sea and sand, smoothed by years of exposure to all the elements, the rocks here take on really fantastic and surreal features. Is it any wonder myths and legends are born when you come across such grotesque and pained faces as these?

Blimey, my problems are nothing compared to theirs! See, I really do feel better already!!!

John pointed out this huge rock and said that until the winter it had been buried by sand dunes for who knows how many years! Winter storms swept a huge section off the end of a the dunes to reveal this and other rocks for the first time in centuries.

How exciting is that? I think it's great! Apparently this particular rock was a beautiful green colour when it was first exposed, but has now muted to a still very attractive silvery green. I wonder what it looked like before it was buried in the sand, and how many people have sat on it and looked out to sea?

As we walked, the landscape changed in every bay. Looking out to the island of Fidra, we sat and ate our lunch and just revelled in the rawness of the day.

The wind was biting, but it was perfect. Blowing a gale through our troubled thoughts and frazzled minds, all negative emotions dispersed on the wind as easily as dandelion seeds blow away from the clock. Time heals, it's true, but there's nothing quite like a good sea breeze to get the colour back in your cheeks and a hearty stride back in your step!

12 miles & 7 hours after setting off from John's front door, we arrived in North Berwick. A beautiful day, a stunning walk and great company. I could do with a LOT more of that!!!! Thanks John, it was ace and I am so grateful to you for helping me through and making me laugh and getting me back on to the road again. You should be available on the NHS!!!

Rebecca, X

Team Tima!

2011-03-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

Well, Friday was a day of firsts all round... my first trip to Crufts, Tima's German Shepherd Dog Masai had his first win at his first ever time at Crufts, and he was also the first black GSD to win his class!

We also hoped that he would become a father for the first time on Friday, but nature knew better and he is, as yet, still pacing the hall waiting for his pups to arrive! It was a long day for us all, starting at 4.30 in the morning, but it was such a good day.

Crufts and the Kennel Club have come in for criticism over the years for allowing breeding to result in dogs that look a certain way but can suffer from skeletal problems or breathing difficulties or other severe health problems. I was, therefore, very happy to be going along to my first show with Tima Lund, who is loud and proud in her determination to show German Shepherd Dogs with strong, healthy skeletal systems rather than the extreme sloping backs that so often cause poor hips, plus shoulder, knee and elbow problems and spinal deformities.

The judge at Crufts this year, Gary Gray, is also a strong supporter of the straighter backed GSD's and the Kennel Club are certainly heading in the right direction to encourage breeding to produce healthy, happy dogs!

Let's hope it continues and the poor dogs who suffer so much for nothing more than a desired image will not suffer further and common sense will prevail. So, well done to Masai, and to Team Tima!

Tima breeds GSD's and Cocker Spaniels, trains agility and obedience and somehow also manages to find time to work as a Science & Animal Care teacher in a local school too! Find out more about Tima and her furry family here at http://www.folkvanggsd.webs.com/

We were also accompanied by Pickle, who unfortunately missed her class group due to a bit of a mix up. Still, she looked beautiful and she enjoyed our walks round the show and it was all still a bit of a day out for her.

Thanks to Tima for letting me come along to Crufts, and a huge big cuddle of love for Masai... he is just awesome!

I wish you could have met my Hogy Bear! He was no champion or show stopper, and he had the worst case of hip & elbow dysplasia the vet had seen, all caused by poor breeding and, because of his suffering, I will support anyone and everyone who can help bring attention to the problems and attention to the work that's going on to eradicate such needless suffering!!!

But I do wish you could have met Hogy. He was the most gentle, placid, beautiful natured dog that I have ever met and I still miss his nose poking round my bedroom door every single day, a whole year on! He wasn't healthy, but he was happy when he was strong and he was the most fun I've ever known! Bless you Tima for bringing some Shepherdy love back into my life! And well done again to Masai (aka Tracelyn Hobson at Folkvang).

Rebecca. X

Lessons with Love

2011-02-24T13:20:00.000-08:00

I love photography, I love the technical side to it and I love the artistic and creative side to it too.

I love being out there with my camera and love being in here remembering good days out and looking at photos and, above all, learning from them! Every step I take in this journey is a step that's been thought about and worked on and analysed and crafted. It's also a journey that's fun, exciting and promising to keep on moving and changing and challenging me as I go forward.

That's why I love it so much. I'm still really new to it all, but I am learning so much along the way, and one of the greatest of all pleasures is to be able to share that learning and passion and pleasure with other people!

Helen and Mick have recently purchased their first DSLR and asked to come out with me on some photography tutorials to find out how to use it and how to get images that they will be proud to say are theirs... photos they've actually taken, rather than simply allowing the camera to take the pictures for them!

We've had three afternoons out and about with the camera so far, covering everything from manual exposures to composition and creative exposure.

We have three more afternoons planned before they head off up to the west coast of Scotland for their annual holiday, where they will be ready to take photographs in any light and still be happy with the results!!

The weather has actually been a bit of a problem on these first three sessions, as it has been dull, wet and decidedly unalluring for landscape photography!

We've managed though, and had a bit of fun into the bargain! Which is always good!! Thanks for your hard work and patience so far, here's everything crossed that the sun might actually show for the next three sessions!!!

Rebecca, X

rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk
www.rtphotographics.co.uk

Dinton Dreams

2011-02-24T12:49:00.000-08:00

Since moving back south of the border, I've rediscovered the simple, innocent joys of birding!

It's something that I used to do as a student at the University of Aberdeen, once upon a long time ago and is something that I gave up when I left there... much to my own regret and shame! But now I'm back down south and mistress of my own time again, it's something that I can now start again, proudly and with head held high, instead of hiding it as a guilty pleasure!

I've always been a bit of a geek, but where once that was a problem, now I'm free and proud and will say it clear and loud... I'M GEEKY & I'M REALLY HAPPY WITH THAT!!! So, there we are, I'm back into the birding at very long last!

Dinton Pastures, halfway between Reading and Wokingham, is a good spot for learning the joys of birding again.

It's local, it's lovely, it's diverse and can be really quite exciting at times! The biggest draw for me at the moment is the lure of Bittern. There are 3 reported to be overwintering here and I've never seen one in my life! How much would I love to see one? Oh, I'd love to see one lots!!! I've been along so many times now, at various times, and still I haven't seen one!

I'm really not a very lucky person in any way, shape or form, but even my friends struggle to believe that I can be so blooming unlucky!!! I am, of course, used to it by now, and that's why I keep perservering. Persistence pays, isn't that right? We all get what we deserve in the end don't we? I really, really hope so!!!

So, here we are then, another few hours at Dinton, dreaming and hoping and wishing and praying... and going home disappointed yet again! Still, it's a nice enough place to sit and watch the sun go down. And there's always next winter. Or the winter after that. Ho hum. Again.

Rebecca, x

rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk
www.rtphotographics.co.uk

By the Light of the Silchester Moon!

2011-02-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

When I saw the reports in the press about the possibility of the aurora borealis lighting up the skies last week, my heart skipped a few beats with excitement! My heart is something I try and take a great deal of care over, so it takes something pretty powerful to stir it up... the aurora is one of those things!

My poor old heart has really taken a bit of a battering lately, so it was with some excitement and a huge amount of hope that I set out towards the ruined remains of Rome (erm, well, in Silchester actually!), hoping to see a glorious display of dazzling light and astronomical fury as charged particles from the solar storms whipped and collided across the ionosphere!

So that was a waste of time then.

And my heart sank. Again.

As the clouds roll back into my heart, so the banks of cloud and mist crept over the night sky and obliterated any last remaining hope that something wonderful might actually happen for me. Deeply disappointed. Again.

I knew it was a bit of a ridiculous fancy really. The chances of seeing the aurora down here in the south are so small that it would have been a minor miracle to have seen it. But I've always been an optimist and am ever hopeful that finally, one day, things will happen the way I dream about them!!

It was also a very vain hope given the brightness of the moon that night. Still, faint hearts won't ever be truly happy or fulfilled, so I set my hopes high and my heart afire to see if at least one of my dreams might come true.

Obviously it didn't, but, not to be too down-hearted, I thought I'd make the best of things and try and salvage something from the ruins!

Silchester is a tremendously exciting place to be at midnight... my senses were on fire even if the sky wasn't!!

With owls hooting and foxes crying, the mist rolling in and Orion looking down from the darkness above, the ancient walls were sparkling under the touch of moonbeams... and I could swear that I heard the thunder of centurions feet approaching through the depths of ages past, ready to appear at any moment in my rather nervous future... Amazing how the sound of a train in the distance can sound so much like marching on an old Roman wall when there's nobody else around and the clock strikes twelve!

So, no aurora after all, but at least I managed a few starry shots and a few long exposures of the landscape as seen by the light of the Silchester moon! Hopes and dreams must always live on, I'm not giving up on any of them, not yet. They may need a bit of tweaking and adapting, and maybe even change altogether, but I shall always live in hope that one day, just for once, my dreams might come true!

Rebecca, x

rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk
www.rtphotographics.co.uk

Arne I the Lucky One!!

2011-01-24T12:03:00.000-08:00

Since moving back down to Berkshire, I've met up with some very, very nice people and none more so than my new best pals, Helen and Mick! Mick is a very keen birder and Helen is nuts about dogs. Mick makes great cakes & puddings, Helen makes great breakfasts & dinners, I love eating, I love birds, I love dogs. Perfect!!!

What could be better than to spend Boxing Day with Helen, Mick and the dogs down at the RSPB reserve at Arne, in Dorset?

The reserve is stunning. Situated close to Wareham and overlooking Studland Bay, Arne provides a superb mix of habitat including open farmland, heathland, wildflower meadow & common land, marsh & estuarine environments. There are trails across the reserve that are beautiful to walk even if you're not particularly bothered about the birds! Sika deer run freely and fearlessly through the reserve, and, if you're lucky as we were, they'll even pose good naturedly by the boardwalks for you!!

We were walking out to the bird hides through the woods and were approached by a man who looked very seriously to be on a mission! He asked if we'd seen the stag by the path, as somebody had said one was just sitting under the trees there. We replied courteously that we hadn't but wished him well on his quest and said we'd keep an eye out for the stag. He looked rather disapprovingly at the dogs (who, it has to be said, were exceptionally well behaved and under tight control on the leads) and said that it was no wonder we hadn't seen the deer and intimated that we were most unlikely to!!

Shame he didn't turn back and walk with us as we rounded the corner, 'cos there it was, sitting quietly and placidly amongst the bracken, just watching the world go by.

Not caring a hoot for us or the dogs, the stag eyed us impassively and carried on munching, probably wondering what it was that was so fascinating about his particular tree that so many people had stopped and stared that morning!

The hides were a worthy excursion too, offering distant views of spoonbill and avocet,

and closer views of redwings hopping about the shore margins.

Hugo got so excited by the views, he decided to climb on to the window ledge and was all for jumping out... luckily we spotted his intention and rescued him before any damage could be done! As we were at least 20ft up in the upstairs hide, it wouldn't have been a very clever move on Hugo's part, as well as a rather unexpected flight for those watching from the windows of the downstairs hide!!!

Arne is so beautifully located in the Dorset countryside... a stones throw from Corfe Castle, and a short drive to Studland Bay, famous for sand dunes, kite surfers and, er, nudists!!!

Keeping our clothing firmly in place (well, it was a particularly cold & icy Boxing Day remember!!) we ambled along the shore and had a very tasty lunch in the cafe above the beach.

A lovely day out, perfect company, wonderful views and excitement about the coming New Year!

All was well, a very happy holiday indeed.

Rebecca, X

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

WYSI Winter up the Coombes!

2011-01-24T10:54:00.000-08:00

Coombes Lane in Barkham (just outside Wokingham in Berkshire) is the way to Wonderland for me!

I love it here!!

Peace, woodland wildlife, gentle walks and, top of the list... cake!!! Yum! What's not to love? It's fabulous!

The Coombes is a deciduous woodland that sits neatly between the golf course at Bearwood and the village of Barkham. It covers quite a few acres (no idea how many, but it is quite a few!), has many veteran trees and is home to deer, foxes and all sorts of birds... and pigs!

The pigs actually belong to the Wysipigs farm (What You See Is Pig), but they are often allowed to wander about, rooting around amongst the bracken and snuffling round the yard by the farm shop.

A walk through the woods is most delightfully broken up by a steaming mug of coffee and a huge slab of cake at Wysipigs, served by the very funny and entertaining Mr Kevin!

In fact, it has to be said, it is so good up at the farm shop and so entertaining, that it is actually pretty difficult to muster up the motivation to leave!! Sitting out on the terrace with the dogs and watching the easy pace of the farm, sipping coffee, munching cake, chatting to my best pal, it's easy to imagine staying there for the rest of my life!!!

The walk back, once recommenced, however, is always a delight though.

I love the woods and the peace that trees always fill me with. I don't know if it's the roots that bind to the soil and hold life so safe and solid, or the fact that the branches seem to reach up to the sky and the air and space and breath beyond, but, whatever it is, trees calm me, restore my energy, strengthen me to carry on and to forget the nonsense, regrets, and disappointments of every day life!

Strange but true! Whenever I am away and feel homesick, I go and find a forest!

I heard only today that the government are looking to sell off 15% of Forestry Commission land to raise revenues. We must not allow that to happen! It'll be the death knell for the woods and the forests and, for me, I truly believe it will be the beginning of the end!

That may sound dramatic, but I live in an area that was once supposedly protected as Green Belt land. It didn't work. As soon as one development was allowed, that was it, the beginning of the end for the green belt. We cannot allow that to happen again!

I can't make anyone do anything, but together we have a voice.

If you believe in the power of the woods and you want to help, have a look at the Woodland Trust website and sign their petition. http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/Pages/default.aspx

In Scotland, there's a website that has links to all kinds of information and resources http://www.reforestingscotland.org/links.php

and in Wales, the Woodland Trust have a great information and resource site that may be very useful http://www.treeforall.org.uk/Wales/Facts/CampaigntoprotectWalestrees.htm

If you are in Northern Ireland, there is a website that not only supports the woodlands and forests, but also talks of protection for archaeological sites within the forests! Fantastic!! http://www.dardni.gov.uk/forestservice/index/environment/archaeological-features-in-the-forest.htm

Let's do what we can, as a nation, to come together and preserve our natural heritage. Our woodlands are so important, let's not lose them for the sake of a momentary monetary gain.

If we look after them properly, our woodlands will not only provide infinite monetary gain, but also spiritual and physical enrichment, for us and for our children and grandchildren and beyond! How can we do anything less?

On a final note, I'd like to applaud Wokingham Borough Council for the work that they do locally to protect and maintain our green spaces... but I must also say how much this sign makes me smile!!

It prohibits motor vehicles and horses and other nuisance from this 'open space' but, I have to say, that is the most densely planted open space I think I've ever seen!!! I heartily agree with the prohibitions, but still chuckle at the positioning! Hee hee!!

Rebecca, X

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Bittern by Dinton!

2011-01-18T08:27:00.000-08:00

Dinton Pastures Nature Reserve, on the outskirts of Reading in Berkshire, is a wee haven for commuter weary locals, for dog walkers, birdwatchers, anglers and wind surfers.

I fall into the weary, dog-walking, bird-watching local category, and Dinton Pastures never fails to do it for me! It's always a treat and I go along as often as I possibly can... which, unfortunately is actually not that often! Hey ho!!

Any time of year is a good time to go, but it looks especially stunning in the autumn sunshine.

Winter is perhaps a bit drab on the landscape here, but of course a bit of snow can always work wonders when coupled with a blue sky... though I haven't actually seen any blue sky and snow together for quite some time now, not since being back in England anyway!

However, one very big redeeming feature of Dinton Pastures in the winter, is the chance of seeing the Bittern. (If you're lucky. I'm not!!!) There is a lovely reed bed on White Swan Lake (or is it Black Swan Lake? It's one of the two anyway!) that provides shelter for this awkward but magnificent-looking bird. Apparently. I haven't seen it yet, though not for want of trying!!!

I was up there a few weeks ago with a very good friend of mine, who isn't the slightest bit interested in ornithology, but was very excited to see the Bittern flying across the front of the reed bed... while I had my binoculars pointed in the opposite direction!! She very good-naturedly called out to me "there it is... oh, it's gone!" and then laughed... and laughed, and laughed, and laughed a bit more! Thanks Helen!!!

We've been back to Dinton Pastures a few times since then, but no sign of the Bittern!

Unfortunately for my birding, some of the anglers have decided to use the pontoons in the reed beds rather than the ones that are so numerously placed around every part of all the lakes here. Grrr! They have every entitlement to be there, but it is incredibly annoying to those of us who want a glimpse of these shy birds.

Helen says she doesn't mind... 'cos she's already seen it. Ha!

She sent me a couple of texts that night to tell me not to worry or to get too upset, we'd be bound to see one again, though maybe I'd 'bittern off more than you can chew'. Following an appopriate response, she then sent another text bidding me sweet dreams and hopes that I didn't get 'bittern' by the bed bugs!!! Ho ho, so funny!!!!

I shall keep coming back to Dinton Pastures and allow the peace and tranquility to wash over and relax me... well, as peaceful and tranquil as you can get with the M4 traffic thundering along right beside you!!! But, surprisingly, the noise from the motorway seems to disappear within a few minutes of arriving.

I think the visual calm and the inner peace very quickly over-rides the din, so it is easy to forget it's even there! A lovely place for a bimble, give it a go if you get the chance!

Rebecca, X

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Splash & Dash

2011-01-18T07:09:00.000-08:00

Also back in November was a wet and wild trip up to Nottingham! I had a wonderful week exploring the area, splashing around the National Watersports Centre at Holme Pierrepont and, of course, getting dirty again in Derbyshire!

This was my first trip up to Holme Pierrepont and I have to say that I was really impressed.

Not only does it have facilities for just about any type of boat and canoe sport you can think of, it is also very nicely landscaped, easily accessible and pretty much slap bang in the middle of the country... so why didn't it get the Olympic support for 2012?

It would have been fantastic to bring some much-needed and very well-deserved positive publicity for the lovely folks of Nottingham! It's beyond me why it wasn't chosen; investment in this area is so much needed and would have been such a boost, not only to the local economy but also to the local people. I don't know where the watersport events will be held, but I really am very disappointed that it won't be centred here!

Let's hope they do get something from the Olympics, they certainly deserve to in my (yes, admittedly ignorant) opinion!

Anyway, from watching the fit young folks splashing through the white water at Holme Pierrepont, I ventured into Derbyshire with a slightly older but equally fit companion for a splash around with a difference!

Rich's Land Rover Discovery is 4x4 fun in the extreme...

er, well, actually not really that extreme because Rich is a very considerate and careful driver, not only for his passengers but particularly for the countryside! Now I know there will be plenty of people choking on their brew about that wee statement, but I stand by it.

Where 2 cars have been required, Rich will take everyone in one. Where so-called 'Chelsea Tractors' clog up the urban streets with just mummy and 2.4 children on board, Rich uses his vehicle for getting people out into the countryside, where knowledge and new-found love for all things green actually strengthen the causes of conservation!

In the recent snows, when many people couldn't get to work around Nottinghamshire, Rich was out there picking them up and getting them in for their shifts... all ambulance staff, all essential, and all would have been stuck without the Land Rover!

So, there is, in my opinion, a perfectly valid place in the UK for the 4x4, and I was more than happy and willing to be along for the ride!

I shall also fight the corner of the responsible green laners... they will not drive on the restricted byways or footpaths or bridle paths, they will always drive slowly and carefully, still having fun but not destroying the lanes in the process!!

The irresponsible green laners are a nightmare and should be reported and banned and hounded out of the countryside, I've no issues with that, but please, if you are in any doubts, believe me that not ALL 4x4 drivers are irresponsible or single-handedly responsible for global warming and the melting of the polar ice-caps!!!

No, I don't have a 4x4, but I have nothing against anyone who does and who uses it responsibly!

Rebecca, X

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

In Leaps & Bounds!

2011-01-18T06:44:00.000-08:00

By 'eck, I'm a long way behind in my blogging!!! It's been mayhem over the last few weeks and, I'm sorry to say, the blog has suffered as a result. I'm back on the case though and here's a tale about a fantastic day out photographing Pets in Practice Dog Agility classes way back in November last year!

Agility and RT photographics don't always get mentioned in the same sentence... as I often say, I'm very much built for comfort, certainly not speed!!!

Blimey, if it came to it, I suppose I could run across the road, but that's really about as far as my sporting prowess goes! I can walk up hills and I can walk for many miles if I have the right footwear and whatnot on, but agility? No, it's not really me!

Luckily for me, the classes were all about the dogs running and jumping and leaping and bounding!

All I had to do was try and keep up with my lens pointing in the right direction... trying to capture that moment where ears are up and eyes are wide, and the dogs are caught in that moment of total concentration coupled with complete and utter dappy delight!!!

The dogs loved it. They are so focused on the hurdles and hoops (or is it the rewards for getting over the hurdles and hoops?),

very little fazes them and they love every single heart-racing, fur-flying moment!

The owners also get a great workout as they run alongside the dogs, encouraging them at every point and turn and rewarding them as they complete the course.

Where some agility classes can be quite difficult and a little bit elitist, Helen's classes are pretty much all about fun! All dogs are welcome once fully grown (thereby avoiding damage to developing joints and bones!) and all seemed to be in total doggy heaven! From the sweet, tiny Chihuahua

to the huge, gorgeous black German Shepherd, all were having fun. I don't think I've ever laughed so much on a photo shoot anywhere; it was pure, joyous entertainment!

Thanks to Skippy and the classes, and thanks especially to all my lovely furry models. What a fantastically fun day's work!!!

Rebecca, X

http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Vizsla Charisma!

2011-01-07T14:49:00.000-08:00

Hugo & Mable are a pair of Hungarian Vizslas with amongst the most powerfully charming and attractive natures that I've ever come across, human or canine!

They are truly beautiful in so many ways. The rich, deep warmth of their coppery red coats is as a physical representation of their deeply warm and affectionate natures.

Hungarian Vizslas are reknowned for their gentle sensitivity and are supremely suited to life in a loving household, where they are loyal, doting and fearlessly protective of their family.

Hugo and Mable are so loving and so sensitive it is virtually impossible not to attribute human characteristics and feelings to them. They show love, affection, jealousy, anxiety, guilt, nonchalance, playfulness, excitement, happiness and just about every other trait seen in any partner in any happy and successful domestic relationship! I defy anyone to spend an hour with Hugo and Mable and still say that they are 'just dogs'!!!

Hungarian families have known for centuries that the Vizsla is far more than 'just a dog'.

Bred as working gun dogs, the Vizsla is an expert waterfowler, but unlike most working dogs, the Vizsla is also an excellent pet at home! Domestic pet dogs and working dogs don't usually mix very well, something that is seen in many rescued animals who are reared as working dogs and then taken into people's homes as pets.

Owners can have huge problems trying to turn a dog that's hard-wired to working farm life into a docile family pet who is content to be left at home, indoors, for hours at a time while the owners go to work, or shopping, or wherever, and then given a short walk round the block or round the park!

Vizslas, however, have always been adaptable and are truly happy indoors or out! They are certainly quite lively, needing ample stimulation, but they are also very, very happy to climb up onto your lap and cuddle you with paws & nose draped across your shoulder!! Fantastic with children, fun, affectionate and loyal, Hungarian Vizsla charisma is a winner all round.

Hugo and Mable are truly wonderful dogs. At nearly 9 years old, Hugo is the statesman in the house.

He's regal, calm, funny and affectionate indoors but unfortunately not quite so easy out on his walks any more. He had a nasty accident a few years ago when another, rather boisterous, dog jumped on his back and fractured his spine. He's had to endure difficult and dangerous surgery and it's been a long, painful road to recovery.

He'll never be as strong as he was before, and great care has to be taken with his back, but Hugo is a real stalwart and is so easy with his love and warmth that there's not much sign of previous injury at all indoors! He can't jump onto your lap, but he does work his way up and he has absolutely worked his way into my heart! I love him!!

It's only really when you're out with him that his injuries become apparent. He is, very understandably, pretty nervous of other dogs and will bark warnings and do everything to make sure they stay away. I think we can all relate to that... if you'd had an accident and painful injuries, you'd protect yourself too! Hugo is just the same!! He's easily distracted though, and his owners are always looking out for other dogs and will take him away from them to avoid confrontation. Once the threat has been passed, Hugo goes back to the business of having fun and enjoying his walks as much as Mable!

Mable is younger, at nearly 5 years old. She's more agile than Hugo, for sure, but she's also a lot cheekier!! Out on a walk she darts about looking for ways to press Hugo into play, or any other dog that happens to come by!

She is also very protective of Hugo and seems to understand his difficulties. While she goads him to play, she also makes sure no other dogs will approach him. It certainly makes for interesting walks, and, knowing their history it is really interesting to see how they interact and to observe their body language and habits.

I've met quite a few dogs now as I do more pet portraits, and having spent time with them all to get to know them and observe their behaviours and characteristics, it's easy to fall into the habit of 'humanising' them, attributing human explanation and rationale to their thinking and behaviours. The more time I spend with dogs, the less inclined I am not to humanise them! Hugo and Mable are so expressive in terms of body language and other forms of non-verbal communication, it's practically impossible not to imagine what they would be saying if they could speak our language!!

The other thing that has really struck me as peculiar to the Vizslas is the way they wag their tails! Held straight out horizontally their tails wag at a terrific speed, it's delightful and quite comical to see!! It's also very noticeable that the tails are shortened. Many people now see docking as cruel, but in this case it's really a necessity. The tip of the tail is very thin, whippy and easily damaged. As the dogs have a habit of wagging side-to-side, it is easy for the tip to get torn in undergrowth and on branches. They bleed readily, leave sores that are open to infection, and, understandably it would be extremely painful. Taking the tip off the tail of a newborn pup is harmless and safe, and saves them from a huge amount of danger and discomfort throughout life! I'm not going to argue with that!

There will always be someone who says that their dogs have never injured their tails in their lives, but I probably wouldn't take the risk. That's a personal choice, and I respect all arguments and decisions that are intelligently made; the health and welfare of the dog is the utmost important thing here! I have no interest in show dogs that suffer to be perfect in the eyes of the various Kennel Clubs! Dogs should be strong, healthy and, above all, happy!! Hugo and Mable are just that. They are beautiful dogs in every kind of way... the only trouble is, I couldn't take them home!!!

Rebecca, X.

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Burnham's Burnished Beeches!

2010-11-10T08:29:00.000-08:00

Although now no longer in Berkshire, Burnham Beeches is still the place to be in autumn if you find yourself anywhere near to the huge sprawl of London.

With just a toe in the Home Counties, and barely a breath in the countryside, Burnham Beeches manages to pack in a great feeling of forested expanse and fresh green air. Even the noise of Heathrow Airport, less than 10 miles away, is lost amongst the ancient boughs of this beautiful wood.

Unfortunately the entire population of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Greater London decided that a Sunday stroll round Burnham Beeches would be just the ticket before rejoining the rat race on Monday. Hey ho.

Thankfully the vast majority of the stockbrokers, pawnbrokers, Henry's and Chelsey's decided that anything further than a mile from the Range Rover would probably require oxygen and a sherpa, and so I found that having passed through the invisible boundary I wandered back into my own world again. Phew!

I don't deal well with crowds, which is why I never go shopping, don't do nightclubs and would never enter a pub with the words 'Satellite TV' or 'Happy Hour Cocktails' or anything else outside! If there's not a whiff of real ale or the sound of ancient and mud-encrusted boots on the tiled floor, I'm not really interested!!

Anyway, having left the crowds behind I found that I had the paths and drives pretty much to myself. A few intrepid dog walkers would venture deep into the woods, but apart from a nod and a "lovely day innit" I was largely left to my own thoughts.

I haven't been to Burnham Beeches since knee-high to a chihuahua, but it's every bit as beautiful and wonderful as I remember. Even better actually, as on this visit I found the old homestead; a moated medieval clearing that had been home to foresters since a very, very, very long time ago!

It tickled me that I was standing where a woman would have stood in the middle ages, looking at the same scene (sort of) and shooing away pigs from the wooden door of her wattle and daub house!

There were several ancient tree stumps across the homestead and I'd love to think that some of these had been saplings when she stood at her door. Maybe her pigs had been responsible for spreading a few acorns about and starting the very trees that I could now see as decaying timber.

The cycle of life was really evident here though, as fungi and new tree shoots jockeyed for space amongst the debris. My reverie was eventually disturbed by a hyperactive Spaniel crashing about the bracken, but the tranquility that I found beneath Burnham's Beeches couldn't be so easily destroyed. A stone's throw from London, but a world away in heart.

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Windsor's Very Great Park!

2010-11-10T07:49:00.000-08:00

It's been many years since I last strolled around Windsor, but now I'm back home in the Home Counties it was only a question of time before I wandered back across some of my old stomping grounds!

I've actually been to Windsor twice now in the last couple of months, and I have to say that I found it almost exactly the same as it was when last I set foot in the Queen's front garden! There are a few changes;

chirpy green parakeets chattering about in the ancient oaks of the Great Park, and a 'new' statue of the Queen on horseback... not new to the Park, indeed it's been there for well over 10 years now, but it's new to me.

There is also a mill stone from the Peak District for some reason that now escapes me... there was a story attached to it and it was a rather nice one too as I remember, but unfortunately I had about 20 minutes to get back to the car before the gates were locked and so I didn't hang around for long... just long enough to take in the fact that there was a story attached to the mill stone!

The car park was a fair old distance from where I'd found myself wandering aimlessly and absent-mindedly about the Park, and it only occurred to me when it started to get dark that the gates were locked at dusk.

Precisely when dusk officially is, who knows?

Did I have 20 minutes, or 30, or only 15? Could I have argued the point with the Park Ranger as to interpretation of dusk, or did he have accurate daily charts from the Meteorological Office with precise timing of dusk?

Not being the confrontational type, I hotfooted it back to the car park, obviously getting lost on the way and adding at least another mile to the walk resulting in it being decidely deeply dusky when I did eventually find it! Thankfully there were no Park Rangers in sight and I managed to escape from the car park before the man or woman with the keys turned up!!

I did have a very pleasant amble round the Great Park, however, and managed to find my way up to Snow Hill and the Copper Horse.

The last time I was there was in 1977 (I think), when the bonfire was lit here that started the chain of beacons across the British Isles to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee. Not that we went that night, I'm not sure riff-raff were allowed in, but we did go the next day and rummage about in the remains of the great pyre to see if we could find any souvenirs that may have been left by the Royals... perhaps a burned stub of a match or something. But no, we didn't find anything!

I do remember being totally awestruck by the immense size of the statue though, and the beautiful view straight up the Long Drive to the Castle, about two and a half miles away! The view was just as captivating as it was back then. It may be touristy and a bit cheesy, but I love cheese (mmmm, Barkham Blue Cheese, if you see it, try it!!!) and I was being a tourist for the day, so why not enjoy it?!!

The Great Park is fairly manicured, although it's ancient and noble heritage is still very much evident. It may not be wild, but it is still beautiful and I can still spend a huge amount of time just bimbling about here... until dusk!

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Walkabouts Hereabouts!

2010-10-20T08:26:00.000-07:00

My pal Helen phoned and asked if I would like to see a day in the life of a dog walker. Sounded good to me! How hard can it be? Out in the fresh air in the company of a few hairy hounds and getting a bit of exercise, yep, she could count me in on that!

Well, it is out in the fresh air, for sure, and there is plenty of exercise and the dogs were decidedly hairy (though some were much hairier than others!!), but how hard could it be?

VERY!!

I have a huge amount of respect for Helen anyway, she's a great laugh and fantastic with the dogs, but I didn't realise quite how much there was to it!

For one thing, you need eyes in the back and sides of your head... not all dogs are as well trained or as streetwise as we'd like, and Helen has to be in control of them all... at the same time!

She knows all their faults and foibles, she knows their fears and fancies, and she knows when they are feeling a bit fragile too! Let's not even talk about how many piles of poo she has to pick up on an average day!!!

I couldn't manage a full day with Helen, but I did meet up after lunch on Monday for a couple of walks with her. First up was Finley, Roxy and Noosh.

Living in different parts of town, Helen has to decide who to pick up first, which dog travels best in the car and which pooch to leave 'til last.

Finley travels so well in the car, I didn't even realise he was already in until a wee wet nose appeared in casual enquiry as we arrived at Noosh's home! With Noosh settled happily beside Finley, we carried on across town to pick up Roxy. It was only a short journey from there to Cantley Fields, where the dogs could run, sniff, explore and do what dogs do!

After a few circuits of the field, it was back to the car to drop the dogs home again. But it's not quite so simple as that! The dogs need to be cleaned up (owners object to muddy paw prints on their cream carpets!), and Helen makes sure they have fresh water and a dry, safe place to rest until their owners get back home.

As owners also object to muddy boot prints on their cream carpets, Helen has to either take her boots off or, if they're not too bad, put on a pair of plastic overshoes. Not an especially onerous task, but it really does add to the time it all takes.

Having left the doggies safely at their respective homes, it was back in the car for the next round. This time we picked up Lou and Devon, and headed for a spot halfway between their homes.

Even though Lou lives round the corner from Noosh, we needed to pick up Devon first, as Lou can't travel long distances in the back. So, it was across to the outskirts of Reading and then back to Wokingham for Lou.

We walked round the Coombes, where Lou and Devon are safe and free to explore off lead.

The dogs get on very well together and love the varied smells and delights of the woods here! It's doggy heaven!!

Monday was a lovely day; it was a pleasure to be out and I had a great time, but I can easily see how the novelty could wear off quite quickly when it is tipping with rain, the wind is howling and the temperature is freezing! No matter what the weather, dogs need walking.

Helen does a fantastic job, providing far more than just walkies. Her charges are cared for, looked after, and they are all under control, all the time. They return home exhausted but happy, clean and safe. What more can any pooch wish for?

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk

A Model Bride!

2010-10-09T06:37:00.000-07:00

I'd not actually met Emma before, but had been told by her aunt that she was absolutely gorgeous and she'd love to do some modelling! Perfect!! I duly travelled up to Lincolnshire, with a wedding dress in my bag, and went to meet Emma.

"Absolutely gorgeous" doesn't really do her justice, Emma is so incredibly beautiful.

With milky skin, smooth, glossy chestnut hair and the biggest, deepest blue eyes, Emma is beautiful. She has soft, gorgeous curves and was perfect for our bridal shoot.

She's also very brave! Never having modelled before, she still happily agreed to put on the dress and give it a go... not only that, if the weather had been better she was equally willing to have gone outside and had the shoot in public!! Now that really is brave!

The weather was, unfortunately, typically British! Beautiful on the Saturday, when Emma was at work all day, and appalling on the Sunday, when she was off all day! Typical.

Oh well, we're nothing if not flexible, so all hopes and plans of shooting outdoors were abandoned, her house was rearranged and lights and softboxes set up to go indoors.

Then the sun came out. Obviously!

Although it did look quite pleasant out, the ground was still filthy and I decided that we'd forget plan A (the outdoor shoot) completely, and carry on with plan B instead.

There's always another time and we can go outdoors again then maybe. If the weather decides to play anyway!!

Having settled on an indoor shoot, we went ahead and got some shots while Emma's mum very kindly kept us supplied with sandwiches and cups of tea! I could get used to this!!

It was a wonderful girly day with Emma, her mum, her aunt and me...

the lads had been kicked out with instructions to take the dog for a really good long walk, and, strangely, when they saw the wedding dress come out they didn't take much persuading to leave! I don't know much about laws of physics or anything, but there appears to be a direct correlation between weddings and panic in men! Or is that just me? Hmm.

Rebecca, x

http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Viking Mist Trees!

2010-10-09T05:16:00.000-07:00

Waking up just before dawn a few days ago (or was it last week? I'm getting on a bit now you know, the memory's not what it was!)...

So, er, waking up one morning early in October (oh crikey, I suppose it could have still been September then?)...

Right, waking up early one autumnal morning of recent days (yes!), I peered out of the window to see that it was really misty but that it looked like the sun might be able penetrate through the murk to cast some nice eerie light around nearby Viking Field.

Now used by the dog walkers of Wokingham, and of course by early bird photographers, (who still haven't (well, I haven't) managed to capture any early bird photos of any particularly interesting early birds over there!), Viking Field is exactly what it says it is on the display board.

It's a field and the Vikings were there once upon a time!

An archeological dig at the site a few years ago revealed a few signs of ancient habitation; Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman and, of course, Viking.

There have been countless other folks using the field over the centuries I'm sure, but we're inundated with Roman place names and references round here, and 'Modern Field' doesn't have quite the same ring to it does it? ('Iron Field' is little better, and 'Bronze Age Field', though quite attractive still doesn't have the same excitement and mystery as 'Viking Field'). There is a long barrow separating Viking Field from the playing field behind it, but it's origins are, I believe, pre-Viking.

Anyway, it's a very old field and has that mysterious quality of a very old field, and so seemed the perfect place to go on a misty, autumnal morning. The sun did try quite hard to burn through, but only really managed to lend an atmospheric air to the ancient field. It was almost liquid in some magical kind of way. The air glowed and the misty vapour sparkled with colour as it enveloped me and engulfed the trees.

It was a joy to be there that morning and, despite the obviously new planting, there was something ancient and eternal about it too.

The field was bequeathed to the town by a Mrs Henagulph in 1997; I hope her vision remains and this field maintains it's air of mystery for centuries more to come. Please, please, please don't ever let it be developed!!!!

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk

Portrait of a Puppy.

2010-10-09T04:45:00.000-07:00

If you could think of the maddest combination of bonkers dogs to breed, a Siberian Husky crossed with a Border Collie would have to come fairly high up the list!

Both highly intelligent breeds and both very much in need of lots of time, attention and exercise. Meld the two together and pour into a 13 week old puppy... uh oh!! This was always going to be a lot of fun!!!

It was!!!! Carlo is bonkers, but in such a delightful, good-natured kind of way.

He's clearly exceptionally intelligent, not really surprising given his genes, but he's learned already how to channel it and his boisterous spirit to get best results... usually something ending in 'treat' or 'chew' or even just a good tickle behind the ears!

His parentage certainly helps, but so does his home life. He spends his days round at Dick and Pat's, in the company of his 'Uncle' Seamus... not really an 'Uncle', but a Border Collie nonetheless... but then neither is he one of those 'Uncles' who you grow up thinking are family and then discover are someone entirely different altogether! Not, I hasten to add, that we had one of those but I know some people who did... their secrets are still safe with me though!!!

The atmosphere in Dick and Pat's house is the epitome of tranquil. Peace and calm pervade every corner of their home and their characters. Dogs will always pick up vibes from the house they are in, and if Carlo is spending his formative months with Dick and Pat and his older, wiser, ever-watchful Uncle Seamus,

it's no wonder he's already so extremely placid and good-natured... if cavorting through the vegetable garden in a fluffy, bounding way could ever be described as placid?

I think it's very important when trying to get a portrait of a pet that you get to know about it, spend time with it and do what you can to capture the essence of it... what makes Carlo, well, Carlo? A mix of good breeding, a nice nature, and just a hint of mischief!

Puppy perfection!

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Film Fanatic?

2010-10-09T04:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I have the results of my first foray into film and, probably much as expected, I have mixed feelings!

I enjoyed the experience of using the film camera, and will undoubtedly be going out with it again and doing more, but I was (as expected, really) rather underwhelmed by the prints.

The negatives have all the detail I wanted, but the person who processed them took out every bit of detail in the sky and left it a bland, burned out white. Humph! Now, I did expect that, especially because I took this first film into a high street developers and I know full well that they aren't going to try very hard at all to get a great looking print... they do have the word 'Snaps' in their name after all and pride themselves on that. But, I thought it was only a first film and I knew that it'd be less than good and I have absolutely no idea how to go about developing the film myself... which is where the mixed feelings come in again - I WANNA KNOW HOW TO DO IT!!!!!!!!

My goodness, I'm so excited at the prospect of getting back in control again, as I do in the digital world.

I may process my digital images in a totally different way to how you might do it, but that's the point. We are each in control when we sit by our computers and work our images the way we like them to be. If that way pleases other people too, well that is obviously so very much better, but at the end of it all, your image needs to please you. By handing my film over to a chap in a shop, I handed over any control I had over the way the images turned out.

I know that there are people out there and labs out there who will work with you to get the results you want... but let's face it, this was a first time foray into film and I wasn't about to go spending wads of cash on something that was only ever going to be viewed as a rather shaky platform from whence to begin.

The images without sky were ok, I suppose, and, bearing in mind these are from scans, I'm quite happy that I can take some kind of a photo without the aid of an LCD and histogram! It's all a start and I fully intend to continue - albeit as a hobby, for fun only; the control of digital processing still reigns supreme as far as I'm concerned!!!!

Rebecca, x

Forays on Film!

2010-09-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

When I first picked up a digital SLR camera, I set myself the challenge of learning how to use it in manual mode because I always had it in mind that one day I would have a film camera again and wanted to be able to use it in manual mode too.

I've had film cameras before, in fact I've had many over the years, but I always used the automatic settings. As much as I loved photography, I didn't have the first clue about manual exposures and what all those f-stops and what-nots were!! I never thought I'd ever be a photographer, it just never occurred to me as I was heading into my career with the ambulance service, so I didn't worry about manual exposures and I didn't even think to worry!

Well, time changes many things and time changed the direction I was travelling in and I really, really wanted to know how to take a photograph. I wanted to learn how to actually do it myself and not rely on the camera to do it for me. Even then it wasn't about being a photographer. I was still a paramedic and I didn't think about doing anything else, much less breaking away and working for myself! But I did need a challenge.

I needed to set my head to something... time to find out about what all those numbers and symbols and funny phrases were all about!! I could tell you what ventricular hypertrophy was, I could bore the backside off anyone with all there is to know about hypertension, but what the heck was hyperfocal distance? That was something I wanted to know... as well as everything else I could find out about taking a photograph.

So, the challenge was to be able to pick up a camera, assess a scene or a situation and be able to choose the correct settings myself, to take the photograph myself. I wanted to be able to pick up a film camera and be able to keep all the images off the roll... or at least 90% of them!

Setting myself to the task has been incredible. I've learned so much and come such a long way on my journey and I've still only just scratched the surface!! I'm having the time of my life and those night shifts and that dreadful uniform are nothing but a distant memory! Blimey!!

Now is the time to step forward again though. Now is the time to go back to film... not completely, I'm still very much digital, but now I've started again with film. I've just bought a second-hand Minolta Dynax system, light and easy, bright and, well, quite frightening actually!

The pint is indeed a pint of 'Purity', but I also see my new challenge as a step towards purity. It's a test, a real test to see how much I've learned and how far I've actually come. It's taking away the safety of the LCD; the prints will be a representation of my technical decisions and ability... it's pure photography to me!

I'm not running digital photography down, there's still huge challenges ahead for me there and I will carry on with it for sure... the photos here are taken on my mobile phone and that in itself is still a challenge! I'm not the least bit snobby about cameras or kit, just fascinated and interested and still actually somewhat frightened!

After years with digital systems and all those years before that on auto settings, I was absolutely terrified when I picked up the camera last weekend and went to buy my first roll of film.

I was in Warwick on Saturday last with an old pal from university who, rather fortuitously, happens to be a very good photographer and was really supportive as I took my first faltering steps and my first few frames! As the day went on I started to relax a bit more with it all and really started to enjoy the challenge. All I've got to do now is wait for the film to be developed! Yikes!!

Cheers John, it was a smashing day out and I'm really glad you were there to see me through it!

I look forward to seeing you again sometime soon... but I'll probably leave the oars to you next time, lol ;-))

Rebecca, X

Ghosties, Ghoulies, Smugglers and Slaves!!

2010-08-30T05:32:00.000-07:00

Still in Porlock on a short break with Richard, we ventured off up into the hills above the harbour at Porlock Weir in search of Culbone Church.

At just 35ft long, Culbone is reputed to be the smallest church in England... but it's also quite possibly the most exciting, most remote and with the strangest history of any of them!

Accessible only on foot, the tiny church can seat around 30 people on it's ancient oak pews, but in its time it's known that the services were only ever attended by the vicar himself!

Perched about 500 ft high above the crashing waves on the rocky shore below, Culbone Church is reached from a very steep and convoluted path through ancient woodlands. Rare whitebeams, huge oaks and smaller birches shield the views to the sea, but they also hide other things...

Once past the wacky toll gate house on the Worthy Toll road, you pass beneath a moss-lined brick tunnel and may notice a few other bricks and stones that indicate previous history along the path. These are the remnants of Ashley Combe, a huge, terribly grand house built by the Earl of Lovelace for his bride Ada (daughter of Lord Byron) and only demolished in 1974 after falling into disrepair (following a stint as a country club with a rather unsavoury reputation!!) Not quite what the Earl of Lovelace had in mind when he was wooing the sweet Ada!

Ada must have been quite a delicate creature really, as these tunnels were built to shield her gaze from the terribly distressing sight of dreadfully common people and tradesmen, who would be passing by on the lanes up to the house or up to Culbone Church.

It has to be said that I am quite common, and though we may well be classed as riff-raff by the good lady of the house, I wasn't entirely happy walking through the tunnel. There is a very eerie feel to it, one of those that sets the hairs up on the back of your neck! In fact, it was positively spine chilling on the way back down!!

I've never felt such a strong sensation of someone being right at my back. I daren't look behind and I daren't stop! It was the most bizarre sensation and incredibly powerful, really, really creepy!!

The sensation of being watched was with me the whole time, all the way through the woods and also around the church. I don't know if Richard felt it, I felt too daft to say anything, but by 'eck, it was really spooky!!

The church itself is really simple, really peaceful and quite beautiful.

But quite spooky too! Its history is very long and is full of assorted vagabonds, outcasts and, in general, a lot of very unhappy people!!

Probably most notable was the leper colony, established in 1544 when the church sent 45 people to live and fend for themselves in the woods around Culbone Church. The Church authorities very kindly gave them seeds for them to grow their own food, but no tools with which to plant them or harvest them or grind them or anything! Charming!!

The Church also very kindly said that of course the people of the leper colony may take part in the services at the Church... so they put in a tiny window on the north wall of the church which would allow the lepers to watch the service without actually going inside!! Which was probably considered very good of the church at the time. Thank goodness we are more enlightened now!!
Anyway, the lepers stayed at Culbone, isolated and shunned until the last person died in 1622.

Various other people had been banished to the woods around Culbone as well. Prisoners were often sent there, taken by ship and left to fend for themselves. The area was so remote that there was little chance of escape, and so the area was home to murderers, rapists, thieves and, in the words of the church, the mentally insane!

In the 18th century, smugglers discovered the old leper huts and used them to horde their booty right up until the beginning of the 19th century, when smuggling started to wane and the woods reclaimed the land again.

Another group of people banished to Culbone were 38 East Indian slaves brought back to England in some time around 1730. No longer needed as slaves, they were sent to Culbone to live in the woods and earn a living as charcoal burners. They were to stay there for 21 years, after which they would earn the right to freedom. Miserable, captured and so far from their home lands, these poor men worked in the woods for the full 21 years. Only 23 men were still alive by the end and none were ever able to return to India. What a sad, shameful story!!

I didn't actually know any of this as we pottered about Culbone, but is it any wonder I felt so many eyes were watching us from the woods? What a terribly sad but also very interesting place it's been over the years!!

A famous visitor to the area was Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the poet who lived nearby in Nether Stowey, but was staying at Culbone when he penned the opium-induced 'Kubla Khan'; a poem which was interrupted by "a person from Porlock" and never finished as inspiration (or supplies of opium) left him!!

Perhaps equally famous, but rather more bizarre, is the story that the area once teemed with giants! One of them is said to have snapped off the tip of the steeple at St Dubricius Church in Porlock and carried it under his arm to put it on top of Culbone Church!! Not sure I believe that one, but it does make a lovely story!

Back down in Porlock Weir, where the smugglers would have plied their trade and certain women would have plied their wares, the surface is quaint and pretty

... scratch beneath it though, and the whole area comes alive in a much more exciting way! These rocky shores have seen all sorts of things over the years... just sit by the harbour, gaze up at the hills around you and listen, you'll feel that ripple underneath as the past whispers to you...

it's all still there, you can almost touch it!

Rebecca, x

rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk
www.rtphotographics.co.uk

Steep Hills, Tarr Steps & ... er, ice cream!!!

2010-08-30T04:01:00.000-07:00

Porlock Weir in Somerset is absolutely my favourite place in the whole of the UK. It has everything that I love... sea, hills, woods, sunshine and a touch of the ever so slightly odd!!

My love affair with the place started when I was a child and we used to go and visit Granny & Grampy in Somerset. Originally from Northamptonshire, they fell in love with Porlock when they were still courting. They had travelled down on the motorbike, with Granny sitting in the sidecar, but it broke down on Porlock Hill. At a hair-raising 1 in 4 gradient, it's not unusual for breakdowns there, and this turned out to be a particularly fortuitous one. Forced to stay a few extra days, Granny & Grampy fell in love with the area and vowed to move back there when they retired.

If they hadn't broken down there, would I have ever found Porlock? Who knows! Granny and I used to go to Porlock every time I visited. We went other places as well, but no day out was as special to us as the trip to Porlock and Porlock Weir. When deciding where to go on a short break, there was no other place for me... it had to be Porlock!

Granny now lives close to us here in Berkshire and had tears in her eyes when I said where I was going. Happy tears, tears filled with the best memories and gladness that I'd chosen this place above all others in the UK to go to. I'm going to go and show her the photos this afternoon and I know there will be many happy reminiscences and chuckles over very, very happy days!

So, off I went with Rich and spent a couple of fantastic days. We stayed at the Hurlestone B&B in Porlock, which is a great place. A beautiful house, gorgeous rooms and a breakfast to die for!!! If ever you go to Porlock and are wondering where to stay, try the Hurlestone B&B; it's the best I've ever stayed in, and I've stayed in quite a few over the years!! (http://www.hurlestonebandb.co.uk/).

In all the times I've been to Porlock, I'd never walked along the marsh. A SSSI, Porlock Marsh is a very strange but beautiful place.

With Bossington Hill on one side and Porlock Hill looming over you on the other, the twisted and bleached driftwood forest on the marsh is totally surreal. There is also a very touching memorial to remember the airmen who died in 1942 when their aircraft crashed onto the marsh after clipping Bossington Hill in poor weather. 11 men died and one survived. There is a small plaque on a stone that has been made from a piece of the wreckage, just a few words, but it leaves a big impression. I really hope someone remembers them on November 11th and that a few poppies are left with love at the memorial.

Heading west across the marsh takes you into Porlock Weir, a medieval harbour once used to export tonnes of oak logs, but now more used to the tinkling sound of wires slapping the masts of pleasure yachts moored up in the tiny but beautiful wee harbour. An equally pleasing sound is the hubbub of chatter and laughter and the chink of glasses coming from the thatched, 16th Century Ship Inn. It would have been very rude not to join in!!!

The next day saw us driving up the very dizzying heights of Porlock Hill and heading over the purple heather-clad Exmoor for a walk at Tarr Steps.

Although the bridge gets washed away every so often, the stones are all numbered and painstakingly put back in place for tourists to cross and wonder at this ancient, ancient clapper bridge. It is awesome. A word I use a lot, but it really is!!

Walking alongside the River Barle, we sauntered in to Withypool. A comfortable 4 mile walk through ancient woodland in Lorna Doone country! Lovely!! A pot of tea and a huge slice of delicious cake later, we thought about heading back to Tarr Steps.

It was a lovely walk, but was just back the way we'd come... looking across the road to the post office in Withypool, we saw a rubber dinghy blowing about in the breeze and inviting us to buy. It was soooo tempting!!!! How much fun would that be, to raft down the river to Tarr Steps in the dinghy!! It really was very, very tempting!!! My more sensible companion talked me out of it and so we set off on foot.... but it still makes me chuckle to think how much fun it would have been!! Daft? Yes! Wet? Most likely! Fun?.. absolutely!!!

We made it without incident back to Tarr steps and, suitably refreshed at the Tarr Farm Inn, we headed back across Exmoor to Lynton & Lynmouth.

No trip to Lynton & Lynmouth is complete without an ice cream with clotted cream on the top!!! And no ice cream is worthy of the name if it's not made from clotted cream and double cream!!!! Oh wow!!! You could cut our arteries up and serve them on a cheese board, but my word, how delicious was that!!! Mmmmm. Feeling ever so slightly sick but very happy, we set off back to Porlock... for dinner at the Top Ship!! Lol, and mmmmm again!!

Rebecca, x

rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk
www.rtphotographics.co.uk

Power Stations!

2010-08-29T05:47:00.000-07:00

I've always had a weakness for bikes and cars, so when Jan asked to get photos of his pride & joy's, a Mazda RX-8 and a Honda Fireblade, I was in no way going to turn him down!!

Talk about power stations (which I will do later!!!)... we had an awesome day out with his gorgeous motors!

Starting with the Mazda, we went out onto a quiet stretch of road nearby where Jan could drive past as I shot the car from the roadside. Safety conscious as always, I wore a very bright almost fluorescent coloured fleece (much nicer than it sounds!!) and had my assistant Holly keeping an eye on what was coming... we were amazed at just how busy our 'quiet' road turned out to be!!

Jan did a terrific job at keeping his distance from other traffic, but also at keeping a nice constant speed for me. As the road got busier we headed over to a nearby empty car park where I sat in the centre and Jan, quite literally, drove rings round me!!

He even happily splashed through a few puddles, despite having come out with a gleaming car in the morning! What a star!!

We then went for a few static shots where Jan could get the portrait part of his 'Pride & Joy Portraits' session under the trees, and Holly assisted by providing the lighting.

Holly held on to the large softbox that we used to direct some extra light onto Jan... given the wind at the time, it was rather like holding on to a huge sail but Holly clung on and managed to stay on the ground (it would have been a bit embarrassing if we'd had to rescue her from the trees but luckily she didn't get blown away and we got the shots we were after!).

The afternoon was equally as exciting and, thankfully, the weather had improved as we followed Jan out on his bike. Again we started with a few quiet country roads, but we also managed to find a very quiet roundabout on a business park where Jan could safely get his knee down and do his thing! Not something I would really encourage, but Jan has been riding for a lot of years now and had already demonstrated that he has great awareness of the roads and his position on them, so I felt comfortable that he was safe and sensible!

For the static shots, I really wanted somewhere 'manly', somewhere with a bit of power to reflect the strength and power of Jan and his bike. Hmm, where do you find 'manly' in the countryside? Yep, at the local power station!!! Perfick! Jan looks great, the bike looks great and the power station brought that touch of 'manly' that we needed.

All in all, a great day out!!

Thanks again to Kathryn and Holly, but a special thanks to Jan. It's not easy to rein in these awesome machines for a photo shoot, but you did a fantastic job and I'm so pleased you're happy with the results!!!

Rebecca, x

rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk
www.rtphotographics.co.uk

Sweet in Swallowfield!

2010-08-21T10:59:00.000-07:00

As you may know, I am branching out into wedding photography.

The upside to that is that I get to go to weddings... which I love... working with people on one of the happiest days of their lives... which I also love... and if I'm lucky I might even get a piece of cake... which I think everybody knows by now, I LOVE!!

The downside to my decision, however, is that I don't have much in the way of variety to advertise on my website and to show people that I can and will do my absolute best to give them wedding photography that they will love! So, armed with a wedding dress, veil and tiara, I went along to Swallowfield in Berkshire with the absolutely beautiful and gorgeously sweet Jessica! She was a dream come true!!

Apart from needing a couple of pins for the dress, we were able to start shooting straight away and, with no previous modelling experience, Jessica was as natural and as lovely as I could possibly wish for! She was amazing!! She needed very little direction, she never complained, she was sweet and happy and laughing... perfect!

What a star!! Thank you Jessica, and I really can't wait for next time! Thanks too to Kathryn and Holly for your help, and see you on Friday for the bike shoot!!!! Wow!!

Rebecca, x

rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk
www.rtphotographics.co.uk

Loitering Round Lichfield!

2010-08-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe not quite loitering, we were actually working but it was a jolly relaxed and fun day out all the same!

I met Andy at the railway station... I should say "at one of the railway stations" as there are actually 2 in Lichfield and, between us, myself and Andy managed to see them both! He was waiting eagerly at the Trent Valley station as I sent a text to say that we were coasting up to the platform... but I was actually on the train that was coasting up to the platform at the City station! Oops!! No wonder he couldn't see the train that I was adamant I was on!!!

We were soon reunited however and carried on into the City of Lichfield to see what we could find. Inevitably, we found a coffee shop first of all and, having partaken of a particularly large and perhaps not quite wholesome breakfast, we wandered in towards the Cathedral.

The purpose of the day was to ensure that Andy was confident at using manual exposures on his camera, and then a look at using the computer to offload, upload, download, and any and all other loadsa things that can be done to, with and from images on a computer! That is actually a mammoth subject and impossible to cover completely in one day, so it was rather an introduction to it, a look-see at the digital darkroom, accompanied by a manual (written by myself) that Andy could take home and carry on with at his leisure. He can also contact me at any time for more help and assistance if he needs it... and it is quite likely that he will, so please don't hesitate to call me Andy!!

So, what did we cover on our day out? Well, we started off at Captain Smith's statue in Lichfield.

Yes, he was the Captain of the Titanic, but no, he didn't come from Lichfield! Apparently (I don't know how much truth there is to this story, but I have it on good authority), Captain Smith was from Stoke on Trent but they refused to erect a statue in his honour and so his memory was denied until Captain Scott's wife (Captain of the RSS Discovery, which is in permanent dock at Dundee... go see it if you can, it's awesome!!).. where was I? Yes, Captain Scott's wife persuaded the good folks of Lichfield to have his statue there instead!

The challenge for Andy was to get a photo of the statue against the sky, while retaining detail in his face and all cloud detail behind. No HDR, no multiple exposures; 1 exposure, manually created by Andy with only very minimal guidance from myself. We took a colour exposure which we converted to black & white later on during our computer skills session. It has to be said, Andy coped most admirably... no pun intended, he was just a cap'n anyway ;-)

We then went into the Cathedral in search of lowlight, high contrast, interesting and beautiful images. Another big challenge for Andy and, again, he did an amazing job!

Having only been on 2 photographic tuition days with me, Andy is now very much in charge of his own camera.

Rather than let it decide what settings to use, Andy chooses it all himself. ISO, aperture, shutter speed, composition, framing, timing... all his own work and all very, very impressive!!

So, having loitered round the Cathedral (where we did purchase a photography permit each by the way), we headed back into the city via another tea room for an afternoon on the computer. All in all we had another smashing day out and I can safely say that we will be doing it again, but as friends rather than as work! Now that's not a bad job is it?!!

Thanks for another great day out Andy, and for all your hard work. It's been an absolute pleasure working with you!!

Rebecca, x

If you would like your own personal photography tutorial, contact me and we'll get it arranged to suit you! We have 3 whole days in total, you get 2 manuals written just for you that are yours to take away and keep, plus email assistance when you're at home, for however long you want or need it. All that for £185. If you would like to discuss it further with me, please do email me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk
www.rtphotographics.co.uk

Inspiration causes Perspiration!!

2010-08-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

I'm the sort of person that is never really happy with anything I do, it can always be better and must get better!

I know there is no such thing as perfection and so I don't actually strive for that, but I do strive to improve, improve and improve some more... to keep growing and getting better and to learn as much as possible while it's still possible!

I've been inspired by so many people in my life and it would be impossible to count or name them all here, but I also continually seek new acquaintances and friendships with those people that I admire. It may be that I respect their work, their artistry, their passion or just their outlook on life, but all these people bring something that I can think about and try to put into who I am too.

Although we've not yet met in person, somebody who has been very influential and inspirational in the way I approach both my life and my work is Glyn Davies. A Cornishmen on Anglesey, Glyn has a passion for life, his family, the landscape and photography that is truly awesome!

I believe we think along the same lines in so many ways and so I do feel a very strong connection with Glyn, even though we've never met. He seems to be a lot like me and a lot like my very best friends, which is why I feel that I've already known him for years!

Well, to go back to the subject of inspiration, I've just purchased 2 of Glyn's books "Anglesey Landscapes" and "Anglesey Landscapes II".

I hope he doesn't mind me writing about them and blowing his trumpet for him, because they are outstanding!!!

The quality of the photographs is, of course, everything that you would expect from THE landscape photographer of Anglesey, but it is so very much more.

His passion for the island and for Wales is clearly evident, but so is his passion for seeking out the undercurrents of wild Anglesey. I don't mean the undercurrents in the sea... though they are responsible for the key elements in many of Glyn's photographs... I mean the undercurrents of that indefinable thing that pulls us into a landscape, into nature and into ourselves.

I can't really put it into words, it is something indefinable, but Glyn puts it into his books both in the photographs and in the accompanying text. If you 'get' the outdoors, if you 'get' the pull that drags you out of bed at unspeakable times of day and in unfeasibly wet, cold and windy weather, then you will already know what I mean and you'll be as absorbed by Glyn's books as I am!!

If you don't 'get' it, then read Glyn's books... feel the passion in his written words and in the power of his photography. I can honestly say, you WILL be blown away! Inspired? Yes, oh yes I am!!

Inspired not only to get out and get better landscape shots, but also inspired to re-connect with life and those undercurrents that I talked of just now. I've had a difficult year on a personal level and I think that has got in the way a bit, led my attention away from the strands and wisps that I love to follow through life. Not really aimless, more a voyage of discovery!

Just recently I've been aimless, but, (without him knowing it) Glyn has re-directed me, inspired me to buck up and get on, to re-focus and get some of that old sparkle and passion back. Inspiration? Sorted!!

But what about the perspiration? Well, as I said at the beginning, I am always striving to improve and, to that end, I have recently become a member of the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP). I aim to work my way up through their qualification structure and to learn and improve and be the best that I can be all the time that I can.

First step is the 'Mentor Me' scheme that they run. I have to choose 20 images that I've taken and submit them for critique and guidance on where to go next, to step up to the next level. You wouldn't think it would be that hard, doesn't sound hard, but the HOURS that I've put in this week already!!! I am loving it though, and it's been fantastic re-visiting old images and of course the memories of the laughter and head-scratching that accompanied them!

Onwards and upwards me friends, I'm on a mission!!! I'll keep you informed as I go along, wish me luck and I hope you'll stay along with me for the ride! Oh, and Glyn, I REALLY hope I get this right... Diolch iti, gyda'm holl galon!! If you've not been yet, pop by Glyn's website and you'll see just what I mean! www.glyndavies.com

Rebecca, x.

rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk
www.rtphotographics.co.uk

Getting Steamy in the Valley!

2010-08-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

The Churnet Valley Railway in Staffordshire provided the perfect location for a full day photography tutorial, as well as the perfect location for a fantastic day out!

If ever you are wandering about on the Staffordshire / Derbyshire border and wondering what to do, why not drop by to travel the Churnet Valley Railway? It is spectacular!!

Running for ten and a half miles through the Staffordshire countryside, it'll take you on a journey through nostalgia. Running alongside the Caldon Canal and the River Churnet, the railway takes you into a really interesting and exciting past.

I went along last week with Andy, who was with me for his second photography tutorial. We talked more about exposure and how to be creative using the manual controls on his camera. With the old-fashioned stations, the authentic decor and fittings, the engine sheds and the volunteers who work so hard and so enthusiastically, it's impossible not to take photos at the Churnet Valley Railway! It was the perfect place for our tutorial, a photographer's paradise!

We started off with a bacon roll at Kingsley & Froghall Station (actually, Andy had a Staffordshire oatcake with cheese & bacon and it looked lovely!!!!), where the tea rooms happily open in plenty of time to make full use of before the first train of the day. Joined by the driver and guard of the train, it's a good sign of the quality of the fare!!!

Our first engine was a diesel and we were taken along to Cheddleton Station where we could potter about the engine sheds. It was tipping down with rain, so the engine sheds were extremely inviting in more ways than one, but we didn't realise quite how inviting until we'd gone in.

Not only were we faced with the engine that graces the covers of the Churnet Valley literature in all her naked glory, but there was also a whole host of locomotive and engineering paraphernalia laying about waiting to be restored to life. It's a tremendously exciting place, but it was also a little bit disappointing because visitors were only allowed as far as a barrier just inside the doors. Not to be put off (and it was still tipping down outside!!), we spent a while getting the right exposure for Andy and getting him using his tripod.

Having pottered about for a while, a very lovely chap called Dave came over and invited us in to get some more photos. We happily agreed that it was at our own risk, and joined Dave on his side of the barrier... awesome!! Dave showed us around the sheds and then accompanied us out the far end where I thought I'd faint with excitement!!

Coaches, locos, all kinds of bits and pieces

and, of course, Dave himself. Full of enthusiasm, knowledge and an expert guide, we even managed to persuade him to model for us!

Dave, you're a star and we can't thank you enough!!

Having left Dave, we wandered over the bridge to the Boat Inn for lunch before heading back to the station for a steam-hauled trip to Consall. With not quite enough time for a walk round the nature reserve, we pottered about by the canalside.

The railway bridges the canal here and it's a popular place to moor up with the Black Lion pub just over the crossing. Giving great views down the line from the beer garden, it's a great place to try some shots with the long lens and have a cup of coffee at the same time!

Who says tutorials are like school? Ha ha.

Walking just a short way brought us along to a small weir that was perfect for Andy to practise creative exposures to blur the water.

Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but it is a useful technique to learn for the number of different applications that it can be used for, and was something that Andy can take away to get creative at home or on holiday!

We then wandered over to the old lime kilns, now owned by the RSPB,

before heading back to the station for the last train home. Back at Kingsley & Froghall gave us more opportunity to watch the guys working around the station and around the loco itself.

The weather had cleared up and cheered up, and we stood at the end of the platform like a couple of schoolkids on a trainspotting holiday!

All we needed was a tin of cheese and pickle sandwiches!! I absolutely fell in love with the Churnet Valley Railway and can guarantee that I'll be back, without a doubt! I saw a poster for an evening special that really tickled me and I only wish I was more local so that I could go... 'Diesel, Curry, Beer, £12, Nuff said!' Love it!!

Hmm, wonder what the chances are of the line extending down to Berkshire? Yeah, thought so... I'll just have to go back up!

Rebecca, x
www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Peeking about the Peaks!

2010-08-09T10:47:00.000-07:00

I suspect that I'm not the first to use such a title, and most likely won't be the last, and yes I do agree that it's cheesy, but hey, it'll have to do for now!

So, indeed I did take a peek around the Peak District National Park last week. The White Peak area, so-called because of it's limestone substrata, is a particularly beautiful place in this ridiculously pretty part of England! Why don't more people know about it? It's gorgeous!!

Well, I am very pleased to say that I now know of it and have seen quite a large portion of it over the last few months. This time I wandered over the area of Monsal Dale, taking a circular route from Ashford-in-the-Water up to Monsal Head and down through the Dale, following the lovely River Wye back to Ashford-in-the-Water again.

As you walk up along the fields that sit above the village, have a look at the drystone walls. There are so many fossils easily visible in the limestone that has been dug locally to provide the stones for the walls. Mostly shells of varying forms, it tells of times when the peaks and dales were actually on the shores of a vast tropical sea! It's really hard to picture white sands, blue seas, palm trees and crystal waters when the wind and rain is coming at you sideways on the Peaks, but if you use a little imagination it is strangely warming!

I hope you do have a look for the fossils in the stones, but please, it is worth saying, don't be tempted to take any of the stones home! These walls are extremely old and should be protected. They've stood for hundreds of years and sheltered so many people, both travellers and farmers, shepherds, shepherdesses, and villagers who used the walls to hide behind while conducting business or, far more excitingly, romantic liaisons and illicit trysts!! Yes, I do have a fairly active imagination, but I really like to think of who else has been along these ancient pathways and who else may have touched the walls and looked for fossils just as I do now!

As it happens, these really are ancient pathways! Walking across the top, you amble past Fin Cop, which is the site of an Iron Age Hill Fort. A little further along is the very exciting Hob's House, a rock formation that was also home to a legendary giant called Hob, who came out at night to thresh the farmers corn. Clearly grateful, the farmers rewarded Hob with bowls of cream! I like that!!

Anyhow, having wandered past the fields on the tops, the path drops away dramatically at Monsal Head into the dale below. It's a very popular view point, and it's easy to see why. The views must look fantastic at any time of year! I really would like to come back in the autumn when all the trees are changing colour and the sun sits lower in the sky. It'll look wonderful.

Just as we arrived at Monsal Head, a light rain started and it seemed an excellent time to nip into the tea rooms at the craft shop. One pot of tea and an extremely tasty homebaked fruit scone later, and we carried on our way down to the bottom of Monsal Dale. The view is pretty much dominated by the old viaduct, but as you go lower down, even that disappears under the volume of foliage and vegetation alongside the river.

The path carries on across a bridge where the view back up to the top is as breathtaking as the view down was!

Passing under the viaduct (now no longer carrying trains, the viaduct is used as part of a footpath now!) we wandered into the meadows that sit prettily beside the River Wye here. Full of wildflowers and butterflies, and surrounded by birdsong, it's also easy to believe that this is a landscape that hasn't changed for centuries (well, apart from the enormous great viaduct of course!!). Turning a corner though you come across a weir, which although concrete in structure, still sits attractively in its setting beneath the trees that line the escarpments of Monsal.

Another place that will look stunning in the autumn... and in winter, and in spring!!

The walk back to Ashford-in-the-Water carries you across the A6 and into a rather different but equally impressive landscape! Entering Great Shacklow Wood is rather like entering a film set for Lord of the Rings!! Also known as Demon Dale, this whole place feels very eerie and it's easy to see why so many legends and myths have been born from these paths. I really wouldn't like to walk through it on a foggy day!!

Further along, as you drop down from the woods and come back to the river, you will see an old derelict mill.

It's actually rather attractive and the detailing around the window frames and roofline is stunning... but the eerie feelings from the woods live on and pervade this place, which was once actually a mill used for crushing bones to make fertiliser!!!

Safely back at Ashford-in-the-Water and free of any demons, it seemed the right thing to do to visit the local shop and sample their wares... a sausage roll and an egg custard tart to be precise. Yum!!

Rebecca, x
www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Poking about Nottingham's Underworld!!

2010-08-09T09:31:00.001-07:00

If you think of Nottingham, you will almost certainly think of Robin Hood and the Sherriff of Nottingham. You'll quite likely think of Sherwood Forest, and probably lace making, and you may even think of Boots the Chemist and Raleigh Cycles... but would you think of caves? Lots of caves!

About 500 caves actually, none natural, all carved out by hand and directly under the city itself. People have certainly been carving and using these caves for centuries.

In 868 AD, Asser (Alfred the Great's chronicler) wrote of Tigguacobauc (now known as Nottingham) which translated as 'City of Caves'!

The caves have been dug into the relatively soft sandstone over which the city stands, and have been used for a multitude of purposes, from domestic and peaceful to nefarious and hair-raising!! The caves I explored last week were in the Broad Marsh area of the city and, rather bizarrely, accessed from the second floor of a modern shopping mall. The photos I took were all handheld, no flash at ISO 3200. Just as at Portsmouth, the Nikon handles the high ISO really well and I was pretty pleased with the results!

It was here that the caves were used as an underground tannery. A fairly revolting job to be done underground, and the only example of such in England, but fascinating to see and hear about. In fact, it was so revolting that the tanning pits in the Broad Marsh caves were just about the only place in the UK where you couldn't catch the plague!! It was so disgusting down there that even the rats refused to go in!! The tannery closed in 1639 but the pits have been preserved as they would have been Tudor and Stewart times.

Not open to the public until 1994, these caves have now been granted ancient monument status!

Over the centuries, many of the caves had disappeared as Nottingham grew and building works caused the caves to fill up with brick and rubble and wood. The caves won't be forgotten though... in 1826 a garden collapsed killing seven boys, and in 1880 a shop built over one of the Broad Marsh caves collapsed as it fell into the pit below!

Hmm, the entrance to these caves is now through a multi-storied shopping mall, yikes! No need to panic though, pillars and a concrete bridge were built around the caves to take the weight of the shopping centre but leave the caves safely intact.

The caves have also been used for good though. During the second world war many of the caves were converted into air raid shelters, often reinforced with brick and steel. Perhaps the most impressive is under the John Player cigarette factory where there was room for 8000 people!!

One of the biggest stories though is the use of the caves as housing for poor people over the centuries.

It was well known that if a man had no money, all he had to do was travel to Nottingham with a shovel and a pick and he could dig himself a home! What also really interested me was to see that the caves are still being put to various uses.

As well as the tourist attraction of the Broad Marsh caves, there are many less well-known caves being used. A gun club meets in the caves beneath Nottingham Castle, the Fire Brigade train in tunnels beneath the Guildhall, and many shops and pubs use the caves as cellar storage. Perhaps the most famous of all is the pub built into the caves at the foot of Nottingham castle.

'Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem' dates from 1189 AD and is arguably the oldest pub in Britain. I say arguably as there is apparently another pub in Nottingham city centre that is vying for the same title!! Regardless of it's distinction as the oldest pub in Britain, the 'Trip' is certainly amongst the most remarkable! Small snugs and saloons nestle into the caves carved into the sandstone beneath the castle walls, and the feeling is awesome, I loved it!! I also rather liked the pint of 'Old Trip' ale which I found to be extremely drinkable and most certainly a good reason to return!!

Ales have been quaffed by many people at the bar in the 'Trip' for centuries, but perhaps the most famous is Richard the Lionheart, who downed a few pints of the landlord's finest before setting off on his way to the Crusades. It feels strangely bizarre to be standing at a bar that also served King Richard himself, but the name of the pub is also a bit of a surprise. It would be apparent that it relates to the Crusaders and their travels to Jerusalem, but did you know that a trip was actually a rest stop, not the journey at all. It makes sense if you think of a trip as a break in progress, as happens when you trip over something, but I'd never heard of it being used in the context of breaking a journey before. I always thought the trip was the journey!!

Nottingham; City of Caves, city of surprises!!

Rebecca, x
www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Up Pompey!

2010-08-09T06:11:00.001-07:00

Actually, it was down to Pompey really, as we drove directly south to arrive just over an hour later in the town of Portsmouth!

Portsmouth has been affectionately known as Pompey for years but nobody really seems to know why. There are quite a few theories about, as any quick search of the internet will show you, but I think the most likely is the one that refers to the navigational charts and shipping.

Ships entering Portsmouth harbour make an entry in the ships log 'Pom. P.' which refers to Portsmouth Point. Navigational charts also use this abbreviation, as 'Portsmouth Point' is apparently far too long to note down in full. Sounds plausible to me, and I reckon that's the one I shall go by!

So, anyway, Pompey or Portsmouth, I drove down for a day out with my nieces and my brother and mum, and it's a great place! There is so much to see and do that a day is nowhere near enough!! Just as well we got tickets for the harbour that are valid for a year so we can return as many times as we like!

My nieces live just north of Nottingham, which is about as far from any coastline as you can get in England, so it was good to take them down to the south coast and board the ferry for a trip round the harbour. The tour lasted an hour and took us pretty close to the Naval dockyards where we saw all sorts of ships in for repair or overhaul.

Pretty exciting for me was to see the icebreaker 'HMS Endurance' berthed alongside the aircraft carrier 'HMS Invincible'. I can't really explain why that particularly excites me, other than that I obviously don't get out much, but I was genuinely thrilled to see them both and see them together! Pity I didn't get a good shot of them, but at least we saw them anyway!

Something that struck me as we sailed round the harbour was the neat entanglement of old and new... ancient and modern twisted together as seamlessly and with all the strength of a good old-fashioned, but still used, nautical knot!

I think I mentioned a while ago about chatting to a couple of ex-submariners recently. They had been talking about a huge tank system that they have to go up inside from the bottom to the top. It filled me with horror to hear them talking about it... and gave me watery nightmares for weeks which I posted about a few months ago, but the true horror of it became apparent when I saw the tank in question. Oh my word... well, something with four letters in anyway, blimey!!!! It's HUGE!!!! Imagine that big tower filled with water and then having to go up inside it!! Ooh shuddery no, it fills me with absolute, sheer, unfettered, unbelievably immense amounts of horror! But, for those who could do it, this is where they did it.

HMS Dolphin was where submariners were trained and based for many years, and that is the very same tank they were telling me about. Brrrr, really, really makes me shudder!

Something else that blew my mind somewhat was this very impressive looking Palmerston Fort out in the Solent.

Approximately a mile out of Portsmouth Harbour, the fort is a totally man-made island, built in 1867 as a response to a threat of French invasion under Napoleon III. The four Palmerston forts were designed to protect the Naval dockyards at Portsmouth and were owned by the Ministry of Defence until as recently as 1982. Now privately owned, some are available for exclusive hire for parties or filming, and also have restaurants, museums and, on one of them, the potential for a micro-brewery! Marvellous!! A big up for Pompey!!!

Heading round the harbour to Gunwharf Quay, you can't help but notice the fantastic Spinnaker Tower. It is stunning! I haven't seen it at night but I've seen quite a few photos of it and it is simply beautiful. It's visible from so many areas around the harbour, and it blends so well with the masts, towers and rigging of the old Portsmouth Harbour. New and old, biding together beautifully.

Speaking of old and new, the captain of the ferry, who was also giving us a very entertaining commentary on the cruise, pointed out a very new and significant structure that sits in the dockyard beneath the mighty towers and historic masts... it is none other than the brand new Admiralty toilet block! I didn't get a photo of it, but if you really want to know it is quite spacious, built of red brick and looks very comfortable indeed!! Something else that caught my eye was this crane that I managed to get in the right place to make it look as if it was lifting the Spinnaker Tower into position.

Made me chortle anyway. Once back on solid ground, we explored the Historic Dockyard and, more specifically, the inner workings of the tremendously famous HMS Victory. What a fabulous ship!

It, as so many other things round Portsmouth, is also HUGE! The restoration and reconstruction of work and rest on board is awesome. It's so well done. Flash photography isn't allowed in many parts of the ship so I set my ISO to 3200 (yikes!! Yep!!!!) and tried it to see what I could get. The images are obviously a bit noisy, but overall I was pretty pleased with the way the Nikon handled such a ridiculously high ISO. The cannonballs are lined up right in the middle of the inner decks, as far from any light source as possible, and against dark wood planks.

Tricky for sure, but not too bad at all really. Not quite the composition I would have liked but I was laying on the floor and wedged against a pillar whilst getting tutted at by a very large and very vocal group of French tourists! So while I was at it, just to be equally obnoxious, I hung around for a few seconds more and got a photo of this grappling iron at the same time!!

Again, fairly noisy but not too bad.

The outer decks are also fascinating. The miles and miles of ropes and rigging are just mind-boggling! The buckets hanging along the rails were essential for the cannon, but they also look quite appealing at the same time.

But then I'm quite easily pleased!!

Wandering down onto the quayside again, I took a look around the ship and was gobsmacked at the size of it. Whichever way you look at it, it's a beautiful, beautiful ship! Whilst wandering about under the bowsprit, I looked across and saw yet another relationship between the old and the new. HMS Dauntless, the new Air Defence Destroyer of the Royal Navy berthed in the shadow of the magnificent HMS Victory.

Nautical knots everywhere you look!! There is still so much I want to see at Portsmouth, so you may be quite sure that I shall be back... and of course having paid for a full ticket anyway it'd be daft not to!! So, a big up for Pompey, it's awesome!!

Rebecca, x
www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Watch Out, Lou's Loose!!

2010-08-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

And weighing in at 75kg, this is one Great Dane you don't want on your tootsies!!!

Actually, I didn't want her anywhere near my tootsies, lovely as she is, because I'd broken one of them the day before! Walking about in flip flops and crashing toe-first into a wooden post.

OWWWWW!!!!

Unfortunately, as they don't make flip flops with steel toe caps, my wee tootsie bore the brunt of the collision and fractured as a result. Oops!

So, as you may imagine, it was with some trepidation and a very pronounced hobble that I set out the next day for my big date with a very big dog! Lou is gorgeous though!

She's a Harlequin Great Dane, and has one blue and one brown eye, and the biggest tongue you've ever seen!! She unfortunately has a problem with her cruciate ligaments, so she's not the most agile of creatures... though I don't think Great Danes are really all that well known for agility anyway! She sort of ambles along in her own lolloping way and very much in her own time. The fastest we saw her move was when she spotted a couple of horses coming from about a quarter of a mile away!! She hot-pawed it off in the opposite direction and stood quivering beside Helen, her walker, until the great beasts had trotted past.

She's actually afraid of most things by the looks of it... rather like her well-known ancestor, the quivering Scooby Doo!! Thankfully she never tried to leap into our arms Scooby-style, 'cos I think we'd have been in very big trouble otherwise! Lou is lovely, but by 'eck, she's big!!!

I sat away from her and used my 70-300mm lens, for two reasons really - firstly, she looks better from further away as the narrower angle doesn't distort her beautiful big features, and secondly... and probably more on my mind than the first... she's a very slobbery dog!!

If you've seen the film 'Turner & Hooch' you may remember a very slobbery dog that could fling slavers from it's mouth like sparks off a Catherine Wheel. Lou would definitely have been a very worthy understudy!!! Bless 'er! Cute, if you don't mind that sort of thing, but not what you want on the end of your lens when you're trying to focus on a nice portrait... there's close-ups and there's waaaaay too close-up!

The 70-300mm lens was fine lol, more than happy with that!!

So that's Lou, gorgeous, funny, quirky and very definitely a very great Dane!

Rebecca, x
www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Glenshee & Sausages & Hogy & Me!

2010-08-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

This blog post is also a bit late in the writing, for which I apologise, but it was also a bit of a painful one to write and so I kept putting it off. I'm happier now though, and it's good to remember good times, even if they were tainted by bad memories afterwards. Let's not dwell on all that though, 'cos this was a jolly good day and was rounded off by a lovely evening up at Glenshee.

You may remember that I did my first wedding as a photographer back in June, and as much as I loved it, I also found it extremely hard work and very, very stressful... not in a bad way stressful, but the adrenaline certainly was pumping all day! Talk about needing eyes in the back of your head!! We were constantly on the alert for the whole time, making sure we didn't miss anything and making sure that we got everything we wanted and, obviously most importantly, that the bride and groom had requested!

So it was a busy day, a stressful day and my head was still buzzing for hours after. What better way to wind down than to take a disposable barbecue, a bottle of beer, sausages and steaks and head up to the Glen with the pooch!!

Splendid!!!

We went to a spot just about a mile before the ski centre, away from the road and down by the river. It was the perfect spot. Rocks to sit on and cook on, water running by, and a nice big grassy area for Hogy to bimble about in.

He's a great dog; he just sat by waiting patiently for his supper and splashing about in the river. He was in his element... food, companionship, fresh air and the wind ruffling about his fluffy hairdo! Obviously he didn't get a beer, he had to make do with water, but he did rather enjoy his meat feast... made a change from his usual dried biscuits anyway and he wasted no time in scoffing it all down!!

Ah Hogy bear, I do miss you my boy!!!

Glenshee is a lovely place for an evening...

...but it's definitely not a great place for dusk! MIDGES!!!!! Aaaaaaarghhh!!!! We had luckily finished and had luckily already cooled down the barbecue, so it was all bundled up in a bag as we made a hasty retreat with it back to the car! We made it back up the hill only half chomped alive, so all in all not too bad... but what a smashing evening it had been.

If you're heading north to Aberdeen or beyond, why not divert off the A90, or even from the A9, and take the scenic route though Glenshee.

It's awesome!! Rebecca, x
www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Trainspotting!

2010-08-01T01:09:00.000-07:00

Having lived in Scotland for 15 years, I have seen the Forth Rail Bridge many, many times... I've driven past it in my car, driven past it in an ambulance, been driven past it on a bus, flown beside it when landing or taking off from Edinburgh Airport, and yes, I've even been over it on the train... I've looked up at it from South Queensferry while eating fish & chips on the prom, and I've looked up at it from North Queensferry while drinking coffee in the cafe at the Deep Sea World Aquarium.

But, in all those 15 years of ogling at it, marvelling at it, and being generally jolly well and truly completely awed by it, I've never, until now, taken any photos of it!!

Even while sitting and eating fish and chips, when you'd think there was all the time in the world to get a photo, I've never done it. I've always thought about it, and always regretted that I never had the camera with me, or that there wasn't time, or it was howling with rain or a myriad of other reasons or no reasons for not getting a photo, but now, at last, I can say that I've done it!!

Probably the reason that I've finally got round to it is that I don't live in Scotland any more. While I was there, and thought I'd be there forever, there was always going to be another time. It's the classic case of the locals not knowing half so much or having been to half so many places in their area as the tourist who just pops by for a week or two! There's always another time to go and do the nice but unnecessary things.

It was never necessary to get a photo of the bridge, but it was always a nice idea. Getting home to start the tea or go to Tesco or do the washing or whatever was always the not so nice but necessary reason for not stopping, for just sailing past (actually, that's the one view I never had... never sailed past on the water!!) and just looking.

I even remember once driving over the Forth Road Bridge (which runs alongside the Rail Bridge, about 1 mile upriver) and watching HMS Ark Royal sail majestically beneath the bridge... what a photo opportunity that would have been! But, I was in my works van, in the days when I was a plant lady on my way back from watering the plants of some of Edinburgh's hotels and boutique shops, doing 50mph (honest guv!!) over the bridge and not in any way nor shape of position to be able to stop, even if I'd had a camera with me - which I didn't!

I've seen sunsets and sunrises at the Bridge, I've seen it in snow, I've seen it lit up and in the moonlight. I've seen trains rattling over it and through those magnificent arches, but I've never, ever stopped for a photo... until now! Now, of course, when I'm about 400 miles away and not in any kind of position to do much about it, I want to go back and try again. I want to go and get some more dramatic angles, different views, better photos... ah well, I'll just have to return some day!

My good friends, my fellow intrepids, live within a few miles of the bridge so I'm quite sure a visit will be on the cards sooner rather than later. I just hope they fancy a bit of trainspotting with me and want to spend an evening down by the bridge. South Queensferry is rather a pretty wee place to spend a couple of hours anyway, and of course I know a very good fish & chip shop that also sells tea, coffee and hot chocolate (hint, hint... you know who you are!!!).

I'm not entirely sure they sell apple pie, but I'm sure we can ... er... cross that bridge when we come to it, ho ho!!!!

The white crosses on the bridge aren't Scot Rail's answer to the Saltire by the way, they're actually scaffolding and covers to protect the workmen currently working on the bridge. They just also happen to be a lovely, and rather apt, sculptural form that bears a striking resemblance to the St Andrew's Cross (the Saltire of the Scottish flag).

So my first efforts of photographing the Forth Rail Bridge are well enough for a tourist, but I will be back for more!

Rebecca, x
www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

A is for Almond, B is for Bridge...

2010-07-26T04:17:00.000-07:00

C is for companionship, chums and cor blimey, this is a lovely walk!!!

This is a wee while in the writing for various reasons, both personal on my part and for my friend. We are all moving on though and have very good and happy memories of this day that was a last day for us on a couple of levels. So, there will be no sadness here, just gladness and happiness that we made some really good memories that will last for always.

So, C is also for 'come on, let's carry on shall we?'

My companions for this lovely walk through Almondell were Hogy the pooch, and Walter, Susan and Sid, my three intrepid friends! We set off for adventure and excitement, rather like the Famous Five but ever so slightly older and much creakier in the joints!!! Unfortunately I am actually alluding to my own joints as they are very creaky nowadays... no sneaking up any stairs for me, my knees will give me away every time! In fact it's probably only a matter of time before my knees give way altogether, but hey ho, we'll carry on until they do!

So, we set off along the banks of the River Almond in Livingston, not too far from Walter's house and a place he knows very well. It was my first visit here, as it was for Hogy, so we were excited from the start. There were rumours of kingfishers in the area, which is terribly exciting to me... I don't get out much, lol. The banks of the river were muddy and wet and terribly exciting to Hogy... chances of seeing a kingfisher with him charging about? Yep, zero! Oh well. There was still plenty more to see along the way!

We walked along towards the viaduct, which was impressive enough as it soared above the meadows and the trees that line the river banks,

but then we came across this lovely old wooden covered bridge that sits beneath it by the canal feeder.

Two stunning bridges in one place... certainly interesting enough but oh, there was more to come! There's lots of things that the Scots are famous for, and one of them has to be building bridges. My word, they've got some crackers up there!! Everyone knows of the Forth Rail Bridge, and many know the story of the Tay Rail Bridge, but not so many know about the bonny bridges of Almondell... they're not known at all as the bonny bridges of Almondell as it happens, but I think they're very bonny so bonny bridges they shall now be!

As you walk along the path by the viaduct, you follow along a small stream that is chock full of aquatic plants and reeds and streamside flowers. It's absolutely beautiful. Further along it widens and becomes a much more obviously man-made channel and this is actually a canal feeder for the nearby Union Canal, which runs between the fantastic Falkirk Wheel and into the centre of Edinburgh.

The path winds through the woods and back along by the river as the canal feeder crosses over it in a covered pedestrian metal aquaduct. Interesting enough and certainly quite odd... I don't think I've ever walked across the top of a canal before as it crosses a river below. I've walked alongside the Llangollen Canal on the aquaduct at Trevor where it crosses the River Dee, but never directly over the top as you do here. The canal feeder runs in a channel beneath the metal walkway, which makes it a rather interesting and different style of aquaduct.

If you walk further into Almondell there is yet another one, Lin's Mill aquaduct, which has a rather interesting but very sad story attached to it. Apparently, the aquaduct was built by William Lin, who rather than becoming famous for building the bridge, was rather more famous for being the last person to die of the plague in Scotland. As if that's not bad enough, nobody would help to bury him, so his poor wife had to bundle his body into a sack and drag him into the woods to bury him by herself!!! We actually didn't get as far as the aquaduct, but I shall be back and will pay a visit to pay my respects to the poor unfortunate Lin's.

We stayed to the left of the metal aquaduct and made our way through the woods towards the visitor centre, tea, teacakes and the other necessaries! There are a few stepped paths that lead up into the woods in an inviting way,

so Susan and I went to explore... along with Hogy of course! We popped out by a barley field,

so we popped back down to re-join the boys and hot-foot it along to the tea shop! There's a very interesting monument just outside the visitor centre that had us a bit puzzled for a while.

We looked at the inscriptions and carvings and worked out that it was something mathematical and in some way geographical, but couldn't really make head nor tail of it until Susan had the idea of asking someone and brought back a leaflet. The monument is actually an Astronomical Pillar commissioned by the 11th Earl of Buchan in 1777. A leading amateur astronomer and founder of the Society of Antiquaries Scotland, the Earl created a scale model of the solar system in 1776. Not only predicting a transit of Venus in 2225, his calculations have proven to be very accurate, especially given the technology of the time! He carved the pillar in 1777 to record his calculations... though despite his obvious genius, he wasn't quite so hot on spelling and got 'Leith' wrong!

He maybe knew the 'I before E' bit, but wasn't aware of the rest (except after C or when it rhymes with D). Despite the spelling mistake, and we'll certainly forgive him for that, the Pillar is astounding. The inscription on the front translates from Latin into 'Pay homage to the heavenly sent land' which is rather apt and also extremely indicative of the Earl's feelings and spirit. Marvellous... in the truest sense of the word!

Having refreshed ourselves with tea and teacakes and water for the dog, we headed back along the river to the Naysmith Bridge. We set out via a peek at the modern and, it has to be said, beautiful suspension bridge, and then back towards the older stone bridge in the park by the meadows.

That actually turned into a bit of an adventure in itself, as Hogy took a fancy to a football that a few lads were kicking about! Oops!! Having retrieved it for them, I had to distract him and entertain him with a run along the path away from the lads. It never fails to amuse him, and it never failed to half kill me as my lungs feel about ready to explode from my mouth!! I'm really not built for speed! The others caught us up and I was rather grateful for Walter's offer of a lend of his lens as I looked for any excuse for a rest to get some breath back!

So, attaching Walter's 10-24mm lens onto my camera, I dropped down to the riverside to get some wide-angle views up to the bridge. Unfortunately there had been a recent diesel spill here, but it wasn't too bad and the view was still good.

The Naysmith Bridge was designed by the landscape painter Alexander Naysmith in 1800. The bridge has been restored after collapsing in recent years, and the restoration work is quite evident in the new fresh stonework, although it has been carried out extremely well and with great care to restore the glory and beauty of this wonderful old bridge. The meadows down beside the bridge are equally glorious, speckled with pyramidal orchids and other wildflower species right down to the river bank.

Across to the other side of the meadow is a wooded hill, bound by the same canal feeder that we'd followed before. Hogy spied a rabbit up in the woods and hot-pawed it across the canal... no mean feat as it is quite deep there and very steep-sided. Hogy has rather bad hips, so it was with some trepidation that I ran over to it, fully expecting to see him struggling in the water!

No sign of the pooch though, the lure of the rabbit was clearly stronger than the gravitational pull of the canal sides and he was up in the woods chasing fluffy tails!! Unfortunately gravity had taken it's toll on the frisbee that had been dangling from his chops when he'd spotted the bunny.

Now lying at the bottom of the canal feeder, I considered it to be all but lost. Sid, however, is a true intrepid and was determined to recover the pink rubber disc at all costs. I really did think it was going to be at the cost of a headlong bath in the canal, but Sid managed to flick it up with a stick and across to the nearside bank where I could lay down (in the nettles!!!) and pick it up from the water. It was a fairly precarious operation as I had nothing to hold onto and I was outstretched in a particularly wobbly position, but we made it... teamwork triumphed and Hogy got his frisbee back thanks to Sid! Well done indeed!!!

Following the path back across the metal aquaduct, we peered over the side to see Mrs Mallard encouraging her brood into the perilous looking waters of the river below.

Thankful that we were still drier than the ducks, we headed back the way we came and on to Walter's for a smashing meal and a giggle with Walter's lovely Mum. En route, we heard the distinctive metallic call of a kingfisher that was so tantalisingly close, but could we see it? Could we 'eck as like!! Did we care? Not really! We'd had a lovely day out as it was!

A day I shall never, ever forget. Thank you Walter, Susan and Sid, and of course to Walter's mum. A special day that was eventually made all the more precious. Thank you.

Rebecca, XX.

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Of Pigs & Pooches!!

2010-07-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

I think you all know by now how much I love pooches and, after having recently lost my furry-chopped companion of the last 18 months, I've been a bit down in the mouth for a while. I've turned a corner now though.

Quite literally actually... a new corner on a new walk that I never knew existed even though it's only a couple of miles away from here! I met up with my pal Helen, who also happens to be related in a very convoluted kind of way, but she was a friend before I knew of the family connection... one of those oddly coincidental things! Anyway, Helen is a dog walker down here in Wokingham (http://www.skippiescaninewalkabout.co.uk/) and that's how we met, as she walks her charges where I used to walk with Hogy.

We met up for a walk and a chat about pet portraits in the woods off Coombes Lane. I'd never heard of it before but it's absolutely beautiful. I will definitely be back over the next few weeks and months, for sure! It's a mixed deciduous woodland where the canopy is open enough for light to filter down to the understorey to create a nicely diverse woodland floor, with evidence of the remains of thousands of bluebells! Definitely the place to be in the spring next year!! Helen was walking Lou, a Harlequin Great Dane who was often companionable with Hogan...

well, she was an opportunist companion actually, pretending to be his friend but she was only really interested in his frisbee! It was hilarious to watch her!! Exceptionally slobbery, Lou is a lovely dog. She's always good fun and so good natured... but wow, she is very slobbery! Clean-on that day cream coloured trousers, d'oh!!

Along Coombes Lane and around the corner, Helen took me to a truly wonderful find... 'Wysipig' (what you see is pig). What a place!

Not only is there a farm shop and coffee shop, but there are all sorts of vintage vehicles in various states of repair and disrepair,

as well as Mabel the pig who roamed at will around the yard... and who also nibbled at my clean-on cream coloured trousers with her grubby but clearly hungry and inquisitive snout!! D'oh again!

Mabel was gorgeous though, and although a little bit shy at first she responded very well to a good scratch behind her ears. She's obviously rather partial to it because she just kept coming back for more... or was it for another nibble at my trousers? Hmm.

If you're in the area Wednesdays to Saturdays, look out for Wysipig http://www.wysipig.co.uk/. It is a truly astonishing little place, the produce is totally organic and, Helen assures me, the ham is to die for!

But aside from all of that, my walk out with Helen was very restorative in lots of ways and I can't thank her enough for that. We're having a practice barbecue for her 40th birthday at my younger sister's house next weekend. She won't be 40 until next year, but we thought it best to have a practice this year to be ready for the big day next year!! Practice makes perfect eh? At least I know where I shall get the sausages from!! Sorry Mabel.

Rebecca, x
www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Wedding Daze!

2010-07-11T08:19:00.000-07:00

Well here it is, my first wedding assignment!

I honestly thought it would also be the last as I was absolutely terrified at the prospect and always said that I wouldn't do weddings. Hey ho, never say never eh? I LOVED it!! Every minute of it was exciting, fun, challenging and yes, the day did go by rather in a bit of a daze!

You need to be so aware of what is going on all around all the time. Every wedding will have those little moments that make it special, that make it unique to that couple and their families and friends.

I considered it my job (and that of my very able assistant) to look for those moments and capture them forever so that the bride and groom can relive their very special day for years to come.

The wedding was in Dundee and as I now reside waaaaay down south in Berkshire, I had to be doubly and trebly sure that I had everything I needed. Batteries, cards, lighting equipment and a plan B in case of rain... all needed to be checked and re-checked before I travelled back up north of the border. I'd thought of everything, laid it all out on the bed and ticked it all off the list I'd made, packed it up, unpacked it and checked it again, and then went to bed happy in the knowledge that I was ready.

Oops!!

How on earth did I forget the spare camera? D'oh!! Thank goodness for the goodness of my very good friend Walter, who happily lives down in Livingston... which though a fair drive down from Dundee is at least in Scotland and so a darn sight more useful than having to go home to pick up the one I'd forgotten! Another bonus was being at the Forth Bridges at sunset... (coming in another blog post here soon).

So, the wedding day dawned and I was up early checking and re-checking the equipment and batteries and a plan of the day. I knew that a huge amount of flexibility would be required, as there will be all those little moments and unexpected things to scupper any hard and fast plans, but I felt that it was still important to have a plan. And a plan B... a good weather plan and a bad weather plan!

The forecast was mixed so it was actually very important to have a plan B just in case! Luckily it wasn't required in the end, though we did get a few spots of rain when doing the family shots outside after the ceremony. Not enough to dampen anything though, and the cloud cover also meant that we didn't get any harsh shadows to contend with! The day went really well. Rachel looked absolutely beautiful, and it was hard not to blub at the beginning of the ceremony when Jason saw her for the first time and broke into tears because she looked so gorgeous! He spent the whole day looking like the cat who'd got the cream, it was wonderful.

Ooh, I do love a wedding!! I have always loved weddings actually. It used to be a standing joke with my old crew mate back in the days when I worked as a paramedic in Sevenoaks (I'm going back a few years here, by gum!). If we were sent on standby and I was driving then I would always park by a wedding dress shop to see what was in the window... yes, I know, wedding dresses lol. I've been a bridesmaid four times now, and I love seeing a wedding car drive by or seeing couples at the church as we go past, but to be the actual wedding photographer... oh my word, that filled me with horror!!!

Imagine the pressure! Good grief, you can hardly ask the couple to come back on Monday 'cos you've cocked up their photos can you? Although that did actually happen to my younger sister when she got married nearly 25 years ago.

The horror of finding out that she had no proper photos actually taken on the wedding day still hurts her now. I can only imagine how the poor photographer must have felt! He did get them back into the garden of his studio, but it's obviously not the same; there's no family or friends or bridesmaids, or their little boy who was all dressed up in a cutie wee sailor costume... it was the '80's... it was thought cute at the time! Roy is obviously all grown up now and is understandably relieved that there are no photos of him in his sailor suit, but that doesn't make it any better really does it?

So, fully aware of how things could go horribly wrong and of the enormous responsibility that I was undertaking, it was with huge trepidation that we set out to Dundee. Luckily there were no disasters, everything went by in a bit of a blur but it all went pretty well I think.

Rachel did know that I wasn't a wedding photographer but she put her faith in me and I'm pleased to say that she wasn't disappointed. Phew!!

So will I do another wedding? Oh yes, in a heartbeat!! There's so much more I'd like to do with the weddings, and I think they will only get better and better and more and more fun. I also hope that I will also always be a little bit nervous, as to not be scared means that you can't be fully appreciative of the enormity of what you are doing for the couple. Yes, I will definitely do it again!

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Ambling about at Aberlady!!

2010-07-03T04:37:00.000-07:00

Just about 20 miles east of Edinburgh, and signposted off the A1, is a real hidden gem. Aberlady local nature reserve was actually the first in Britain, designated in 1952 and now also a site of special scientific interest (SSSI).

It is managed by East Lothian Council and, I am very proud to say, my friend John! I'm not so proud to say that in all the time I lived in Scotland I never once went along to the reserve. It was, admittedly, a long way from where I used to stay but that's no excuse. I have now made up for past failings however, and paid a visit to the reserve on Tuesday before I continued south back across the border and into England.

I didn't get to see my pal, but I did leave a not very cryptic hello for him on the sightings sheet before I left! I was going to leave a note that I'd spotted a plastic bag on the reserve but thought I'd better not in the end. There is a story attached to that and John will know what I mean, but if anyone else reads the sightings sheet then they'd think I was being facetious and cross it out!!

Mr H and myself were both at university in Aberdeen together... crikey, just realised that it was last century, lol, and we shared a flat as well as a love of all things ornithological. John was far more knowledgeable than me (and obviously still is) as I only joined the University Bird Club as a way of getting across Scotland and seeing the place. I quickly caught the bug for birding though, and have many smashing memories of many smashing trips!!

My trip to Aberlady was tinged with sadness however. I was feeling really blue for having had to leave the dog in Scotland. He was never mine to keep, but to give him back hurt like hell and is still hurting now. So it was with a heavy heart that I actually set off across the wooden bridge and as the Scottish author Nigel Tranter put it, into 'Enchantment'.

As it turns out, dogs aren't allowed on the reserve between April and July anyway, so I could amble about and not keep thinking 'Hogy would have loved it here' and other such mournful thoughts. He would have loved it there, I've no doubt, but at least the knowledge that I couldn't have taken him if I'd had him made it easier to walk and look ahead to life without him. Not much easier, but a bit easier. By the time I'd returned to the car, my heart felt a bit lighter and I did start to feel a lot better... 'Enchantment' indeed!!

Covering 582 hectares (which is 1,439 acres for those of us who still work in old money), Aberlady is a stunning mix of tidal sand, mud flats, dune systems, pioneer salt marsh, and also has the wee Marl Loch

as well as the Peffer Burn and its estuarine landscape. With a backdrop of industrial Edinburgh to the west,

and the golf course to the east, Aberlady local nature reserve manages to squeeze rare and splendid isolation into a modern age of bustle and business. From the moment you cross the bridge, the noise of the road and the 21st century slowly dissipates into a new world of rustling grasses, birdsong, crickets and, eventually, the lapping of waves on the shore.

The footpath winds its way through the marshes and you are accompanied along the way by hundreds of butterflies flitting along from flower to flower and leaf to leaf.

There are 15 different species of butterfly here, and they flutter alongside the path as if you're walking into a Disney film!! To add to the slightly fairytale feel, the path then leads you through a tunnel of sea buckthorn that is cut in such a way you could be walking into a set for a Lord of the Rings movie or something!

Once through the tunnel, all sounds of the road have disappeared and you're in a truly magical place. The wildflowers are absolutely stunning, the diversity is wonderful and is clearly appreciated by the number of different birds that sing and chirrup as you walk by.

The walk up to the beach at Gullane Point is roughly one and a half miles, and if you go in the middle of the day in the middle of summer as I did, make sure you have plenty of high factor sunscreen with you!! I couldn't reach my back to put on the factor 30 and came back looking like I'd laid down in a blast furnace for half an hour!!!

Popping over the top of the dunes to the beach pops you back into the 21st century again, but there are still reminders of the past even here!

Fences stick out of dunes where the wind blown sand is reclaiming its lands, and out on the beach at low tide is an even stranger reminder of days gone by... a submarine being reclaimed by the sea!

A submarine in death as it was in its life!! I was fascinated by the different shapes and stood for a while thinking about how small it looked and how it must have been to have worked on her, when I realised that the water was creeping back in and was taking her back for another few hours until releasing her again at the next low tide. I stopped a while longer just to get a shot as low to the water as I could... I'd already got my backside wet when I squatted down for an earlier photo (which is how I noticed that the tide was coming in, lol), so I sat right down in the water for this one!

The things I do to bring you a photo!!! Getting a wet bottom in the pursuit of photography is one thing, walking back across the sands in wet trousers is another thing altogether! The beach here has a few posts and pillars scattered about,

but eventually I found a lovely big bleached driftwood log to sit on while I hung my wet trousers up on a post to dry.

It didn't take long, and I soon returned back the way that I came and back into real life again... and just as if to emphasise the end to my few hours in enchantment, a toad crossed in front of me under the buckthorn tunnel on his way to Marl Loch.

A fitting end to a few hours in fairyland!! If you happen to be in the area, look out for the bridge across to the reserve and let your dreams take you somewhere else for a while...

Nigel Tranter called it the 'Footbridge to Enchantment', it is!!

Read more about the reserve here and put a wee circle round it on your road map, it's a very special little place. http://www.aberlady.org/Nature%20reserve.html

Rebecca, x
http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Discovering Derbyshire!

2010-07-03T03:44:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been another hectic week and there's a lot to blog about, so I'll start here in Derbyshire.

I had a very enjoyable day out and about, eating my way round the Derbyshire countryside... from Bakewell Pudding in, erm, yep, Bakewell, to ice cream in Monyash and a lovely pub lunch somewhere in between! Even managed to squeeze in a pint of the landlord's finest, 'cos it was a locally brewed ale and it would have been terribly rude not to!!

So, did you know that the real Bakewell Tart is actually Bakewell Pudding? No, I didn't either! It's not entirely dissimilar, but not as we all know the Mr Kipling version with the icing on top. I bought one for Mum and Dad to try (and me too, obviously, ha ha), and it was exceedingly good... sorry Mr Kipling, but theirs is better... quite rightly, they've been making it for a whole lot longer and should know how to do it eh? Mmmm, it was good!! Warm with ice cream, slurp!!!!

So, back to Derbyshire, not only does it taste exceedingly good, Derbyshire looks exceedingly pretty too! I was lucky enough to be seeing it in brilliant sunshine... which means the locals were unlucky enough to be seeing me looking at it in my shorts! I must apologise to the people of Derbyshire for my pasty white legs, and I hope it didn't put you all off your tea!! This is somewhere up near Chatsworth House (could it be Hassop? Or was it Pilsley? I think it might be Pilsley!!).

It's such a beautiful wee place, and I wish I'd made notes on my way round to remember where I was!!! Apparently all the houses in the area that have blue doors and windows belong to the Chatsworth Estate, including the farms nearby. What a wonderful place to live and work.

Monyash was beautiful too, as was the ice cream from the old forge. There is so much history evident there, from the ancient market cross that still has holes bored into the base of it from the lead miners testing their new drill bits, to the old field systems and ancient walls that haven't been touched for centuries! The fields are so small compared to today's modern farms... no room for modern machinery, these fields were worked by labourers and are still used for livestock. The soil looks to be rather too thin for arable farming, with limestone outcrops everywhere, but is perfect for sheep and cattle!

Is that why there are so many local dairy's and places selling homemade ice cream? Mmmmmm. My day in Derbyshire was, quite literally, a trail of discovery and newfound delights. I can't wait to go back... which is handy, as I'm going up with my family tomorrow!!!!

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Chloe is Growing Up!!

2010-06-22T02:17:00.000-07:00

I can't resist showing you my Great Niece, Chloe!

She's certainly growing up fast and I'm really happy to say that she's growing up to be as adventurous and excited about life as her Great Aunty Becca!!

She always seems to be happy, even when being bowled over by the dogs... she just picks herself up, brushes herself down, looks at them with a frown and then toddles off chuckling! I am sad to say, however, that her dancing is no better than her Great Aunt Becca's!!! Probably not quite as bad as mine because I should have had a lot more practise at it over the years, but, nonetheless, it's pretty unrecognisable as dancing! Bless 'er!!

With a cheeky grin like Chloe's and her sense of fun and huge spirit, who cares if she can't dance when she's older? She's as cute as a button and we love her to pieces!

I've done incredibly well for nieces and nephews actually! Every single one of them is a gem, and they are all so different in their own ways, I love each and every one!! 5 nieces, 3 nephews, 1 great niece, 1 very proud aunty!!

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Pretty for the Prom!

2010-06-22T01:41:00.000-07:00

You may remember Holly and Charlotte from our day out on the photography tutorial at the Hawk Conservancy Trust in Hampshire, but here they are in far more glamorous style getting ready for their school prom. The girls were joined by their friend Jess and all three looked totally gorgeous, I know you'll agree!!

Here's Holly...

I love the idea of dressing up for the school prom; it was just a disco back in our day and although I've no doubt the girls spent a lot of effort on their make up or whatever, it pales into complete insignificance when compared to this!

This is Jessica...

I don't even remember going to our end of school disco... in fact I'm fairly sure I didn't! I do vaguely remember an ice skating trip to Richmond (yes, that's how long ago it was, the ice rink closed YEARS ago!!) and then there was strawberries and cream on the terrace when sixth form finished, but I certainly don't remember any disco. But seeing the girls dressed up so beautifully and seeing their smiles and the way they suddenly looked so grown up and gorgeous, I think they will ALWAYS remember this!

I mean, see how stunning Charlotte looks too...

Have a lovely, lovely time Holly, Charlotte and Jess, you look absolutely beautiful and I know how proud your parents are!! Ooooh, I feel so happy and smiley looking at these photos again, thank you ladies, it really was a huge pleasure :-D

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Reds, Reeds and Reserves!

2010-06-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

On my wanderings through the Midlands, I stumbled across an absolutely amazing sight at a place called Blackstone Nature Reserve. Just off the A456 by Bewdley in Worcestershire, there is a huge, splendid, unbelievably opulent display of poppies!

The site is managed by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust who own the farm at Blackstone. They allow a field to lie fallow each year and are actively encouraging the area to revert to its native heathland. According to Andy Harris (WWT's Conservation Officer at Blackstone), over the last 200 years, Worcestershire has lost around nine-tenths of its heathland. He states on the website (http://www.worcswildlifetrust.co.uk/) that it's because of this loss we need to try and conserve what's left and, just as importantly, try to re-create some that we've already lost.

Management at Blackstone Farm Nature Reserve is incredibly pro-active in its aims, where fields are managed on a rotational system and rare arable plants share space with the nationally rare Adrena nigrospena bees. Fields are left fallow on a rotation system, herbicides and fertilisers are minimised and those fields in cultivation have wide field margins to attract and retain wildlife.

Skylarks nest in the poppy fields here, so visitors are asked to keep to the field boundaries, but all are welcome and it is a wonderful sight for sure. There was a collection pot hanging on the gate post at the edge of the field to raise funds for the WWT. If you go, take a few coins with you for their pot, it's worth it!!

When you've visited the fields, have a wander across the road through the car park to the riverside walks. The Severn winds its way along from Bewdley and is particularly pretty here, abundant in all kinds of wildlife and thick with waterside plants. I was actually most interested in trying to find a kingfisher to photograph. Unfortunately I couldn't find one, but I still sat for quite a while admiring the dragonflies, damselflies, mayflies, whatever!

Flitting from leaf to leaf and darting across the water they were lovely to watch. With the sound of a steam train somewhere in the distance, and a fisherman across the way, it felt like we'd been transported back into a different time and place... or maybe the same place but definitely a different time!!

It was so peaceful and relaxing. Dipping my toes in the river and soaking up the sun I could have stayed all day! Hogy had other ideas about peace and quiet though. Jumping straight into the shallows he belted around trying to catch dragonflies, picking as much silt up onto him as he could find before launching himself back out and shaking it all over me! Glad I wore my shorts and white top!!

Bless 'im, lol.

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotpgraphics.co.uk

Boats and Barges... What's the Difference?

2010-06-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

Probably not a question many people have thought about before, but having been out and about by the waterside these last couple of days, it's something that made me wonder.

What makes a barge a barge and not a boat?

Apparently it's to do with it's bottom! Barges are flat-bottomed and designed for narrow channels with shallow draughts, but, nonetheless, a barge is still a boat. So, all barges are boats, but clearly not all boats are barges. Just to confuse the issue, I've been reliably informed that submarines are boats too, and ships aren't... ships are ships (or targets if you're in a boat under the sea!!), submarines are boats. Confused? I am!! However, Ratty knowingly informs us that "there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats" (from 'Wind in the Willows' by Kenneth Grahame), quite which boats you choose to mess around in probably doesn't matter, so long as you're enjoying it!

My niece and nephews enjoy it very much indeed. With their dad being in charge of their local Sea Scouts, they spend a lot of time in and on the water. I went up one evening a couple of days ago to watch them in action at Redesmere in Cheshire,

just a few miles out of Macclesfield by Capesthorne Hall. Hmm, another question then... what's the difference between a mere and a lake? Well, apparently a mere is usually man-made and is wider than it is deep.

A lake can be as deep as you like and is often a natural feature created by local geomorphology and resultant water-course characteristics. Or something. It may be that there isn't any real difference at all, but there is certainly a difference in origin of the words. 'Lake' comes from the latin lacus, meaning a large body of inland water, and 'mere' comes from an old scandinavian word meaning 'pool'. According to Wikipedia anyway, and it sounds good to me!

So, anyway, messing about on the water is fine but I'm rather more suited to watching others messing about on the water... at least when it comes to boats with sails on and stuff anyway! I love to watch and I also like bimbling round the edge looking at the wildlife and waterlife.

It's always beautiful and always relaxing... so long as I stay on the edge!! I'm not unhappy on canals however, having spent many a great holiday on narrowboats when we were kids. I loved it, and would love to do it again now given a chance (and a lifejacket!!).

It's my fondness for the canals that led me to Bratch Locks just outside of Wombourne on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.

The canal was first opened in May 1772 and is the result of a labour of love by the great James Brindley, canal engineer extraordinaire! He envisioned a 'Great Cross' that would link the sea ports of Hull, Liverpool and Bristol, using canals to connect the rivers Trent, Mersey and the Severn. Genius!!

Bratch locks are unique in Britain. Although they look like a staircase set of locks, each lock is in fact separate, albeit by a few feet. A staircase flight of locks, such as Neptune's Staircase at Fort William, is created where the bottom gate of a higher lock also acts as a top gate of the lock beneath it. Bratch locks however are quite separate, with a few feet between gates and each lock having its own top and bottom gate. The gap between them allows room to open the gates, but not to allow boats to sit or pass (unless you're on a lilo or something of course!!). It's also not enough room to allow water to drain from the lock above, so a system of side ponds has been devised that allows the locks to drain safely and not to flood. These side ponds are pretty as well as functional, with reeds and moorhens and brick-built weirs.

Another lovely feature at Bratch locks is the octagonal tollhouse at the Bratch Upper Bridge.

It is a fantastic wee building and the lock-keeper still uses it today. What a great place to go to work every day!! Yep, there's really nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats!

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Elbows & Knees, Nettles & Sunburnt Noses!

2010-06-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

You're right, I never will be a poet!! Anyway, the title does rather sum up the day, as did the bruises, the scrapes, the friction burn on my elbow and the rosy sunburnt cheeks and nose! It was a smashing day, I had a whale of a time!! Hopefully Andy did too, as it was a day out in Derbyshire on his first landscape photography tutorial.

Of course I'd prepared the day meticulously, planned a route, set out an itinerary, got the maps... left them in the car! Oops!!

I did have a printed route with some photos on it and an extract from the map, so we set out in good faith and high spirits... how hard could it be? A 5 mile circular walk to the highest points in the area which could be seen for miles around! Oh dear!! We parked in a leafy lane next to the church in Elton and were instructed to go through the church yard into another lane where the footpath would assuredly be signposted. Hmm. Three circuits of the churchyard later, plus numerous routes back to where we'd parked, it was getting a little ridiculous. We stopped to ask someone the way and were sent off in the direction of a farm track... you guessed it, back round by the church and within a few feet of the car!! Ho hum.

Chuckling at ourselves (I like to be optimistic and think that Andy was laughing with me!), we carried on. It very quickly became apparent that this was the wrong path, but we carried on because it also seemed apparent that it was the return path and so all we had to do was read the directions in reverse. Which would have worked really well if it had actually been the right path that we were supposed to return on. Obviously it wasn't, and obviously we didn't realise until at least a mile or two down the wrong road. Ho hum again!

Deciding that we couldn't actually be terribly far from where we were expecting to be (albeit off the little map I'd printed out), we decided to carry on and look for the mahoosive set of rocks known as Robin Hood's Stride.

Rocks that could be seen for miles and miles away. Apart from where we were... oh dear again! Being of the adventurous sort however, and the scenery being very pretty anyway, we carried on in the general direction that must undoubtedly be the right one... hurrah! Eventually we saw the Stride and strode off in a rather more positive fashion, praising ourselves on our navigational skills (well, not really, but at least we hadn't found the car or the churchyard again!!).

Andy was a great student, picking up the technical points really easily and getting stuck into composition to lift his photographic skills into a much better place. Not having used his camera off of auto settings before, and not knowing anything about composition, Andy had always been disappointed in his images. A few hints, tips and tricks later and he was producing some stunning photographs, all done manually and all with an eye for a picture that he didn't even know he had!

The rocks at Robin Hood's stride are great for practising with, as well as scrabbling about on. Having always just stood and taken snaps before, Andy was very enthusiastic to explore all angles, getting down in the grass, and climbing up high into the rocks.

A few nettle stings and bruises later, we headed across the fields to Birchover, mindful that it was lunchtime and the pub stopped serving at 2.30pm! We had a huge lunch at the Druids Inn, and a couple of very welcome pints of the landlord's finest ales! The Druids Inn was chosen as the guide said that the way to Rowtor Rocks was through the garden of the Inn, so of course it would have been terribly rude not to have eaten there! It turns out that you can get to the rocks perfectly easily without going into the pub garden at all, but hey ho, you don't know 'til you go!!

Suitably refreshed, we set up to explore Rowtor Rocks. What a strange, fascinating place that is! People have obviously been coming up here for centuries. There are bronze-age carvings, Romano-British artefacts have been found here, and, most unusual of all is the man-made carvings that blend seamlessly with the highly weathered gritstone rocks. Caverns, tunnels, rooms, terraces, and even some armchairs! There are local stories about Druids using the rocks as a site for worship, and the proximity of the stone circles and carvings in the local area would certainly back that up, but the main piece of sculpting was done by the Rev. Thomas Eyre sometime in the 17th century. Apparently in those days it was considered quite the thing to have druidical relics on your property, so the slightly bonkers Reverend set about creating his own druid relics and monuments at Rowtor Rocks, which happily laid on his land.

It's believed that these armchairs were carved by Rev. Eyre to commemorate William of Orange and Mary's ascension to the throne in 1689. Whoever and whatever, they are actually incredibly comfortable!! I could have sat there all day and looked at the view!

But, the day wasn't done yet and we still had a couple of miles to go on the return to Elton. We decided to climb down from the rocks through one of the wee tunnels and staircases that were carved into them... well, someone had gone to a lot of trouble to put it there, so it seemed the right and honourable thing to do! It was very, VERY steep though, and narrow, and also probably full of spiders! Not wanting to put my hands against the rocks I used my arms to help me down the steeper bits... hence the friction burn on my elbow! What a super little place though! Totally hidden amongst the trees, but well worth finding if you're not too bothered about heights... and spiders!

Next stop was a beautiful meadow on the way back to Elton.

Incredibly pretty and full of wild flowers, it made a great place to talk again about apertures and composition and the need to try different angles... hence the rash on my arms!!

All in all, a great day out, some very interesting places and a fantastic location to learn about landscape photography. Thanks so much for your company Andy, and I am really looking forward to the next practical photography day of your 3-part course! P.S. I'll remember to bring the map next time, lol.

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

A Wonderful Surprise & Hair-raising Adventures in Dovedale!

2010-06-21T08:22:00.000-07:00

Me and the pooch have been on our travels again, this time up into Dovedale in the Peak District.

Although only an hour or so from my sister's house in Bollington, I'd never been across to Dovedale and so thought it was about time I jolly well went!! It also happens that I was doing a photography tutorial in the Peak District the next day, so it was a good excuse to come and recce the area and find out how long it would all take. Wow, what a beautiful place!

I'm guessing that many of you may well have already been, as it is one of the most-visited places in England, but if you haven't been yet, I can only say "go... as soon as ever you can!!!" It's really, really lovely!

Having parked in the car park at Thorpe, first stop (after the toilets of course) was the little shop for a homemade ice cream. Mmmmm, strawberries and cream and it was so much creamily dreamily silkily (eh?) gorgeousness! Yum. Yum, yum, yum. Mmmmm, guess what? It was soooo good! Anyway, where were we? Oh yes, we were out for a walk along the Dove valley to Milldale.
The path follows the river all the way and twists through the most incredible landscape.

Caves, pinnacles, arches, and all kinds of limestone formations (er, at least I think it's limestone, apologies if I get that wrong!!); naturally weathered geological sculptures that are breathtaking both in scale and beauty. Tourists have been flocking here for years, and so much has been written both in poetry and prose, and artists have sketched, painted and drooled over the landscape ever since people first started sketching, painting and drooling over a landscape! There was a story attached to a sign halfway along the path to Milldale, relating the story of a hapless couple who decided to climb out of the valley on horseback.

Oops, bad choice! A hair-raising adventure indeed; the luckless... or lucky depending on which way you look at it... female was saved from death, quite literally, by her hair!! I didn't really believe the story, so have looked it up now I'm home and it turns out to be true! If you visit peaklandheritage.org.uk you can read a lot more detail about the story, but I'll show you some extracts from the letter Miss Laroche wrote to her mother in 1761. It's a story that Jane Austen would have been proud of... well, the old and rather chubby Dean would have to be replaced by a younger and more swarthy companion, but otherwise, it's straight out of the pages of a period novel... or from the script of a BBC period drama!!!

To set the scene... it is 1761 and a party of gentlefolk set out to explore the Dove Valley and to dine by the riverside. Leaving their equipage at the top in the lush meadows above the cliffs, the party wandered down on foot. They dined at 5, as is right and proper, and then started out to re-join the party at the top of the cliffs. The Rev. Mr Langton, Dean of Clogher in Ireland was rather old and rather rotund, and decided to return on horseback. Young Miss Laroche complained of feeling tired and was persuaded to mount in front of the Dean upon his steady old horse. All seemed well at first, but I'll let Miss Laroche tell the rest in her own words!

"Prepare yourself my dear Mother to hear a tale that will make the stoutest tremble and acknowledge the wonderful hand of God".

It's no surprise to imagine that the horse travelled faster than the rest of the party who were on foot, and very soon they found themselves separated from the group and accidentally upon the wrong path.

"I began to be afraid, we stopped but saw nobody and when we were within 8 or 10 yards of the top I was seized with a horror of it being almost perpendicular. I expressed my fear and the poor Dean bid me rely on him that he would carry me safe...

but God Almighty for our presumption hurled us down... I rolled and was dashed from rock to rock... when within a few yards of the bottom a furze bush so entangled my hair that it stopped me and I hung by it...

I have broke no limbs - my stays preserved my stomach and breasts the other parts of my body bruised as you may imagine... I was blind for 2 days and my head the worse... My face mends very fast, they say I shall not be disfigured. The poor Dean though alive has very little chance of recovery, he is still at Ashborn being old and bulky though he did not fall half so far as I did and good ground comparatively. N.B. The Dean died at four the next morning - he never spoke after he was found".

If you read the (very) old guide by W. Bott, written in 1800, ('A Description of Buxton'... or a new Guide), it tells that happily "The horse was more fortunate than the riders, for tho it rolled to the bottom of the precipice, the only injury it received from the fall, was a few bruises on its sides".

Mr Bott then goes on to say that "I would therefore advise the company that resort to Dovedale, to walk up the dale, and send their horses to meet them at the top, which is near New Inn turnpike, fifteen miles from Buxton".

Very good advice, but having no horses, no stays to preserve my stomach, fairly short hair and not knowing where New Inn turnpike was, we settled for a cup of tea at Milldale and returned to walk back the way we'd come.

I don't usually enjoy straight walks so much, preferring circulars where the scenery changes, but this walk is so incredibly different when viewed from the opposite direction! It actually feels like you're in a different place altogether. Quite bizarre!

Incredibly pretty though. On the way out, we'd noticed that there were tree stumps with coins bashed into them,

and saw several more on the way back. It seems every available stump is fair game for a penny or two! They also make handy perches for birdies and boxing bugs!!

It was fairly near to this stump that we bumped into Paul and Margaret, totally by accident and totally, shockingly , wonderfully unexpectedly! You may remember Roxy the Husky that our Hogy fell in love with in Lincolnshire? Well, he darted off in pursuit of a curly fluffy tail that looked so much like Roxy; in fact, I was within a breath of saying how much she looked like Roxy when the chap holding her lead turned around. It was Paul. We stood open-mouthed and staring at each other for a jaw-dropping surprised few seconds before leaping into the hellos and the "what the... ?'s".

Margaret had chosen that moment to have a stop for the necessaries (ladies will know what I mean), up the slope behind a bush, and she shrieked when Paul said who he'd found!! She came running down the hill, doing up her trousers (ok, so now gents will probably know what I mean as well), and gave me the biggest hug I've had in ages! It was so blooming lovely and wonderful to see them there. So unexpected but so perfect! So there we are, surprises for us and a hair-raising adventure for Miss Laroche (who, in true Jane Austen style, went to recover at Bath where she met her hero and married him to live happily ever after!). What a fantastic day out. Perfick!!

Rebecca, x

http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Hawks, Owls, Vultures, Teenagers!!

2010-06-08T11:49:00.000-07:00

Friday was fantastic! I took two young ladies out for a day's tuition at the Hawk Conservancy Trust by Andover and we had an absolute ball! Holly and Charlotte are both starting their 'A' level Photography next year, but wanted a bit of a heads up on some of the technical aspects plus tips on composition and how to get their cameras off auto and get manual.

We started off with a bit of a chat over a cold drink when we got there; got their cameras set up for manual shooting, a few pointers and we were away! The Hawk Conservancy Trust is a great place for a day out as it is, but as a place to learn the basics, the skills and the fun of photography, it is an immense place for a day out!! Holly and Charlotte started off the day photographing birds in the aviaries, getting used to aperture, shutter speed, ISO and composition. We then moved on to the trickier stuff and went for the flying displays to capture birds on the wing.

The girls did an absolutely amazing job! Their confidence grew visibly hour by hour... brows unfurrowed, smiles broadened, the number of shots taken significantly decreased and the number of 'keepers' significantly increased! To add to the day, (after a rather delicious barbecue lunch), we were extremely fortunate to be included in a small group allowed in to the field to get up close and personal to a few of the birds.

image copyright Holly Card

Including Dave, the Secretary bird. What a character... what a name!

image copyright Holly Card

Isn't 'Dave' just a great name for a bird!!! Made us laugh anyway! Another highlight was the falconery on horseback display. What a sight!

image copyright Holly Card

The commentary was so interesting too... can't actually remember any of it (I'm getting on a bit now... I can tell you what I was doing in 1977, but not what I did yesterday!!!) however, we did say "ooh, I never knew that" several times! Anyway, it really was a great day out, and Holly and Charlotte were such good company and very easy, eager students.

We finished the day with a trip to Ludgershall Castle on the way back.

Landscape photography is so completely different to wildlife photography,

so combining the two disciplines in the one day was good experience and a useful way of experiencing how knowledge of aperture and shutter speed, combined with ISO can make so much difference to your final images.

A massive well done and thank you to Holly and Charlotte, and the best of luck with your 'A' levels!

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Wheels at Wollaton!

2010-06-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

I was back at Wollaton Hall in Nottingham last Sunday for Autokarna 2010... no, I'd not heard of it before either! I'll definitely go again though... what a show!!

It's a classic car show in the grounds of the very stately Wollaton Hall, and was easily a match for the show at Glamis Castle (which, for those who have been I'm sure you'll agree is also a fantastic show!).

Given the wild, wild night on Saturday, it could very easily have been a no-show, but the thunder clouds left, the rain stopped and the sun came out. There were a few puddles, but nothing to get in the way of a smashing display!

The cars were many and varied, but all were special. Not all to my taste, I must admit, but you can't help marvel and respect the huge amount of loving hours that go into restoring and keeping these cars going.

If I could have taken just one home? I don't really know which it would have been. There are so many that would suit so many different occasions or moods... not in a girly 'which shoes today' kind of way, but in a 'what kind of day is it today... nostalgia? speed? air through the hair? memories?'... that kind of way. Pretty high on the list would be the Austin Healey, it was absolutely beautiful!! Joining it would be the 1948 Jaguar, what a gorgeous, gorgeous car, lovely lines,

big beaming face,

and loads of personal happy memories of another big cat of the same breed. The Jag has always been really important to me...

That leaping cat will always remind me of Grampy, of Somerset, of sunny days and country lanes, the warm smell of leather and that amazing purr!

There were more than classics at the show though. It was also a family fun day out, the biggest ice creams in the world (well, not really but it was a big one, yum), and a stage for all the latest in the auto industry... and of course the AA, RAC, and all the other associated trades and groups. Talking of which, there was a fabulous old ambulance on show that is maintained and shown by the East Midlands Ambulance Service. Apparently they have a few vehicles and it was lovely to see them there (for those who don't know, I was a paramedic for quite a few years and loved it). The two very nice chaps showing the ambulance were out of uniform (quite rightly) and not obviously associated with EMAS, as this is a voluntary thing run by a group of enthusiasts, and not an open advert for the service. I love that, and I was so impressed to see the vehicle and the warmth that came with it. I hope EMAS continue with it, and that if you ever see them at shows, take a wee while to have a look and chat to the guys.

Autokarna will be back at Wollaton next year... and I'm rather hoping that I will be too!

Rebecca, x

http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Bearwood's Grounds Laid Bare!

2010-05-25T05:03:00.000-07:00

Sunday gave us a rare chance to have a wander round the freshly restored grounds of Bearwood College; once the country home of Sir John Walter III, proprietor of 'The Times', philanthropist and general all-round decent sort of chap (by all accounts), the property is now home to several hundred children of varying ages as they skin their knees and furrow their brows in pursuit of a (probably) quite expensive education.

Usually closed to the public, Bearwood College opened it's grounds to the public last Sunday for 3 hours, under the National Gardens Scheme.

The pupils are working tremendously hard to restore the grounds much as they were back in the day of Sir John Walter III. There is still some way to go before Sir John would recognise it all, but the effort that is still ongoing is fantastic. The pupils are tasked not only with clearing a hundred years-worth of debris from the original pebble paths and steps, but they are also actively removing invasive species and troublesome plants such as Rhododendron ponticum, and replacing them with old cultivars that would have been around in 1870/1880 when the grounds were first laid out.

Some losses have been inevitable over the years, a couple of mature Monkey Puzzle trees for example, but the restoration of the grounds with original planting and styles sympathetic to their first owners is not only rather heartwarming, but really quite exciting as well. It is a real labour of love.

It's a gargantuan task... the grounds include wooded walks,

reedbeds, the lake, lawns and shrubbery, a rock and water garden, and the meadows.

The pupils are also sympathetic to modern views as well, however. Where Sir Walter's garden would have been highly ornamental, the current aims of conservation and preservation have been extended to the wildlife that has made Bearwood their home. The ice house in the woods, for example, is now used as a bat roost, the kingfisher has recently returned to the lake, and the lake has also seen a pair of storks who have actually reared young!

Old ways of the woods are also revived, however, but in a more modern way;

Charcoal burning using sustainable and considered practices ensures fuel, but not at the cost of the wider environment as the school ensures it's carbon footprint is negligible as far as it can be!!

The whole project is a huge success, showing how old and young, ancient and modern can be melded to produce something very special indeed... a new future, sustainable and beautiful.

And a note to my mum... if you will walk in front of my camera, you will get your photo taken, he he!!

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Lounging around at the Landmark!

2010-05-21T03:56:00.000-07:00

The last time I was at the Landmark Hotel in Dundee, it was actually the Swallow hotel... the roundabout on the A90 is still known as the Swallow Roundabout and probably always will be; one of those things that in years to come when new generations grow up and wonder why the roundabout got its name, all memories and traces will be gone and maybe stories of giant flocks of swallows will replace the rather more uninteresting truth!

So, now known as The Landmark, the hotel has undergone some fairly major changes cosmetically... and all for the better in my opinion, but the fabric of the old castle-like building is still there. The character remains, the staff are still as friendly and the grounds still as beautiful. So it was that I met Rachel and Jason here for a pre-wedding shoot.

They are a lovely couple that I met last year when we did a family shoot with their fabulous, really funny lads. With the wedding booked at The Landmark for next month, it was a perfect choice to go and get some photos of them together around the grounds. The weather was perfect, Rachel and Jase looked gorgeous and so off we went, exploring every nook and cranny in and around the hotel.

It was a beautiful afternoon, not just for the weather and the location, but mostly because of the company. Rachel and Jase are so easy to get along with and the time just flew! We tried so many different places from an old walled garden, all the way through to the ornately carved wooden staircase and the huge old windows behind it. The trees outside were just right for portrait photography. Fresh, green and beautifully shaped, they made the perfect backdrops.

Thank you very much to Rachel and Jase, but also to the staff at the Landmark for allowing us to roam at will. It is very much appreciated indeed.

If you want to see more of The landmark or are considering it as a base for staying in the Dundee area, have a look at their website by clicking the link (I'm not on any commission or anything, I just liked it while I was there!) http://thelandmarkdundee.co.uk/

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

A Sassenach in the Studio in Scotland!

2010-05-21T03:24:00.000-07:00

Yep, that was me, travelling back up north of the border again last week. Amongst other things, I had a great portrait session with Wayne and his family. I love being a portrait photographer (which is probably just as well), not only because it gives me a chance to meet some really smashing people, but also because it is just so much fun and you never know exactly what's going to happen!

I know Wayne and Linda from a while back, so I knew we were in for a great session! I also knew I'd be very well looked after and indeed I was... cooked breakfast on arrival, more tea and coffee than is probably feasible to drink (though I always manage!!), blimey, it's not a bad job I've got is it, he he.

Linda looked stunning.

She had the most beautiful top I've seen in a long while and was perfect for her skin and colouring. Liam was lively and bubbly despite the early start,

and Brooke is achingly sweet with the most gorgeous eyes and shy smile.

Then of course there was the dog. Smokie was anything but shy!! Straight in, on his back, bits on show to the world, he hadn't any inhibitions!!! I did try to tell him it wasn't that kind of a photo shoot, but dogs will be dogs and he was only really happy to lay on display!!!

Wayne was rather nervous but I had a lovely email from him just a couple of days ago saying that I'd helped him to relax and that means so much!

I am fully appreciative of the fact that most people don't like getting their photos taken and feel really awkward in front of the camera... I'm just the same (lucky for me I'm the one that's always behind the camera!!). Throw in the studio lights and whatnot and it can be a very intimidating setting to most people!

I like to give people time to relax first. We do a few test shots to get the lighting just right, but it also gives the model time to get used to the flash. I will also help with posing, trying to keep it natural but at the same time as flattering as possible. It's amazing how much difference a small turn of the shoulders or changing your arm or leg position can make.

So, all in all, we had a fantastic morning and, it has to be said, wow to the breakfast! Thank you so much to Wayne and all the family. It was great to see you all again and I hope it's not long until the next time!!

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Puppy Love

2010-05-19T04:07:00.000-07:00

I spent a wonderful weekend with friends in Lincolnshire and, as ever, my faithful pooch came along too.

My friends have a gorgeous young Siberian husky called Roxy, who isn't really used to other dogs coming into her territory and stealing her bones right from under her nose, so you can imagine we were a bit worried as to how it might all turn out!! It was a bit awkward for the first hour, but as soon as she realised Hogy was just a big ball of fluff after all, Roxy was smitten! It was so cute to see her gazing adoringly at him, licking his mouth and nudging him to play. He certainly didn't object and they made a very lovely couple!

Margaret and I took them across the fields for a walk and they met a few other furry friends,

but nothing could separate them, they were in love. All they needed was a big bowl of spaghetti to share, you know, like the one where they end up on the same string of pasta!!

Oh, I do like a happy ending... but alas, these two fluffy youngsters were torn apart and I had to bring my young pup back to Berkshire as Roxy pines for him nearly 100 miles away in Lincolnshire. How cruel fate can be!

I'm sure they will be reunited in time, but for now, well, their lives and their loves must each tread different paths...

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Wollaton Hall & Deer Park

2010-05-19T03:11:00.000-07:00

Last weekend saw me and the dog in the East Midlands, passing through from Scotland and back down South. We stopped in Nottingham before detouring east into Lincolnshire, and spent a very pleasant afternoon at Wollaton Hall.

Managed by Nottingham City Council, Wollaton Hall is a very, very impressive old house... certainly not bad for a council house! And you should see the size of the garden that comes with it!!! There's a lake, bluebell woods, lime walk, orangery, shrubbery and deer strolling about with antlers and everything! Superb!!

Something we didn't get to see that I think would be great is the Industrial Museum, where they have 'Sunday Steaming Events'... no prizes for guessing it's on a Sunday, but appears to be the last Sunday in every month. Working with the Nottingham Arkwright Society, the rare Basford Beam Engine is in steam, as well as a great collection of working steam and barn engines, a miniature fairground, threshing machines, blacksmiths and all sorts of other attractions.

The ice cream van in the car park and the cakes in the cafe are also worthy attractions, and I wouldn't say no to a pint in the pub over the road too! Wollaton Hall really is a great family day out.

You'll obviously need to keep dogs on the lead, but to see deer so close, happily munching on trees and lolling about in the long grass, is something that feels like a real privilege.

If you get a chance, just swing off the M1 at junction 25 and spend a couple of hours in the park. It's time very well spent indeed!

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Viking Field

2010-05-07T02:09:00.001-07:00

So now that I'm down in England again, my furry friend needs to find new places for his walkies. There is a lovely spot not far from where I'm staying known locally as Viking Field.

I have no idea where the Viking connection comes from... I wasn't aware that Berkshire ever really had a Viking connection. Plenty of Romans wandered about these parts, but I would have thought it a bit too far inland for the Vikings. I suppose the Thames would provide a convenient route through the land, but here in Wokingham we are still quite a distance from the river. I shall endeavour to find out for you... and for me. I am intrigued as to how Viking Field became Viking Field and so I shall do my utmost to find out.

My four-legged furry friend is very fond of the field already. It was bequeathed to the people of Wokingham in 1997 by Mrs N. Henagulph. A wonderful gesture and one that is very much appreciated by a lot of people here. There are 2 parts to the fields, the dog walking circuit and the children's area and playing fields across the gate. Divided by a very old mixed hedgerow and a high deciduous-wooded ridge (now also clothed in beautiful swathes of bluebells)

the dog walkers can do the rounds and the children can safely play apart, each in comfort and truly lovely surroundings. Hogan (the pooch) has met many new acquaintances, from the smallest Jack Russells to a Harlequin Great Dane. There is always a new rear to sniff, a new pup to chase, and a new human to fuss him and tell him he's gorgeous.

What a life!

From the human perspective, the field offers not only exercise and sociable exchanges, but is also an excellent wildlife spot. The birdlife is fantastic. Jays, Red Kites, Long-tailed Tits, all varieties of Woodpecker, and a myriad other feathery delights. If you go early enough there are deer,

and if you go at the right time, there are several varieties of owl too. There are so many different butterflies, wildflowers, bees, and goodness knows what else

.

I saw some kind of fly that I've never seen before yesterday... quite a few of them in fact. They seemed friendly though, not pesky at all, so they were just as welcome as everything else.

Berkshire is certainly not deficient in beautiful spots, far from it, but Viking Field, just because of it's proximity, it's name and the fact that Mrs Henagulph left it for us to enjoy, is a place that I shall enjoy very much! Thank you Mrs Henagulph on behalf of all of us!!

Rebecca, x
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk
www.rtphotographics.co.uk

Argaty Red Kites

2010-04-25T03:19:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago saw me in Doune, by Stirling, where I joined Gloria for a spectacular day at the Red Kite observation hides on Lerrocks Farm at Argaty. The weather was perfect (I'm so tempted to say 'glorious' but I'll resist it as long as I can!), and the Kites were displaying on top form (glorious display?... no, resist the temptation!).

Gloria was with me to learn how to use shutter speed, aperture and ISO together to get good exposures of the birds as they swooped and dived between bright blue sky, bright white clouds and down into the darker vegetation below.

It's a tough assignment for a beginner, but Gloria had already had a whole day of tuition with me previously, plus the booklet I'd written specifically for her to help explain exposures and composition and how to use her own particular camera. So, armed with the basic theories and a bit of previous practice, it was a slightly nervous but brave lady that stepped into the hide with me that morning!

We arrived early so had plenty of time to run through and practise the techniques of changing exposure settings manually, and following a fast-moving subject.

A hot chocolate and biscuit break later and we were ready for the main event. The hide had filled up by now with other eager Kite followers, so we squeezed in together and waited for the Red Kites to arrive.

We were all treated to a very interesting and knowledgeable talk from one of the staff members at the farm before the birds were lured in by the promise of food. Did you know that Red Kites only weigh about 2 lbs? They have a huge wingspan though of nearly 6ft, and that's why they can stay in the air so long without needing to flap about very much!

Another interesting fact we found out was that Red Kites in the UK were almost hunted into oblivion, mainly by landowners who mistakenly believed that the birds would carry off their livestock! How something that weighs as little as bag of sugar would have the strength to carry off a lamb is a bit beyond me, but apparently that's what they thought, and so believed they were totally within rights to bring the Red Kites to the brink of extinction.

The Red Kites we saw were extremely agile and superb opportunists, picking up the food and eating it on the wing.

They will take rodents and small birds, but anything larger is beyond them and they rely on carrion; coming in after the crows have torn open the carcass for them to get in.

The Vermin Acts of the 16th Century listed the Red Kite as vermin, requiring it to be killed without exception. Only a tiny colony in mid-Wales remained, as the Red Kite became extinct in Scotland and England. Thankfully there is now a lot more knowledge about these beautiful birds and the re-introduction programmes are a huge success right across the UK. So close to total annihilation were the UK's population that researchers at Nottingham University discovered the entire population of kites in 1977 were derived from just one female! That really is quite astonishing!! The chap at the farm explained that chicks are now being introduced from other parts of Europe to help re-establish the population and also to obviously help widen the gene pool.

So, no longer seen as vermin, the Red Kites can now be viewed in so many parts of the UK. If you get a chance to visit the Argaty Red Kites, (http://www.argatyredkites.co.uk/) or any other Red Kite feeding station, it is a fantastic... glorious.... experience! If you would like to learn wildlife photography from a leading expert, then Argaty's resident photographer Dean Bricknell gives lessons at the farm. Recently voted 'favourite nature photographer' in the Scottish Nature Photography Awards, you're in great hands!

If you are interested in a 3 day one-to-one tuition with me, then I will be delighted to guide you through all the steps you need to get your camera off the automatic settings and start taking photographs that you can proudly hang on your wall. At just £185 for 3 days (may be consecutive or spread over time to suit you) and 2 instruction manuals written by me specifically for you, it's a great gift for anyone... or even to just treat yourself.

Rebecca, x

Winter in the Lakes.

2010-04-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

The English Lake District in winter has to be one of the loveliest places to take your camera for a walk!

You have to be prepared for all weathers for sure, and a steady supply of hotel shower caps is particularly useful... not for me, I hasten to add, but for the camera!! With snow on the hills, ice on the lakes, low evening sun, mist, raging waterfalls and only a handful of other tourists, winter is a very good time to be there! Of course it did rain, and snow, and rain and snow again, but it's all good for keeping the lakes topped up and for bringing some drama into the skies.

Brought some drama into travelling round as well, but how dull things would be if they were always easy!

Of all the places I visited while there, the road from Keswick round via Buttermere and back to Keswick is the one I most want to go back and explore again. Oh, and more of Ullswater, and more of Ennerdale, and more of the Langdales, and the fort at Hardknott...

and Eskdale, and Wast Water, and... well, you get the picture!

I don't know about Hardknott, but those sheep up there are right hard nuts!!

Did you know that the Herdwick sheep will eat their own wool in the winter? They are real hardcase lil lambs!! Snow? Pah, they laugh in the face of snow! Winter? Bring it on!!

One of the unexpected, and maybe even slightly guilty pleasures of the Lakes (though I'm certainly not embarrassed to say I love trains!!) is found at the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.

A narrow gauge railway trundles you along through the countryside between the high mountains of Eskdale and the coast at Ravenglass...

...or the other way about, whichever your preference! It is such a great wee thing, so well managed and lovingly maintained, it is truly delightful. I will certainly return to the Lake District as soon as there's a chance. I love it, whatever the weather!

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Sian Rocks!

2010-04-15T05:46:00.000-07:00

We had such a laugh with Sian and her mum Sandee a couple of weeks ago.

Sian is so full of fun and at just 10 years old (though nearly 11 now!) she didn't need any encouragement to be playing around with the drum kit or the electric guitars! None of us know how to play, (and I guess if you know anything at all about instruments, then you'll see in the photos that we clearly don't know how to play!), but it was all just for a laugh anyway.

Sian has the most amazing collection of clothes and we wanted to show off her style as well as her spirit. We started off with her jumping onto the beanbag to get things warmed up and to get her laughing, then it was a quick change and onto the drum kit.

A couple of electric guitars and a cloth cat later, we moved into fashion and set up as if backstage at a Galliano show... not that any of us have been backstage, front stage or anywhere near a stage at a Galliano show but hey, we were enjoying ourselves in our own fanciful way!

We rounded the shoot off with a William Morris print tapestry, Sandee joined Sian for a few shots, and then it was into the much-needed coffee and choccy cake!!

Thanks to Sian, Sandee and Niaesha for another great day.

Sian rocks!! :-D x

Rebecca, x

http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/

Back Again!

2010-04-14T04:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a pretty unpleasant few months on a personal level, and I certainly won't bore you with all the details but suffice it to say I'm back on my feet and looking forward to moving ahead, picking up the camera and getting back into the studio! Never mind about counsellors and treatments and all that nonsense, there's no therapy quite so complete as a good dose of photography!!

It's not just the joy of looking at a photograph, or a landscape or a bonny face, but it's the whole thing. It's the thrill of the chase... wanting an image that you have in your head and working out how to make it happen, then actually making it happen!

I know that I have so much to learn still in this business, but I can honestly say that I truly don't think I will ever be bored. It fascinates me on so many levels. It satisfies the scientist in me, the artist in me, and, I'm actually proud to say... the geek in me! What else can give you a combination of educational and technical challenges alongside a perfect excuse to go birdwatching, being out in the fresh air ambling about the countryside... and combine that with a passion for people and a desire to help them feel good about themselves? I suppose there are plenty of things that can do all of that, but for me, photography is the therapy I need.

It's always held a fascintion for me, from the days when dad had his dark room in the cupboard upstairs, bewildering and astounding me as pictures emerged dripping from those baths of strange solutions. I remember when we got our first camera and took it outside to capture the fun of playing in the street. It was around the same time as we had our first pair of rollerskates... there's a picture of one of us (may be me, may be my twin sister) skating down the road with arms outstretched in a wild and rather out-of-control manner! It's also obviously one of our earlier attempts at photography (again, maybe by me, maybe by my sister or perhaps our brother);the skates look great but anything from the neck up is completely out of shot. Hey ho.

The technical side of taking a photograph fascinates me too. I always wondered about f-stops and focal lengths and shutter speeds, it was a total mystery to me... but what's a mystery apart from a riddle that has to be solved? I didn't grow up watching 'Scooby Doo' to not be excited by a mystery (or a big pile of sandwiches!!!). These questions are now answered and I have a reasonable grasp on the subject, but it still excites me and I still get fascinated by the different effects you can achieve by fiddling about with manual exposures. I'll never know enough about it and I really don't think I'll ever get tired or bored of learning and pushing forwards with it. Of course I probably won't have many friends left, but those who really know me don't seem to mind too much that I'm a complete and utter nerd.

No longer embarrassed by my penchant for cheese and pickle sandwiches, or birdwatching, or my glasses that sit sideways across my face 'cos I sat on them... all this is a part of who I am, and I'm happy with that. So, after a wee break to sort out some things away from photography, I'm back again and back in therapy... photographic therapy! Ah, that's better :))

So, do you want to see just how geeky I am? Here's a pic I took on my mobile phone while out with the dog...

The long shadows caught my eye and I played about for ages trying to make my own shadow look like a tree or a giant or whatever other shapes I could throw!!! Oh dear, how old am I? Made me chuckle anyway. The dog thought I was clearly bonkers and left me to it but I was having fun. Just using the mobile phone, but a camera is a camera and I've been having a huge amount of fun with the phone just recently! More on that later...

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk

From Dawn to Ducks!

2010-02-17T04:08:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was, of course, the weekend of love... and I loved my weekend!!

Saturday was superb. Started out nice and early as I had to take John to work; perfect timing to get up onto Moulin Moor for sunrise again. I had tried the weekend before, but the weather was miserable... dull, grey, snowy, just plain 'dreich' as they call it round here! Saturday promised to be a wee bitty better so I tried again and was rewarded with a mild, pastel-hued and dappled dawn sky above the moor. Maybe not spectacular, but prettily pink nonetheless (sorry Walter, I know you hate pink but pink it was and I had no control over that!).

I pottered about the old cottage again and started wondering about poor old Mr Soutar. I say 'old Mr Soutar' but I have no idea how old he actually was when he died. I think I mentioned last week that he lived in the cottage and died back in 1800 and something, well I found the memorial stone and wrote the inscription down for you this week because I think it's important. It's tragic and sad but also quite heartwarming at the same time. I also think it's important when I spend so much time pottering about his place that I try and find out a bit more about the man.

I want to know who Mr Soutar was and wonder if he minds me being there now. I hope he doesn't. I love the old place and feel really at home there, even though it is falling apart and ruined. Hmm, analyse that!! Anyway, what I find heartwarming about Mr Soutar's story is the last line of the inscription...

"In memory of John Soutar

who perished here in a snowstorm 3rd March 1897

Erected by a few friends"

I like that simple but telling 'Erected by a few friends'. The temperature was -4 but I never felt cold. I felt cosy and at home... ok, a few layers of tech mountain gear certainly helps, but I felt peaceful and warm on the inside. I sat by the ruins of Mr Soutar's cottage and wondered who he loved and how he lived.

I sat for quite a while watching the clouds, wondering about a stranger's life, took photos from where I sat but never, at any point, noticed the heart-shaped stone on the wall beside me!!

As soon as I started editing the files there it was, as clear as anything! How on earth did I miss it in real life? On Love Weekend of all weekends!!!

Anyway, totally unaware of the nearby heart of stone, my heart was light as I set off up the hill behind the cottage. It doesn't look much from there, but by 'eck, my heart was ready to explode by the time I got to the top, I'm so unfit! It's one of those hills that has false peaks... just when you think you're getting to the top, yikes, there's even more to climb!

It is worth the climb though, the view is beautiful. Not the craggy in-your-face high peaks you get in the West, but just as beautiful in their own understated way.

I had the famous grouse for company... The 'Famous Grouse' is only a few miles and wing flaps away (by Crieff), so I do like to believe that he was strutting his stuff in the snow just ahead of me :-)

A couple flew off as I neared the top so maybe he was entertaining a lady grouse friend on this lover's weekend. Oops, never was very subtle... how rude of me, barging in on his cosy tryst!! Sorry fella!

Having got to the top it only then dawned on me that a bowl of 'Red Berries Special K' just isn't man enough for this job. A bacon roll was calling, but that was back in Blair and I was 1089 foot up the top of a hill. Time for my lardy waterproofed arse to come into action.

Wooooo, that's the way to get down!!!

Oh my word, how much fun was that? Sliding down near-vertical slopes on my backside at speeds far too fast to be sensible! Sensible? Who needs sensible? I may be rapidly approaching 43, I may be Great Aunt Becca, but who said I have to be sensible? I laughed out loud all the way down, totally alone, not a soul for miles around... apart from Mr Grouse and his bird of course ;-) and it was so funny. I tried taking a photo but it didn't really work. Added some effects in PS to try and give an impression but hey ho, you'll just have to use your imagination there.

When I got to the bottom it occurred to me that I could have video'd the slide on my phone and it would have been pretty funny, but the bacon roll was more appealing than the thought of climbing back up the hill just so I could film the trip down!! Maybe another time if the snow is still there ;-)

So, bacon roll mission accomplished, it was on to the next stop, Restenneth Priory at Forfar.

An ancient site dating back to the Picts, Restenneth Priory as it stands (in ruins) today really formed from around 1100AD. Obviously there have been extensive builds and re-builds along the way, but there is still very much an ancient feel to the place.

I went with Niaesha, my friend and assistant,

and we were amazed at the transformation to the stones when the sun broke through the clouds. The late afternoon sun painted the stone in a gorgeous warm golden light, and cast a beautiful shadow from the large tree at the perimeter wall onto the face of the tower. A door in the perimeter wall laid a path of light up to the main chapel, totally transforming the scene and rather taking our breath away!

As the sun sank lower towards the horizon, we decided that Restenneth was done and Forfar Loch would be a lovely end to a fantastic day. The sunset was fairly muted, and the loch isn't the most picturesque in Scotland, but it was a most pleasant end to what had been an extremely pleasant day.

From dawn to ducks, a day well spent indeed :-D

Rebecca,x

http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/
e-mail rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk