Ramble on
A couple ramble follow a well-worn path across The Barrows at Heysham in Lancashire, UK and begin their descent down a small hillock: their approach is towards an empty, tide-less Morecambe Bay and off in the distance the jagged vista of Lake District mountains crest the horizon, the view’s magnificent scope contained by the stripped aegis of blue, white and grey cloud cover overhead.
*Shot on a Canon 70d 20.2mp dSLR using a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 IS L lens with settings at ISO-100, aperture at f/5.6, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/1600 seconds*
In the land of nod
This juvenile Mute Swan is taking advantage of a quiet spell from the hustle and bustle of learning Life’s lessons to catch some shuteye, drifting along on the ebb and flow of the tidal river Lune at the Crook O’Lune at Caton in Lancaster, UK.
*Shot on a Panasonic Lumix G9 M4/3 mirrorless camera using a Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f/4-6.3 DG Vario-Elmar Lens with settings at ISO-100, aperture at f/4, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/500 seconds*
Red on red
A Red Admiral flicks its lengthy tongue across the stamen of some Red Campion, lapping the free nectar and unknowingly collecting the pollen on its legs, which is then transferred to the next flower on the flutter of its wings, thus pollenating as the butterfly feeds: insect and flower in a perfect mutual symbiosis.
*Shot on a Canon 70d 20.2mp dSLR using a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 IS L lens with settings at ISO-100, aperture at f/5.6, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/400 seconds*
Stretched
An English Ivy stretches out one of its leafed tendrils into the void, in the hope of attaching its snaking vine to a new host…
*Shot on a Canon 6d 20.2mp dSLR using a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 IS L lens with camera settings at ISO-100, aperture at f/5, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/40 seconds*
Shimmering reflection
The Sun drops behind a bank of clouds and creates a backlit, grey and gold curtain against this bend in the Lancaster canal at Forton, UK to become a shimmering reflection of manmade and natural beauty combined.
*Shot on a Canon 6d 20.2mp dSLR using a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 IS L lens with camera settings at ISO-400, aperture at f/5.6, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/125 seconds*
Seating plan
Concrete-formed tables and chairs are bolted into place on Morecambe Bay’s promenade at Sandylands in Heysham, awaiting any passing customers who desire to take a load of their feet or just to absorb the surrounding views across the water (just make sure it’s a sunny day when you commit to sitting down on these cold, angular designs or else you’ll be in for a big surprise)!
*Shot on a Canon 70d 20.2mp dSLR using a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 IS L lens with settings at ISO-100, aperture at f/8, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/500 seconds*
Roosting time
An Oystercatcher stands on one leg atop a drystone wall, silhouetted against the reddening clouds as the Sun sets in for the coming night and heralds the bird’s roosting time.
*Shot on a Panasonic Lumix G9 M4/3 mirrorless camera using a Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f/4-6.3 DG Vario-Elmar Lens with settings at ISO-200, aperture at f/6.3, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/1000 seconds*
Pareidolia: rock or Hedgehog?
Pareidolia – noun:
“The imagined perception of a pattern or meaning where it does not actually exist, as in considering the moon to have human features.”
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
“Pareidolia is a phenomenon rarely heard of but is so common that everyone has experienced it.”
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
So with the explanation of what Pareidolia means, let’s start this new category off with the first upload of what I hope to be an eclectic selection of photos over the coming weeks and months that test your perception…
The above shot was taken near Abbeystead in Lancashire, UK and shows nothing more than a grass-covered, lichen-spotted rock in a stream… or is it really a green-coloured, semi-aquatic Hedgehog?
Well that’s up to you to decide…
*Shot on a Panasonic Lumix G9 M4/3 mirrorless camera using a Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f/4-6.3 DG Vario-Elmar Lens with settings at ISO-800, aperture at f/5, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/250 seconds*
On the sands
Gazing over the pockmarked sands at Heysham after the tide has gone out across Morecambe Bay in Lancashire, UK and looking over to Barrow-in-Furness and the Lake District mountain chain in Cumbria far off in the distance.
*Shot on a Panasonic Lumix LX7 10.1mp enthusiast compact camera with settings at ISO-125, aperture at f/5.6, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/100 seconds*
The Red Dragon
This red dragon figurehead was attached to the bow of a barge on the Lancaster canal at Forton in Lancashire, UK: fashioned from steel, painted in a vivid crimson and welded in place, this metallic, mythical creature gives away the barge owner’s origins, along with the Welsh flag that was fluttering on the stern of the boat as well.
Incidentally, the Welsh flag is known in the Welsh language as ‘Y Ddraig Goch’ and actually means ‘The red dragon’.
*Shot on a Panasonic Lumix G9 M4/3 mirrorless camera using a Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f/4-6.3 DG Vario-Elmar Lens with settings at ISO-200, aperture at f/6.3, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/1000 seconds*
Stretch the Horizon 