A New Year means a new Soul Source photography thread! Starting in 2013, "Show us your great photos" has proved to be a long-lived favourite - all because of the continued contributions and involvement of its enthusiastic participants. Here's looking forward to yet another year of fab photos - and don't forget that you don't need to be a photographer to post up pics. Whether taken with top-of-the-line gear or the camera on your smart phone, if you've got interesting pics, please feel free to share.

To kick off, here's a batch of pics I took today while out on a cold and misty walk in a place called the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen. I'd not heard of it until just very recently. Apparently it's a natural water table from which Amsterdam gets most of its fresh water. At the same time, it's a nature reserve, so now that I know of its existence, I'll have to make a point of visiting regularly.

It wasn't a good day to be out with a camera, especially with a zoom lens. The light was poor, it was misty (heavy fog overhead - we could hear geese flying over but could barely see them, even though they were quite low), and it was cold. Hopefully conditions will be better on my next visit.

Here's wishing you all a happy New Year and lots of happy shooting across the next 12 months.

Nice to see one of my photographs displayed on a 3ft X 2ft canvas in the cottage where I'm staying.  The owner was the first person to ask me could he buy a print and have it transferred to canvas to display.  

 

  On 26/09/2020 at 16:33, Winsford Soul said:

Nice to see one of my photographs displayed on a 3ft X 2ft canvas in the cottage where I'm staying.  The owner was the first person to ask me could he buy a print and have it transferred to canvas to display.  

 

Nice one, enjoy your bteak. Nice view 👍

  On 26/09/2020 at 16:42, Soulandy said:

Nice one, enjoy your bteak. Nice view 👍

Cheers mate.  Chatroom later 😁👍

  On 25/09/2020 at 17:03, Winsford Soul said:

Looking a bit stormy there Russell.  Well it's Pembrokeshire for me in the morning and ever the optimist packed 4 pair shorts and two grown up pair of long pants. Got the waterproofs etc for out and about for the wildlife pictures but I'm like the postman who wears shorts virtually all the time.  Its less clothing to get wet and consequently much easier to dry

 

You sound like my brother in law in the States, he lives towards the top of Maine and he'll have shorts on 95% of the year.

As we are in lockdown I’ve joined Caerphilly angling club, and now I can fish Caerphilly castle moat,  but my god is it weedy! 

Stunning place to fish, can’t think of too many backdrops like this one... I’m in there by the way, freezing my nuts off... lol

Edited September 26, 20204 yr by Mal C

  On 26/09/2020 at 20:08, Mal C said:

As we are in lockdown I’ve joined Caerphilly angling club, and now I can fish Caerphilly castle moat,  but my god is it weedy! 

Stunning place to fish, can’t think of too many backdrops like this one... I’m in there by the way, freezing my nuts off... lol

You'll find gratinated leeks a very good bait there. Dx

  On 26/09/2020 at 20:08, Mal C said:

As we are in lockdown I’ve joined Caerphilly angling club, and now I can fish Caerphilly castle moat,  but my god is it weedy! 

Stunning place to fish, can’t think of too many backdrops like this one... I’m in there by the way, freezing my nuts off... lol

It was on my list of places to visit this time down but unfortunately out of bounds   can't even get back to the Gower,   think I will be ok for the botanical gardens of Wales at the moment . 

Hopefully this is Just a little taster of things to come but far better image quality

Grainy picture with a high ISO of 6400

 

  On 27/09/2020 at 08:18, Winsford Soul said:

Hopefully this is Just a little taster of things to come but far better image quality

Grainy picture with a high ISO of 6400

 

Nice one 👍 Got the trail cam on a sett for a couple of nights, hoping 👍

Achieved a lifetimes ambition today and actually managed to photograph a Osprey, only ever seen them when i,ve never had a camera with me. It didnt managed to catch any Mullet in the few hours i was there so i,m guessing it will be here for another few days yet so hopefully will actually see it catch a fish

 

Another from today

Chough. Uk rarest member of the Crow family in stealth bomber mode and a Atlantic grey seal pup with a obviously itchy nose

 

  On 27/09/2020 at 08:18, Winsford Soul said:

 

Grainy picture with a high ISO of 6400

You want to see if you can still get hold of Noiseware as a free download, it is a fairly simple program to use and will clean up the images a treat. Imagenomic Noiseware Community Edition https://noiseware-community-edition.en.softonic.com

I have the paid for plug in version that I run in photoshop elements, but I have used the free version in the past and it works exactly the same.

Tenby in the mist today 

 

Good day today, weather was fantastic . Red Kite and Pied Wagtail

 

 

Edited September 29, 20204 yr by Winsford Soul

 Slow motion water from a sluice controlling the water levels to the estate lake in the next picture 

 

 

Edited September 29, 20204 yr by Winsford Soul

Moonrise over Clitheroe using Night Feature on Camera . Zoom 1000 times .

Taken from the patio a few moments ago 

  On 29/09/2020 at 19:32, Winsford Soul said:

Taken from the patio a few moments ago 

Badgers are wonderful animals - we used to have them visiting our patio every night when we lived near Tebay (the old Gatehouse you visited). Peanuts and Raisens - they're crazy about them. Dx

Edited September 29, 20204 yr by Davenpete

  On 29/09/2020 at 19:38, Davenpete said:

Badgers are wonderful animals - we used to have them visiting our patio every night when we lived near Tebay (the old Gatehouse you visited). Peanuts and Rasens - they're crazy about them. Dx

I remember it well Dave, nearly 20 years ago believe it or not. I remember being disappointed that they did show up early before we left   They definitely love peanuts,  I didn't know about the raisins.  

Lammergeier spotted again - this time in Norfolk. The story was only posted by BBC News, but if you read it the bird was actually seen and photographed yesterday. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-54342198

  On 29/09/2020 at 19:43, Winsford Soul said:

I remember it well Dave, nearly 20 years ago believe it or not. I remember being disappointed that they did show up early before we left   They definitely love peanuts,  I didn't know about the raisins.  

I'll have to get some peanuts and raisins now then 🙂

  On 29/09/2020 at 19:44, Amsterdam Russ said:

Lammergeier spotted again - this time in Norfolk. The story was only posted by BBC News, but if you read it the bird was actually seen and photographed yesterday. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-54342198

Thanks Russell.  I got the story from my news feed earlier today mate. But didn't get chance to post it 

  On 29/09/2020 at 19:47, Soulandy said:

I'll have to get some peanuts and raisins now then 🙂

Home bargains are selling 12. 6 kg bags for £16 at moment mate 

Tonights Moon

 

Will wait till high in sky . Use 1000x and reduce brightness  . Wanted feature trees etc .

All a learning process . Had it near 14 month . Only just discovered features lol 

  On 30/09/2020 at 22:04, Soulfulmerlin said:

Will wait till high in sky . Use 1000x and reduce brightness  . Wanted feature trees etc .

All a learning process . Had it near 14 month . Only just discovered features lol 

If any help i used a 500mm f4 lens with a shutter speed of 1/1600 sec and iso of 400

But Martyn ( Pitt the elder ) is the guy to go to for anything camera or astronomy.  

Ste

Edited October 1, 20204 yr by Winsford Soul

What a day. Started with Dolphins and ended with Otters . Will post the pictures as soon as I've downloaded them.  I also used the video on my Canon 7d mk2 for the very first time and if I can post the video of a Otter  eating a Eel I will do so. Canon uses a different recording format than what is normally accepted on any platform not sure how to change it.  

  On 01/10/2020 at 18:02, Winsford Soul said:

What a day. Started with Dolphins and ended with Otters . Will post the pictures as soon as I've downloaded them.  I also used the video on my Canon 7d mk2 for the very first time and if I can post the video of a Otter  eating a Eel I will do so. Canon uses a different recording format than what is normally accepted on any platform not sure how to change it.  

I went hunting for Otters this evening - pics below - lots of tracks but didn't see any - haven't seen one on our local river (the splendidly named Wampool close to our home) for about a year - and as I'm not fishing at the mo I haven't seen one on the Eden since spring.

The billiard table field is 'Solway Salt Washed Turf' - as seen on a cricket pitch near you. Dx

Edited October 1, 20204 yr by Davenpete

  On 01/10/2020 at 18:47, Davenpete said:

I went hunting for Otters this evening - pics below - lots of tracks but didn't see any - haven't seen one on our local river (the splendidly named Wampool) for about a year - and as I'm not fishing at the mo I haven't seen one on the Eden since spring. Dx

Went for a walk along the Wampool this evening. The billiard table field is 'Solway Salt Washed Turf' - as seen on a cricket pitch near you. Dx

Looks fantastic Dave

Otter on a river in West Wales. 

 

Edited October 1, 20204 yr by Winsford Soul

Otter Video.  Obviously edited to be able to upload it.  Full version is about 30 seconds long and about 50mb . 

 

 

Edited October 1, 20204 yr by Winsford Soul

  On 01/10/2020 at 20:07, Winsford Soul said:

Otter Video.  Obviously edited to be able to upload it.  Full version is about 30 seconds long and about 50mb . 

 

 

 

Brilliant 👍 Just wished I'd of had my camera up in Scotland. Looking forward to more mate 👍

  On 01/10/2020 at 21:52, Soulandy said:

Brilliant 👍 Just wished I'd of had my camera up in Scotland. Looking forward to more mate 👍

Thanks Andy. Shame mate but that,s a good excuse to have to go back mate

I will be posting a few Otter pictures starting with this one. This one was taken from about 20 ft away after it had eaten the Eel it swam over to the side of the river i was stood on. Wasn,t sure if it would all fit in the frame it was that close. . A encounter i will never forget 20 ft away OMG

 

This is the river that the Otter was fishing in.  I couldn't believe that it could actually swim in such white water never mind find food   its classed as category 4 for white water rafting 

The Deer of Dunham Park taking time out in the breeding/rutting season

  On 02/10/2020 at 10:03, Winsford Soul said:

Thanks Andy. Shame mate but that,s a good excuse to have to go back mate

I will be posting a few Otter pictures starting with this one. This one was taken from about 20 ft away after it had eaten the Eel it swam over to the side of the river i was stood on. Wasn,t sure if it would all fit in the frame it was that close. . A encounter i will never forget 20 ft away OMG

 

Eden Otters get very tame - I was once thigh deep in a pool fishing and a young Otter popped up between me and the bank (which was less than 10 feet away) and spent a minute or so propped up on its back paws watching me. There are certain pools on the lower Eden (even right in the centre of Carlisle) where you can almost guarantee to see one at certain times of the year. Dx

Edited October 2, 20204 yr by Davenpete

Went for a bit of a scramble today. 

This picture will give some idea of the scale of the rocks i was scrambling over to get the above pictures 

 

Otter

 

Red Kite

The colours on this particular Kite are stunning, there was even a touch of green unless it was the sunlight through the wings causing the illusion 

Edited October 6, 20204 yr by Winsford Soul

First ever Willow Tit in Pembrokeshire for me

Taken through the cottage window

 

Edited October 4, 20204 yr by Winsford Soul

In 2018 the shrub just outside our kitchen window had loads of berries which was visited over a week or so by a blackbird. I posted some photos back then but in 2019 the bush only had a few berries but this year there is another bumper crop and this blackbird had a good feed.

Two days later I took these photos of the same bush but would it be the same blackbird? I like to think it's "our" blackbird and could be one of the chicks from a nest in the next shrub to this back in 2017.

 

Taking pictures from our kitchen is cheating a bit so apologises to the brave souls who spend all day waiting in all weathers for a perfect shot

Rick

  On 04/10/2020 at 19:06, Rick Cooper said:

In 2018 the shrub just outside our kitchen window had loads of berries which was visited over a week or so by a blackbird. I posted some photos back then but in 2019 the bush only had a few berries but this year there is another bumper crop and this blackbird had a good feed.

Two days later I took these photos of the same bush but would it be the same blackbird? I like to think it's "our" blackbird and could be one of the chicks from a nest in the next shrub to this back in 2017.

 

Taking pictures from our kitchen is cheating a bit so apologises to the brave souls who spend all day waiting in all weathers for a perfect shot

Rick

Great pictures Rick. No need to apologise.  Most of my photos from earlier in the year are from my kitchen window.  The willow tit pictures I just posted are through a window.  Any pictures are better than no pictures mate. 

Field Vole

Quite happy with this picture as anyone that,s tried to photograph them will tell you how quick they are.

Not that i blame them when everything wants to eat you

Williams and Watson. Two for the price of one

Badger Brothers. Three for the price of one

 

Edited October 5, 20204 yr by Winsford Soul

  On 05/10/2020 at 19:44, Winsford Soul said:

Williams and Watson. Two for the price of one

Badger Brothers. Three for the price of one

 

Nice one mate, brilliant 👍 I managed to get 3 together on the trail cam at weekend. Great photos

  On 05/10/2020 at 20:58, Soulandy said:

Nice one mate, brilliant 👍 I managed to get 3 together on the trail cam at weekend. Great photos

Thanks Andy.  There's 5 here at the moment but can't get them all together.  There's a rural fox knocking about, seen it 3 times up to now only for a second each time,  proving a tough one . 

Have you downloaded the pictures yet mate ? 

  On 05/10/2020 at 21:08, Winsford Soul said:

Thanks Andy.  There's 5 here at the moment but can't get them all together.  There's a rural fox knocking about, seen it 3 times up to now only for a second each time,  proving a tough one . 

Have you downloaded the pictures yet mate ? 

Sounds like a good garden party 👍 I'll be sorting the footage out later this week

Went out for a walk today in 45 mph winds gusting 55mph and was lucky enough to catch a surfer dude  strutting his stuff in some big waves. The light was amazing making the sea look emerald green the pictures don,t really do it justice

  On 06/10/2020 at 16:58, Winsford Soul said:

Went out for a walk today in 45 mph winds gusting 55mph and was lucky enough to catch a surfer dude  strutting his stuff in some big waves. The light was amazing making the sea look emerald green the pictures don,t really do it justice

This is where my son would like to be, rather than in potential lockdown at Uni!!!