TestPass.jpg
NewBike.jpg
WembleyStadium.jpg
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I've been learning to ride a motorbike. I passed my full license test in November then bought a used Honda CB500S in December. Then on Christmas day I took another Wembley Stadium shot. The place looks completely deserted!
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| Picture of me taken by my instructor outside the test centre just after I passed my bike test. | A 2000 Honda CB500S - All mine! :D | A ghostly deserted Wembley Stadium. |
There were lots of fireworks being let off tonight for Divali. Here are a few of the better shots. The first three zoomed in on distant fireworks for a 15 second exposure, while the last one was a much closer rocket taken with a 2 second exposure. As ever timing was critical. Press the shutter at the wrong time and most or all of the fireworks got missed. Meanwhile on the 14th the neighbours were also celebrating. I took some pictures from my window.
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| Fireworks taken with a 15s exposure. | A rocket taken with a 2s exposure. | A roman candle taken with a 1s exposure. | A catherine wheel taken with a 0.5s exposure. | |||
A November rose in the rose garden at Gunnersbury Park. Then later on I zipped over to Lasham Airfield for some Guy Fawkes night fireworks. You can see the drift from right to left due to a westerly breeze. Later on after I got home people were setting off fireworks from a house behind the nearby synagogue. 15 second exposures of the synagogue made for interesting results.
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| Pink dew-covered rose. | Fireworks taken with a 1s exposure. | More fireworks taken with a 2s exposure. | ||||
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| More fireworks taken with a 1.3s exposure. | Guy Fawkes night would not be complete without sparklers! | Two 15s exposures of the Synagogue. | ||
A few pictures taken while on Barnhill. I went up there to take another 3-monthly picture of Wembley Stadium. Also see the Weather page for some spectacular weather piccies from this day.
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| Wembley Stadium. | Crows perched on top of a tree silhouetted against the deep blue sky. | Mushrooms growing on the side of a log and on the forest floor. The flash was necessary in the dark conditions. | |
More pictures from Gunnersbury Park.
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| Two shots of a heron stalking its next meal. | A seagull resting. | Panorama of kids playing in a field in front of very autumnal looking trees. | Crows flying past. Looks soarable in the background! | |
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| Two long range shots of a bird slowly rotating on a platform with wings open. | A holly bush full of ripe berries. | Two more shots of autumnal colours. | |||
Pictures taken during my journey to Aboyne. On the 1st I drove to the Lake District and had a look around. The weather was pants but it was still good fun with some awesome views to be had. After a stop overnight in Carlisle I continued into Scotland on the 2nd via the Forth Bridge.
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| The north shore of Lake Windermere, looking south to the lake, and north into the hills (from the Waterhead area). | Heading into the mountains as I went towards Wrynrose and Hardknott passes. | Up in the mountains. | ||
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| Looking Westwards from the top of Wrynrose pass. Hardknott pass is just visible to top right of 2nd picture. | Another mountain stream between the passes. | Looking up Hardknott pass from the East. It took 1st and 2nd gears to haul that Vauxhall Corsa of mine up there! | Made it to the top! Looking back. | |
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| Looking down the west side of the Hardknott pass. This is the steepest road I have ever driven on! | On the B5289 between Buttermere and the Honister pass, looking East. | Views of the rail bridge to my right and the road bridge as I cross it. Shame about the roadworks and the truck. | ||
First pictures from Gunnersbury Park. I must admit, though, that I find the place a bit bland and too 'sanitised'. Makes for a nice lunchtime walk for the exercise though. But not a patch on Stockley Park which I rather miss.
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| Fungus growing at the base of a tree. | A curious small tree that looks like a good shelter. | These flowers growing under a Sweet Chestnut tree look remarkably like Crocuses, and were growing in large groups in places. | The Sweet Chestnut tree. | ||
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| Spiky Sweet Chestnut seed pods. | There are plenty of squirrels around in Gunnersbury Park. | A flock of Parakeets also live in the park. | ||||
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| Conifer silhouetted against the sky. | Signs that autumn is here. Pretty though. | Well they keep the park very tidy... | |
First pictures from Gunnersbury Park. I must admit, though, that I find the place a bit bland and too 'sanitised'. Makes for a nice lunchtime walk for the exercise though. But not a patch on Stockley Park which I rather miss.
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| The Potomac pond outside the office seen from the back. | Granted the trees are older and bigger here than at Stockley. | Someone flying a kite in the strong breeze as I walked north along the western edge of the park. Crow in foreground of 2nd pic. | One of many resident crows. | Conifer tree silhouetted against the sky. | |
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| I found this ornamental circle close to the northern entrance. | There are a number of old (and some ruined) walls and buildings in the park from a distant past. | A secret passage at the back of the rose garden led to the wildest area of the park. These pics look from both sides. | |||
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| An odd tree with a really knotted trunk and a cape-like canopy. | Palm tree. | The path back to the office. | A curiously bright yellow fungus growing on a felled log. | Admittedly this shot of the EMC clock from the park makes it look like a concentration camp! | Finally the customary autumnal conker shots before I retreat back to the office. | |
I heard the arch was being lit up after dark for a half way stage ceremony, so of course I had to take a picture. There were fireworks but I could not get any good stills. I didn't have a tripod which was a major problem. And resting my camera on the ground mainly resulted in wonky shots. But here's one that came out OK.
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| The Wembley Stadium arch lit up. |
About 20 minutes from the new office in Brentford is Gunnersbury nature reserve - a small triangle of land surrounded by railway tracks. I found it by accident about a week or so ago. This time I returned with my camera.
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| A typical path through the reserve. | Crossing a pond. | Windy steps over a small hill. Looking up then back down from the top. | ||
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| From the hilltop the main pond can be seen. | Two more pond shots from opposite sides. | On my way back out of the reserve. | |
Time for the summer 2004 shot of the work-in-progress new Wembley Stadium. Shame it was rather hazy.
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| Wembley Stadium on a hazy and very hot summer's day. |
I slept in a tent this evening for the first time since I was a kid. So of course I couldn't resist taking the odd picture. This was pitched at Parham Airfield where I was staying for the Interclub League Gliding competition. I also couldn't resist taking pictures of an aerobatic remote controlled aeroplane as it got dark.
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| The tent pitched near the clubhouse. | The view inside the tent. | A remote controlled aerobatic aeroplane. | |
Pictures of landmarks from the air. On my way back from a business trip I managed to capture the London Eye and the Wembley Stadium arch from the air as the aeroplane was in the circuit for Heathrow Airport. The slightly poor vis did make the London Eye in particular a bit hazy looking though. However the view of Wembley was great, despite the vis, because the arch totally dominates the local landscape.
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| The London Eye from several thousand feet up and quite a few miles away. | Two shots of Wembley Stadium from the East and from the South as the plane came in to land. The second was probably from only 1000 feet up. Barnhill is clearly visible too, just above and left of the crane just to the right of the arch. | |
Grass Hoppers and Hazelnuts. In "The Wasteland" (see 24th June) the Grass Hoppers exist in huge numbers. This was one of the largest. On the other side of the Golf Course I found Hazelnuts growing in what seemed like their thousands. Shame they are not likely to be ready before my company moves offices away from Stockley Park. I also found an interesting and deadly looking toadstool.
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| 2-3cm long Grasshopper | Hazelnuts | Toadstool (2-3cm across) | |
More time spent up Barnhill and around Stockley Park. A note about "The Wasteland" is that I have spent a lot of time in this area of long grass and weeds recently, where I have obtained a lot of pictures of butterflies, moths and other creatures. This is once really diverse area for macro sized wildlife.
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| Those Barnhill pond ducklings (last seen 23rd May) are growing up. | Yet another shot of the rising Wembley Stadium arch. | A large raft of lilly pads on Barnhill pond. | A wall of blossom maybe 10 feet high. This was where I found Red Admirals feeding on the 11th. | |
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| A curious green bug on a blackberry flower. | Hoverfly resting on a blade of grass. | Goslings passing my office window. The parent geese were just off the picture to the left. | "The Wasteland". |
More wildlife and Wembley Stadium pics.
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| A shield bug posing for me nicely. | Wembley Stadium from Stockley Park, Shaftesbury Avenue near my house, and from Barnhill. | ||||
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| Some kind of hopper on my monitor. | Signets. | Bee Orchid closeup. | Wembley Stadium from Stockley Park again. Look how that arch has risen over 3 days. | Mmm tasty. I've been growing radishes from seeds. |
Various bugs in Stockley Park.
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| Clover closeup. | Two yellow ladybirds mating. | Spider with what looks like a deformed leg. | |
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| A 2-spotted ladybird. | A curious metallic coloured bug that looked a bit like a tiny robot. | ||