12 images for 2019.....

Jelster

Jelster

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Steve
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I decided to set myself a little challenge.

2020 is nearly here so I'm going to do an "12 pictures of 2019" and post one a day with a brief explanation as why the image made it on my favourites list.

It's been a big year for myself & my wife Sue, leaving our home in West London of 23 years and "migrating" down to South West Wiltshire. We never realised that we were moving to a little piece of heaven, just minutes from wonderful views, plenty of wildlife and some great roads to drive. That said, there were still some places we loved close to us in London that will be difficult for us to return to now that we have moved.

So I'll post 1 image every day with a brief explanation of why I like the image.
 
Image No 1: Fizz.

When our son Alex was home from uni (in Bristol) at Christmas 10 years ago he bought home his pet rabbit. Asking us to look after him as he couldn't take him to his new flat. We fell in love with this crazy house rabbit and his quirks; he was full of character. Never in a million years would I of thought of owning a rabbit, let alone miss him as much as we do now he's passed.

So quite rightly, we have to start with my favourite picture of him.

Fizz2.jpg
 
Image No 2: Purple Flowers.

One of the places we loved visiting was WWT in Barnes. Just 15 minutes from our old place, it's an oasis of wildlife just off of the Thames in London. We have spent many hours watching the birds, but they also have some magnificent flora. This was taken on one of our last trips. If you haven't been, it's got a great cafe, the coffee is good, and the amount of wildlife is just amazing. Biterns are on site all year round, the local waders & water birds hare mixed in with summer & winter migrants, we've seen all sorts there, plus the reptiles and the dragonflies in the summer. But some of the flower displays are wonderful.

DSCF4217 by Steve Jelly, on Flickr
 
Simple but very effective idea, well done.
Nice lead in line to the rabbit :)
Colours simply lovely in #2
 
Image No. 3: Red Panda

One of our favourite places to visit in the south east was Whipsnade zoo. We loved the layout and the variety of wildlife to see. One animal that I always want to get a decent image of was the Red Panda, however visit after visit they would be high in their tree. At the end of March we made our final visit before we moved and when we got to the Panda's they were again high up in the tree. However after a short wait, this one came down and posed perfectly, almost to say "I know you're going, so here's your shot"....

I only hope I did the shot justice.

Red Panda by Steve Jelly, on Flickr
 
Image No 4: The Severn @ Sharpness

When we were looking for a new home we wanted to be as close to Bristol as possible, as that's where our son now lives, but we also didn't want to be in a town. So we looked at West Gloucestershire (well, we looked in loads of areas but this area stood out).

This shot was taken on the East side of the Severn at Sharpness while out house hunting. The Severn's tide was up and the water was quite calm which allowed me to get this shot, looking towards West Gloucestershire & the Forest of Dean.

I love the colours in this shot, the reeds, grass, sky & water all combine nicely. It also started me to believe that I wasn't wasting my time trying to shoot Landscapes.

Sharpness_Reeds by Steve Jelly, on Flickr
 
Image No 5: Single Poppy

An area of the local recreation ground where we used to live had been allowed to grow naturally (I think a few wildflower seeds may have gone in) to create a small but effective "meadow".

This was just after I obtained a set of close focus tubes, so I went and had a play. I've always wanted to get a decent shot of a poppy, and love the colours and textures in this image. There was a slight breeze so I had to lay on the ground and wait for the flower to steady before taking the shot.


Poppies by Steve Jelly, on Flickr
 
My 12 images of 2019.

Image 6: Busy as a.....

Another shot from the lake not far from the old house. I have, for a long time, had a fascination with what I know as "Cow Parsley". The stems radiating out from a single hub in the middle have always made a great photo, but when you have a bee sitting on it, even better....



Bee_2 by Steve Jelly, on Flickr
 
My 12 images of 2019.

Image 7: Severn through the Grass

Another image taken while out house hunting. This time on the North West side of the Severn, at Newnham Gloucs. It was a lovely day, the tide was high, and we found a car park so pulled in.

Shot through the long grass looking towards the peninsular at Arlingham.

DSCF1415 by Steve Jelly, on Flickr
 
My 12 images of 2019.

Image 8: Harvard at Compton Abbas

The week before we moved into the bungalow we came down for a quick measure up of a few things, and we dropped into Compton Abbas airfield for lunch as it was recommended.

I've always had a love of aircraft, stemmed from my Dad being WW2 bomber crew I guess, and this Harvard looked really good against the sky. I was limited as to what kit I had with me but the 50-140 was handy.

I got down low and shot it from behind, looking into the sky. One of my very favourites of this year...

DSCF9983 by Steve Jelly, on Flickr
 
Some good shots there, keep em coming.
 
My 12 images of 2019.

Image 9: The sky overlooking Hambledon Hill.

This is the first shot I've featured after we moved into the new Bungalow in Wiltshire. However this is actually in Dorset, taken from Shillingstone Station where we visited the steam railway, looking towards Hambledon Hill.

The clouds were building and looked quite theatrical against the backdrop of the hills. The wide panoramic crop adds to the drama I think.

Hambledon by Steve Jelly, on Flickr
 
My 12 images of 2019.

Image 10: Orange Tip

Back to earlier in the year and West London, when a trip to the local lake produced this image of an Orange Tip butterfly. These are quite common, and are more obvious with their wings open, as they are white with bright orange tips.

Shot on a 35mm f1.4 lens, not the best for this sort of stuff, but as they say, best camera you have is the one in your hand!


Butterfly2.jpg
 
My 12 images of 2019.

Image 11: View from Heavens Gate

One of my new found viewpoints close to home. Heavens Gate is on the Longleat estate just outside of Warminster. The 10 minute walk from the car park takes you into an area of standing stones which opens out into an elevated view of the estate including the House.

On this day the clouds were playing ball, the sky was blue and it was before the trees started to turn.

One of the first shots on my X-T3, which has proved to be everything I wanted it to be. I used the 10-24 wide angle to take in as much of the scenery as possible.

View by Steve Jelly, on Flickr

Just one to go.....
 
I've just realised that I hadn't put in the last image!!!!

Image 11: Autumn Chestnut

We visited NT Kingston Lacey in October for the first time, and what a lovely place. This opening Chestnut was lying on the ground, shouting "Photo" at me....

Chestnut by Steve Jelly, on Flickr
 
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