Sheep etc.

It‘s a Fibonacci seties for most things, flowers etc.Aquicck google gives lots of references saying rams horno are, eg:


Actually I thought it might be confusing as I think there are snails called “ramshorn”.
Fibonacci, fractal. Something beginning with 'F'!

There are indeed ramshorn pond snails. I had them in my garden wildlife pond. Until mallards ate them...
 
Fibonacci, fractal. Something beginning with 'F'!

There are indeed ramshorn pond snails. I had them in my garden wildlife pond. Until mallards ate them...
Ah ducks and snails! I had runner ducks and they went mad for snails. :)
 
There were three shows I could have attended yesterday, but with a sheep filled Bank Holiday weekend to look forward to I stayed home. Until this afternoon when I thought I'd go look at one of the 'Lost Farms of Brinscall Moors'. And sheep...

There's not a lot left of most of these farms but there has been a recent project to put up information boards at some of them (and an associated Facebook group). It's hard to believe that these farms, which had no running water or other utilities, were still inhabited in the late 1950s.

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I'm in two minds about the boards. They are well done and informative, but they stick out like sore thumbs. In fact the farm below I found after I spotted the board from a long way off and found myself at a farm I'd not been to before (I have only been to about four). Admittedly the few trees that are to be found on the tops are usually associated with the remains of a farm, and may even have been planted as navigation aids.

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Most of the walls on the moors are long since collapsed. Looking at the remains, and the few short standing lengths, they must have taken a lot of work and been formidable barriers to livestock. Now they have sheep netting fences running parallel with their courses.

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I'd better put up some sheep pics! The clump of trees in the background are by another ruined farm.

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I don't know what three Herdwicks are doing up there.

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I'd parked up near the farm of a Lonk man I know who has his sheep, and cattle, on the moor and coincidentally he was driving past as I was about to climb the stile from the road and stopped for a chat. He told me of an easier way to the farms, which I'll use next time I get a chance as I've come to realise I'm not as fit as I was 30 years ago! Once I'm on the tops I'm fine as the gradients aren't too steep up there. But the initial, steeper, is the problem. Mind you, the old knees aren't too keen on the coming back down bit...

These are some of his Lonk tups getting in condition close to the farm ready for their annual work out with the ewes.

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Something completely different.

This kind of thing is way outside my comfort zone! :LOL: But it's a concept I might develop. Just need more props. And a Lonk skull. ;)

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Careful, someone will say you’ve been “having fun” murdering sheep with some kind of weird dagger :LOL:
 
Normal pictures are resumed!

I took my Lonk friend's advice about the access spot and went for a look at two more lost farms today. Mainly because I knew that was where his Lonks are. ;)

Ratten Clough is the least collapsed of all the farms and was inhabited until 1960. I had hoped to get a picture or two of Lonks by it.

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I had to settle for a Lonk with the village below in the background.

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It wasn't windy but a lot of the sheep were tucked up by stone walls for some reason. Most I tried photographing had thistles or rushes in front of their faces...

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Not far away is another ruin, Solomon's Temple. Someone got lucky the other day with a photo I saw on Facebook of a Lonk lamb standing in the window. I wasn't at all jealous! :LOL:

I took the opposite viewpoint. I still failed. The sheep just would not stand anywhere I wanted it to!

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Now the less picturesque shots.

Resting sheep.

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Fly on wool. There were a lot of flies about, including what looked like St Mark's flies - but they appear in spring.

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I didn't know this thread existed ? Can I join in please ?

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Nice pics. I like the black and white one in particular. But this is a personal thread.

Maybe it's time to start an open sheep thread in Captive, Domesticated & Plants? https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/photos-nature-captive-domesticated-plants.75/
 
Re the “lonk not in the window”, do you ever try calling them to you?
 
My apologies Ed . . . deleted. :mad:
 
Unfortunately I'm not fluent in the ovine language! The only times I've had sheep approach me confidently has been in winter. When they were hoping to be fed. :D

I’ve few times had to get sheep back where they belong though not on moorland. I usually find a ‘fertiliser bag’ lying around and shake/bang it to get their attention. If no bag I take my Barbour off and do likewise. When they get near the gate I go into sheepdog mode to pen them :LOL: . Almost always worked for me.

i wondered of that Lonk could be drawn up to window with some out of sight bag rustling :LOL: . Though as you imply summertime it might not be so effective.
 
I’ve few times had to get sheep back where they belong though not on moorland. I usually find a ‘fertiliser bag’ lying around and shake/bang it to get their attention. If no bag I take my Barbour off and do likewise. When they get near the gate I go into sheepdog mode to pen them :LOL: . Almost always worked for me.

i wondered of that Lonk could be drawn up to window with some out of sight bag rustling :LOL: . Though as you imply summertime it might not be so effective.
The time honoured 'rolled up feed bag slapped against a leg' trick!

Lambs on the moor likely won't have seen a bag of sheep nuts yet so I doubt they'd be tricked by the rustling of an empty bag. :(
 
The time honoured 'rolled up feed bag slapped against a leg' trick!

Lambs on the moor likely won't have seen a bag of sheep nuts yet so I doubt they'd be tricked by the rustling of an empty bag. :(
Yeah, you’ve had more experience of sheep than me, I’ve just had a passing interest while otherwise engaged.
 
Not very good at posting ,but ill have a go.
 

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I've spent a little more time and trouble as I'm at a bit of a loose end. Think I'll leave it for now to let the concept stew. For those who don't know, the half-moon shaped thing is a sheep dog whistle. More commonly made of plastic these days. I bought a couple to see if I could use one. They're tricky things to get the hang of!

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Chipping Show today. The Sheep race is always popular. This was the first race of the day, The Wollyback Hurdle. Note the feed bag. ;)

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The final turn.

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More serious pictures later!
 
Chipping Show today. The Sheep race is always popular. This was the first race of the day, The Wollyback Hurdle. Note the feed bag. ;)

Noted. My only contribution to feed bag lore is that , sadly, one can almost always find a suitable bag lying around :( .
 
Rainbow Zwartble relaxing after a hard day showing.

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Cheviots in the overall pairs championship.

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Back to the Gritstones and Lonks...

These in close pictures are my favourite type but they're difficult to pull off. The using a wide/normal lens is more immersive than shooting something similar with a longer lens.These two almost work.

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Stephen only turned up to watch the proceedings but someone was shorthanded for holding sheep!

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Either he did a good job or picked the right sheep as he was handed the red rosette!

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After last year's fruitless tour of foreign parts let's hope I manage to find my way to the Hope show on Monday! I hear there are over 100 Gritstones entered.
 
Hope Show has it in for me. I found it no problem this time. Which was good. But I had a 'funny turn'. I think the heat got me. Soon rallied after a sit down and a bottle of water thanks to my sheep friends. Then there was a diversion coming home that doubled the journey time. A great show though with lots going on, and loads of sheep. It's where the Derbyshire Gritstone Society hold their Champion of Champions class - all the winners from a list of the summer's shows compete against each other. Will post sheep photos later in the week as I'm knackered and am off to Kilnsey tomorrow!

There was lots of wool promotion going on. Display's of wool based products from soap to tree guards. Spinners and weavers demonstrating and selling their wares. Sheep shearing demos and a fleece competition. I should have spent more time there really. There's a whole other subculture of wool crafters.

Just snaps really. I wasn't on top form TBH.

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Today I have mostly been photographing...

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...at Kilnsey Show. Which started a bit miserable.

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But turned out nice!

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Lots of photos from both shows to wade through and filter. One or two good ones - I think.
 
Gradually whittling them down. Some Gritstone shots from Hope.

Something I'd not seen before. A fne toothed comb! It had been in the cleavers (aka sticky bobs)! As it was being entered in the 'wool on the hoof' class they wouldn't have been a plus.

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Translucent ear.

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Down to business.

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Judge.

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Stewards poised for action.

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A second judge picks the Champion of Champions.

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The Lonk judge at Hope didn't have as many sheep to look at, and it was getting on past lunch time. He didn't hang about deliberating. Hence not many pics to choose from and only a couple worth putting in the files and posting here. Which means I'll have to go again next year!

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At last I've finished the mammoth cull. The mammoth is now extinct!

Well dressed Zwartbles arrive.

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Gritstone judging started in the rain.

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Then it faired up.

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And the sun came out. The crag really does make for a lovely setting and the sheep pens are always directly below it.

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The Yorkshire Post photographer was there.

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He got the front page with a photo of Shannon and one of her Lonk tups too.

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One or two more in the next post then I'll give it a rest!
 
Lonk judging.

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"If you're pictures aren't good enough... "

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I don't usually photograph unknown children but this lad was transfixed by this Lonk tup and had to be almost dragged away. Unusually the sheep put up with being touched.

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That's it!
 
One of the Lonk stalwarts has loaned me some old photos to scan. I have permission to post them. Two of them appear to be news photographs in postcard form. I know local papers often have (had) a photo reference for people to order copies and wonder if this is how they were supplied.

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A pity there is no information as to what's going on in this one!

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Family photo with details on back.


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This one would appear to be a 'modern' copy of an older original.

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I was reading about the history of one group of moors only yesterday and there was some information about moorland inns. It seems that some of the more isolated ones were actually farms that provided refreshment to travelers and at some stage became licensed premises, while the main business continued to be farming.

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Counting down the shows for this year now. Bentham today, in glorious sunshine and, unlike previous years, the sheep were mostly penned and judged outside. Which meant I wasn't struggling to keep the ISO low. However it being late in the year the sun was low, which created a different set of problems!

Unlike most shows the junior shepherd classes started the day off - with one of the biggest entries I've seen.

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No caption required.

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Oh look. Lonks! Not a great picture. I was trying a different viewpoint

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I just can't get the timing or angle right for a handing over of a rosette shot. I do like the mess of arms and hands in this one though, and the steward writing the winners in the judging sheet.

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Thwarted by face/eye detect auto focus. I wanted the rosette in focus. Or maybe it doesn't matter?

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Pics from inside the mart to come...
 
There were quite a few crafting stalls, many of which were wool or sheep related. A lot of promotion for wool all round.

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Peg looms and felted fleeces in evidence again.

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Samples of wool in various stages of processing with information boards.

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There was also a shearing demonstration with a commentary.

The sheep for the clipping demo.

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Shearing is pretty tricky to photograph, especially when you've no opportunity to move about.

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People were invited to feel the fleece and the sheep.

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All in all a tremendous effort to inform the general public about wool.

Not a great day for me as far as getting decent pictures goes, but a great day out.
 
Hodder Valley Show today. One of my favourites. I had this daft idea to use just a 28mm and a 50mm lens. There's a saying about plans of battle lasting until contact with the enemy is made. All was going well as I wandered around photographing the stalls being set up and such like. Then the sheep began to arrive and... I reached for the back up cheap 24-135 zoom which I used most of the day thereafter! There was another reason I swapped. One of my cameras had lost the rubbery rear thumb grip somewhere along the line and left behind a sticky residue. It was awful to hold.

There's usually a good turnout of sheep for a small show at Hodder Valley, but this year numbers looked down to me. I know the Lonk class was almost cancelled as early entries were low. A call out on Facebook, however, produced a really good show of Lonks, even with one no-show. New faces, and lapsed exhibitors too.

Some novel sheep dressing tools in use. I'm guessing a bandsaw blade was used to make this comb.

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Old socks have their uses.

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Give a Lonk an escape route...

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...it's mates will follow.

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Westmorland show on Wednesday. No silly lens selections for that! Back in April I was looking forward to the show season. Twelve Thirteen shows later I'm looking forward to a rest. Wait. The sales start at the end of the month and through October!
 
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'Outtakes' from my time at the Westmorland yesterday.

The low sun can be nice at this time of year making things look autumnal.

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But it also causes problems when it's behind a subject. Trying to arrange for a dark background to a shot helps, otherwise it's a case of drop the exposure and 'rescue' in Lightroom. I like the water droplets in this shot, but the sponge being out of frame doesn't tell you where they've come from or their relevance. Hence it's an outtake.

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Get the light to one side and it does make the colours stand out - but have it behind you and you cast a shaow into the picture. I took loads of this Torddu Badger Face Welsh Mountain (aka Badger!) before the owner intervened and pushed it away from the edge of the pen which was casting shadows across it. A busy background but hey ho.

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I had a brief flirtation using aperture priority. I see a lot of people recommend it to beginners. I have no idea why. Must be a misguided belief that 'subject separation' through depth of field is all important. Bullocks say I! No matter what I do it always ends up choosing too slow a shutter speed eventually. It was fine for sheep close ups, then this scene appeared and it needed a fast shutter speed. I didn't get one. I quickly reverted to the only set up I need when relying on natural light. Manual + Auto ISO.

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This thread is becoming more of a blog with me writing about what goes on in my head when I'm taking photos.. I don't know if that's a good thing or not!

Probably more photos and thoughts later.
 
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It was an interesting day at the Westmorland show. I learned a fair bit about how people look at my sheep photographs on Facebook. Most of the stuff I stick on there is creative junk competent, but nothing special Talking to a few people, and judging by the 'likes' pictures get what are most popular are people pictures. No surprise really. I was amused to hear that the grandchildren of one couple look through my photos playing 'spot the family member'! Two people have said they'd like to thank me in some tangible way, and someone else I'd not met before came up and thanked me for sharing my Lonk pictures.

One of my fishing friends, who used to manage a flock, suggested I should join the Lonk breeders' association. It seemed like a good idea as I'd like to give something back to them for letting me into their world. There's no need to keep Lonks to join so I made the inquiry. No problem. The secretary would e-mail me the details for setting up the direct debit. An e-mail duly arrived - but saying that in discussion with the chairman there'd be no charge as they appreciate me taking and sharing my photos which promote the breed. I was quite taken aback. I'll have to find another way to thank them.

In these days when everyone has a camera in their pocket and the internet is awash with photos it seems that there is still some appreciation for 'proper' photography.

A typical snap. No decisive moment to be seen. No clever juxtapositions. Just a line-up of sheep on a sunny day.

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An obvious crowd-pleaser. I take a few of these just to see if they get the likes I think they will.

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Any road up. Back to the photography. I'm having white balance problems. I've not worked out if it's a camera thing or a lens thing, but there's a noticeable difference between the two outfits I use most of the time. I think the identical cameras are both set up the same, so I'm leaning towards the lenses. Although they are both from the same manufacturer which doesn't usually cause problems. Not a big deal as it's a simple fix but it's annoying.

These are the kinds of picture I tend to leave off FB.

This is something that could work as an intro to a picture story. There's even space to have a caption overlaid bottom left or a feature title over the sky. Thinking like that maybe I should have been an editorial snapper?

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These 'messy' shots are what I like best these days.

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Something I'm going to have to improve on is my sheep (and shepherd) wrangling. As I've said before, I don't really have the patience for it, and I'm pretty sure the Lonk breeders (in particular) don't either. Once the judging's over they usually want to find some lunch or get to the beer tent! All that said, if I was getting paid for taking this kind of shot I would have more patience and be more assertive over the posing. ;)

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That's the summer show season over for me. The main Lonk show is still to come, followed by the associated tup sale. I might do some forward planning and draw up a shot list to put a picture story together. If I can remember...
 
Something and somewhere new for me today. Gisburn. The nearest 'roadside' mart to me and the biggest sheep sale I've been to. 6,000 sheep, give or take, so busy, busy, busy. I'd only been there a few minutes when one of the staff asked if I could do a favour, for which they'd pay. Their photographer had had a blowout on the motorway and would be delayed. I made my excuses and declined. If I'd photographed the sheep they wanted snapping I'd have missed the Lonks!

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The car park was full, there were pickups with trailers parked all round the sheds and along the road at the side, plus the field across the main road.

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The mart is an absolute warren of a place. It took me ages to find my way around and locate the Lonks.

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As there were enough Lonks entered in the sale there was a show to be judged of pens of ten breeding ewes.

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Not only is it maze-like, it's also pretty gloomy in most parts of the mart. Although I've not photographed a sheep sale at Gisburn before I have been to a Christmas dressed poultry sale so knew what to expect of the lighting. As it felt like there was a no pressure trip (being just a general sheep sale rather than a breed show/sale) I started out with the wide zoom and the 50mm. The former to see if f4 was fast enough (it was) and the latter to limit myself. It worked well, although once the sale started I swapped to just my multi-tool lens to give me a bit more reach. I also played around with some slow shutter shots. I'll post more pics later if there are any worth showing after I've had a proper look through. This little set makes a fairly reasonable story given the six pic limit I think.
 
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