The Flying Scotsman

We had the refurbished Flying Scotsman pass through Gloucestershire yesterday and I took my 89yr old Father-in-law to a prime location where he had a nice long view of it as it raced down the track toward the bridge he was on.

Once I knew he was safe and happy I headed down to the official track crossing point that offered me a superb view at the right level to capture some images.

I did manage to capture a shot of a high speed diesel before the "Main event".

The Flying Scotsman was travelling at high speed (limited to 70mph according to an expert I spoke to) and it was working hard and generating plenty of smoke getting the power up. I have converted what I believe to be the most powerful image to B&W and I am happy with it as it does emphasize just how hard the engine was working!

A superb sight to see.

Cirencester Polo Club

I attended my first ever Polo match today as much out of curiosity as well as a desire to take a few photographs of the event.

The weather was kind and we had some sunshine becoming cloudy as the afternoon moved on and even some rain as I was walking home.

I was lucky enough to engage in conversation with a lady called Ferne who has a wealth of experience (she worked as a groom for a while and today was looking after the main score board), her suggestions as to areas to shoot from and the play was invaluable and I am indebted to her for her assistance and time.

I was also lucky enough later on to meet up again with a real Polo Afficionado and outstanding photographer (Tom Reynolds) who shoots incredible Polo action photos and is a regular at the Cirencester Polo Club - we first met last year when talking together about our photos used in the Cirencester Calendar as well as the Cirencester Park Polo Club 125th Anniversary Book arranged by Lady Bathurst and Jo Welch as well as about camera gear (photographers trait). I just hope that I can meet up with Tom next time I attend and learn from him.

I also met another Photographer that featured in the Polo Club Anniversary book, John Hankin.

It was great to talk with him as well.

An interesting afternoon and one I will certainly repeat.

More Dragonflies

Back at the Nature Reserve again recently and it was one of those overcast yet very warm days and to start with there were very few dragonflies in evidence but as the weather changed so they started to appear and fly about looking for food.

I did come across one that had just emerged from the nymph and was drying out its wings and body but still had that milky look, I did come back later and it was still there but in the shade so I very carefully moved it into the sunshine where it perked up and hopefully was able to dry out completely and enjoy its life.

There were a few more about later and I was able to get some images of them, I also grabbed a couple of images of flowers including a nice wild dog rose as well as a heron flexing its wings by the lake.