Fairy Glen (6 months on)

I went back to Fairy Glen in Appley Bridge 6 months after my Autumn visit. The trees are bare but beginning to bud, the paths are much wider with less ground cover, and the stream is much faster with early Spring water.

Compare the images here: http://johndbarton.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/fairy-glen.html

Fuji X-T1, 35mm F1.4 lens

Brockholes Nature Reserve

Josie and I took full advantage of the warm Spring day and had a long walk and lovely lunch here today.

In January 2007, The Lancashire Wildlife Trust bought the site near Preston and next to the M6 Motorway, and the Reserve opened its doors on Easter Sunday 2011.
Adam Khan Architects was selected for its inspirational design concept: "A Floating World" for the main Visitor Centre.
Designed as a cluster of buildings constructed largely of wood and other sustainable materials, it resembles an ancient marshland village.

You can see the amount of work that goes on here:  http://www.brockholes.org/

Fuji X-T1, 18-55mm lens.

Modern Architecture - Salford Quays

Nothing better than a sunny and warm Spring day with crisp blue skies to go and photograph the striking modern area of Salford Quays where landmark architecture is prominent.

There are three areas of major buildings: Media City where BBC and now ITV have their Northern bases; The Lowry Theatre with Shopping Mall and apartments; and the West Bank with Imperial War Museum North and offices such as Quay West pictured here.

A short walk away along the regenerated Manchester Ship Canal is the Theatre of Dreams, aka Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.

Panorama of Salford Quays: L to R, Media City, apartment living, Lowry Theatre and shops, Millenium Bridge leading to Quay West, IWM North. Behind to the right is the new ITV studio complex. I'm standing on the Media City Footbridge.

Media City from the Lowry Basin.

Blue and Green office block opposite the Lowry. The steel tower of the Lowry Theatre is caught in the reflection.

IWM Tower and roof glinting in the sun.

The 30m tall IWM Tower rising into the crisp blue sky.

Curves and lines on the Lowry Theatre.

Lowry Theatre curves.

Angles, light and shade on the Lowry Theatre exterior.

Close-up of the Lowry Theatre exterior.

Sunlight flashing off the metal exterior sheets of the Lowry Theatre.

Striking pattern on Media City.

Striking facade of Media City.

Reflections of Salford Quays in the golden windows of Quay West office block.

Nature's Alphabet

Working to a theme of 'Natural Alphabet' for one of my Flickr Groups this week, I went for a stroll through Haigh Hall Country Park and managed to find the following letters.
Some are repeated, and since I was particularly looking for J O H and N, I've probably missed loads of other letters .

Panasonic Lumix G5, 14-45mm and 45-175mm lenses.

Curly J

U

T

Plenty C's

Orange O

Reflected O

Log N

Rusty Railing H

Curly Green J

N

Capital A

Branch J

Kings Moss - Variations On A Cloud Theme

I spent a cold and blustery session in Kings Moss at the South side of Billinge Hill where the stormy clouds were being whipped through the big skies on a stiff South-Westerly!!

I've processed some of the various images as HDR and B/W to emphasise the changing scenes.

Canon 60D, 17-40mm and 70-200 L lenses, various manual settings.