January 19th – Over at the dam, it was very dark indeed – but 30s exposure photos picked out the mist and light pollution from sodium streetlights beautifully.
It’s hard to appreciate but there was almost total darkness when these were taken.
I’m loving long exposure stuff at the moment.
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January 15th – Long exposure photos continue to fascinate me, and at Catshill Junction the night sky looked a gorgeous, reflected-sodium oranger in these 30 second images taken by popping the camera on timer and sitting it on the bridge rail.
This is a classic and favourite local view of mine but I never tire of photographing it.
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December 26th – The Boxing Day weather was altogether better, but still somewhat grey and overcast with that keen wind. Again, bad weather was forecast for the evening, with heavy rain and even snow predicted.
I slipped out at lunchtime into a grey landscape, and was encouraged to find these bright honey fungus clumps growing on an tree stump on the Black Path.
Some days, the mere sight of something natural and bright is enough to improve your day.
July 10th – Nice to see the rowan, or mountain ash berries ripening well, adding a welcome splash of orange to hedgerows, verges and thickets.
A useful berry, it can be used to make jam or wine, and birds love it.
Can’t help feeling a tinge of sadness hough that this new arrival signals a notch further towards late summer and the fruiting season.
May 24th – One of the more strikingly beautiful wayside flowers that grow pretty much as weeds along the cycleways and towpaths is Hawkweed. Ranging in colour from yellow to crimson, these are gorgeous flowers that some would view as invasive.
I love to see these every summer, and the Goscote valley is lined with them. They are a joy to the heart.
October 16th – I remember when we just used to get plain old moons, but these days every full moon is special for one reason or another – a harvest moon, a supermoon, a hunters moon, which this was – all of a sudden every appearance of this old familiar has to be special.
Which is daft, really, because the moon always is special. Caught from near George’s Hayes, Longdon, it was low and made orange by the atmosphere.
I never tire of looking at the moon.
August 4th – Bitterweet to see the rosehips now ripening well along the lanes and towpaths of the Black Country. They are beautiful in their shiny, vivid orange jackets, their sight brightens many a ride in late summer and autumn. But they also indicate the passage of time and season, and their appearance always makes me a little sad for a summer passing.
There’s plenty of time, though for summer to improve, and while there are still blooms alongside the hips, all is not lost yet.
September 28th – Quite a find for me, and only the second time I’ve ever seen it in the wild: orange peel fungus, seemingly growing well on Clayhanger Common, near where I saw the glistening ink caps last week.
This ascomycete is not particularly rare, and mycologists may scoff at my enthusiasm for it, but this delicate ad small fungi is hard to spot. I’m pleased I found it.
July 27th – I awoke to a better day. It was warm again and the sun was shining sporadically. After the dismal unpleasantness of the previous day, this was refreshing and welcome, particularly as I’d expected a wet morning commute.
The dearth of traffic (due to the Industrial Fortnight) also made for a pleasant ride.
Passing the rowans in Pleck, I noticed their berries were plump and now bright orange. This pleased me.
Sometimes, like the berries, sun and warmth is all I need.
January 24th – Despite the gradual shift to white LED lights, the colour of the urban night here is still sodium orange. It makes for interesting, haunted townscapes and renders corners of the town eerie in the monochromic light.
Here at Holland Park, normally a busy, bright, pleasant place, it looked empty, haunted and unsettling. It’s fascinating once you get used to it.
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