Title: Ice Breaker
Location: Little Waltham Nature Reserve
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 50mm EF f/1.8
Notes: Our Chelmsford Flickr group took a walk in the Nature Reserve at Little Waltham this morning. There was plenty of frost about, and ice lingering in some of the pools and rivers. This stretch of ice held our attention for a while.
One Year Ago: Day #363
Title: Autumn Shadows
Location: Chelmer Park
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 24-105mm EF f/4 L IS USM
Notes: It was a beautifully crisp autumn morning and the weather forecast promised cloud later on, so I made the effort to go out for a quick walk first thing this morning. I have photographed these trees before, but they seem to have gained a lot of foliage since June. I’m sure it won’t take them long to lose it again.
One Year Ago: Day #286
Title: Rain, Rain, Rain
Location: At home
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 50mm EF f/1.8 + 12mm extension tube
Notes: What an uninspiring day. Incessant rain, which hasn’t helped my mood at all. Yesterday, I found out a big project which I was about to start is – at best – probably postponed until next year, and – at worst – off altogether. I felt like taking a walk today but the rain prevented me from doing anything more than nipping to the shops in the car. Hopefully things will pick up soon, and I’m not just talking about the weather!
One Year Ago: Day #259
Title: Meadow Impression
Location: Great Notley Country Park
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 50mm EF f/1.8 + 12mm extension tube
Notes: I spent the afternoon wandering around the country park at Great Notley, whilst on the hunt for geocaches and butterflies. One part has an area set aside for meadow flowers, and getting down low, I caught this Six Spot Burnet moth feeding on a flower. I took some which were much more sharp and well defined, but I liked this soft shot the best – it is straight out of the camera – no cropping, levels or fancy filters. Who needs Photoshop when you have an f/2.8 aperture? 
One Year Ago: Day #222
Title: Summer Grasses
Location: Downham, Essex
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 24-105mm EF f/4 L IS USM
Notes: I enjoyed a long walk around Hanningfield Nature reserve this afternoon, and explored a couple of other local woods as well. I covered 7 miles in all. This shot was near Downham, south of the Reservior. I liked the grasses waving gently in the breeze. The sky looked threatening, but it never amounted to much, and unlike yesterday, I stayed dry all day.
One Year Ago: Day #207
Title: Be Amazed
Location: Saffron Walden
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 24-105mm EF f/4 L IS USM
Notes: I had to drive to Linton to meet a colleague before heading to a client meeting in Cambridge this morning. On the way there, the SatNav took me a slightly different route through Saffron Walden, and through the pouring rain, I spotted this maze which I never knew existed. After the meeting I returned the same way, and the sun was poking out through the clouds. So I stopped for a few minutes to take a some shots. The maze is an ancient monument, apparently. The signpost nearby says:
The largest publicly-owned turf-cut maze in England. Date of original cutting unknown. In 1699, 15 shillings was paid for re-cutting the maze. It was also re-cut in 1828, 1841 and 1859. In 1911, the chalk path was laid with bricks, set on edge. In 1979, the brick path was re-laid with bricks on their sides. The maze is 35 metres in diameter, and the path is 1,500 metres long.
One Year Ago: Day #190
Title: Reflected Symmetry
Location: Wivenhoe, Essex
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 24-105mm EF f/4 L IS USM
Notes: I spent the afternoon at my parents’ in Wivenhoe. After lunch, Dad and I decided to got out for a walk, leaving Mum to watch the tennis on the telly. We went to Alresford Creek, a few miles downstream on the River Colne and had a pleasant stroll, but also discovered a hidden lake close to where they lived, whilst out looking for a geocache. This grass made an almost perfect reflection in the water.
One Year Ago: Day #179
