It doesn't get much fresher (or thinner) than this.



Last week at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with the same old Pentax. The machined metal body makes it ideal for stuffing in a ski-jacket pocket.

The river in mid-frame is the Snake. It starts in Yellowstone then wanders around Idaho for about a thousand miles before it joins the Columbia.

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Another Geograph.



Site of old Coal Workings on Farmland near Frith Common
Autumn colours on farmland at Frith Common in the Teme Valley. Old maps show "Old Coal Shafts" on this land, it forms part of the Wyre Forest Coalfield. In 1842 Berrows Worcester Journal reported the death of a boy who fell down a pit shaft at Frith Common.

 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5693763

Martin.

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Andrew Barrowman wrote: I was trying to get a good shot of the chairs, but somebody parked his big engine on the spot.Hi Andy,

There is good evidence that photographers, when taking a photograph of railway track, invariably wait until there is a locomotive in the way.

Martin.

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Hi Rob,

First try. I put a +3 dioptre close-up lens on the camera, set f/16, left everything else on Auto, attached an air-tube release, plonked an 0 Gauge wagon in front of it, and this is the result:

1. Full frame reduced to 20% :




2. Actual size dot-for-dot cropped from the (JPG) image. This is an area about 10mm x 8mm on the model, i.e. about 100 dots per mm.



I'm well pleased with that, bearing in mind how little effort was needed to set it up. EXIF data says:

F/16
1.2 seconds
ISO 800

I'm sure with a bit of tweaking and use of a RAW image that could be improved. The wagon could do with a bit of tweaking, too.

cheers,

Martin.

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All this technical talk!  I've recently bought a couple of, um, less technical cameras to play with! A Kodak Brownie 127 box set and a GB Kershaw 110.  I've got film for them both so I'm waiting for some warm sunny weather to have a go with them!  The Kodak costs about £1.50 per frame before developing (8 frames per roll!), so that'll really make me think before pressing the shutter!  We get too used to being able to snap away with digital so it's nice to go back to basics once in a while.  My go-to camera for carrying with me is a Canon SX720HS, I also use another couple of Canon compacts and a Canon EOS60D DSLR for special projects, for which I have a couple of nice lenses.  Oh yes, and a Canon T70 35mm film camera which I take with me to annoy trainspotters with their heavy bags and bandoliers of lenses!  My first "proper" camera was a Canon (really?) FTb QL, but I know I had a camera when I was about 8 or 9, which may even have been the Kodak, and I wish I still had the photos I took then.
The photo at the bottom is technically awful, but was taken with the SX720 of the recent "supermoon".  It was windy, I think the exposure was about 1s, and the shot was taken using the timer so that I was nowhere near the camera when the shutter fired. I nearly deleted it, but actually I really like it, warts and all!





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Hi Paul,

I think that post should have been hand-written with a fountain pen and Quink. Did you have a record on the gramophone while writing? Or maybe you were listening to the wireless? How is Walter Gabriel these days?

 https://youtu.be/dGIGYSSUOmA

Martin.

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Martin Wynne wrote: I think that post should have been hand-written with a fountain pen and Quink. Did you have a record on the gramophone while writing? Or maybe you were listening to the wireless? How is Walter Gabriel these days?
Hi Martin,
Uh, oh - I do normally use a Parker fountain pen with Quink cartridges!  I've never listened to the Archers, but I do listen to Classic FM and still have a record player!  I've been accused of being old-fashioned - can't think why! 

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Hi Martin,

Good shooting with the close up lens. Pictures can be so cruel when taken at this distance. I assume it a Slaters PO kit - seem to remember they come with number transfers to go with the pre-printed owners name. Steel tyred wheels ? - or did you weather the rust onto them

It is great what you can do with macro shooting on modern cameras.

These are useful if you use a tripod - Spirit level

Thanks for the pics.

Rob


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Another one for Geograph:



Offa's Dyke on Llanfair Hill

 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5694861

Martin.

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Rob Manchester wrote:I assume it a Slaters PO kit - seem to remember they come with number transfers to go with the pre-printed owners name. Steel tyred wheels ? - or did you weather the rust onto them Yes, a Slaters kit, although not built by me. Yes the wheels are steel, but not rusty. I think that must be the lighting.

Thanks for the link for the bubble level. That looks useful.

p.s. spare battery arrived and now fully charged. Now to see how often I need it.

cheers,

Martin.

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Today's Geograph:



The access road to the NATS Relay Station on Clee Burf offers fine views of the Shropshire Hills AONB.

 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5695209

Martin.

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An unusual view of an iconic mountain on a walk I did back in 2006. The girl on the rope in front of me did the much the same walk as us by hitch hiking with others that were going the same way. This was her second day with us but not consecutive. This was at seven o'clock after a four o'clock start. It was the only morning in nearly two weeks of walking that there was an overnight frost. Others we passed heading the other way after this would have had very poor conditions underfoot as the surface was already soft here. It was on this glacier that Edward Whymper did his investigations on the layering of snow in glaciers in the mid 19th century.

Not much time to compose pictures and not easy to get alternative viewpoints when there are such big crevasses and one is tied to others.


Fraser

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Hi Rob,

Clip-fit 49mm lens cap arrived, but far too fiddly to use in the middle of a field of cabbages. I want a lens cap which fits over the lens barrel rather than into it, and preferably tapered so that precise location isn't needed when wearing gloves. It's ludicrous that I can have such a hi-tech piece of equipment, and my main problem is the lens cap.

However -- PROBLEM SOLVED.

The lid from a jar of Lidl Thick Cut Marmalade is a perfect fit over the collapsed 49mm rubber lens hood.

Perfect. I have a constant supply of them if I lose it. No problem if it gets scratched or dented. It does obstruct the optical viewfinder a bit, but not much more than the collapsed hood itself, and I don't take too many photos with the lens cap on.

And on the X100F it is just a flick of the lever to swap to the EVF instead to check the full view.

Now should I spray it black, or do I wander about advertising Lidl?

cheers,

Martin. 

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Martin

You surprise me, you ask - "do I wander about advertising Lidl?"

Sorry, but the answer must be, for somebody so well travelled, "Seek sponsorship!!"

Glad to learn you enjoy the fresh air - and produce some good photographs.

Kind regards

Peter

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Martin Wynne wrote: The lid from a jar of Lidl Thick Cut Marmalade is a perfect fit over the collapsed 49mm rubber lens hood.
Martin,
Brilliant, only issue is I don't like Marmalade, but it works for you. Keep the branding on the cap so people don't think you have a thousand pound camera in your hand

Personally I just have a UV filter on the hood/adapter assembly and rarely put a lens cap on it. Clean filter with hanky if it gets splashed or dirty.

The viewfinder on the X100 is great. I couldn't stand the EVF on many compact cameras so when the X100 came out it was groundbreaking. These days EVF displays are a lot better - the one in my Olympus OMD E-M1 is very good.

Rob


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Rob Manchester wrote:Brilliant, only issue is I don't like MarmaladeHi Rob,

I believe the Strawberry Jam is the same size. Or maybe Peanut Butter?

The advantage of the Marmalade is that the orange lid colour exactly matches the buttons on my Satmap GPS. I do like to be colour-coordinated when scrambling through a hedge:



That's a good point about disguising the value. If anyone asks I can truthfully say I got it from Lidl.

Martin.

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PRChappell wrote:the answer must be, for somebody so well travelled, "Seek sponsorship!!"Thanks Peter.

I'm composing the letter to Lidl right now.

Martin.

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Martin Wynne wrote:
The lid from a jar of Lidl Thick Cut Marmalade is a perfect fit over the collapsed 49mm rubber lens hood.
Lidl marmalade! James Robertson must be spinning in his grave.

The Robertson's factory was just beside Paisley (Canal) Station. You could tell what they were making from the fantastic aromas wafting into the station. The steam locomotives didn't smell too bad either.

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FraserSmith wrote:Not much time to compose pictures and not easy to get alternative viewpoints when there are such big crevasses and one is tied to others.Hi Fraser,

Thanks for a great pic. It would be great to visit such places and take some photos. But I fear I would need to be helicoptered in to be in a fit state to take them.

cheers,

Martin.

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Andrew Barrowman wrote:Lidl marmalade! James Robertson must be spinning in his grave.

The Robertson's factory was just beside Paisley (Canal) Station. You could tell what they were making from the fantastic aromas wafting into the station. The steam locomotives didn't smell too bad either.Hi Andy,

My grandfather always claimed that as a boy he had a job making the wooden pips to go in raspberry jam:

 https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/HNS19060327.2.44.1

Actually, Lidl marmalade is very good. I like it anyway. On a day like today, toast and marmalade by the fireside is the only sensible response.

cheers,

Martin.

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FraserSmith wrote: An unusual view of an iconic mountain on a walk I did back in 2006.Great pic. Never did much snow work. I joined the Gloucestershire Mountaineering Club in my teens and did have a couple of Easter camping trips to Scotland involving snow. First one was camping in Glen Etive over the sheep transporter, doing the Buachaille Etive Mor one day via Crowberry Gully Buttress (think it may be called something different now), the Aonach Eagach in snow the next, and finally a quick bit of snow climbing in Glen Etive before heading home. The other was Linn of Dee, doing a round trip of Ben Macdui via Coire Etchachan one day, which I found pretty exhausting, then teaching ourselves to ski at the Cairnwell; early days, this was 1962.

Here's a pic of the club descending from Macdui towards the Sron Riach:

Taken with a truly awful pre-war folding medium format camera my parents had discarded.

Had a few adventures in the very extended winter of, I think, 1977, including an attempt to glissade off Y Garn, above Llyn Idwal, which got a bit hairy. Also climbed Beinn an Dothaidh above Bridge of Orchy in the snow, much more recently. That was about it for the serious stuff. Have done the occasional Glen Shiel climb, again much more recently, when my route didn't require axes or crampons. Here's a view of Sgurr nan Conbhairean from A' Chralaig:



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Ah ha!

This thread has exposed a previously unknown strong connection between three significant constituents:

1. Railway track

2. Mountains

3. Jam (or variants thereof)

I love science.


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Andrew Barrowman wrote: Ah ha!

This thread has exposed a previously unknown strong connection between three significant constituents:

1. Railway track    2. Mountains     3. Jam (or variants thereof)

I love science.  Nothing new under the sun:

 https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DGQJBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA66&dq=%22gold-and-blue%22+rockies+%22raspberry+jam%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwje2dSlxMzZAhVBKuwKHUKgAfsQ6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=%22gold-and-blue%22%20rockies%20%22raspberry%20jam%22&f=false



Martin.

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Martin wrote:
Time for some breakfast. And looking at what's happened outside the window, it will be a cooked one for a change. I can remember going to school through much deeper snow; sweeping snow off the car every morning in order to get to work; struggling to drive a fork-lift truck through deep snow with a heavy load. Why does it now come as a surprise to see snow in winter?
Yesterday was officially the first day of SPRING they say!
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John Lewis wrote:Yesterday was officially the first day of SPRING they say!Hi John,

What does the word "officially" mean in that context?

My understanding is that what most folks call Spring starts at the Vernal Equinox, which occurs around March 20th-21st in most years.

But of course someone may have moved it by now. Nothing surprises me any more.

Whatever it is, it certainly looks like Winter today.

cheers,

Martin.

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I don't think I'll be getting much fresh air today.



Shot with a Nikon Coolpix P600. I've had it for quite a while but I'm still discovering things I didn't know it could do

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John Lewis wrote:"Yesterday was officially the first day of SPRING they say!

Martin asked:
What does the word "officially" mean in that context?

Martin

It means the "meteorological spring" I read about it in "The Times" yesterday. I used 'official' because I was not sure about spelling 'meteorological'.

Apparently the meteorological spring comes about by Meterologists dividing the year into four seasons of three months each. See:

 https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/seasons/spring/when-does-spring-start

You are, of course, quite right and not only does it look like winter to-day, it really felt like it - our boiler stopped working because its condensate pipe had iced up!

John
2 Mar 2018
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Hi Nigel

A nice pair of photos: one atmospheric and the other a very nice composition of a very nice hill. The snow certainly makes a big difference and having just the right amount of that icing sugar coating on Sgurr nan Conbhairean has made for a great photo. Kintail is just a wonderful place to be and I 'm delighted to be going there for another walking week next month. Moving to Scotland back in 1979 opened up a fantastic opportunity to explore the mountains and tempted me towards tackling all the Munros. Back around the millenium I was doing 40 or so a year and compleated (sic) them in 2003. Friends I was walking with then were, by that time, heading in the same direction so I carried on with them and did many for a second time. By the time they completed their rounds I had done about two thirds of them again so it was inevitable that I would complete them all for a second time that I did in April last year. Now I can walk these hills with a degree of familiarity and, as I'll be doing in April, accompanying more friends around that great area. Many of my trips were done in winter conditions and it was great training for the alpine trips I did although there's not many glaciers to cross in Scotland. A view is never guaranteed in Scotland but winter walks are even more likely to be affected by low cloud and some days are a bit fresher than others. This was somewhere in Kintail but on my second round I didn't bother logging the date so I don't know which.


Fraser


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Fraser

I reached 176 Munros before the spinal incident. Wasn't that phased at not finishing them; at the end I was doing as many repeats of favourite ones as new ones. But there were certain ones I'd have liked to have ticked off, like the Grey Corries, and more of the Skye ones.

Anyway,  back to recent times, today in fact. The Rheidol valley in the snow:



A 50mph easterly has stripped nearly all the snow from the exposed bits of the fields and dumped it in drifts and, as I discovered when I took a look at the road near my place, on the roads. Was bitter out, -3C before the wind chill factor, but forecast is for it to improve. That's a light snow shower sweeping down the valley.

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Today's Geograph:



Trackbed of Elan Valley Railway at Penygarreg Reservoir
The Elan Valley Railway was opened in 1894 to transport men and materials to the construction sites for the Elan Valley dams. The former trackbed is now a cycle path and very popular with visitors to this scenic area of mid-Wales. The Craig Goch dam can be seen in the distance above the trees on the island.

 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5697001

As can be seen, my mountaineering is on a more modest scale than some illustrated here.

Martin.

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Another:



Brynderwen Bridge over River Severn, Abermule
This impressive cast iron road bridge is still in everyday use. The lettering reads: "THIS SECOND IRON BRIDGE CONSTRUCTED IN THE COUNTY OF MONTGOMERY WAS ERECTED IN THE YEAR 1852".

 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5697002

This takes me up to 9 photos on Geograph, so clearly I'm catching up on Nigel's 11,550. 

Martin.

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John Lewis wrote:Apparently the meteorological spring comes about by Meterologists dividing the year into four seasons of three months each. See:

 https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/seasons/spring/when-does-spring-start

You are, of course, quite right and not only does it look like winter to-day, it really felt like it - our boiler stopped working because its condensate pipe had iced up!Thanks John,

I note on that page: "Last updated: 23 February 2018".

Obviously they have been forced by current events to have a re-think.

Martin.

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Good morning,
My first cover as MERG Journal editor harks back to weather conditions similar to those endured/enjoyed in much of the UK these last few days.
Original captions reveal that I did not actually take any of the photos featured..
"Editor’sTailLamp - Rodney Hills M1301
For the final Journal under his editorship David allowed himself the latitude to make a very personal choice of cover subject. I crave similar indulgence from you for the maiden cover of my editorship.
The five photographs were all taken on Monday 2 February 2009. The centre one is a view taken by my friend, signalman Norman Bennett, from his ‘box at Farnham Station, Surrey, showing Network Rail going about its business of ensuring ‘network availability’. The other four depicting Godalming Station, Surrey, my ‘local’, were taken by my railwayman son Jonathan and show South West Trains going about its business of providing passenger train services given, of course, “the right kind of snow”.
The “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster is of 1939 vintage, by the U.K. Ministry of Information, reproduced by the Imperial War Museum. No shortage of red ink in 1939, it seems. My thanks to David for offering me this artwork. Not a bad motto for the Big Railway, methinks, nor even for MERG 



"
A close inspection of. photo 1 shows quite a lot of 'delay minutes",

All the textbooks on colour light signalling emphasize the placement of the red aspect at the bottom of the signal head. This is said to make it not possible for snow pileup on the hood below to block sighting of the red. Now examine the bottom two photos carefully.  hmm.

Regards, Rodney Hills



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Cwm Cywarch is a dead-end valley north of Dinas Mawddwy. It provides two good routes up Aran Fawddwy from the south, and the crags at the head of the valley are favoured by rock-climbers.



https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4401017


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Pond on Hendregenny Farm

 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5697582

Martin.

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A bit nicer today. The dogs appreciated it too.



Rockford Bay, Lake Coeur d'Alene

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Concrete Slab Works at Larford
This works is on the site of the washery for the former Larford Sand Quarry. Concrete sand from here was used in the construction of the Claerwen Dam in the Elan Valley, opened in 1952.

 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5697780

Martin.

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Belan Top Lock on the Montgomery Canal:



The Buck patent horizontal paddles were unique to this canal:



Martin.

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Martin,

Nice canal view. If you want a nice read this is a good book - Monty Canal Book

Rob


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The upper Dovey valley above Llanymaddwy:


Taken not far from my previous image. This area has spawned several model railway layouts, either as extensions to the Mawddwy Railway at Dinas Mawddwy, or narrow gauge lines connecting with that railway. Traffic could have been slate and minerals such as lead, or agricultural.

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2107153

Nigel

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