A New Year means a new Soul Source photography thread! Starting in 2013, "Show us your great photos" has proved to be a long-lived favourite - all because of the continued contributions and involvement of its enthusiastic participants. Here's looking forward to yet another year of fab photos - and don't forget that you don't need to be a photographer to post up pics. Whether taken with top-of-the-line gear or the camera on your smart phone, if you've got interesting pics, please feel free to share.

To kick off, here's a batch of pics I took today while out on a cold and misty walk in a place called the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen. I'd not heard of it until just very recently. Apparently it's a natural water table from which Amsterdam gets most of its fresh water. At the same time, it's a nature reserve, so now that I know of its existence, I'll have to make a point of visiting regularly.

It wasn't a good day to be out with a camera, especially with a zoom lens. The light was poor, it was misty (heavy fog overhead - we could hear geese flying over but could barely see them, even though they were quite low), and it was cold. Hopefully conditions will be better on my next visit.

Here's wishing you all a happy New Year and lots of happy shooting across the next 12 months.

25 minutes ago, Veedub said:

Lovely photo Steve 🙂, really captured the beautiful markings of a bird we don't often see here 

Thanks Mike.  They're not as common as they used to be, I'm lucky enough to have them occasionally visit my garden, Generally in the winter so I was more than happy see it. 

On 14/04/2020 at 10:20, Winsford Soul said:

End of the day, my cat enjoys to lay on the the table from where she can relax :

 

On 14/04/2020 at 10:20, Winsford Soul said:

 

 

A couple of rainbow pics taken just now. Really bright colours not really showing on the photos, taken through the window 

Snap!! 😂

This is way cooler. 

 

To be able to see a full circle rainbow you need to be able to see water droplets below your observable horizon.

If you are on the ground you are very unlikely to be in the optimum position to see the rest of the rainbow - except for full circle rainbows that appear in, for example, the mist given off by a garden hose or sprinkler.

However, if you are standing on top of a tall building or looking out of an aircraft then you may have water droplets and sunlight below your observation point. As the video below shows, if conditions are exactly right, that gives you the opportunity to see the rainbow in its entirety.

18 hours ago, Flamingemeralds said:

Snap!! 😂

Ohh. Are we playing snap🤚. i like a good card game 🙄

Back garden birds. Green finch . Impressed that these lovely birds seem to be making a comeback 

 

Snap......spotted this Norwegian Blue on our bird feeder.

 

Honest!

Yesterday my cat and me had a visit : we were at the table near the window when this hoopoe arrived on the other side of the window, less than 1 m from us and stayed there 4 or 5 minutes walking along the window and watching us, or its reflect on the window. Sorry for the quality of the pictures, I'd have never seen a hooopoe so close and so long. And the cat didn't care !

19 minutes ago, Philippe said:

Yesterday my cat and me had a visit : we were at the table near the window when this hoopoe arrived on the other side of the window, less than 1 m from us and stayed there 4 or 5 minutes walking along the window and watching us, or its reflect on the window. Sorry for the quality of the pictures, I'd have never seen a hooopoe so close and so long. And the cat didn't care !

Philippe. Trust you are well and safe my friend. That,s amazing.  I,ve never seen one , they do visit the UK occasionally. Definitely on my list of birds to see along with Bee eaters and Nightingale  

22 minutes ago, Winsford Soul said:

Philippe. Trust you are well and safe my friend. That,s amazing.  I,ve never seen one , they do visit the UK occasionally. Definitely on my list of birds to see along with Bee eaters and Nightingale  

Only seen a Hoopoe twice - first time was somewhere around the Beachy Head area in the very late 70s or very early 80s. The second time was on the Greek island of Lesvos a few years ago.

Never seen a nightingale, but have heard them. I recorded one once, in the Amsterdam woods at about four in the morning on the final leg of my journey home by bicycle after a soul night in Amsterdam. 

1 hour ago, Steve Lane said:

Snap......spotted this Norwegian Blue on our bird feeder.

 

Honest!

Snap. This cuddly toy puffin was on the front at Prestatyn . Honest. This picture was actually sent to me as a wind up many years ago when mobile phones had basic cameras and screens so it was near impossible to tell it wasnt a real bird . only the location stopped me from believing it and making a fool out of myself ( again )

Edited May 1, 20205 yr by Winsford Soul

12 minutes ago, Amsterdam Russ said:

Only seen a Hoopoe twice - first time was somewhere around the Beachy Head area in the very late 70s or very early 80s. The second time was on the Greek island of Lesvos a few years ago.

Never seen a nightingale, but have heard them. I recorded one once, in the Amsterdam woods at about four in the morning on the final leg of my journey home by bicycle after a soul night in Amsterdam. 

I,m very envious Russell. 

2 hours ago, Philippe said:

Yesterday my cat and me had a visit : we were at the table near the window when this hoopoe arrived on the other side of the window, less than 1 m from us and stayed there 4 or 5 minutes walking along the window and watching us, or its reflect on the window. Sorry for the quality of the pictures, I'd have never seen a hooopoe so close and so long. And the cat didn't care !

That is truly amazing !!!!  WOW !!  Saw one once ..  of all places it was near Birmingham 4 years ago. One appeared in an old overgrown quarry and stayed for a few weeks, Bird watchers came from all over the UK to see it .. To have one looking in your back window is beyond your wildest dreams !!!! 

A couple more rainbow type pics. First one from this evening as a small shower passes over and one from my first visit to OZ when the sun gained a halo over Sydney 

Tonight,s angry skies at sunset over North Manchester

 

1 hour ago, Veedub said:

That is truly amazing !!!!  WOW !!  Saw one once ..  of all places it was near Birmingham 4 years ago. One appeared in an old overgrown quarry and stayed for a few weeks, Bird watchers came from all over the UK to see it .. To have one looking in your back window is beyond your wildest dreams !!!! 

Russ I know it's an unique experience and I'll never forget it. When she first arrived I was just reading a book on the table touching my cat. Then she came, she hoped and walked, we watched her and it seemed that she watched us, too ! After a while I decided to get my camera in the bedroom then I took the pictures, she saw me and went away...I put back the camera in the bedroom then I sat down at the table and took my book. Then, one more time she came back and did the same dance ! Hoopoes are frequent in my area and they are familiar birds, always living near farms/houses.

 

A female Woodpecker playing hide and seek with me in the garden this morning on my way home from the virtual nighter. Blinking Woodpecker

 

Edited May 3, 20205 yr by Winsford Soul

Today we walked to the pool at the end of the lane we live next to. It was drizzling and overcast hence the poor picture quality , but saw some great birds then came back for a sausage and mushroom sandwich  , winner 👍

A few firsts for us this year 😃. a singing Whitethroat , short video clip too, heard a Cuckoo, also heard a Reed Warbler with its scratchy song in the reedbed , just caught a glimpse  but no pics. There were hundreds of tadpoles too. A Skylark camouflaged against the soil and a singing Wren.Then a Little Grebe .

 

 

Edited May 3, 20205 yr by Veedub
typo

15 minutes ago, Winsford Soul said:

A female Woodpecker playing hide and seek with me in the garden this morning on my way home from the virtual nighter

 

Fantastic colours and lighting on your pics Steve !

Excellent Mike. Love Skylarks singing, proper sound of Spring. You missed off Little Grebe mate from your list

1 minute ago, Veedub said:

Fantastic colours and lighting on your pics Steve !

Thanks Mike. It was clear blue skies here this morning, clouded over now though

Fantastoc photos Steve & Veedub👍

I went back to the fox's den and caught sight of a couple of cubs but only had my phone so not a great zoomed in pic. It confirmed to me that the den sight is well used as there's also the remains of a pheasant. I was also lucky enough to see two kingfishers and found the nest sight. I'll be back with the camera 👍

Brilliant Andy. I love mooching and finding things like these. Then when you get the results it,s a proper buzz

15 minutes ago, Winsford Soul said:

Brilliant Andy. I love mooching and finding things like these. Then when you get the results it,s a proper buzz

Cheers. As with most things, right place, right time 😁👍

Forgot i had this short video of the fox cub in a different folder.

Last night was one of those times I wished I knew more about the getting the correct camera settings quickly, my cameras not the best but I have got better with it, looked out of the front window last night as the sun was setting around the back and the windmills had turned a shade of pink as they do under the right conditions when this red rainbow appeared briefly, never seen anything like it before in the 40yrs I've lived in this house, it's not the best picture, one thing I've learnt over the years is some things only last moments then they're gone, by the time I got the camera out and went outside the light had faded and the sunset rainbow had all but faded in the gloom.

 

lucky to live in an area where I can cycle down lanes like this. Only a mile down the road from me but finding flat cycle routes in Devon is tricky.

 

Dave Banks

This morning's sunrise. Gorgeous colours welcoming in a lovely sunny day.

9 hours ago, Twoshoes said:

Last night was one of those times I wished I knew more about the getting the correct camera settings quickly, my cameras not the best but I have got better with it, looked out of the front window last night as the sun was setting around the back and the windmills had turned a shade of pink as they do under the right conditions when this red rainbow appeared briefly, never seen anything like it before in the 40yrs I've lived in this house, it's not the best picture, one thing I've learnt over the years is some things only last moments then they're gone, by the time I got the camera out and went outside the light had faded and the sunset rainbow had all but faded in the gloom.

 

Stunning. Simply stunning. Thanks for sharing

Steve

And another one.

 

Edited May 5, 20205 yr by Guest

15 minutes ago, Steve Lane said:

And another one.

Steve. Surely this should be in the relevant corona virus thread not on this one mate

They are just very good pictures Steve, that`s all.

28 minutes ago, Steve Lane said:

They are just very good pictures Steve, that`s all.

Very poignant image, but this is a photography thread, ie, images you've taken with your own camera.

Hope you don't mind, Steve. 

OK not a photo but as there seems to a few birders on here I thought I'd share this about White Tailed/Sea Eagles over quite a few areas of the UK. As there's not many planes and things in the sky at the minute, another good reason to keep looking up 

https://www.roydennis.org/category/sea-eagle/isle-of-wight-sea-eagles/

15 hours ago, Winsford Soul said:

Stunning. Simply stunning. Thanks for sharing

Thank you Steve, coming from you that's quite a compliment, I'm slowly moving away from the auto settings and getting to grips with the manual features but not being of a technical nature  I find it hard to remember even the basics but I'm getting there.

A military Boeing C17 just flew over Burton a few minutes ago ! As it banked there was a large howl from the jets like the Vulcan used to make ! By the time i scrambled to get the camera it was about a mile away .

 

A nice walk up the lane to the pond this morning 😃. The Little Grebe has chicks !. Yellowhammer singing away, another Whitethroat  and a Reed Bunting. Also listening to the Reed Warbler but only got a brief glimpse .

 

Just had a little pre-tea strole....it's a beautiful evening...

Lovely pictures there Louise 👍. Just makes you wanna sit on that bank with a picnic 😃 

It really does, doesn't it. It was so quiet. Nobody around, no traffic.  I don't know what it is but nature seems resplendent this year, don't you think? It's possibly the sunshine, but everywhere you look, you see something breathtaking? Maybe we're just noticing things more, now that we have more time to "smell the roses"? I really loved your last few photos, especially the reed warbler; it's a brilliant picture.  I used to be a reed warbler when I was learning the clarinet! 🙄 

Ha ha , thats brilliant.  Yes nature seems to be thriving , I'm sure the birds and animals know somethings different. They're more in tune with nature than we will ever be .

Just had a very exciting few minutes here in North Manchester. Armed robbery pursuit. Stolen car crashes into unmarked police car outside the house, armed robber jumps over my 6ft garden gate with armed police officer in pursuit whom crashes through the gate and disappeared over my back garden fence snapping a tree in the garden. In minutes more armed bobbies, helicopter and cars everywhere. Then CID and SOCO two offenders taken in to custody. Waiting on repairs to the back gate. Hopefully a new one

.

Edited May 7, 20205 yr by Winsford Soul

Bloody hell Steve !!  thats a bit traumatic !!  hope you're alright mate  . time to down a few beers methinks ? 

Actually, Steve, it's my fault. I sent someone round to pinch your photo collection. Sorry about the fence. I did tell them not to kill anyone or damage any property. In fact I did tell them to go disguised as Avon ladies.  I shan't be using Amazon Amateur Bad Boys again, that's for sure. I hope you are both ok. Don't tell the cops will you. Don't want to be int nick for wasting police time. 🤗

Taken a couple of nights ago Scratby Norfolk.Starting to get a nice shine now that kennel coat has gone.

1 hour ago, Veedub said:

Bloody hell Steve !!  thats a bit traumatic !!  hope you're alright mate  . time to down a few beers methinks ? 

All good thanks Mike. We heard the crash and Lou went out  to see what had happened when the robber with bobbie in pursuit ran across  my drive about a metre from where Lou was stood. She said that close she could have touched them 

1 hour ago, Flamingemeralds said:

Actually, Steve, it's my fault. I sent someone round to pinch your photo collection. Sorry about the fence. I did tell them not to kill anyone or damage any property. In fact I did tell them to go disguised as Avon ladies.  I shan't be using Amazon Amateur Bad Boys again, that's for sure. I hope you are both ok. Don't tell the cops will you. Don't want to be int nick for wasting police time. 🤗

Avon ladies ( with beards ) thought it was a bit dodgy. They did smell nice though. We good thanks Louise.

Bobby came back and said sorry. He couldnt jump the gate  with his body armour and handgun weighing him down so he had to smash through it. 

If you want my photo,s Mrs your more than welcome , X

3 hours ago, Flamingemeralds said:

Just had a little pre-tea strole....it's a beautiful evening...

That,s stunning Mrs. When all this madness is over that walk is on my list. Will need a guide though. 

4 hours ago, Winsford Soul said:

Just had a very exciting few minutes here in North Manchester. Armed robbery pursuit. Stolen car crashes into unmarked police car outside the house, armed robber jumps over my 6ft garden gate with armed police officer in pursuit whom crashes through the gate and disappeared over my back garden fence snapping a tree in the garden. In minutes more armed bobbies, helicopter and cars everywhere. Then CID and SOCO two offenders taken in to custody. Waiting on repairs to the back gate. Hopefully a new one

.

Bloody hell, wildlife of a different nature tonight then 😁 Hope all is ok