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.

Camping glamping...its a bit much when camping is once again a luxury..

Ed

 

 

Strange Formation of Clouds / Lights over Clitheroe 2315 pm . Don't think lights as these objects dispersed to other areas minutes later .

Sure were strange . 

9 hours ago, Soulfulmerlin said:

Strange Formation of Clouds / Lights over Clitheroe 2315 pm . Don't think lights as these objects dispersed to other areas minutes later .

Sure were strange . 

Look like a laser light show to me. Seen them  a few times reflecting off clouds  sometimes miles away from the source 

56 minutes ago, Winsford Soul said:

Look like a laser light show to me. Seen them  a few times reflecting off clouds  sometimes miles away from the source 

Give it a week and Discovery will have a documentary out on 'The Lancashire Roswell', complete with 'ex-MI6' experts saying that the aliens must be monitoring British Aerospace at Salmesbury.

1 minute ago, Davenpete said:

Give it a week and Discovery will have a documentary out on 'The Lancashire Roswell', complete with 'ex-MI6' experts saying that the aliens must be monitoring British Aerospace at Salmesbury.

Love it Dave. 

Sutton on Sea looking towards skeggy.

Wind turbines are not to everybody's taste..

Ed

5 minutes ago, Tomangoes said:

Sutton on Sea looking towards skeggy.

Wind turbines are not to everybody's taste..

Ed

Blots on landscape or seascapes as far as I'm concerned.  From Rhos on Sea / Colwyn Bay across Liverpool bay as far as you can see . Coming south on the M6 in Cumbria towards Lancaster.  Above Rochdale.  In-between Runcorn and Frodsham.  

Is there many off the south coast, Sussex,  Hampshire  areas ? 

1 hour ago, Tomangoes said:

Wind turbines are not to everybody's taste..

I've grown to live with them, no choice really, within 1/2 mile at the front of my house and a couple of miles at the back, when they put them up they assured us we wouldn't see them ,first one they built right on the edge of the hill opposite. 

     I love coincidences ,this mornings was two fold, walking by the river I came to the footbridge which crosses a small stream that flows into said river, a lady was approaching from the other side with her dog so I stepped to the side nearer the river bank, I've seen Kingfishers many times in different spots along the river but as I stepped off the path onto the bank I startled what I guess was a pair, one flew directly across to the other bank one down the river, never seen two together before. Walking along the path in the field when glinting in the sunshine was what you see in the photo which I'm guessing can only be from the Kingfisher, agreed not a great photo but a fine coincidence. Keep your eyes open folks you never know what you'll see.

Tother two, creepy exposed tree roots and an unusual cloud formation.

 

Edited August 2, 20204 yr by Twoshoes

4 hours ago, Twoshoes said:

I've grown to live with them, no choice really, within 1/2 mile at the front of my house and a couple of miles at the back, when they put them up they assured us we wouldn't see them ,first one they built right on the edge of the hill opposite. 

     I love coincidences ,this mornings was two fold, walking by the river I came to the footbridge which crosses a small stream that flows into said river, a lady was approaching from the other side with her dog so I stepped to the side nearer the river bank, I've seen Kingfishers many times in different spots along the river but as I stepped off the path onto the bank I startled what I guess was a pair, one flew directly across to the other bank one down the river, never seen two together before. Walking along the path in the field when glinting in the sunshine was what you see in the photo which I'm guessing can only be from the Kingfisher, agreed not a great photo but a fine coincidence. Keep your eyes open folks you never know what you'll see.

Tother two, creepy exposed tree roots and an unusual cloud formation.

 

Nice photos 👍. Talking of kingfishers, I saw another pair, flying down the river, one behind the other, on my walk yesterday. I must of seen at least half a dozen pairs this year, that's half a dozen more than the last 60 😁Seems this is the year for lots of strange things happening in the wildlife world as well as ours 👍

5 hours ago, Tomangoes said:

Sutton on Sea looking towards skeggy.

Wind turbines are not to everybody's taste..

Ed

Loads up in Scotland, especially the highlands. When you start to get past Loch Lomond they seem to spring up all over the place and there's a lot of heated discussions going on with some of the last remote wild area's pointed to get them.  Scout Moor near to Ramsbottom is one of the largest in the Uk 

9 hours ago, Winsford Soul said:

Look like a laser light show to me. Seen them  a few times reflecting off clouds  sometimes miles away from the source 

Was told a festival for Social Distances taking place at Gisburn . Though reports seen past Bolton . Thought I captured it good actually.  Photos in dark difficult to achieve 

38 minutes ago, Soulfulmerlin said:

Was told a festival for Social Distances taking place at Gisburn . Though reports seen past Bolton . Thought I captured it good actually.  Photos in dark difficult to achieve 

I've actually seen them approximately  20miles away from the laser show. The light was on the clouds south of Church Stretton nearer Ludlow and was based in Shrewsbury.  

Looks good 👍 

A Sparrow Hawk on the lookout from a neighbours tree while it is being closely watched from the roof tops 🙂

First one I've seen here for quite a number of years, must be 25 or so but just recently I spotted one flying around and we did have a lot of feathers in the garden and the remains of a Pigeon behind the shed a couple of weeks back. I guess that's why there's no song birds knocking about these past weeks. A few minutes after this photo it did swoop down into some bushes and I did see it again this morning circling over, on the prowl no doubt

A Gatekeeper butterfly that stayed still for a few seconds. Seen a lot of these recently

31 minutes ago, Soulandy said:

A Sparrow Hawk on the lookout from a neighbours tree while it is being closely watched from the roof tops 🙂

First one I've seen here for quite a number of years, must be 25 or so but just recently I spotted one flying around and we did have a lot of feathers in the garden and the remains of a Pigeon behind the shed a couple of weeks back. I guess that's why there's no song birds knocking about these past weeks. A few minutes after this photo it did swoop down into some bushes and I did see it again this morning circling over, on the prowl no doubt

A Gatekeeper butterfly that stayed still for a few seconds. Seen a lot of these recently

Andy great pictures as ever mate. Song birds have disappeared and sadly stopped singing because of the end of the breeding season and they're moulting so they tend to sulk away. Sad time love the dawn and evening chorus.  I'm lucky enough to see  sparrowhawks daily,  along with buzzards, occasionally Peregrines and Kestrels and the single Red kite in May. 

3 hours ago, Soulandy said:

Loads up in Scotland, especially the highlands. When you start to get past Loch Lomond they seem to spring up all over the place and there's a lot of heated discussions going on with some of the last remote wild area's pointed to get them.  Scout Moor near to Ramsbottom is one of the largest in the Uk 

The ones on Scout Moor are the ones opposite me, quite something to stand under them when they either start up or are turning to face the wind. Much as I dislike them they do give some unusual photo opportunities. There is reputedly 9 kilometres of rough road laid between them all, some carbon footprint there. 

1 hour ago, Winsford Soul said:

Andy great pictures as ever mate. Song birds have disappeared and sadly stopped singing because of the end of the breeding season and they're moulting so they tend to sulk away. Sad time love the dawn and evening chorus.  I'm lucky enough to see  sparrowhawks daily,  along with buzzards, occasionally Peregrines and Kestrels and the single Red kite in May. 

Cheers Steve.

See lots of Buzzards and Kestrels, but no Peregrines as yet. Red Kites I've seen in Wales and Yorkshire. Hoping for a Vulture flypass, but I might be in for a long wait 🙂

23 minutes ago, Twoshoes said:

The ones on Scout Moor are the ones opposite me, quite something to stand under them when they either start up or are turning to face the wind. Much as I dislike them they do give some unusual photo opportunities. There is reputedly 9 kilometres of rough road laid between them all, some carbon footprint there. 

Keep meaning to get up there for a walk and look round but not got round to it. Been across the way up to Peel Tower a few years back so that's the closest I've been to Scut Moor. They are big when near them

We had a fantastic golden moon last night, it looks like the sunrise in a darkened sky.

Baxter the sand eater..

Ed

Just added four more 15 " x 10" prints from Cambrian photography to the growing portfolio 

 

6 hours ago, Tomangoes said:

Baxter the sand eater..

Ed

I see you paint your toe nails Ed?

Indeed...

Good for starting a conversation...

The boy just sits where he wants..

Ed

Well I've been looking for two days now for any signs of my local Swift population. Looks like they've already left for warmer southern climes.  Sad 😥. There will be still some birds passing through from more northern areas for about another month then it will be next April if I'm lucky more likely May when I get to see them and hear there familiar screeching.  

Just seen 8 Swifts high and heading south.  

3 hours ago, Winsford Soul said:

Well I've been looking for two days now for any signs of my local Swift population. Looks like they've already left for warmer southern climes.  Sad 😥. There will be still some birds passing through from more northern areas for about another month then it will be next April if I'm lucky more likely May when I get to see them and hear there familiar screeching.  

 

1 hour ago, Winsford Soul said:

Just seen 8 Swifts high and heading south.  

Ours left several days ago - almost at the turn of the month and after the rains. Swallows have taken up their spaces in our local sky. Normally they're (the swallows) over the waters of the nearby lake rather than where we are, which is very close. 

Like you, I did see a couple of swifts one evening - late in the evening two or three days ago - but only briefly, and none since. 

Their disappearance always instills a sense of sadness, like summer is already over, and the long days of light are fading in favour of autumn and the dark of winter.

I went to visit a local monument for the first time. It's a propellor from a British bomber that was shot down over Aalsmeer in December of 1942 and crashed into our local lake. The crew, belonging to the 75th New Zealand squadron, survived and were taken prisoner. Aalsmeer, you should know, served as the HQ for the German Wehrmacht in the Netherlands during WWII. 

One of the reasons the monument is so interesting is the exploits of one of the captured airmen - navigator Eric Williams. He managed to evade capture for three days. When caught he was sent to a prisoner of war camp in Poland. He and a fellow 'inmate' escaped by digging a tunnel, but were recaptured very quickly. Both were sent Stalag Luft III (also in Poland), which was designed to be as escape-proof as possible: the perimeter fences were positioned at a greater distance than usual, thus meaning that any tunnels would have to be extra long, and so be extra hazardous for would-be escapees. Additionally, the German guards used seismographs to detect any localised underground vibrations, which would indicate tunnelling activities.

New Zealander Williams and his chum came up with an ingenious plan: they constructed a wooden vaulting horse, which they positioned as close to the perimeter fence as they could. Someone secreted inside the horse could then begin tunnelling while camp inmates continuously vaulted over the horse all the while masking the seismic vibrations. 

Tunnel successfully completed, Williams, his chum - who spoke fluent French - and another, made their escape dressed as French labourers. All three made it back to Britain. In 1949, Williams recounted the escape in his book The Wooden Horse, which was then made into the 1950 movie of the same name. 

The sun was positioned behind the monument, so it wasn't possible to get anything other than a silhouette, but at the very least the pic gives an idea of the surroundings it's in.

The plaque on the monument.

A still from the 1950 film, The Wooden Horse.

Russell.  That's absolutely fascinating.  Thanks for sharing the story 

1 hour ago, Winsford Soul said:

Russell.  That's absolutely fascinating.  Thanks for sharing the story 

Absolutely my pleasure. It really is a remarkable story.

What I didn't mention is that I took a short detour to the monument while on my way to meet a mate for a few afternoon beers. I don't know the area at all, and while I found the monument easily enough, I got completely lost in the maze of little residential streets on what is quite a large housing estate.

Apple Maps on my iPhone also let me down badly. For some reason, but I didn't know it at the time, it was showing me the map upside down rather than relative to my position and direction. Following the directions, I took a left. Fifteen minutes later, realising that this couldn't be the way, I turned round and headed back. And every time I opened up the Map app, the map was still upside down.

Anyway, I was about half an hour late, absolutely baking in the hot sun, only to discover the café was quite literally about three minutes away from the monument!

Oh, how I laughed! 😕

Edited August 7, 20204 yr by Amsterdam Russ
Klaritee

Single Swift over North Manchester this evening.  

Just had another one 9pm. 

Edited August 7, 20204 yr by Winsford Soul

Tonight's sunset 🌇 from the back garden 

 

1 hour ago, Winsford Soul said:

Single Swift over North Manchester this evening.  

Just had another one 9pm. 

Thinking about it I've not seen/heard them round here for a bit. We came across a house near to us that had a couple of swift boxes under the soffits hoping to get them to use them. We get a few bats flying about most nights tho 👍

13 screeching Swift over high headed South 

Andy  . My mate put 2 Swift boxes up and house sparrows moved in.

We also get plenty of bats about most evenings but I'm not sure what species 🤔,  Bat detection gear is way too expensive for casual use so I never bothered and unfortunately there's no App available to help . I say there's no app available which is a lie  the app available is to enable the plug in bat detection meter to work with your phone. The plug in detection unit is £200. 

Edited August 8, 20204 yr by Winsford Soul

Some random photos from this morning and the last couple of weekends.

Passing the vine in dunham on my Bollin Valley walk, just has to be done 🍻🌞

More from the last week or two. The Young Robin wasn't a bit scared of me and the dogs, kept coming quite close.

A couple of the dogs, Whippet 'Rain' and Chihuahua 'Bo'. Rooks seeing off a Buzzard (Was quite far away from the action.)

Overcast and 17deg Whitby today.

Better for walking I guess.

Ed

Had to snap this one, I hope he got a good discount on the Experienced sign writing.

 

Our balcony in the golden evening light.

You can't quite see them, but we've got two tomato plants up there bearing fruit as well. Had to destroy the cucumber and French bean plants earlier in the week because of a devastating infection of spider mites that, quite literally, were sucking the life out of both. 

It seems that even a small balcony is subject to the whims of Mother Nature - good and bad!

 

Those that i saw on Saturday morning here  in Manchester where probably the last until next year 

Possible could still see a few out and about further afield though   still optimistic 🤔 

Edited August 12, 20204 yr by Winsford Soul

On 10/08/2020 at 13:12, Steve Lane said:

Had to snap this one, I hope he got a good discount on the Experienced sign writing.

 

Does a technican open itself and deliver it to me from the fridge on the sofa when I'm a tad thirsty?

First trip to Coniston this year...

Black Bull pub recommended..its own brewery helps.

Ed

18 minutes ago, Tomangoes said:

First trip to Coniston this year...

Black Bull pub recommended..its own brewery helps.

Ed

 

Big brave Baxter, brilliant

45 minutes ago, Tattoodave said:

Big brave Baxter, brilliant

The water baby...

Ed

View from brownsea Island Dorset 

The Coniston steamer in all its glory..

Ed

Sunset, beer, close ups from Eden project.

Final old man pic

Ed

Tonights sunset made everything in the garden appear tinged with pink.