Change to Theme 1

I had decided a few weeks back that my first theme would be Nature and the idea behind this was that I was going to visit several parts of the peak district and capture some dramatic landscapes and produce a portfolio from this.




I didn't think at the time that this would be as big a challenge as it is, in respect of the time I would need to allocate to this each weekend whilst trying to fit in other responsibilities I had as well as working full time.  I did manage to visit a couple of places and take some shots but not enough to produce the kind of portfolio I had pictured in my mind.




So, with this being slightly over ambitious I have now decided to change this theme a little.  I have now decided that whilst visiting my partners parents over the Christmas period I will use this time to visit a nature reserve run by the RSPB called Old Moor (Dearne Valley).




Being a keen ornithologist I visit Old Moor quite a lot and it really is a nice place to spend the day, walking round the reserve and watching the birds come and go.  There are a number of hides in the reserve which give you a great opportunity to get up close to the birds and get some great shots.  The land around the reserve is made up of woodland, lakes and grassland all offering a great habitat for many different birds.




In winter the reserve is an important stopping off point for Ducks, Geese and Swans plus approximately 8000 Golden Plovers.



Old Moor was originally one of the 32 coal mines in the Yorkshire area in which a majority of these were closed in 1989 if not earlier.  This particular mine (Wath Main Colliery) was closed on the 25 March 1988.



Here are a couple of pictures I have taken over the summer this year before starting the course, as with all my images taken before the course these were taken in Automatic mode.

The images above have not been edited or cropped and looking back at these since starting this course it is evident that composition, rule of thirds and framing were not always considered when simply pointing and shooting.


My first visit to Old Moor to start on this theme will be tomorrow, the weather tomorrow will be as follows;

Date	Time	Temp	Wind	Speed	Gust	Visibility
Fri 16 Dec	0000	1 °C	SSE	1 mph		Very Poor
	0300	1 °C	N	3 mph		Moderate
	0600	1 °C	WNW	5 mph		Moderate
	0900	1 °C	W	8 mph		Moderate
	1200	2 °C	W	7 mph	19 mph	Good
	1500	2 °C	NNW	8 mph	18 mph	Moderate
	1800	2 °C	NNW	10 mph	23 mph	Good
	Night	0 °C	W	7 mph		Very Good

The weather looks set to be quite good with good visibility, dry with some cloud and strong winds. In respect of this weather and the area I will be vvisiting I will be wearing appropriate winter clothing for the outdoors including walking boots and a warm winter coat as I expect it will be quite a cold day.  In addition I will be taking a flask of hot tea and a packed lunch. 


Hopefully I should get plenty of good natural light throughout the day which I will need as I will be shooting using Shutter Priority when capturing the birds and other wildlife whilst also using a tripod and a 75-300mm Telep-macro lens .  When capturing images of the reserve and the visitor centre I will be using various F stops, using a tripod and a 18-55mm lens.