Visit to Confetti fields and Pershore, 2023

There is a rush of colour to the eyes when you first see the Confetti Fields in Wick near Pershore. The family have been going to the fields since 2018 and every time the colours of the flowers surprise me.  The delphinium flowers are white, purple, pink, or lilac blue. They are set out in lines along the field in a regimented style.  Nature has a few quirks as in each line of colour there is some cross contamination that adds a small local contrast of colour.  One line is of mixed colour and then around the edges are wildflower displays which add another touch of contrast.  The family enjoy the day out to the fields and on arrival we walk to the top of the field before slowly making our way back through the paths created in the lines of flowers.  Along the way there are lengthy stops for photographs.  The viewing platform provides an overall view of the whole field and my grandchildren enjoy the trip up the steps to see the colourful flowers up high.

Visit to Confetti fields and Pershore, 2023
A happy granddaughter in the fields
Visit to Confetti fields and Pershore, 2023
Selfie taking in the fields
Visit to Confetti fields and Pershore, 2023
The fields are great for those extra special family portraits.

This year I brought along my 85mm portrait lens, and it proved to be a big success in the family portraits.  The lens gives a superb focus and a nice bokeh to the pictures.  Having taken in the flower fields, we walk past the refreshments to the car.  We learnt long ago that buying bunches of delphiniums cause problems.  They look delightful to begin with but rapidly shed their petals when placed in a flower vase.

Visit to Confetti fields and Pershore, 2023
More colourful pictures of the Confetti fields.
Visit to Confetti fields and Pershore, 2023
Matching colours

Every year we have a picnic ready for the park in Pershore which is near to the Abbey.  However, this year our visit clashed with a brass band festival.  Everywhere was busy and there were no parking places available.  We were very disappointed.  As we headed out of Pershore, my daughter and I remembered a small car park that we had driven past near to the old Pershore bridge.  We pulled into the car park and found spaces.  There were also picnic benches.  A bonus included a viewing platform overlooking the river Avon.  The platform was between the new and old bridge and allowed us to view people kayaking on the river.  As several narrowboats passed by, the grandchildren were able to wave to the people on board.  Whilst we were on the platform, I met Rob preparing his kayak for a paddle on the river Avon. My picture shows him setting up his kayak surrounded by the other equipment laid out on the viewing platform. 

Visit to Confetti fields and Pershore, 2023
Waving to the narrowboats passing by.

The historic Pershore bridge, which is now pedestrian only, has so much history attached to it. In 1413, the abbot of Pershore Abbey lost his life here on the old wooden bridge, The monks rebuilt it in stone. During the English Civil war, the King ordered the bridge to be destroyed to prevent the advancing Parliamentarian army from crossing it. The demolition, led by a Major Bridge, went disastrously wrong leading to the deaths by drowning of 40 Royalist soldiers. In World War 2 ,the bridge was fortified in the event of a German invasion. 

Visit to Confetti fields and Pershore, 2023
Rob preparing his Kayak for the river.

Now the place is a picnic area and Rob can kayak peacefully beyond the bridge from Pershore to Evesham. 

Visit to Confetti fields and Pershore, 2023
I brought along an old Polaroid Pogo allowing the pictures to be printed on the spot.

The family loved the day as can be seen from the photographs.  If you want to learn more about our day out then I have provided some links below

The Real Confetti Flower company

Visit Pershore with details of all the activities in the area

I also recorded past visits to the Confetti fields in 2020, 2019, and 2018. Pictures from 2021 and 2022 were featured on my Flickr and Instagram accounts.

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Kenilworth Castle Sept 2021

Our last visit to Kenilworth castle was in 2019 when the grandchildren were much younger. A revisit was needed now that they were in a “run about mode”.  The weather was kind and ideal for outside activities.  We arrived and the children were very excited.  I brought my x100v with me plus I activated the flash on the camera at around 1/64.  I knew that I would be taking lots of pictures often in dark areas of the castle. The children ran to the far end of the castle and we were led straight to the Elizabethan garden. This was immediately followed by the Norman keep.  It was difficult keeping up with them.  However it made for some interesting photography as you are constantly trying to adapt and keep up with their sudden movement!  The ruins have many nooks and crannies which are ideal hiding places for children. Sometimes we really thought we had lost them.  There was a path that went upwards to the battlements. No sooner had we reached the top when it was back down into the Great Hall. After all this expended energy, it was time for lunch.  Near to the Tudor stables where the tearoom is situated there are the ruins of the chapel. These make great stepping stones for the children. 

Kenilworth Castle Sept 2021
Warwickshire Bear
Kenilworth Castle Sept 2021
Leicester’s building

After lunch it was to Leicester’s building and English Heritage have constructed an internal staircase which allows you to climb to the top of the tower.  As we were looking out onto the adjacent fields, we saw a wedding party moving through the footpath.  This is where I would love to have the telephoto lens attachment. It was great to see a local celebration happening around the castle.

Kenilworth Castle Sept 2021
View of the Castle

The pictures show the fun that we had at the castle and with the grandchildren growing up it is so much more enjoyable visiting such places. You can compare this to my last blog about the castle in 2019. We loved it so much that we joined English Heritage and now have them alongside the National Trust for places to visit.

Kenilworth Castle Sept 2021
The gardens with Leicester’s Gatehouse in the background
Kenilworth Castle Sept 2021
Statue in the Gardens
Kenilworth Castle Sept 2021
Light on the bricks
Kenilworth Castle Sept 2021
Wedding party at the walls of the Castle

A year on and another trip to the Confetti fields at Wick, near Pershore. This time we took more of the family to see the flowers. It was in a different field and I don’t think the display was as intense as last year. It did not matter as all the grandchildren loved it. Sandy was impressed with it as well. It was very busy as usual as people do turn up early! My granddaughter Lily was old enough to fully take it in, whilst Noah and Chloe enjoyed all the attention and day out. After the fields we headed out to Pershore Abbey Park for a well deserved picnic. Here are the photos of the day.

The Nifty Fifty is said to be the lens that comes closest to capturing what the human eye sees.  When I got my first DSLR it had a crop sensor and I purchased a 50 mm Canon lens as it was so cheap.  Over the years I have used it as a portratit lens. It has given very good results especially when using it with a flash set up. A few months ago, I felt I needed a new challenge with my photography so I put the 50mm lens onto the Canon 5D and used it whenever I could.  It was a challenge taking the pictures and was similar with other prime lens which I have written about. Take a look at the picture Metropolis taken with my 40mm lens. When using a prime lens, you do have to think about the composition as you have no capacity to zoom in or out.  Therefore your feet have to do the moving.  I have provided a selection of photographs taken with the 50mm lens and as you see the results are pleasing.  There has been some post processing in a few of the photographs.  The result was that I did get a kick out of using just this lens.  It was not a case of loosing any pictures because I had the wrong lens but rather that I created new ones.

The 50mm lens brings out colour and shows the detail from the blossom.
Here I am using the 50mm lens to capture the architecture of the University of Birmingham Buildings. The sharpness comes through as well as the colour
I captured my grandson Noah with a candid shot. The lens is great for such closeup pictures
This mural by Annatomix is on the Warwick Bar part of the inner canal network. The prime lens has caught the detail and there is a nice use of the focus with the foreground adding to the framing around the picture.
Shooting the Custard Factory building through a hoie in a security fence. Shows how the nifty fifty can really focus
Another go at the focus through a fence and the subject is the Chimney at the Custard Factory.
Here is a landscape picture with the 50mm lens.  The mist adds atmosphere and the figure comes out to be very sharp.  I was surprised how the 50mm lens worked this so well.
Final one is another blossom picture with the mist added a nice backdrop to the picture