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Tag Archives: Kingswood

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Walking along the North Stratford Canal

by Damien Walmsley Posted on
Working Canal Boat

There are places to go that always reveal new view and interesting pictures.  I just love walking along the canal from Lapworth near to Packwood House onto Kingswood junction. There has been so much rain that care has to be taken on the towpaths in case you either land in the mud or even fall in the canal.  Luck would have it that the sun was out and the sky was blue.  The puddles made for great reflections and there were even a few boats passing through the locks.  I had my Fujifilm camera with me and once again it provided some good photographic points of views.

Whilst I was on the locks someone stopped me and asked if my camera was a Leica.  No I replied just a Fujifilm masquerading as one.  However, I felt good after that as my camera was looking cool.  A word of caution is that I also need to be careful that no one attempts to steal it from me either, as it looks attractive.

Reflections of canal lock
Reflections of canal lock
Canal boats together
Canal boats together

There is a bridge on this stretch of the canal called the “Bird in Hand”, if a canal boat is moored in the right position and the light is just right then there is the chance of reasonable picture.  I stood on the locks and took care not to lose my footing.  The water was very still and the framing needed to get the semi-circle of the bridge extended into a circle.

Bird in hand canal bridge
Bird in hand canal bridge
Canal basin at Kingswood junction.
Canal basin at Kingswood junction.

The area around the lockmaster’s cottage was difficult to negotiate due to all the rain that had fallen.  One of my pictures taken with my iPhone made the BBC Midlands weather bulletin at 7pm as shown in the blog.  Another plus for the day. 

Always fun to get your picture on the Weather bulletin

As I retraced my steps to the car I caught up with a boat going through the locks.  It was a working boat with a cargo of wood fuel sacks.  So that was my third and final plus to the day!

Signposting
Signposting

Phototip
All the pictures were taken with my Fujifilm x100v.  The weather bulletin picture was made with my iPhone as I was able to get low into a water puddle on the tow path.  A quick edit with Google snapspeed included lowering the highlights and upping the shadows.  A bit of saturation and then uploaded to the BBC weather watchers’ site.

Further information
Canal and River Trust – the North Stratford Canal
Kingswood Junction
Previously on my Blog
Days out on the canal
Peaceful pictures

Categories blog Uncategorised

Bike Riding in May

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

Ever since the Government eased the strict lockdown then I cleaned up my bike and started to go out on bike rides.  I throw my Canon 5D camera into a bag with both the EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM and EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM.  Both lenses are excellent in covering most situations where I want to take pictures.  With the bright sunlight, I do use my polaroid lens fileter on the 24-70mm lens.  

Bluebells at Hay Wood

My first ride was to Hay Wood and then followed that up with going to Lapworth and the picturesque Kingswood junction. It did take some time to rest my stiff muscles before I was able to get going again.  After the short rest, I started to become more adventurous and went down to Lowsenford and back through Lapworth.  Following this,  I pushed myself further by going to Tanworth in Arden via Earlswood lakes.  This ride was challenging as it was a very windy day and there was a definite disadvantage as you cycled into the wind.  My next adventure was to Meriden and the centre of England.  The miles were being stacked up and I felt confident of my next ride to Kenilworth which was 24 miles there and back.  It was great to see the castle at Kenilworth even though one could only peer over the walls. 

The lockmaster’s cottage owned by the Landmark Trust at Lowsenford.

Doing these bike rides makes me realise how beautiful the Warwickshire countryside is and I hope you agree when you see this set of pictures.

Meriden Duck Pond
Brook Meadow in Darley Green near Dorridge
Field of Barley, near Temple Balsall
Kenilworth Castle
Categories blog

Kingswood Junction

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

The sun came back after a really dull week and so I jumped into the car down to one of my favourite locations for photographs.  Kingswood Junction is near to Lapworth and is where the Stratford-upon-Avon canal meets the Grand Union canal via a small connection under the railway bridge.  I played around with long exposure, long focal length lens and an old fish eye lens that I have.  All good fun and long may the sun shine.

A small boat in the marina

Which way?

Via the Grand Union

The connection between the two major waterways

Long exposure

Long exposure with black and white treatment

The Fish eye view

A pleasant sunny day

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Skychasing

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

If I need to think things through or if I am stuck for something to photograph then I head for Lapworth.  The Canal Junction linking the Grand Union and the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal is a picturesque spot and has all those ingredients you need .  I had hoped for a spectacular sunset and whilst not an intense one, it did not disappoint.  I remembered to bring my wide angled lens and also a graduated filter.  This did make the difference and ensured that I got a good balance between the sky and the reflections in the water.  One of my pictures even made the BBC weather watchers and was shot on the iPhone.

The pedestrian bridge over the locks

Reflections of the sky

Where the canal splits with to the Grand Union or straight onto Stratford-upon-Avon

Standing further back from the Junction

The iPhone picture that made the BBC weather.