Crufts Dog show 2015

It was very crowded at Crufts on Saturday but possible to find space to photograph the very popular Afghans being judged - real poetry in motion. I also enjoyed photographing owners and their dogs - so often they share physical similarities as well as emotional ties.

Refined Decay at Calke Abbey

• Calke Abbey was owned by the Harpur family for 300 years including Sir Vauncey Harpur-Crewe who amassed a huge collection of natural history specimens. When he died, his eldest daughter, Hilda Harpur-Crewe  sold some of his collection to pay death duties but there are still many specimens left. She was succeeded by her nephew, whose sudden death led to crippling death duties (£8m of an estate worth £14m) and in 1985 the estate was transferred to the National Tust by his younger brother.  It was decided to leave the house in the decayed state that it was found. The Church, on the other hand, is well maintained.

Dovedale, Derbyshire

I had a short walk at Dovedale yesterday afternoon with a mix of cloud and sunshine. Shutterspeeds between 1 and 4 seconds gave a soft look to the water and vibrant colours.

Magpie Mine Derbyshire

Very windy and very cold at Magpie Mine with flurries of sleet and rain but the skies were great including almost constant rainbows. Images 4 and 6 were 30sec exposures with 10 stop ND filter. The panoramas are in camera with the fuji XT.

Botanic Gardens, Cambridge 1 Anglesey Abbey 9

The hoverfly on a Helleborine was the only photo that I managed to take before we were told to leave the Botanic Gerdens in Cambridge due to high winds (this is the second time CCC outings have been disrupted by gales at the BGC). Undeterred, we transferred to Anglesey Abbey and joined the crowds on Snowdrop watch. I was using the 100 macro with an extension ring, hoping to get some images for focus stacking but, even where sheltered, the flowers were moving. The closeup of the crocuses is the only stacked image.

Goosanders at Paxton Pits

Paxton Pits were very quiet and very chilly on a drizzly windy morning but we still enjoyed our walk and short time in the Kingfisher hide. There were three female Goosanders swimming and arguing with the Great Crested Grebe, several goldeneye (not photographed) and lots of Tufted ducks.