Rannadale at its Best

Yesterday started off in a really bad way. We were in the woods at Buttermere and I had my Canon 7D and my 70-200 lens on my tripod at full extension. I knelt in front of my tripod to do some of the obligatory (according to JG) gardening before taking some close-ups of some bluebells and meantime my tripod keeled over smashing camera and lens on some hard ground. The battery grip was ripped apart and I was unable to check if the camera or lens were working because I did not have the single detachable battery flap which fits on the camera body and though the battery will fit in OK it is impossible to power the camera up without the flap closed as it form an integral part of the circuitry. This meant I had to wait the whole of the day to find out what the damage to my camera and lens was as there was no clear external signs. For years I have always carried this flap around with me in my rucksack but that day in a gesture to minimising my load I had decided that it was one of the things I could well manage without as I could not envisage when I would use it. Sod's Law !

Fortunately the day was not a write-off for me as I had my Sony RX100 compact with me in my pocket. So I was able to give a real testing and use the manual focussing as I was frequently wanting to use differential focussing on my shots to isolate a front bluebell leaf or fern from its background. In true LPH fashion I stuck it on my tripod for most of the time though I did cheat a little to do ground level macro shots and rocked back and forward with the camera in my hand to get focus. It looked rather ridiculous on top of my (not so sturdy !) tripod.

We stayed in the woods a Buttermere until just before lunch as it was raining on and off. I did not use my custom built Cameramac as it was made for my SLR and 100-400mm lens at full extension with the hood on and that would have looked totally out of this world as well as being impractical !! With a compact you can just shove it in your pocket when it comes on to rain too much, as long as yu keep wiping it down after shots.

We moved onto Rannadale for lunch and the rest of the day and it turned out to be a glorious afternoon with sunny intervals when the sun would sweep over the landscape as the clouds were literally scudding across the sky. JG reckoned it was one of the best of his times there as the bluebells were were out in proliferation and the ferns had not yet had time to recover from the extended winter to start growing and covering up the carpet of bluebells. I managed to shoot off a load of shots so much so that my battery eventually gave up the ghost. I did not have a spare battery with me but by that time I was photographed out !

My blip for today is surprise, surprise a shot of Rannadale. I chose this one as I liked the curve of the tree line and the straight lines of the paths.

Oh yes the camera and lens damage. The battery grip is, of course, a write-off and the lens is working but rather slowly. `The camera appears to be functioning fine but I will need to get it checked over just to make sure so things are not as bad as they might have been.