Vase b

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @70mm, f2.8, ISO 280, Nikon Z 6 Evening, Lunar New Year; open work carving bottle vase (porcelain, South Korea) (toggle the full screen key with verticals) London

Vase

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @70mm, f2.8, ISO 320, Nikon Z 6 Evening, Lunar New Year; open work carving bottle vase (porcelain, South Korea), British Museum, minutes before Korean instrumentalists played their New Year performance for the second time (taepyeongso/hojok, gayageum, daegeum for a dance of body language artist Yong Min Cho) in the Great Court. The (free) performance sequence was another level of what we can see in the European art world, both for the instruments played (“music”, ballet) and perhaps especially the dance. Otherwise, we spent the whole day among the Museum’s remarkable collections, having lunch, quite a feast, fittingly in one modest Chinese restaurant (heading eastwards), that we, by luck, had just for ourselves for that short time. London

Christmas

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @70mm, f2.8 (1/13s handheld), Nikon Z 6 One of the Christmas scenes set up outside; there is a sense of inevitability surrounding the newborn (nativity) scene that we feel to some extent. It seems to be coming from a view or experience that impersonal morals and knowledge, in the absolute sense, are intrinsically linked. It contrasts with our approved concepts of character and rightness in our times (and perceptions of reality): the more impersonal a moral sense (that can be seen or manifested as selfless), the more foreign it becomes to its surroundings, and the more insecurity it will stir towards it (prejudice, hate). So it seems a strange conflict causes the feeling at the scene as it exposes ego, factually and symbolically (the consciousness of the baby). South London

Surrey Hills III

Sigma 100-400 OS C @220mm, f8 (Photomatix fusion Natural, 2 exp/1.3 EV), Nikon Z 6 Clematis temperate liana takes advantage of an opening in the forest where the ash trees were affected by the fungal disease. It’s the only native species of Clematis in Britain. Selective breeding is underway in Britain to improve the ash tree low rate of natural resistance against the fungus and eventually boost the number of tolerant trees in the wild.

Beech

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @56mm, f2.8 (Photomatix fusion Natural, 3 exp/2.7 EV), Nikon Z 6 Late morning in the middle of October; European beech covered with moss (toggle the key for full screen view) Surrey Hills

Wood Cauliflower

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @70mm, f4 (Photomatix fusion Natural, 2 exp/1.4 EV range), Nikon Z 6 Low cloud and sunny spells, late October, a few drops fell, so we better moved under solitary spruce (for lunch). Later we learned there were flash floods in London. The young fruitbody grows on a piece of old dead wood (it seemed to be spruce, a few metres away from our place). Notice the spider and yellow stagshorn at the bottom right side. Shot wider to include more of the forest floor. Surrey Hills

Forest VI

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @53mm, f2.8, (Photomatix fusion Natural, 2 exp/1.4 EV range), Nikon Z 6 Backlit, second half October; spiderwebs on a glen lit by the sun (covered with dew). South East

Yew Forest IV

Milvus 35/1.4 @f1.4, (Photomatix fusion Natural 4 exp/2.7 EV range), Nikon Z 6 End of September, diffuse sunlight (passing light cloud) Coniferous forests and their sections are habitats you don’t often see in temperate climates at low elevations, unlike the plantations, where the environment is different in many ways. The yew forest then is one of the rarest (the Atlantic pine dominated forest in Scotland is another). One of the best places in Europe to experience its feel is the southern part of England, where it is further emphasised by the local variety’s characteristic gnarly growth and (often) the chalk bedrock. Uprooted trunks of the long-lived tree can root and form fully developed habitus from the old and new branches, and so can the drooping branches, giving the forest a distinctive character. It’s more than likely that this character had a certain or special meaning to our ancestors since time immemorial and not just as a distinct material (the same for the earlier neanderthal). South East

Surrey Hills II

Sigma 100-400 OS C @270mm, f10, (Photomatix fusion Natural 3 exp/1.4 EV range), Nikon Z 6 Early October, early evening, backlit (right below the sun); these minor exposure fusions enhance DR-tonality-colour, reduce noise and need for processing where that is difficult for the sensor with a single frame (quite often to us). We found that easier with ML cameras. South East England

Tomorrow

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @46mm, f2.8, Nikon Z 6 Scattered morning cloud; experience tells us that driving our horses a wrong path is better than driving wrong horses a we-don’t-know-what path. Only the former can find it. Sub-Saharan motive mural, Croydon London

Forest V

Milvus 35/1.4 @f1.4 (Photomatix fusion Natural 2 exp/2 EV range), Nikon Z 6 Afternoon, oak bark Surrey Hills

Forest IV

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @43mm, f2.8, (Photomatix fusion Natural 2 exp/1.3 EV range), Nikon Z 6 Late evening; yew trees in lowland chalk forest Surrey Hills

Wild Garlic ; Flower Milvus 35/1.4 @f1.4 (Photomatix fusion Natural 2 exp/0.7 EV range), Nikon Z 6 Afternoon in the April wood (24th); early flowers Surrey Hills

Heath

Milvus 35/1.4 @f1.4, (Photomatix fusion Natural, 3 exp/1.3 EV range), lens original vignetting; Nikon Z 6 Second half of May, sunset sky glow Surrey Hills

Crown

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @33mm, f7.1 (Photomatix fusion Natural 3 exp/1.4 EV range), Nikon Z 6 Afternoon (20th April); while most beech trees were in various stages of sprouting, some showed barely visible budding like this splendid crown. It’s down to individual differences that the trees often reveal at the same location among the trees of similar age. The location, microclimate and physical condition of a particular tree influence the start of the sprouting and paths of other processes. The freshly developed luminous leaves (for their shape) is a short, easily missed stage. Surrey Hills

Crown II

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @24mm, f2.8, (Photomatix fusion Natural 5 exp/4 EV range), Nikon Z 6 Morning (8th May), a beech tree with the first fully developed leaves Surrey Hills

Yellow Archangel Milvus 35/1.4 @f2, Nikon Z 6 Half of May, early evening; other herbaceous plants spark from the fading blue, such as yellow archangel or bright pink red campion (in smaller numbers yet). 100% enlargement reveals distinct hairs on the petal cups (macro-like ability of the Milvus 35/1.4). The way the colours combine reminds of Ukrainian flag; let’s hope the peace will return soon. Surrey Hills

Old Yew

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @35mm, f2.8, (Photomatix 5 exp/4 EV range), Nikon Z 6 Afternoon, Surrey Hills

Bluebell ; Bumblebee

Milvus 35/1.4 @f2, Nikon Z 6; this Milvus has a rendition of a decent macro lens for closeups; one of the highlights of this wide angle Hyacinthoides non-scripta; the evening light and a large worker buff-tailed bumblebee (over 15 mm) visiting the flower add magic to the woodland scene and scale to those outside Atlantic Europe unfamiliar with the bluebell. The bumblebees are increasingly active during the winter in warmer parts of Europe. Surrey Hills

Glade

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @24mm, f4, (Photomatix 3 exp/1.3 EV range), Nikon Z 6 Early evening; yew forest first half of April Surrey Hills

Surrey Hills

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @35mm, f2.8, (Photomatix 3 exp/1.3 EV range), Nikon Z 6 Late afternoon; the hills are peppered with uprooted trees after intense storms this winter. This yew in best condition is a rare sight in whatever state in Europe; the temperate chalk hills are its favourite place. Some reserves enjoy a great number of them, like this one, with others having still good numbers in the mix. This region then, in particular, has a potential for breath-taking forests, but things didn’t go right in Europe and other places in the past and that is difficult to change quickly. We were busy building a paradise and didn’t think it could be better to understand it more that may get us closer, albeit that with much more difficulty. The tree will still live here for more than a person’s life. It won’t be “tidied”; it will remain a part of the forest, embedded in the complex it supports and creates until its visible form is absorbed.

Lindwood

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @44mm, f2.8, speedlight/wide angle diffuser, Nikon Z 6