I was at home, sitting around again, then the sun came out as the weather continued its' crazy late February heatwave - today was approx 14C and higher due in next few days.
I decided I should take my camera for a walk and opted to visit Nymans Gardens & House NT property as it is fairly handy from home.
There is a woodland walk there that leads down to a lake, upon which I had seen some Mandarin Ducks on previous visit and hoped to see again as I was suitably equipped lens wise this time and left the tripod in the car.
Sadly the Mandarin Ducks were not on view this time out, so I had to make do with a large number of Mallards.
Just down from the lake, there area couple of spots where small streams flow over rocks and create small waterfalls. I took several, as I explored the water patterns and the bubbles being created.
After this, I headed back through the woodland walk to get back up to the gardens. This also took me past several large Redwood trees, with a few spots persuading me to point the camera and take the shots.
I knew there were lots of Snowdrops on my last visit to the gardens and expected more of the same. I was not disappointed, there were a lot.
There were also many Crocuses in bloom at various points, while a Camellia and the Helebores also gave plenty of colour.
I chose to get the camera down to ground level on several occasions this afternoon, to get flower level photos for greater impact - the live view on my back screen is an absolute godsend - and this seemed to work quite well.
I enjoyed three hours out in the sunshine and fresh air, getting plenty of walking exercise that is important for my health anyway, and managed to come home with quite a few very pleasing photos.
I am challenging myself creatively recently, trying to make the most of chances to get out and to see what I can come up with. This is making me look for detail and subjects and try to create an interesting image - something I am definitely enjoying.
