Rainbows.

A day of sunshine and showers earlier in the week produced an astonishing number of rainbows.  They appeared and disappeared quite quickly and I spent a happy morning dashing in and out with my camera to photograph what I could.  Some of the photos capture a full strength rainbow, most of them a beautifully fading rainbow, all of them span Hythe village, Hythe Marina and Southampton Water.

The picture shows one of the rainbows over Hythe and Southampton Water, Hampshire, at 08:15 on Tuesday 25th September 2012.

To see more of my rainbow photos, click on the link below:-

http://susanvale.tumblr.com/post/32584435496/a-morning-of-rainbows-over-hythe-hampshire-from

A Walk Around Hythe Marina, Hampshire.

A sunny day, a couple of hours to play with and an urge to be out in the autumn air, had me stepping out with my camera this afternoon to snap away at whatever took my fancy.  I headed for the marina and had a fine time taking pictures of this and that; a sort of photo essay.  The sun was hot, the air was cool, a light wind from the north-west; I saw big fish, big ships, tug boats, ferry boats, red admirals, blue skies, cabbage whites, late roses, turning leaves, flocks of gulls and other lovely things besides.

The picture shows a big fish in Hythe Marina, Hampshire, breaking the surface and disturbing the reflected clouds, at 14.34 on Saturday 29th September 2012.

To see a few more of my photo essay pictures of A Walk Around Hythe Marina, Hampshire, click on the link below:-

http://susanvale.tumblr.com/post/32541021792/my-photo-essay-of-a-walk-around-hythe-marina

Bird's Eye View.

Looking out across the water yesterday, the world glowing in the late afternoon sun, silvery-blue waves gently lapping against the shore, I noticed a beautiful little bird, perched on the sea wall in front of me, sharing the moment and making my heart sing.

The pictures show a close-up of the bird on the sea wall (I think it's a fledgling wagtail?) and a wide-shot with  Southampton Water and the Port of Southampton in the background.  Both photos were taken from Hythe, Hampshire, at 18:29 on Thursday 27th September 2012.

To read about Wagtails, click on the link below (NB: when the RSPB page opens up, click on the second of the three illustrations to see a juvenile Pied Wagtail):-

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/p/piedwagtail/index.aspx

Southampton Central to London Waterloo.

It's not often that I travel without something to read, but a couple of weeks ago that's exactly what happened.  I was at Southampton Central on board the 10:30 inter-city service to London Waterloo and as the train pulled away from the station, I reached into my bag to pull out a magazine and found my camera and a mobile phone, but no magazine; nothing to read.  I played with my phone for a few minutes and then did the only sensible thing and set myself a photo challenge; taking pictures of the passing countryside from my seated position by the window; making it all the more interesting by choosing to sit with my back to the engine, unable to see what was coming!

It was a fascinating exercise and the hour and twenty minutes journey time went by in a twinkling.  I usually read the latest issue of The New Yorker magazine on the train, but next time I travel, I might just pack my camera!

The picture shows a passing train near journeys end at Vauxhall towards London, at 11:44 on Thursday 13th September 2012.

To see more photos of my journey from Southampton Central to London Waterloo, click on the link below:-

http://susanvale.tumblr.com/post/32320858023/photos-of-my-train-journey-from-southampton