On Fromehall Pond

The day dawned bright and clear and... I slept on and on! Went to bed far too late last night, after watching a documentary about the 1960s and Woodstock.

Eventually got up and found it was bright and warm enough to do some work in the garden. In January! Steve's friend John came over for coffee, then afterwards we set off on a bliptrip to some old Mills, Fromehall and Lodgemore, in the heart of Hidden Stroud, sandwiched between the A46 and another main road. The light was very bright and contrasty. Steve had suggested I take the Canon 50D on its maiden outing, but I hadn't even held it since last summer. I actually find it very difficult to hold and operate because it is heavy, and I am a) left handed, b) dyspraxic and therefore struggle with motor skills and c) terrified of damaging the camera.

However, I managed about 50 shots, including this one of a swan on Fromehall mill pond. Lots of families were down there feeding the ducks and swans, but no one was friendly. The place has a run down, abandoned air, though the mills are both in use: Lodgemoor as a textile mill, and Fromehall as a home to small businesses. I used to have an office/massage place in an old mill (Frogmarsh, near South Woodchester) and I still hanker after a room in a mill. Round here, that's not impossible.

I didn't fiddle with any settings at all, apart from the zoom, and setting the spot metering. Everything else I ever learned about photography was too much to handle when holding the 50D. I can see the advantage of a zoom lens, but apart from that I'm not yet convinced. But I did like this swan, clichéd though it may be.

Fromehall Mill from the rear, blipped last May. CleanSteve has blipped Lodgemore Mill today.