Huddersfield Narrow CanalCam Blog

Quack Echos

2006-08-07T20:19:00.000Z

Out walking the dogs tonight, we noticed a large gathering of ducks.
It was nice to see Bernard (son of Gerard the Albino Canard).
Bernard is a black duck with a distinctive white head that hovers around Uppermill, and seems to have his dad's stalking technique down to a tee.

Anyway, I digress. One of the ducks was particularly vocal with very loud quacks, that did distinctly echo around the area, thereby dismissing the urban legend that duck's quacks do not echo.

A little research on the Internet showed those clever chappies at Salford uni have already done some extensive research into this

Uppermill Canal WIFI

2006-07-31T18:16:00.000Z

I was wondering about offering a WIFI (Wireless Network) connection that could give users near CanalCam in Uppermill (mainly Narrowboat users) some Internet access.

But I'm wondering what's the demand like?
Do a lot of Narrowboat owners want wireless Internet access or are they happy to use other methods, as suggested by the nice crew of No Problem.

Please post a comment and let me know your thoughts either about WIFI demand or the pros/cons of sharing your Internet connection with strangers.

Google Advertisements

2006-07-08T09:55:00.000Z

You may notice Google Advertisements appearing at the top of this blog and a Google search on the CanalCam page.

This is because Google pay for these advertisements to appear (if you click on them) and I want to use the funds to buy a better webcam to improve CanalCam (I think this could take a while)

So, if you like CanalCam, and you'd like to see it improve, please click on the Google sponsored links that should take you to interested related content and use the Google Search on the CanalCam Page

Wild Goose Chase

2006-05-19T19:45:00.000Z

As it turns out, even the geese have been getting into the Spring spirit of things.
It's really nice to see a small gaggle of goslings (is that the right collective noun?)
Sadly it was quite dark when I spotted them, so the pictures aren't the best.

Here's hoping for a dry bright day this weekend when I can find them or then again, maybe the goslings will turn out to be as elusive as their parents in flight!

Spring is in the Air

2006-05-06T19:24:00.000Z

Ah, Spring is in the air and the canal wildlife seem to be in the spirit if things.

Lots of little baby ducklings are out on the canal - very cute.

The same walk revealed lots of other excellent wildlife and I really feel we've seen the end of winter now

The fairly dull looking thumbnail of water is actually some swallows diving around, click for a larger image to see what's going on

English Mist

2006-04-19T10:55:00.000Z

Hello to my friends in Japan who browsed CanalCam and said how it reminded them how beautiful England is with its mist.

I'm very pleased to encourage people's thoughts of England's beauty, but sadly CanalCam has become a bit damaged after pointing outdoors into the sunlight for a few years, and the mist is actually just the effect of a worn out camera!!!

CANALCAM CHALLENGE

2006-04-14T13:57:00.000Z

OK, I'm opening up a challenge to everyone:

Send in a picture of yourself waving at CanalCam.

You'll have to figure out for yourselves exactly where CanalCam is. It's triggered by large amounts of movement such as boats or groups of people going past.

The CanalCam site holds the last 10 triggered pictures so you might have to rush home to get your picture sent - or alternatively phone a friend whilst you're in shot.

You'll need to take a screen print, or copy of the CanalCam image and email it to canalcam@tinterweb.com

Successful entries will be posted on the blog

Wait on, Winter's back!

2006-04-09T22:25:00.000Z

Well, Spring may have sprung, but just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, the Snow Queen reminds us all that she's still got some fight in her yet.
Yes, hail and snow!

Spring has finally Sprung

2006-04-08T13:22:00.000Z

I'm pleased to say that Mother Nature seems to have accepted that Spring has finally arrived in Saddleworth. All Along the canal saplings are beginning to sprout

Attack Goose

2006-04-08T13:10:00.000Z

I thought I was going to get my elusive flying goose picture today, I guess these do count, but far more exciting was what this incoming goose did to a seemingly innocent bystanding goose

Innocent bystanding(attacked) goose seemed very forgiving and happily flew off with his would be assailant and another innocent bystander.

Sun, Snow & Ice

2006-03-04T14:44:00.000Z

I had to take advantage of the excellent lighting and icy conditions. It seems to do something magical and although snow and ice is far from rare in Saddleworth, it is something special and worthy of publishing these photos

I love the shadow of the landing duck - that unusual wing shape reminds me of some 1980's arcade game!

Winter in March

2006-03-04T13:28:00.000Z

Recent cold weather has frozen over the canal, adding a little snow frosting on top has really made the place look quite pretty. Just that it's March and it's about time Spring (the Fall) was coming round!

Going Down!

2006-02-27T18:51:00.000Z

Those of you with a keen eye may have noticed that the waterlevel dropped today.

No idea what's about to happen but it does explain the disappearance of Chug and another narrowboat on this section of the canal.

Stay tuned for more of this unmissable Huddersfield Narrow CanalCam excitement!

Quiet Again

2006-02-12T21:45:00.000Z

Sorry, it's been quiet again for a while now, I've been rather busy going places - see Nick's Lifeblog for details.

This weekend was especially damp too - so anyway, here's a couple of pics from the archives, just to whet your appetite for the spring and summer canal photo extravaganza!

OK, maybe not quite an extravaganza, but at least a little bit more exciting than it has been over the winter.

Sorry about the exposure on the squirrel - pesky little blighter saw the camera and made a dash for it!

Ready, set, go!

2006-02-04T22:05:00.000Z

This was just one of those mad "It probably won't work, but I'll try it like this anyway" photos, that I don't do half as often as I should, given the convenience of a digital camera.

It's nothing special, but it's started me thinking about taking photos from a different perspective.
More on this soon.

Tree Streetmap

2006-02-04T21:48:00.000Z

Have you ever thought about a mental map of where you live?
It's all pretty geometrical, streets go off at right angles, roads are straight

Then you look at a streetmap programme like Google Maps , and all of a sudden it seems a bit chaotic, and you wonder why people would ever build something so irregular.

I happened to take this picture today looking up the trunk of a small tree, and then realised how much the small branches look just like a streemap.

There's some kind of uncanny connection here, but it's too deep for me to work out, so I'll leave the fractal mathmatics and chaos theories to the genii of the World.

Mountain and Molehill

2006-02-04T21:38:00.000Z

This was just too good to miss - OK maybe Pots 'n Pans isn't really a mountain, but all the same, you get the idea (I hope)

John Henshaw Again

2006-02-04T19:02:00.000Z

Saw John Henshaw with his dog in the village again today - am now beginning to suspect that he is local, so may have more regular appearances!

Must pluck up the courage to go up and take a photo!

Canal Celeb Exposed!

2006-01-23T22:08:00.000Z

Despite my desparately poor attempts to describe "that bloke on the telly with the broad accent" and "the chap with the frown" I've been struggling for ages to figure out where I'd seen him before.

At last, watching BBC One's excellent Life On Mars series today, imagine my excitement when a familar face appeared.

Well, I say familar - at least a face that I've seen before and been desperate to put a name to.
Yes, the earlier mystery of December's post "Canal Celeb" is solved - though I had to wait for the final credits to reveal that the mystery celeb was John Henshaw

I'd love to post an image, but I don't want to upset anyone's copyright, so there's a link here

It all fits into place now, the Yorkshire programme that I knew he was in wasn't Brass, it was Born and Bred

Ah, I'll sleep well tonight knowing that one of life's little mysteries is solved!

Chug's Technicolour Paintjob

2006-01-21T12:20:00.000Z

Has anyone noticed Chug's fantastic new paintjob. For a long while Chug sported a battleship grey colour, but now there's a shiny new green coat, with a red roof, and cream & red details.

That's really added some colour to canalcam - thank you!

So much to say, so little space

2006-01-15T23:16:00.000Z

I've decided to create a separate blog where I can have other non-HNCC related jibberings.

So, if you're bored of canals and feel the urge to throw yourself in, take a moment to stop by my Pics 'n Mix blog first please (to bring up the hits)

ISS

2006-01-14T18:12:00.000Z

Cool - for the first time I know I saw the ISS tonight, using Heavens Above
- It looks just like a star, but moving in a straight line very quickly across the sky. At first you'd think it's a plane, but planes have flashing lights, and it was silent.

If you're in the local Saddleworth area then it should be around again tomorrow, starting at 16:54 (Altitiude about 10 degrees due West, reaching highest overhead at 16:57 (Altitude about 32 degrees due SSW) and disappearing out of view about 17:00 (Atitude about 10 degrees South East)

I'd recommend signing up to Heaven's Above if you're into that kind of thing, then you'll know about all the sightings.

West to Roaches

2006-01-14T16:29:00.000Z

For a change, we went for a walk West along the HNC today.
It's nice to see that they've put some new signs along the canal, and the distances seem to be a bit more realistic now!

The weather started off pretty overcast, but the sun burnt through the cloud and it brightened up quite nicely.

We came across the first white goose that I've seen on the HNC, although I did also notice that there seem to be more Canadian Geese now. I tried to take some pictures, but one again they saw the camera and made a dash for it in the opposite direction!

We also came across a couple of fungi growing on an old tree stump - I'm sure that they too were trying to avoid having their photo taken, but I was just too quick for them!

Happy New Year!

2006-01-03T12:39:00.000Z

Back to school today boys and girls I'm afraid!
So another year's festive season rolls on by - nice to catch up with friends and family, although little time spent on the canal taking pictures, so the blog's been quiet - sorry about that.
More interesting stuff to follow shortly.

CanalCam Sunset Decisions, Decisions

2005-12-17T17:38:00.000Z

The sunset was just beautiful this evening, I took more pictures in one walk than I have ever taken before, and now I can't decide which of these four I like the best, each has it's unique features that I just can't decide between.

Top left has a plane in it which adds nice detail
Top right has a central focus point with the sluice mechanics of the lock
Bottom left has ripples as a fish jumped out of the water
Bottom right has nice proportions of reflection to land to sky

Oooh, decisions, decisions - I dunno - you tell me!

Better than Real

2005-12-17T17:16:00.000Z

As we walked this evening, the sun was just setting, and at times it was very still, making beautifully clear reflections
Spot the deliberate mistake in this picture, it makes you wonder which world we are in!

You might need to click on the picture for the larger version.

CanalCam Christmas

2005-12-17T16:58:00.000Z

It's definitely Christmas time - I heard Noddy tell me last week, and you know, it's not Christmas until Noddy says so!
I saw another celebrity on the HNC today, paying the Pennine Moonraker passengers a visit.

Merry Christmas everyone!

I love digital photography

2005-12-13T23:42:00.000Z

The cool thing about digital cameras is that you can take a million pictures of the same thing, all slightly different and pick the best one.

Earlier this year I was out walking the dogs one evening and happened to notice a bird high in the branches of a tree with the moon in the background and the last traces of a pink sunset.

A few careful steps to the left a bit and back a bit (could have ended with a sploosh in the canal!)
This was a difficult picture - maximum zoom of 300mm, dark, with a slow shutter speed, Rufus and Ava jumping up at me to try and get some attention didn't help either!
Firing off 30+ shots in the hope that I managed to hold the camera enough for one of them to be non-blurry, this one is the best of the bunch.

Canal Celeb

2005-12-10T23:28:00.000Z

I'm sure I met a celebrity, whilst out walking the dogs today. Rufus took a liking to his Jack Russell.
But, it's a bit of a lame story as I've been wracking my brains but can't remember his name or anything he was in.
Not a sign of a minor celebrity - so much as a sign of bad memory!
Anyway, if anyone was out on the HNC about 3:00 today and saw a celebrity around Diggle/Uppermill area please let me know who it was!

Ode to Old Towpath

2005-12-09T20:21:00.000Z

Alas. the old towpath surface was burried earlier this year, not quite six feet under, more like about half an inch actually.
The old surface did have its puddles and was fun to negotiate in the damp, but it also had something that the new surface is sadly lacking - puddles.
I'm sorry to say that the new surface just seems to turn into a grey-brown sludge in the damp.

So, in memoriam of the puddles - here are some pictures of them!!

OK, I admit the last one is more of an ex-puddle as Ava zoomed through it, nowadays, she and Rufus return slighty less damp and slightly more grey-brown and sludgy.

Not Batman

2005-12-09T20:14:00.000Z

It's been pretty dark and wet for the last few days, so the blog has been similarly dark, but not quite as wet.
Still nothing new to report today, so thought I'd add in this pic I took of this little chap earlier this year. Quite festive and all that - ho-ho-ho!

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud

2005-12-01T07:16:00.000Z

I think it's fair to say that Winter is definitely upon us.
This summer, the HNC towpath has been resurfaced, but I'm not 100% convinced that this new surface stands up to the wet weather any better than the old one did.

The old one did have a few puddles that you could skirt around, but didn't turn into an unavoidable quagmire like this.

Rufus and Ava don't seem to mind the mud though.
Pictured below is the old surface two locks up on the same day, you can see the difference.

Where's Chug?

2005-11-29T20:39:00.000Z

Some people have asked me what's happened to the narrowboat normally in CanalCam's view. Well, that battleship grey boat (as was) is knows as Chug, and was last seen just a bit further upstream by the Wool Road Transhipment Warehouse sporting a bit of a new paint job, and looking rather smart for it.

Well here's hoping that Chug will return soon to brighten up CanalCam a bit

Zen and the Art of Triv

2005-11-28T12:45:00.000Z

If you're snowed in and looking for something to spend a few minutes of your time on. Take a look at Boddhizazen Zen Buddhism blog - I thought it'd be really heavy going, but actually it's quite easy to understand. Big Thumbs up!

I'm Dreaming of a White CanalCam

2005-11-28T12:27:00.000Z

Today we were blessed with the first snow (this side of June) in t'Uppermill.
So, just in case you missed it, here's a CanalCam view from earlier

Yes I know that everyone else had it at the weekend, but Saddleworth seems to have its own micro climate and I've not found anyone's weather forecast to be right for us, in fact most weather sites seem to group us in with Oldham (which we are not!)

Oh well, fingers crossed that we get sent home after lunch - just like they used to do at school!

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Bear

2005-11-24T23:50:00.000Z

What kind of an ejit wanders round the HNC when it's pitch black and freezing cold?
Well, the kind that wants to take photos of stars on such a beautiful crisp clear night!.

Yes, dear HNCCB visitor (thanks - you're the only one today!) here's my pic of Ursa Major (the Great Bear) on the right, with Ursa Minor (Little Bear) - top left.
Didn't quite go high enough, but the top tip should be Polaris (the North Star) - which is always...well...erm.... North!
Yeah, I know they don't look much like bears

You'll probably need to click on the images to see the stars - the right hand picture shows my attempt to draw the constellations on top of the stars

Below here is the view East where you can see Orion

The curvy right hand bit is his bow - the three diagonal stars are the famous "Orion's Belt" - heard a rumour recently that all three stars had simultaneously, instantaneously gone Nova, then to singluarities (black holes) - but turned out that Irene was looking at the wrong bit of sky - phew, thank heavens for that - literally!

The three vertical stars below Orion's belt are his sword. Incedentally - his left hand shoulder is a star called Betelgeuse - cool name, probably why Tim Burton choose it for his film

Ooh yeah - and just off to the top left of this picutre is Gemini - and no it's not related to the failed UK Eurovision act

To find out more about our night sky, I recommend you download a copy of Stellarium

How Jumbo Jets Fly

2005-11-21T12:56:00.000Z

It was fairly foggy this morning - seems that it's come North from France.
Yesterday in Pairs it was also quite foggy and as my plane taxied towards the runway I noticed that the moisture in the air was condensing back into clouds as the pressure briefly dropped above aircraft wings.
Quite an amazing sight and also helps explain how jumbo jets fly....
By making the air travel further above the wing that below it, the air pressure above lowers.
With higher pressure below the wing it pushes the wing and the rest of the plane into the air.

Or something like that - then again, Jumbo jets are so huge I think they need a bit of magic to help as well.

OK, I know this second one isn't a 747, but it was quite pretty.
Back to local pictures for a while now!

Sunrise as HNC enters Saddleworth

2005-11-17T12:46:00.000Z

Driving to work this morning, happened to notice that the sun had just risen over a beautiful frosty view (brrrr it was cold - about minus 4 !)
- drove along a few hundred meters to find that the hill's altitude between me and the sun had "gone up a bit" - so the sun hadn't quite risen - and got a lucky second chance to snap this nice view

HNC is about 1/3 of the way up the cromssing from - right hand side towards Stalybridge, left hand side towards Uppermill.

Sorry, probably no posts this weekend - I'm away on business again - gay Paris this time - shucks!

Cold Still and Quiet

2005-11-13T21:13:00.000Z

At least for a few weeks we can expect it to be pretty quiet round here, as there are quite a few canal stoppages just down the canal from here towards Ashton - with no easy way past, I wouldn't expect to see too many narrowboats passing CanalCam over the next few weeks.

As nice looking as narrowboats are, fortunately, there are many other pretty things to snap as Autumn turns to winter.

Today was a beautiful clear day, bright, quite still and quite cool - turning chilly as night drew in -

now just below freezing - I hope we can look forward to some frozen canal pictures soon enough.

Unfortunately, working hours mean that my photography is somewhat limited to nighttime shots during the week - but roll on the weekends!!

This is what home is all about

2005-11-12T20:15:00.000Z

Ahh, I love the weekends - after a busy week at work - a few days business in Vienna (yep, Austria - International giggolo that I am, but it meant nothing to me) It's really nice to click those ruby slippers and get back home to a loving wife, dogs, a warm fire and surroundings that you know really well and feel comfortable with.

Fun as other places are to visit, there's nothing quite like getting out on a Saturday afteroon, walking along the canal, starting through packs of tourists feeding beercans to the ducks - see the pic

(Try saying "beercan" without sounding like a Jamaican person saying "bacon")
OK, they probably weren't really feeding it to the ducks, though no doubt the ducks would be up for it anyway, much like the dogs - they really do seem to eat anything you throw to them.

So where was I? - Oh yes, leaving the bustling village, and people eating Buckley's pies, then working your way out to the peaceful countryside, it really puts things into perspective.

As the sun is just beginning to set, you turn round for home - a glorious golden colour fills the sky and reflects off the rippling water as a lonesome duck comes to join you - sorry mate, I'm fresh out of beercans!

Autumnal Scene

2005-11-09T21:34:00.000Z

This shows off the leaves really well by Wade Lock in Uppermill.
5 Years ago, this place looked like a... well, it looked like a building site
... because it was a building site!
Now it looks like it's been there forever.

There are still quite a few leaves left on the trees to come off - maybe we'll get some better pictures this weekend.

Dog Raspberries

2005-11-06T16:02:00.000Z

Went for a nice walk this afternoon to find some Autumnal canal pictures.
The dogs loved rooting round in the wet leaves and undergrowth. Got some nice pictures that I'll show off later this week, but had to share this beauty with you straight away - didn't even notice at the time what they were both doing as these licks happen in the blink of an eye - although normally they're saved for when they get up close to your face and you're not expecting them - yuk!

Fireworks

2005-11-06T02:11:00.000Z

Went to Martin's annual bonfire party tonight - once again a spectacular explosion fest!!

Took some time-lapse photos of fireworks, but sadly, they're a bit over exposed.
I figure that I get to practise my fireworks photography once every 365 days, so I might have it sussed by the turn of the century.

Mucky Puppies

2005-11-05T13:32:00.000Z

At last, the weekend and daylight!
Having said that it's a bit of a dull day today, rather muddy from all the rain, but the dogs seemed to enjoy the mess all the same. I'll save some of the other pictures for those cold dark autumnal nights later this week.

I also tested the gods of fate by getting a couple of miles away from home then running out of camera battery power. Was half expecting to see a flock of heron socialising with some kingfishers, but no such luck - just quite a lot of mud and drizzle instead. CanalCam blog welcomes those browsers from warmer climates and says - yeah OK, we're jealous!

Ooh yes, I'm due a correction as well from my last post, apparently, squiggels don't hibernate - they just become quite moody and antisocial during the winter time

Remember, remember those meddling squiggles

2005-11-05T01:09:00.000Z

Well, for those of you who aren't from England, you might not know that November 5th is a celebrated English event called "Bonfire Night" - long story about this chap called "old man" Guy Fawkes-Rivers who ran the local amusement park and wanted to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

But didn't get away with it in the end - because of those meddling kids.
Now we celebrate his failure with bonfires, fireworks, pies and peas (for some bizarre reason)

Here's hoping that the weather will improve on the evening of the 5th so I can take some fireworks timelapse pictures.

In the mean time, here's a cute squiggle that I saw by the canal earlier this year, I haven't seen many of these guys recently, I guess they've gone into hibernation now.

Enough of the Scooby Doo stuff - let's try some British Irony:
Classic Blackadder including "as dead as that squirrel" - "what squirrel" - BANG - "eep, thud" sketch

A Mars a day helps you work rest and play

2005-11-02T22:51:00.000Z

Tried to take a photo of Mars tonight in all its glory.

This is the best of a poor bunch with a 300mm lens (not actually that big), well you can see the round shape and the colour's about right (maybe a little pale) but it's lacking in detail - I guess that's something to do with Earth's atmosphere interfering or something.

Still nice to have it so dark along the canal that you can take pictures like this without ambient streetlights interfering.

Some room for improvement here I think!

tinterweb.com Spam

2005-11-02T15:50:00.000Z

I'm afraid that some spammer has wrongfully taken my tinterweb.com domain name and used it to send out spam messages.
I am slowly recoving from a vast set of undeliverable messages in my inbox - I dread to think how many have been delivered and are annoying people.

If you receive such spam from some vandal using my domain name, I can only apologise and say wholeheartedly that I have nothing to do with it, please ignore/delete the mesage.

I have reported this incident to my Internet Service Providers in the hope there is some way to prevent genuine messages from my domain being blacklisted.

More Spectral Hounds

2005-11-01T20:45:00.000Z

Tried more painting with light tonight again too - the Spectral Hounds didn't come out quite as well as last time, but it's a bigger pack this time!

Mars the god of Chocolate.

2005-11-01T20:30:00.000Z

Just in case you haven't heard the news, Mars was recently as close to us (and hence as bright) as it will get for another 13 years.

For the next few nights, look east soon after sunset, the brightest spot in the sky will be Mars - unless you're looking at a street light - or the moon!

I subscribe to Space Weather, and the nice people send me regular emails to let me know about cool things like this, OK so the timings are American and some events like eclipses are localised, but mostly space there is space here is space everywhere!

It's not Easyjet - it's Sunsetjet

2005-10-31T19:21:00.000Z

Yeah well, afraid to say that it's dark now by the time we go out, so I'm having to dig through the archives of photos. Should you take a stroll along the HNC, be sure to look up, around Uppermill, as 4 times out of 5, the wind is in the right direction so we're on the flightpath into Manchester Airport.

Snapped this Emirates A320 (I think - but I'm no professional plane spotting geek!) just as the sun was setting - cast a really nice orange hue.

The picture makes me think of warm summer evenings, walking late along the towpath - not like tonight, rather damp and very, VERY dark!

Heronsong

2005-10-31T12:54:00.000Z

Saw another Heron in the distance this morning flying over the village. Heard it's cry too - what a wierd noise that was

That could be my next challenge (once I've got a decent photo) - to try and record Heronsong (if there is such a word!)

Off the Subject just a tad

2005-10-30T23:54:00.000Z

OK, sorry about the absence of blog last week - unfortunately I was forced to go onto a business trip to Japan (unlucky!)

Anyway, here's my favourite photo of the trip - another timelapse, (as ever click for a larger version) but not really enough traffic/trains at that time of night to make enough of an impact. Still, impressive place - though really lacking in anything other than concrete, it's nice to be home and taking in the walks along the canal with the pooches (despite the fact it's chucked it down ever since I've got back!)

Also wanted to share with you my jetlagged snap of the little lady that actually catches your bags as they fall onto the baggage carousel - they have a job for everyone there.

All Creatures Great and Very Small

2005-10-29T14:15:00.000Z

Poor little greenfly, didn't really deserve this, but hey, somebody's got to be at the bottom of the food chain - so long as it's not me!

The Cat's Whiskers

2005-10-29T14:00:00.000Z

Sorry, been away for a few days, so haven't seen any of the local goings on or been able to post much.

Of course, this little chap doesn't really count as local "wildlife" but it was a fun picture anyway.

There is a Merth in my Reum

2005-10-21T21:16:00.000Z

Didn't want to you think that this was just an avian blog - oh no, when all them birds are stuck indoors under duvets, with the feet in bowls of hot water - with their flu, there will still be plenty of interesting wildlife left on the canal.

This black one (to the right of this paragraph!) needs a closer look - a cloud of tiny insects in mid flight, go on be brave and click on it - unless you're scared of bugs!

The Elusive Flying Goose

2005-10-21T19:47:00.000Z

I've been trying for ages to get a decent picture of a Canadian Goose close up in flight.

Trouble is that they know I've got a camera, so like to fly between me and strong back lighting, or fly nice and fast in low light conditions. Damn cunning those Canadians!

This is about my best effort so far

Signs

2005-10-21T19:30:00.000Z

No Mel Gibson or Joaquim Pheonix here I'm afraid girls (try here instead!), just some local signs that I snapped for some mad reason.

What's French for Duck?

2005-10-17T11:29:00.000Z

Canard...
...Yeah, it is rather, isn't it!
(say it in a cockney accent)

Don't bother even trying to feed the ducks on Sunday evenings.
By the time they've been fed all day Saturday by the tourists and fed again all Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon, they've just too bloated to eat anything else.

So stuffed are they, that they've even given up stalking people on Sunday afternoons.

Painting with light

2005-10-13T20:57:00.000Z

Took the dogs out for a walk in the dark tonight.
Had some fun taking long time exposure pictures and painting in the light with a torch.
Here are some of the better ones

Flicking the torch around as both dogs run makes it look like a ghostly pack.
The cloud cover across the moon behind the tree adds to the spooky effect (just in time for Halloween!)

Needed a bit of post production to whack up the contrast, but they're not bad for a first go.

Click on any image to see a larger version

Yuk yukkdy yuk yuk

2005-10-12T16:56:00.000Z

What a damp day it's been - I think we've had autumn yesterday (anyone notice the blanket of leaves?) and straight into winter today.
Mind you, the temperature is still quite mild - No idea what 14 Degrees Centigrade is in Pounds Per Litres Cubed, so you old fashioned people are just gonna have to get with it!

Anyway, talking about the weather suggests that this blog has reached an all time low, so I'll shut up there!

Return of Chug!

2005-10-10T17:10:00.000Z

At last, Chug the narrowboat returns into CanalCam's view - with a shiny newly painted hull.
Welcome back!

Birds are like Buses

2005-10-09T10:23:00.000Z

Saw another Heron today by Old Sag when walking the dogs, but as I got near, off it flew into the nature reserve.

Then on the way home saw a Kingfisher - but it was WAY too fast to take a picture.
Birds are like Buses - you wait around for years, then all of a sudden two come along at once!

Strangers in the Night

2005-10-08T19:19:00.000Z

As the darker evenings draw in, I've taken to walking the dogs along the canal in torchlight.
Went out at dusk tonight and saw the canal, quite literally, in a whole new light....
It was very still and the reflections in the water were crystal clear.
This has inspired me to do some time lapse light painting photography (some time!)

We met some cyclists without any headlights who were quite surprised as I lit up the dogs with a torch, still, saved them from a quick dunk in the canal!

Also came across somebody running home in the dark - didn't seem to be dressed like a jogger. This person passed us, then there was a crash and turned round to see him lying on the path having fallen over. Went back to check he was OK - fortunately he seemed to be, then as he limped off into the opposite direct he turned round and shouted "are you married?"!
"Yes" I replied, then he turned and caried on into the darkness.

This just struck me that it's a bit of a bizarre thing to ask another man in that situation, so seemed worthy of a blog post.

Anyway, hope he's OK and finds an unmarried man a bit further up the canal.

Hot, Wet WebCam!

2005-10-08T16:02:00.000Z

Yes, get it here - for a limited time only!
CanalCam now includes external temperature and humidity - check out the bottom right corner of the picture (if the daylight is bright enough!) - you should be able to read the digital display on the sensor.

CanalCam gets a suntan

2005-10-05T17:38:00.000Z

(ooh, that rhymes!)
I've tweaked Canlcam's position a little, and got it much closer to where it originally was.

Has anyone noticed the diagonal red blur across the middle of the image?

I think this might be because of two years of exposure to Chug's (the narrowboat) white paint reflecting in the bright Uppermill sunshine (LOL!) has caused UltraViolet rays to slightly "burn" the camera's CCD (image chip)
But I'm open to any other suggestions?

Fast as Duck

2005-10-04T23:36:00.000Z

Oh,
And caught this duck just before it entered hyperspace

Yeah, two leetahs, dropped wiv alloys an' smoked windaz.
Got if off me bruvah - works in a garidge - init.
Fast as duck !

Heron

2005-10-04T23:24:00.000Z

I've been waiting for a Heron to re-appear when I'm out with my camera.
Took some pics last time, here's one of it in flight.

Beautiful bird, but bad lighting so the picture is not so good, a little bit of an action shot - should have upped the ISO.

I've seen a Heron three times now around Uppermill in as many years.

I'm told that Roaches Lock is the place to find them so one day I'll go take a look with my camera.

Maybe not my ideal tall bird with long legs.

Where is Gerard?

2005-10-04T11:36:00.000Z

I fear that Gerard the Albino Canard is no more.
Haven't seen him all summer, think he might have gone to the great canal in the sky.

I have however seen "Bernard" son of Gerard the Albino Canard.
Mostly regular duck colours with white patches on the body and tips of the wings
Picture to follow as soon as I can track the little blighter down.

Sorry about the Position, vicar!

2005-10-04T11:35:00.000Z

Sorry about the position of CanalCam, it was set up in the dark last night, and is very procariously balanced.

I'll try to fix somthing up this weekend to tidy things up a bit

Great gaping hole

2005-10-03T20:18:00.000Z

By the way, has anyone noticed the great gaping hole in the canal bank by lock 22 where the canal bank has collapsed?

I've reported it to British Waterways and they're "looking into it"

Seriously though, it's quite dangerous - take care if you're out when it's getting dark.
Look out for wet people on CanalCam !

Finally We're Back!

2005-10-03T19:13:00.000Z

Hi Everyone,
Major apologies for being offline for soooooooo long.
Had a little accident with a drill whilst fitting a new TV aerial and went straight through poor old CanalCam's wire (zzzzzzztttt - flash bang - hair stand on end & CanalCam death!)

So finally we're back with the addition of the all new CanalCam blog
Feel free to post back and tell us your thoughts