Well with the Royal Wedding happening of Friday 29th of April and the leaders of the land giving us an extra day off, plans were hatched for a trip to deepest darkest mid Wales. I should mention we are not against Kate and Williams big day quite the contrary. We wish them the very best in their new life, every happiness for the future and peace from the paparazzi, heaven knows they will need it! Oh and many thanks for the free day off :)
So the plans took shape in the form of an early start for the Élan Dams then off the Red Kite feeding station at Gigrin Farm and back to the Dams for a sunset shot (very brave for April in Wales as its not the driest place in the UK) With the weather not looking that good we all meet at Sandy Park Burger King at 7 o'clock. This is where the wolf made its first appearance and scared the life out of Simon, Rich and Geoff who had not meet the beast before! What else did Ian have up his sleeve or in that bag of his? You never know till he wants you too. So, the group was there and briefed with how to run in convoy we set off passports and £5.70 bridge toll in hand. We dispatched the M32, M4 and Tolls almost incident free, Rich's car had a small mechanical gremlin getting on to the M4 but with a quick twist of the key and threatening it with a large hammer and screw driver it behaved it’s self for the rest of the day. We made it to the Élan Visitor Centre for 09.15 gagging for a coffee, no such luck! Doors open at 10. We had a little wander around the car park then grabbed our gear and headed for the dam, I don't think anybody counted the steps to the top but it was to many! We all made it legs burning and hearts thumping, who said taking pictures was easy? This is where Ian decided to let us meet his second pet for the day, a rat (an Ikea soft toy). The water was 6 feet from the top of the dam, very graphic evidence of the dry winter and spring we have had. We took a few pictures with the hope that a bit of post production may make the grey sky look better and headed back down those steps for refreshment. This came in the shape of coffee's, tea's, pasties, crisps and sausage sandwiches. As we ate we looked at the Red Kit images hanging on the wall, the general consensus was they weren't sharp. Ian decided to pull out his Lumix and snap one as a banker just incase! Dam two looked much more photogenic (I think it was Pen-y-Gareg Dam) This one I estimate the water was 10 to 15 feet below the high tide line, even the fly fishermen could wade from side to side. This lead to thoughts of returning with better light as the graded shore lines would look fantastic. We climbed over the fence and slithered down the bank to the rock shore for a few more pictures. Ian disappeared only to return once we were all back at the cars. He was very happy with pictures of some ducklings, patterns in the water and a dead buzzard!
Off to Dam number 3, Craig Goch. This one you can drive across, we made the crossing to the far side and split up to take photos. The sky was still grey with the occasional shaft of sunlight peeping through. Rich Price waited with the patience of a saint for a shaft of light on some trees on the far bank. Barrie busied himself with some candid shots of a couple who arrived on a Harley to admire the view and some shots of the local feathered wildlife. Kev scurried off up a steep bank to get a lofty shot of the dam, Rich headed off looking for a different angle on the dam only to return to take shots of Chaffinch's with the lens cap on!!? (did we not teach him anything?) Simon wandered to the far side snapping as he walked.
Time was getting on as we needed to be at Gigrin for 2 o'clock so we decided to make a rushed visit Dam number 4 Claerwen. This one is pretty spectacular, its huge! Well not Hoover Dam huge but for Wales trust me its impressive. After a very quick look at the base we drove to the top scared Ian with a look over the edge and headed off to Gigrin.
Once paid and parked we all made off to our hides. Barrie and Rich P in the £15 seats with Rich, Simon, Geoff and Kev in the £4 seats. We sat and waited the 45 minutes to feeding time spotting the odd Red Kite and hoping we would see the fabled White Kite. Ian got a little bored at this point as his bum went to sleep and started snoring!! Then we heard the tractor and so did the Kites it was the equivalent of banging the food gong! they appeared from everywhere, circling above us. The tractor entered the field stopped right in front of us and dumped some its 40 kilos of fresh meat. I was like the rest camera glued to my eye trying to make a shot. Honestly it was like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds I have no idea how many Kites were there but am quite confident it was 100+ Suddenly there was a quiet shout through the hide its the White Kite! Every camera in the hides snapped in the general direction and pressed their shutter, it was tagged number 51 not the best for a photo opportunity but a record of a White Kite nonetheless. Then drama struck massive problems, memory full card!! Rich, Kev, Barrie :- Kev and Rich set about deleting images Barrie called it a day, well it was 5 o'clock! 5 O'clock where did those 2 hours go? Just ask the bursting memory cards 700+ for Kev 500+ for Rich P
Next a little confusion home, food, sunset? home was called then changed to pub to discuss further. A small detour via a luck encounter with a very large bracket fungus and the pub was entered beers ordered and a comfy sofa for us. It was decided to go our separate way’s. Barrie and Co. had another beer, Rich's crew headed off for a possible sunset at Dam number 3. It turned out OK, Kev and Rich P messed with off camera flash to highlight foreground while Rich finally got to grips with that flipping Chaffinch and Simon used the centre of the Dam as foreground for the sunset. That done we headed off home dodging frogs and Welsh drivers, feel free to ask!
Still enough rambling, just to say thank you to Barrie and Rich for driving and to all who made this another great Reflex Camera Clubs day out.
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