Dave Johnson's Photography

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Category Archives: Europe


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An afternoon trip to Ness Botanical Gardens

This afternoon me and the family took a trip to Ness Gardens. The website describes much better than I could so why bother trying when I can easily cut and paste the text from their website!

Set on the Wirral Peninsula, Ness offers the enthusiast many horticultural delights including a replica of an imaginative show garden designed by Chris Beardshaw which won prestigious awards at Tatton; extensive, beautiful herbaceous borders always with something to offer the eye; a Victorian style Potager with many fruit trees and vegetables and Alpine House; a waterfall and water gardens; the largest UK collection of sorbus and most of the 49 known species of birch; plus seasonal surprises such as a splendid laburnum arch, and magnificent collections of magnolias, camellias, and rhododendrons.

The gardens were designed by Arthur Bulley, a local cotton merchant in Liverpool, and When he died in 1948 he left the gardens to the University of Liverpool with an endowment of £75,000 to ensure that they remained as a botanic garden which would serve as a reminder to their creator. On the day we visited the entrance to the gardens was free for everyone as part of the heritage celebration, however, normally University of Liverpool staff and their immediate family can gain free entry on any day. Good for us since Lou works at the University!

If you are into plants and wildlife then I would definitely urge you to take a trip to the gardens and then to enjoy afternoon tea in Rose’s tearoom! On this particular visit there were lots of dragonflies buzzing around, some the apparent size of a small bird! The one photographed below was clinging to a rock a few inches above the water of a large pond. I was quite amazed I managed to get a good shot as I the only lens I had with me was a 28mm prime which meant I had to crouch down and get real close to fill the frame. Surprisingly it didn’t seem too bothered by this and stayed around long enough for me to get ‘the shot’!

The version uploaded here is a low(ish) resolution version but go to my flickr site which has the original uploaded. The detail in the fly, in particular its eyes, is amazing. http://www.flickr.com/photos/djjohnson/sets/72157631355412954/









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There be a storm brewing

On Monday evening me and the missus decided that we would make use of the last night of freedom together before the cheeky monkeys come home from their summer holidays with the Grandparents. We booked to see Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, at a new cinema in New Brighton. On the drive over we came over the crest of a hill that presented us with fantastic views of the Bay of Liverpool and out towards the Irish Sea. What presented before us was a fantastic cloud formation of a storm gathering pace and intensity – appearing to hover over the wind farms out in the bay! Now unfortunately I only had my iPhone with me and as good a camera it is for a phone I was cursing that I hadn’t got my proper camera with me; so much so given that I nearly decided to bring it but didn’t feel comfortable leaving it in the car whilst we were in the cinema. Anyway, despite this shortcoming the iPhone coupled with Instagram has provided some pretty intense looking images of the impending storm.

Whilst we were enjoying the film little did I know that the storm I had nonchalantly photographed earlier was wreaking havoc over the northern part of the Wirral leaving roads flooded and rivers bursting their banks. Hopefully no long term lasting damage was caused.


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A stroll in the evening sun

Currently, Louise and I are enjoying a few kid free days as they are having a holiday at their Grandparents in Lincolnshire. You would think that as this doesn’t happen very often we would be making the most of it and going out most evenings? Unfortunately this hasn’t been the case as Lou is currently in the middle of a course that has 2 exams (all done by Friday though, YIPPEEE) and there is just far too much good sport on TV to necessitate leaving the house. However, this evening it was beautiful with lovely warm sun and a lush blue sky – perfect weather for a stroll and take pictures. The area around New Brighton on the Wirral has recently undergone a huge development with the building of a new leisure complex (cinema, casino etc) and a number of bars, restaurants and coffee shops. I have to say that it is a massive improvement on what was there before, and given the number of people who were taking advantage of the facilities, I would say lots of other people think the same way.


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Devon through the eyes of Lou and her iPhone+Instagram!

As you can see from the photos that Lou’s eye for photography is mainly on the children – contrasting quite significantly from my perspective. Whilst I don’t think it is necessarily a bad thing that we focus (no pun intended!) on different things it does mean that when we go out with the children by ourselves we will end up with either landscape or children shots. Fortunately when we travel together as a family we get the best of both worlds!

Anyway, enjoy the views of Devon as viewed by Lou which includes many photos of my two extremely cheeky monkeys!


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Devon through the lens of an iPhone and Instagram

Part 1 of 2. I’ve just come back from a fantastic family holiday in Devon. As per usual I took lots of snaps on my ‘proper’ camera (Canon 7D) but also lots using my iPhone and Instagram. The quality of the images with the iPhone 4S are really good and with the nice effects that can be achieved using Instagram some fantastic shots can be made. Below are photos taken by myself and given the Instagram effect. The next part will be ‘Devon through the lens of a Canon 7D’, and I will be interested to see which posts ends up with the most hits! Additionally, if my wife lets me I might even add a third part to the set and upload her photos taken with her iPhone and Instagram.