Well, our group went out to Skipwith Common as arranged. Wellies, thick trousers and shirt, US duck hunters cap, Barbour and some 50% DEET on exposed parts. Bins round my kneck, camera on the tripod. Off we set.
To be honest we didn’t go that far, the lighting was atrocious – dull overcast under trees is not the best to work with, lack of contrast and all that. In fact, I only took 15 pictures and some of those were repeats.
Mirror Pond
Found a small pond where the water was so still it was like a mirror. I really liked the confusion between real and reflected image.
Iris
This is a wild Yellow Iris (Iris pseudacorus) – I looked it up.
Big Ol’ Brown Slug
They tell me these are good for Chub fishing but I’ve never used one, don’t fancy picking one up myself!
Moss and Silver Birch
Don’t know why I took this one particularly, something in my head said ‘take this picture’ – so I did.
Secret Miller
Now while I suspect somebody deliberately placed this Miller bottle in the hollow of the tree, regular flooding has filled the space around it with dead leaves and twigs.
Well, I was getting fed up, desperate to take something ‘different’ so I started to wander back to the car. As I walked down the narrow road, fringed by shrubby trees, I saw a couple of ponies coming toward me. It suddenly dawned on me that no one was leading them, strange. Click, then I remembered that Skipwith has a population of Dartmoor Ponies – great stuff.
Unfortnuately, I couldn’t get close enough to them before they turned round and sauntered off in the opposite direction. It was clear that they must have been ‘family’ -they didn’t get more than a metre from each other as I watched them.
Dartmoor Ponies
They made my evening for me anyway!
I’m particularly pleased with how sharp the second shot is as I was down to 1/3 second.
——Stephen—–
Stephen G Hipperson 
I think your second shot is fabulous!
That’s very kind, thank you. To be honest, I wasn’t going to include that one, so I’m glad you liked it!
I love the outdoors & enjoy your photos very much! Especially the ponies!
Thank you! Ponies aren’t my thing, but these particular ones were pretty adorable.
the play of hide and seek of the horses are wonderful pictures
Thank you! I’m not a horsey person but I’d had loved for them to get closer and for the light to have been better to do their them justice – perhaps another time I will be lucky!
Stunningly beautiful horses. They look so gentle of spirit. I hope you get to take some more photos of them.
I hope to get back there in the next few weeks – I may be lucky and find a foal or two!
Loved the horse shots, one of my favourite subjects, but like your blog about the Robins, I think they come from Exmoor!
Thanks. These one certainly don’t come from around here – having said that, I believe that the conservation people who look after the Common are trying to put it back to what it looked like in the past and ponies like these may very well have been the type that were around then – they are very appealing whatever their origin.
i love the ponies too!
Thank you. I will have to go back and take some more – if I can find them!