photography

Walking – Lincolnshire Coast

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I went out to the Lincolnshire coast near Saltfleet and Rimac, walking along the beach and across the sand dunes.

Lincolnshire Coast​
Lincolnshire Coast​

Coffee Time and new gear

A new 1.1l water bottle, a nesting mug with a lid, all titanium. The canteen carrier has a shoulder strap and belt loops and a pocket for the lid.

It was a birthday present from my family.

It is excellent. Lightweight, sturdy and well made. The carrier is snug, put the mug and the bottle in first then slide in the lid and cinch down the restraining strap.

The bottle provided water for four hot drinks throughout the day.

Lincolnshire beach
Razor clam
Razor clam
Lincolnshire ciast
Dunes and sky

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Walking along the River Slea with lightweight gear

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As I had the day off because of the American Football, I made bread and went for a walk, took some photos in what may be the last of the summer sunshine and made some coffee. I grabbed my Finnish haversack and some lightweight gear and headed out before the rain came. (Some of this blog was written whilst I was walking and some when I got home.)

Bridge over the River Slea​
Bridge over the River Slea​
Lincolnshire countryside
River Slea​
River Slea​ and weir
This was the view from the coffee stop

Coffee

I found a log down by the river to sit on to make some coffee.

I have a small twig stove from Bushcraft Essentials, in my cook set but I use gel fuel in it, and use a Burt’s Bees tin as a burner. I carry the fuel in a re-purposed hand sanitise bottle. It makes a truly lightweight brew stove when out walking – when the tin/burner is brim of fuel it can heat about 250ml of water hot enough for coffee, noodles or soup.

lightweight gear a gel stove adaption for a twig stove
gel fuel adaption for a twig stove
titanium mug and folding spoon - lightweight gear

Rather than use the ground coffee and tea strainer from the cook set I chose to use a coffee bag – this brand from Taylors makes a good strong brew in the amount of water I had.

lightweight kit for coffee
titanium lightweight equipment

Weir and lock

Well there was a lock, weir and associated machinery here in the past.

Weir and lock on the River Slea
Weir and lock on the River Slea
Weir and lock on the River Slea
Weir and lock on the River Slea
Weir and lock on the River Slea
Weir and lock on the River Slea - long shutter speed motion photo

I used the Camera+2 app for the long shutter speed motion effect.

Weir and lock on the River Slea

More Walking

Woodland
Woodland and River Slea
Haverholme Priory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haverholme_Priory
Haverholme Priory

Gear in the Haversack

Lightweight gear and walking kit in a Finnish haversack
The stove with the mug on it is in the background – the ground cloth is folded in quarters

For lightweight trips the Finnish Haversack can hold enough gear and I use it rather than one of my small rucksacks in the summer when I do not extra clothes and gear.

Contents today:

  • Backpacking cook set
  • Breakfast biscuit snacks and coffee
  • British Army bush hat
  • Lightweight poncho (camouflage as it was the lightest one I could get on Amazon during the lockdown)
  • Lightweight picnic ground cloth
  • 500ml steel water bottle – with an MSR 350ml titanium mug pushed on the bottom
  • 1l dry bag for electronics, Anker power pack, charge cable, Victorinox Swiss Card etc
  • Paracord (about 5m)
  • Small belt pouch – simple first aid kit, mini Petzl head torch, tea and coffee supplies, vegetable Oxo cube, salt packets, soup and chilli packs from instant noodles, Silva compass with thermometer, string, hotel sewing kit with some extra strong thread added to it, safety pins, Traditional Case mini Trapper knife, sharpening stone, duck tape patch, army style tin opener, refillable lighter, lifeboat whistle and lanyard for my Victorinox Camper knife, eye drops bottle re-purposed for hand sanitiser.

The little pouch is well packed for a trip like this but when I am on longer trips or away the lanyard and whistle are in use so making the rest of the items more accessible.

All images made with my iPhone 12 Pro Max which I carry in a belt case for lightweight trips like this.

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Macro Lens for my iPhone

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Having seen a similar lens on the BCC Countryfile I purchased this lens from, of Amazon! You cannot beat the service – ordered after Countryfile on Sunday evening, delivered to me just after 4pm on the following day.

A quick look through this blog shows I make a lot of close-up images – one of my most viewed post is one featuring a series of close-up shots of bees. This lens should get me closer.

Here are some photos using the lens this morning:

Close-up bee photo with a macro lens accessory for an iPhone 12 Pro Max
Close-up bee photo with a macro lens accessory for an iPhone 12 Pro Max

Here is the lens:

A macro lens accessory for an iPhone 12 Pro Max
100mm focal length macro lens accessory for an iPhone 12 Pro Max

It disassembles for carrying and to allow for accurate placement over the iPhone camera lens – hence the second lens cap. (I am going to put some brightly coloured stickers on the small lens cap for when I drop it!) A small draw string carrying bag was also provided.

Excerpts from the manual:

I have only used it for a trial in the garden this morning – handheld, with the wind moving the roses. I shot about 15 images and two were usable.

I have a small tripod and a smartphone clamp which I plan to use to steady this lens whenever possible. The lens, tripod and clamp are light enough that I will catty them when out walking.

I know there will be some image quality lost by using an accessory such as this and if I was still working as a professional photographer that would be a consideration, but I take photos for the challenge of making good images and the fun of it.

Watch out for the close-ups in future posts.

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