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April 2016 

Photographers Resource

ISSN 2399-6706

Issue No: 147


Tintern Abbey, South Wales

A View from the Roadside with cows grazing in the adjoining field. The River Wye runs behind the Abbey ruins from this point.

April is here, we are now on the cusp of summer. The clocks have gone forward and the daylight hours are longer, there is so much more time to get out and about and explore. Hopefully the weather will be good as well. Our diary pages start to bulge with numerous events you can attend and get some great photographic opportunities.
April Diary
Wildlife Photography In April
Your First Visit
On the 24th the photographic world celebrates World Pinhole Photography Day, where photographers are invited to take a picture with a pinhole camera during the 24 hours of that day. You don't have to have a pinhole camera, you can get adapters which can fit onto your DSLR cameras, or you could make your own camera out of a 'Pringle' tube. Take a look at our Pinhole Photography Section for techniques, tips, how to make a 'Pringle Pinhole Camera and more.

It is also a busy time for much of our wildlife, many of whom are becoming amorous with the thought of the next generation. Spectacles to view, if you're lucky and in the right place, include the Great Crested Grebes doing their romantic heart shaped displays as the male gives the female presents of courtship on lakes and reservoirs. Or maybe its the Capercaillies strutting their stuff in woodlands in Scotland. On a walk in woodland or in the countryside you may hear the naughty cuckoo as they get ready for putting their eggs in host nests. Its also the time when new young badgers will be brought above ground by their parents to take in the fresh air for the first time and forage alongside their parents for food.

Our trees start to shoot their new leaves and everything in the countryside starts to look green again. We have already had the cherry blossom out in our road and I've noticed in other parts of the town there is now more of it. The Blossom Trail in Evesham and Worcester also starts this month, as the apple and damson trees come into flower.

Continuing with flowers April is also the time of Daffodil Sunday which started in Victorian times when families picked daffodils from their gardens and took them to local hospitals to give to the sick. You also have Primrose Day which started in the late 19th century and celebrates the death of Prime Minister Disraeli, and Fritillary Sunday which celebrates the birth of the Snakeshead Fritillary pushing through after its winter hibernation. There are three good places to see the Snakeshead Fritillary, including the meadows of Magdelene College in Oxford, a ten acre meadow in Ducklington Oxfordshire and at the Cricklade North Meadow Nature Reserve in Wiltshire. They may be a little delayed this year in Cricklade as the meadow has spent a large part of the last few months under water from the heavy rains we have had.

Pringle tube pinhole camera complete

We did manage to explore Tintern Abbey again last month and collect a whole new set of photographs, three of which are on this page. We'll try and get a gallery sorted and up soon, but with the move to a newer look website taking longer than we expected, keep coming back for an update. Don't forget if you want to share any of your favourite places with our readers you can send in images and descriptions of what you saw and we will do our best to include them.

Badger taken at night


What's New and Changed
Places Visited in the Last Month

Tintern Abbey, South Wales   A near complete ruin of a Cistercian monastery, with the ruins of the Abbey Church, Infirmary and Abbots residence on display in the main area, and across the road is the ruins of the Inner Court which it is assumed it was used as guest accommodation in it's day. A beautiful structure in a beautiful setting nestled next to the River Wye.

The Museum of Gloucester, Gloucestershire. A Museum with a local flavour charting Gloucester's history through the ages including when the Romans were there. You can see a piece of the Roman remains which lie beneath the museum, there are hands on activities, old maps showing how different parts of the city grew up as well as a dinosaur, clocks, coins from different periods, art gallery and much more. Until the beginning of July they have a Tudor Child exhibition looking at 16th century clothing for children. Entrance gives you entry for a year, but also then includes entry to the Gloucester Life Museum which currently is running a Great War Exhibition, looking a duties, jobs and social changes, along with the Museum Sweet Shoppe in its garden.

Tintern Abbey, South Wales

A view of the front of the Abbey Church with its impressive doorway and arched window. It was taken from across the road in the ruins of the ??? of the Abbey.

Tintern Abbey, South Wales

The wall structure in the foreground is the ruins of the Abbots house and the Infirmary with the main Abbey Church behind.


We are continuing to upgrade this website

It is taking time, but we are continuing to move from a Microsoft based website to something much newer and more flexible, run on our Apple systems. This is a major change and is going on in the background.

Our Windows computer is often difficult to start and we have decided that should it fail, before the new system is live, we will allow a gap of a month or two to occur rather than waste time setting up outdated systems as a temporary measure. So if we go missing for a month or two please check back regularly as we will be back. Hopefully there will be no problem and we will be able, in the near future, to switch over to the new system and as you may have noticed we have been out collecting a vast amount of more information to expand it.


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