Saturday 3rd May
Remember the motorhome battery issue; well today was the day I would have a go at replacing it. Not sure if there was any special procedure involved, but as a precaution I removed mains power to the motorhome and turned the fridge and leisure control panel off.
As you can see there was a complex power distribution circuit connected to the positive terminal. Fortunately this all came off once the +ve terminal clamp was released and the two posidrive screws were removed. The negative terminal was just a quick release clamp.
With the power disconnected the motorhome dashboard started to click, click, click…. Well I assumed that the solar panel was still providing the circuit some power? Replacement was quick and easy and then reattached the cables.
Eureka – the engine started first time! That was one worry out the way. So back to enjoying the day – we stayed at the motorhome until after lunch to give our aging dog more time to rest.
We then set off to visit Lud’s Church – No not what you think; it wasn’t a religious site, but a chasm in the rocks behind the Roaches. It was a steady one mile uphill walk from the carpark with Holly getting a carry for any of the steeper sections.
There was a steady stream of people heading through this popular site so taking photos and avoiding people was going to be difficult. Patience was required (yes, even Vanessa had to be tolerant) or in some cases I had to use a new AI removal feature in Lightroom to magically erase them.
The most remarkable point about these photographs was the OM-System cameras we have changed over to from Canon. As you might expect the light level was quite low in the chasm and we had to use them hand held as there were just too many people passing through to consider using tripods.
In the two images below, the camera was set to ISO 1600 with an f10 aperture. The shutter speed was 1/5th second. Look at the blown up section in the 2nd image of the plants growing on the rock face – and these images haven’t been sharpened in Lightroom.
The chasm turned to the left past this point and after waiting 10 minutes for the people to clear, I gave up and took the image with approx. 12 people in the way. Thanks to Lightroom’s AI deletion tool I still got a good photo.
On the return journey to the car we passed a converted watermill and stopped for a well deserved latte and flapjack.
We had a quick reccy of the Roaches on our way back to the motorhome to select a spot for an evening shoot, hoping to get the early evening light. Then enjoyed a nice steak meal before returning.
Despite the sky being clear in front of us, there was a significant cloud covering behind us, which we hoped would still allow a few bursts of sunshine….
After this photo we had to wait about 30-40 minutes for the sun to appear beneath the clouds and hopefully light up the scene with some great warm light…
Unfortunately, the clouds behind us were a fiery red, but that didn’t extend to the clouds in front – a pity as that would have been a great final image. Another evening we may have more luck.
Bateson's Travel log 