I bought my first “proper” camera in 2005 (as opposed to the “Ghetto Cam”). Just a cheap pocket camera. Nothing special, but it took until recently to finally realise just how bad it was. Struggling to figure out a choice of replacement, I called pylon hunt 12 (in May) my final one, and quit. However, in July I finally managed to obtain a Canon IXUS 285 HS: still a considerable compromise, but sufficient for my pylon hunts and still readily pocketable. These photos are the very first pictures taken with the new camera, pylon hunt 13, a repeat of Coronavirus Walk 158 from ten weeks earlier, on which date I didn’t have my camera with me and the weather was dull.
I do still tweak the levels and saturation: the photos don’t come out perfect. However, the images don’t suffer the terrible loss of detail I suffered with before. Too many photos from the old camera started out damaged beyond repair, the contrast, levels and detail all ruined; the lens contamination only made this worse.
The walk route takes in Bedmond and Abbots Langley but I skipped photographing those locations almost entirely; this was probably fortuitous as the camera ran out of battery prematurely. Later sessions would fare better with the battery life, and the purchase of spare batteries ensured no further problems of this kind.
The new camera has 12× optical zoom (over 25 mm, or 10× over 35 mm), three times that of my old camera’s 3× (over 35 mm). The first thing I wanted to test out was of course the new zoom range. Pylons have a habit of being sufficiently far away as to need good zoom, as do lots of other interesting sights on walks.
14.5 mm (equivalent 25 mm)54 mm (equivalent 300 mm)14.5 mm54 mm
A quick detail test, as the old camera’s detail level was pretty poor:
On with the walk:
Looking back over townBedmond Lane is a scenic choice for walks and crosses under two high voltage lines
In October 2021, this signpost was rusted through in holes but still upright, but not any more.
Back to the walk …
Although the new camera’s lowly 1/2.3″ sensor still limits its dynamic range, it still copes far better than the old camera, despite the jump from 5 to 20 megapixels.Nothing special, but this level of sharpness and detail was completely impossible on my old camera.Intermittent sunshine as the clouds passed over;
Not far to walk before the pylons appear:
First sight of an L2First sight of an L8; these are the only two and serve as landmarksWe’re heading towards these towers, albeit the long way around! This walk was logged as 18.7 miles.Approaching an L2 D30Getting closerL2 D30 hiding behind the trees; we will see more of this soonL2 D against a cloudy sky; this is the 400 kV Sundon–Elstree Supergrid lineDetail shot; this is tower ZA495 (note the number 495 way up at the top)With a Proper™ camera you can point it straight into the sun and still get perfect levels. I still only have rudimentary dynamic range; this was the best I could muster!A much clearer look at that L2 D30Almost, but not quite perfectly centred! D’oh. Fabulous sharpness though.To anyone with professional gear, this image means nothing, but I was so tickled to get this level of sharpness. Even if the frame edge does cut right through the Stockbridge dampers!
Back to walking …
Aglais io. Beyond the camera’s dynamic range, but still a nice image.Looking back up the public footpath.These bridges are always a welcome sight. There is still a little bit of detail in both the sky and the sunlit ground, although not much.Part of the SEE PL1a Elstree–Sundon line, energised at 132 kV; this line is a long story …A really old telegraph pole, although it still seems to be in active use. This is at the edge of Bedmond.Just a quick shot back down the lane. I could have covered Bedmond village itself, but I had already photographed it in the past. Sadly, the 110 sets of walk photos from my old camera are just not a worthy quality to be worth publishing now!Dotty frenFluttery fren
The next set of pylons required taking a public footpath. Normally these are in good condition, albeit very muddy during colder and wetter parts of the year. Sometimes however they are more of a jungle than a footpath.
Yes this is a public footpath …As is this. It seems that not many people come this way!
It’s not uncommon to find replacement towers on a pylon line; this can be due to storm or collision damage, to line rerouting (for example around a new housing or industrial estate) or when a line is terminated early and undergrounded. Elstree–Sundon contains all manner of oddities including English-style PL16 D2, L4(m), L7(c) and even a stray PL4/WGR–type tower. The real goal of this walk was to photograph some of these replacement towers.
These two straight line towers are the English SWE PL16 design rather than the more common Scottish design (both designed by Blaw Knox); these are two of only three English-style ones I know of in walking range.This D30 is the original pylon type on this line, known as SEE PL1a after the contract itselfThis is the Scottish-style PL16 straight line tower, found widely across England
Having got some nice shots of this 132 kV line, back to walking.
Public footpath markers; still not clear on the US equivalentThis is where the walk got interesting when I first explored it. I’ve learnt since that choosing sunlight white balance or colour enhancement helps put back some of the colour when you are in shade; here, I attempted to restore the colour afterwards.Motorway sliproad in the middle of a lot of trees; between the trees you can hear the cars but not see them.A bridge over a bridge over a bridge … These shots were tough on the camera’s dynamic range!Despite all the concrete, there is still a scenic pathway reserved for walkers. I don’t know how this works in other countries, especially in the US.Emerging onto a bridge across the motorway.Crossing the bridge having come to itBe careful wearing a hat up here on a windy day!We saw this earlier and we will see it again …Steps on the far side of the bridgeNot the same three bridges that trains bound for Three Bridges on will take you to. That Scottish-style line tower is just visible in the distance.Another pedestrian bridge.Seems funny seeing just the one car. Not sure why this shot came out dull.And here we are, an L8 D30. This is the same L2 line as earlier, but it appears that building the motorway required taller towers or a line diversion, so two of the L2 towers were replaced by L2’s replacement type, L8, which also have more generous electrical clearances. These too are a Blaw Knox design.L8 D30 in silhouette11 kV. Nothing interesting, I just liked the colours and the juxtaposition.This was all new: I came back a slightly different way to last time.Galvanised steel amidst the greenery.Be careful on bridleways!Curves add mysteryMore boring electrical stuff.When you have to follow a set path, mud can be a problem; this was July, when the ground should have been rock hard solid: autumn is when mud becomes a real headache. I wanted to zoom in on this but I ran out of battery after 229 shots.
