Friday, 25 November 2011

1000/651: 24 Nov 2011: Life...

...that's all there is to it really Add lashings of hydrogen and a few trace metals for seasoning and that's your lot.

Felt the urge to prove I'm still a scientist at heart.

1000/650: 23 Nov 2011: Lost my glasses

In recognition of the fact that i spent 45 minutes this evening looking for my glasses - I put them down on a patterned surface - I thought I'd take this true-to-life photo of the dining room.
Family were most amused and mostly unhelpful. Perhaps I should get one of those snake link necklaces so I can hang them round my neck :0(

1000/649: 22 Nov 2011: Under the desk

In a similar vein to last nights magnum opus. Was under the desk picking something up when I spotted this on the underside of the desktop - no idea what it means.
Had to abuse the file something wicked to get a decent hand-held exposure - hence the noise and strange colours in the vignettes at the corners.

1000/648: 21 Nov 2011: In the bath

So here I am - in a hotel again, with very little time before meeting colleague for dinner and I'm finally running out of room fittings to shoot. What to do?

So I went for this bathers eye view. You can see me reflected in the overflow cover. Dressed - you'll be pleased to hear.

Thursday, 24 November 2011

1000/647: 20 Nov 2011: Wind farm, Workington

As all these were moving - which is a pretty rare event - I thought they were worth a snap. Deliberately chose a slowish shutter speed to show the movement in the blades.

1000/646: 19 November 2011: Millennium Bridge and Gateshead

Off to Gateshead today to visit the Turner Prize exhibition at the Baltic with some fellow OCA students. Had a pretty good time I think - were split on who we want to win which generated plenty of discussion.

1000/645: 18 Nov 2011: Children in Need

A little behind this week .Friday night was Children in Need night and here's a vintage sample from 1986 - still going strong.

Thursday, 17 November 2011

Wednesday, 16 November 2011

1000/643: 16 Nov 2011: M5 Northbound j14

It's that light trail time of year again. Strolled down from the hotel to the nearby junction for this shot because a colleague suggested that my last two shots were 'a bit dull' - so I thought a bit more effort was needed. Thanks Alistair ;0)


EDIT: Changed title to reflect the fact that it was actually the M5 northbound - they all look the same after a while

Tuesday, 15 November 2011

1000/642: 15 Nov 2011: Gables Best Western

New - or nearly new - haunt tonight. Think I've styed here just the once before. Would have to say that it seems pleasant enough - everyone is certainly very friendly and it has a clean and cheery ambiance - ooh, hark at me!

1000/641: 14 Nov 2011: Staring at the ceiling

Well I was led on the floor in front of the television with my camera in my hand - don't ask why, I can't explain - and saw this. To me it feels right as a photo - but that's something else I can't explain.

On the basis that things come in threes, I also can't explain why I've been incorrectly numbering my blog posts for the last week - but I've put it right now.

Sunday, 13 November 2011

1000/640: 13 Nov 2011: Golden Ram

Definitely enjoying the flat glass front of my new tank - makes photography a whole world easier. This is a Golden Ram I relocated from my biorb to give him a bit more space and remove any risk of a scrap with Gillan the Fighting Fish.

For those of a technical bent his latin name is Microgeophagus ramirezi and the 'golden' version is a xanthic variety - whatever that is.

Saturday, 12 November 2011

1000/639: 12 Nov 2011: Solway Storm

This one was taken from the Skinburness end of the Silloth shore road looking towards Criffel. Obviously they were having worse weather than us. This sized chunk of rainbow does seem to be a surprisingly frequent event from this viewpoint.

1000/638: 11 Nov 2011: Fishy Friends

Double bill of fishy friends today. First up this little guy - currently less than an inch long - a Panda Cory. Very active rooting about on the aquarium floor looking for tasty snacks. I swear I can see him/her munching when he/she finds something.

And to follow - this rather splendid wagtail sword - again, quite small compared to its adult length, but I'm hoping to have him (and his two mates) long enough for him to reach a decent adult size.

Fishy Friends (ii)

1000/637: 10 Nov 2011: It's a tough life...

..but someone has to live it. Rather unexpectedly got a suite in the Park Royal tonight. Thanks guys.

Shame I only had the one night in the lap of luxury.

1000/636: 09 Nov 2011: Colonists

Chemicals all seem to have settled nicely, plants are growing well so have gently introduced a few fish in the last few days - guppies, swords and otos.

Probably slightly too many slightly too quickly so patience is now the word for a week or three.

Wednesday, 9 November 2011

1000/635: 08 Nov 2011: Herringbone Cotoneaster

Just a year to go to reach 1000 shots. Another in my occasional series of shots using my ring flash off-camera. When we moved here 17 years ago this was a seedling an inch long growing from a crack in the paving. It's now 6 feet high and 6 feet wide.

1000/634: 07 Nov 2011: Cool beans

These came out rather better than I expected. Quite surprised by the array of colour these show. Hopefully if we can stop any more from sprouting we'll have an excellent crop next year. Runner beans are always so rewarding - no effort to grow, huge yields and you avoid the need to pay silly prices in the shops for food that's already several days old.

1000/633: 06 Nov 2011: Solway sundown

A rather crisp and slightly misty evening view across the Solway to Criffel in Scotland. This is just about where the Solway Plain starts in my book - where the rolling hills north of the Cockermouth-Maryport road find there way down to the sea.

1000/632: 05 Nov 2011: It's not all hills...

Think of Cumbria - think of hills seems to be the way of things, but there's a whole chunk of the county that is as flat as Lincolnshire - the Solway Plain, which in my mind at least starts some way south of Silloth and then runs up to Carlisle.
This shot, inland from and towards Silloth captures the feel of the whole stretch.
The highest point is on a sheep and you can chose your vegetation from moss or grass.
Actually, I love it - the sky seems higher up and there's just so much space and so few people. It's a shame more people don't come to enjoy it, although that would defeat the latter part, but it would mean that the money pouring into the Lakes was more widely shared around the county. We can but hope.

Tuesday, 8 November 2011

1000/631: 04 Nov 2011: Tasteful - not

It's a pencil sharpener. Shaped like a cat. Guess where you insert the pencil. Enough said really.

Saturday, 5 November 2011

1000/630: 03 Nov 2011: Streetlight Sonata

Have taken shots of this view of my house before, but there's always more than one way to skin a cat.

Friday, 4 November 2011

1000/629: 02 Nov 2011: Betta be blue

Colour balance on this is a little awkward as he's really deep purple - so I shall be calling him Gillan. Lost my dwarf red gourami from the biorb a couple of days back so Gillan has moved in to the vacant let.
As the chemicals have settled down in the new tank, I've also moved the guppies over from the biorb to colonise the new toy, which means I also have to consider some new tank-mates for Gillan.

1000/628: 01 Nov 2011: Self portrait

Reflections in spherical surfaces always intrigue me - not sure why. Anyway thought I'd use one to try a bit of an off-the-wall self portrait.
Tried the shot without me in it as well, but didn't think it worked nearly as well.

1000/627: 31 Oct 2011: Aloe Vera

Becoming more and more attracted to black and white . In this shot I think the background colours and even the colours of the plant would have been a distraction fro the form and tones.

Grew this one ourselves from a tiny seedling.

Tuesday, 1 November 2011

1000/626: 30 Oct 2011: Almost finished

New light fittings installed so everything is just about finished bar some minor touching up of paintwork etc and then hang the remaining pics. Why do these things take so long?

29 Oct 2011: Spongebob

29 Oct 2011: Spongebob by nmonckton
29 Oct 2011: Spongebob, a photo by nmonckton on Flickr.

My aquarium gets its first inhabitant. No-one could say it will lack class!

1000/625: 29 Oct 2011: Early Hours

Pretty much the same position as the previous shot - only looking down and several hours later, after the CIPR reception. If my shot from the 27th was the latest I've ever left it, this must be the earliest I've taken a days shot.

I really am beginning to enjoy these high contrast black and white treatments.

1000/624: 28 Oct 2011: Evening view of Cardiff

At the Mercure Holland House in Cardiff tonight for the CIPR Wales award ceremony. Nice hotel - rooms a little scary - as the windows go down to the floor and I've always been several floors up, which is a bit disconcerting the first time you enter the room.

Rooms on the other side of the hotel have views across Cardiff Bay - or so I'm told. This is only the second visit and I've had this view on both occasions.

Cardiff looks like a nice city - obviously at home with being a national capital - so shall be adding it to my list of potential weekend breaks.