Fancied doing something different tonight - so today's photo is the cloud formation that I blended with a rose I took some time ago.
Converted everything to grey scale and then blended them using multiply before erasing the background from the rose and partially erasing the edges to help it blend more effectively. Think it works reasonably well.
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
1000/546; 31 August 2011: Rose cloud
1000/545: 30 August 2011: Lair of the wererabbits
Not much to say about this really. Got home late from Somerset, and as usual didn't really get an opportunity for a photo while traveling.
Took this and wondered how sinister I could make it look.
1000/544: 29 August 2011: Bargain Books
Went to Clarks Outlet Village in Street today. No. 1 daughter seemed to hit the jackpot, coming home with a rather nice skirt from the delightfully named Yumi and these bargain books from the not so delightfully named The Works.
Marion managed to find a pair of shoes to complete a successful afternoon. Still looking for the money we allegedly saved.
Sunday, 28 August 2011
1000/543: 28 August 2011: 2000 year old lime tree
Went to Westonbirt Arboretum today - first time for probably 35 years. Funnily enough there were lots of trees!
This one is rather special - it's more of a thicket than a single tree but it is a single organism and is over 2000 years old - courtesy of traditional methods of woodland management.
It's kind of odd to stand in the middle of a group of trees and realise that they were there when Julius Caesar invaded Britain Tried to catch something of the feel of the thicket with this shot - it was kind of insulating and protecting and just towered around us. Difficult to capture, but worth a try.
1000/542: 27 August 2011: Radstock
Back in the west country - went out for a little night photography. This is the co-op funeral care building in Radstock. Don't remember much about this building from when I was a kid - the co-op was always in a '60s building across the road (and still is), but I'm guessing from the inscription that this was the original co-op building.
1000/541: 26 August 2011: Willowbank Hotel, Wilmslow Rd., Manchester
1000/541: 26 August 2011: Willowbank Hotel, Wilmslow Rd., Manchester, a photo by nmonckton on Flickr.
Travelling south tonight to visit the west country - and stopped off in Manchester to drop some kit off with No. 1 daughter. Stayed overnight at the Willowbank in Wilmslow Road. Very convenient and seems like a decent hotel - recently decorated , good service, nice breakfast.
It's easy to get blasé about these things when you stay away a lot on business but hey - if you want a modestly priced stopover on the edge of Manchester - I'd go for this one.
Thursday, 25 August 2011
1000/540: 25 August 2011: Hard Drive Caddy
Some years back I bought a nice 'big' hard drive for a second hand computer that Ashley was using. Sadly I could never get it to work - I've since discovered the tricks that some of the major manufacturers use to force you to buy their kit - gits.
Computer crash earlier this month forced me to get a caddy to rescue the data on a different hard drive, when i remembered we still had the unused one n the cupboard. So went and bought another caddy - and lo and behold - a back-up drive for Ashley's music collection.
1000/539: 24 August 2011: Portrait of the Photographer as an E-P1
Am really beginning to love this little camera. it's easy to carry around, produces nice photos and doesn't eat batteries.
The fixed lens also means I have to think a bit harder about my photos, which is no bad thing. Unusually for me - I've not been tempted to buy another lens for it..
1000/538: 23 August 2011: Why the long face?
Big horse I was born like it!
OK that's enough for this one.
1000/537: 22 August 2011: Sunset grass
Another one on the nature reserve next door. Couldn't resist the setting sun catching the hairs around the edge of this stalk of grass. Is it Timothy? Not really sure.
Thought the darker treatment of the surrounding also helped with the atmosphere.
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
1000/536: 21 August 2011: "Spyatri, laup out"
Taken from the bridge over the track at Aspatria station. The title refers to the legendary cry of guards on trains at Aspatria station, which can be roughly translated as "This is Aspatria, please alight here".
Apparently 'laup' which is Cumbrian dialect for 'jump' is effectively the original Viking word 'hlaup' which means much the same.
As far as the shot goes - I really rather liked the way all the lines converge.
1000/535: 20 August 2011: Concrete
Not quite sure why I took this one. Think I just wondered what a random shot of concrete might look like. So now I know.
It's actually part of the sea wall at Silloth. It's useful to experiment - and equally useful tor realise when your experiment has no meaningful results.
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
1000/534: 19 August 2011: Cedar tree?
Think this is a cedar of some kind - although not too certain. Whatever, it was a delightful morning so thought I'd take today's shot early rather than waiting until my choice of subject was narrowed down too far.
1000/533: 18 August 2011: Tortworth in the dark
Well, by the time I got to the south today it was getting on a bit, and by the time I'd had dinner it was dark so floodlit hotels shots seemed in order.
Thought I'd go with a low angle to try and produce something a bit different.
1000/532: 17 August 2011: Orangery
Ooops! Forgot to post this one so the number got out of order. It's the rather nice Orangery restaurant at the Tortworth
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
1000/531: 16 August 2011: Ouch!
Finally concluded that it was time to go back to karate. For a variety of reasons I gave up about a year after my black belt but in truth I've missed it.
Sadly 5 years with next to no exercise - save for a fairly intensive bout of swimming last year - means that I now ache all over. But I feel good nonetheless.
1000/530: 15 August 2011: Old Shed
Went for a differnt walking route this evening - the road from Allerby down to Allonby. According to the signpost this is just 1 mile - to which I say 'Nonsense' It's probably twice that.
Anyway, a few hundred yards down there is this old shed - which appears to be made of used railway sleepers - which just cried out for a black and white treatment.
Monday, 15 August 2011
1000/529: 14 Aug 2011: Chilli - but no festival :(
Drove to Levens Hall today for the chilli festival and was sadly dissapointed to discover that it had been cancelled due to flooding. Bit of a pain to say the least as it's a 70-odd mile drive each way.
Day went downhill from there until I decidded to do something productive and paint the bathroom ceiling.
Photo is a tribute to what could have been. I used the E-P1 with the Olympus ring flash unit from my E-3 set up. Simply hand held the light and shot through it. Nice to have this degree of flexibility.
1000/528: 13 Aug 2011: Rhubarb and beans
Warm wet weather means the garden is going mad - particularly these runner beans. As always they're later than I expect - obviously all those years down south take some recalibration.
Now - all i have to do is think up some delicious ground elder recipes.
1000/527: 12 August 2011: Market Place, Cockermouth
The more I use the E-P1 the more impressed I am. this evening I had to run No.1 son and his friends into Cockermouth for a 'sesh'.
Took the opportunity to do a couple of street scenes by available light - just love the stark contrasts and slightly odd colours it poduces.
Friday, 12 August 2011
1000/526: 11 July 2011: A Lynx effect
Don't think I've yet extracted all the fun from my ring flash. This is another example taken by using it as a surround light for a glass bottle.
What I really needed was a snooted flash to add a highlight to the edge of the lid, which has got lost in the darkness of the surroundings - but one step at a time.
1000/525: 10 July 2011: Dancing Duckweed
Hammering with rain, howling wind - so what do I do? Decide to go into the garden to take a photo.
Got soaked, but I think it was worth it - this is the duckweed on my garden pond blowing around in the wind. The blur comes from using a tripod and a 60 second exposure.
The weatherproofing of the E-3 came in pretty handy for this as there was water running from it after just a couple of minutes.
I'll take the soaking as a penance for the shot from the hotel window a couple of days back.
1000/524: 09 Aug 2011: Drum
One of the problems with No1 son being a drummer is that we have bits of kit all over the house - although that may actually be a simple messiness issue. Whatever - this one is currently sitting in the lobby.
He's in two bands - a pop/indie/rock outfit called Sneaky Finch - and a west coast rock outfit called Thirteen Stars - this bit of kit is from them.
PS To exclude doubt - that's west coast USA not west coast Cumbria!
1000/523: 08 Aug 2011: Dull - don't bother!
15 minutes from check in to going out for dinner with colleagues so just time to spruce up, attempt to phone home and stick the camera out of the window.
Sorry - will try harder.
1000/522: 07 Aug 2011: Sunday Dinner
..and all my own work too. Roast pork, roast potatoes, cabbage cauliflower and carrots. Could there be a finer meal?
You'll notice that I omitted gravy - yuk! - hate the stuff.
Thursday, 11 August 2011
1000/521: 06 Aug 2011: Oh, Beery Me!
According to my esteemed colleague - Dan - this is adequate proof of a trip to Aldi. Can't deny it - they do indeed have an intersting range of bottled beers,
Hobgoblin has featured in the blog before, but the other two are newcomers. The Black Sheep, was a pleasant bitter but not particularly remarkable - I prefer their much darker Riggwelter - while the Spring Breeze was lighter, with a sort of flowery under tone - which to my tastes was distinctly odd.
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
1000/520: 05 August 2011: Nesting Swallows
Interesting how close some birds will get to people and appear largely unfazed. This nes is stuck to our wall about 2 feet to the left of our front door and inches from our lounge window.
It's a bit sheltered from the view of unwanted guests by a large hanging basket and appears to contain 3 or 4 chicks.
I am ill inclined to disturb them so this was taken from a bit of a distance and I restricted myself to just two shots through an open window, where I lodged myself behind the curtain.
It's a bit of a miracle of engineering - considerably more substantial than a house martins nest, although largely built using the same technique.
This is the first swallows nest we've had on a wall - they nested in the beams of the garage before but i my experience they've always been built on a flat surface. You live and learn.
1000/519: 04 Aug 2011: Olive Oil
After yesterday's rather dark tulips I thought I'd go bright and cheerful with the label on this bottle of olive oil.
Am trying to work out whether I really want to pay lots of money for a bottle of really good stuff for dressings, and go cheap for the rest - or whether that's just olive oil snobbery and best avoided.
1000/518: 03 Aug 2011: Wooden Tulip
After yesterday's feeble effort I thought I'd try something a little more creative today.
We bought these wooden tulips at Covent Garden market a year or three back. and they've been sitting around waiting for their moment in the photo limelight for a while.
Shot it with a ring flash so the background was quite dark already. I enhanced this in Lightroom and desaturated the colours a bit to give this treatment.
I feel less guilty now.
1000/517: 02 Aug 2011: Not sure what I saw in this
Hmmm! Was in a bit of a hurry today and looking round for something to add to my hotel abstracts. Grabbed this shot and then had to dash.
In truth I'm not sure what I saw in it now, although the green bar is quite intriguing I think.
1000/516: 01 Aug 2011: Tortworth Court Hotel
A view from the Mezzanine in the entrance hall of the rather splendid Tortworth Court Hotel.
I do like this place.
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
1000/515: 31 July 2011: Prayer Plant
For some reason this prayer plant - which we've had for ages - has suddenly decided that it wants to grow. suspect it enjoys the fact that the kitchen window has not been terribly sunny this year - something has to.
1000/514: 30 July 2011: The Lanes, Carlisle
Favourite wife is off to the races on Monday and needed a dress. Maybe I'm a bit odd, but I don't actually mind clothes shopping, and today was pretty successful with 3 new dresses in the sales. Took this shot from the cafe outside Debenham's while drinking a skinny chocamoccalino - or coffee, as we English call it - to celebrate.
1000/513: 29 July 2011: My hero
This is the little guy that I used to restore the 30,000 or so photos I have on my system. Before anyone says anything - I have two back-ups. I just wanted to make the point that backing-up is not pricey - this was 500Gigs for about £50, which currently feels like money well spent.
1000/512: 28 July 2011: !??**!!** Computer
Not pleased - turned on the computer and it turned itself off immediately. Only way I could get it to restart was by doing a reset. Wont bore you with the sad details - but was forced to drag out old spare computer. Tried to clone the drive fro the old one onto the rather larger drive of the new - but broken - one but that failed as well. Have satisfied myself with putting the drive from the broken computer into a caddy to store my photos. Fortunately everything was backed up - Yay! - and now I'm up and running again. last time I buy a cheap computer.
PS. To save you the effort - don't say 'Buy a Mac'.
1000/511: 27 July 2011: Switzerland - the lawnmowing
At last - all the household chores left from the holiday have been completed. Mowing the lawn was somewhat easier than in p[previous years as No.1 son had given them a once over while we were away.
1000/510: 26 July 2011: Old wood
Went for a stroll around Maryport again tonight - the 'new' route from Netherhall School across to the golf course, along the prom, up to the fort and down again.
Light was failing a bit and the sunset was nothing spectacular but I was attracted to this old log. Bit of a photographic cliché - especially in black and white - but no less attractive for all that.
1000/509: 25 July 2011: Desperate Measures
Arrived at the hotel with about 10 minutes to spare before going out to dinner with colleagues. Should have taken a photo earlier in the day - but forgot. My new Kindle was the first thing that I saw - so here it is.
Marion gave me it as a birthday pressie back in June, and what an excellent little gadget it is. Irrespective of what the hype merchants may say I don't see it as replacing the book any time soon - but it's certainly a useful travel companion.
Monday, 8 August 2011
1000/508: 24 July 2011: Spot the Birdie
I've been contemplating posting a picture of pure blue sky for a while, but it felt a bit of a cheat so this includes a house martin.
Why do we find blue skies beautiful? Is it the tone, the purity, the depth? Are there cultures that prefer grey skies? And why are blue skies in the winter - which are normally associated with freezing cold conditions just as welcome as blue skies like this one associated with warm summer days?
1000/507: 23 July 2011: Sunday Bay Sauvignon Blanc
Very pleasant sunny evening so we took the opportunity to barbie some tuna and have dinner in the garden. Like lots of people I have a distinct appetite for New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs - and this one is no exception.
1000/506: 22 July 2011: Solway Twilight
Following my two week photo binge I'm struggling for inspiration a bit so tending to leave shots rather later in the day than is useful. This was shot next door in rather gloomy conditions and I've perked it up with a mock HDR treatment. I make no great claims for its virtue - I think the next few days are going to be a photographic struggle.
1000/505: 21 July 2011: Switzerland - the laundry
Not much to say about this really as the title says it all. Slipped into post-holiday gloom as unpacking, laundry etc etc takes place.
1000/504: 20 July 2011: Switzerland - the memory (cards)
Not the first time I've done memory cards but thought they were worth a shot because the holiday has been an amazing - for me anyhow - photo-fest.
Took around 1700 shots myself across both cameras. The E-3 is still brilliant - took everything the Swiss weather could throw at it, not to mention being soaked at both Trummelbach and under the Jet. The E-P1 also continues to impress - handy, easy to use and discreet.
Now all I have to do is process them.
Friday, 5 August 2011
1000/503: 19 July 2011: Last Day
Had hoped to go for a nice walk to look at all the UN related buildings in ‘our’ bit of Geneva today, but the weather was on the wet day of its alternations – so we went for a very damp and very quick walk before retiring to the safety of the hotel lounge to wait for our lift to the airport.
This is the largest UN building outside of New York:
This is what international terrorism has done for us – made it impossible to get close to those we pay for/elect to represent us in the rest of the world. Well done guys!
Opposite the entrance is this rather striking art-work, which is about the impact of land-mines – and rather good it is too, in my book. Called The Broken Chair, it was sculpted by Swiss artist, Daniel Berset.
And, as a final goodbye shot – here’s one of the hotel – the Hotel Eden, Rue de Lausanne. Comes highly recommended – nice atmosphere, nice rooms, nice food and convenient to a bus route into town.
Sad to be going – there are some bits of Switzerland that challenge Uluru and Jokullsarlon as my favourite places in the world.
1000/502: 18 July 2011: Jet d’Eau
It’s big, it’s iconic, it’s Geneva’s clearest landmark – so today I’m going to dedicate the whole post to the various moods of the Jet d’Eau. The good thing about today was that the weather ended up very nice but started off a bit variable so I’ve had a chance to get the Jet in several different moods in a single day.
And that’s it really – for a change I’ll let the photos do ALL the talking.
Tomorrow is our last day in Switzerland – for this holiday at least.
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