Day 51 - Swan

Mum joined me at the sea wall today - after hearing about the seal and all the other wildlife I've been seeing all month - and guess what - not a bit of wildlife anywhere except this swan who came scooting over rapidly to check us out. He then settled down for a good ol' preen right in front of us whilst we chatted. We think he must have been a bit lonesome!

Day 50 - Kingfisher

I finally managed to catch a glimpse of this little fella with my camera - motion blur and all :) Still - you can see his lovely colours and it's enough for me - knowing that I finally managed it! Next task - find his regular perch and try to catch him there!

day 49 - Watching Me, Watching Him

That little blob by the arrow - it's a seal :) I watched him for most of my lunchtime today - it was so nice in the sunshine, I almost considered taking my coat off! Not bad considering it was 0 degrees Celsius this morning and a massive hail storm last night. I considered taking my SLR in to work today but didn't fancy leaving it in the car in such low temperatures all day - I'm definitely taking it tomorrow though - just in case this little chap is still around :) Either that or I have to work out how to zoom a bit on my phone!

Day 48 - Just some Daisies

Testing Mum's P&S with a view to borrowing it for workdays :) It fits in my handbag!

Day 47 - Maldon - Again!

I'm obviously a creature of habit (or bored at lunchtime!) I have to get out of the office for a while every lunchtime so as this bit of seawall is only 5 minutes away, it seems a logical place to wander to. And of course, I'm still hoping to spot the kingfishers perch!

Day 46 - Laminator

I've been wanting one of these for a while and with possibly 3 craft fairs between now and Christmas, I couldn't put it off much longer. It was a bargain price though :)

Day 45 - Fabric

New bag I think - when I get around to it!

Day 44 - Who pinched my seat?

Having a bit of a 'blergh' sort of week this week - another phone photo today 'cos I wasn't feelin' it this morning when I left for work and then the sun came out just in time for lunch and I didn't have my camera :(

When I got down to the seawall - someone (or maybe the tide) had pinched my seat! There was a big block of polystyrene just here where I could hunker down out of the wind but also, being slightly disadvantaged in the height department - I was using it as a step to get back up. So now I can get down to the sea but can't get back so this shot is me, contemplating whether to risk dropping down there! I know it doesn't look much from this shot but it's about 18 inches/45cms and although I can scramble back up in my jeans, I can't do it in my normal office wear LOL

Day 43 - Shipyard

Amother phone photo because the weather wasn't so good today - I went exploring across the other side of the river instead. I think that tall old building is part of a flour mill but I'm not certain.

Day 42 - Thru the Arch

Yet another clear but cold day - grabbed this shot on the phone camera again - blue sky, green trees (full of magpies & pigeons) and white arch for a frame.

Day 41 - Windy High Tide

Another sunny day but strong cold winds. Didn't bring my proper camera with me today so just grabbed something with my phone camera.

Day 40 - Autumn Acer Leaf

Nature doing her thing at this time of year has resulted in Mum's Acer turning this beautiful vivid shade of red.

Day 39 - Cyclamen

Mum bought me a little pressie back from her 2nd trip last week and I finally got around to shooting it tonight. I do like this one :)

Day 38 - Cheesecake, Mmmmmm

Got a phone call from Mum this morning - 'when I come over for coffee, bring my camera' so I did and this is what I grabbed :) Mum had bought it for our dessert this evening but thought it would make a nice piccie for me.

Day 37 - Same Rose, Different Day

Just a few days after the other shot and not only have most of the roses died off really quickly but they've changed colour a bit too. I'm always in a bit of a rush on Friday as I get in from work, grab a bite to eat then dash back out again so I grabbed this quickly in the morning just before I put the rubbish (trash) out. It's now on it's way to the great compost heap in the sky :)

Day 36 - Moon and Clouds

Perhaps I should call this Night 36! Just popped over to drop some bits at Mums' house and spotted the moon rising above the garage rooftops. One mad dash indoors to grab the camera, change lenses and get the tripod set up and I'd missed the few shredded clouds across the moon. Five minutes later and a huge cloud covered it completely so I had to make do with a clear shot of the moon with just a reflection on the cloud bank. I like it though :)

Day 35 - Missiles

Just around the corner from my office is the Combined Forces Military Museum with this missile in the front car park. It's a fair size and this shot is taken from about halfway from the seawall!

Day 34 - Just a Rose

Bought a bunch of roses because I could see the photograph in my head and couldn't resist. Got them home and could I get that picture - could I hell! So I resorted to my trusty macro lens and light tent for now until I work out how to get the photo I wanted.

Day 33 - Oops!

Either this is badly parked or very abandoned!! LOL I dragged hubby down to the sea wall today in the hope of spotting the kingfisher again. Well, we did see it but gosh, those little birds are fast movers - by the time I'd spotted it and got the camera to my eye - it was gone :( So one or two derelict boats/debris shots later, I chose this one for today's piccy. I like the contrast between the derelict boat, the vast expanse of mud and the brand new houses and bright colours in the background.

Day 32 - Succulent

Not very exciting today - I popped over to check on Mum's plants and hoping to photograph her Acer which is in full red autumn colour but the sun hadn't come round quite far enough (and the pot is too heavy for me to move!) so I just got this one instead.

Day 31 - Elves of Hyperspace

Says it all really - some random graffitti under a by-pass bridge

Day 30 - Another beautiful day on the seawall

The sun came out again today and stayed out for most of the day but there is a definite nip in the air. I changed angle today and also popped a circular polariser on - you can just see the effect in the top right corner - I obviously didn't get it quite right on this one! Once I've walked across the waste ground to get to my spot on the seawall, this is the view if I turn my back on the sea. The white sails in the centre are at a quay at the bottom of one of the steepest hills in the county. Quite a terrifying hill when you are a learner driver and your instructor wants you to do a hill start! Even now, driving an automatic car, I still hate to stop on that hill so I usually go the long way round.

The weather forecast is good for tomorrow as well so I'll take a wander along to the quay again and see what I can find over there. It's a bit industrialised so I'm not sure how much access I can get but there is a bit of a towpath the other side (heading inland) so I'll have a wander over there too.

Day 29 - Sun Warmed Blackberries

You'll just have to believe me when I say sunwarmed and very tasty they were too :) The bit of wasteground near my office is absolutely covered in blackberry bushes - I'm hoping for a bit of sun on the weekend then I'm dragging hubby down there to do some picking! I had a good session today - in fact I found it difficult to choose just one shot for today so if you want to see the rejects (!) pop over to my main blog and maybe enter my giveaway whilst you're there?

Day 28 - On My Way To Bed ...

I realised I hadn't taken a shot today so grabbed this one, fired up the PC again and this is it!

Day 27 - Getting ready to Hibernate

At first, I thought the existing chrysalis/cocoon had opened but it hadn't so it looks like this second butterfly will cocoon here too. Obviously a nice piece of butterfly real estate! LOL

Day 26 - It's Still Raining!

Carrying on from yesterday's experiment - this time, catching the drops as they hit my full water butt. Again, camera on repeat mode and shoot like crazy in the hope of getting a good splash. I like this one in particular because of the colours as well as the slight blur on the splash.

Day 25 - It's Raining

Rain in the afternoon - lots of shots to get 1 or 2 good ones

Day 24 - Under the Arches

I'm working in a building that used to be a railway station - ornate iron girders/beams in the office and everything :) These arches are at the front - taken on my mobile phone again! I've converted it to mono and added a texture layer with a linear burn blending mode. I quite like this effect - bit darker and moodier than my usual stuff, that's for sure.

Day 23 - Lunchtime View

Just a few minutes walk away from my new office job. I thought I knew the area fairly well but this little corner of the estuary has escaped my notice until now. I mentioned a kingfisher the other day - well I saw him down here again today so I reckon he is definitely a local. If the weather forecast is OK for tomorrow, I'm lugging the whole kit with me - I've got my car back so that makes things easier :)

This also faces due East and the sun is rising just over the derelict boats on the far right so I reckon 2 more weeks and it should be just about on the horizon as I arrive for work - I foresee more camera lugging ahead LOL

Day 22 - Clouds, Birds and Texture

Lovely white fluffy clouds, lots of starlings swirling around and a texture overlaid - I'm never quite sure about my photoshop experiments but I do quite like this one :)