Monday 20 April 2009

Day 31 - Another Fractal

It's no good, I'm hooked on these fractals! I've never been able to draw, paint or sketch so the camera has been my creative outlet until now but this fractal program is brilliant. I can twist and tweak to my hearts content and produce stuff that is blowing me away - I'm loving the vibrant colours and all the fine details that show up when I zoom in and some are actually selling on Shutterstock - woo hoo!!

Sunday 19 April 2009

Day 30 - Has Spring Sprung?

Had a wander down by the river in the sunshine today - love the glassy water in this one and the peaceful feeling.

Saturday 18 April 2009

Day 29 - Smile


A few weeks after Barcelona, I had a smaller but similar event in London. I met a lovely bunch of fellow iStockers and we had a blast! It was my first time using a flkash gun indoors but I enjoyed myself and learnt quite a bit. This is probably my favourite from that day and Christine the model, was lovely too.

Friday 17 April 2009

Day 28 - Thoughtful


One more shot from the Barcelona trip. This one is heavily photoshopped although I can't find the original for now. To start with, it was a head and shoulders portrait, vertical orientation with her face framed by her very black hair against a bright green hedge . I cropped in very close to get rid of the greenery behind her and then extended the black to make it a landscape format. I love this one but the camera club judge felt the wrinkles on her forehead were somewhat distracting. I can see it now and will be aware of that in any future shots like this but it doesn't take away the magic for me - I am very proud of this one :)

Thursday 16 April 2009

Day 27 - Blue Boy

Another portrait shot, this time in Barcelona with about 40 other photographers, 30 models, pro lighting equipment, pro makeup artists and some really cool locations. This young man was actually posing for some other photographers so I snuck in with my 300mm zoom and didn't interupt their shoot at all :) Result! Photoshopped into a blue tone and slightly cropped.

Wednesday 15 April 2009

Day 26 - Just Peachy


This young lady was studying Drama at high school and was quite bashfully pleased when I asked her to model for me and 2 friends from camera club. It was my first experience of proper studio lights although we rented a church hall so not quite a 'proper' studio shot!

Tuesday 14 April 2009

Day 25 - Not strictly a photo!


I've been playing with fractals - this one is my first one done from scratch although I was following a tutorial!

Monday 13 April 2009

Day 24 - RHS Hyde Hall


A wonderful place to visit even just to enjoy the gardens. I especially love it for the flower photo opportunities of course.

Sunday 12 April 2009

Day 23 - Castle Park, Colchester

Oops - nearly forgot to upload a piccy today! Anyway, ducks and gulls at the duck pond in Lower Castle Park, Colchester. Typical grey winter day but probably great in the summer :)

Saturday 11 April 2009

Day 22 - Boats at Maldon - two versions


Ever heard of Maldon sea salt? Well, it comes from Maldon about 5 miles from my home - lots of mud flats, salt marshes and boats in this area for many, many years so I thought I'd have a go at aging my shot - think I prefer the 'old' one!

Friday 10 April 2009

Day 21 - Lonely Tree


Miles of flat countryside but I think this is reclaimed land so only to be expected! It's a nature reserve on one side of the towpath down at Tollesbury - the other side is the salt marshes which have their own wild beauty.

Thursday 9 April 2009

Wednesday 8 April 2009

Day 19 - Heybridge - Lifeboat


Thought I'd show you some of the countryside near my home. A regular favourite walk is along the path between the lakes and the River Blackwater down at Heybridge. There was a Thames Sailing Barge race and the lifeboat was either part of the display or on duty but I caught them on my camera.
Essex has a reputation of being the flattest county in the UK - I think this shot illustrates that perfectly! LOL

Tuesday 7 April 2009

Day 18 - Looking For Holidays

Well it's that time of year again - hubby is hunting the internet for cheap holiday deals so here is a shot taken last year to get those memories flowing :)

Monday 6 April 2009

Day 17 - Barn Owl


One of my fairly early bird shots but definitely one of my favourites and one of my best I think.

Sunday 5 April 2009

Day 16 - Just some clouds

Popped over to Cambridge yesterday for the Handmade craft fair - got some lovely shots of my fellow Etsians and their wares but spent so much time chatting, I didn't get out and about in the town itself so here's a shot from the car on the way home :)

Saturday 4 April 2009

Day 15 - Cherries

Just some cherries but on black for a change from white! I also had a little play with vignetting - not sure if I like it or not - maybe I just need to get used to it.

Friday 3 April 2009

Day 14 - Bubbles?

I actually got my 'big' camera out today - had some inspiration for some stock shots and a different way of lighting them. That was all working well when I stopped for some lunch. This shot isn't actually bubbles although I think it does look like them - it's the condensation on the cling film over my tuna pasta bake just as it came out of the fridge!

Thursday 2 April 2009

Day 13 - Lioness

One of my lion photos from the zoo - it's difficult to get good images these days at zoos - most of them seem to have replaced wire mesh enclosures with glass so not only do you get bad reflections, you also get the kiddies dirty hand marks on the outside and the animals snorting on the inside.


Wednesday 1 April 2009

Day 12 - Try April Fooling this Guy!


We have an annual Puppet Festival in our town and this guy is probably the most popular of them all. He's probably about 8 feet tall, fully articulated and sings classics by Frank Sinatra. Kids follow him very closely then shriek and run away when he turns around but they all creep back very quickly. His name is Titan and you can see more images here if you're interested. I would definitely recommend this act if you are organising any large event - he is fab!

Tuesday 31 March 2009

Day 11 - White Dahlia


I read an article about high key images about the same time that my neighbours dahlias came into full bloom - popped round, snipped this head off and here it is - my 1st deliberate attempt at high key :)
PS I did ask before taking the flower - my neighbours are lovely and quite used to me 'pinching' thier flowers LOL

Monday 30 March 2009

Day 10 - More Elephants

Just a couple of elephants - in the wild and for real this time :)

Sunday 29 March 2009

Day 9 - Elephant Topiary

One of my more unusual captures :) I didn't have to sneak up on these nellies - they were peacefully grazing the lawns of one of the Royal Palaces in Thailand.

Saturday 28 March 2009

Day 8 - Frangipani

Another one that surprised me - until I cropped it square and close in, this was just another flower floating on a pond. I have cloned out a few spots from the water surface but other than a levels adjustment and a crop, I haven't done much else to it.

Friday 27 March 2009

Day 7 - Monochrome Gerbera

Sometimes, I like to convert flower images to mono - just to see what happens. It doesn't work for all of them but sometimes I'm really surprised by what appears. This one was a last minute attempt to find something for a camera club competition - I love it!

Thursday 26 March 2009

Day 6 - Pair of White Lillies

Another even older shot. I started with flowers and they are still one of my favouite subjects. I tend to use my macro lens more these days so get much closer in. It's nice to look back and see how my approach has changed but also to see the whole (almost) flower occasionally. I must remember that for future shoots!

Wednesday 25 March 2009

Day 5 - a very early shot

This is dated July 2004 in the EXIF data so must be one of the very 1st shots off my then new Canon G3. It's been a personal favourite for years, I even toned it and made a t-shirt transfer out of it and I used it for my very first business cards. It's been retired for a long while but I thought it would be nice to resurrect it for a brief time :)


Tuesday 24 March 2009

Day 4, Gri Gri Lagoon, Dom Rep

The lovely Gri Gri lagoon - entrance to a mangrove swamp and all the pesky biting insects that see/hear/smell me coming from miles away. I had 40+ bites in one night and they all blistered. Still, it was nice to catch up with our Best Man who had been working out there for 6 months.


Monday 23 March 2009

Day 3 - Euphorbia (I think)

I just love the colour and lighting on this one - not the prettiest or friendliest of plants (the sap can be an irritant) but tucked away in the corner of a friends garden, the close up brings out details not seen before.




Sunday 22 March 2009

Day 2 - Zante

Another fave pic today and coincidentally, one of my best sellers on the microstocks.

Saturday 21 March 2009

A Slight Change of Plan

Well, I have this blog sitting here, waiting for me to get motivated on the Flickr 365 photos project again but as it's looking unlikely for the foreseeable future, I may as well put something here.

I'm going to attempt to post a photo everyday , some new, some old favourites, some I've dug up from my forgotten archives and maybe a few experimental ones too.

It's the 1st day of Spring & several family birthdays today so I'm going to post one of my all time fav piccies - not necessarily the best shot but the associated memories are strong, peaceful and part of the dream that keeps me moving forward. Enjoy

Wednesday 11 March 2009

Still Not Sorted Out!

Nope, things haven't settled down at all - in fact, I think I'm probably worse now than I was pre-Christmas but hopefully with the longer days and nicer weather, I should begin to feel alive again and hopefully my va-va-voom and mojo will come back too. Meanwhile, here's a tranquil river scene to brighten my 365 blog :)