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!!

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.

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.

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 :)

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.

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!

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!

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.

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 :)

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!

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.

Day 20 - Mudflat Sunset

exactly what it says!

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

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 :)

Day 17 - Barn Owl

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

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 :)

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.

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!

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.

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!