Wednesday, October 28, 2009

A True Fine Love

You know how you have all those random songs that remind you of your other half well this came on when i was driving home so i decided to share a little bit of me & my hubby with you!
& to go with ... picture of us, last month in Paris.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

some old new

Monday, October 26, 2009

Travel

This weeks inspiration avenue challenge was travel ... here are my vehicular (notice use of big word) interpretations! I know a day late again but being as i've spent the weekend full of the lurgy ...
noun (lurg, ies)
  1. (british) A fictitious, yet highly infectious disease; almost always used in the phrase "the dreaded lurgy", sometimes as a reference to flu-like symptoms
... I'm going to let myself off! Next week is ghostly ... have fun peoples!



Tuesday, October 20, 2009

pink

This weeks challenge on Inspiration Avenue was "Pink", & this time my entree is only 2 days later (we're getting better).
Next weeks theme will be "travel", i have some ideas flying round my head & if you're interested in joining in the fun just visit the Inspiration Avenue blog for more information.

Monday, October 19, 2009

morning stroll ...

To say my life has been a little hectic this past month is putting it mildly, i feel like i have gone from one thing to another (all good by the way) without stopping anywhere in between. Well this morning i got to stop, take a breather & i headed up onto the hills above our house with my friend Karen (who's currently living with us) & her dogs. & you can imagine the fun we had trying to get Shelby to stand still long enough for me to take this picture when she had all that wide open space to run around in!
Within that previously spoken of "few weeks" i feel as if autumn has passed me by & winter is obviously creeping round the corner with last night being our first frost. On many of the trees the leaves haven't just turned by disappeared & the hills where i ran this past spring & summer have taken on a whole new feel altogether.
We saw a number of roebucks (they're little deer) whilst we were heading up the hill, a sight that to me is still a little breath taking even though i grew up glipsing them occasionally. & as the weather gets colder we'll probably see more as they come out of the woods looking for food. The shot is under exposed but i wanted to include it as seeing them is always a little special to me.
I think i noticed the change in colours today for the first time, they are softening, becoming muted & the brights of summer are disappearing. It's both a little sad but wonderful in it's own way as winter appears & mother nature takes on a new feeling. Which in turn brings out new shades in my photos, colder colours are replacing the warm golden hues of summer.
Despite this there were moments of colour, maybe not as vivid as during the summer months but maybe the muted surrounding gave them the appearance of being that bit more brighter! Now you can't miss the occasional shade of red, pink or purple like a beacon calling out to you.
But i did have another reason for my wonderings this morning. A few weeks ago within Inspiration Avenue, the weekly challenge had been "shimmer" & it had seriously stumped me. So the challenge i had set to myself for the next few days was to catch up on some of those i had missed & the current weather seems to have inspired me, with the combination of morning dew & light creating these wonderful patterns on the grass. The ordinary we see every day takes on a new look as the light dances off it.
& whilst my initial idea for this challenge came from the grass, it is not my final image but the combination you see below. I admit i got a little carried away with my photos of the dew but what's the point of a macro lens if i don't use it to full advantage? Plus it is kinda pretty! in my mind though it's not just the dew that creates the "shimmer" but the white of the flowers. & on reflectiong, looking at this image makes me feel like winter's already here.
Hope you all had a wonderful monday!

interview

Having had a wonderful weekend as it was, last night i was interviewed for the fPOE (Female Photographers of Etsy) blog, by the wonderfully talented Jen Kiaba (you can find her blog at Picture Today) & i am super excited about how it turned out. She did a wonderful job in writing about me (ok maybe i'm a little biased) & i can't wait to see what comes from it. Check it out ... look at some pretty pictures & learn a little bit more about me , the person behind the camera (so cliched i know).


Sunday, October 18, 2009

my weekend ...

It's sunday night & it's been a looooooooooong (use of "o's" for emphasis) weekend & now i'm looking forward to some quality me & camera('s) time the next few days. But briefly i had my first craft fair & whilst it was small it was fun, i made a bunch of sales, got a lot of people looking at my work & gave out a whole lot of cards. To say i'm pleased is putting it mildly as it went way better than expected & now i'm excited by the next one in november & thinking of ways to improve my owe so basic set up. Any suggestions on this one would be gratefully received!

& secondly i got third place in the base photographic competition, "people" category. I am happy as anything with this (my first ever competition) though some of the winner's were interesting to say the least. I've learnt a little more about the competition & feel in some of the other categories prizes went to more "classically" good images. But anyways i'm still incredible happy & waiting to find out if my image will go on the Af competition, fingers crossed on that one.

Friday, October 16, 2009

tagged

So two wonderfully talented photographers named Andrea Despot (her blog is called "May I Take Your Picture" & definately worth checking out) & Pam Hardy (you can find her gorgeous blog at Always Artistic) have tagged me ... this means i'm supposed to share 10 honest things about myself & then "tag" 7 other blogs with this task. So hopefully you'll walk away from this with a whole host of new & completely unnessary information about me, some of which i'm sure you'd rather not know!

1. I have had 3 surgeries ... all of them in places you don't mention around polite company & have left me with some interesting scars including a perfect "H" below my pantie line & another no one gets to see!

2. I hate lettuce & strawberries ... & when i say hate i mean hate everything from the taste to the smell to their whole existence on this planet. In fact i would be quite happy if we killed every last one of them!

3. I am somewhat obcessed with my cats ... i don't have any kids so they're my substitute. I play with them, curl up on the couch with them & can watch them doing all kinds of retarded things for hours on end.

4. I love to read, & can easily read a book in a day. There's something about being lost in another world that really appeals to me so then it's not a big surprise that i believe in dreaming.

5. My husband is my world ... without him i would be lost. When he's gone it's not that i fall to pieces so much as become an unorganized mess, he's my grounding & the voice in my head (that i rarely listen too) telling me when i should be doing when i'm obviously not.

6. Top Gun is the greatest movie of all time & i dont care how many times my husband explains what is wrong with it will always be top of my list!

7. I'm a firm believer that you can never have too many pairs of panties, pajamas, t-shirts or tanks!

8. I believer in God & Jesus Christ but not mass worship. Having someone preach to me about what's right & wrong doesn't make me believe more, just makes me question my own faith. The world is changing & i believe God would change with it.

9. Songs are my memories ... of people, & places & times in my. Right now my favourite is "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock ... i bought his album just for the song. We heard it at a bar, my friends last night before he PCS'd so now it will forever remind me of Karen & Dan.

10. I love storms, i could watch them for hours & want to go storm chasing one day.

& now for the part where i have to tag 7 other people ... so here goes & have fun!

2. Beth Thompson - Beth's Etsy
3. Susannah Tucker - Susannah Tucker
4. Jen - Holga jen
5. Harriet - Hey Harriet
6. Amie McCracken - I Am Alive



wonderful work by fabulous photographers

One of the big appeals to me about Etsy is that i get to talk with some incredible talented photographers from around the world. We share insights, critiques & discover new techniques that allow us to explore our own photographer. Here i want to introduce you to some of my favourites who have become friends as well as colleagues in a way. They're the people i turn to when i need help, to talk & information about anything & everything! I hope you enjoy their work as much as i do.

Tali Schaffer

Jessica Rogers

Andrea Despot

Tracy (i could tell you but then i'd have to kill you)

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

a little bit of amsterdam ...

So i've been slacking with my posts ... & whilst i've been trying to find something to write about that isn't me (though i know you all love to read about me) i haven't found something i really love so insted you get to see my photos from amsterdam ...

Everyone know's Amsterdam is famed for both it's canals & of course it's redlight district.

This little kittie was sitting chillin in a window above a cafe, opposite the restaurant we were eating at ... i couldn't resist.

We went to the Artis Zoo, & of course i had to take some photos.
& finally our canal trip ... it was night & well i had limited options for taking photos. This one i got lucky with as the boat stopped moving for a few minutes.

But generally i just decided to have some fun with long exposures & the many many lights out on the canal.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Many different views of Paris's most famous resident ...

So the question is ... how does one (one being me ... how british was that) photograph a monument that has been photographed millions of times over in a way that's a little different. & here are my attempts! Enjoy & be sure to let me know what you think.