July 29 ~ Over the Rainbow

What a day! I headed down to the beach for the Sunderland International Airshow this afternoon. Thoroughly enjoyed myself, despite the occasional rain shower.

My goal today was to get a better shot of the Red Arrows flying in formation that I achieved last year at the airshow. I was THRILLED when I captured this one! Not only did I get them flying in a Diamond 9, but I captured them flying over a rainbow! Yes, that rainbow really WAS there and isn't a Photoshopped addition (I wouldn't have the foggiest idea how to do that, anyway!). I am utterly delighted with the shot, and even if it's the only good one I have from today, it was worth it.

July 28 ~ Where Does This Go?

Flex is perplexed - he's found a roll of film, but can't for the life of him figure out where it fits!

July 27 ~ He's No Lassie!

"Help me, Iggy - I'm stuck!"

Poor Mini-Me; his inquisitive nature has landed him in a tight spot yet again. Thinking his faithful friend Iggy would know what to do, Mini-Me asked him to find me to help him out. I think Mini-Me's been watching too many Lassie movies though - Iggy just wanted to play. He's no Lassie!

July 26 ~ Bumper Crop

Mini-Me is finding it difficult to pick strawberries this year; they all seem HUGE to him!

July 25 ~ Glass Rainbow

After yesterday's foray into black & white, I felt like adding an injection of colour. These are my Ikea vases yet again; I just love the undulating lines of them.

July 24 ~ Pegged

At long last, I'm all caught up. Sorry it's taken me so long to get back up to speed with things; it's just been one of those times LOL.

I got a gift from Chris - the D-Xenon 50-200mm lens for my Samsung GX10. It's lovely to have an autofocus zoom lens for this camera. While my Nikon D50 is still my main camera, the more I use the Samsung, the more I love it.

These are just a few clothes pegs lying on the garden bench that sits right beside the clothesline. I just liked the different textures in the wood and thought it would work well in mono.

Hope you're all well; although I've not posted or commented much recently, you're all in my thoughts. {{HUGS}}

July 23 ~ Laundry Day

I love the look of pegs on the clothesline - I can almost smell the fresh scent of sun-dried bedding..... LOVELY!

July 22 ~ Zebra

Today, for my birthday, Chris and I went to Edinburgh Zoo. This is a photo I've wanted to take for quite some time, but surprisingly enough never had a zebra nearby before! :D

July 21 ~ Sharpened

I hadn't realized how many days it's been since I posted in here! Whew, good thing I had the photos ready to upload....

July 20 ~ Lines

Still more catching up!

July 19 ~ Tips

And again...

July 18 ~ Mini

Just catching up on my posting - I've been taking the photos, just not gotten round to adding them here!

July 17 ~ 2B Or Not 2B

... that is the question!



This photo was Chris's idea....I love it when he comes up with these!

July 16 ~ Unlocked

This is the last of the bottle of fizzy lemonade. I'm glad it's relatively inexpensive to buy, as I think it's a series of images I might try and explore further. I've really enjoyed taking these shots - I must admit that my dental floss really came in handy for this photo!

The bubbles just fascinate me - the way they cling to the surface of the objects immersed in the liquid, the way they make the ordinary look that bit more extraordinary.

Hope you're all well today; I'm thinking of you all as ever {{HUGS}}

July 15 ~ The Abbey

Hi folks! Sorry I've not posted sooner, but here's my Photo A Day from yesterday's trip to Fountains Abbey:



We were lucky - we entered the grounds not long after opening time, and high-tailed it to the cellarium where this photo was taken. It must have looked rather odd to other visitors; about 10 of us with tripods and cameras, muttering about composition and bracketing! This was an attempt at HDR; I used -2, 0 and +2 exposure compensation on a series of 3 shots and combined them using software. I'm not a technologically-oriented person, but I think this has come out rather well. I've got other similar bracketed sets of images, so might have a go again at using the HDR technique later in the week.

Here are more of the shots I got yesterday that I quite liked. Hope you're all well - been thinking of all my friends in blogland! {{HUGS}}

July 14 ~ Erasers

Well, there's still some fizzy lemonade in the bottle and it's not gone flat yet, so here's another bubble shot. This time it's just pencil erasers - but interesting multi-coloured ones rather than the ordinary ones.

Hayfever woke me up at 6am or so today -- and then I realized I had no medication and NO Kleenex! I therefore toddled off to the grocery store, and by 8:30 I was home with the weekly shopping done and put away. I feel better now!

Off to Fountains Abbey tomorrow for photos; I can't wait!

Hope you all have a lovely day - in my thoughts as ever. {{HUGS}}

July 13 ~ Straw

Hooray, it's Friday!

Been a busy week, but got a lot accomplished at work. It's been an exciting week for me as well - I've been invited to give a talk in November at a neighbouring camera club! I'm really looking forward to it, although I'm a bit nervous as I don't much enjoy public speaking. I'm hoping this will be different as it's my photography, which I'm passionate about. Perhaps my love of my craft will alleviate the stage fright.

Hope you're all well {HUGS}

July 12 ~ Taking the Plunge

I enjoyed playing with art supplies and fizzy lemonade so much yesterday that I decided to carry over the theme to today's photo. I must point out, however, that fizzy lemonade is NOT the liquid of choice for the effective cleaning of one's paintbrushes! I do like the bubble trails though - shows the action of the brush plunging into the liquid.

I'm really pleased that the week is almost over - I am heading to Fountains Abbey near Ripon, North Yorkshire on Sunday with several photography group friends, and the long-range weather forecast is looking good. It will be great to see folks again and to meet new internet friends as well. I have only ever been to Fountains Abbey once, and that was this past autumn, so it will be good to view the area in a different season and with different light. I particularly love the cellarium there - fantastic textures in the stonework, and wonderful lines and detail. I'm hoping to get some images that I can enter into competitions. It will also be great to get ideas and tips from others. It always amazes me how the same scene can be viewed and interpreted in so many different ways by photographers. Fascinating!

I hope you're all well - my hayfever's been going haywire lately. I don't usually find myself particularly affected in the UK, but this "summer" has been rather out of the ordinary. I spent a large part of last night awake and sneezing.... yuck!

All in my thoughts, as ever. {{HUGS}}

Here's a shot of the cellarium at Fountains Abbey, taken last autumn:

July 11 ~ Creative Juices

If I were to tell you (without showing you) that today's photo was of coloured pencils and fizzy lemonade, you'd think I was nuts. It just sounds like far too strange a combination of things - yet I think it works when you see the finished result. I'm very happy with it - creative juices are flowing, literally and figuratively today! :)

It was a tiring day today; got into work at about 8:30am, and only got home around 8pm. Fortunately tomorrow is a late start, due to a meeting - I only have to show up for 10am :) Yay! After tomorrow comes Friday, then it's the weekend!

I'm on babywatch this week; my friend is due tomorrow. She sent me a message today to say that she'd had another scan, and although the baby is on the small side, all is well. Her midwife has told her that if she has not gone into labour by next Wednesday, they will admit her to hospital and induce her on Thursday morning.

On another baby note, my friend K has just become a first time dad! His little daughter was born on July 9th at 2:57am, and mom and baby are doing beautifully. Welcome to the world little Isabelle Elizabeth!

Hope you're all well; you're all in my thoughts {{HUGS}}

July 10 ~ Mouths

Really tired tonight, so this is just a quick shot of the mouths of my Ikea vases. I am enjoying them immensely; wonderfully colourful photo props they are! I don't feel like I have much to say today blog-wise, so I will keep this short and sweet and let you know that you are all in my thoughts. {{HUGS}}

Schmoozer!

My friend T has given me this "Schmoozer Award". What is a Schmoozer, I hear you ask? Well, it says on T's blog...

"As it goes, schmoozing is the natural ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” Good schmoozers effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogsphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don’t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. They are the ones who engage others in meaningful conversations, refusing to let it end at a mere hello - all the while fostering a sense of closeness and friendship".

Thank you very much T for brightening up my day with this award! :) {{HUGS}} I think it would be lovely to pass the feeling on, so I'm going to award it to two dear friends of mine: Pat and Kathy.

July 9 ~ Into the Sun

This photo sums up how I feel about the recent weather - emerging from the shade into the sunlight. I tried to convey that with the lighting; I hope I succeeded.

Been another incredibly busy day today. It keeps me out of trouble, so can't complain :)

Hope you're all well. {{HUGS}}

July 8 ~ Hanging Around

Quick shot today, as I had been so busy in the yard. It was the first time in about 3 weeks that the grass was dry enough to mow! This little fellow just seemed to be hanging around waiting for something interesting to happen.

Hope to catch up with you all soon - although my blog friends are always in my thoughts {{HUGS}}

July 7 ~ Stripes

Chris and I had a trip out to Ikea today. We don't go often at all, but when we do we really enjoy the wander. We didn't buy much either; these are some of the 9 coloured glass vases I picked up for the princely sum of 49 pence each. I loved the way the lines curved and how the sunlight was illuminating the glass, making the colours glow. I think I'm going to enjoy using these vases in my photos over the next while.

July 6 ~ Concentric

I know, I've missed out a day. Just wasn't feeling in a photographic mood on Thursday. Not much of an excuse, but it's the truth. I've done reasonably well so far this year keeping up with the Photo A Day project though :)
This is a stack of boxes - I just liked the concentric circles and the colour combinations.
Hope you're all well! {{HUGS}}

July 4 ~ The Climb

I sat in the garden (with this red chopstick!) and the little fellow obligingly started to climb. Took his time about it though. It was a time for me to sit calmly and reflect on my day. The sun was out, casting a warm glow on the plants. I have had a lovely day today - even though I WAS at work! - and this just topped it off nicely. I've been wanting a shot like this for a while now, and I was delighted that this little snail obliged. Just took a bit of patience, is all. It's a shot I might try again sometime when I have the time and am looking to sit quietly for a while.

July 3 ~ Rose

This is from the savage rosebush in our front yard. I have the wounds to prove it - the thorns on this are the largest I've ever seen, and boy do they ever hurt!

July 2 ~ Spiky

This is a seed head from one of the aquilegia plants in the garden. I love the spiky shape of them; very out-of-the-ordinary to my eye.

Not much to recount today - it was my first day back at the office and there weren't enough hours in the day to get all my work done. That's a good thing though; the time really does fly!

Happy Canada Day!

I love Canada Day. I have such great memories of going to see the fireworks, and although every day I feel fiercely proud of being a Canadian, I seem to feel particularly patriotic on July 1. I would so love to be going to a firework display back home today!

Today's my last day of vacation until we head to Canada in mid-December. I can't believe the week's up already; it's gone by so fast! Fortunately, the rain held off long enough to allow me to get out with the camera to a classic motorcycle show nearby. This is my favourite one from today:



Hope those of you celebrating Canada Day have a wonderful time. {{HUGS}}