March 31 ~ Anemone

Not much to say today. It's been hectic at work but a beautiful day; I made sure to get outdoors for five minutes over my lunch break to enjoy the sunshine. I'm starting to look forward to early May, when I've arranged to join a group of photographers on a birds of prey photoshoot. They did one last year that I was not able to attend, and the shots they got were stunning. I'm hoping to get some half as good!

Just a few days now till A and T are up this way; I can't wait to see them!!

Here are another couple of shots from yesterday morning's shoot with A:

March 30 ~ Rooftops

Apologies for not posting for much of the past week; it's the end of the sales quarter and work is extremely busy for me. By the time I'd get home, I didn't feel up to taking a photo - lame excuse I know, but true. I'll try to do better this week.

I've learned that getting out of my comfort zone photographically can be fun and rewarding. Today was the start of British Summer Time, so we "sprang forward" and as such lost an hour's sleep. I decided to take advantage of the fact that made sunrise an hour later by the clock and headed out for some shots. These are from the Quayside in Newcastle and Gateshead (which are separated by the River Tyne). I don't usually do cityscapes but have tried some the past two weekends now with decent results.

March 25 ~ Pudding Chick

Meet Pudding Chick. He landed on my doormat today, quite literally. Thank you T for the gift - you're right, I love him! He's got pride of place among my ducks and they all have taken to him like.... well, like ducks to water! :D I wanted to make Pudding Chick's first photo dedicated to you and your photographic style, which I admire greatly. Thank you again and I can't wait to see you!

March 24 ~ Film Star

Like many film stars, he's very wrapped up in himself!

It's been a lovely long weekend - hope all of you who celebrate Easter had a marvellous time. Those of you who don't, I hope you enjoyed a nice break from work or school. The four day break has done me the world of good; I feel refreshed and ready to tackle the coming months. I don't have any leave at work until the end of June, so this has recharged my batteries nicely. Unfortunately, the weather this weekend was anything but kind to us, so I only had one trip out with the camera the whole weekend, and that was Sunday evening's shoot on Gateshead's Quayside with A. C and I went out Friday morning for sunrise, but never even got out of the car; what looked so promising when we headed out quickly turned into a damp squib. Oh well, there's always next weekend!

March 23 ~ Path to Enlightenment

Was convinced by A to go out for sunset and night shots on the Quayside in Gateshead. I'm glad I went, as it's not a type of photography I generally do, but admire such images greatly.
The first image is of the pathway to the entrance of the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art on the banks of the River Tyne. The following images are of the Quayside itself, with its magnificent Millennium Bridge, Tyne Bridge and Sage Centre.

March 22 ~ Physalis

Today's photo is a result of a wander in the grocery store the other day. Physalis (or should that be physali? I don't know... ) are fun to photograph, and they taste good too!

I spent much of today editing photos. I always keep my original RAW files and often come back to them months later when I have learned more about editing. These are photos from a while back that I have never processed before as the skills eluded me. Now I've been able to produce final images that I'm really proud of.

The first is of the pier in Whitby, North Yorkshire. I took this almost exactly a year ago, but due to my lack of processing skills the untouched RAW file has been sitting on my hard drive ever since. Next is a photo from last October on my first trip to the Lake District. These are some of the boats lined up on the shores of Derwentwater, ready for the tourists. The third photograph is a shot I took in May 2007 of one of the life preservers at the Fish Quay in North Shields, Tyne and Wear. The last image is of a lookout hut on Roker Beach in Sunderland. I took this in January this year but never did anything with the RAW file until today. Today's image processing has been a lesson to me to not bin my RAW files, ever!

March 21 ~ Glass Rainbow

Just in case any of you reading this were wondering, I still have my Ikea vases. Here they are, acting out a rainbow :)

March 20 ~ RGB

Just having a play, trying to make something fun.

March 19 ~ Beat the Blues

Banish those blues - a whisk will do!

March 18 ~ Emergency

I guess sometimes the laundry IS an emergency, although I would NEVER call 999 on account of it (or 911 to those of you in N. America).....

March 17 ~ Asparagus Again

Following some very constructive critique from a couple of friends (who know who they are :) ) I have decided to re-shoot the image from Sunday, this time without the distracting stripe of lighter wood in the way.

March 16 ~ Asparagus

Not just delicious, they make an interesting photographic subject too! Now where's the cooking pot....

March 15 ~ Aira Force

Yes, I'm still here! Have had an extremely busy week at work so unfortunately my photography has had to take a back seat for a few days. Had a great day out in the Lakes with some friends yesterday. Although the weather wasn't great, we tried to make the most of it. Had a LOT of laughs and all raised a glass to C - may he rest in peace.

The top image is the bottom of Aira Force, next is a valley overlooking Ullswater, a view of Ullswater itself, and a shot of Brothers Water.

March 11 ~ The Posse

Mini-Me has some new pals. He thinks they look well hard!

March 10 ~ Withered

The end of the bouquet, and the end of my floral fine-art images - at least until the next time I get flowers!

HDR Playing

I've been working on HDR imaging some more -- here's a couple:

March 9 ~ Sweeping Skies

What a beautiful morning! I headed down to the beach as I do most weekend mornings and was faced with this stunning cloudscape. Only one other 'tog there, which surprised me. I have just received a magazine with a discussion of HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging, and decided to give it a go, following suggestions made in the article. I've got the Photomatix software they recommend, but obviously wasn't using the sofware to its full potential, as I seemed unable to create vivid HDR images. This article's helped a great deal, and this is the first result.

March 8 ~ Basic Ingredient

A basic ingredient in many a dish, it smells divine and tastes wonderful. When I broke this clove open to take the photo, the whole room was filled with a gorgeous aroma.

March 7 ~ Above and Below

I have so been enjoying this fine-art floral photography. I think I might have found a new genre to love.....

March 6 ~ Under the Gerbera

I've really been enjoying this fine art floral imagery; so much so that I've taken two photos today!

March 5 ~ Ranunculus

Following on from Tuesday's fine art floral theme, this time with a ranunculus. I'm not as convinced that this one works as well as the gerbera, but that's the nice thing about my Photo A Day project - it allows me to experiment.

March 4 ~ Gerbera

Trying a bit of a fine-art style today. It's actually an orange gerbera, but I didn't care for the colour much - it was just the nicest one the florist had. :) I played about with tints and such, and tried a minimalist effect. Has it worked? Opinions always welcome :)

March 3 ~ From Within

From within, everything shines with its own little light. You just have to stop, pay attention, and look closely sometimes. Been thinking of all my friends today, who for one reason or another are finding times difficult at the moment. Sending a lot of love to you all - you know who you are.

March 2 ~ New View

Some photographic inspiration has arrived at last! Went to a beach I'd never visited before. It's about a mile north of St. Mary's Island where I normally go, and gives a wonderful view of the lighthouse and the rocks along the coast. The tide was coming in, and I loved the calm feeling that washed over me as the waves swept in over the rocks. It would have been nice to have a touch more cloud in the sky for sunrise, but it was a good shoot nonetheless. I will definitely be visiting often!

February 29 ~ What Lies Within

Just realized I hadn't posted yesterday's image yet! Took it when I got home from camera club last night and didn't process it till this evening, so here it is. Better late than never, I suppose!

March 1 ~ Incoming Tide

Oh dear. The end of February was not a good time for me, photographically speaking. I've fallen off the wagon with regards to my photography, and need to get back on track. Due to a poorly sick computer over the past few days, I've not been about. That and an insanely busy week at work have conspired to mean that I have hardly touched my camera. Here's hoping March won't have any such veering off course.

I managed to get out this morning, but the wind was fierce and there were no clouds in the sky to provide a lovely sunrise. Determined (or should that be pig-headed?) in my determination to get a photo for this project today, I came home with this one.

This is one from last June when I visited the Farne Islands - I just love the pose!