April 27 ~ Open Door Policy

Had a great day out with A, H and D today. We started off around the Quayside in Gateshead and Newcastle; this shot is of All Saints' Church just next to the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle. After that, A and D and I went to the multi-storey car park in Gateshead which featured in Get Carter. It's scheduled for demolition very soon, and it was open to the public for the last time today. We had to queue for over an hour on the 7th floor to get our hard hats and access to the floors above. It was worth the wait though - shame the weather didn't cooperate. The three of us then wandered around the rest of the car park and attached shopping precinct, all of which is now derelict. We had a great time and came back with LOTS of images. These are of the car park itself:

April 26 ~ On the Cusp

Almost ready to fall, but not quite.

April 25 ~ Decay

Who says dead and dying blooms aren't beautiful?

April 24 ~ Red

No, it's not a squiggle this time! :) Just another droplet image.

This second photo is of a portion of the sea wall at Crosby beach, where we spent some time on Sunday. What a tremendous place that must be in good weather!

April 23 ~ Caught

Just enjoying the tulips, and playing with droplets again.

April 22 ~ Out On A Limb

Back to the droplets today, as I found time to stop at the florist's.

April 21 ~ Rework

Today's photos were not taken today, but they were edited today. A suggested to me yesterday that I have a go at converting a recently tonemapped version of Winding Road into B&W - it's a shot I like very much and although I love my original B&W version for its layers and its softness, A thought converting the tonemapped colour version would give a different feel altogether. As he often is about my photos, he was right. LOL



The next two shots are more from yesterday's Cafe meet at Formby. The first is another red squirrel shot, but the second needs a wee bit more explanation. A and I figured we should bring some toys to play with, and try and tempt the squiggles to them with some peanut butter. Enter the alarm clock. The tree stump it's sitting on was covered with some peanut butter, and we set up cameras and tripods a distance away, ready to capture the inquisitive squiggles. After sitting there for a while, we realized they weren't coming out to play. Oh well.....

April 20 ~ Red Squiggle

Headed out to Formby near Liverpool today to meet up with members of the Cafe. Got to see my first-ever red squirrels. Had a blast, and got some shots despite a dull and drizzly day. Thank you all for a great time :) Flex says thank you too - he enjoyed his outing!

April 19 ~ Fluffy

Decided to reshoot this pussywillow, as I love how soft and fluffy it is. This time I passed on the droplet :)

April 18 ~ Green Hare

And they say you shouldn't play with your food! Perhaps they're right ;)

Please note that this creature is not to be confused with the elusive chare found in the Lake District LOL

April 17 ~ Daffodil

It's been a hectic day at the office once again. The current economic climate is making things more difficult as people spend time worrying about their mortgages. I'm really looking forward to the weekend; going to Formby to photograph the red squirrels and will be meeting up with several friends. Will be a great way to unwind. Better still, I have Monday off to spend with Chris. I hope the weather's nice; we'll take our cameras and go for a picnic somewhere.

April 16 ~ On A Gerbera

I am so enjoying these droplet photographs. I love floral photography, and working with my macro lens, but this seems to have sparked something special in me.

April 15 ~ Curled

I am SO enjoying these photos of droplets. I was about to put these tulips in the bin as they are past their best - but then I took a second look. Boy, I'm glad I did!

I couldn't resist this one either - have been thinking about taking a shot like this for a long time, but never managed to keep the one seed that I wanted. Today was my day.

April 14 ~ Droplet on Iris

Been wanting to take a photo like this for quite some time....

April 13 ~ Iris

There is something mesmerizing about an iris; the lines, curves and textures all hold my eye. I just tried to capture in this image what so captivated me.

April 12 ~ Aflame

Being scheduled to work this morning put paid to any photographic excursions, but I picked up some tulips at the florist's next door to my branch and had fun photographing them. The tulips seem to be alight from within.

April 11 ~ New But Old

Again, processed RAW files I have never touched before. These are both from this past June's Puffin Run - a now annual tradition on the Cafe and EP. Can't wait for this year's!

April 10 ~ Still Nothing New

No new image again today, I'm afraid - at least not one TAKEN today. These shots have been processed for the very first time today though - so somehow that counts! They are all from a trip I took with other members of the Cafe to Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire this past July. I've just never touched the RAW files till today.

April 9 ~ Nothing New To Report

No new photo today, but rather first looks at another 2 shots from a recent Sunday morning out on the Quayside with A.

April 8 ~ Solitude

Standing tall, on its own.

I've also worked on a couple more shots from a recent outing with A to the Quayside.

April 7 ~ Calla Lilies

There is something about these flowers that I love. I think it's their air austerity and elegance.

I'm really excited tonight. I went to a talk at Consett Photographic Society tonight given by two of my friends. Afterwards, I was asked if I would give another talk there myself, likely in early 2009. I am thrilled - I gave a talk there in November 2007 and it must have gone down well if they want me back! LOL At least it gives me plenty of time to take new photos :)

April 6 ~ Forked

Not the nicest weather today, so it's a day for indoor photography. I've been trying to work on some monochrome images for upcoming camera club competitions, so came up with this one.

I also went back into the archives. This shot is from February 2007 and the JPEG lay untouched since then (apart from having been backed up onto a DVD). I just found that my processing skills at that time meant I didn't have an image I was proud of; I knew there was something there though. I have recently read a tutorial on making an HDR-like image out of a single JPEG file and figured it would be the ideal shot to give it a go with. I just opened the JPEG 5 times in Photomatix Pro and then tonemapped it. Voila. Useable image! I'm really quite pleased with it, too.

April 5 ~ Rose-Tinted Filter

Duckie figures if you can look at life through rose-tinted glasses, a rose-tinted filter should work equally well!

Thank you to A & T for a wonderful visit! It was SO good to see you both - it's been far too long. Let's just hope the next time we meet, the weather is kinder to us and we actually get our cameras out of the bags! Enjoy your week.

April 4 ~ Whispering Campaign

The chicks are at it again - what gossips! There seems to be some sort of whispering campaign afoot. I wonder what they're saying? Hard to tell - these kinds of messages always get garbled by the end...

April 3 ~ Entwined

Totally wrapped up in one another.

April 2 ~ Three

Feeling a bit quiet and contemplative today after a less-than-successful day at work. I figured this image summed up my mood well.

April 1 ~ Prickly Customer

Hard to get near at times, just like people, but worth the effort.