Happy Christmas everyone!

It's the thought that counts!

Every month local residents receive a free booklet about our town, mostly adverts, but always with a contribution from a member of our Camera Club. This month it was my turn - but sadly they missed my name out ! Never mind, it was nice to see the pics in print!

The conversation

The granddog and me. Taken by my son. A beautiful chocolate lab, Holly is now eleven years old. So gentle and patient - living with 4 children and a bossy cat, she has to be!

Dark

I set up a small dark "studio" (hardly merits the name  - I could call it a box!). Here's the setup and three photos I took. Black foam boards and fabric, side window light, tripod, manual settings 

Indian Summer in Scotland

We go to the remote NW of Scotland each year for our fix of empty roads and great scenery. Our visit this month did not disappoint - even the weather left behind the rain and winds that had been part of the landscape this summer. Hope you enjoy the photos!

Sausages

When I lived in Blyth (UK) we had a wonderful butcher's called Maddison's. Always busy, double queues ( we love queues) their products were so tasty, especially the sausages. I really missed those sausages Then it closed down and the shop bought by another butcher. Decades later I have just discovered that this butcher bought the secret sausage recipe and sells them in a shop 5 minutes away from my house. I've been deprived of them all these years so thought they deserved a photo!

Virol

I took this iPhone photo of sweet peas from the garden in a Virol jar. Anyone remember Virol?  I can remember being given a spoonful a day sometime in the 1950s. It was a malt extract which tasted like a spoonful of melted toffee, obviously thought to be good for growing children. Also rose hip syrupy bought in small bottles. Anything I have missed out?!

Time lapse

Oh dear!  Just realized how long it is since I've blogged. I seem to spend more time on IG these days. So much beauty and inspiration there. This is an iphone image which I did for Kim Klassen's The Studio, another inspiring group of photographers. And now that I've learnt how to write a blog post on my iPad I'll probably do more!

Following the prompts

Sometimes getting motivated to set up a still life can take some time - that's one reason I find having a prompt or an idea to work on so useful.  These images are all in response to Kim Klassen's Bestill52 and The Studio prompts.  The image above was to find a sense of 'stillness' edited with Kim's LR preset - kk_eve.  The aquilegia was the only one showing its head in the garden so far.

The jar of buttons was for a prompt on 'one thing' - I did a series of photos based on sewing items.  The daisy clump (returned to the garden afterwards!) was for a Nature theme.  Both were photographed on a  mirror.

A small Greek bowl (a holiday present) came in handy for a  Studio theme.  Love being part of this supportive group! 

Take one thing

Choose one item - or in this case two! - and take different shots.  This was a challenge in Kim Klassen's Bestill 52 class. Had to coerce HI to pretend to be sewing - he's such a willing helper! The reels of thread (old aka vintage) came from a second-hand market stall.  Must have got rid of loads of items like this over the years.  Never throw anything out, at least small things!

Happy Easter!

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter, and for those of you who are not well at this time or have undergone surgery,  a speedy recovery and freedom from pain.
  As you can see from my photos, for the first time in my life I have used onion skins to colour the eggs.  My mum always used to do it - I had to watch a Youtube video to remind myself what to do! Never too old to learn!  The bird's nest I found on the pavement (minus eggs) after it had been blown down, the egg carton I painted white and the ranunculus were one of a rare finds in this area at this time!  Hope you all get some sun to enjoy the start of Spring!

Faffing

Faffing is something we all like to do - isn't it?!  It often means we never get round to actually doing something constructive but recently I've found faffing with apps  to be one of the most enjoyable (photography) activities!  Here are some images, taken with my iPhone and edited in iColorama, a very versatile app but a steep learning curve.  There are quite a few tutorials on Youtube to help if you are interested.

Signs of things to come

For this week's BeStill 52 challenge the setup had to include something hanging in the background eg bunting, twine, string etc  I already had some mini bunting which I made for Christmas, so I whipped it out to use with this seed packet (I will get round to planting!) and some gladioli bulbs (ditto).  Edited in LR and then transferred to Elements to add Kim's texture 'follow'. 

Clementine setup

As part of Kim's course The Studio' I've been playing around with a clementine (only one left in the fruit bowl!) and an old jam jar.  The setup is in the hall with a glass door to the left.  The cheesecloth backdrop has been stuck to the wall with masking tape and the base is a tile from a DIY store.  Some light has been bounced back onto the scene with a white foam board  (black on one side) balanced on a chair.  I'm always fascinated to see others' setups, so this might be a small glimpse into the 'portable studio' which is a too grand name for what is a table and a chair! Texture used is kk_magic waterfront, 24-70 lens.

Citrus?

The challenge in Kim's Bestill52 class this week was to shoot a still life with the theme 'citrus'.  I'm almost sure kiwi fruit may not be classed as citrus so you might have to use your imagination here and think 'lemon' or 'orange'!  It was set up in the hallway, in front of a glass door, south facing, but no sun today so I used a white foam board for extra light. After adding Kim's LR preset 'lightairypastel' I added her texture 'flow' in Elements.  The knife is a vintage fruit knife which belonged to my mother so it's about 75 years old.  In other words, an old knife!  Now to eat the props!

A spot of sunshine

There is a short window of opportunity when the sun shines in through the south-facing windows to catch a shot like this,  so a quick set-up with the reflections of the glass on the wall behind.  We're having a week of high winds with the threat of some snow - I'm not a fan of snow, rather have sun or clouds.  I suppose tulips are a foretaste of spring - already in the shops along with daffodils.  Hope you are finding some spring flowers where you are!

Happy New Year!

Hope the transition from the old to new went well for you all!  We had a bit of a rocky start with eldest son in  hospital with pneumonia but he is on the mend now.  I've had a bit of a block when it comes to photos but got round to shooting these dried hydrangea today - it's tricky with reflections but I enjoyed it all the same.  I find I'm putting more on Instagram these days using the iPhone  and  editing with apps. It's a whole new world!  (There's a link on the page to my IG photos if you're interested!).