ALL PHOTOGRAPHS POSTED ON IMAGI
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What can I say?
It's been a while!
It's been a crazy six months. Not even moving house or having our second child interfered with posting to the site but I've been so busy with work and life, that I just haven't been a.) shooting as much at home b.) been able to post to the site.
So, after a little break, here's another shot and, of course, it's of my eldest… …along with my mum's new dog!
Enjoyed a lovely day out at The Countryside Show at Beacon Hill, Leicestershire.
Watched the very entertaining Extreme Mountain Bike Show, with some fantastic tricks and near misses, including this almost life changing stunt.
We has the most fabulous holiday this May 2016 in Rovinj, Croatia.
We'd never been before and I can only say that we can't wait to return.
The people, the reps, even the gulls are friendly!
Rovinj itself – you can see steps here leading down from a quayside – it so beautiful. I think I actually prefer it Venice. Don't get me wrong, you can't compete with the majesty of that wonderful Italian city but this town is so simple and clean. Truly wonderful!
More of an accidental posting tonight.
I was artworking a friend's poster but got distracted with this portrait of Banana Bread.
I'd walk a thousand miles just to see that smile…
Another portrait of mini, pulling a face straight out of Disney's Rapunzel.
I was rather spoilt for choice with today's portraits, so may end up posting another soon.
Not to be undone by her sister, Anna wanted in on the close up portrait shots!
This time in colour!
We are truly blessed…
Mini had way more hair than Anna does now!
The girls are so different, yet so similar.
But one thing is true – We couldn't be more blessed!
A shot of my poorly, little sausage!
Anna has had a cold now for well over a week and she's not happy.
We've all not had a great deal of sleep but through it all she still keeps smiling. That's my girl!
Time enough to get one last image in this month!
Because it's so easy to post to social media feeds online, I find I let it slip posting to this site. I must try a little harder to stay on top here.
Couldn't decide between this colour shot and the black and white but in the end plumped for the colour.
I like this orientation too so decided to do a double post today.
It might help to make up for the three month absence.
Meet the latest addition to team Stokes!
Sorry baby – I should say last addition. x :)
We've finally moved, given birth (not me, obvs), sorted the new house (ish) and got through many of the main events and work (at work) so here's an image for the site!
I've never left the website for so long. In fact I think I only ever missed one month, once.
I hope you like today's black and white portrait of my little mini.
Have a great Summer, y'all!
Time to break out the ice creams.
Here's a quickie of Mini for today's shot.
I've been busy with work, moving and getting ready for the latest addition to our family but I hope to post more images soon.
Today's shot is another from the Isle of Man, this time from Laxey.
Unfortunately, as we came to the island out of season, most tourist attractions were shut, including the wheel at Laxey.
Rather than that dampen our spirits, we headed to the nearest shop and cafe for some retail and gastronomical therapy. While the family pored over Laxey tartan, I amused myself taking shots of the river, as it bubbled its way down to the sea.
Another shot taken on the Isla of Man.
Our holiday home backed onto a cove at Port E Vullen, the beach of which never seemed to bore any of us, least of all Emily. She spent hours walking over the sand and pebbles, throwing stones, getting wet and feeding the seagulls.
We've just come back from a few days in the Isle of Man – and it was awesome!
Emily, Grandma, Granddad, Nik and I had a whale of a time, even though most things were shut and it was so very cold.
I travelled a lot, in my youth, but seldom on my own doorstep, so in recent years I have been discovering the wonders of the UK. I absolutely love it and am planning to tour to a few more locations later in the year, on the trusty GS.
I had a wonderful day today with my girls.
I hope, wherever you are, you are too.
This photo was taken back in the balmy days of August 2014.
We managed to catch an event at Ferry Meadows, Peterborough, while visiting mum.
Emily had a massive time, riding cars, sliding down inflatables and rocking on the seesaw.
I'm not sure if other parents get this a lot?!
Sometimes I can look at Em, and I see the child she is. Other times I look at her and I see all the faces of the world, all the generations of human beings that it has taken to get her to this time.
Of course, that could say more about me than her. :)
Today's shot was taken at the same time as the last few photos posted on imagi.
Looks like both grandad and Em were enjoying each other's company.
I'll let this image speak for itself.
Em is the most naturally photogenic member of our family.
I always stay the right side of the camera – Well behind it! :)
More from my favourite model!
With all these photos of my little angel, I hope she doesn't decide one day that she doesn't want them on the interwebs, or that could be a lot of work for me to undo.
I like today's pose but I wasn't set up to take Em's photo and, consequently, I rushed – the image is a little soft and the light wasn't great.
Still, you can't beat the smile.
I've been remiss in posting any images with regularity, mainly because I've been so busy.
I hope to be able to post a few more photos soon, so in the meantime here's another portrait.
I didn't take today's shot but I have processed it.
I'm actually in this one, for a change, but nicely tucked off to the side.
Nik took a few snaps while we were at the local farm's Victorian Christmas event.
I really wanted to process a black and white shot – it seems an age since I last made one. See what you think.
After last night's successful work event – the Most Interesting Awards – I was reminded that I had taken more than just the standard portrait photos of the winners from the previous show we held at the Ricoh Arena. This shot is another from that show, taken at a similar time to this.
The trapeze artist, at the point this was taken, had just plummeted toward the ground, unfolding from her red material as she fell. All quite intentional and very spectacular!
She reminded me of the the Marion, the trapeze artist, in the Wim Wender's film, Wings of Desire, hence the title.
We held our annual RailStaff Awards last Saturday at the Ricoh arena in Coventry.
This was my first RSA with the company, and it didn't disappoint – what an event!
Today's shot, taken from my table, is of the hula-hoop lady from the circus troop headlining the show – The Circus Express – They were breathtaking.
Another shot from our trip to the zoo.
As you can see, our cheeky monkey had no problem making friends. :)
My daughter would rather play with branches in the zoo than watch the animals.
I'm not complaining – she knows what she likes and sticks to it – good for her! I just wondered if other parents had kiddies that were similarly contrary? Where the boy or girl would rather play with a box than the toy inside. I'm not sure if I was the same when I was that young.
It didn't take Em long before she decided she wanted to go on the rides solo.
Even on the soft-play bus, where the larger children (the boys espcially) were making it anything but soft-play, she just got stuck in!
Today's shot, by comparison with yesterday's, was shot with a much faster shutter speed to freeze the descent, allowing me to capture priceless expressions from my mum and mini. :)
We all had a lot of fun – we had to drag Em off each of the rides. Worryingly fearless!
We had a wonderful time at Ferry Meadows in Peterborough today.
It seems for the last few weeks we have had an abundance of festivals, carnivals, rides, trips and shows to go to; something to do with the Summer holidays, I imagine?! :)
I thought I'd catch a few shots of Emily enjoying herself. Rather than go for the more usual fast shutter speed and freeze the action, I thought I'd try a spot of panning at low speeds today.
It is a little tricky to get the sharp points in the photo while allowing everything else to blur but I think this shot works well enough.
Despite the bad weather, many turned out for the Mountsorrel Revival today.
Many people turned up late – yours truly among them – to wait out the torrential weather, imported from our dear cousins across the big pond. We did still, however, manage a lovely afternoon of boating, drinking, eating and wandering around all the attractions, finished off with a canon salute at the end of the day!
Today's shot is of Emily and mum, paddling back up the river. They had a lot of fun!
We are all looking forward to next year's event where, hopefully, the weather will be a little kinder.
It's the strangest thing!
I take a photo of Emily, and sometimes I get flashes of instances of her, looking younger or older. Sometimes the shots look like her, others completely unlike how I see her. But one thing seems to be happening, she is growing at an alarming rate! I know it's cliché, but I cannot really tell you where the last two years have gone.
Then I look through all my photos and video, and I get a small reminder… :)
It has been a while since I last posted.
Much of the usual happening here. I'm busy with work, birthdays, family stuff, seeing friends, DIY, the later of which probably takes me way longer than it should. Oh well! We all have strengths and weaknesses.
I also have a lot of people after my help with design and related work at the moment, which is nice.
While I have taken new shots, tonights is an old once from our cruise last year. I always meant to post it but never got around to it before now.
Time for a quick post tonight before bed.
Just don't seem to have any time at the moment to process any shots. When did life get so complicated (and time consuming?).
This shot was taken at the same time as this.
Another portrait image tonight – this time of Em in the garden pointing out all the planes and their trails in the sky.
I really must get around to posting some other content but Em is the only member of the family who doesn't mind having her portrait taken.
In fact, following in my footsteps, she has taken to carrying her toy phone around and taking her own photos while shouting 'cheese'! :)
Today's shot is of my father-in-law finishing the Swithland 6 race.
I really felt for him: I had ran earlier and the temperature was soaring. Not sure I would have fancied hurtling around a six mile course today. Still, he did very well and looked strong coming in at the end.
Another one of the holidays snaps tonight.
I love the progression of posture, running right from Emily through my mother-in-law, my wife and father-in-law.
And it goes nicely with this. :)
I'd like to tell you we had a rubbish time on our holiday in Tenerife the past week but that would be a lie. :)
Myself, Em and Nik went with her parents to a little, sleepy bay called Los Gigantes, up the west coast of the island. It is a beautifully tranquil place, with windy (yes, both kinds) roads and a lovely little harbour, packed with fish, that go absolutely nuts when you feed them — much to Emily's delight!
As usual, I took an assortment of photographic equipment which I really didn't use as much as I had intended. It was a very relaxing, lazy break, apart from one excursion down Masca valley on one day.
Today's shot is from our holiday in Los Gigantes, Tenerife.
Mini loves mucking around in the sand and pretty much ignores me hovering around, taking shots of her playing.
Many parts of the island are just plain awful, but this sleepy little town, nestled against the giant cliffs up the west coast of the island, is absolutely quiet and beautiful.
More Mini portraits tonight!
I was going to post a landscape: another shot from Bradgate park, but got a little distracted processing this shot of Em.
A long day today…
And a longer weekend is looming…
…but I always have time for a shot of my little mini. Happy weekend peeps!
Time enough for another shot tonight.
At last things are warming up and, consiquently, my little peanut is enjoying lounging in the garden.
Today's shot is another taken at the same time as this and this.
I love living where we do in Leicester. Having Bradgate and the surrounding area on your doorstep is a blessing.
Plus it gives me lots of locations for taking the odd snap or two. :)
Had a lovely day out at another farm today.
Took a whole heap of shots, some of which I posted to Facemash.
Snapped this of Nik when we got back for boat drinks at ours afterward. Rather like it…
We seem to be regulars at the local farm!
After grabbing a quick class this morning, the family Stokes popped over to Stonehurst Farm, to meet a friend of Nik's and her family.
Today's shot is of Murihah, on one of her many slide trips. She was so full of beans, it was lovely. :)
I've been crazy busy with my new job!
I thought I'd jump on the computer quickly tonight, to post something from my last few times out with the camera.
Tonight's is another shot, taken at the same times as this. See what you think.
I've actually got quite a bit of content to post.
I processed a couple of shots before this one, but then remembered by wife wasn't keen on the last portrait of Emily, because of its use of colour. I know she liked this shot so thought I would process this instead.
As you have come to expect, more from my little lady tonight!
I can't remember what I was doing, but I turned around (camera in-hand) and caught my angel watching me.
As with last time's shot, I have retouched this a little more than I have been doing. See what you think.
I've managed to get a bit of time to go out and shoot, between painting the kitchen.
Despite being cold, it was fun to run around Bradgate and I got some more shots to go along with others taken in the park.
I opted to retouch this with a little more drama than usual.
I do have many other shots so expect a few to be posted shortly.
Sometimes all it takes is a look.
I was getting the camera ready when my girls were already playing on the swings, and I shot, with whatever I had set, and caught this lovely exchange.
Quick shot tonight before bed.
This is from earlier in the day.
We had a lot of fun at the Stonehurst Farm today, as you can tell.
Emily and Lexi loved every minute — they looked at all the animals, had a go on the play areas, rode the tractor and, of course, drove their own, with a little help from the parents (Nik and Rik, while yours truly snapped away.)
We've had such a great weekend — hope you all have too! :)
Never work with animals or children, and yet my photoblog is festooned with these types of images!
In truth it wasn't too hard to get this shot of the two dogs, who behaved very well. :)
Today's shot is of a friend of mine's dog.
Never have I met a dog with so much personality.
He should have his own TV show!
A little bit of fun from the weekend!
Emily and Lexi are so great together. :)
Truly blessed!
My brother-in-law was after an old studio shot of his little girl, so after I processed it ready for print I thought it would make a nice shot for the blog.
Originally called Lexi the Little Ladybird, I simplified the title at the last minute. I mean, trying saying it five times really fast!
Another film shot today.
It's great the way the direct sunlight, pouring in the window, changed the whole shot. Tonally, so different from this. Excellent — love it!
On a similar note: Just built my Konstruktor camera, so I'll try a few shots with this. Might have to wait for some light, it only does 1/80s at F10 and today is just dulls-ville (I only have 200 film). I suppose I could just huddle near a light source?
Something a little different today.
No I don't mean the subject, but rather the medium. Today's shot was taken on my father-in-law's old Nikon FE.
One of my Christmas presents is a 'build your own SLR' kit. I was in Tesco the other day and found some 35mm film so I thought I'd have a bit of a play. As I hadn't made the camera yet — it is supposed to take a few hours, and looking at the fiddly components, I can see why — I thought I'd have a bit of fun with another film camera, and Malc was kind enough to break out his old kit. All the FE needed was a couple of batteries for metering and away I went.
In the greatest tradition of children at Christmas, Emily is far more interested in cookies, packaging and christmas tree stars than presents.
From all of my family to everyone out there — Have a very Merry Christmas one and all! x
While I was messing around on the Mac, I found this shot to post today, which I thought lovely.
(That's a bit of a fib; I found two shots, which I've spliced together to form this photo).
See what you think.
Christmas time at the local farm!
Near us in Mountsorrel, the local farm holds an annual Victorian Christmas Fair. We all popped down there last weekend — today's shot is from that visit. Granddad is teaching Emily to ride the (toy) horsey, much to her delight!
This shot is from last year's Diwali celebration.
I happened across it while searching through my photos for something else.
I always meant to process it — so here it is!
This is an old portrait that I always meant to process.
Emily is much bigger now with far more teeth!
A contrast to the present; Emily is crying in her room. My poor angel is very tired and needs sleep! Not quite the lovely scene you see in today's picture.
With my photos, I'm trying new processing techniques. I still feel like I'm finding my way, to be honest. I'll keep at it and hopefully get a bit more comfortable with it soon.
I honestly don't remember what Emily was singing, but she was putting a lot of effort into the song.
Today I managed to take a Half-Day Creative. These are half days taken from work where we go and do something fun and inspiring to help stimulate our creativity. I actually went out running with a camera but the light was rubbish and I really didn't get any images I was happy with, so rather than right off the HDC, I came back and worked on some of the new tutorials I have been studying.
As you can see, today's work is a foray into black and white. I'm reasonably happy with the shot, but I still have some way to go until I'm really comfortable with the process.
Today's shot is from this year's Diwali celebration and firework display in Leicester.
As I went along with the family, I didn't really get the chance to wander off and shoot. I did take some of the fireworks and this one reminded me of a palm tree.
It's been a while since I've posted anything.
I had been getting a little frustrated with my processing (and shooting).
As luck would have it — really perfect timing — my friend Ian Bursill (2014 Wedding Industry Awards Regional Winner) put me on to a new website with loads of Photoshop actions and, more importantly, a whole array of lessons aimed at getting more from your images but in a very intuitive way. Rather than just sticking to what the PS interface offers, it helps you get back to the basics of imaging and make corrections to your work in a more logical and scietific (and calculable) way. It also helps automate (or speed up) workflow, something I should have done years ago.
I am posting a quick shot tonight, from my walk with the family in Bradgate last weekend.
Today's shot is another portrait, but this time not of my family but of friends of Nik's parents.
We all went out for birthday lunch yesterday, and I got the chance to take a few snapshots.
The colour at the pub did nothing for the shot, so I decided to make this capture black and white.
We had a lot of fun at the farm today and I got the chance to try out my new lens.
As usual, my little angel was perfect. Well behaved, inquisitive (when isn't she?) and full of life.
This couldn't be a more perfect start to a week's holiday.
A little snapshot from our holiday earlier this year.
This photo goes out to my brother-in-law Rik, who has just ran 40km this weekend as part of Equinox 24hr run.
This shot was taken, at a far more relaxing time onboard the Queen Elizabeth, somewhere in the Bay of Biscay.
I couldn't honestly go another day and not post a shot of my little angel.
This was taken with my macro lens while I was shooting in the back garden at home. The sneaky, little monkey came up on me, but I turned the tables and caught her sneaking!
I realise every parent must feel this, but we feel so blessed.
Another shot from last weekend's trip to see The Red Arrows.
Went out today for Nikki's birthday and saw The Red Arrows!
The only problem with them is their display doesn't go on for long enough. It does really, but I could (and I know Nik could) quite happily watch them for hours. I marvel at the sheer skill involved in that kind of formation flying.
The relationship the girls have developed is wonderful.
Here Lexi helps Emily out, sharing her jelly. Emily is always more than happy to help, especially when it comes to food!
Just like her ol' man. Good girl!
Amazing what you can shoot in your own back garden.
Inbetween working on the computer, I had a quick break taking some photos. I found a wing in the garden and hey presto!
My ladies and I popped into Leicester today to go to the Mela festival in the city centre.
Today's shot is from a walk I took along the main high street. It exists as some attempt to convey the unbelievable busyness of the city centre streets. Walking along with a pushchair was nigh on impossible. The turn out was incredible.
I have to say it was absolutely amazing. The atmosphere was fantastic and friendly. My daughter loved it!
Another quick shot from me again tonight.
And my day has been even longer… Up at 2:30am, for no reason whatsoever!
I don't get insomnia often, but when I do it usually keeps me up all night.
A quick photo from me tonight.
It's been a long day…
Today's shot is from last weekend when we visited the park in Quorn.
It was blisteringly hot and the light was fantastic!
I actually took two variations of this composition – there is this one and another panning shot to emphasise the motion of the swing, a bit like this. I'm posting this first, not out of preference, but simply in the order they were taken. See what you think.
What a fabulous weekend!
We popped to Stonehurst Farm for lunch, then over to Quorn Park for a play on the swings. That is Nik and I went with Rik, Luce and Lexi. We had a wail of a time!
And, as usual, I brought the trusty Nikon.
I caught 'The Hills' as they were making their way out of the park. I'm kind of kicking myself I didn't react sooner. When they first began, they were by a really big tree which framed them in the foreground, but I'm not too disappointed as I love the fact that I caught Rik and Luce in sync with their footsteps. :)
I haven't done one of these in a while.
I was in the garden, contemplating a whole host of chores, when I noticed the fruit in one of the flower pots was rotting. Naturally I went inside, got the trusty D800 and took a snap.
My ladies playing in the fields near where we live.
I have so many other shots which I keep meaning to process, yet I always come back to the portraits of my family. I guess you stick with what you love the most. :)
I'm just about getting away with posting this shot.
My daughter stirs in the next bedroom and I'm clicking and typing away as quietly as I can.
A change of pace for today's shot. I decided to finally process something from our holiday. This was taken on the first morning we drew into port, having been at sea for three days. You can't see it, because the island is off to the left and behind me as I took this shot, but Madeira was just starting to be illuminated in the first rays of the morning.
More from my little angel!
This time the shot is from Old Hunstanton, where we went visiting on one of the hottest days of the year so far. It wasn't a problem, Emily Peaches spent a great deal of time in the seawater pools in her UV suit, and so kept very cool. She did march up and down the beach, giving me enough time to take a photo.
I've not really posted much as I'm working on a book.
Emily's birthday is not far away, and with having so many photos, I thought it nice to make a photo book of her first year.
I'm putting it together in Lightroom, using the Blurb book presets, which are pretty useful. They certainly are going someway to helping take the production time down a bit, having decided to go for a 64 page book, with over 150 shots in!
Today's photo is of my niece having fun on the swing in Lanzarote.
I have so many shots of my Mini!
She is an endless inspiration to me, just because of all the cool things she gets up to, like today's shot. Emily decided to move the story book with the power of her mind, Jedi style!
She does have special powers. When she cries, magically her nappy gets changed; she is fed; she levitates from one area to another and when she makes noises both her parents say the same thing back to her.
I did promise my father-in-law a photo, so here it is.
We always joke that he could pass for a drugs baron on holiday, although the crocs might say otherwise.
Seems only fair to process a shot for dad now to go with this.
Wow! This is my first landscape shot in… forever.
More portraits from our holiday.
This time it's my sister-in-law and neice having a great time on deck in the beautiful sunshine.
There's just enough time for a quick post tonight.
After a visit back home today, and one of mum's substantial lunches, I'm beat.
I had lots of fun on my holiday, making friends with Emma, Sophie and Rachel.
I enjoyed watching them dance on the wii at kid's club and I thought their paintings were fab!
My favourite thing about the holiday was getting so many cuddles from my new friends, just like in this picture, which I hope they get to see.
Lots of love, Emily x
Not sure why I have to exclaim every title on my blog at the moment?!
Or every bit of intro text. :)
Anyway — here's another shot taken at the same time as yesterday's, more or less.
Another shot from our holiday.
This time it's cousin Lexi on the beach in a lovely pink get-up.
We've just got back from a wonderful cruise around Madeira, the Canaries and Portugal on the QE3 (although we don't call it that).
It was absolutely amazing! We had a fantastic time and, as usual, I managed to catch the odd snapshot, including this one of my ladies enjoying a game of ping pong.
Things have been very busy. Mini is in nursery and Nik's back to work, so I've had little or no time to post shots, what with getting used to the new routine and all (which I'm not… yet).
Not much I can say about this shot — more of my Mini Me!
She is the best kind of model. She loves the camera, is (mostly) happy to pose and is more than pleased to grapple with the D800, much to daddy's horror.
I've had a stinking cold all week and only now am I starting to feel better.
Just in time to nip off to see my uni mates 'up narth' tomorrow. Providing we don't get snowed off.
There's just enough time to get in a shot of my little angel before bed.
This shot is from Loughborough's fair last year.
Pleasingly, I have been taking a lot of photos since getting the new kit. On the bad side, I haven't really processed many photos for me. I've worked through all the shots for work ok, but I just haven't really looked over my personal shots in a while. I think I get a little happily distracted in portraits of my little lady, rather than going through the drives, looking over old shoots.
Another shot from Clare and Dave's wedding.
The sun was absolutely blasting down, chucking harsh shadows everywhere and making everyone squint like crazy.
Before the couple got set up for the formals there was time to get a few shots.
I finally visited 'Focus on Imaging' last week, after trying for a few days to go but missing out because of work constraints.
I had a good time but it was mainly aimed at the consumer retail market and I wasn't there to buy anything. I did have a drool over some of the monitors on the Eizo stand.
Models were on some of the stands and you could take their picture. This young lady in today's shot was very helpful and professional. One thing which I noticed — not many people stopped to thank any of the models afterward for their participation and posing, something which I made sure to do. I realise they are working but really, manners cost nothing.
Nik and I had a wonderful day at Clare and Dave's wedding yesterday.
We were rushing around so I didn't get much of a chance to take many photos — I mostly shot video. I did get a few when the newly weds were having formals in a park close to the church.
Purely because we don't seem to have enough shots of my daughter on my website, I thought I'd add another. :P
Golden light was pouring through the bedroom window yesterday and I thought to capture it bathing Emily. However, in post processing the image turned into something else; a pastiche of a cover I saw for an online book of photo processing. Funny how things turn out differently.
Emily says, "Grandma, I wonder where you keep your wings.
Are they hung in your closet, with the rest of your things?
I think this nicely balances with Emily's last shot.
And I think this shot speaks for itself!
Another shot of my angel.
She is just the happiest baby ever.
Apparently there is another Emily Peach, who studied textiles in Brighton University.
Taken just before a talk my boss and I gave at Curve Leicester on brand.
I have another shot with my boss Roger in the frame which I like too and will post next.
Happy New Year for 2013!
Here's hoping you have a wonderful year!
And so it begins…
I wonder how many times I will be getting this look from my little girl?
Back when I first got my new DSLR I went for a half day creative into Leicester.
The day didn't go particularly well; I managed to take off the front under engine cover on a low wall at New Walk Museum. This threw me all out of kilter and by the time I got into Leicester city centre, to take some street photography, I wasn't in a great place mentally.
Then I had a run in with some halfwit on the market, who complained about me taking his picture when I hadn't even pointed my camera at him.
The house has pretty much returned to normal.
We've had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you all had one too?
Emily recieved so many gifts, not just from us but from the rest of the family too. Today's shot is from the opening on one of those presents. I chose it because I love the similar expression on everyone's faces.
Blow me down!
I've actually had some time today to get on the computer and process one of my own shots!
This was taken back during the Diwali opening festival in Leicester in November which I haven't really looked at since I took the shots.
This is a sad day for me.
I've just learned that a friend of mine has passed away.
He was a great friend and a father who adored his children. He was looking forward to meeting my daughter, but he never had the chance.
I have been doing a lot of portraits with the studio kit recently.
This is of my mum and Emily which I promised to post for her — so here you are mum, as promised. I hope you like the shot?
Another fun shot from Loughborough Fair.
I went out with a photographer friend of mine (Roger), who's also my boss, to shoot the fair on Thursday last week. Roger spotted the teddy bears hanging on one of the stalls and immediately saw the potential for a great shot. If only you could get someone naturally interacting with the bear.
We waited for a while but even with all the crowds nothing really presented itself that night.
As I threatened to do, today's shot is from the Loughborough Fair, and I decided to concentrate on the crowds more than the rides.
I haven't really been to a fair in a while and, I must admit, I had my reservations. (Getting old, I guess?).
It was loud and crowded, but you know what? I had a great time milling about taking photos of the event. I will definitely go back next year and who knows? Maybe Mini-me will want to come along too?
OK, I may have got a little distracted by Loughborough's fair that's on at the moment.
I had meant to try out more street photography but my adventures during the afternoon I had off from work were less than successful.
After taking the front off the bottom of my car on a low wall at Newark Museum, I wasn't in the best of moods to run into a really rude, jumped-up little git on Leicester market who seemed to think I had taken his photo even without pointing the camera at him or actually looking through the viewfinder at him. Idiot!
I'm having a change of theme.
I'm going to post a few snaps from my time wandering up and down Belgrave/Melton Road during the start of the Diwali festival last night.
I'd kept threatening to go each year but didn't until now. It's was great fun and I am definitely going again next year.
I know, I know — these close-up baby shots are getting a bit boring now.
I couldn't resist this one from this morning. Emily was so happy getting her photo taken I just had to process this shot.
I had a great time on Sunday at the Tiger's stadium in Leicester.
I took along the D800 and from the stands took a fair few shots of the sports action.
Considering one of the main weaknesses of the camera being its max frame rate, I found it very easy to anticipate the action. It could be because I'm used to balancing 6/fps (from my previous camera, the D200), it wasn't that alien to not have your camera go off like a gatling gun.
Well it's the last day of my weeklong PAD.
I forget how hectic trying to make time to post a photo can be. A bit like working around today's model, or moggle, should I say? Although, I should report, she's no diva. She was a very good girl!
Even though it's the last PAD for the moment, I'm sure it's not the last we'll see of Ms Peach.
I have just enough time (and energy) to post a shot tonight.
I'm up early to race so no late night photo sessions!
Here's a shot from my walk into work this morning.
I love the detail the D800 picks up. Of course you can't really appreciate it on web images, but trust me, it rocks!
More from my girls for today's PAD.
I'm going to walk into work tomorrow morning and I'll take my D800 along to see what snaps I can get.
Bathtime is always fun in our house.
At least Emily gets to keep her head out of the water (mostly), unlike swimtime, when Emily got totally submerged.
That didn't go down at all well!
Unlike most revisions, the original Emily is far superior to this crinkly version 2.0.
Still, Emily thinks most highly of Emily 2.0, and has regular discussions with her in fluent dolly.
To celebrate my new camera body I am going to run a PAD this week.
Starting off today with Waterfall I will post a few different images, trying to shoot different types of photographs, to better give the D800 a good workout.
Having not had a new pro body for years this new camera just blows me away. Now all I need to do is get some great captures!
More from my little angel!
Cute and fun, parps come from her bum…
…with occasion to 'coo', she'll cover you in spew! (Quick, duck!)
I had a lovely walk with my ladies yesterday in Bradgate Park.
I took along the new 28-70 f2.8 and had a bit of a play. It's been a while since I've posted a landscape so here is a little snap I took near the brook end of the park.
I have just enough time tonight to post a shot from today's walk in Bradgate park.
I have just bought a 28-70mm F2.8 Nikkor lens off a buddy of mine and had great fun with it today in the park, even on my old D200 making the lens more like a 42-105mm!
Introducing Ms Emily Peach! (as if you don't know).
Grunter, dribbler, moaner, nibbler, pretty, sweet, small of feet… Loved, way more than stew!
Marvel all ye, at the awesomeness of The Stokes! :)
Today's shot is of all of us; My beautiful ladies and me. I'm a very lucky chappy.
Another shot from the wedding Nik and I went to in June.
Lilia and Fin are absolutely lovely and we both felt very lucky to be invited.
A change to the normal type of shot I've been posting.
This one's from our friends Lilia and Fin's wedding in Guildford.
Not to spoil the current theme of baby photos, here's another shot of… more babies!
I should say my niece is now one and counting and hardly a baby any more.
In today's shot, taken a few weeks ago, she had a good look (and feel) of her cousin.
I'm not sure Emily even noticed.
More from my little spider-monkey.
I must admit, I love taking photos of our family's kiddies — they don't moan about having their picture taken, as they usually are asleep. Not the most dramatic of subjects, I grant you, but it is nice to get a wonderful, emotive reaction from people when they see the pictures.
Today's shot is of a very proud nan (my mum) holding Emily.
My little princess was on her best behaviour for her nan's visit.
More from my daughter.
She may need her own gallery pretty soon.
I've had a wonderful few days with my ladies but tomorrow I have to go back to work.
I don't think I realised how much of an effect Emily would have on me. I want to spend so much time with her (and mum). I do feel truly blessed to have such a wonderful family.
Today's shot is another from the many photos I have taken so far. The aim is to have enough for a book which, at this rate, shouldn't be a problem.
Emily would say hi but she's too happy having a spot of na-nights!
In fact, if we had to say what her favourite thing would be, it would be sleeping; or eating; or pooing; or sometimes combinations of all of these.
But, no matter what, her mum's touch always seems to send her off doing her first favourite thing.
We'd like everyone to say hello to Emily Alice Stokes — born 8:47pm on the 24th July 2012.
Both mum and babe are doing fantastically.
I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more of Emily here on the website soon.
At last today we had some sunshine!
My niece enjoyed herself immensely in her ball pit.
For those fans of The Big Bang Theory, I think today's title needs no explanation.
This is the shot I meant to post after this.
I realise I seem to take nothing but baby photos at the moment but what can I say? They complain very little about being the centre of attention. :)
Poor little Lexi!
Look what her horrible dad and uncle are doing to her. :)
And there's me thinking I was the beer Matt?!
It could be about time my neice gets here own section.
Today's title will become clearer when I post the next shot I have of Lexi in the beer garden at The Swan, Mountsorrel.
I've been woefully lackadaisical with imagi.
In my defence, we have been very busy preparing to have a baby! Runnning around, getting rooms ready, buying bigger cars, getting cots etc… It doesn't leave quite as much time for photography.
I've been reading a lot of George R. R. Martin books at the moment, especially in light of the approach of the new season of Game of Thrones in April.
Anyone familiar with his work will get today's title (hopefully).
I hope everyone is continuing to have a fantastic year?
I've not been out with the camera in a while but I may get out this month on one of my work's half day creatives; we are encouraged to go out and do something inspiring with half a day. I tend to get a lot of photography done on mine, although I have a hankering to visit Nottingham Contemporary. Hey, maybe I'll do both!
Happy New Year 2012!
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year? My niece sure did. She's been good as gold and full of smiles, some of which I've managed to catch on camera.
I have a pretty nice walk in most days to work.
While it felt chilly, the countryside was looking beautiful this morning. I didn't have much time but still managed to take a quick shot of the mist on the water.
…and yet more shots of my niece.
This was taken at the same time as this.
I'm not sure if she looks worried, confused or fascinated — and for the life of me I can't remember what she was watching (possibly more of dad building his shed).
I have spent a while this morning looking over photos of my niece.
It's tricky to choose a few for the blog; she is extremely photogenic, very expressive and emotive. I’ve tried to find different shots that show her expressing herself in an interesting way.
I took the opportunity today of taking some more photos of my niece.
There were plenty of shots with more interaction and emotion, but for me I found something interesting in this shot. Considering she is doing very little it amazes me how much she seems to be saying. Also the sheer depth in her eyes is unbelievable.
More to follow…
We’ve just come back from a wonderful holiday in Cyprus.
We went away, in part, to celebrate (or is it commiserate?) my 40th birthday.
As usual, we went on long walks, even longer runs and had a good explore of the island.
Guess what?
Yep! More shots of my Niece. I can't help it, she is so cute.
By the time we have any kids I'll be thoroughly bored with taking baby photos (not really).
Another one from lovely wife, taken at the same time as this.
At this rate I can retire and she can run the blog! ;)
Sometimes only daddy will do.
After a few tears it took the comfortable shoulder of dad to send little Lexi off to sleep.
An afternoon in, waiting for the Severn Trent man, gave me the opportunity to take over the role of photographer from Matt.
Lexi, clearly excited at the prospect, slept in the shade while her Mum and I soaked up the last of the summer sun! <From my wife Nik>
Lexi getting her groove on and sporting some fetching MC Hammer trousers.
'Break it down — Stop! Hammer time.'
Happy times with grandma in the garden, with mum and dad not far away.
I can't help but keep taking photos of my niece.
Even last night, as we had drinks with the family, the camera had to come out to capture more of this little angel.
Sometimes, no matter what, you just need to let it all out.
Lexi, who had seemed a quiet young lady to start with, soon found her voice. It wasn't long after this shot that mum settled her and she happily continued her favourite past time of sleeping.
A great deal of the time babies get wind, and it takes that special touch to help alleviate it.
Here my brother-in-law demostrates his proficiency.
I love this intimate shot of my sister-in-law with her newborn baby.
Some mothers are just born for the role…
There is a theme in my recent photography. (You may have noticed?)
How cute is my niece? What an angel!
More from Lexi today.
I hope to take some more shots later, now that she has grown so much in so little time.
Let us say my wife is much more at ease holding a baby than I am.
This is my niece, comfortably asleep on her Aunty Nik at one day old.
When I hold her I am less natural, and a little rigid, as I am worried I might squish her. I kind of look like I'm holding a bomb. I'm reliably told this may pass.
More baby shots, this time with Grandma watching over little Lexi.
She is so wee my hand is exactly the right shape to cup her head. Incredible!
Hard to believe we all start off that way.
Here's another shot of my niece, fast asleep and having some great dreams.
Wow, I have a niece.
Welcome to my brother / sister in law's baby, Lexi Sofia Hill.
She is beautiful and so very quiet — A parents' dream!
Congratulations to them both for a job well done. With any luck they are at home now enjoying the new size of their family.
This shot goes with this of my wife on holiday.
I've got a busy few days coming up, not least with a photography shoot in Birmingham tomorrow at an event for a world leader in the manufacturing of lenses, sensors and optics. Should be fun.
It has been a while since I've posted anything.
We've been doing a lot to the house and I've been exercising more than usual. Staying in that theme I have an unexpected half marathon to run tomorrow.
Today's shot is another one from the holiday.
Walking along the promenade in El Duque we spotted many of these little stone piles, among other sand sculpture.
This feels like the first chance I've had to post anything in weeks.
And, shock horror, it is!
If I'm not working on the house, I'm visiting friends or at work.
I've be very busy getting back into work and getting fit.
Having started my gym membership up again I thought I might actually go to a few classes this time around. To be honest I'm having a lot of fun (certainly more than I expected to) and feel really fit and healthy. For today's photo, I did manage to get in processing one of the shots from our recent holiday.
We're having a stove put in today.
That's not something we really needed in Tenerife. Even at this time of the year, and even being in the north, it was still shorts weather. A stark contrast to the minus figures we returned to.
We've been on holiday to Tenerife (again - well, we do love it!).
Here's the first of a few snaps I took over there. I'll elaborate later in the week but for the moment know we had a wonderful time, even if it did scorch one minute then snow the next!
I've just enough time to post this shot from our Christmas trip to Hungary.
We're getting the boiler fixed at the moment so I'm working from home this morning. Before I start I thought I'd sneak on a photo, seeing as I haven't posted one for a while.
While we were away at Christmas it wasn't just me that looked after my Noo (so it would seem).
Happy Valentines day to everyone.
Here's another shot from the work Christmas trip to Budapest.
I've been spending a lot of time sorting stuff out in the house and visiting friends. Hopefully soon I should get more of a chance at the weekends to do something else, like maybe take some more photos.
Today's shot is another snap from Budapest.
The snow was really coming down while we walked around the Royal Palace.
I've just enough time tonight to post this shot from my trip to Budapest.
I haven't had much time lately to do anything, let alone process some more shots for the blog. Hopefully things should calm down a bit soon and allow me more time to shoot and post.
Still fighting the bug!
As a consequence, it meant I've missed a party last night, which I'm none too pleased about. In a way I am glad as I still feel terrible today and, for the first time in ages, I don't think I will get to run. I hate not exercising on the weekends. It's my mainstay and I always feel really unhealthy at the start of the week if I miss it.
I’ve not had an easy week.
Firstly, I’ve caught a cold and, after trying to run it out of my body on Sunday, the damn thing has engrained itself on my system. I’ve done nothing but cough and splutter all week and generally felt like complete crap. I’ve missed some days off work and now am missing a bloody good party for friends who have just moved into the neighbourhood.
This is not what I had in mind for the New Year.
I thought I would choose something a little more livelily for today's photograph.
Amid all the sightseeing, there was occasion to grab snow and surprise your fellow stroller with an ice ball in the face. Fortunately, even though I was engrossed taking this shot, the snowball hurtling toward me lost velocity and hit my body and not my face (or camera).
Well, the first day back to work was… rather good, actually.
I felt, like most people, less than enthusiastic about going back, but once I was at work I really enjoyed myself. It was great to catch up with everyone and I really enjoyed getting on with all the design projects there were pending. Not a bad start to the year!
Today's shot is another from our Christmas trip, taken just before we took off. I was photographing a few random items in the bar while we waited for our flight, and managed to catch two of our number, whispering sweet nothings, in the background just behind the food menu.
The long Christmas holiday draws to a close and, suddenly, it doesn't seem that long at all.
Other than having made a few brave attempts at shopping, I really don't feel like I've done that much this holiday.
I've enjoyed every minute!
As cold as it was in the UK, it was even colder in Budapest in the build up to Christmas.
In the Gresham Palace, the doormen would periodically sweep out the front of the hotel, fighting a losing battle with the elements. They did, for a time, manage to keep the paving as clear as possible, meaning most patrons and walkers accumulated very little snow on their person.
December has been… shall we say, a little hectic.
Along with the usual festive build up, in work and at home, Nikki and I went on my work trip to Budapest in Hungary. To say that this Christmas holiday was exciting doesn't even come close.
Today's shot is from across the Danube toward The Four Seasons Gresham Palace, the hotel where we stayed. The 179-room Art Nouveau Gresham Palace is an essential part of the city's effort to bring Budapest's belle époque back to life.
As predicted, it has taken a while to sort out a motorbike for me.
I tried setting up test rides but various factors conspired to stop me, not least of all was the weather.
While I was waiting I did come across a beautiful bike on eBay, and while it was a little more than I wanted to pay, especially for a first bike, in the end I managed to come to an arrangement with the vendor.
I've done it!
On Thursday I passed my practical riding test and so I can now ride any motorbike I like.
I've been training under the DAS (Direct Access Scheme) which allows car drivers to do an accelerated course in motorbike riding. After completing a CBT (Compulsory Basic Training), a theory test (which includes a hazard perception test), module one (which is off-road) and finally the module two (the practical, on-road test) I can now get a motorbike.
My wife took this shot and liked it so I said I would post it for her.
The holiday seems so far away now.
My motorbike training continues after which I should get more free time and hopefully get out a bit with the camera. I've missed Autumn, which is a shame. I was looking out of my window at work as all the leaves were being blown around by the recent high winds and thought I could really have got some great shots with all that action. Maybe next time?
I've been learning to ride a motorbike and this has been taking up most of my weekend time.
I was due to spend a day riding but last night the neighbours darling little girl decided to have a party while her parents were out and kept us up all night
Consequently, I was really tired this morning and not really fit to do much riding today. Carl, my instructor, ended the session early (after I dropped the bike!) and so I slopped off home to lick my wounds.
Today's is another shot from our holiday.
I find myself trying to remember what made my wife laugh so hard but for the life of me I can't remember. I think I was too busy taking her photo. It's strange how photos can catch moments that are otherwise lost.
Here's another shot from our holiday.
On the way in to Santa Cruz De La Palma we found an outdoor gymnasium and took a little time out to have some fun.
I think this image speaks for itself.
We required a team effort to decide where we were going to go on the island of La Palma. There is a lot to see, some of which I photographed and will post later, however we barely scratched the surface and would definitely go back for more.
We have just got back from a holiday in La Palma.
I did manage to get a few snapshots while I was away which I will post here on the site. Both Nik and I are tired from the flight but I thought I would at least get the ball rolling uploading this shot taken on the outgoing flight.
I haven't been updating the site much recently, as you can see.
1.) I have been busy with work, birthdays, anniversaries, sorting a holiday and a whole host of other things.
2.) There has been something else occupying much of my time; Motorbikes!
It's been a busy week.
Between our first wedding anniversary (was it really a year ago that we got married?) and my wife's birthday things have been a bit hectic.
Today's shot is of the two dozen Aqua Pink roses I bought my wife for our anniversary, which she loved along with all her other presents. I got them from Daisey Jane Flowers in Quorn and they are exquisite. I heartily recommend the shop; the lady who runs it is lovely, helpful and very accommodating.
After 6 weeks of eating nothing but Modulen, I've finally had a full week on solid foods.
I feel amazing!
It has also been a mad few weeks. I haven't really had time to take many photos. Work keeps me busy and at home we are getting ready for my wife's birthday and our first anniversary. Which means I will, at last, have a good excuse to bring out the camera.
Super quick post today — the in-laws have showed up!
Tea time with Nikki's folks…
I don't normally do abstracts but fancied a change today.
Work is busy at the moment with some amazing projects and I'm really happy at my new job. I just can't believe it has been 5 weeks already.
As well as some exciting branding work I have been doing some advertising for some big, blue chip clients and it's been a really exciting time for me.
I had a creative afternoon this week.
At my new work they operate a policy where you can have a half day per month to go and do something creative. I decided to head back to my old stomping grounds in Leicester to take some photos. Unfortunately, I hadn't been out long before the heavens opened and rained off my creative afternoon.
I did get a few shots, none of which are particularly fantastic, but there are a few which I may post.
I thought I'd try something a little different today.
It's been a tough few weeks. I've been diagnosed with Crohn's disease and I'm attacking my condition with the best medical approach that I can, which means I've been on a liquid only diet for a few weeks now. I'm in the fourth week, shortly to enter the fifth, and it's difficult. It has got to the stage where I can't bear the Modulen liquid food I eat and am being carried along by sheer will. You can't imagine what it's like to be hungry but the last thing you want to do is eat.
This is the final shot for the series Graduation.
By this point the presentation was over, everyone was starting to relax and grab a bite to eat (for those that could; with my liquid only diet starting that day I had only lovely Modulen to drink).
I'm not particularly happy with anything about this shot but I really had nothing else to post to continue the graduation theme.
There was the possibility of amalgamating some shots together, which might have worked, but I don't think the end result would have been anything special.
This will have to do.
It's been a crazy week.
I haven't been too good so I haven't posted much and I didn't fancy another graduation shot tonight. I have one selected but it will take some work to get right so I'll leave that to the weekend.
In the meantime, I'm posting this old shot from Tenerife; hopefully, if my treatment continues as well as it has, I will get the chance later in the year to take some more photographs abroad.
Here is another shot from my wife's recent graduation.
Once we had got through all the graduation crowds, and the girls had their gowns, we relaxed a little. While we waited I walked around, taking a few photos, and I managed to spy my wife playing with her mum.
I haven’t been feeling too good the past week so I didn’t really get around to posting anything.
Here is another shot from graduation day.
I didn’t take too many shots on the day, and from the bunch I did there are maybe about four or five that I like and will post.
My first week with The Phoenix Partners was absolutely amazing. I’ve really enjoyed setting up at the company, which is situated near to where I live. It’s so close that I get to walk to work in the mornings and keep some semblance of fitness going.
My wife has graduated from University (again) and on Monday I got to experience the joys of her graduation ceremony for a third time.
That said, I'm extremely proud of my wife and, once again, she managed to get a first class result. At least one of us has brains in this family. ; )
I did take a few shots at the ceremony, most of which are nothing more than snapshots and a bit like today's shot, but I thought I'd process a few to the blog over the next few days.
I thought I might try something a little different.
It has been a while since I have posted a silhouette so I thought I'd process this shot for today. It's also another excuse to practise some colour retouching in Photoshop.
The next few days are busy and I've my cameras charged and ready. Expect some new shots on the site soon, although I do start a new job on Tuesday with The Phoenix Partners, so that may get in the way a little bit.
This shot was taken at the same time as yesterdays.
I'm pretty sure this little guys name was Dillon. He was fascinated by the bubble machine at the venue I worked at. I was lucky enough to get this shot of him with one of the bubbles right on the end of his nose. I seem to remember it popped just after this photograph, and I think he was none too happy about it.
It occurred to me that I hadn’t posted a portrait shot in quite a while so here one is.
I haven’t really taken anything new so I had to delve into the archive for some inspiration. Not being a parent I have no children to photograph, though I hope to some day; this is of course presuming they don’t get utterly sick of the prospect of dad getting out his Nikon all the time.
This new shot was taken during my walk around the fields near where I live in Mountsorrel.
I had hoped to add a little bit more to the blog today, but time has caught me again and I won't get the chance.
I have exciting news.
I've been offered a job which, subject to sorting out the details, I can't wait to start. It's with a company who are literally down the road, so hopefully I should be able to keep up the fitness with walks to and from work.
It's been a busy ol' day today.
I've just enough time (and energy) to post this shot. I was planning on putting it on the website ages ago but never actually got around to it. There is a similar shot, which has my wife in, which I may post as well. It is alike but if I give it a different treatment it shouldn't be repetitive.
As always, any comments are welcome.
This is my entry for the Photo Friday website for this week.
The shot was taken at the same time as this.
I can't even begin to say how busy I am at the moment, which is no bad thing. That said, I do hope to get out later in the week to get some more shots as I really haven't for a while and I missing taking photos.
The hot weather continues and it so nice to take a break in the sunshine. It's almost like working abroad.
I've been a bit busy with this being my last week at work.
I was away the weekend so I'm just getting back into my rhythm. After running tonight, I've had just enough time to post this for today's shot.
Rothley Great Central railway, near where I live, had a World War II event on this weekend.
We didn't actually go down onto the platform but I snapped today's shot from the bridge overlooking the railway line.
I do have a few other shots that I may post, if any others take my fancy.
It’s been a fantastic week.
I’ve had some really engaging interviews with some truly creative organisations, all of which make me want to be a part of their workforce and get cracking. I can’t help but be working on ideas in my head already. It all means that the next few weeks are going to be very exciting for me and a little sad, as I only have small time left with my current employer.
Other than having some work to do over the weekend I’m pretty free to enjoy the weather and get out with the camera so expect new shots here on the site.
I fancied something a little different tonight.
This shot was taken just after this at the weekend. I ran it through an action that cross processed the colours and I added another shot subtly above it. I've seen photographs treated similarly to this and I thought I'd have a go. See what you think.
I was going to process something new tonight but got sidetracked with a fashion show.
My wife has been shopping and has bought new clothes, not only for her, but for me too: I'm one lucky husband.
Nik and I went for a 13 mile walk yesterday.
I guess sometimes you just feel like rambling, though why we chose one of the hottest days of the year so far is anyone's guess. It was an extraordinary day and I got the chance to take a few photos, although these were more snaps than thought about shots, as after we'd been out for hours and had only gone a few miles I thought I better quicken the pace.
I've just about got time to put up this shot tonight.
It's been a busy old bank holiday weekend for me and I'll be glad to go to work for a rest.
I've made some updates to the site today.
I'm sure you can see the navigation has been spruced up. I've also made cosmetic changes throughout which should help the site feel more polished. If you do spot anything that seems awry, please feel free to drop me an email. I would appreciate it.
Today's shot is from one of our holidays. With all the warm weather it puts my wife and I in the mood for a break, although that will depend on what happens to us in the next month or so.
I fancied posting something a bit different tonight with a film noir look.
I won't be blogging much at the moment as I'm contacting organisations and agencies that have approached me with job opportunities and I'm still having to sort through a bunch of them.
Once I'm settled I hope to get out again with the trusty Nikon.
All this sun is making me want a holiday by the ocean.
I really miss the sea air. Taking long walks on hot days, drinking by the sea and swimming in water that doesn't freeze you to death the moment you get in it.
Now if only I could teleport away on holiday the whole ensemble would be complete. I really, really, really don't like flying. What did Mr T say?
There are plenty of really exciting things happening at the moment.
The job hunting is going really well. There are plenty of really interesting and challenging (potential) roles around this region. Who would have thought that the Midlands is such a hub for graphic design? I really hope soon to get a rewarding position where I can grow professionally and really take my work to the next level. I wouldn't say 'no' to another award or two either. ; )
My wife, father-in-law and I went for our usual Sunday run today.
We are following the Leicestershire Round, a 100 mile route that will take us all around Leicestershire, circumnavigating the city of Leicester.
Today's section saw us running from Mountsorrel through to Rearsby where we took in some beautiful countryside.
Unfortunately, I will be leaving my position at Mulberry Square in six weeks.
The company is shifting its structure and my role as Head of Creative Services is redundant.
I find that I am excited and wary all at the same time. Mostly, I look forward to the new job possibilities out there.
More from the macro world of my house, or in this case the garden.
I was hoping to put up an image utilising some of the features of the new Photoshop but I didn't get the results I was after and realised I would have to spend a bit more time getting use to the new program.
From one set of angels to another.
Here is the first of a set of macro shots I took of some of the house flowers. It never fails to amaze me how viewing objects in different ways can yield such dramatic and unusual results. Break out the macro lens, get in close and suddenly your everyday objects can become the most alien of forms.
I couldn't really finish posting portrait shots of my family without this one.
I forget what got nan so animated but I love the pose.
This shot was taken at the same time as this.
I haven't taken a good portrait shot of my mum in a long while. I know she is happy with this photo, and I did promise to process it at some point, so here it is.
I fancied something a little more straight forward today; No embellishments, no masses of filters or actions, just good, clean, simple processing. I didn't even add a vignette.
We have been having an awesome bank holiday weekend, which included a visit from my family.
It was my nan's birthday so we had tea at our house with an abundance of food. I think everyone had a great time and this afforded me the opportunity to take some photos of my family, seeing as I rarely get the chance.
This shot is from the other day when I had a day off work and I took this and this.
I wandered around the village and took photos of different things that took my fancy. While walking home through the park and past the play area I spotted this discarded dolly which I think made a perfect subject for a close up.
This shot is similar to yesterday's.
I processed it, much as I did the other, focusing on the colour and really bringing out the texture of the shot by sharpening it to death. I really liked the resulting image in its raw, textured form, reminiscent of an HDR.
As I had a day off work yesterday I nipped out in my village for a walk and I took my camera with me.
I found myself by The War Memorial on top of Castle Hill, so I stopped to take a few shots. Today's shot is of the flowers laid in front on the epitaph on one side of the memorial. I do have another shot from a much more drastic angle which I will post later.
I have been really ill (and still am pretty bad) for a while hence no photo posting.
It's incredibly hard to be in the mood to post anything when you have an illness that doesn't really let you sleep and keeps you drugged up to avoid pain.
That said I have started to feel a bit like my old self recently but I do relapse so it's all far from over.
Inbetween agonies I thought I would throw up another shot from my visit to the Great Central.
I've not much to say other than I hope you like it.
I’m not very well at the moment so I haven’t really had the chance to get on the computer.
I won’t go into what’s wrong, suffice it to say I’m in a lot of pain which doesn’t tend to make you feel that creative.
Nik and I managed to get out today to Rothley station and I got the chance to take some photos (for once).
I'm quite pleased as I haven't been out and taken anything new in so very long. It was nice to snap away, even more so as, for a change, I used my wide angle lens for all the shots.
As one of the performers in Bitter and Twisted posted on imagi how much they liked the photographs dedicated to them, I though I would post another.
This was taken at the same time as this.
As you can see my Father-in-law really got into the part. I'm still amazed he did it.
We went to The Swan Inn today for Sunday lunch and to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday.
Afterward we came back for birthday cake, which Nik made, but everyone was full from lunch so Nik's parents took the cake with them.
It would take too long to explain where the title comes from, suffice it to say that it is a recurring joke in our family.
This is another shot courtesy of Jey, which is quite dissimilar from the others he took in as much as it looks almost staged.
You can appreciate by this point we were all pretty smashed and dancing our backsides off which I think the shot illustrates perfectly.
On our way to Kent to visit friends the previous weekend we hurtled into this.
Within half and hour we came out to find green fields and not a hint of snow anywhere along the M1. Incredible weather!
I was hoping to put up another photo tonight but one of my programs is causing me some major grief.
So it's an older shot today with some enhanced post processing.
I don't think any words I say can better explain this photo.
This is another of Jey's shots from our wedding (thanks pal). I was tempted to process a few in the order they were taken but I decided I will just make the odd one or two as I find them.
Nik and I have been visiting our good friends Rachel and Jey in Kent this weekend.
Jey had lots of shots from our wedding that we hadn't even seen and he was kind enough to let me have copies so I could enhance a few to post on imagi.
Here is a shot from the evening of our other good friends Matt and Eli (thanks for the photo Jey).
Another Hipstamatic shot today, this time of the guy who recommended the app — Mr Bursill.
I had a really weird time working with these images. For some reason when I email from my iPhone to my computer the images (as attachments) come through at 800px, which is the size for square images on my website. However they looked upscaled and, sure enough, when I checked what size the images were they seem to have imported to the computer at 525px. This meant the emailed versions had been enlarged. Even stranger, when they are uploaded directly to Facebook from the iPhone they come in at 600px.
Confused…
Nik and I decided today (Valentine's Day) would be a good day for a half marathon!
Then, just after that, we decided to run a little bit further. Nutters you say? Yep!
I took this shot on the iPhone just after we had scaled a hill after Newtown Linford.
This shot was taken in my lounge with my new iPhone app — Hipstamatic.
My friend Ian, from work, suggested I give it a go. He has it already and is going to post shots he has taken each day on Facebook for me to have a look at.
I must admit it's quite good fun.
Today's shot is an old one and my entry for this weeks Photo Friday challenge.
I wanted to post some snapshots I took at a photoshoot we had for work but I left the files in the studio and can't get them as I'm on holiday at the moment.
Here's another shot from the old collection.
I'm off for a spot of poker play tonight.
I haven't been very well this week hence a lack of entries on the site.
Today's shot was taken at the same time as this. Hopefully when I feel a bit more human I will get some more shots up.
I haven't been feeling too great recently.
I think I'm just joining in with everyone else. I thought a 10K run might not be the best idea tonight, on one of the coldest days of the year (so far).
This means I have more time to post a photo; where the snow taketh, it also giveth. Here is a shot of my colleague Ian from this morning in the car park at work.
My wife chose one shot from each month that she liked for today's image.
Here is wishing everyone a Happy New Year.
Matt 8)
Here's wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
This year has been really great. Along with the usual gusto of food and drink we have had my family over and all has gone smoothly.
Not long now until Christmas.
I hope to spend a little time over the holiday period getting out to take some more shots. In the meantime here is another RAW I came across in the archive which I fancied posting.
Today's shot is from a burnt-out car wreck in a field near to where I live.
I just fancied posting something a little more abstract.
Another golden (well, black and white) oldie tonight.
Work is keeping me very busy at the moment and the last thing I feel like doing is more work on the computer so it's another quick entry tonight, just to keep the blog ticking over.
Today's shot is an really old one and my entry for the Photo Friday website this week.
Time allowing I may actually get out with the camera this weekend.
Another quick shot tonight.
The shot is from years ago, brought up-to-date with a bit of new post processing.
I did promise a while ago to process this shot (from the brother-in-laws' photos) for my mother-in-law Marg.
So here it is… enjoy! Not long till he's back now.
I was planning on taking some photos today but the fence is threatening to relocate so I have been out fixing that.
I was flicking through some old shots from Tenerife, wishing for warmer times, when I saw this shot of whales near Los Gigantes which will do for the Photo Friday entry.
The title comes not from the photo but from me being unsure about what to call the shot.
This is the photo I mentioned on Sunday which I quite like.
Just after this shot the dog took off and refused to come back when called. Needless to say I'm not sure I'll be getting any more shots of her off the lead anytime soon. If we lost the dog I don't know what we'd do.
We have a guest living with us at the moment.
Little Roxy Roo (my brother-in-law's dog) is enjoying staying with us. She especially loves tearing around the park near where we live and generally running around like a loon. All in all this dog sitting/walking lark is rather easy: Take dog to park, let it run around, then bring it home where it will promptly sleep all day. Sorted!
I've nothing new so here's a old shot from my trip to the Louvré a few year ago.
Tomorrow I have the day off and I hope at some point I may get the chance to go out and get some new photos.
I needed a shot for this weeks Photo Friday challenge and I thought this one would be fun.
The brother in law took the shot and I processed it, just for the record. This one was taken at the same time as this.
Today's shot is of my wife on our honeymoon in Crete.
She is simply the most kind, beautiful, generous, interesting person I know; which is kind of why I married her. I think she likes this shot too so that should make her happy.
I think this photograph goes well with this one of me.
I've not much to say about this shot other than I snapped it while up Beacon Hill with my wife.
The long nights draw in and there is a whisper of a chill in the air.
Before you say it Malc, I know it's a chimney!
It just doesn't sound right to call the photograph 'Hail the Chimney', does it?
For some reason today I am feeling a little delicate.
It seems my enthusiasm for my friday evening got the better of me and I'm paying for it today.
As for reasons for today's shot? This is actually another photo Rik took which I have processed. My wife noticed the shot when I was going through her brother's photos and I thought she would appreciate a finished version. That and the fact that the orangutan looks pretty much how I feel at the moment. ;)
Here's a quick shot tonight - it's another from our wedding, this time of Rik and Luce.
I've not much else to say. I'm feeling very tired so I'm calling it a night early.
No one was more surprised than the demolition team that the Timken steel mill towers didn't fall after they detonated explosives at their base.
As you can see from this, in the end they pushed them over but everyone was hoping for something a bit more dramatic.
I haven't anything new so I have processed this shot taken by my mum at the wedding.
There were a few problems with the shot, some of which I could help a little (like exposure), others less so (detail in the shot).
I'm posting it because I like the relaxed pose from the guys, far easier than in some formals earlier in the day (we had a few drinks in us at this point).
It's that time again.
My birthday has come around and I'm 38 today. I've had a great day; running, eating, playing and I still have a wonderful roast to eat, champagne to drink and an evening in with good friends.
Today was a good day.
The two mill towers at Timken Desford Steel Ltd, Desford, were levelled on sunday.
The mill has been closed for a few years now and slowly, but surely, the building has been torn down.
The whole demolition was marked by a charity event to raise money for the breast cancer centre in Glenfield hospital.
I'm not sure anything I say can really explain this shot.
It's not mine; Nik's brother Rik took it at our wedding. It's of Nik's dad who did a surprise act; an homage to Bitter and Twisted who we have seen a few times whilst holidaying in Tenerife.
For a change I thought I'd post something from our honeymoon.
The shot reminded me of illustrations I have seen of the Colossus of Rhodes, hence the title. This was taken by my wife Nik as I recovered from the hot Cretian sun in the sea. I love the way it seems I tower above the landscape. The photograph makes me look immense because of the wide shot and the perspective.
I promised to post this shot for my wife.
I've not much else to say other than I hope to process a shot I've taken at some point. :)
Today's shot was taken by Nik's brother Rik and processed by me.
We have been dying to see our professional wedding photos but they will not be ready for a while, so we have been satiated with other guests' shots. Everyone has taken fantastic pictures and Rik took a whole slew of them. I will process some of the better ones and post them here from time to time.
The whole wedding and honeymoon seems like it was a million lifetimes ago now. :(
We're back in good ol' blighty.
I'd love to say it's great to be here but we'd be lying. It was a fantastic honeymoon and it's really hard to come back to normality.
On the other hand it is nice to be in our own house again with the luxuries that brings, like being able to drink tap water and flush toilet roll. ;)
Home time is upon us and I am gutted.
I guess the mark of a good holiday is if you regret leaving it, plus this is no ordinary holiday being our one and only honeymoon. Okay, so we said this is a short honeymoon as we couldn't come away for long (Nik cannot spare the time from university), but honestly, will anything later on feel as special as that first trip away together as man and wife? I guess we shall see.
Happily Married.
Mrs Stokes in charge of the camera again and for once the blog also, whilst 'Happily Married" gets ready for dinner. And boy does it take some getting ready for - the food I mean. I'm hoping they only weigh the suitcases for excess baggage as we're dragging back a few extra holiday pounds with all this fab mediterranean munch.
This shot is from the island of Spinalonga, once a colony of lepers.
This shot is actually from our departure from the island. It is so quiet, beautiful and sad; we only had an hour to explore and you could easily spend a day at the ruin. I have an abundance of shots from the trip, some of which I will post.
My wife snuck this shot in while I was sorting the barnet.
For a change of style I thought I would post something less holiday location and more personal to me. I processed this with a bit more grit (and noise) and let the contrast give the interest. Except for that I don't have much to say other than I wouldn't have got in that shirt I'm wearing a few months ago were it not for all the bike riding and running recently.
I'm not so sure I will fit it again after I get back from this holiday with all the gorgeous Taziki, Olive oil and bread I've been eating. And let's not mention the Kleftiko lamb, Moussaka, Haloumi…
More from Elounda in Crete.
Here the umbrella gets a different use.
This is the first of quite a few photos we have taken while on our honeymoon.
The shot is of Mrs Stokes looking out to sea near Elounda, protected by an umbrella because it got so hot.
I won't go into too much detail as we are about to go and visit the coastal town of Agios Nikolaos, suffice it to say, the fairytale continues...
Presenting to you, Mr and Mrs Stokes…
What can I say? The wedding went brilliantly, everyone was amazing and the day was literally that fairytale wedding you always want, with some major partying at the end.
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!
This is my last day as a fiance.
Nik and I will be getting married tomorrow, and I doubt I will have time to add any photos for a while.
Therefore, today's shot is an easy choice.
Not long until I get to marry my beautiful fiancée.
And not long until I unleash the awesome dance skills of Matt, held aloft by my trusty Loakes. What a lucky bride Nik is! ;)
We are running around (between running for exercise) to get the last bits of the wedding and our honeymoon sorted.
It's taken its toll on Nik who needed to flake out for a bit, and provide me something to shoot.
For a tall guy I sure do have Hobbit feet.
I've not much to say about this shot other than I fancied playing around with the colour and contrast a little. My Nik hates it, by-the-way; she thinks my feet look really grubby, which they aren't. Honest!
I was hoping to get a wonderful yellow bruise on my leg to photograph but, considering how much it hurts, I can see nothing. I feel a bit jipped really. :(
After a spectacular crash on my bike this morning on the way to work I thought a spot of 'after work anaesthetic' might be called for.
The good news is, I am in one piece and can still get married.
The bad news, is much the same… (just kidding my baby).
The moral of this story. I should drive to work more often, and when Matt has anaesthetic, he is mean! >:z
Quick fire photo round tonight - this is a shot from our run on Sunday (I know, I know, the whole point of a PAD is to shoot and post a photo from the day you're on but I've simply had no time today).
And this one is off the iPhone again. As far as camera phones go it's not the greatest model for taking snaps but now and again it produces shots that are just about good enough.
Those familiar with 2001 will not need to ask about today's PAD title.
The wedding is now but a week away and I'm starting to feel a little nervous. Not so much about the wedding, just about everything that has to be done and in place for it.
Ian took our photo last night for a picture to have at the wedding that guests can sign. We narrowed down the shots to two which he printed out for us to look over. We have just chosen one of these which we will now get framed. It's a beautiful shot, but I still hate the way I look in photos. I'll be glad after the wedding to be back on the right side of the camera! :)
In the famous words of the White Rabbit, 'No time to say hello, goodbye! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"
Well, maybe there is enough time to post this shot, which is of the Waterhouse on Swithland Reservoir.
I gave in and finally used my Nikon D200 for a shot in this PAD.
One of Nik's relatives has just bought this awesome vehicle and I had to break out the DSLR to do it justice.
The only thing you can't glean from this shot is the size of the whale tail on its backside. Monstrous!
The title for today's PAD is because you can see my Nik's reflection in the window.
To me it looks like she is crossing past the cars and is over 50 foot high!
This shot is from yesterday (oops!), but because of the reflections and huge amount of detail to look at, I had to post it. This one, unlike yesterdays, I took.
I think I may give up photography and let Nik take all the shots for imagi.
Nik took this shot today of me on the way to the Highcross, and I love it! The light, the composition; and she just shoots from the hip. I guess you either have it or you don't.
Well done baby. x
I'm afraid I've no time tonight to post much.
I only managed to snap a few pictures this morning, when it was eerily quiet, on my way to work.
The weekend looms, and what should be a bit more time off with the bank holiday, is turning into even less time than usual. Pre wedding madness, I tell you!
Another shot for the PAD, this time of examples of the edible flowers that will adorn our wedding cake.
Nik and I are having a night off. No running, no chores and no wedding stuff. I have, of course, still found some time for imagi.
I was going to post a photo I'd taken today but I really like this one from yesterday so I'm breaking with PAD requirement; after all it is my photoblog! ;)
I knew what effect I was after yesterday but I wanted this shot to be quite natural by comparison; that is, I didn't want to muck around with it too much in post processing.
Today's shot is from my bike ride around Beacon Hill with Dave from work.
If you are interested I used a NIK plugin (Silver Efex Pro) for the black and white conversion.
This is about the only really clear sky I saw today, enjoyed while I was getting a bite to eat for lunch outside (a very late lunch).
Not much else to report - it's been a long day at work and I'm quite tired.
I decided to stop running and take a shot here, part way between Desford and Newbold Verdon.
If you are wondering about the title; the bales looked to me like great columns that you find in ancient ruins. These, scattered across the field, could have once upheld the roof of a great palace to King Midas, coloured by his own hand. At least that's what I imagined as I processed the shot.
I hate having my photo taken.
Many people also hate this but are good enough to let me take their photo so after Nik took mine today I could hardly turn down her suggestion of posting it to imagi.
As I type this she is standing behind me, a big grin on her face; she knows how much I dislike posting my picture, and apparently I also don't like it when she takes a better shot than me.
You're right, I don't, but baby I haven't had to worry about that yet (just kiddin').
Another shot for the PAD.
I'm getting this shot up quickly as we are off to the pub for a few cold ones.
This is a character I worked up for a client of ours. It's not that often that I get to chance to illustrate many characters any more, and even less that I actually draw by hand, so this has been a fun project. The character 'J.D' has been approved and I illustrated a digital version of it, which considering I haven't had as much time as I would like, I am happy enough with.
Today's PAD is of Nikki looking over Ian Bursill's latest work on his blog.
The reason I got my camera to shoot Nik was that she got my attention by shouting and exclaiming in delight at his latest set of photographs. Ian is shooting our wedding and the more Nik goes over his site, the more excited she is getting. I am a bit disappointed though as Nik's pose doesn't really convey her enthusiasm. When I first got to her some of her body language was perfect for the shot but, as does happen, the moment passed and I didn't get the shot I really wanted.
Starting today I am going to keep a PAD (Photo-A-Day) on imagi for about a month or so.
It's a good way to keep practicing at my photography and, on the build up to our wedding, it will be a nice lead up to the day and beyond.
Here's another shot for mum, as she asks, 'where are the photos you took of those beautiful goslings?' whenever we talk on the phone.
The shot is interesting enough but what I really like is the blue of the sky reflected in the ripples of the water. Funny what we see when we look at images, isn't it?
Nik, Malc (her dad) and I went for a 12 mile run from Desford to Mountsorrel today.
We have been planning, and by that I mean I have been planning, to do this run for quite some time ever since Malc showed me all the different individual parts to the run. I was just dying to do them altogether.
In keeping with the subject matter from the last shot I posted, here are more swans.
This is also an entry for the Photo Friday website, for which this week's challenge (or rather for two weeks this time) is titled "Cameraphone shot'. The photo was taken on my iPhone today at the pub called The Swan where Nikki, her folks and I all had lunch.
I processed this shot for my mum (she liked this one and another of the goslings which I will post on another day).
When I visit her in Peterborough we often go to Ferry Meadows, near her home, and while we are there we sometimes take photos of the wildlife. This shot is from the last visit I made where the male swan was watching over his family but let me get close enough to take the picture.
I made this shot very simply, processing it through Capture One and rendering the black and white effect in Photoshop.
I always like this shot.
As I don't have any new material, this is an old shot of my fiancée's brother's girlfriend Luce. Most photographers love that moment when you capture a little something of your subject, and I think this photo does that.
It has been mentioned that there have been a few problems with the site. As usual, if you notice anything and are able, please email me.
I've been a busy bee updating my onine social and business networks using my new iPhone.
Considering I have never been that into these sites, my new iPhone has got me to update all my Facebook and Twitter pages. I guess I'm just a sucker for gizmos but there is something really cool about updating your pages verbally with your phone.
If anyone fancies popping to these sites and following/joining me then feel free. The more the merrier!
We have spent the day working out different parts of our wedding.
Who would have thought something meant to bring us so much joy could be so tiring to do!? And this is the point where Nik says she did most of the work.
On the plus side, we have finished for the night so we are going to chill out, watch a film and take onboard some excellent snacks. There is just enough time to post this shot. Not the most interesting shot I have ever taken but I really like the colour. See what you think.
I must admit I have been rather busy of late sorting out all manner of things including my new iPhone, which rocks.
These bits of kit are fantastic and I can't recommend them enough, especially if, like me, you're into Apple kit.
The phone is fast, the apps are brilliant and the O2 coverage isn't bad although not quite up to Orange's standard. To be honest if the handset had been available on Orange I wouldn't have moved as, over the years, they have been pretty good.
It's mid-week and I have just about recovered from my Stag Doo, (hic) thanks guys, top times!
I was pretty tired after all the partying, but yesterday it really hit me for some reason. I guess it was a delayed reaction to all the various imbibed goodness that was had.
I've had a quick look through my snaps and there's nothing too exciting in there; as everything got interesting I forgot to take any snaps, which is one of the hazards of having a good time, I guess!?
This shot if for the Photo Friday website.
I haven't a great deal of time tonight so I'm posting this shot quickly. There's lots to sort out before the weekend as I'm off to Brighton to see the dudes for my Stag Weekend.
Hopefully next week I will still be in one piece - enough to maybe post some shots from the weekend's antics!
I had a late one last night playing poker so have only just managed to get on the computer to post anything.
This shot is from the Louvre of one of the pieces of stonework. I liked the way the near character has her fingers to her lips, echoing the silence of the gallery (or at least for the room we were in when I took the shot).
So much for the weather forecast. I'm not complaining, just explaining why I am not sitting here typing more for today's entry. I'm off for a bit of quality UV.
You would be forgiven for thinking this shot an HDR shot.
It isn't, it is just something I was playing around with in LAB colour mode. I've not much to say on it other than that. It was made with a combination of curve alterations in LAB, altering colour and saturation, targeting specific areas of the shot with masks.
As I said yesterday I would be posting another version of this shot.
I approached the processing differently. Originally I was simply converting the shot to work. It was underexposed a great deal, I was shooting in near total darkness and even with the VR on the 18-200 I was expecting really soft images. I think some of the shutter times were almost a second, hand-held!
As you would expect with the D200 I could only push the ISO so far and already, in the shadows, the noise was very apparent.
This is an old shot I am recycling for this weeks Photo Friday challenge.
I did change the post processing for another version which I will post tomorrow for comparison. The difference with tomorrow's version is I approached the image more like an illustration than a photograph. The colours are different, with almost rotten hues rather than an overall colour cast (as is the case with today's).
Tonight's shot is the Tour de Eiffel in Paris, France.
If you haven't been to Paris I can't recommend going enough. For a large Metropolis (and I don't like big built up cities much) it has an abundance of character and beauty. A prime location for taking endless photos - I hope Nik and I get to go back one day soon.
This shot is for the Photo Friday website.
It seems like my holiday has flashed past me. I thought, maybe, that being at home might mean I'd at least get some time to chill, but with going out and organising things like our wedding and honeymoon it seems as if I have only been off for a few days instead of a week. So, it's back to work Monday, just as the sunshine really kicks in.
It will, at least, be good to see the guys at work and see what trouble they have managed to get into.
As I mentioned on Wednesday I would be posting another shot of our wedding venue.
This is my favourite of the few I took when we went to the hall to sort details of our wedding. I think having Nik in the frame just helps to give the whole landscape a sense of scale, which makes the scene more real.
Today's photograph is of Sutton Bonington Hall which is the venue for mine and Nik's wedding in September.
We had a meeting at the hall to go over the particulars of the wedding. The lady who runs the hall is simply amazing and we feel so confident that the day will go smoothly.
Aesthetically - Boy, did we pick the right venue, as you can see. The hall is amazing, the grounds are immaculate and the proposed menu is mouth-watering. The only problem? Having to wait until September!
I'm on holiday this week and I'm having a great time!
It's been so long since I've had some free time with Nik and we have just taken things easy. We do have a few things lined up though including a trip to the Bards county.
While she's on the phone I'm am taking the opportunity to post this abstract shot from fireworks night 2007.
I had an amazing time in London visiting friends, apart from getting a parking ticket which cost me £200 quid!
I can't stress this enough. The signposting for parking in and around Canary Wharf is a shambles. The sign showing that we needed a parking permit was first of all mounted on a fence low to the floor. This was also mounted on one side of the entrance way to the estate so if you entered from the right you missed it and it was partially hidden by trees. Needless to say I am not impressed and have appealed to the common sense of the borough in an attempt to reclaim my fine. I expect very little back…
Nik is off tomorrow to see her friends in Kent.
Here is an old shot of them with Nik when they came to stay with us in Rothley.
It's quite nice getting the chance to post older shots, and tweak these photos a little each time I do so.
This is one of a number of shots from our trip to Paris in 2007. With the old flash gallery down I will post the other shots from the series (or at least the ones I like).
This is another shot of my Nikki taken when we went ice skating.
I'm posting this shot for Photo Friday website. Actually I am rushing to get this one up as I'm off for a bit of a run this morning. Not really sure why as it must already be about 19 degrees out and I may melt.
I went to a Star Wars card game tourniment yesterday which was really good fun, apart from being inside on a glorious day. This won't mean a lot to most people but for those in the know, I went 3 - 3, came a respectable seventh, and should have done a little better, but I'm not complaining. It was fun, the guys who came are great and everyone went home with a prize anyway (thanks Darren!).
The site has been playing silly buggers again so if you do notice anything broken, please email me.
Not long until the weekend and beautiful sunshine again fills the air. Except I am in all Saturday playing cards. How the hell did that happen?
Tonight's shot is an old one that Nik likes. She decided it was going up tonight.
Today's shot is from a recent golf event held by Intercare, a charity whose website I designed, and is hosted by my work, Mulberry Square Ltd.
The chap in the shot is my friend Lorne, playing for Team Mulberry, who were one of the thirteen teams attending. More details can be seen on Intercare's website, including a few team photos I took on the day.
I only managed to snap Lorne out of the Mulberry Team as they teed off so quickly I wasn't set up for the shot. I was pleased with the burst of images I took around Lorne's swing, always having a composition like this in mind.
I chose to post this one to go in for the VFYX theme this week.
As for the title? It reminded me of the father son turtles in Finding Nemo; the dads name being Dude Crush.
Work, work, bloody work… oh, and did I mention work?
Needless to say no prizes for guessing what I have been up to this week. Oh, didn't I mention it?
On the plus side I do have a day off today, which, lashed on to the start of a bank holiday makes for a tidy few days off.
For today's shot it's another golden (well, black and white) oldy.
Mrs Chipmunk is my entry for the Photo Friday challenge this week.
Not much else to report. The sun shines, the wheel turns and things are pretty good.
I always liked this image of my Nik.
It always seemed ethereal and other worldly, which appeals to me. And sums up the missus! ;)
It's been another fun filled holiday.
imagi has had a few problems, as I am sure you know if you visited recently.
Firstly, I may have had a few more problems with hackers. There was a malicious file sitting in the folder that my old flash gallery used which had to be removed.
Secondly, my imagi database had some sort of corruption, whether down to a potential 'hack', a few problems with a new version of java script that I use or if something else caused the hiccup, the effect was much the same. imagi was broken, only displayed weird characters when you visited the site.
I am posting this shot quickly tonight as my lady has just got in and I haven't seen her all day so I'm off to say hi.
All is good in the world. The sun shines, the wine flows and the good times keep on coming.
If only I had new photos my world would be perfecto.
As for the shot - this is my colleague Dave answering the question, " would you like to make me a cuppa?"
I have been very busy of late and haven't had a lot of time to post images.
We have had a bereavement in the family, work is busy (as usual), there have been friends over and things to do around the house (with a bit of exercise shoved in where I could).
I'm hoping to get out a bit more soon and take some more shots, though the way things have been going lately that could easily not happen.
I am posting this shot for a couple of reasons.
1.) The theme at Photo Friday is 'Grandmother' and I happened to take a few shots of my nan on Mother's Day. 2.) I liked the pose of my nan with my mum's dog Misty.
I often get told by mum ana nan that the dog is my little sister. Personally, I don't see the resemblance.
I am posting this from bed as my legs are about to come off. The effect of exercising for three days straight intensively, not resting and not be used to so much body strain.
Fortunately I don't type with my feet so I can still post this shot of Dylan the dog that I took on Mother's day in Peterborough.
I've not much to say on this shot. I couldn't get too close to the dog as he had lost his mate recently and wasn't taking it very well. He was skittish, unsure of himself, and with a gnarly set of gnashers I wasn't going to give him cause for concern.
I am surprised if this image looks any good at all; my eyes feel like belly buttons because of the lack of sleep i got last night. Our neighbour's garden door got off the latch, and with the intense winds, flapped and banged about at a quarter past god-knows-what-time in the morning.
Lack of sleep aside I am feeling pretty good really. I met up with an old friend for some game playing the weekend and got the living hell beaten out of me (it's the participating that's the thing though, right?) The running has been coming more easily to me and with all the exercise I feel awesome. And I even have some new photos to post. Amazing huh?
My colleague at work got a D700 today and I am totally jealous.
This was the camera I wanted to get but haven't been able to at the moment what with one thing and another.
It's probably a good thing as I have taken literally zero photos recently and there is only so long you can raid the archive. :(
Ian has said he will come out with me on a shoot, maybe in the town centre, so all is not lost. I may yet get a chance to take some new pictures soon.
I have been busy with lots of different things at the moment so haven't had a huge amount of time to take any photos or post anything new to imagi.
Between lots of birthdays, visits and the odd date or two with my lady I just haven't been near the computer.
Tonight's shot is an old one from Fuerteventura and reminds me vaguely of the clever way Matt Stuart takes photos, though not in the same league. If you haven't checked out his site I suggest you do. He is a sort of modern day Cartier-Bresson and, quite honestly, his shots are just so clever. I can only presume he practices a similar technique to the famous french photographer as written in his book on the decisive moment. It's funny because the shots look so opportunistic, they must be planned. How ironic.
This shot is from Bradgate park near Old John.
The photo is made from a set of exposures, one stop apart, put through Photomatrix Pro then worked on in Photoshop. I used a number of different adjustment layers to get the effect I was after.
The boy in the shot is the son of my fiancée's friend, who we ran into in the park. Oh yeah, one more thing. I didn't take this shot, Nik did. I haven't taken a fresh photo in weeks (yikes!). Maybe Nik should take over filling imagi? (Especially as I am doing an NVQ soon and will have less time to post shots. Great!)
I was going to put this into the Photo Friday challenge, until I realised I already entered this.
Mine and Nik's wedding invites went out today (made by yours truly). Nik is bouncing around with excitement and I have a big smile on my face.
My mum came up the weekend and we went out so I could try on wedding suits. I felt like an extra on some BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. It felt kinda good! :)
I have just enough time tonight to post a quicky.
I got a new Cartier-Bresson book through the post today and it put me in the mind to process something in black and white, with grain, with some older subjects in it. Not that I would ever compare any of my work to his but you know how it is? You see a photo you enjoy and then try emulating it in some way.
I have posted this shot before in the old site but wanted to upload this new, larger version as an entry for this weeks Photo Friday competition.
Work has been really busy at the moment so, again, I haven't taken shots of anything new. At the moment I am confined to the office designing our wedding invites which must go in the post next week or Nik will kill me.
Which reminds me. Happy Valentines day baby (for when you read this). I hope you liked the flowers and your cook book? Let's hope you put it to good use tonight for our romantic dinner for two. :)
I had someone contact me after discovering imagi on the web and seeing photos of the old Timken steel mill that I took shortly before it closed in 2007.
The shots were taken in near total darkness, with only the lighting to cast any kind of illumination outward. I must say, looking back over these shots, I do enjoy the raw, industrial feel the photos have. Here is one I posted shortly after imagi v4 launched and more can be found in the old gallery.
My fiancés dad has been enjoying the portrait shots of Bitter and Twisted, as have I, so I am posting another portrait shot today with a slightly different treatment.
I thought I better get a photo posted today as work is turning very busy and the last thing I will want to do after working on a computer all day is to continue on one at home.
I am hoping the snow will come again this week (or weekend) so I can get out and take some shots.
It seems like an age since i have had time to actually take any new photos. Considering we don't have any kids I still don't seem to get a lot of free time at the moment. God help us when we start a family. Although I suppose I can take lots of shots of the kids instead of having to go to look for things to shoot. Cool!
Todays shot is of a sculpture near where I live. The metal rims around the piece give an optical illusion which is kind of funky.
Here is another portrait shot of Bitter and Twisted, in one of their many costumes.
Considering the weather I would like to get out and take some shots in the snow but it's late now and I will have to wait until tomorrow to see if I can get any.
This shot was processed similarly to Friday's but I concentrated on making the image sharper than it's predecessor. I actually quite like both so I can't really decide which I prefer. I think you will agree that they are both striking? (and fun ;) )
Tonight's shot is from the act 'Bitter and Twisted' and is for my entry for the Photo Friday website.
The act itself is a comedy show in Tenerife. Two guys dress up as different women and mime to all manner of artist's tracks from Tina Turner to Britney Spears. They are very funny, and if you are on the island I would suggest looking them up. They tour all the local, large hotels and some smaller bars.
As I haven't had much chance to shoot anything new for my 'Shadow' monthly theme I am extending it into next month, although I have an NVQ starting up so I am not sure how much free time I will have. I guess we will see.
This shot is for the 'Iconic' theme on Photo Friday this week.
You have got to love the design of the Omega Seamaster watches. I have never really been bothered about expensive time pieces but once Malc (my fiancé's father) bought one and I got to see it, you really get an idea of what an amazing item these watches are. Absolutely beautiful!
I think I shall have to get me one of those. One day.
The title for today's shot is from a track by the Fleet Foxes, of the same name, that I am listening to while posting.
I was going to take a few photos today but got completely distracted playing COD 'World at War'. Whoops!
I did manage to nip in to town to try and get an adapter for my new Macbook Pro only to find you can't get the type of adapter I want yet. I forget that the Macbooks tend to come out with new ports that manufacturers haven't made cables for and you have to wait six months before you can get any. It was the same with my old Macbook and the express 34 card port. Oh well!
Today's shot if for this weeks Photo Friday theme – Meditation.
Things may be getting a tad busy at work so I am posting while I have the chance as it's the last thing I'll want to do after a long day on the Mac.
Historically, today Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the US. It's strange the global sense of optimism that has seemed to spring up as he takes office. Not that I am knocking it. I think the President will need that kind of optimsm with the state of the US and the rest of the world. Still, you can't help but get caught up in the all the good feeling…
It hasn't been very sunny of late so I haven't been out to photograph anything for this months 'Shadow' theme.
Instead, this morning I tried to shoot a few different, simple combinations of an household object, in this case a fork, with light spilling in the window. It is amazing how many ways you can shoot the same thing and it look so different.
I rather enjoyed the shot I posted the other day and fancied putting another shot up of the same ilk.
This one has a slightly different treatment and feel to it, I think. It is much sharper, less surreal, seems a bit more grande and feels almost protective to me, hence the title. See what you think.
Also this one is as I shot it, compared with my last post, which I cropped on purpose.
Today's shot is another to add to the 'shadow theme'.
This time I thought I would go for something a little different, with an image that is not quite in the frame. It is amazing how something like this can give more of a dynamic feel that if it were centered. The shot itself was processed in ACR and then cropped to 7x5, as I didn't have any at this ratio and I am trying to fill each image gallery with at least one photo.
Right, I am off for a run. Now do I take the camera?
Here is another shot for the Shadow theme this month taken at the same time as my last post here.
This image is another HDR, made from 3 stop exposures but with a different finish to the 'Jesus steps' shot (apart from the fact that this is Black and White of course).
If the weather breaks, there is some sunlight and I get a moment I will venture out this weekend to get some new material.
I took this shot in Leicester one weekend, when I drove in especially to shoot some photos around town.
Most of the shots I came back with that day were pretty uninspiring. I noticed these stairs in a back alleyway, surrounded by urban debris, with the graffiti scrawled above it. Something interested me about this collection of items, though I wasn't sure what and when I got back home and looked over the capture I didn't think that much to it. It was only recently that, looking over the old RAWs, that I again saw what attracted me the day I took the shot. Isn't it strange when that happens?
I also think the HDR treatment adds to the shot. I made it with 3 shots, 1 stop apart, then combined and tweaked in Photomatric Pro and finished in Photoshop.
Today's photograph is to kick start the 'Shadow' monthly theme, all-be-it with an old shot.
The shot is from Tenerife, from the year before last, when Nik and I went to holiday there.
I wish you all a very happy new year.
This shot I snapped last night when we let off fireworks to welcome in the new year. Nik and I were at her parents house and we had a great time. I think everyone was nodding off before midnight but when we got outside the sub-zero temperature soon brought everyone back to life.
Here's hoping we all have a great new year with, of course, lots of new, fantastic photos from me for you to have a look at. :)
Happy Christmas everyone and I hope you have a great New Year?
I find it strange that during my time off from work I seem to have had even less opportunity to do anything, like update this site, than during my working time. Oh well!
It has been a good week (in more ways than one) since I posted anything on imagi and to be honest I haven't got much new to show other than a few snapshots taken over Christmas. Speaking of which, here is a shot of the missus (or soon to be) enjoying opening her presents on Christmas day morning. We didn't get each other that much, unlike previous years, as it looked like we would be needing a new laptop and, after getting a really sweet deal with Apple, we did just that.
I saw my friends at the weekend in Brighton for a Christmas getogether and to ask them if they would be my best men.
Not satisfied with one I had to have all of my pals, with whom I grew up with, in the role. Thankfully they agreed and now I can hardly wait until September.
As for the weekend it was another awesome time had by all. We don't see each other that much through the year being so far away from one another but when we do we make the most of our time. If I remember (and I had quite a bit to drink so I may be off slightly) I think I staggered to bed finally at 4.30 which is unbelievable for me. I mean most times in the week I am usually in bed by 10!
This shot is taken at the same time as this and this at Palma Cathedral.
I am keeping this entry short and snappy as I haven't been feeling myself all week and tonight seems no exception.
Nothing that Christmas won't fix I am sure. :)
It's not all that long now Christmas.
This means a nice long break from work and the chance to take some new photos. It will be about time as I haven't really shot anything in ages and imagi is only just ticking over on my archive.
This shot really is an oldy. You can see the similar original back in the old archive. I have played around a little more with it this time, toning, selective sharpening and alike. The view is actually from Cropston Resevoir, looking over and into Bradgate Park.
Today's photo is inspired by this on Chromasia.
Looking over the website it reminded me I had taken a similar shot ages ago in Tenerife that I never processed for one reason or another, so here it is. I think it was the shapes made by the water that caught my eye. Like Mr Nightingale on his site I think my shot merits posting.
I processed today's shot with the new Adobe camera raw settings which handles the RW2 LX3 raw files very well.
Relatively speaking I haven't done that much post processing to the shot other than a bit of sharpening and adding a slight vignette.
I like the Adobe interface and I prefer the results to the Silkypix output but I still love the results of Capture One. There are so many programs to handle RAW but I always seem to come back to Phase One's product.
Also, for the record, I was in the front passenger seat and just leant around and pointed the LX3 back and shot. It's not a bad image for an 'off-the-cuff' snapshot eh? I like my LX3.
Just for the record the title for today's entry is from another song I am listening to as I post (can you guess from what?).
I don't have a lot of time tonight as Nik's folks are coming over so I will post and run. The shot is from the Louvre (our Paris holiday last year in February) though for the life of me I can't remember what the sculpture is called. Beautiful though isn't it?
Oh wow! Just noticed that Adobe have released a new version of Camera Raw which supports the LX3 RAWs. Sweet!
Oh no! Just about to come off the computer and I have missed Nik's parents. Dammit! (Sorry guys for being a completely ignorant git – have a super holiday).
LIke most of you I am sure you are putting your Christmas decorations up.
We are really enjoying it in our house this year. In 2007 we went away so the build up to the holiday season was lost a little but not so this year
Last night we (and I mean Nik) put up our decorations while I watched and DJ'd Christmas tunes with the likes of Bing, Slade and Mariah!?
I was listening to Coldplay's Viva la Vida tonight as I processed this shot and this is where the title comes from.
The photo is an old one I took when I went to visit the dentist early in 2007. As usual my dentist was about one hour behind on appointments so I nipped with Nik to the nearby park where this kid was jumping about all over the place with his scooter.
If you are interested in the processing I did some blurring to the background, balanced the image and made it contrast fairly heavily before I made it black and white with an adjustment layer. In case you were wondering…
I was lying down at the weekend, unable to get to the computer and not having the laptop to fall back on, when I noticed I was being watched.
I took a photo of the face I saw looking at me. Can you see it in my photo for today?
Well, here is December. Not long now until Christmas. I have to say, at least at the moment, I am in the Christmas mood and really looking forward to it.
The laptop has finally shuffled off its mortal coil with a logic board failure.
Consequently with Nik working on our main computer I am unable to get time to post anything other than in a quick hour slot today.
So, in a rather speedy fashion I am posting this shot which I noticed when I posted this. I am not sure if I like it particularly but I don't have the luxury of sifting through my RAWs and I haven't had time to take any new material.
It does seem an age since we have been on holiday and even longer since we visited Los Gigantes.
I shouldn't complain really. Things are fantastic at the moment and Christmas is around the corner but when I look over some of my old photos I do miss that little bay in the Canaries.
With that in mind today's shot is a nostalgia trip.
My Noo (Nik) has decided that she wanted to post something tonight so here is her chosen shot.
This photo was taken by her dad Malc and is of the two of us snuggling on the beach after one of many feasts that we had at our hotel in Majorca.
I couldn't decide what I wanted to post so it was nice to have NIk make it instead. Thanks Noo! x
This photo is unusual for a couple of reasons.
One – I don't tend to do self portraits often. I never like myself in the camera's eye, which is part of the reason I try to stay on the safe end of it.
Two – Today's shot is a bit dark for me. I do love photos with drama and that have a grungy, raw feeling but I seldom do any.
I'm am sure today's shot will not be to everyones liking but I noticed the silhouette of one of our house plants against the sky while I was getting forty winks in our bedroom this afternoon.
The title is a reference to the Greek goddess who tried to woo Odysseus and was a concealer: a reference to the obfuscation of the object by light.
I'm running low on material again.
Today's photo is from a while ago when I was taking some shots for work. These two kiddies were patient, helpful and just about the best children I have ever photographed. I can't quite remember what the boy had said but his sister agreed with him and was gesticulating at him to demonstrate this. Don't children just make the best photographic subjects? It will be nice when Nik and I have our own. Not that I am suggesting the only reason I want to procreate is to have something to photograph but it certainly would help. :)
This photo goes with this shot and this from my old gallery.
I took this photo about the same time that I took this one.
These guys were really out of it and made interesting subjects for both Malc and I.
My laptop is still playing up but at least it is working to some degree. I am on it at the moment and posting quickly in case it decides to pack up again.
Sunday meant more jogging this morning and I brought my little LX3 along for the ride.
The Autumn colours are still everywhere, although they are starting to turn from the bright yellows, oranges and reds to darker, more oily colours. Fortunately there is still time to get a few photos like today's.
The saga of my Macbook Pro goes on.
I took my laptop into Apple today and spoke to one of their geniuses. Both he and I agreed, after testing, that the problem was a hardware issue and I should go home and run the diagnostic tool to narrow down where the fault was. I got back, ran the program, only to be told there is nothing wrong with the machine!? (I ran the program continuously). To cut a long story short, I have reinstalled the 'Tiger' installation I got with the machine and so far it seems to be working!? I am not holding my breath but the lappy could be back…
What can I say about this shot other than I am not as fit as I used to be.
Rik and I had been on a seven mile run after my NIk had completed her charity run in the morning and put us both in the mood. I am actually playing for the camera. I really wasn't that bad. Honest!
I'm working rather a lot at the moment and am too tired to be on long.
I do have enough energy to post another firework photo just in case anyone fancies a look.
We had a party at our house last night with fireworks.
It started raining so I didn't get too many shots. This one is a collection of three photos, combined to one layer, and all taken on the LX3 (handheld).
I spoke too soon about the mending of my laptop. The problem I have been having with it has returned making me presume there is a potentially a hardware issue. So it's going to be off to the Apple store and, no doubt, it will return will a nice, big fat bill. :(
I haven't posted anything for a while and with good reason.
Firstly, after I installed some display drivers on the PC installation of my Mac Pro, Vista crashed and somehow managed to break my OS X installation!? (I think this was because I had a program called Macdrive running which allows the PC drive to read my MAC files). As I repaired the damage with Time Machine, the startup drive I had reformatted didn't show up on the restoration interface (while the PC drive did) and I accidently nuked my Vista installation. So I had to reinstall both on my computer and repair the damage done to the system.
This is the last shot for the PAD I have been running since getting my LX3. I hope you have enjoyed the photos?
My mum is visiting so I am posting this and running.
Before anyone gets the wrong idea I chose the title for this photo because the shot reminds me of a scene from the popular computer game of the same name.
We had fish and chips at work today. Well, we went out to the local chippy to have some, and very nice they were too. Of course, much to the chagrin of my work buddies, I took the ol' LX3 to snap away. Today's shot was one of a few that Ian and I took in the car on the way to the chipshop, just playing around with the camera. I like this one because of its dramatic angle, the police nicely composed through the windscreen in the distance. I think Ian took it, so nice one pal.
With all the cold weather there is an abundance of features with a beautiful, icy make-over to photograph.
This is a shot from the back of work where most of the foliage, early in the morning, is frozen stiff. I did apply some adjustment layers, namely multiply, exposure and curves along with some unsharp mask. As usual I would love to hear what you think.
I had planned to post something else tonight, but I meant to process this shot after the game of poker that I had with the guys a couple of Fridays ago, so ended up posting this instead.
This is my friend Tony's dog, Wilbur. Don't Basset hounds look so cool with their big jowls and huge, floppy ears?
The photo itself was only a snapshot, taken while the others finished their games, as I got taken out first. The LX3 is pretty good in low light but at ISO 400 there is the definite hint of noise, especially in shadows. That said, it's nothing you can't deal with in software afterward.
Nik's dad, Malc, got Rik and I a rather cool present (the subject of today's photo) from the States.
We both got a lighter, a carrying pouch, spare flints, a whick and a compact, metal ashtray. These Zippo lighters are different from the regular style in that they are branded 'Bottomz Up' which means they have their data coding stamped on the top and bottom. I think you will agree they look pretty cool.
There's not much to say about this shot other than I took it early in the morning.
I had processed a version of it earlier but I didn't save a copy (don't ask me why) so I have had to make the image all over again this evening. Usually if I ever do this the second go is far superior but I feel the previous version worked a little better. This will have to do; I'm off to have some dinner.
Here's another shot of my bud Ian from work looking a little happier than this.
Occasionally it is customary at work to dance around the studio; sometimes a 'jigg' for stress, sometimes 'breakdancing' to get things moving and very rarely a performance of Michael Flatley's 'Lord of the Dance'. To be honest I am not sure which one Ian was doing here but he looks like he's having fun.
I realise that the background is in focus while Ian isn't particularly, but he was moving very quickly. It was like something out of the Matrix! :)
I love oldy worldy pubs that seem to retain the ambience (or at least how I imagine it might have been) of traditional and historical inns.
Tonight, one of the guys from work and I went for a few welcome pints to such a pub where we sat next to a roaring fire, which is the subject of tonight's photo.
If you get a chance I recommend a visit to the Swan pub in Mountsorrel. It has fine ales and the food looks amazing.
I'm not sure if this is how to spell the name of this particular little lady but I can always change it at a later date.
I promised my fiancée's mum that I would process this shot for her so it's today's entry.
I took the shot by putting my LX3 on timer and dangling the camera body in front of the rabbit, who didn't seem to mind one bit.
Persephone is the goddess and queen of the underworld; the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, goddess of agriculture.
She was carried off to the underworld by Pluto, also known as Hades, although Zeus later ordered that she should spend six months of the year above ground with her mother. The myth symbolises the growth and decay of vegetation and the changing seasons. Hence its relevance for my photo's title; the image of a decaying plant.
Apparently the recent weather has caused all the extremely colourful displays we have in the british landscape.
Today's shot is of the treetops near to where I work. Biking in the mornings, in the early golden light makes the leaves so vibrant it's astounding.
I did take my new compact with me when I went for a run yesterday.
I took this shot as NIk and I came down the hill to the top entrance to Bradgate park. It's taken in a similar location to this shot, but I felt I never really did the view justice in the old shot.
As I took this yesterday I suppose this is kind of cheating for the PAD but I wasn't really happy with any shots I took today so I didn't really have a choice. Anyway, I would be interested to hear what anyone thinks about this or any other shot on imagi.
It seems a few of you like this shot of the fallen Autumn leaves, so I thought I would add another.
NIk and I ran near Swithland and the colours everywhere were blindingly beautiful. It's the best kind of run where you are marveling at your surroundings so much you seem to fall into a steady breathing pattern which makes the running seem almost effortless.
Nik, on the other hand, didn't have quite as much fun as me today. Don't worry baby, there's always the next time to have more fun. Promise!
With his dark glasses on no-one could see if Craig (my boss and friend) was awake or not at our recent poker game.
For the record I will update the poker page at some point (for you fellas that play) and It was me that was the first to go out in the game. Sometimes you just don't have the cards. :(
…but I am in a mad rush tonight because it's poker night and I want to get this image up before I go.
PADs are great, but they can tend to eat up all your time if you're not careful.
Ian, hopefully this looks a little better than this shot from the other day.
I've not a lot of time to post tonight so here is a quickie.
It's quite hard to post PADs and not want to spend hours mucking about with the post-processing. The trouble is then I wouldn't get any time to do anything else and Nik would shoot me for not helping in the house.
The idea to shoot the keyboard and replace the key with a symbol came from looking on LOVEFiLM's website for WALL-E. For today's photo I was looking to shoot a combination of keys that could spell something, and while failing to do that I did see how I could change the Y into a little stick ME. I know, tenuous, but I am rushing a little bit here and it's the best I can do.
James (from work) and I regularly engage in friendly banter.
I can't remember exactly what I said to him to produce this reaction but it was along the lines of complaining about something, which he thought was an overreaction. This is him pretending to be a baby, crying and flailing his arms around making 'wwwwaaaaa' noises, hence the title.
One thing I should mention is that he has my codes to imagi so it may be this post won't be on the website for long, so enjoy it while you can.
I walked home over the hilltop in my village and decided to stop to photograph the beautiful hues of Autumn in the leaves that had fallen thereabouts.
The colours were so rich I could have stopped and taken shot after shot, but hunger pangs shook me loose from creative endeavors.
I really love the intensity of today's shot. The LX3 really does work on so many levels. It's fast, captures beautiful colour and is so convenient. It's like I am getting into photography all over again.
Today's shot is from work of my pal Ian, the wedding photographer, who loves a good 'cuppa'.
This is another shot from the new Panasonic compact, taken to evaluate its exposure with the window behind Ian. The camera metered just fine until I started to clown around with the settings. This shot is the second of about three that I took.
All in all, a lovely little camera the LX3.
My Nik ran at a charity run organised by the Desford Striders in the village where she is from.
Today's photo is from the start of the run. Having watched the ladies running it has put me in mind to go out myself so I am off in a minute.
I did take some other shots on my new Panasonic which I will post later in the week.
I shoot with a Nikon D200 and a range of different Nikkor lenses, some of which are of a professional build.
With the introduction of the new FX format for Nikon I am planning to get one of the new DSLRs and enjoy some of the new features the latest range have to offer. But for the moment I won't be getting any new kit as there are more important things to spend money on, like my marraige next year. However, I was lucky enough to get a new camera for my birthday (thanks to Nik, Mum and Nan).
I always fancied this shot in black and white.
Time has caught me again this week. I have been to the dentist and have to be out soon to pick up my fiancée so it's back to raiding the archives. This shot was one of the first I took and posted on imagi v3, in the gallery. When I posted it one of the photography magazines came out with almost the exact same shot on the cover. It looked so alike that I even think it may have been shot at the same place on Beacon Hill. Anyway, after that coincidence I thought I would keep going with this photography lark and here I am three years later (posting the same shot mind you – I definitely need new material).
It has been a busy weekend of birthday fun for yours truly.
Nik and I visited Peterborough, where I was from, to see my family. Much fun was had, including many presents being opened and the odd spot of 'shampoo' being consumed. I must be getting old because all in all the whole experience has really tired me out. I have just about enough energy left to post this shot, taken in Majorca, of Nik's brother Rik. I can't really remember why he was posing but I quite like the fun nature of the shot and the angle which I took the photo at.
I think Rik and Luce will like this shot (so feel free to say so).
The ol' bones are feeling a little more creaky than usual. Yes, it's that time again. It's almost my birthday. And no, I won't tell you how old I'll be. ;)
Wait! If it's my birthday Saturday that means it's my mum's today. Happy Birthday Mum! x
This image was made from a collection of three shots, each taken one stop apart.
The HDR effect is an interesting one but I can't get over how fake the final images can seem. More akin to illustrations that photographs.
I didn't know if I was going to have time to post anything tonight. Since my Nik got me to join facebook I have been catching up with a lot of old friends. What I wasn't ready for was when you are communicating with so many people it really kills any free time you have. I must say though it is so great to see all the old faces including a best friend from school that lives in the same city as me. Not only that but his wife is an award-winning wedding photographer. How coincidental is that?
Poor ol' Roxy Roo has had the snip and is feeling 'under-the-weather'.
Our family had birthday tea at Nik's parents house, to celebrate Nik's, Rik's and my birthdays. The dog was not her usual chirpy self. I took this close up while she harrassed Marg's (Nik's mum) bunny Mabel.
The image was made from three exposures, one stop apart, put through Photomatrix Pro and then fiddled about with in Photoshop.
See what you make of this humorous image I took in Majorca around the same time as this one.
I can't take credit for spotting the man under the bush, that goes to Rik (my fiancée's brother). I'd love to hear what you think.
I fancied something a little different to post tonight but couldn't really decide what I wanted to process.
There isn't anything new and nothing in the archive was inspiring me one bit.
This shot doesn't really do it for me but Nik liked it so I am deferring to her taste this evening. Besides I am fed up of looking. :)
I had a hard time trying to categorise this shot, for obvious reasons.
It's not really a portrait, nor a close up, nor a traditional landscape. I will just have to leave it unassigned.
This photo is from near the Cathedral in Palma, Majorca. I must admit as soon as I saw the statue I knew what kind of 'fun' shot I wanted, and Nik's brother was 'on hand' to help. As usual I would love to hear what anyone thinks of it.
I may well have got the nicknames wrong here and will have to revisit today's entry later to correct it.
To explain today's blog title, these nicknames are sometimes used by our family for Nik's mum and Nik's brother's girlfriend. The photo itself is another holiday snap but I don't think it was taken by me. I seem to remember Rik (Nik's brother) relieving me of my camera one night and promptly doing the rounds down by the stage area in the hotel, taking photos of pretty much everything.
This is a detail shot of one of the stained glass windows inside Palma Cathedral, Palma, Majorca.
The Cathedral itself is very beautiful, with ancient works of art adorning the walls, as you find with many large catholic churches in Europe.
Other than the main interior chamber with the altar, magnificent as it was, there wasn't a great deal else we had access to so I only took a few photos of the inside.
Many people drink far too much in Magaluf and get much the worse for wear.
I fortunately didn't because I really tried not to over do it, even though we were 'all inclusive', and I subsequently avoided any hangovers. The same can't be said for this poor chap, who I shot one morning while promenading along Magaluf waterfront.
I did say I would post some shots from holiday, even though it does seem a little crap of me to have this wonderful website only to cover it in my holiday snaps.
As if any of you out there give a hoot about my holiday pics. What's that? You do? Oh well, in that case. ;)
You may have noticed there hasn’t been much going on here at imagi for the past week? The reason for this is simple. Actually, it’s more like two reasons.
One – I have been busy asking my girlfriend Nik if she would spend the rest of her life with me.
Two – Nik, her family and I have all been in Majorca on holiday, basking in the sun.
I have pretty limited net access at the moment so I am posting this image while I can.
This was taken from a busy flight path in Majorca where the aircraft literally come in every 10 minutes or so. I guess tourism isn't so bad for this tiny island.
This photo is processed to make the wheat seem like it is almost made from gold.
I will go into how I made the image at a later date but we have guests around and they have a Pavlova. So I am off to scrouge a bit and maybe some more grape juice too. ;)
I managed to run out of time tonight so I am quickly posting this photo.
Holiday time is looming and it seems like I am not ready for it at all. My poor Noo is sorting loads of stuff at the moment while I have yet to sort anything from my 'to-do' list. When did going on holiday become so hard?
This is another shot from the Summer Spectacular. The blur in the background, while maintaining a sharp foreground subject, is made by dragging the shutter at slow speeds. Other than that this photo was processed pretty much as usual.
This shot today is for my weekly entry for VFXY's website titled 'Vacation', and to remind me that my holiday is not far off.
This is an old shot from the bay of Los Gigantes, in the Hotel of the same name that Nik and I have been to a few times before. It's lovely and quiet there, which isn't really suited for families with children, but perfect for us. That part of Tenerife is beautiful and not all like the Las Americas parts further south, although some areas there can be nice.
This is my entry for the Photo Friday challenge titled 'exercise'.
I did mention a while back that I was thinking of putting up an image of the runners in the Race for LIfe challenge and tonight I decided to do just that.
This shot was taken while waiting for my Noo to run past. It really was so great to see everyone running; some for loved ones who had passed on, others just to run to be a part of the day and help the charity in its fight against cancer.
This shot is one from a few I took in London of my friend Nik and his son.
It's only a quick post tonight as I am off to have a swim in a vague attempt to tighten the ol' body up before I go on holiday and have to expose it to people around the pool. I know, i know. A losing battle but if I make an effort at least I can say I tried. ;)
What can I say other than clowns, rather than making me laugh, scare me a little.
I guess I have seen Stephen King's IT a few too many times? Or was it Poltergeist?
The reason I took the shot is the scene reminded me of something out of 'Scooby-doo'. You know? Where a character is looking for a monster or ghost and it is naturally standing right behind them.
I really didn't realise how much I needed a break until I made it to this bank holiday weekend.
The guys have been feeling it at work too. It has been a mental few weeks but now, at last, we have a long weekend to enjoy. If it feels this good to have a day off I can barely wait until my break in Majorca this September.
A few people have commented (here and in the real world) on my last post so I made another in the series.
If you are wondering about the post processing it involved combining layers (with multiply), selectively masking and altering luminosity and colour, then selectivly sharpening.
Out of the two I think I prefer yesterday's more. The blue tone is slightly more subtle than today's. Anyway see what you think.
This is an old shot from the Rainbows Summer Spectacular 2006.
I was going to post a shot from the pebble beaches of Playa Fanabe, but I stumbled upon the shots from the 2006 event, which I had been looking for all over the place. They were stored in my JPG archive and because I rarely shoot in JPG I didn't think to look in there. So to celebrate I have processed one of my favourites from the day.
The kite flying was magnificent, not least because there was very little wind. Still the kite operator managed to pull off some awesome arial displays.
My Nikki (Noo) needed a photo for her return to student life, so I took the opportunity to take her photograph today, which I am posting.
She hates having her photo taken, as do I. Basically this is because I look like a big hippo with glasses. I always say, 'if you don't like your own portrait, become a photographer, to guarantee you are on the correct side the lens'. I only mention this because Photo Friday's theme this week is a self portrait so, if I want to post anything, I will have to shoot myself (not literally :D )
Every year at the Summer Spectacular there is a 'It's a Knockout' competition.
This year was no exception. As usual things got very wild and very wet. Here, one of the team dressed as clowns, got a royal soaking as she tried to escape from the bouncy slide (off to the side which wasn't permitted. Tut, tut!).
Today's shot is from the Summer Spectacular.
There were loads of different stalls and shows on at the event. Two areas had birds of prey including this monstrous owl, which for a pound-a-go, you could hold on your arm. While I was shooting (you will notice with the flash off) several children 'held' the bird and I couldn't help but imagine my next few shots would be of the child being whisked away off into the distance.
I did find time, between all my chores on Sunday, to run in the countryside again near where I live.
Our running route went from Swithland to Bradgate Park and back. As in weeks before, as I was running, I noticed some beautiful spots that I wanted to photograph. Not having my camera with me (and I did contemplate running with it but it is just not a great idea) I had to trek back after the run. It's funny but I always feel great after a run but if I walk back out to take photos along the run's route I always feel beat afterwards. Weird!?
This little beauty was one of many cars on show last Sunday at the Rainbows Summer Spectacular that Ian (from work) and I took photos at.
I did change the shot quite a bit with masks and adjustment layers. I had seen other cars processed this way before and knew pretty much what effect I was after (makes a change) with the desaturated surround. As usual I would love to hear what you think.
I am still working all the hours God sends so I am afraid it is an old shot tonight for today's blog.
Early mornings and late evenings are really taking it out of me at the moment. When the hell did work get so busy!?
This shot, you may or may not know, is from the old site. A simple urban landscape where the perspective makes it kinda interesting methinks. See what you think.
Work is unbelievably busy at the moment so I will be brief tonight.
I need some local shots for a project I am doing at work, so here is a shot of Old John in Bradgate park. I processed this normally but after I made a black and white version which I used in an adjustment layer to enhance the contrast in quite a raw way. See what you think.
Right time to chill out before the antics begin all over again tomorrow.
This is the shot from Le Metro that I wasn't sure whether I would post or not.
It's not that I don't like the shot. It was just I hadn't got it where I wanted creatively. I was trying to go for a moody, gritty shot of the French underground. Something that would look at home in a film noir.
I chose the 'noir' style because of the fantastic green light given off by the underground's lighting, as read by my camera's white balance. It just gave me that seedy, underground feeling.
I took this photo before the start of the Race for Life Run 2008.
Nik has managed to cover a few miles since then. It turns out the run we did to Broombriggs Hill was over 10km, and last night I ran with Nik's brother and dad another 5 miles. I am not sure what's going on. I really do feel like Forest Gump. I want to run everywhere.
I am not sure when I will post again. The next few days are a bit busy but I will try and squeeze in a photo (or two). After the weekend I should have some shots from the Rainbows Summer Spectacular, providing it doesn't rain down.
I have been on the computer a fair bit tonight and now have found myself processing another photo.
Now this shot originally was a very colourful flower bud. I just fancied making something a little different with it. As usual I would love to hear what you think.
For the record. I used some Photoshop actions to intensify the colour of the photo. I then turned it mono with a black and white adjustment layer, then tweaked with a few other adjustment layers, cropped and sharpened.
Nik, her dad and I went for a slightly harder run yesterday than we have done in past weeks.
Not only did we manage to run a 10km track but we also went up and down loads of hills too. I suspect this was all planned by Nik's dad Malc. He is a veteran runner with a great stack of medals to prove it. As novices I am amazed we managed the track, but manage we did. Nik particularly did well, never giving in and making it all the way. You have to understand she used to stop even when we only ran 3km. Not any more! :)
It's a beautiful day so naturally I am inside processing a photo.
This is another shot of Roxy, this time with Nik's brother Rik. I contemplated toning this black and white so tried a sepia effect but in the end felt the plain black and white worked just fine as it was.
I did manage to take some shots in the garden. There are a few macro shots and a couple of wide photos which I may process next. One of the photos could be used as my submission for the VFXY theme this week, which is circle.
Nik doesn't like this shot at all but I think it's fun. Besides I needed a photo with a bit of colour, something landscape and with a bit of emotion.
I have lots going on at the moment so I haven't had too much time for photos. Hopefully I should get something new this weekend, with any luck.
For those who don't know the Dark Knight is released this weekend. I normally don't go to the cinema. Being 6' 4" tall I don't tend to fit very well in the seats and I have to be comfortable to watch the screen, especially if that screen is 4 metres high. The last Batman film was great fun and I have been looking forward to this sequel.
I was umming and arring over what to post for the Photo Friday challenge this week.
There is nothing new I have shot that I particularly like so it was back to the archives. I found some shots from Tenerife that I took on the flight over there which had a lot of colour. They were pictures I shot through the plane window of the setting sun above the clouds but as I started processing them I decided it really wasn't working for me.
Next I looked at some shots I took of birds but nothing really grabbed me. Then I remembered a shot I had processed back last year. It is very abstract (for me) but I really liked it at the time and I want to post something a bit different on this times challenge.
Today's photograph is for the weekly theme at VFXY.
I am off in a moment to run another 5km (like last Sunday) so I shall be brief.
The shot is from a set of photos I took of a swan in Swithland near where I live. Typing this reminds me I wanted to see if I could integrate a location reference option to my blog for Google. That way when people visit and see a shot they could also see where the photo was taken. I must investigate further.
Meet Roxy, Rik and Luce's dog.
It has been a while since I lived with a dog and being around Roxy is making me miss having one. The last time I did was when I was a boy and I just love dogs. The companionship, the affection and the idea of having to walk a dog sounds great to me. I could really do with the exercise.
So yes, we have been considering getting our own. There is just one problem – NIk and I both work long hours in the day and the dog would have to be on its own. We don't feel that is very fair on the dog so unless we can figure out a permanent work-around, no dog! :(
I added a new image gallery today – Fuerteventura.
I am not happy with anything I have shot recently so I have processed an old shot from my trip to the Canary Island of Fuerteventura back in 2006. There are a few other shots I may post from there, hence the new gallery.
The main difference with these shots are they were taken on my D70 with my old telephoto lens – the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G AF-S VR. The D70 was my first DSLR and what got me into the hobby/business, big time! I was fortunate that as well as being able to take shots in my spare time, work also demanded a lot of photography and I was more than happy to oblige.
This shot is the last of 3 in the Modern times set (the others are here and here) and reminds me of the huge, super-computer 'Deep Thought' from the BBC's Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy TV series.
It took 'Deep Thought', a supercomputer from the past, over 7 1/2 million years to come up with the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. It took me significantly less time to shoot and process this shot, thank goodness. ;)
There was also a film made of the book. Sadly this was made after the author, Douglas Adams died. It was said that one of his regrets was not seeing a big screen version of his book made. I think, if I remember, he was alive as they started to make the film so at least he knew it was going to be produced. There is an homage to him at the end of the movie (the starship 'Heart of Gold' causes random objects to appear when it uses its drive and Douglas Adam's face can be seen in the final collection of objects created).
I thought I really should add some colour to my website.
This is an old shot from the archives of imagi v3. I needed a shot for the 'nature' weekly theme on the VFXY website, so this is mine. It is also one of the shots featured in the slideshow at the start of this site.
If you have come here after receiving my email mail-shot then welcome. Please feel free to browse the photos, but I wouldn't bother reading all the boring ramblings in my blog. ;) You might however post a comment (or two) if you feel so inclined?
Nik decided she wanted this shot in today's post.
I was looking at processing a shot with lots of runners in from the Race for Life 2008 to illustrate the turnout of people there and to give an idea of the 'feel' of the race. I may post that one later.
You may notice I have been processing a lot of shots in black and white at the moment. What can I say? I really am enjoying this look for my photos. I did read (I think it was Jeff Ascough – a favourite photographer of my friend Ian) that he almost always makes more black and white images than colour. I seem to have phases where one minute I prefer the drama of mono and then the other I want the intesity of colour. As Jeff goes on to say it all depends on the shot. Colour can sometimes distract rather than work with a composition.
I was looking through the shots from the Race for LIfe on Sunday when I found this.
I really fancied posting a shot like this. Something from a distance rather than close up like a lot of images I have been doing lately. As usual I would love to hear what you think of the shot.
This shot was taken after all the runners and walkers had finished the morning session of the race. Here a mother and her daughter were running the course as we (Nik, her friends, colleagues and I) were walking back to our cars.
This is similar to the Modern Times post.
I wanted something a little darker photographically in July hence the Dystopian series of images from Canary Wharf.
These series of shots are more heavily processed than other photographs I have done previously just because I fancied doing something more fantastical than realistic. To get the effect I processed two sets of RAWs at different exposure levels to suit different areas of the photos. The first I processed in favour of the dark, moody sky then I made the second image in favour of the building. I then combined these layers in photoshop and masked areas that I didn't want to show, adjusting the curves of the final composite and sharpened to the finish result
Today was the Race for Life 2008 and my Nikki ran in it.
It absolutely poured down but I still went to support Nik in the race. Considering how bad the weather was, the field was absolutely packed with runners and spectators.
I used a rain sleeve on my camera to protect it from the weather. They are pretty good things to help keep the equipment dry but it doesn't allow for space on top of the camera for flash. I had to resort to the onboard flash, but it worked fairly well.
There are a few reasons I am posting this old shot today.
The first is that VFXY website's theme is grafitti and this shot will be my entry.
The second is that I need to set the style for the 5x4 (or 4x5 in this case) ratio and this shot fits (so I can test this image and tweak my CSS accordingly).
I was going to post another in the stlye of modern times but that will wait till later.
My friend Ian from work has posted some more wedding shots which are brilliant. I suggest you check them out if you get a mo'.
Now I felt like posting something a little darker, in homage to the ominous skies which are overhead.
This is a shot from the weekend spent in London. The Canary Wharf has many such sky-scrapers; these probably aren't sky-scrapers but I do live in the country and come from the fens. Bus stops seem kind of massive to me. If I were to ever go to New York I imagine I would dare not set foot on the streets. ;)
Know what I really hate about holidays or time off? It ends!
I didn't realise how much I needed the slightest break until I actually had one. I have been putting in so many hours lately I forgot what it was like to have any free time. And I am dreading going back to work tomorrow, which isn't like me at all.
Today's photo is an old shot reworked. I actually prefer this to the old.
At last I have the power!
Or at least I have some power. Our electrician is here bringing all our electrics up to spec. When we bought our house a year and half ago there was evidence of some amateurish workmanship having been done on the system and now finally we are sorting it all out. Consequently today on a days holiday I have been without power, and more importantly without my computer. ;(
The upstairs does have power now hence the possibility for this post.
It's more manic times at work so I will be brief.
Today's shot is an old one of my Noo again. This was taken on the balcony of the apartment we stayed in at Los Gigantes, Tenerife.
These shots of the Canaries make us realise how much we really miss a holiday Normally by now we would have had a couple of get-a-ways under our belts but work, commitments and the house have kept us locked to 'Ol' Blighty'.
This is a photo of my friend NIk, who I grew up with in Peterborough, with his son Thom.
NIk and I were in London over the weekend as it was my friend Minty's birthday.
I usually don't like London very much (as a place to live. It's great to visit). I was, however, pleasantly surprised by Canary Wharf. The place has a really great feeling about it. It's not too oppressive, considering you are surrounded at times by some pretty immense buildings. It is very safe, with security wandering around and, as you would expect, it has great restaurants and bars.
The weekend is mine!
I hadn't realised how many weekends I had been working until I got one off.
It is my friend Minty's birthday today and we are off to play in the big smoke. I had reservations about taking my camera, as it looked like the day was turning into a p*%s up but I really want to get some shots of London. I mean it's not often we farmer folk get into a metropolis and I want to make the most of it.
This post was going to be on a delay but I can't figure out how to do it at the moment and have no time left. So it is an early post today.
I love this shot from Tenerife.
Granted it is an old one and it’s not got that much about it. It’s the colour for me. So bright, so flamboyant. Magical!
As you have guessed there is nothing new from me photographically tonight. I am swamped with work so I will have to put a few hours in this evening.
I am away the weekend in London so hopefully I should get some snaps there.
On the one day off I have had off in the last two weeks I decided to nip to town with Noo and took my camera too.
This is a shot of a car that was one of many wedding vehicles running around the city centre. It stopped under the blue billboard and I thought of my theme this month, hence the photo. A long with it was the most monstrous truck of a car which I shot later when I ran into all the vehicles again by Loughborough town hall. I may post that if the photo turns out half decent.
I think this photo kinda speaks for itself.
There is not much to say about this shot. Yes, it is a montage from four different shots put together in Photoshop. Does this constitute a real photo? There is always a great deal of argument on the subject of whether a photo, after you change it significantly, is still a photo or more like digital artwork. Essentially I have used a program to make the picture. I certainly didn't shoot it, as I don't have 4 arms! So does it count as a photo?
Looks like I won't be getting out anytime soon.
I am afraid work is keeping me very busy at the moment so there is no time to take new photos.
Here is an old shot from last year. This particular one was voted top of the noteworthy shots on Photofriday's website.
I really want to get out and take some photos.
The trouble is I have to do some exercise or this waistline is gona really take off.
Problem is I was up at about 5 and I am beat. I even ended up going in to work earlier than usual, rather than just sit there watching crap, morning TV. And now all I want to do is to go to bed.
Having had such beautiful weather I have been able to get some very ‘Blue’ shots for this months theme.
If you are wondering about today’s shot I will tell you. Imagine if you will a six-foot-four man balancing on his shoulders on his lawn, sticking his legs up into the air (and we had company around who just sat there sniggering) trying as best as possible to aim his camera that sat on his sweaty face. There you go. That’s how.
I spent most of today running around taking shots for work.
I did get the opportunity to take photos of my Noo (my girlfriend Nik). She says that I never take any good photos of her so I thought I would try today as the sun was out and she looked beautiful. Fortunately the shots came out pretty well so…
We are off to her parents now to eat so I am only stopping by quickly to type this and to post one of the shots of her. See what you think.
I wanted to get out and take some photos today for work but the heavens opened.
It looks like I will have to try and get the shots I need tomorrow instead.
Work is absolutely mental at the moment so I am having to artwork on my days off to catch up on projects, part of which involves some photography.
I am really whacked out now so it's an old shot from Tenerife for today's post. I always liked this shot. Very expressive. Nik and I were waiting a long time for a bus and I feel this shot sums that up.
Hopefully I will get something new tomorrow.
More for the Blue theme.
I wasn't sure if I preferred this or another I took of the subjects (glass beads in a champagne flute filled with water in the sun). The aperture was very wide on this shot; hence most of the items are soft directing your eye (hopefully) toward the right. My Nik commented that she didn’t like this and preferred the other shots but they didn’t really give any focal point so I went with this. Anyway see what you think.
Yes, you have read today's title correctly.
I suppose I should elaborate?
Now this will give my age away a little here. A long time ago, in a city far, far away, I had a ZX Spectrum and there used to be a man called Jeff Minter who had an unusual fixation with Llamas. Electronically speaking. He wrote so many games with Llamas in the theme and I had a few of them.
This shot is the start of a month-long, photo theme based on the word 'Blue'.
My buddy Ian commented that I should pull my finger out as I have nothing new to post to imagi which is a bit sad really as I spent all this time getting the site running. Thanks for the push pal. I was getting very lazy and complacent. It is easy to do when you don't have any new material, been anywhere interesting or photographed any events recently.
I photographed the last days at Timken mill in Desford, England.
The milll there rolled hot steel for use in all manner of tubing.
I really could have taken a month shooting around the mill as the industrial setting was very conducive to dramatic photography.
Again this is an old shot. I had hoped to process something new but I ended up clearing out the garage instead (and maybe playing the odd game of Supreme Commander).
This is another photo from the archive and a real favourite with many people.
I never did find out if I spelt his name correctly but Mylan is the name of the little boy in the shot. He loved the camera and I think I remember his parents saying he had already been photographed professionally. I am sure he will grow up to be a total heart-breaker.
You simply can't beat children for photographs. Of course not having any of my own I have to rely on other peoples for photography.
I took the photo at a wedding I went to last year of our friends Rach and Jey.
This is a photograph from the village I used to live in called Rothley.
I love the way sky blue turns in deep black and white. The rich nature of the photograph's tone really comes out. I really must take more of these types of shots when the weather gets better.
The reason I am posting this photo (other than filling the site a bit) is to help work out some niggles. I won't go into it too much but basically to help with the navigation I need a portrait example posted, so here it is!
Here is another shot from the opening page animation on imagi.
I took this one morning when the sun was very bright. I was eating breakfast when, after seeing the light, the mood took me to take a photo.
The colour of the flower was enhanced by my golden reflector, with the droplets of water added with a small, hand-held plant spray that I keep for just such a shot.
I imagine the neighbours thought I was barmy running around in my dressing-gown, setting up the flowers in the window, holding a huge reflective disc. (I didn't ask ;) )
It seems like a long time ago I decided to update my website 'imagi', turning it (hopefully) into something a bit more interactive.
Finally I have got to this stage where I can begin to post content (photos and text) and lay the initial, important foundation that can be built on in the future.
I am hoping to post regularly again to my photoblog. Balancing my time with the construction of this new site and the updates for the old has meant I haven’t kept the blog as current as I would have wanted.
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