Words, words, words...

WW...

2012-02-29T01:56:00.001Z

A few images from my weekend. Saturday was spent in Stratford upon Avon with Cath, Sunday was coffee in Warwick with David.

Tudor houses...
(Warwick)

Spooky door...
(Warwick yet again, this is probably
my favourite shot of the day)...

Cath doing a Samson thing in Stratford...

Cath never knew she had these kinds of skills
until she started hanging around with me... :O)

... and just to show

a) Cath is actually quite normal, and

b) I can take someone's portrait without making

them look on the brink of insanity.

Cats on Tuesday...

2012-02-28T03:10:00.001Z

An action packed week for the cats! On Friday Posky went for his Posky-puncture with Linda in Market Bosworth. However I am sorry to report he was not his normal well-behaved self. He refused to settle down and sit still and at one point shook himself so two of the acupuncture needles flew around the room (he could have had someone's eye out!). He still got a reward when he got home, although no one is quite sure why.

Then it was Mrs Pod's turn - I've been having to clean her ear every day over the last week as she had a lot of wax in it (sorry for the excess of info there) so took her to see her vet Aga yesterday to get her checked out. It was a good job I did as she seems to have an underlying infection again and had to have an antibiotic jab. She was pretty well behaved considering her hatred of vets, especially vets who try and look in her ears. Well okay, she stunk the car out on the way home as some kind of dirty protest but that was really quite mild for her.

As for Pepper and Charlie... Pepper has been very disappointed with the food I bought her even though it said 'Luxury' on it (obviously the wrong kind of 'Luxury'), and Charlie seems to have put on more weight and we are convinced is going to get stuck coming through the cat flap one day. He is also wearing a cream bow on his collar, again it's one of those mysteries that only cats seem to understand.

Mrs P dreams of culling vets...

Pepper meanwhile wants to cull incompetent owners

who buy her inferior food...

Charlie ponders

the wisdom of attacking the feet,

that support the hand that feeds him...

...and Posky does his

'But I'm beautiful soI can get away with anything' look

For more kitties visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

2012-02-26T06:26:00.001Z

The last Sunday in February already... well I never. And what has this week been like? Well there was the Pancake Race in the local town which we watched from the office window - a strange and unusual ritual. And I've discovered that I have zero tolerance for people moaning about the weather. If I hear one more person saying the sky is too grey, the rain is too wet or the winter is too cold I think I will beat them to a pulp with my umbrella. I'm with Sir Rannulph Fiennes when he said 'There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing', so I wish people would stop being so bloody negative! I'm also rapidly developing a hatred of word verification, so please, if you have it turn it off, it could tip me over the edge. (I obviously need to meditate more...).

Handwritten...

An archive shot from a few weeks back.

A glimpse...

Strange woman glimpsed behind gravestone...

Crossed...

Well it is!

Taken when we had snow the other week.

Grey...

Earl Grey himself - my boy Posky.

Bliss...

Enlightenment.
(The Buddha has obviously never
had to deal with word verification)...

Bliss #2

A day out with a good friend in Stratford upon Avon,

laughing and having fun

whilst taking endless photos,

followed by a damn fine lunch.

Poetic Winter...

2012-02-23T21:32:00.003Z

People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy.
Anton Chekhov

Ten thousand flowers in spring
the moon in autumn,
a cool breeze in summer,
snow in winter.
If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things,
this is the best season of your life.
Wu-men

When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.
Francois de la Rochefoucauld

Calm in quietude is not real calm. When you can be calm in the midst of activity, this is the true state of nature. Happiness in comfort is not real happiness. When you can be happy in the midst of hardship, then you see the true potential of the mind.
Huanchu Daoren

Calm... it's usually how I start the day when it's just me, some tea, maybe my camera, and an affectionate cat or two close by. It's also the thing I probably find hardest to hang on to as the day progresses... The quotes I sought out when I was putting this post together did make me take a step back and think - because it's true that when your mind is calm it doesn't matter what's going on that you can't control, what the season is, or what other people are doing. It all really is a state of mind...

Tea and photography - my ideal recipe for early morning calm...

WW

2012-02-22T06:38:00.000Z

A strange week... when I've had a million and one things going on in my head and just wanted to run away from them all... If I didn't have my camera I'm not sure what I'd do, creativity is an effective antidote to the stress other people can cause.

Poetic Winter...

2012-02-16T20:40:00.000Z

Passion... ok this one was hard and I really had no idea what to do for it. I didn't want a cheesy take on it so in the end I took a photo of a book. I am passionate about books and it's a book of love (or is that lurve?) poems. Whatever...

I'd rather be reading...

2012-02-16T06:10:00.002Z

Yesterday I had one of those days - insane behaviour from a boss and some wayward office machinery (which I am convinced is possessed), plus my husband upsetting me a great deal when I got home. Sometimes the only thing you can do is to tell the world (and particularly all the men and office equipment in it) to go away and then lose yourself in a book...

If that fails you can at least hurl the book at them (as long as it's a cheap one you got from a second hand shop).

Edit Me Photo Challenge...

2012-02-15T07:29:00.000Z

This week's image is courtesy of Rosie from LeavesnBloom Studio. I love her photography and was very nervous about trying to edit one of her images! When I saw this beautiful early morning shot of a castle in Scotland I knew I didn't want to do anything too drastic to it, the scene is already beautiful as is the light. I always think that editing should enhance what is already there, not overtake and become more important than the original image.

In the end I cropped it a little, warmed it and adjusted the exposure, and then saturated the colour in the windows to emphasise the light. I also brightened up those lovely sheep and sharpened them a little.

WW...

2012-02-14T20:37:00.002Z

Some images from the weekend when we were in Stratford upon Avon. It was a freezing cold, beautifully icy winter's day - really too bright for photography but still...

Cats on Tuesday...

2012-02-14T07:28:00.000Z

A week when Posky went flat...

... and then much to Charlie's disgust

was allowed on Mrs P's blanket with her.

Charlie was so vexed he wrapped himself in a rainbow...

... then decided it was too much effort
and reverted to monotone to go to sleep.

And Pepper was Pepper and sent some love and hearts to the Universe...

(including Charlie, who was unimpressed...)

For more kitties visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday

The only nod I'm giving to 14th Feb...

2012-02-13T08:13:00.001Z

Sweet Hearts...

(Ah humour)

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

2012-02-11T19:55:00.002Z

Not been very well this week and am now more tired than a sloth with sleeping sickness. Even in the midst of feeling rubbish my camera was never far from my side, so I did actually manage to complete the Scavenger Hunt. Just.... And I have news on the missing mittens (last weekend's excitement) - one of them has been found at Warwick Arts Centre and returned to me. But where is the other one and why weren't they together?!? It's like an Agatha Christie whodunnit...

Facial Feature...

I spy with my little eye...
It's hard putting mascara on whilst
taking a photo - even harder when you're
shortsighted and can't see what the hell you're doing.

Shadow...

(Well it's eye shadow to be precise...)
Wouldn't attempt to apply this and photograph it
at the same time!

And some more shadows...
Taken with the Little Photo App on my Android phone
and edited in Piknik.

Spicey...
Spice in jars.
Not much else to say!

Gold...

The inside of an electric plug.
Why didn't I take a picture of some gold jewellery?
I don't really like it! Silver is
more funky - definitely more me.

...and some gold I do like the look of,

golden sparkles on the River Avon.

Fabric...

My favourite scarf and coat.
Not really happy with this but
it was getting late in the day
and I couldn't think of anything else :O)

Poetic Winter - Warmth

2012-02-10T08:23:00.001Z

Edit Me Photo Challenge...

2012-02-09T08:00:00.002Z

This is a new one for me - I don't usually edit anyone's images but my own but what the heck. Maybe it was the sight of that beautiful beach when it's winter here that did it. I thought it a good way to hone my Lightroom skills anyway.

This is the original image

What did I do?

Used a Lightroom preset to warm up the image and give it a golden glow.

Altered the exposure.

Smoothed the skin on her back.

Lightened her face slightly as it was in shadow.

Added a graduated filter to the sky.

Cloned out the green flare on the groom.

Added a slight vignette.

Sharpened.

Cropped slightly to make it conform more to the rule of thirds.

And my other effort.

I changed it to a cream toned b&w.

I again smoothed the brides skin and lightened her face.

Graduated filter for the sky plus a vignette.

Lightened the groom's jacket slightly to bring back some detail in the fabric.

Cropped, gave the image some punch, and sharpened.

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday... Pictures of Winter

2012-02-07T18:35:00.001Z

What fire could ever equal the sunshine of a winter's day?

Henry David Thoreau

I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it - the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it - the whole story doesn't show.

Andrew Wyeth

I love winter, but so far this year I've been disappointed with the dull nothingness of the weather. No sparkling frost-hardened mornings, no winter sunshine, just camera-numbing greyness. Then on Saturday night all this changed as we of course had that snow... (deep sighs of happiness). I love the look of snowy landscapes, of everyday objects transformed by purifying drifts of white. The downside of course is of course trying to travel anywhere in it, but I did manage to struggle into the local town to visit the cemetery on Sunday morning (it's good for photos ok?). What I really would have liked is a shot of one of my minions wearing my super duper black velvet coat wafting about amongst the headstones - but of course Helen and Cath weren't there and David blatantly refused to have anything to do with THAT particular scenario. God some people are just SO selfish... I digress... the local paper have asked me to send them some of these shots for a piece they're doing, all good for the portfolio.

Of course because it was so bright outside my camera had a 'DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!' moment and immediately tried to underexpose everything. What would we do without exposure compensation? It was however rather trial and error to overexpose enough to make the snow white without blowing out the highlights.

(And for those of a sympathetic nature... I got a wet bum and cold feet from lurking in the snow... plus our central heating boiler broke down and wasn't fixed until this morning so the house was freezing, much to the disgust of the cats, plus I lost my favourite mittens... You can almost hear the violins can't you?).

I love these gates... and I like the way the open one beckons you through to the path beyond. I tried this in creamier almost sepia tones too, but I prefer the green tint in this one because it looks as cold as it was.

This was one of the first images I took when I got to the cemetery - it was very foggy and I wanted to emphasise that with the processing so kept it light and ethereal. I really like the way those furthest away trees recede into the mist.

I do like that strong shot of colour against the background. I'd like it even more if that gravestone wasn't dissecting the tree! You'd think they'd plan things a bit better wouldn't you? ;O) I'm still not 100% sure about how best to process this one (cloning the gravestone out might be an idea!), I did one in very light, white and blue tones, then did this instead. Hmmm, something to play around with this week methinks.

Again I tried a few different effects on this but in the end went for icy tones.

I obviously developed a bit of an obsession for the same setting in Lightroom...

And because I can't let a week go by without at least one black and white shot, here's a completely different take on those gates. Just made for high contrast.

Cats on Tuesday...

2012-02-05T17:13:00.001Z

OK I know this is early, but I didn't do a Scavenger Hunt this week and anyway, snow - we had it! It started on Saturday afternoon and continued into the night. When this morning came we had a beautiful white world awaiting us. I say us... apart from Charlie, none of the other cats were interested in stepping foot outside the back door (not that it was much warmer inside as OUR BOILER HAS BROKEN DOWN!!!!!). Anyway, moment of hysteria over - here are some pics of Charlie doing his Call of the Wild thing.

He's not sure is he?!?

He creeps along the wall to investigate further...

He takes another look at it...

He sits, he thinks, he considers the pros and cons...

He takes the plunge!

There's no stopping him now!

Bravely traversing the huge drifts,

he makeshis way to the bench to check that

Little Creephasn't holed up in an igloo somewhere
in HIS garden...

...and then he fearlessly stands watch at the gate,
selflessly guarding his home and family

from marauding polar bears and the like.

(Although he said they were welcome

to eat the other cats...).

For more kitties visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Poetic Winter Photography Challenge...

2012-02-02T18:14:00.000Z

Solitude...

Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word loneliness to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word solitude to express the glory of being alone.

Paul Tillich

No man ever will unfold the capacities of his own intellect who does not at least chequer his life with solitude.

Thomas De Quincey

Some moments can only be truly experienced and enjoyed if you're alone - when you can forget about anyone else's expectations and needs and just revel in the moment of being you. Whether it's daydreaming on a bench, enjoying the beauty of a winter's day beneath a tree, losing yourself in works of art, or trying to capture that elusive photograph you've been after - it's good to take time-out from the rest of the world... The people in these photos would no doubt agree with me, unfortunately for them they of course had me stalking them with my camera :O)

Cats on Tuesday...

2012-01-31T07:19:00.001Z

Quite an eventful week for the cats. Cath and Helen came to lunch which ruined Charlie's day and didn't do much for Pepper either. Both are martyrs to their nerves. Mrs P took it in her stride of course and Posky lapped up the worship from more adoring females. I then discovered that PETA had also used Mrs P's photo for Feline Friday too! Despite this moment of fame she did blot her copy-book somewhat this morning by asking for seconds at breakfast and then throwing up in the hall. Hey ho...

As Pepper and Posky featured in Cats on Tuesday last week it seemed only fair that I featured the other miscreants this week.

Here's Charlie doing his...

'I've thought of a plan so cunning you could

stick a tail on it and call it a weasel' look.

This is just unheard of!

Not a brilliant shot but an even of such rarity

deserves to be recorded.

This was Charlie trying to menace Mrs P off

'her' blanket. Mrs P is obviously made

of sterner stuff, and Charlie caved in first and got down,
at which point Mrs P moved to the middle of the blanket and
spread out so he couldn't get back up!

... and this is her looking triumphant

about the whole thing...

'We shall fight them on the cat blanket...'

The first and last shots were taken with the new 50mm f/1.8 lens - I am positively swooning over the lovely depth of field...

For other kitty news visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

2012-01-29T08:52:00.001Z

Again it's been a busy, busy week... quite a lot of ups and downs in it too. We had an offer to buy our house (hurrah!), but it was too low (boo!), so we said no. I finished editing the photos from the shoot with Ace, and it has made me even more in awe of Lightroom - wonderful software! I also got to try out my new 50mm f/1.8 lens which I love - it is so sharp, and I love the DoF it gives. Now I just need an idiot's guide to my MAC and I might be back up to speed with the technology that surrounds me :O)

Smile...

Cath drinking again...

... and another for this prompt as this one makes me smile :O)

Stand Alone...

Not so much standing as

walking alone really...

... and yet another!

Honestly, you wait all week for one

Scavenger Hunt shot and then

four come along all at once...

This is David standing alone in his own

world (it's a photography book)...

Something old...

Gravestone...

Artificial...

What is artificial, and what is real?

Profound or what??!?

Repeating Pattern...
Iron gate leading into
Holy Trinity Church, Stratford upon Avon,
(the present building was begun in 1210 although there
was probably a wooden church there before that.
Some local author is buried there too...)

Cats on Tuesday... Let's hear it for the boy :O)

2012-01-23T20:53:00.002Z

Last Friday Posky had his official birthday - we don't know his actual birthday so we count the day we brought him home from the RSPCA as a day of celebration instead. It was 16 years ago - can you believe it??? That probably means he's about 17 years old as he wasn't a small kitten when we got him - but age has not withered him, nor custom staled his infinite variety, he's just as gorgeous as he was then if a little slower at getting around. (And if anyone can say what Shakespeare play that almost quote is from they can have a gold star and/or a virtual tin of tuna for any literary felines reading this).

As a bonus on his birthday, PETA chose Posky's picture to be featured on their Facebook page for their 'Feline Friday' slot. So three cheers for Earl Grey!

Posky takes advantage of special treatment on his birthday

and uses empty human head as pillow.

'My main accomplishments are
being beautiful and famous, yet remaining modest...'

Because she can't stand being left out

of anything, Pepper wanted to make

a special guest appearance upside down

to say happy birthday to her bro'...

Visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday to see what other blogging felines are up to...

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

2012-01-22T09:21:00.002Z

Needless to say my being organised didn't last long - the best laid plans etc etc etc. I did manage something for all of the prompts even if one was from the archives.
Photo-editing wise, well I managed to download trial versions of Elements 10 and Lightroom 3 so have a few more toys to play with this week :O)

The view from the building where I work -

it doesn't look as good as this in daylight :O)
This is the archive shot.
I'm at work when the sun sets at the moment
and only managed this the week before last by sticking my camera through some bars,
then through a blind, then standing on one leg to see the sunset
and hoping I was focussing somewhere near it.
I couldn't face doing it again.

Black and White...
This is Ace - how gorgeous is he?
I did my first ever pet photo shoot on Friday
and Ace was my model.
Please don't mention to the cats that
there's a dog loose on 'their' blog.

And since I'm feeling reckless, here's another b&w.

This is Helen watching the Snow Leopards

at Twycross.
When I told her I'd taken this
she said she just hoped she looked pensive rather than gormless.

A Day in my Life...

'Nuff said.

Four...
The beautiful Ace once more...

Colourful...

These hearts were on sale

at Twycross - I love those colours.

(£4 each - bargain!)

And they're

pretty heavy so they could

double up as a weapon if the

recipient of your 'lurve' didn't

show his appreciation.

WW... How to take that M&Ms shot...

2012-01-17T18:45:00.002Z

Well I said when I did my first Wordless/Wordful Wednesday post that I wanted to up my photographic skills this year and try and share what I was learning. Because of the more than kind reaction of people to the shot I took of M&Ms for Scavenger Hunt Sunday I thought I'd show a 'behind the scenes' look at how I did it. Bear with me on this - I've never done one of these before so if there's anything obvious that I've not said then please let me know.

What I used...

First I got a bowl of brightly coloured sweets - because the M&Ms have now disappeared (!), I've used a tube of smarties for illustration purposes here. The M&Ms were brighter in colour and there were more of them, ideally I'd have a lot more sweets in the dish. Then I placed a CD cover on two glasses over the dish - the aim is to put some distance between the CD cover and the sweets to create a blurred background. For the droplets I used a syringe - but a dropper etc would be fine. (The strange shadows in this shot are caused by the kitchen worktop down-lighters!)

Next I placed droplets onto the CD case at random - you can experiment with how big the drops are.

Now for the exhasperating part...

I shot from directly above with my camera set to manual focus using a 55mm lens and with the widest possible aperture. I also put a macro filter on the lens. Then it was a case of focussing on the drops and moving backwards and forwards until the sweets came into focus within them. Don't give up if you can't get it first time - (I tried a few different arrangements of drops until I got one I liked).

Editing wise I was pretty limited as I'm still bereft of my software on the MAC, so I used PIKNIK (Flickr's photo editing site), which is amazingly good! All I did was boost the colours and contrast and clarified it a little - plus the obligatory sharpening.

That's it! Hope that's useful and you have fun giving it a go (by the way I saw a great version of this on Flickr with hot air balloons in the droplets - brilliant!).

Cats on Tuesday...

2012-01-17T04:23:00.001Z

They're back! The new all improved iMAC flavoured cats! The news (!) this week is that Posky had his fur clipped on his belly as it had become more knot than fur - David held him whilst I wielded the scissors and he was a lot more co-operative than certain black and white cats would have been. And talking of which... Charlie and Pepper had some kind of war going on over the weekend and so both now have small scratches on their faces. And Mrs P tried to get us to bring her food to her on the chair to save her having to walk into the kitchen - that will be NO then! Perhaps most newsworthy though is the fact that Mrs P and Posky shared the white fluffy throw - something that neither of them have yet recovered from.

We've been experimenting this week with the Little Photo app on my phone which gives some great effects to photos - if you've got an Android phone then check it out - it's free too which is a always a bonus :O)

Mrs P...

This is her

'I am vastly disappointed in my servants...'

look.

Posky and David...

David needs a shave - Posky no longer does.

Posky and Mrs P sharing.

Extraordinary!

Pepper...

And no she doesn't really have a big giant head!

All above photos taken and processed on my phone.

Charlie...Showing his non-Peppered profile
as he feels shame that he got smacked
by a girl.

However Pepper has no
qualms about showing the 'ENORMOUS'
scratch that Charlie inflicted upon her
'FOR ABSOLUTELY NO REASON AT ALL!!
(HONESTLY HE COULD HAVE
HAD MY EYE OUT!!!)'.

For more kitties visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

2012-01-14T19:54:00.000Z

Another Scavenger Hunting week is over - and for once I managed to plan ahead slightly for a couple of the shots. Although Mac the knife is a joy to behold I am still missing my editing software that is on my PC as I have none on the MAC!!! EEK!!!

Winter Wonderland...Can I just reiterate that WE HAVE HAD NO SNOW!!!This is vexing me intensely...I had to drag this from the archives - in factit was taken on 19th December 2010.This is far too long a time to not be able to take snowy pictures.

Sweet...

M&Ms.

How did I do it?

I put the sweets in a dish, balanced a CD

case on two glasses over it, then put

droplets of water onto the case and

shot down through it.

Hole...

Off to Mount Doom - be right back...

Frozen...

A flower frozen in ice.

What I discovered doing this wasthat it's quite difficult

holding a block of ice up to a lamp with one hand in an oven glove,

whilst you're trying to take a photo with the other.

It ended badly and I got wet.

I don't really like to talk about it.

Stacked up...
Jaffa cakes in a stack...
To be followed shortly by
Jaffa cakes in David's mouth :O)

Friday Photo...

2012-01-13T07:22:00.002Z

A week when we got MAC 'The Knife' up and running, when I went for my annual check-up at the eye hospital and was pronounced fit for purpose, when I saw the Doctor to talk about the weird things happening to me with that medication we don't talk about, and when Pepper failed to get me up in time even though she does it every other morning without fail.

Bench in the sun...

So what if the highlights are blown?

There are sparkles everywhere

so I don't care!...

It's been a busy week (take 2)...

Normal service will be resumed asap...

2012-01-12T07:34:00.004Z

Apologies for the lack of posting this week (and especially to fans of the cats who might be missing certain moggies)... we have just made the change from PC to MAC and have only just got the interwebz back. I have still been snapping away and will hopefully be back on full power tomorrow... xx

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

2012-01-07T20:39:00.000Z

Oh my that was a culture shock. The first week back at work after the Christmas holidays - a week that saw me get such weird side effects from tablets my Doctor prescribed, that I decided to stop taking them, only to get equally weird withdrawal symptoms! Whatever... it didn't stop me picking up my camera - wasn't that terribly British stiff upper lipped of me? ;O)))

One Colour...

This my friends is my new evening coat.

I got it in a (what's the term that is fashionable?) 'vintage' shop.

It's black velvet - it has a hood that makes me

feel like a heroine in a gothic novel,

(or a madwoman in an attic depending on your pov).

When I twirl around - which I feel the need to do every now and again,

it swings around in an extremely satisfying manner.

Bargain.

Laundry...

A pox on housework is what I say!

Yes I put my beloved 7D in the washing machine for this shot.

Always important to take it out again before switching machine on.

Empty...

Look children, David is sad.

Look how sad he is.

Why is David sad?

Because he was greedy and drank all the coffee.

Oh dear, never mind,
Barbara doesn't give a fig as she prefers tea anyway.

And the sequel...

Look children - now David is happy!

He's still thirsty but now he doesn't care!

One Dozen...

Ok, I admit I might be pushing it a bit with this one,

(what the heck, it's my blog),

but there are ABOUT a dozen sequins in this picture.

Soft...

It's David's cake...

How much do we think is left now hmmmm?

... and a Snow Leopard.

All I'm saying is it LOOKS soft and cuddly...

Friday Photo...

2012-01-06T07:48:00.000Z

It's been a busy week... :O))

WW - I don't do resolutions but...

2012-01-04T06:44:00.000Z

I'm going to try and link up with Project Alicia each week for Wordless/Wordful Wednesday. If you haven't been to Alicia's blog yet then please check it out - her photos are gorgeous. I am also incredibly jealous of the new lens she got for Christmas.

Back to my non-resolutions... This year I want to take my photography further, do it better and do it more (the motto will be LCA or 'Less Crap Photos'), and to share what I learn as I go along. I have two pet photo shoots lined up which I am very excited about - and if they go well then who knows? To make me get my camera out every day (it's not a chore!) I am also taking part in a photo a day challenge on Flickr.

Enough words - on with the photos...

Macro of forks...

Finally found the knack of using a much smaller aperture for macros to get more in focus - doh! This was taken in black and white with the camera on manual using a macro filter (x10) on the lens. I've got lazy and relied a lot of Aperture Priority mode to shoot so am trying to shoot more in manual.

Olives...

It's become a bit of a tradition for David and myself to go for an Italian meal over the New Year holiday. Taken in b&w again - wide aperture to throw the background out and create bokeh. Am loving the way the light from the window shines on the oil. I might try cropping this differently to make it conform to the rule of thirds - (but sometimes breaking the rules can be fun...).

Yet more of the olives in b&w...

David makes an assault on the olives. I like the sense of movement in this and the angle. What I don't like is that distracting large rectangle of light at the top and the bottles to the left. It's amazing how many times you compose a shot but then forget to look around the whole frame to see what you don't want there, just focussing on what you do want. Again I might try cropping this.

Dusk...

The colour and the lights were what struck me about this scene, so to emphasis these aspects I dropped on one knee, de-focussed the lens and waited for some obliging pedestrians to walk by. I also used exposure compensation and underexposed it to stop the camera trying to make it much lighter than it really was! I think the blurred figures help make this shot - they add scale and movement.

Tree with lights...

I love the lights in this tree - and the way it's silhouetted against that beautiful sky. What I might do is clone out that lamp on the right and the cable on the tree.

And finally...

Detective Dave on the case...

This was a fun shot we tried. We've been watching the Danish police series The Killing over Christmas (which is brilliant! More twisty-turny than a twisty-turny thing!) and I loved its dark and atmospheric camera work. As an homage to it I got David to kneel down in front of our car with the headlights on so he was backlit. Am loving those shadows.

Cats on Tuesday...

2012-01-03T06:00:00.001Z

A week when Posky thought of entering a witness protection programme and would only appear incognito...

...or with his back to the camera

A sulk - I haz it...

Mrs P did this...

'This iz ma happy face...'

Pepper showed her cultural leanings by posing in front of a poster for Antony & Cleopatra...

'I'd actually prefer The ~~Tasting~~ Taming of the Shrew...'

Whilst Charlie was very busy...

'Letz me go you insane man!!!'

This is him having escaped the clutches of David...

This is his 'I'm slightly deranged' look...

... and this is his 'I'll cut you!' look.

For more cats up to no good visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Memories, Dreams & Reflections...

2011-12-31T10:24:00.000Z

It doesn't seem twelve months since I was putting together last year's M,D & R! The time has flown.

Me...

I'm the one who doesn't have the cute nose and long ears.

I love you...
Hamlet the play - my favourite. And a mention
for the husband is needed as well :O)
(Kudos to David for being game when I suggest he dress
as the Prince of Denmark and stand in the garden at night for
a photo shoot).

Still Laughing... #1I couldn't breathe for laughing when I was taking this.Cath could not get the timing right on the jump, henceshe was going down when Helen was going up!

Still Laughing... #2Not a lot I can say about this really :O))(Cath, I'm sorry, but if you're going to bend overlike that in the vicinity of someone who iscarrying a camera then you'reasking for trouble!!)

Winter Wonderland...If only! I'm disgusted to report there has beena distinct lack of the white stuff this year.This is the Swan Fountain in Stratford last December.
Friends...Cath and Helen madethe year a lot more insane :O)

Birthday...

This is a pic of Pepper's birthday treat

and fake birthday cakes.

I was Inspired...Many, many things inspire me, a mood, the way the lightfalls, a colour. The top shot was inspired byan idea in a photography magazine, and the bottom one by a prompt fromKat Eye Studio to create a square image.

Spring Fever...Well actually it's a ladybird on a pansy - I couldn't think of anything else!

Travel...It was only an hour or so to drive there from home,but Trentham Gardens was a revelation, like steppinginto Italy.

Summer Days...

Taken at Snowshill Lavender Farm in the Cotswolds.

Beautiful place, beautiful day.

A Day in My Life...
It usually starts with me in the kitchen, dealing
with a cat or four, maybe taking a photo, writing a list to remember what
I have to do/get for dinner that night, and eating breakfast on the run.
That's before I go to work.
(I have no knowledge of that bottle of wine in the background!).

All smiles...
Cath happy to have an extremely large cappuccino.

Autumn Harvest...

Getting a photo of Hay Bales

became a bit of an obsession this year.

I was much taken to giving David nervous breakdowns by

suddenly yelling 'Stop the car!'

when passing likely looking locations.

... and another Autumnal shot.
I love those colours and textures.

Family or Home...
David and Posky (Posky here standing in for all four cats
who are too temperamental to sit for a group portrait).

Celebrate...

This is Pepper and this photo of her

won a first prize in a local photo competition.

Catnip all around!

Let's do it Again...

Go see the Snow Leopards.

Absolutely gorgeous animals. Love the

way it's trying to play with its food here :O))

I Miss You...

Little Ben the bunny who died at Halloween,

(which David says does show a certain style).

Beautiful...
Raindrops on my Acer...

... and trees in the mist.

Dress Up...
Who could forget Charlie and Posky in their 'Bad Boy' vests?
Or Posky and Pepper going trick or treating in their Halloween capes?
(Do you realise how much this type of photo costs me
in cat treats?!?).

Macro...

Raindrops on a chive

(not defying gravity - I turned it 90 degrees to puzzle people) :O)

Holidays...

Nothing says Christmas like a pumpkin with a hat on :O)

... or the famous Christmas mugs complete with candy canes.

(After I bought those canes I discovered that they weren't suitable

for veggies so had to give them to Helen.

How that woman has a tooth left in her head is a bit of a mystery!).

How about dressing up your camera for Christmas?

This is my old 400D, which came in handy when the 7D

had to be rushed to camera ER and have an emergency op.

I like to think that someone who looks like George Cloony

tenderly ministered to it :O))

My Favourite...

I find it very hard to judge my own photos after

having looked at them for so long. Quite often it won't be
the best shot technically that I like, but the one that suggests a mood
or atmosphere. I've already

shared quite a few 'faves' above so here are a few more.

This is Mrs P and her bauble.

... and looking a bit dramatic.

Deserted cafe on a cold Autumn morning.

Graveyard angel with cobweb...

...the Church at Batsford.

... and a weed at dawn!

Just Because... So There!

He's Posky, he's my boy, and this makes me smile :O)

Hopes & Dreams...

Photographically it's been a good year - a charity used my image for

their Christmas card, and some of my cat photos won prizes.
My pic of the dandelion was an Editor's choice,
I took part in the Photobox24 Live! challenge
(which was brilliant and I heartily recommend it), and our local paper

asked to use some of my photos in an article.

So I'd just like to build on that really, do the best I can

and have fun with it.

A happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous 2012 to all - and thanks for all the lovely comments. xx

Snow Leopards!

2011-12-29T06:22:00.000Z

Whilst taking Posky for his acupuncture yesterday morning, I learned from Linda the Vet that I HAD to take my camera and visit Twycross Zoo to see the Snow Leopards. Now I'm not a fan of zoos - although I do realise that the best ones are a necessary evil due to the way humans have endangered many animals and their habitats. Tycross is involved with breeding programmes for endangered species and also their conservation in the wild (including Snow Leopards). Their pair had cubs in the summer and they are just gorgeous - they have an enormous enclosure to live in and what is brilliant is that the Visitor Centre is built onto the side of this, with windows looking directly into it - a gift to anyone with a camera. Here are some of the photos I took.

'Stealth - I haz it...'

Here's one of the cubs trying to sneak up on his Mum.

... playing with a stick he found

... and having a tussle with his sibling.

This is Mum having a well-earned break from cub watch.

'Fee fi fo fum, I smell the blood of human nom...'

Here's Mum again - looking at the strange
human animals.

The low winter sun was a bit tricky, but did mean you could get some

nice silhouettes.

Want to adopt a Snow Leopard? (Not literally! - Although it might help keep certain small cats in order... mentioning no names but you know who you are). Twycross has an animal adoption scheme that helps them with their conservation work. Click here for more info.

Cats on Tuesday...

2011-12-27T06:58:00.001Z

Not a lot to report on the cat front over Christmas... they awoke briefly to eat then went to sleep again. Pepper was prodded into wakefulness long enough to have her photo taken with some of their new toys, and Charlie was 'persuaded; to have his photo taken with David (ha!)'.

Pepper 'the paw' strikes again...

The red and white stripey toys were made by Sandra for the cats.

Janet bought them the catnip mice.

David and Charlie take part in the age-old Boxing Day tradition

of 'Cat Wrestling'.

(The cat usually wins).
Anyone else reminded of that cartoon,
'I will hug him and pet him, and I will call him George'?!?

Charlie can't believe

that Laurie said yesterday that

Pepper was her favourite cat...

... and here he is hoping that Penny

will be along soon to mollify his feelings.

For more post-Christmas kitties visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Monday Musings...

2011-12-26T08:41:00.003Z

I hope everyone had the kind of Christmas Day they most enjoy and that Santa was good to you all. We had a nice restful day (or what could be termed slothful in the case of the cats). I had my nose stuck in my new photography book for most of the afternoon but surfaced in the evening to watch three episodes of The Killing on DVD (which is a brilliant Danish series for those who don't know it). Today I'm thinking of fighting my way to a shop as I have to look for a birthday present for Cath... post Christmas sales are not my favourite things. Then tonight it's off to the RSC to see Measure for Measure. Whatever everyone is doing we hope you have a great Boxing Day.

I obviously didn't have enough to do on Christmas Day...

Our Christmas Tree got so excited it exploded ;o)))
(No trees were actually harmed during the taking of this photo)

Look at this tiny cat, isn't he sweet?

It was a present from Laurie and I've taken

him next to a 50p piece to show his size.

Cats on Tuesday... There's a cat in me kitchen what am I gonna do?

2011-12-20T07:44:00.000Z

The cats have been joining in with the Christmas preparations. In most cases this means sticking their noses in to everything, getting into boxes and in Charlie's case, tearing up any stray piece of wrapping paper that comes his way. They have quite a few presents in their stockings to open on Christmas Day courtesy of Janet and Sandra who I work with. Sandra has actually made them some catnip toys and wrapped them up (the strength of the catnip can be determined by the fact that Charlie tried to grab the parcel out of my hand when I took it out of my bag!). They also have quite a lot of treats, which Posky isn't allowed to have because of his kidneys, and Charlie shouldn't have because he's put on so much weight he looks like a hairy ball.

There's something in that bag that they're obviously

obsessing about... :O)

Charlie sat still for so long

that he got decorated for Christmas by accident...

Cat Christmas stockings are bulging with toys and treats...

I have no idea what that thing on the left is!

Pepper has been busy... bored without her friend the Buddha

who has gone on retreat for Christmas,

she sought out new entertainment involving me.

I was trying to take a photo of our tree,

so she determined to get

into every shot...

Sometimes with an abandon bordering

on the reckless, not to say violent...

Here she is up to her old tricks with the advent calendar...

... and showing off her new collar and tag from her prizes she won

for her photos...

...and here she is trying to

convince people she's a good girl and completely

innocent of any wrong-doing.

... and finally

For more Christmas kitties visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

2011-12-18T09:31:00.003Z

Last Scavenger Hunt before Christmas... and it's snowing outside my window. Not heavy, but snow nonetheless. This hunt ended up in a last minute panic (nothing new there!) and I had to scoot around this morning to get it completed, as despite my good intentions I spent most of yesterday reading Kate Atkinson's Case Histories (superb by the way).

What is it?

It's this...My Christmas teapot appears by special request of Penny and Laloofah :O)

Sleeping cat...

Posky doing what he does so well.

Joy...

Cath exuding Christmas joy and cheer ;O)

(Her hat says 100% Christmas Grump).

Window...

Inside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

I then became a bit obsessed with windows and took these two as well.

The first is the Stratford Sweet Shop - love that sign. The

bottom one is the Christmas shop with Shakespeare's

Birthplace reflected in it.

Half...

Half a bauble.

and just in case I don't get another chance before next week...

A Very Late Scavenger Hunt (and Cats on Tuesday too)...

2011-12-13T06:07:00.000Z

I had every intention of posting this on Sunday but it just didn't happen. Yes I know I'm rubbish. Anyway... a few archive shots here but some new ones too. My cold has just about gone so at least I don't feel as if my head is stuffed with polystyrene any more, and I've actually written out some Christmas cards! My camera is back from the camera hospital (sent on Monday, got it back Thursday, brilliant service or what?), so I'm looking forward to getting out and about with it again. I've also begun begging for a new lens for Christmas (I have no shame). ;O)

For anyone looking for Cats on Tuesday it's right at the bottom of this post and features a photo of Charlie being bad.

Less is more...

A gull about to fly out of the frame.

Holiday Lights...

Stratford upon Avon.

That tree of lights at the top of the road is the one

I included in the Scavenger Hunt last week.
The tree in the foreground is made of green lights, and the
lights across the street are multi-coloured, but I
actually prefer this in b&w.

... and some more Holiday Lights.
I didn't have to take my life in my hands
by standing in the middle of the road to take these
as they're hanging above our fireplace.

Ornaments...

This is from the archives,

(ornament courtesy of Lakeland!).

Cup of cheer...

New cups (to go with new Christmas teapot).

And David's own particular cup of cheer...

Lagavulin single malt whiskey. I'd just like to

point out that he refused to let me have any

of this for my cold, but made me go and

buy a cheap bottle instead!

Nativity...

Ok, I was struggling with this one!

These are the bean-bag nativity people

I got from the Christmas fair.

And now for something completely different... Cats on Tuesday.

This is Charlie being... well... Charlie!

Penny thinks he's just being affectionate

in these shots... hmmm!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

2011-12-03T08:38:00.001Z

It seems ages since I've done a Scavenger Hunt, and then the week I decide to do it my camera goes on the blink, hey ho. It's being collected by courier on Monday and taken to wherever they take sick cameras. At the moment I'm relying on my old Canon 400D which is not as forgiving as the 7D!

Portrait...

As it's Charlie it could also have been titled

'Do Not Disturb - or else'.

Nostalgia...

'String of Pearls'...

(for those that know their Glen Miller)

Time...
and talking of which - I actually took this 5 minutes ago :O)

Full of Light...
De-focussed Christmas lights

Motion...

Same place, different view and technique.

I quite like the movement of both cars and people in this.

What was funny was the amount of photographers all trying to take these shots.

It was harder to not get another photographer

in the image than anything else (in fact you can still

see one on the right hand side!).

Cats on Tuesday - More on the photo comp...

2011-11-29T06:34:00.001Z

Well after Pepper and Posky stole the limelight last week with their winning photos, I had to post some pics of the two who didn't win.

Exhausted with the amount of work that they'd put into their

competition photos to no avail, Mrs P and Charlie

decided they didn't care anyway and went to sleep...

It didn't win any prizes but I love this photo

(I entered the colour version
but I prefer the b&w).

Here's the boy himself...

And talking of the photo competition, can I give a quick mention to Emma-Louise at The KittyCat Boutique as she's sending Pepper a blue snowflake collar and tag, plus a Treehugger catnip toy as part of her prize. They have some lovely collars and accessories for pooches as well as cats. Go check them out!

Oh yes, prizes... well here's Pepper trying to break into

the box of goodies that came for her and Posky...

... and here she is trying to look innocent of any wrongdoing.

(These photos are very dark and grainy as they were taken in dim light at night,

I just had to grab my camera and snap away

when I saw the little minx up to no good!).

A treat in the paw is worth two in the tub...
(or something like that)

And what about Posky?
Well he was pretty laid-back about the whole thing.
Here he ponders his rosettes...

...But on the whole he decided he prefers the new pink bed,
(partly bought with the voucher prize).
And yes that's Mrs P asleep on the cushion that
is meant to be IN the bed.

For more kitties visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Shades of Autumn - Finale

2011-11-27T06:48:00.001Z

I've loved doing the whole Shade of Autumn challenge, it's been great fun. The reason this post wasn't ready on Friday was that I was taking part in Photobox's 24 Hour Live challenge (http://www.facebook.com/PhotoboxUK?sk=wall) . There were 24 challenges with 24 prizes, one each hour on the hour and you only had one hour to complete and upload them, so no time for any fancy camera work, just imagination and lateral thinking. Some of the entries were hilarious! A few people managed all 24 but I went to bed :O) (Photobox is my favourite photo processing company, and they do very nice photo gifts too). Anyway, I digress!

For the finale I didn't know whether the photos were meant to be favourites out of the ones we'd used for the various colour changes or completely new ones. Anyway, because I have a plethora (great word!) of autumn photos it seemed a shame not to use some different ones. The first three of the shots were taken in the Cotswolds and the other four in Leicestershire.

Autumn in the Arboretum...

Leaves on the statue of the Buddha...

The Church at Moreton in the Marsh...

One of the things I love about the autumn is the mists,

I like the sense of mystery and melancholy they can add to a scene.

I was therefore very grateful to wake up to fog (and on a weekend too!) and

was out of the door with my camera before David or cats were awake.

They're rubbish.

No I didn't place the leaf on the wall, it was just there, waiting for me.

I really like the simplicity of this, along with the contrasting textures and tones.

Gravestones and fallen leaves. How symbolic can you get?

I was kneeling down taking this when a policewoman

came around the corner and nearly tripped over me.

She didn't seem surprised and gave me a cheery 'Good Morning!'

I'm guessing she must see a lot of strange things happening in graveyards.

Am loving the cobwebs and that hint of colour on the leaves.

This morning I am off to take photos of a charity fun run where about 1000 people will be running through the streets of Lutterworth all dressed as Santa. Not sure how I'm going to recognise my friend Helen amongst that lot. Hmmm!

Cat's on Tuesday - winning photos!

2011-11-20T16:52:00.001Z

The cats entered some of their photos in the local animal rescue's Cat Photography Competition. They don't believe it's the taking part that counts, they wanted to win and were willing to be quite ruthless about it. Charlie had a very nice campaign of blackmail and intimidation all plotted out if things didn't turn out in their favour. Fortunately they didn't have to resort to any violence as Pepper won first prize in the rescue cat category, she also got second prize in the cat caption category, another second with Posky in felines and friends (or should that be fiends?), and Posky took third prize for sleeping cat. Their prizes are coming tomorrow night and the nice lady who contacted me from the rescue centre also talked about using the photos on some cards to sell for the charity. Smiles all around!

'If I don't win I will scream and scream and scream until I'm sick!!!!'

For more kitties visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Shades of Autumn - White

2011-11-18T07:28:00.001Z

Hmmm, white! The trickiest one yet - we've had nothing resembling frost or snow here, in fact I heard yesterday that it's been a record breaking November for mild temperatures. The images I got for this were by sheer chance as I really hadn't got a clue what to do for this colour. The boats on the Avon at Stratford came to my rescue, as did some berries from some sort of chinese tree at Batsford.

That was the week that was...

2011-11-13T08:49:00.001Z

No Scavenger Hunt this week, so I thought I'd do a quick review of the last seven days instead.

- A week of freebies! A stranger gave me a voucher for a free drink in M&S; I had enough points on my Boots card to get some very nice Ted Baker smelly things; Tesco's clubcard voucher exchange meant that we're getting a free meal for two at Bella Pasta; and my Sainsbury Nectar points got me £17.50 worth of Amazon vouchers! Hurrah!

- I got a lovely card from my Mum in law about Ben.

- I got a lovely e-card from Laurie at Mehitabel Days which brightened my day.

- I got my act together and entered some cat photos in the local animal shelter's cat photo competition.

- We went to Stratford.

- We went to Warwick Arts Centre and saw John Mayall and Oli Brown in concert.

- I went for a 4.5 mile walk yesterday to fetch a newspaper (don't ask why, it seemed like a good idea at the time).

- We saw the sweeeeetest baby rabbits, one little grey one did everything but stand on his head and do a cartwheel in his efforts to be noticed and taken home.

- I saw two brilliant photo exhibitions by Tom Hunter.

- I also went to work but let's not talk about that. I took in a Christmas tree that we're going to decorate and enter for the Christmas Tree Festival at St Mary's Church (just across the road from us - has a very nice coffee bar and second hand bookshop!). Because our company is all about reproducing images and document management I took some photos of Christmas decorations and we printed them off to hang on the tree, clever eh?!?

- Mrs P went to the vets for a thyroid check. This was fine, and apparently her kidneys have never been better too. This good news didn't stop Mrs P from trying to go to the toilet on the vet whilst yelling loudly at her. The vet thinks Mrs P is breathing too fast (I think she was angry at the vet!) and is also concerned that she's lost weight (I think she doesn't like renal food so have been trying to feed her up with biscuits that Posky must not know exist!). Anyway, the vet wants her to go in and spend a few hours there on Tuesday so they can check her breathing again. She also doesn't want her to be fed beforehand in case they need to sedate her. Hmmmm...

And finally... a few photos from Stratford. The first two are inside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, love the way they've kept the Art Deco style along with the new. The third is the cafe seating area outside the theatre, I just like the mood it evokes. The last is the Stratford skyline with Shakespeare's statue in the Bancroft Gardens and the RST tower. Am loving that seagull!

Shades of Autumn - Brown...

2011-11-09T07:46:00.000Z

I thought this week's colour would be easier to do, in fact when you look closely it's amazing how many colours around in the autumn aren't actually brown!

A little post about Ben...

2011-11-05T16:51:00.000Z

Those of you who read this week's Cats on Tuesday post will know that we lost Ben this week. He was our little house rabbit who had lived with us for six years (we think he was about 11 which is a great age for a small bunny to reach). We originally got him and his partner Lucy from a rabbit rescue organisation where they'd been taken by their previous owner after she acquired a dog that killed her other rabbits and then decided to go after the last two. Lucy died a few years ago and that's when Ben moved into the house with us. He was a shy, gentle little soul who gave us (and his wonderful vet Aga) a nervous breakdown every so often when he had to undergo a dental - we were never sure if he would make it through the anaesthetic or not! He used to like to sit cuddled up to Mrs P, or he could be found on his footstool next to the radiator (often with Posky trying to get on it with him). Anyway, here are a few photos of the wee man himself.

This is the last photo we have of Ben - this is him

doing his 'An angry - I haz it' face...

...and here he is being squished by Posky.

Who could forget the way he stole the limelight from the cats

during the pumpkin photo shoot last year?

Or how he gamely joined in with the cats' 'Drama in the Garden!' productions.

He was a bit of a star.

Shades of Autumn - Purple

2011-11-04T07:20:00.000Z

Before I start with the photos, can I just say a great big thanks to Kristi, Rebecca and Alicia for choosing one of my photos from last week's Shades of Autumn as one of their top pictures, I was so chuffed because some seriously good photographers enter their images for this challenge and for one of mine to be chosen, well... speechless. Anyway, needless to say I became ridiculously over-excited when I heard and had to be slapped by Pepper.

Right then, on with the purple, not the easiest of colours to find.

Cats on Tuesday...

2011-11-01T06:13:00.001Z

Just a few photos today from the cats at Halloween as everyone is rather subdued at the death of Ben the Bunny last night - he will get his own post shortly, but for now here are the felines hamming it up.

For his costume Posky chose to wear a rather fetching

cobweb cape with a large spider at the back of the neck, very rakish.

Pepper also chose the same outfit - this is her going trick or treating.

'By the pricking of my paw, something furry's at the door...'

At first Mrs P was going to wear a pumpkin costume as she felt

it went with her fur, then decided that was way too much

so just went with the hat instead.

And then Charlie thought about wearing a devilish cape

but decided it made him look too 'cute'.

So eventually deciding less is more, he chose to go with a garland of evil

and pulling a scary face.

For more kitties visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Shades of Autumn - Red

2011-10-27T20:30:00.000+01:00

This first one is a re-post from last week -
it's Pepper disguising herself as a Japanese maple
on the bench in the garden.
I've included this for no other reason than that it makes me smile :O)

Followed by a couple of shots of chrysanths after the rain.

Plus a flower in a vase - I have no idea what it is!

And finally some shots of the Japanese maples (sans Pepper), with raindrops.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

2011-10-23T07:57:00.004+01:00

Busy, busy week. David finally had the operation on his lip, so now just looks as if someone smacked him in the mouth, which is a whole lot easier to live with. And it was back to work for me on Thursday, which after a two week break was a bit of a culture shock. Back to the Scavenger Hunt... some of these images were taken yesterday in the Trentham Estate Gardens in Staffordshire - the Italian Garden there made me feel as if I'd travelled across the English Channel, down through Europe and ended up at Lake Como. It just needed George Cloony to come wandering along the lakeside terrace to make it complete - obviously he didn't though (unfortunately).

Words...

Does what it says on the tin really.

Under...

Under the trellis walkway in the Italian Gardens.

Love this statue as this lady

seems to be giving her pet snake a

saucer of milk (or something).

Orange...

To tell you the truth, after Friday's mammoth

orange session for Shades of Autumn I was not inspired to take another.

So here's one I did earlier (the date's a bit of a giveaway).

Fly...

Until yesterday I was a bit bemused as to what to do for this one.

Our trip to Trentham solved it however when I saw

geese artworks on the lake, I thought they

looked brilliant!

...same goose, different angle - and this time he's with some friends.

They suspect nothing...

Always look on the bright side...

David has to drink coffee through a straw at the moment

and I decided to utilise them for this prompt as they're

lovely bright colours.

And you thought I was going to mention Monty Python... :O)

...and another one for this prompt.
Just because you can never have too much of an
Italian Garden, here's a brightly lit corner of it.

Shades of Autumn - Orange

2011-10-21T03:16:00.000+01:00

And so we reach orange, my enthusiasm for which has spilled over into my choice of text colour in this post. Apart from being the name of my mobile phone provider it is one of my favourite colours of the autumn, well of any time really, and one which I can at least wear. Some autumnal colours do me no favours at all - certain yellows or reds can make me look as if I'm auditioning for a part in the Adams Family, but orange (in moderation, unless I want to be mistaken for an excitable pumpkin) is good! And talking of pumpkins - I have a bit of a pumpkin obsession going on so have included a few images of them in various guises here.

By the way, my favourite tip for making your autumn photos zing with colour is to alter the white balance on your camera to shade or cloudy to boost the reds -simple but effective.

Our World Tuesday - Late!

2011-10-19T14:25:00.000+01:00

Yes, yes I know it's Wednesday, but better late than never. Photos from two locations this week, the first from Stratford where I headed off to on Saturday and witnessed that strange English tradition that is Morris Dancing, plus a Green Man. I love enthusiasts and eccentrics :O)

And these are some images form Foxton Locks - a reminder of Britain's 19th Century industrial heritage. It's a staircase lock flight (10 locks in total) on the Grand Union Canal that raises boats a total of 75 feet, and is the largest such flight on the English canal system.

For more participants visit Our World Tuesday.

Cats on Tuesday - in which cats sit on a bench...

2011-10-17T17:33:00.001+01:00

I mentioned a while back how the bench we have in our garden became an object of great interest and desire for the cats as soon as we moved it to a new position. This is still the case. It has become a place to rest, contemplate, plan strategies, and launch unprovoked attacks on other passing cats and humans. Here is photographic evidence: in the first, Charlie surveys his kingdom and keeps an eye out for Little Creep (the cat who lives up the road and comes in to steal food), and in the second, Pepper goes into 'covert operations cat' mode by trying to disguise herself as a Japanese Maple.

For more participants visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Out and About Photography...

2011-10-15T19:22:00.001+01:00

So here I am on holiday - and minus David's company (who still can't show his face in public) I went off exploring. A forty minute drive took me into Derbyshire and to Calke (pronounced Cork) Abbey - how I have never been there before is a mystery to me - it's wonderful! I love Derbyshire anyway, (it's the county where Mr Darcy's Pemberley estate was in Pride and Prejudice - no wonder Elizabeth Bennett married him), and now I love it even more having discovered Calke. It's set on the site of an Augustinian Priory dating from the 12th century although it has never actually been an Abbey. The original building has long gone and the house that stands today is a mixture of architectural styles - but it was the wonderful park and gardens that I fell in love with; perfect weather, perfect place, perfect day.

These last two images are from St Giles Church which
stands in the grounds at Calke.

Shades of Autumn - Yellow

2011-10-12T18:58:00.001+01:00

This week's colour proved more of a challenge than I would have thought - where has all the yellow gone? I resorted to getting David to hold a large leaf in front of his face at one point (still got that cyst thing going on on his lip!), but as this looked really silly, in the end had to settle for a shot of my Rudbeckias in the rain (for 'rain' read 'me with watering can with camera on self-timer').

Cats on Tuesday: Drama in the Garden 2

2011-10-10T19:09:00.001+01:00

Once again the cats have been hard at work writing and directing a new entertainment! So without further ado they present: 'Drama in the Garden 2 - The Minion of Doom!'

Ever since Evil Genius Cat had been defeated,

residents of the garden had lived in peace and tranquility.

But wait, what's this?

It's the return of Evil Genius Cat and this time

he has acquired an equally evil minion to help him in his dastardly work.

'Go evil minion! Infiltrate the garden and do your worst to those pesky cats

and their Buddha friend.

Soon the garden will be mine! Mwahahahahaha!!'

The Evil Minion's first victim was a friendly tabby cat

(who looks remarkable like Mrs Pod). The Minion crept closer

and whispered evil thoughts into the tabby cat's ear...

... and at once the tabby cat began sharpening her claws on the fence,

all the time murmering to herself 'Must Kill! Must Kill!'...

Oh no! What would happen next?

... It was the turn of a gentle grey cat to be transformed.

All it took was one whisper...

... and suddenly the normally gentle cat had leaped up and

snatched a bird from the air as it flew past!

(Camera operator: Posky so help me I will

smack your backside so hard if you killed that bird!

Posky: It was dead already! Honest! I found it like that!!!

And you can't prove anything!

Camera Operator: Hmmmm...)

The minion had only one more victim to claim

and then the Evil Genius cat would rule the garden!

The Buddha's Disciple Cat (for it was she) ran to the Buddha...

'Please help me dear Buddha, what shall I do?

How can I save the garden and rescue my friends?'

And the Buddha answered...

'Close your eyes dear Disciple Cat,

and use your mind to escape this evil...'

... and she did, and suddenly

she was out of danger and in a beautiful forest

with a giant Buddha who held a leaf in his hand.

'Here dear Disciple Cat', he said,

'eat this leaf to protect yourself, and then take

some to your friends so that

they may regain their true nature'.

... and the Disciple ate the leaf,

and all at once she was back in the garden just in time

to see the Evil Genius Cat about to strangle the Buddha!

Quickly she threw one of the magical leaves at him

which stopped him in his tracks!

And then she quickly gave them to her friends...

... who immediately remembered who they really were,

and joined forces to defeat the Evil Minion!

Hurrah!

...meanwhile, the magical leaf

had given Buddha's Disciple Cat

the strength to fight Evil Genius Cat.

The battle was fierce (nice paw-waving guys!)

but good overcame evil and

Buddha's Disciple Cat emerged triumphant!

Deep joy!

And so it came to pass,

that peace reigned once more in the garden.

And everyone was happy.

Well, almost everyone...

'Curses! Once again those pesky

kids have defeated my evil plans!'

'But... I will return!

Mwahahahahahaha!!'

THE END

'Drama in the Garden 2: The Minion of Doom!' starred:

Evil Genius Cat...................... Charlie

Friendly Tabby Cat............... Mrs Pod

Gentle Grey Cat.................... Posky

Buddha's Disciple Cat........... Pepper

Special appearance by Little My as Evil Minion

Camera Operation still by that woman we let live with us.

For more cats visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

2011-10-08T19:46:00.000+01:00

Is it Sunday yet? It's been, how shall I put it, a bit of a week. Six weeks ago David suddenly developed a very large cyst on his lip and got an appointment to have it removed last Monday. He went to the hospital only for them to cancel the op as the surgeon wasn't there; David was not a happy bunny about this. He's now got to walk around with this thing the size of a small planet (ok a walnut) on his face until the 17th October. Then I did something to my back/hip (sciatica?) which means I seize up if I sit still for any length of time. Then someone bit Posky and he developed an abscess on his tail (I'm assuming it was another cat and not David in a moment of vexation), and then yesterday someone rear-ended us when we were out in the car. The impact cracked some welding under the boot but the car is still drivable and at least neither David or myself suffered any damage. If it weren't for the lack of photographic opportunities in such a plan I'd be tempted to spend the rest of the holiday in bed with a case of red wine, some chocolate, and a large pile of books. Anyway... onwards and upwards (with difficulty due to dodgy back).

Landscape...

I have never been very pleased with any of my

landscape shots - I just

find them very, very difficult
(if you want to see how a good landscape photographer

does it have a look at this Flickr page).

There's always something not quite right with mine...

See what I mean?

In case you're wondering if I made

David do this to disguise his lip - it was

actually taken for the Face Down Tuesday group on Flickr :O)

Almost forgot...
Months ago, The Shakespeare Hospice in Stratford upon Avon
asked me if they could use my shot of Stratford in the snow
as a Christmas card this year. The cards arrived this week!
They're 8" x 5 1/2" and beautifully printed, and
it was so exciting to see them (they have
my name on the back too) :O)
I am so thrilled that a hobby that gives me
so much pleasure can be used for such a good cause.

Black and white...

My twiggy pumpkin plus leaf and pinecone.

This is a straight out of camera shot -

I took it in mono with a sepia tint.

I also used exposure compensation (+1)

to give it that light, bright look.

and for a completely different b&w,

a lily in sunlight.

The Colour Wheel - Complementary/Triadic Colour...

Saw this multi-coloured leaf in Market Bosworth yesterday

and thought it deserved a photo all to itself.

Food...

Tomatoes (or 'love apples' as they

used to be called)

and for those not on a diet, or those who have also had a rough week...

(it's toffee cake by the way, very nice too)

Blank space...

Was a bit baffled by this until I hung my new Halloween decoration up.

These are the bells on my bats!

...and for those who will explode with curiosity

if they don't find out what the rest of the decoration looks like,

here it is :O)

Shades of Autumn Photo Challenge - Green

2011-10-08T09:14:00.002+01:00

How could I resist any photo challenge that has Autumn in the title? Luckily there is still a lot of green here so I headed off to Market Bosworth Country Park to grab a few shots.

Simplicity Photography Challenge... What makes you smile? And Texture Thursday

2011-10-05T06:37:00.001+01:00

What makes me smile?

Autumn makes me smile - a lot.

As do my friends,

my cats (can also cause me to be immensely vexed)

David (ditto the above)

stars,

snow,

frosty mornings,

really good dark chocolate,

poetry,

Bach,

Vaughan Williams,

and

photography.

Gradient in autumnal hues - opacity 65% - Soft Light blend mode
Kim Klassen texture - 'Old Whisk' - Overlay blend mode

Our World Tuesday...

2011-10-04T19:07:00.000+01:00

The first day of my two week holiday from work - woohoo! David and I ended up at Bradgate Park, Leicestershire where Lady Jane Grey (she of the nine days Queen fame) used to live. Beautiful place and minus the crowds that usually throng it at weekends it was delightfully empty :O)

For more participants visit Our World Tuesday.

Cats on Tuesday...

2011-10-04T05:33:00.001+01:00

The unseasonable heatwave we've had for the last seven days is now officially at an end thank goodness. It's made cats and humans bad tempered and lethargic and it's been stressful enough here without that thank you very much. Someone was so bad tempered that they bit Posky's tail and gave him an abscess which I discovered last night and which then had to be cleaned etc. All things considered he was very good about it! What he's not been very good about is eating his renal food...

Mrs Pod has started yowling again for no fathomable reason. She did however purr like mad when I did a try-out of her Halloween costume on her, which is something. At least it should make the planned Halloween shoot less of a bloodbath than I was anticipating.

I am now on holiday from work for a fortnight so hope to be out and about with my camera (and look out for the publication of the next installment of 'Drama in the Garden!' coming to a blog near you!).

Meanwhile... I was practicing taking some high noise black and white portraits and Mrs P agreed to be my victim. 'High Noise' (never has a description been more apt for a cat) is when you set a high ISO speed on your camera and it gives a grainy effect, it can be quite effective in the right circumstances. I shot these in black and white and they're straight out of camera. Anyway here she is :O)

Visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday for more kitty news!

Favourite Shot of the Week...

2011-10-04T04:31:00.001+01:00

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

2011-10-01T19:37:00.001+01:00

It's been hot, damn hot. How can it be October already when we've been having temperatures of 26 degrees for most of the week? Not nice. I want autumnal weather and I want it now! Anyway, enough with the tantrum and on with the scavenger hunt.

Hazy...

This was early Friday morning

before the heat kicked in for the day.

Beautiful, beautiful light on the trees, although I was

losing patience waiting for the traffic to leave the

road clear. (I needed to be quick to get
back home and ready for work!)

Coffee or Tea...

One from the archives, coffee

at Kelmarsh.

Inspired by a book or film...

Anyone not knowing who this is meant to be

go to the bottom of the class and see me later!

Another one of David in thespian mode, this time with movement.

Many thanks to him for donning woolly cap and overcoat

during a heatwave and lurking in the back garden in the dark!

Brown...
Macro of Cath's eye, which shows a remarkably
clear reflection of Heart of the Shires Shopping Village
(and me and my camera) in it!

Linger...

Window shopping.

and another of two lingerers...
Cath and Helen on the steps of a bandstand.
Should probably be called 'lurkers' really.

And finally... for no other reason than these two photos made me cry with laughing when I was taking them, here are Cath and Helen jumping in the air in a car park. This has nothing to do with the Scavenger Hunt and everything to do with me saying they would be put on the internet. This is the kind of payment I exact from my friends in return for taking them on a shopping trip in my car ;O)

Texture Thursday & LEM Photo Challenge...

2011-09-29T07:40:00.004+01:00

Orchard...

Our World Tuesday...

2011-09-27T07:26:00.003+01:00

All images taken in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire on Sunday. For more participants go to Our World Tuesday.

Cats on Tuesday...

2011-09-27T06:16:00.001+01:00

A busy cat week in which:

Mrs P finally stopped yowling when she walked into a room (and therefore giving everyone a nervous breakdown), and also got to supervise Paul the nice man who comes to rescue the garden once a year.

Posky tried on a small orange hat (photos at a later date), and wanted some of the cheese that woman they let live with them brought back from the Stratford upon Avon Food Festival for David.

Pepper crawled along the floor because she was given a scarf to wear.

Charlie smacked and lunged at just about everyone and tried to chew Mrs P's leg as she was getting down from the sofa!

The guys 'staring at each other in a funny way'

'That gardener chap has missed a bit.
You just can't get the staff...'
(Note Pepper lurking in the background...)

'It is a far, far better thing I do...'

Pepper apparently about to face a firing squad.

For more participants owned by cats visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Before and After...

2011-09-26T07:37:00.000+01:00

Happy Monday everyone (is that an oxymoron?) ;O) Today I'm linking up with MimiBeth Photography with some before and after shots. These are some of the shots I took in the cemetery yesterday along with the edited versions. I had a poem running around my head the whole time I was there: Margaret, are you grieving / Over Goldengrove unleaving? (from Spring and Fall by Gerard Manley Hopkins), and I think I was trying to capture the melancholy mood of that with these images.

Autumn Leaves...

A bit of saturation and sharpening just gave it some oomph!

Bench and Trees...

With these shots what I didn't want to do
was lose the mistiness and autumnal softness
that was in the air. So I slightly saturated the colours
and did a high pass filter effect on them.

Autumn Path...

I did the same with this but also
cropped it at the right to get rid
of the grave stones that were rather distracting.

Angel and cobweb...

I did like the original of this but

still wanted it to be moodier.

I converted to black and white, added a texture

that darkened the image around the edges

and then sharpened it.

I like the way it brought out

the texture of the stone.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

2011-09-25T18:33:00.000+01:00

Once again I managed it by the skin of my teeth!

Low Key...

Cath being, well, Cath in a Harry Potter-esque

coffee shop (they sell butter beer and pumpkin juice as well as other goodies),

at the back of The Creaky Cauldron shop.

Great fun :O)

The photos involving Cath and/or food were

taken today at the Stratford upon Avon Food Festival.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone consume so much

cheese in such a short space of time as Cath did today.

Respect!

And another, this time in colour (nothing like stating the obvious).

I took this yesterday in a cemetery.

Am convinced that one day someone

will report me to the police

for skulking around gravestones at strange hours of the day...

The Colour Wheel...

More autumn leaves than you could shake an autumn stick at.

... and just for good measure,

something that looks suspiciously like licquorice.

Regular readers will know that I consider

this to be the food of Satan.

Circle...

The wild flower garden at the

entrance to Stratford Butterfly Farm.

Scarf...

Cath and scarf.

I had a bag full of scarves with me

in the hope that one of them would

match what she was wearing :O)

Phone...

Taken on my android phone

early one morning last week on the M40.

No I wasn't driving :O)

Three photo challenges for Thursday...

2011-09-22T06:24:00.001+01:00

Decided to do something a little different this week so have linked up with three photo challenges, one over at The Daily Wyatt, one at Crown of Life Photography and the other at Live Every Moment. This was taken in Stratford upon Avon cemetery. I liked the old writing and the texture of the stone, and just tried to enhance it really.

Cats on Tuesday...

2011-09-20T07:29:00.002+01:00

Another guest appearance this week. Some of you may have seen my shot of the little ginger cat (to be known hereafter, some would say somewhat unimaginatively, as 'Ginger') facing down the cyclist in Scavenger Hunt Sunday. He lives in a cottage near Shakespeare's birthplace and has often been seen in his front window next to an empty cake stand (from which I leave you to draw your own conclusions). I've met him in the street before too, once when he tried to grab my hand, and once when he darted out and tried to attack David's ankles. Impressed by his devil-may-care attitude, we thought he deserved a little more publicity, so here are a few shots of Ginger showing what he can do (and also showing his bum).

For those of you who have never been to Stratford upon Avon and are thinking what a quiet, peaceful town it looks, THIS IS NOT HOW IT USUALLY LOOKS! These were taken early on a Sunday morning before the tourists had descended. It's normally thronged with them, but both Ginger and myself disappeared before that happened.

And before fans of Charlie start hyperventilating at the thought of not seeing him this week, here's the boy himself. Not to be outdone by any Warwickshire upstart, he appears to be striking a Shakespearean 'Ah death, where is they sting?' pose.

For more kitties visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

2011-09-18T19:08:00.000+01:00

I wasn't going to participate this week as I've not even thought about the prompts, however I suddenly realised tonight that I had images that fitted thanks to a couple of weekend excursions, so here goes!

Street Photography...
Went to the Goodwood Revival yesterday.
It was hideously packed and I got so fed up
I hardly took any photos.
This barber was open to the street
so I guess it counts for this prompt!

Another one for Street Photography...
Going to Goodwood put me so out of sorts
that I had to go to Stratford this morning to
cheer myself up. This little cat lives near
Shakespeare's birthplace and obviously
isn't going to let any upstart cyclist make him
move from his spot on his street!

From a Distance...

Well it's a wide angled shot with

a narrow depth of field and the path

'sort of' disappears into the distance!

This was pretty much SOoC. Pinkish

tint achieved by using WB on Cloudy or Shade

and I shot it facing into the sun.

Sunday...

Beautiful morning (but hailstones this afternoon)

and the light was gorgeous.

This was taken on my Sunday walk around

Stratford.

Liquid...

Early morning River Avon.

Again it's pretty much SOoC, and the

WB added the tint.

Behind...

My this prompt could have produced some interesting shots... :O)

I'll be good though and stick to the literal meaning,

here are a couple of vintage types at Goodwood shot from

behind before I threw my teddy out of the cot

and took my camera home.

...and another for the same prompt.

This was pretty much the view you got

everywhere!

The Weekend in Black and White...

2011-09-16T06:52:00.000+01:00

Well what a weird week... yesterday in particular was doubly weird. One of our bosses has been having a bit of a nutty of late (so what's new?). Yesterday it got so bad that we were thinking of hanging garlic and a crucifix on the office door to keep him out. Then Mrs P has been subdued and generally 'off', so it's back to the Vet again tonight in case her ears are starting to play-up.

In an attempt to cheer myself up I went into a nice gifty-type shop at lunchtime only to find the staff somewhat hysterical and about to declare war on the shop next door to them for using the same wholesaler. I asked the Manageress if they would be getting any tasteful Halloween-type ornaments etc in, and she said 'No, the card shops will have the cheap ones in though'! Thanks for that then! Think I'll be visiting the shop next door in future...

Anyway - to carry on the cheerful theme - here are a couple of b&w shots taken in or near the cemetery :O)

Cats on Tuesday...

2011-09-13T06:54:00.001+01:00

After last week's guest kitty (or 'upstart' as Charlie called her), this weeks sees the return of the four. Well, three and a half really as Pepper was too excited by the high winds to stay in the house and kept darting in and out like an in and out thing.

I took Posky and Mrs Pod to the vets for their check-ups last week, always nerve-wracking. True to form Mrs P swore and yelled at the vet, and even managed a hiss as she had her mouth examined. She's fine and her ears were pronounced 'very clean', hurrah! Poor old Posky had to be left at the vets to have blood and urine tests, which came back with no change from April so we're very pleased about that. Both of them have lost weight however, which I think is down to the unenthusiastic response that renal food elicits (plus the fact that it is low protein). If they were all fed on tins of tuna every day they'd all be like fat furry barrels.

Talking of which... Mrs P and I were enjoying a quiet Sunday afternoon reading in the study when I made the mistake of getting up to get a drink. When I came back I found this.

Yes, Charlie had usurped my place on the sofa

and spread himself out like a bag of wet biscuits.

Cheeky little sod even put his back paws on my cushion!

This is him trying to look innocent (fail).

Here's one of Mrs P looking sickeningly cute.

Ahhhhh....!

...and this is her looking less than pleased

at being woken up to be told how cute she looked.

This is the face that vets usually see...

For more kitties visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Cats on Tuesday... In which an interloping cat, er, interlopes...

2011-09-05T22:00:00.000+01:00

Hello, who's this? Where are the usual suspects that appear on a Tuesday? (They're obviously slacking this week). This, dear reader, is Ellie. She is the rather lovely little cat who works at Ashby Parva Garden Centre as head of customer relations and quality control, and whilst my four were sleeping their heads off at the weekend, she was hard at work amidst the bulbs.

Here she is testing the strength of the bulbs by standing on them...

(whilst possibly singing 'Tipoe, through the tulips...')

Isn't she pretty? (she's also rather dainty - only about the size of Pepper

although Pepper feels heavier (please don't tell her I said that!).

This is her giving advice on bulbs for Autumn planting to David...

... and testing the bulb he chose for freshness with her head

Before settling down for a wash and a well-earned rest...

and finally...

just for Penny,

a photo of her favourite boy

showing what he thinks of any upstart

black and white cat infiltrating his

corner of the web...

For more pawticipants visit Gattina's Cat's on Tuesday.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

2011-09-03T07:33:00.000+01:00

Stairs...
What is this strange obsession I have with feet on stairs?
The top image is an archive shot take at work,
the bottom one was taken at home this week.

Clouds...
My other recent obsession was in trying to get a decent shot
of hay bales. Saw these last Sunday when we were driving
home and yelled 'Stop the car!' to David. A few minutes
spent crawling around the stubble on my knees produced this,
and the clouds were great that day too!
What I could have done with was a REALLY wide angle lens...

Macro...

Two for the price of one...

The top one is Aristotle, the spider who lives

in the Japanese Maple in our garden. Not sure what his

problem was, think he was having a bad web day.

The bottom shot is the bud of a Rudbeckia.

Abstract...

Well, less abstract, more your

berry, reflection, water, ripple type shot,

but I couldn't think of anything else.

Smile...
Mrs Pod saying 'cheeeeeeese'

The Weekend in Black and White...

2011-09-02T07:39:00.001+01:00

Went outside to try my new neutral density filter on the clouds,

but they refused to move!

Ended up with a bit of a 'leaf in birdbath' obsession going on...

The Thursday Challenge...

2011-09-01T07:00:00.001+01:00

Fire...

A SOOC shot

For more participants click here.

Cats on Tuesday...

2011-08-29T22:00:00.000+01:00

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words...

If the shirt fits...

Look at those biceps!

... At this point Charlie got annoyed about the whole thing

and wanted to attack David who was

operating the camera

(that's me behind Charlie trying to mollify him, this obviously failed)

Because Posky was feeling left out he got to model the vest too...

...despite the logo he was actually a very good boy

(and sat there without offering any type of violence to anyone).

... he seemed quite keen on keeping the vest on but

it was beginning to look like a mohair blanket at this point so

was removed for cleaning!

For more cats visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

2011-08-28T06:00:00.001+01:00

Sun...

Well it's sunlight through raindrops on a chive to be precise.

I used the black and white version of this for

The Weekend in Black and White on Friday.

... and just because you can never mention chives

too often - here's another shot of them

with sparkly raindrops.

Music...

One from the archives.

I just couldn't stand the thought of taking

another photo of my guitar!

This pic annoys me each time I look at it - I didn't have

the camera quite straight so have had to straighten and crop it,

and lose the top of the guitar in the process.

Night Photography...
The entrance to Warwick Arts Centre at Warwick University.
I like the coloured lights that play on the front of the building,
but I'm still a sucker for black and white.

Old and New...
This is Sarah, the lovely young lady
who comes and works with us when she's on holiday
from Uni. I stuck my head around the office door and took
her photo (very quickly before she threw a stapler or something at me).
She really doesn't need much help to look good but my photo did.
I cropped it, used a high pass filter, lightened the levels,
gave it a gaussian blue to give a slightly soft focus and then sharpened her eyes.
Not bad for a quick snapshot, but she still might throw a stapler at me
on Tuesday if she sees this!!

To mollify her I'll give her some free advertising.

She's studying Craft and Design at Uni and makes lovely

things in glass - these are some coasters she made.

Cheesy...
Yes it's a cheesy and beany type jacket potato.
I know, I know but I was running out of time...

The Weekend in Black and White...

2011-08-26T06:26:00.000+01:00

Raindrops on a chive...

The Thursday Challenge...

2011-08-25T07:29:00.001+01:00

Blue...

Blue sky...

Cats on Tuesday...

2011-08-23T07:35:00.002+01:00

To show that their next production for 'Drama in the Garden!' is under way, the cats decided to share a few out-takes with you.

Camera Operator: 'Action! I said ACTION!! For the love of ....

would you PLEASE DO SOMETHING!!!'

Pepper: 'Ooh I think I found a truffle'

Posky: 'Is that a buzzard up there?'

Mrs P: 'Zzzzzzz'

Ben (just visible by the shed): 'I could have been doing Chekhov

at the National this year...'

CO: 'CUT!'

CO: 'Now walk away from the camera. No, I said away Mrs P.

Please turn around now.

MIND THE CAMERA!'

CO: 'Very nice Posky, but do you think you could bring your legs with you next time?'

Posky: 'I knew I'd forgotten something...'

CO: 'Charlie, what are you doing? Why have you inflated yourself?

You're supposed to be an evil genius not a helium balloon!'

CO: 'Pepper, walk up to Ben and touch him on the nose...

Now what's up?'

Pepper: 'I'm not acting with him, he said I was a drama queen...'

CO: 'Pepper, I think we're in the wrong location.

Nowhere in the script does it say Pepper tries to push

the ball away from the Foo Dog...'

Pepper: 'Shut up! I'm improvising!'

CO: 'Now look at the plant - that's excellent Charlie!

Oh...'

Charlie: 'You got the focus wrong again didn't you?

You're rubbish!'

fFor more kitties visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

2011-08-21T07:36:00.000+01:00

Busy, busy week... has everyone signed the petition to help the cats in Ireland? Please, please do so if you haven't already. If you want a reason to do it then look at poor little Lorcan's photo (the link to the petition is at the bottom of that page, it only take seconds to sign) - more cats like him are relying on us so please do something to help them today. Thanks.

On to the Scavenger hunt! I admit that this was a quickly cobbled together affair that I did this morning, with Charlie as chief critic and paw-master at my side. I'm not happy with the 'Dotted Line' photo, and had to grab the 'Geometry' one from the archives, but heigh-ho (and I should probably add 'nonny-nonny' there as I'm off to a talk about Jacobean writers at the RSC this morning, hence the rush!).

Geometry...

Geometric window design at Stoneleigh...

I think I was there because of something to do with cars

that David wanted to go to. Probably why I ended up

taking photos of windows!!

Brushstrokes...

This is my dandelion photo from Friday

given a pastel painterly treatment...

Hanging by a Thread...

Cobweb in the rain

(with my acers in the background,

providing the colour.

I love Japanese Maples and now have

five as I got a new one yesterday :O))

Collage...

Same photo as background,

with three more 'rainy day in the garden pics' on top.

I love the rain too.

On the Dotted Line...

Rubbish photo, I think the only

thing I like about it is the hint

of pink in the sky as the sun comes up.
Charlie says it would look better if he were in it.

The Weekend in Black and White...

2011-08-19T07:32:00.003+01:00

Two for the price of one this week. I took these on an early morning walk when the sun was just coming up.

Sunlight and leaves...

Early morning dandelion...

If you'd like to see the colour version of this it's on my Flickr page at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30131137@N06/6048143193/in/photostream

The Thursday Challenge... and a plea

2011-08-18T07:06:00.002+01:00

The Thursday Challenge this week is 'Friends...'. As I obviously don't have any as I'm too busy being a cat-slave, here is a photo of Posky and Pepper, eyeing each other through the catnip.

Not so much friends as fellow drug-fiends actually...

This Thursday Challenge is a bit different to the ones I normally post, it's more of a plea than anything else on behalf of the cats of Ireland. One of the blogs I follow is C'est la vie! wonderfully written by Em, who in her other life helps with the Cork Animal Rescue and fosters kittens. Via her blog I discovered a petition to help get a better deal for the cats in Ireland where they are often treated as vermin and suffer the most appalling neglect and cruelty. If you want to do something to help then PLEASE sign the petition to help get funds made available for a trap/neuter programme and to get the legislation there changed, giving cats the chance of a better life. This link shows a pic of Lorcan, a kitten with a severe eye infection but who was one of the lucky ones - it's not easy to look at but please don't just turn away.

Come on people, it only takes a few seconds to sign the petition, they currently have 719 names on the petition and need 1000, ask friends, family, fellow bloggers, ANYONE, let's make this happen for the sake of the cats.

Charlie says...

'Sign it!

You know it makes sense...'

Cats on Tuesday...

2011-08-16T06:23:00.001+01:00

I must apologise for the lack of cat news last week - this was of course nothing to do with the cats but all to do with me being inept (as Charlie kindly pointed out). There has been quite a lot of badness from the feline four this week - Pepper (possibly still looking for the 'pigeon feather of power') did one of her famous flying leaps at a pigeon but thankfully missed it. Charlie scratched my finger (although that's such a common occurrence it almost counts as affection), and also took a dislike to someone's garden at the rear of ours and growled over the fence at it. But Posky... well, I can hardly believe it myself, but he managed to catch a bird and get into a fight!!! We were all shocked by this as Posky is such a big gentle bear of a cat and has shown no inclination to hunt anything for years (he maintains it was 'a mistake'), nor is he aggressive, so I'm wondering if Little Creep (a bruiser of a cat who lives up the road) jumped on him when he was going for a walk and tried to beat him up. Anyway Posky came home minus collar, quite a bit of fur (good job he's a hairy guy) and limping like Long John Silver. Mrs P has not so much been bad as peeved - we have discovered that the Kelmarsh Panther is in fact called Pod! Mrs P always thought she held the copyright on her name so has been stomping around all weekend yelling a lot.

The cats would also like me to add that they have been working on a few first tentative scenes for their next drama... (Mwahahahahhahahah... as Charlie would say).

Mrs P feels shame at being angry with the Kelmarsh Panther...

Posky feels such shame he disguises himself as a plant...

Pepper feels so much shame she has to
go into a witness protection programme and can only
appear in silhouette...

... although she does recover enough to go for a walk with David... :O)

Charlie says... 'what's shame?!?'

For more kitties visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday