Saturday 1 January 2011

Memories, Dreams & Reflections... & ABC Wednesday

Two for the price of one!  This is my post for both ABC Wednesday (in this case Y is for Year in Photos) and also:


The wonderfully talented Ashley Sisk at Ramblings and Photos (click on the link above to go to her blog) hosts the Sunday Scavenger Hunt.  This week is a little different in that it's about looking back over the year and looking forward to the next.  Here's my take on the headings she gave.

Me!
What am I most proud of this year?   Learning to meditate, losing two stones in weight and keeping it off, doing a 10km moonlit walk for charity, not doing things just to please others all the time, and finally beginning to get to grips with my camera!  (Tip: A Gaussian blur does much more for your complexion than L'Oreal ever could - because you're worth it) ;O)))

I Love You...
I was going to put something sentimental for this one, then I thought
damn it, I'm English and proud of being ironic and emotionally repressed!
So here is my new camera, it's a Canon 7D, it's mine, and I love it :O)

 My Favourite
I took this when we were having coffee in Starbucks
after a very cold walk.  I like the tones, the composition and the expression,
this is very David, oh and he's my favourite bloke too...

Still Laughing...
'Let me them eat cake',
says Cath.  And if this shot doesn't make its way
on to her birthday card then I'm a banana.

Winter Wonderland...
Someone said this reminded them of rasberry ice-cream.
Every time I see it now I feel hungry...

Friends...
Me and Posky.  Does this make
me seem like a person nobody but her cats like?
Am I being paranoid?  Possibly yes to both
but what the heck...

I was inspired...
There are some amazing photographers in blogland and on flickr that take my breath away
with their talent and vision.  And I see them and then I become green with envy,
and depressed that I'll never be that good, and then I eat chocolate
and drink too much red wine and it's all just hideous.  Then I get over myself.  Anyway...!
  In this case it was an image in a photography magazine,
which made me think 'I have got to try that...' (I think that's got to be
my longest preamble to the introduction of a photo of a leaf ever).

Spring Fever
Pretty mundane daffodil shot.  It was either
that or get someone to dress up as the Easter Bunny,
and David just wouldn't do it no matter how
much I screamed tried to persuade him.

Travel or Vacation
Lincoln Cathedral taken on a recent trip there...
Note teeny-weeny people in front.

Summer Days...
This isn't the sunniest of pictures (I live in England remember), but it was taken
in August.  Some of my fondest memories of the summer were of
tramping around the countryside with Cath early on Sunday mornings in our quest for fitness
(and a large Starbucks coffee at the end of it).

A Day in my Life...
Since it usually consists of me doing very
boring things in an office, I thought I'd take a photo
of some of the stuff on my desk at work.  (The thought
of the mundanity of what I do has caused a small
cloud of gloom to appear over my head as I type this).

All Smiles...
My cats always make me smile, no that's a lie, when
they wake me up at 4a.m. I'm not usually happy about it.
The majority of the time they make me smile, Mrs Pod represents the
feline four here (if I ever got all four in a photo at once it would
probably look like a scene from Kill Bill).

Autumn Harvest
Taken when we visited Grafton Underwood in Northamptonshire
The good thing about living where we do is we're only a few miles
from the borders with Northants, Warwickshire and Lincolnshire.
It makes getting around pretty easy.  As my friend's (see I do have some...)
husband says 'it's easy to escape from' .



Family
David and Mum J, and of course my cats.
I have half brothers and a half sister but they're
a bit odd, so for the purposes
of this I'll consider myself to be an only child :O)


Celebrate
No it's not the release of yet another box-set edition of Lord of the Rings.
Just because it's 15 years and we're still together...

Let's Do it Again...
Go to the theatre (but don't get me started on ticket prices)
This is a view from the balcony into the foyer at the RSC.


Beautiful
I find many things beautiful, but I do love trees.
(And there's also a pic of George, because well, he just is.
Unfortunately I didn't get to actually take this, it's courtesy
of Google)

Dress Up...
Mrs Pod winner of the Halloween Devil audition

Macro
I have no idea why I have this many
pencils in my desk drawer as I never use them.

Holidays...
Christmas - new camera, new ornament from Lakeland :O)

Don't Ever Change...
We don't always agree but we trust
each other completely, and I love the
way Cath willingly does silly things
in the name of photography, or anything
else for that matter...

Just Because...So There!
I love books :O)



Hopes and Dreams...
Two images for this, the first represents creativity, that's what I want to
work on this year, photography and writing.
  The second is because I want to be awake to the moment,
not fret about the past or worry about the future.  The Buddha, whose teaching
is all about being awakened, is there to remind
me to try and do just that.

47 comments:

Michael Rowland said...

Wow!! Good for you for getting this project done. Great photos, Happy New Year. M

Ruth said...

A truly wonderful post. The photo of D actually made my heart squeeze, because he looks so like Dad. Here's hoping 2011 is all you hope it to be. xx

Barbara said...

This is a wonderful post. Your photography sometimes takes "my" breath away, you have such talent. A guide at Shakespeare's house in Stratford told us we should see Lincoln Cathedral and now I see why. Unfortunately we didn't have time to get there. Well, another trip. I love the spring photo of daffodils, but most of all I love your friend Cathy's face. Happy New Year, Barbara and David.

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

this had me thoroughly captivated....(oh and let's not forget dear George Clooney! lol)

Please do not EVER doubt your talent...you are gifted...the quality of your work, your blog....sheer PERFECTION!!!

I love the new look as well.....
So glad to have found you!

Just a Girl said...

Wow, I love this post Barbara, so many beautiful pictures. I love the new look blog. Happy new year to you xo

Karli @ The Bonnie 5 said...

Barbara, this is fantastic! Way to go for getting it done...it's wonderful. And how fantastic to be able to look back on your year in such a beautiful and artistic way. (And I LOVE the pic you chose for your favorite...looks like an ad in a magazine. His expression is perfect!)

Anonymous said...

Barbara, you are definitely my inspiration now! (Though I thought you were, even before seeing this post!) You have managed to do this last year, what I'm hoping to do in 2011: get to grips with my camera and LOSE TWO STONE! You're wonderful! Thanks for being such a great role model for me!
Penny

Ashley Sisk said...

When I wrote the prompts for MDR, this is exactly what I hoped would happened. I loved ever minute of this post and your photos really inspired me. You've done some incredible work in 2010 and I look forward to seeing what you'll do in 2011.

The Chair Speaks said...

Love your photos!
Love your tip on A Gaussian blur does much more for your complexion than L'Oreal ever could - because you're worth it. LOL! Very true!
Love the big print on your blog that makes it so much easier to read. :)

Buckeroomama said...

I have to say that I enjoyed reading through your captions as much as I enjoyed looking through your wonderful photos! You are funny! In a good way, in a good way. =)

Barbara said...

LOL!! Thank you :O)))

Tezzie said...

Fabulous post...and nearly impossible to pick favourites! The leaves; wow...LOVE the daffodils photo...your office...the pencils...all the gorgeous cat shots (the absolute favourite being the pix on the clothesline phoo!)...yeah, ok, the list goes on :D And, I agree with B'mama about your captions; funny stuff!

Have a happy 2011!

Stephanie Thigpen said...

You are such an amazing photographer! It's so hard to pick even 3 top images, they're all so good!

Barbara said...

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments, I'm always amazed that other people like any photos I take. Penny, I don't think I've ever been an inspiration or a role model for anyone before - it's a bit nerve-wracking :O) Weight loss is a very personal thing, I had to be very focussed and give myself small goals to aim for, I also wrote down what I ate so I couldn't kid myself, and walked, a lot! Am hoping to carry on with it in 2011, we can keep each other company.

Michelle said...

Fantastic shots!! My favourites are the icy berries and the pencils :D

Anonymous said...

These are so great! I love your winter wo9nderland photo. Gorgeous pictures!

Justine said...

I absolutely loved reading your posts below each picture and I could so relate to so many of them, the looking on flickr and thinking everyone is better, the eating too much and drinking too much and all the things about cats, endless similarities apart from the obvious of being English too and paranoid and having odd relatives!! I have the 7D as well, absolutely love it. These really are wonderful photographs and fantastic words, what a great job!

Unknown said...

Love your B&Ws!!

SarahinSC said...

Beautiful photos! I love all of the travel shots.

Nicolasa @ {My}Perspective said...

You are hilarious! How have I never been to your blog before? I loved your photos and I hope that 2011 brings you the creativity you crave and the growth you deserve!

Sonia said...

I love your I was inspired--the light gives the leaves a gorgeous glow.

Happy 2011!

Shannon said...

Gorgeous photos! Happy New Year!

Anika said...

So glad I found your site! This post made me laugh a lot and if I had Posky for a friend I would chose his company for sure-what a cuite!
Lovely photos, that macro is so stunning!

Pam Bowers said...

Great series of shots. I love your humor! The kitties are so cute too.

Seizing My Day said...

Your photography is wonderful... and you have a silly sense of humor!! Your pictures of England are beautiful!! I heart England... I was blessed to attend Capernwray Bible School for 7 months ... many moons ago... =)

Unknown said...

I'm with Ashley - you did some amazing work in 2010! gorgeous shots!

Blessings,
Jill
http://fnaphotography.blogspot.com

Rune Eide said...

You DO put some work into your posts! The word amplifies your very nice pictures and puts it all in perspective. I think my favourite would be the bench in the fog.

And I liked your camera ;-)

Happy New Year!

Mum said...

Loved looking at all you photos and captions. Expecting lots more words and stuff to be seen over the next few months!
I still think that you should consider publishing!!

Unknown said...

Oh My Goodness... Every single photo is wonderful. I love them all.. I just love the photo you took of yourself and your favorite shot I can see why.. Thanks for sharing them with us!

Hugs, Linda

Amy H said...

Thanks for stopping by! I love your leaf picture!

Gattina said...

Wow that was a long post, I liked what you said about photography, I started just for fun with a little camera, now my camera is still little but much better so are my pictures.
I also read about all your cats, you should participate in Cats on Tuesday.

EG CameraGirl said...

Wonderful post! I enjoyed looking back with you. :)

Gigi Ann said...

What a great way to share the Year with us. I really enjoyed looking at your photographs. You are a wonderful photographer.

??? said...

You are a very talented photographer, really gorgeous photos. The first one of David is my favourite, very intense.

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

elegant shots.
eye opening post.

Roger Owen Green said...

What a treasure trove of pics for the year. And I love the comment about being English, dammit!

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Reader Wil said...

Thank you for this interesting and beautiful story of your 2010. Your photos are brilliant!
Have a great and happy new year!

Tumblewords: said...

An absolute delight to read and see the creativity of You!

Kay L. Davies said...

Beautiful photos. I've never seen your work before, and am so glad I stopped by to take a look. More than one look.
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

photowannabe said...

Lovely work. I so enjoyed viewing your pictures and what you had to say about each one. A great year in review. Loved the portrait of David too.

Cheryl said...

So many beautiful images and stories at play.

Thanks for sharing your work with ABC.

♥ Liz ♥ said...

A brilliant set of photos. I loved the little captions for each one. The one of David, although quite scary, is a great shot.

Barbara said...

David is quite scarey. Throw him a cookie and he's fine :O)

Cezar and Léia said...

oh girl...this post is pure inspiration, you have a blessed talent and I'm delighted here with your words and pictures ( by the way you have lovely eyes, you are beautiful).Thanks so much for this post, I think I will be here a little bit more enjoying your ideas and pictures, in fact...I don't want go away! :)
Hugs
Léia

Yoshi said...

I agree with most of them who commented that you are talented photographer and I could enjoy reading and seeing your photos taken in 2010!! I could see you in colors, too!!!
Thanks for sharing and have a fantastic day.
"Y"oshi from Japan.

Unknown said...

Some lovely photos in there! I love the leaves and the snow covered berries. Oh and the parchment with the pen! I too adore books.

Jay said...

I loved this post! The portrait you took of your David is just lovely - what a handsome man he is. Can easily give George a run for his money! ;)

Love the cat pics (it's dogs for me since I became allergic to cats *Sigh*) and the RSC shot - and also the leaf shots. And yes, Lakeland do some great Christmas stuff, don't they? We have just taken our decorations down and heaved a thankful sigh of relief for their pretty card hangers which make it all so simple.

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