Memories, Dreams and Reflections...

Me...
(and some strange man who hogged the shot and pulled a Moriarty kind of face)

What am I most proud of accomplishing this year?

My first print sold and my first photo shoot booked.

Plus David and I (as Retro Air Photography)

were featured in Tease and Cake magazine

with our photos of the lovely Caroline (aka October Divine).

And on top of that I am mid-way to totally changing my hair colour :O)

I love you...

The husband.
Although because he's a man and therefore
not logical, he has been known to drive me insane. Frequently.
Ask the cats :O)
Top one taken at Sutton Cheney,
lower one taken at Calke Abbey.

Still Laughing... #1

One of the funniest things ever
was when we were at Batsford Arboretum
and Helen pretended to be a zombie
and attack Cath.
Priceless!!!

...#2
Then there was also Cath
showing how easy it is
to fall off a log.

Winter Wonderland...

Taken back in February.

This December we've just had floods

and gales so far.

Birthday...

We went to Stratford

for my birthday in May.

It was hot, damn hot.

(So hot that I wore a dress,

which is remarkable in itself).

Friends...

My posse: Cath and Helen.

What can I say about them that

would do them justice?!?

Helen is quite normal

when she's on her own. 

Cath is obviously a bad influence on us both :O))

I was Inspired... #1

Constantly inspired by my wide angle lens (10-22mm).

Love it to death.

...#2

...and by the fabulous ladies I got to photograph this year.

This is Fiona Harrison.

... and this is Caroline.

Spring Fever...

 A touch of the Wordsworths.

Travel or Vacation...

We went to Cambridge for the first time.

What a lovely city.  It's less than two

hours away by car so I have no

idea why I haven't got to that part of the

UK before! I'm rubbish!

Summer Days... #1

Caroline at Sywell Aerodrome.

... #2

And late summer fields

at Bosworth Battlefield.

A Day in my Life...

Well, I'm usually at work.

And this is what is usually going on.

All Smiles...

Helen goes a bit Disney :O)

Autumn Harvest...

Batsford Arboretum.

Family or Home...

It wouldn't be home without our cats.

Here are David and Charlie taking it easy.
(Possibly just before Charlie indulges
in a moment of violence).

Let's Celebrate...

First print sold, yay!

Plus a company asked to use
this old shot on their Christmas card
and I managed to get £100 out of them
for my local animal shelter.
Double yay!

Let's Do it Again... #1

Yes let's do a tricky

photography set up that means

hours of photo processing for me

and gives me a headache!!!

I Miss You...

My beautiful, beautiful boy Posky.

My little pal for 17 years, I miss him so much.

Beautiful... #1

Deer in Bradgate Park.

#2
Beautiful Batsford again.

Dress Up...

Well it had to be Fiona again
in an 18th C dress.

That woman's wardrobe must
be bigger than my entire house.

Macro...

Busy bee.

Holidays...

Happy bloody Christmas...
I will say no more lest
I raise my blood pressure - but you know who you are!!!

Holidays...

Mrs Pod did Christmas much better than us...

... whilst Charlie was more at home with Halloween.

My Favourite...

I really like this shot.
Surely there must be ONE
book publisher who could
use it for the cover of a Gothic novel?
PLEASE???!

Don't Ever Change...
Well it's got to be Cath and Helen.
Nutters Inc ;O)

Just Because... So There! #1

Argents Mead in November

#2

David and my camera

#3

My boy

#4

Watching the weather at Coventry Airport.

Hopes and Dreams...

What do I want for 2013?

To keep learning and live in the moment.

Thanks for all the comments and fun this year,
have a safe and happy New Year's Eve everyone,
and may 2013 be all that you could wish it to be.
From Barbara, David, Mrs Pod, Charlie and Pepper xx

Show some lurve...

Every week Steph and Becky feature some furry friends at Furry Friday on their splendicious blogs.  

Guess what?  My gang are currently starring there, spreading their own special form of feline insanity further afield.  Go over and cheer them on, you know it makes sense.  After all, would you like Charlie to think you'd let him down?  Mwahahahahahahah....

http://geekinglasses.typepad.com/a-geek-in-glasses/2012/12/furry-fridays-barbara-of-words-words-words.html

Happy Bloody Christmas...

Just to show how the festivities go on and on in our household...

How did I take it?

Two lights to front, one on each side.

Camera on tripod in middle, set to shoot with ten second delay.

Me running backwards and forwards to grab newspaper and get in position.

My hair suffered considerably under that hat.

You Know You're Bored When...

You start taking photos of cake decorations in front of the Christmas Tree for something to do... 

Want to know how to create the heart bokeh?

All you need is a piece of card with a heart shape cut in it (not too big), then hold it or stick it in some way over your lens and using a wide aperture focus on your foreground objects and magically it will turn your background light source into heart shapes.

Easy-peasy...

Merry Christmas...

Hope everyone has the kind of Christmas Day they most enjoy.  Thanks for reading and commenting this year, and thanks to those who have willingly (and sometimes unwillingly) posed for my camera, especially my crazy friends Cath and Helen, and my lovely kitties (who have just snaffled a tin of tuna for Christmas Day breakfast) xx

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

What a week!  Manic at work and we have a rush job on so I'll be working on the 24th and the 27th, I even worked on Friday which was my day off.  Plus David is very poorly with a chest infection and is on antibiotics... was tempted to ask the vet to take a look at him as they always work wonders with the cats.  Anyway... I managed to take a few shots this afternoon whilst cooking some roast tomato and garlic soup for the poorly boy.

Joy...

Does what it says on the tin!

Tangled...

Ho ho ho, what have we here?
It's Charlie up to no good

with some wool.

Silver...

I admit it, this
ornament is actually gold.
I changed the colour temperature
in LightRoom to make it silver.

Guilty Pleasure...

OK I cannot tell a lie,

my guilty pleasure

is asking my friends to do stupid things so that I 

can take photos of them,

(although in Cath's case she doesn't need much encouragement).

She was wearing that beard too until she thought

the reindeer might like to join in!

Angel...

Unlike Cath, Mrs P is very angelic.

Used this pic already this week

but what the heck, she's worth it :O)