Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

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

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

 

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...

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...

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...

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

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)