Enjoy a warming drink to keep away the chill
Listen to street music
Start decorating
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“One can never have enough socks,” said Dumbledore. “Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
As far as I’m concerned you can never have enough socks or books ……
What I’m listening to
Check out my Slate story
This week I almost decided to ditch my blog, I’ve been very lacklustre for the past six months about keeping it up. A number of things have made me feel this way
The doldrums isn’t that a great word ? The dictionary gives this definition
Well that has been me. I suppose I’m looking for a reason to blog, a goal or maybe a theme.
Maybe just to showcase photographs ?
To add quotes or wise words ?
“Align yourself with people that you can learn from, people who want more out of life, people who are stretching and searching and seeking some higher ground in life.”
— Les Brown
Maybe a link up ? I really miss Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesdays and Friday Finds….
Then there is the fear that if I did a link up would anyone bother to link ….
So what do you think ? Would you join me in a link up ? Would you like a theme ?
Maybe this might be the answer, Adobe Slate. Although it doesn’t have a social element you can embed in your blog or send a link to it via Facebook and Twitter but you can’t comment and if you do ‘Appreciate’ the author can’t see you liked it ….
So let me know via comments or email…..
This week I have been using my iPhone even more than usual to document my days. It’s always with me, it makes me think about limitations and how to get around those problems.
Close shot using Snapseed and adding lens blur, taken at Trill Farm
Of course the days of low megapixel camera phones have gone and retro photography is all the rage, adding leaks, deliberately fading and adding lomo effects all add to the fun.
Using VSCO and adding fade highlights and shadow colours. Taken in Vivary Park
It’s making people take photos again, documenting lives and making memories. I’m all for that, as a historian it warms my heart. But on the other side what worries me is that so many people don’t bother to take their precious images off their phone, they sit there never being printed or saved and one day pouf…. they will be gone when the phone crashes or the phone gets damaged. Although i’m a disorganised and untidy human being ( my husband will testify to that ) but as far as photo organisation goes I am a fiend. I don’t keep my photos on my phone for long they are saved to my Lightroom catalogue under year and month, they have their own key words and monthly they are backed up onto an external hard drive. I know I know you are thinking that is overkill but I don’t expect everyone else to be quite so picky as me !
Taken using ProCamera tweaked in Lightroom
So if you know someone who has a phone and their life is documented on it please help them to take those photos off and save them and think of all those wonderful memories you have saved….
I’ve just finished the wonderful Anna Aspnes’ AnnaBlendzLive class it was fabulous I learnt so much….
Have a great week ……
“Autumn is the hardest season. The leaves are all falling, and they’re falling like
they’re falling in love with the ground.”
―Andrea Gibson
As Summer said goodbye we had one last week of glorious days. Of warm, gentle, blue sky days. Time to get out and collect as many images as possible, I’m like a squirrel hoarding photos to play with during those cold drear days of Winter.
The roses made a final showing
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The light was soft and dreamy in the shade
And it was still warm enough to sit outside
I played with some still life
And finally a little bit of Autumn colour…
My first Autumn layout, supplies by Anna Aspnes.
Have a wonderful weekend. I start my online course next week with Anna Aspnes A course on blending and artsy digital art you can check it out HERE
‘The man with the greatest originality of thought and power of execution, bold in his plans but right’.
Daniel Gooch, 1859
Now both our children leave in Bristol we seem to be spending a lot of our leisure time driving up the motorway ! It’s no hardship as the city has everything a photographer could want or need.
It has some wonderful green areas. This is the beginning of what is known as The. Downs, but Bristol has so many green spots and vantage points.
The wonderful Clifton Suspension Bridge designed by the great Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. it spans the Avon Gorge and took 33 years to build. Brunel was a great engineer, a visionary, a man willing to take chances. In 2002 the BBC ran a programme called 100 Greatest Britons, Brunel was second, only Winston Churchill beat him and William Shakespeare was fourth ! If you want to learn more here is a link about the history.
On a beautiful Autumn day you can’t beat the view.
The area known as Clifton is considered the most desirable, elegant and upmarket with lots of classy, independent shops.
It has the Clifton Arcade which is full of little independents one off shops.
And finally one of the many scrapbook pages I have created about this wonderful city. Supplies by Anna Aspnes.
I’m a day behind but no worries !
Supplies Anna Aspnes and Jen Maddocks
Recently I have discovered that I like monthly prompts, my concentration and boredom levels kick in about week 4 so this seems to be the perfect length .
August Break 2015 Day 6 Notebook
I have just finished August break with Susannah Conway and now I am joining up with toris_tales for her #talesofseptember. Instagram has become my favourite way of communicating it is clean, quick and friendly.
For September I am revisiting 31 Things by Ali Edwards, I’m using her prompts to create an image, art piece or maybe a quote. I hope to document daily here on my blog, which I have so neglected recently. I realise that blogging daily could be a bit of a challenge but I am not going to beat myself up about it, I’m just going to enjoy the process…
So onto Day 1 the prompt is jewellery. This is my take on the prompt .
The supplies are by Anna Aspnes for those interested I used ArtPlay Palette Everyday, FotoblendzOverlays no6_2
“Jewellery holds memories, of occasions, of holidays and milestones.
But to me the best jewellery is nature’s bounty.. Raindrops sparkling like diamonds, the sun blazing through the trees on a winter morning changes colour into emeralds and rubies. The bright blue sea shows sapphire glinting under the sun.”
Tell me about your jewellery what memories does it hold for you ?
What I’m listening to – Mandolin Orange HERE I love their style.
For ages i’ve been keeping my eye on the field a few houses down the road. It’s a large field that often lies fallow, some years it has had rape growing and some years just weedy stuff. This year it has wheat or barley I’m not sure which and I have discovered that I love this field
The texture and colour.
The way it rustles and moves.
I just want to pick an ear and pull all of it off the stem and watch it fly in the breeze.
This field goes on and on and you can see the Quantock Hills in the distance. My village has one foot in the town and one in the country, just how I like it.
“Oats. A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.”
― Samuel JohnsonP.S. I know it’s not oats but I loved the quote !
I think we’ve been so successfully seduced by the technology and technique – the HOW – that we’ve forgotten our vision or intent – the WHY. We didn’t mean to, of course we didn’t. But if the art of photography lies where craft and vision converge, then it’s probably because we’ve all been so caught up in the maddening learning curve of the craft that we’ve neglected the vision. David DuChemin
Oh my goodness this is me, technology and a head full of ‘stuff’. Bits from classes, a bit here a bit there. I’m going back to basics a sort of downsize. I have my wonderful new camera. all the hardware and software I could possibly need. So back to basics using IG, my blog and of course Facebook. Lets see how I do.
Early morning, it had been raining. In my garden just before the boundary. Panasonic FZ1000, 1/80 at f 4.0, focal length 146mm, ISO 250.
In the morning in the sunroom. Panasonic FZ1000, 1/1000 at f 3.2, focal length 15.26 mm, ISO 200.
Supplies by Anna Aspnes, Mini Palette Cherish, ArtPlay Palette Explore and Downtown.
This last weekend Mark and I visited Bristol Harbour Festival a free event that happens every year and brings thousands to the city. As Bristol is the European green capital for 2015 there was more emphasis on the environment.
There was a magnificent whale constructed from plastic bottles and recycled rubbish.
This busker was performing just next to the bridge.
Just because you are in a city doesn’t mean it can’t be colourful !
Plenty of paths around the harbour….
So much to look at plenty of boats and trains outside the museum.
Even a naval training ship.
Some great places to eat.
Herbs can be grown anywhere…
Even new apartments can be made artful !
Then the rest of the afternoon spent drinking coffee, eating cake and listening to wonderful music..
Summer in the city nothing better.
