365 to 42

Could you imagine a better spot to spend a sunny afternoon, you could just sit here and watch the world go by. Having a house that backs on to the canal myself (although from 3 fields away) I can appreciate how great it must be to have the canal at the bottom of your garden, for us seeing the first boats moored up in the spring is a definite sign that the winter has ended and from then on it’s an ever changing scene of boats and people until the autumn. Having your own mooring and boat, even one this small, must be fantastic, imagine a late summer evening, your friends sitting on the dock and sausages cooking on the barbecue, and a bag of beers cooling in the canal. ---------------- Now playing: Fatboy Slim - Right Here, Right Now via FoxyTunes

Aside from the natural beauty of the canal the boat's provide their own splash of colour, these boats range in size and shape from the very small, very neat barges, to the large and cluttered narrow boats, each has its own little quirks and character. These usually reflect the character of the owners of the boat, be it the smooth corporate look of the rented holiday boat, all gleaming paint and sparkling brass work, or the much loved weekend boat, all bedecked in nick-knacks and accessories, or the floating home, all rigged out with the day to day necessities like generators and fire wood. Every boat has those little touches that make it unique, the way the rope is stored, the design of the paint work, the flowers on its roof, all showing the amount of love that the boat has lavished on it. Take this one for example, it nearly has as many plants in the bow as I have in my garden, in fact it is a mini garden, complete with tomatoes and wind chimes. ---------------- Now playing: Iggy...

Do you think that in 200 years time people will be walking down the sides of motorways enjoying the peace and quite of the countryside? I’m sure that 200 years ago people (if they had the time) would have thought it highly unlikely that people would be doing that on the side of the newly opened canals. Completed in 1779 the Caldon canal was the super highway of its day, carrying Limestone from Caldon Low quarry to the main Trent and Mersey canal. Today it is a place of quite reflection, used only as recreational water way. Today the picture reflects the mix of old and new, a water can on the roof of a modern barge, painted in a manner that echoes back to the old days. ---------------- Now playing: Inxs - Dont Change via FoxyTunes

Blog of note, it’s been 3 days and I’ve still got a silly grin on my face, but has it made a difference? Well I still have to open my own doors; it hasn’t gotten me out of doing the washing up and no groupies (yet). But the number of visitors to the blog has gone up around 150 times, from around 25 to 30 a day to 3500 +, comments have also increased but by not as much. The pressure to do better has gone through the roof, which is the reason I started this in the first place, to take better and more diverse pictures. So this week a set of picture from around the local canal, this one was a bit of a surprise, I’d focused up on the boat when just as I’m about to take the shot, up pops the dog, I’ve called it the captain. ---------------- Now playing: Jona Lewie - You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties via FoxyTunes

Weekends can be murder, well this one was, we held a murder mystery party on Saturday night, 6 guests, Caz and me, sat down to dinner in a collection of strange costumes, try to look like we were in a 1900s Paris hotel. I wore a dinner jacket and bow tie and was by far the smartest (and hottest) person there, but was well beaten in the costume stakes by most of them. All of this taking place on the warmest night of the year so far. The whole night was great fun and I would recommend having ago if you can find enough people willing to get into the sprit of things. That’s all for today, but tomorrow I will give you an insight in to the effects that being blog of note have had on my little piece of the internet. The picture is of Sandra and Caz in full costume and character, I’ve given the image (or tried to) a turn of the last century feel, I hope. ---------------- Now playing: Claude Debussy - Claire De Lune via FoxyTunes

You known how it is, you’ve loads to do and not much time, but with a little luck and a bit of careful planning and you can fit it all in and than someone makes you BLOG OF NOTE!!!!!! WOW, Arghhhhhhhhhh!. From around 25 readers to 3451 by the end of the day, and what a post to have on the blog, I nearly did not write it, it was very personal and maybe too private to share, but I known that there are others, like me, out there and thought that if it just helped one person it made the risk worth while, well its shared now. Now this is pressure, writing knowing that lots of people will read this, do I make a grand statement, do I get stage fright and dry up, no I’ll just babble on as I always do, it’s worked so far. First, Blog of note people, thank you, this really means a lot to me, I’ve read most of the blogs of notes since I started blogging and feel stunned to be in their company. Next, if you’re reading this blog for the first time, welcome, make your self at home, there’s ...

Have you ever put something off, that you really should have done, I have, getting assessed for dyslexia. Nearly my whole life I have had problems spelling, and have done every thing to avoid getting tested, why, because I was scared that I would not have it and be told I was just thick or lazy. Well yesterday I got tested, and the results surprised me. First I was informed that my reading ability was good to high, next I was informed that I have an IQ of over 120 (140 and over Genius or near genius 120-140 Very superior intelligence 110-120 Superior intelligence 90-110 Normal or average intelligence 80-90 Dullness 70-80 Borderline deficiency Below 70 Definite feeble-mindedness 70-80 Borderline deficiency 50-69 Moron 20-49 Imbecile below 20 Idiot.) They have changed the lower classification for a more PC wording but this is the original. Lastly I was informed that I am Dyslexic and my writing and spelling were well below what my intelligence suggested (that why it takes me forever...

When did you last change your wall paper? No not in your room, on your computer, you known the picture that sits behind everything else, was it last week, last month, or is it still what the computer came with? With me it was less than 10 minuets ago and that will be true for as long as I’m on the pc. The reason my view keeps changing is that I use a program called Johns Background Switcher , one of the best free programs I’ve ever down loaded. It’s simple to use, load the program, point it to the photos you want, you can specify which pictures to choose from: Individual pictures on your computer. Folders containing pictures on your computer such as ‘My Pictures’. Flickr photo sharing - selecting pictures by person, tags, sets or just plain random. You never know what you’re going to get next! Phanfare web albums - keep up to date with your friends and family. smugmug photo galleries - yours, your friends, anybody’s! Picasa Web Albums - choose from ...

Now meet the happy couple, this shot was taken from inside the church as the photographer was taking a shot from the outside, this is the sort of shot that just would never be taken by the official photographer, but gives a lovely feel, as though they are looking towards their new life together. All my shots on the day were taken with a 70-300 zoom, which meant that I could take some candid portraits of people with out them being aware of it , giving a more natural look, also making for lots of blurred shot, strange faces and obscured images, that why I took loads of shots. ---------------- Now playing: Dinah Washington - What A Difference A Day Made via FoxyTunes

Meet Louise, the bride, I have to say that the picture just does not do her justice, there was a glow about her that I think would be impossible to capture in a photograph. Another reason I don’t do wedding photos, sometimes there’s more to a photo than you can contain in a frame. Louise smiled, from the moment she climbed out of the car to my last sight of her as we left the party, she smiled, not the pasted on look you see on some brides, but the smile of true happiness. The only time she was not smiling was when she was laughing; she just drifted through the day in a glowing bubble of joy. You just cannot capture that with a camera, the pictures are just a aid to the memory of a wonderful day. ---------------- Now playing: Republica - Drop Dead Gorgeous via FoxyTunes

As a photographer I get asked a number of times a year to take wedding photographs, the main reason being that its one of the few times people have to pay the going rate and realise just how expensive photographers are. I always refuse. What I will do if I’m invited to the wedding is take informal snaps, that compliment the main photos with out replacing them.. I really do not fancy the responsibility of taking the main role, it just is not my type of photography. Having said all that the wedding on Saturday was great, the bride was beautiful, the weather perfect and I took nearly 700 shots. Yesterday I started the task of sorting the shots out, removing the bad ones and processing the best for the bride and groom, in the first pass I binned 600 shots and am now working through the remainder. The first thing I’ve notice is that the images of the bride need treating totally differently to how I normally work, I normally go for strong punchy shots with lots of contrast and strong blacks ...

Wedding quotes for today as I spent a fantastic day at two very good friends wedding yesterday "To keep your marriage brimming, with love in the wedding cup, whenever you're wrong, admit it; whenever you're right, shut up." Ogden Nash “Marriage requires a person to prepare 4 types of "Rings": Engagement Ring Wedding Ring, Suffering, Enduring” “Every mother generally hopes that her daughter will snag a better husband than she managed to do...but she's certain that her boy will never get as great a wife as his father did”. “Two souls with but a single thought, Two hearts that beat as one”. -Friedrich Halm Photo of another mystery owl. ---------------- Now playing: The Beatles - All You Need Is Love via FoxyTunes

I hate computer viruses, the one that had infected my pc was called winspyware and pretended to be a warning about spyware on my pc, recommending me to buy a removal program costing $160, made according to a number of sites by the maker of the virus. All the time I was on line pop ups and warning kept flashing to try to make me buy the software. After scanning with 3 spyware removal programs (all free of the net) I’ve finally got my pc back. One whole day with out my pc, still it could have been worst, I’ve still got all my photos and data. Here is a link to the site I got the two removal programs from just in case any of you suffer the same thing, http://www.computing.net/answers/security/winspyware-getting-rid-of/22902.html Any other ideas for free spyware removal greatly accepted. Today photo is of boats on Rutland water, I just loved the graphic pattern and subtle color. ---------------- Now playing: Alisha's Attic - White Room via FoxyTunes

Very short post as my computer has got a virus and I need to fix it, thanks for yesterdays comments I knew it was not just me. Today’s photo is of an owl but as there were 200 at the center I have no clue as to what sort, so I’ll call it Fred. ---------------- Now playing: INXS - Mystify via FoxyTunes

A brief mention of corsets and people flood to the site, what does that say about the internet? On the model front, talks are progressing, the major drawback for me is that as a photographer I’m not very creative, I can see a good shot out of a scene in front of me, but I have great difficulty in manufacturing a photo in my head and then creating it. So beautiful model, fantastic clothes, but until I get it all together and start shooting I’m not sure how it will turn out. Now a small rant, women who drive 4x4’s and people carries, I known that may include some of you and obviously this is not aimed at you, I’m sure you know just how wide you are (the vehicle that is) and that you can reverse in a strait line or round a corner (which ever is needed at the time, not just what happens when you hit the gas). I have to drive round our small town during the day, when the women that lunch are about, and i am forever getting delayed by their inability to fit their vehicle through gaps or in...

How do you approach a beautiful girl, no I’m not asking for dating tips, this is a rhetorical question regarding approaching someone to model for you. As I’ve said before we have had no formal portraits on here yet and I’ve been casting my eye around looking for someone to photograph, and I’ve found her! But how do you approach a girl you’ve never spoken too and ask can I take your picture, without it sounding like, I’m a pervert, can I take your picture in you underwear or less (end the statement with a manic chuckle and some drooling). Well after weeks of hesitation I finally plucked up the courage. To set the scene, this girl has flame red hair, is tall, strikingly beautiful and works not too many desks away from me, I learned her name and yesterday as she was passing I approached her and introduced myself and just said something like I’m a photographer and would like her to model for me ( no chuckle or drooling or mention of underwear and trusting that she would not start screaming...

Spent the first part of the day surfing some of my favourite blogs, it still amazes me how good the writing is across lots of very differing styles, one blog in particular need a mention, Big Blue Barn West , the life story so far of its writer, do not read this if you cannot handle your emotions, it can really get to you, but in a very good way. As for my writing, well I think its improving (a bit). Today’s photo was taken at the Rutland Falconry & Owl Centre , a fantastic place which is miles away from the more formal zoo’s and game parks, giving you a chance to see the birds really close up. From talking to the owner it seems that a lot of the animals are rescued or saved from other collections, for some a real last chance at life. More picture from here later in the week. ---------------- Now playing: Blondie - Rapture via FoxyTunes

I’ve been away for the weekend, back down to sunny Rutland and contrary to popular opinion that was not a sarcastic comment, it really was sunny! For the first time in what seems weeks we had hot sunshine, I even had shorts on, in public, in England , in July!! The best way to describe where we stayed would be to say Midsummer, with out the murders. The 2 days really helped to recharge my batteries, Sandra, Trevor and Sam doing everything possible to make it the perfect weekend, I even got to spend the afternoon flying my kite, with the only interruption being Sandra coming out with Coke and cookies (and a ½ bottle of Vodka), a great way to spend a sunny afternoon. The following afternoon was spent just yards from her garden gate watching the village cricket team, again interrupted by Sandra bringing out home made hot chocolate brownie and home made chocolate ice cream (brownie by Trevor and ice cream by Caz). The photo was taken when I managed to tear myself away from the food, a per...

"Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends." - Richard Bach ---------------- Now playing: Adam and the Ants - Dog Eat Dog via FoxyTunes

A very quick post for today, a shot of Kep as he has not appeared for some time and was feeling left out. Hopefully spending the day taking photos as this weather has almost put a stop to it of late. ---------------- Now playing: Sugababes - Stronger via FoxyTunes

Yesterday’s computer woes carried over to my pc at work which refused to open any spreadsheets for me, then the woes followed me home and turned my firewall over zealous, which stopped all communication with the net! Things look brighter this morning, just in time for my 150 th post, yes 150 th ! I cannot believe I’ve made it this far, so time for some thankyou’s. First D in D & T from Athens [Perspective], without your help the picture would have stayed very small; you really made a BIG contribution to the blog. Secondly, Suburbia, babooshka , girl with the mask and Marjolein, ladies your comments keep me going and your blogs make me strive to get better. Last but definitely not least, Carolyn, you put up with a lot and only complain enough to keep me on my toes, without you none of this would be worth anything. Today’s picture is another Bee shot, because I’ve been a busy Bee working on a post for the other blog . ---------------- Now playing: The Cult - Spiritwalker via Fox...

"The best-laid plans of mice and men/often go awry," as they say and that’s what todays been like. First the computer resets my Firefox back to the year zero, no bookmarks, no home page, no nothing! Then when I finally manage to reset it all Photobucket decides to shut down so I can not post any pictures. Still all that’s behind me, I hope, so on with the post. Today’s picture is another one comprised of 5 photos joined together, why and how I hear you cry, well some of you. The why I will cover here, the how on my other blog. Why go to the trouble of joining pictures together, well it would be easier to use a wide lens to fit it all in, but some time it is just not possible to capture the whole scene in one shot, also with a wide lens the image will only be one frames worth of data and if it’s a big scene with lots of detail, this might not be good enough. Take this shot on a wide lens it would be 10mb in size, but joined together it is 29mb, or put it another way the 35cm...

Well after yesterday excitement I will write what I was going to write yesterday, today. There was a piece on TV about a study that had been done that came to the conclusion that children could identify aliens more often than they could our native wild life, it said that faced with a picture of a magpie and a picture of a Dalek, more children could identify the Dalek . What crap, this proves nothing, if you asked what’s this, and shows them the magpie, and they say, “It’s a bird” then that right, unless you want the child to tell you what make and type of Dalek it is, then you could expect them to categories the type of bird as well. These sort of stupid studies that grab the newspapers attention really wind me up, nearly as much as the news programs that take a very one sided view of consumer issues, all call centers are bad, all banks hate their customers, all door to door sellers are the devil incarnate, crap, crap, crap (although the one about the door to door sellers might be righ...

I try to write my blog first thing every day, or else it haunts me until I’ve written it, so this morning while having my breakfast (coffee) I was thinking what to write, idea sorted I logged on to find I had been given my first award!! Even better it has come from one of my favorite blogs, daily photo isle of man , thank you very much Babooshka. Along with the award are the instructions to pass it on, so here they are along with my nominations 1. You have to pick five blogs that you consider ‘deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and which contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language they are in’. 2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone. 3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given him/her the award itself. 4. The award winner and the one who has given the prize has to show the Arte y Pico blog so that e...

What a Sunday, spent the whole day with my wife, watched a Brit win the British GP, and stayed out of the rain for most of the day. Didn’t Lewis Hamilton do great, he seemed to be racing on a different track to the rest of the field, but it was so stressful just waiting for him to make that slight error that would have ended his day, something that Schumacher never gave you the feeling of doing. Another part of the weekend was spent sorting out the greenhouse and some of the garden; I’ve been growing veg in the green house for around 5 years and find it a great way to get away from it all, coupled with the free food, well free-ish food. Carolyn’s family that had their own vegetable garden and Carolyn finds my amazement that thing can be grown from seeds and then be eaten quite amusing, but I have never grown anything before and find it so satisfying to eat stuff that I’ve planted. This years new toy is a water butt and I cannot believe how much free water we can get, inspired by th...

Sundays quote, “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” Dr Seuss Picture today is of the tree that I am photographing every few months from the same spot. ---------------- Now playing: Moby - Natural Blues via FoxyTunes

It’s raining, raining, raining, raining. I spend the whole week stuck in an office (with some nice people), (who may read this due to Facebook) and it sunny and dry, then come Saturday it chucks it down! Still it’s a good time to sort out stuff around the house and get the shopping done. I had a couple of questions about how I join photos together, the short answer is Photoshop, but I will do a piece on my other blog soon taking a closer look at how it’s done. Today’s photo is of what I was looking at just 2 weeks ago today, a group of slightly over weight Germans, throwing themselves of a mountain, great entertainment. Just check out that blue sky. ---------------- Now playing: The Wedding Present - U.F.O. via FoxyTunes

Having to post a picture every day (this is photo 143) does mean that my creativity is stretched to breaking point, which was the whole point. Take today’s image, it’s something we see every day, but looked at on its own and outside of it usual contexts, it does create a striking image. That is one of the tricks of photography; the ability to “see” an image and it’s the hardest one to learn or teach. The first thing I notice when I started to learn about photography was that I really started to look at the world, by that I mean I really started to notice colour and shape and the way things were framed by other things, photos started to appear before my eyes, almost like I was walking around with a frame in my hand and holding it up to view the world before me. One aspect of this that almost gets me into trouble is that I find myself staring at pretty girls, I known that I did that before I started taking photos, but now its girls that I might not find attractive, but find photogenic, b...

I touch the top of mountains; it’s not to say “I’ve conquered” them, it’s more to prove to myself that I’ve climbed them, that I’ve actually been there, as if walking up a mountain for 3 hour isn’t already enough proof that. I think it’s a basic human need, the physical touch, a sensual connection, that one moment that defines the whole experience. We are all alone in the dark, we all need, sometimes, proof that there is something more then just us, we need that moment of contact and for me during the last few day I’ve got my fix through Facebook . I started it a bit of a sideline, something to help publicize the blog and my photos, but over the last couple of days it has come to provide that touch, that proof that I’m not alone, it’s strange because I see a lot of the people at work every day, but to get a note in my email saying “such and such is now your friend” is slightly different(or quite sad) and it’s not that I feel depressed or as alone as I have at other times in my life, I ...

Moved teams at work, and although I miss the old team (well some of them) it quite exciting having to get to know new people, well when I say new that only accounts for a couple of them, the others have been in the same department as me for some time, but due to the nature of the work I’ve just not got to know them as well as I should. As I have said it’s exciting, but I hate change, I get very stuck in my ways and really dislike having my cosy little world shaken up, especially for no apparent reason, but still you take the money and put up with it. On a lighter note Caz is back from London in one piece and is putting right all the damage caused by me and Keps bachelor lifestyle yesterday, it’s great to be under the thumb again. An arty photo for today, I just love the graphic nature of the shot and think it works well in black and white. These wood piles were around all the houses in Bohinj and give you the impression that the winters will be long and cold. ---------------- Now pla...

Caz has been away for the night again and against my better judgement Kep persuaded me that another lads night in was on the cards, so a takeaway, much beer and a bottle of wine later, I realise that I was right and he was wrong, you just cannot trust a dog judgement in these things. So as I sit here nursing my cup of coffee I’ll apologise for yesterdays title, “The new Doctor Who is”, I was stuck for a title so chose what was on my mind, hoping that I might get an answer, but no luck. For people who don’t know what I’m going on about here’s a link to a Dr Who site or two . I’ve got a new friend on Facebook , and to celebrate I have put a link to a slide show on my Photobucket page, this shows picture's that have been use on this blog since I “went large” with the pictures, I will try to do a bit more work on it today, but I’m still a bit of a virgin on it! Blogging seems much easier. Today’s picture was taken while we were delayed at Salzburg airport, if you find you are del...