# 30: Here come the girls

I visited Croots Farm this afternoon with Jodie, she likes to fuss the shire horses, I like to take a few photos (really? ...no kidding!) and we both like a cake in the tea shop. I was surprised to see the sheep coming up the track - they had come across the field and I realised they just duck under the lower fence rail - that's why there's lots of wool caught on it, they just ducked under and kept on coming! Then I pointed the camera at them and they stopped - was it the sound of the shutter or were they just waiting for the rest of the girls to catch up?!

# 29: Brightly Coloured

It may have become obvious by now that I like to photograph details; shallow depth of field is my favourite creative device. The light was catching this set of Puffy Paints that Jodie had for Christmas. Once applied to paper or fabric and left a couple of hours to dry, using a hair drier is supposed to make the paint puff up. No doubt a close up shot of the successful results will appear here at some point!

# 28: The fridge...

...the whole fridge and nothing but the fridge! Is this a cool shot or what? (Sorry! lol!)

A group of lovely ladies I know via a yahoo egroup have a project going on facebook, 52 Fridays. It was suggested because its less of a commitment than a 365 (which some have tried to do but not made it, and others are having another go at). Themes have been put forward for each week. This week was in your fridge or from your fridge. This was a perfect excuse to finally have a play with a cable I bought for using my flash off camera. The flash is in the bottom at the back behind the milk, and I had to remove quite a few things on higher shelves to allow the light to pass through to illuminate the 'ceiling' of the fridge. I turned off the fridge's own light, and I've put the image through a topaz filter in Ps. I love it... I think its cool.... ;0)

# 27: Blue Glow

I was upgraded today... or rather, my machine was upgraded. Its very fast, very quiet, and glows in the dark. Cool...

# 26: Memo board @ 4.26pm

Time to draw on the memo board.

The memo board was a bargain - it was free! I ordered two in a clearance sale and when they arrived not only were they different from the photograph that appeared on the website, they were both damaged. I emailed with a screengrab of what I was expecting, and a photo of what I got, with detailed images of the damage, and as they were the very last two, and could not be replaced, I had a full refund. :0)

I wouldn't be without it now for keeping vouchers, coupons, stamps, school letters, lists etc., off the kitchen worktops and all in one place, and the chalk board is handy for household and domestic To Do reminders and ... drawing, obviously! The second one we didn't actually use in the end, so I need to gift it to a friend. 

# 25: Rose

I was given some roses by our neighbour as a thank you. They are deep red and white, but more cream than white. Roses are one of my favourite flowers, but not the favourite. I think over the last couple of years I must have photographed all the flowers I've been given! But here is a first - to render them in black and white.

# 24: Attaining goals

I have had two specific goals in mind as I have grown as a photographer over the last couple of years. I am pursuing Licentiateship of the Royal Photographic Society, and I became an affiliated photographer for nilmdts last year. Today I have received the application form for the former, to be assessed at Focus in March; and I also met with my first nilmdts.org 'client'. She is expecting a baby with a chromosome disorder who is likely to be born still and if not, is not expected to live. Another step nearer to fruition. See 96/365 for my reasons for becoming involved with nilmdts.

# 23: Icons

Inspiration a tad thin on the ground today I admit, but I've had a busy day, so here's a funky treatment of something near to me... can you tell what it is yet? (I do like to shoot something ordinary and then see how I can jazz it up some!) I used picnik for the first time :0) Promise something better for tomorrow, honest!

# 22: Highly Strung

One of the five halogen lamps that illuminate my workroom from tensioned cables.

And here is the Russian Christmas ornament I mentioned in yesterday's post, in all its rich colourful glory - couldn't resist posting it, in contrast to the b/w images above and below. The camera doesn't do the golden minaret justice.

# 21: Workroom Reflected

My workroom is almost back to normal. It's also the room where my children use the family computer. This is the desk lamp over that machine: in the reflection you can see Jodie working on her 'pony club' activities (she has a few friends round regularly for all sorts of crafty things with an equestrian theme!) and me behind her. We have halogen lights across the room corner to corner on tensioned cables; a large silk-screen printed wall-hanging on the chimney breast, lots of shelf and cupboard space. On the shelf beyond the lamp is a Russian Christmas ornament, and a photo of Oliver in his Russian uniform. 

Today has been a productive day now it's almost back to normal!

I want to shoot more b/w. So here's a start. Converted in Ps using Nik Color Efex Pro 3.

# 20: Feline humour?

I must have missed the joke ;0) ...perhaps while I was shooting this:

The winter morning sun catching last year's clematis stems.

# 19: Red Lion

I killed some time in Ripley's Market Place, waiting for the Town Hall to open (not until 10am on a Wednesday for staff training). It was a crisp winter morning with a vast blue sky, hardly any cloud, but lots of plane-trails. I like how all the leading lines in this shot take you to the mosaic on the pub, the Red Lion, and no leaves on the trees means you can see their structure, and birds' nests (below right).

Later more plane-trails and wispy clouds were sent beautiful pastel pinks as the sun set, but I didn't want to blog two sunsets in a row The shot below is pretty much SOOC, apart from cloning a distracting rooftop out, I couldn't improve upon Mother Nature :0).

# 18: Fire in the Sky

A beautiful winter sunset tonight began with delicate pink and mauve and as the sun dropped below the horizon, the flame colours really got going.

# 17: Macro mystery

I love it when a blog shot presents itself in the course of the day, and I hope I can make an interesting image from something in ordinary everyday life. This isn't an everyday thing, but comes about in most households from time to time. Answers on a post card please, except from BJT who knows already ;0)

I can't decide whether I prefer the colour or b/w version. The colour one is a little desaturated. Taken with the 105.

# 16: The Winning Shot

Hustler of tomorrow? After a wonderful Sunday lunch at DM's house (no - not DangerMouse!) Jodie had some pool lessons. (Dad helped - you can see his thumb, and his hand is at this end of the cue out of shot.)

Later... Jodie was engrossed in her DS game, and I love how the DS illuminates her face. I have enhanced this effect in Ps. She's so beautiful :0)

Taken at high ISO with 24-70mm, noise reduction with Topaz plug-in for Ps, plus blur vignette etc etc from Nik Color Efex Pro 3 ... :0)

# 15: Jamie Oliver? No, just Oliver!

Oliver recently watched 'Toast'* and was inspired to grab a cook book with a view to doing some cooking. By the next morning the inspiration had left him, but having been invited to a friend's house, all of us, for a Sunday dinner tomorrow, he decided we should contribute a dessert and jumped onto the www to find a chocolatey recipe that also suited what might already be in the pantry. So today we baked!

I learn from my children on a regular basis, especially from Oliver whose passion for historical fact knows no bounds. Today the valuable lesson was: in future, only agree to bake with one child, or the other, and not both! The bickering!!!

These were iphone grabs: spoon licking, double spoon licking, and watching them bake.
*Nigel Slater's autobiography, filmed by the BBC.

# 14: Sweet dreams?

Our crazy manic young cat sleeps soundly on the sofa, for a while, peace reigns....
I love the suggestion of a smile behind those whiskers.
Taken with the 105mm macro.

# 13: Leaf light

During a sunny spell the light caught a tulip leaf in my kitchen today. I took quite a few shots of the tulip blooms, but this image stood out as today's favourite. I'm trying to 'speed blog' on my busiest days: I took shots only for the time it took the kettle to boil for a cup of tea whilst I had a break from working this afternoon, and I've selected an image that is SOOC, no editing or manipulation whatsoever. Sometimes less is more. I love the tiny highlights on the hairs, and that slither of bright green going down the leaf edge. Shot with my 105mm macro, hand-held, f6.3, 1/200.

# 12: Best Teacher

The mug every teacher covets? With thanks to Mrs W for this evening's blog shot! (Perhaps another time, Mrs W herself??)

I decided on the colour-popped version, but here's a colour one... which do you prefer?

Both have been messed with in Ps.

# 11: Bedtime Reading (Plan B*)

I have to read at bedtime, to focus my busy brain, if I'm to have any hope of getting off to sleep. I only read paperbacks so I can read lying down - minimum of disruption to put book down, remove specs and hit the light, and less noisy when they fall out of my hand should I nod off before I manage to put the book down. I've enjoyed reading Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code etc, Simon Kernick is a fairly recent discovery - edge of seat stuff, excellent; Boyd is new to me but looks ok. My other half bought me the top two for Christmas, as well as another but I swapped that one for the Kernick as it was a book I was already half way through at the time!
I love reading, its a part of my daily life, or rather, my nightly life. 

*Plan B: my original planned blog-shot didn't make the grade.

# 10: The Pounce!

Our young cat Geordie fished a piece of paper out of the shredder and chased it all over the room. He's pretty much fully grown now but Rosie, our old matriarch cat is definitely still "The Boss".

(Here you can see my beautiful herringbone vinyl flooring rolled back whilst the floor dries out where we had the leak. Luckily, buying high quality has proved to be a saving grace, it'll go back down once repairs are completed with no damage at all.)