Wednesday 29 February 2012

60. Garden


Although made of chicken-wire, this chap is clearly very dedicated to his garden. He is currently residing in the orchard at Lacock Abbey, next to our allotments. The sculpture, along with many others, make up a beautiful exhibit around the grounds of the abbey - the artist is Derek Kinzett. 

Tuesday 28 February 2012

59. Radiant


This one was a winner for me in terms of the beautiful, late afternoon sunlight, illuminating Anna's hair. Radiant. 

Monday 27 February 2012

58. Portrait


Okay, so not one shot today, but after having so much fun doing a portrait and product shoot with my very photogenic friend Anna, I really couldn't choose. Anna is a local craft artist and fellow teacher, who is taking brave steps towards making a living from the creative pursuits she loves. You can find her over at Annie's Delight and at craft fairs around the South West. Do pop over and say hello!

Sunday 26 February 2012

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Here we are again! This week has flown by and as I've been back at work, I've barely had time to photograph anything, so my Scavenger Hunt has been something of a last minute scramble! I hope you enjoy my interpretations of this week's prompts. 

1. Crossed


It's that time of year again - hot-crossed buns galore! I like mine toasted, sometimes with a cheeky slice of cheddar cheese. How about you?

2. A Glimpse


My friend's son, peeking out from behind his warm layers.

3. Handwritten


I still love writing letters (and receiving them of course!) - so much more personal than email.

4. Bliss


Okay, so this one is from my archive. As it was a very busy first week back at school after the half-term holidays, I wasn't feeling particularly blissful. This is a shot of my mum's cat Cleo, looking pretty blissed out on the lawn in summer. Sadly she's no longer with us, but I have this photo on my pinboard and it always makes me smile. 

5. Grey


One from earlier in the week...Castle Combe, just down the road from us, on a pretty grey and wet day. Still utterly beautiful, in spite of the dull weather. 

I hope you've enjoyed this week's Scavenger Hunt and thanks for stopping by. Don't forget to check out everyone else's interpretations over at Ramblings and Photos

Friday 24 February 2012

55. Famous


This is the village of Castle Combe - widely regarded as 'the prettiest village in England'. It has been used as a location for filming over the years, most recently being made 'famous' in Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's 'War Horse'.

Thursday 23 February 2012

54. Clouds


Aside from a slight crop, this photograph is entirely unedited. As we left Wells last week, the early evening light painted the trees and landscape this beautiful bronze-gold and the sky was incredibly blue in vivid contrast. The clouds really stand out here but although I tried, no photograph I took truly captured how amazing that light was. 

Wednesday 22 February 2012

53. Eyes


'Jeepers creepers, where'd you get those peepers?'
My lovely B has the loveliest blue eyes. 

Monday 20 February 2012

51. Flight


This shot was a chance capture, while I was sitting by a pond, trying to get photos of the ducks. As I left I decided to get a shot of these crows at the exact moment this one took flight. Typically, I didn't get anything good of the ducks.

Sunday 19 February 2012

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Here we go with week number two! This week I was more organised, having already got one under my belt, and I took the time throughout the week to focus on the prompts. I hope you like my interpretations...


1. Love


This is my friend Steph and her little man, who wasn't feeling very well when they came to visit this week. All he wanted was cuddles from his Mummy. 


2. Duplicated


These matryoshka (Russian dolls) sit atop my bookcase, all tucked up inside the large one. In fact, I don't think I've had them out since I first brought them back from my travels to Siberia, almost 5 years ago. When I saw this prompt, it was the perfect excuse to line all fifteen (yes, fifteen!) duplicates out in a row again.


3. Trend or trending


I was unsure about how best to interpret this prompt, but in the end this photograph seemed the right choice on two levels. The first was that I have seen, in the past week, two separate examples of this type of shot being showcased - so it seems to be 'trending' itself. The second is that Valentine's Day was trending all over the internet this week, and the 'love heart' shadow symbolises that.


4. Paper


Paper birds hanging in the trees for the 'Birds' Wedding Day' this week. 


5. Plastic


At first glance I didn't even notice that this 'leaf' was plastic! Look closely and you can see the actual leaf  has been preserved inside a laminated plastic encasement. 

Thanks for popping over for a peek!


Saturday 18 February 2012

50. Playground


Okay, so not literally a playground - but anywhere with interesting passageways, tunnels, rooms and steps makes for a fun day of exploration: a playground in a child's eyes. 

Friday 17 February 2012

49. Musical


A very dusty set of panpipes found during my spring clean. On the one hand, this shows up a rather dusty house. On the other, a lens and camera working well to pick up the detail. You can't win them all. 

Thursday 16 February 2012

Wednesday 15 February 2012

47. Activities


Lots of activities took place at ours yesterday - making birds and flowers, colouring in, singing and, of course, eating. I love the look of absolute concentration on this little one's face here. Which colour to go for? 

46. Children's Toys


We spent a lovely day yesterday with friends and I took the opportunity to snap some photos of their very adorable little ones. As I don't have children of my own, I was a little stumped as to how and when I would complete the 'childhood' based themes from the photo challenge. So, not only did I have a really fun time catching up with them, but these guys posing for some candid shots was a bonus. 

Tuesday 14 February 2012

45. Sentimental


There are two reasons this photograph captures the 'sentimental' theme. As I mentioned in the Scavenger Hunt Sunday post, the bangle was gifted to me by my friend Jodie as thanks for being her bridesmaid, so it holds wonderful memories.

The second reason is that the book it is balanced on - a rather battered copy of 'Charlotte's Web' - was my childhood favourite. I can vividly recall reading this over and over again (hence the broken spine and missing pages) way past my bedtime, under the covers, with a torch. 

Monday 13 February 2012

44. Hot


I thought I'd use this shot from the Scavenger Hunt Sunday to double up today's theme. Although these chillis are small, they are very hot!

Sunday 12 February 2012

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

This is the first time I've taken part in Ashley Sisk's Scavenger Hunt Sunday, although I've been a follower of her blog and admirer of her photography for some time now. 
Here goes...

1. Facial Feature


The adorable nose of the adorable puppy we met last Sunday.


2. Shadow

I really struggled with this theme as we've had lots of snow and not much sun this week, so shadows weren't really in abundance! This shot is from my archive - the high contrast lighting has left a very clear shadow behind the groom.


3. Spicy


My mum grows chilli plants over summer so I stock a bag of them in my freezer to keep using through winter. Even though these ones are tiny they are really spicy!


4. Gold


I don't wear yellow gold, but this was a gift from my good friend Jodie as thanks for being her bridesmaid last year, so it will always be treasured.


5. Fabric


When I visited Lacock Abbey on Friday, the cloisters had been decorated with an array of these round pompoms - in a range of sizes and colours, all made from different fabrics and materials. I thought they were charming. 

So that's my first Scavenger Hunt Sunday! Thanks for taking a peek.

43. Inviting


This is the cloisters at Lacock Abbey. Some of you might recognise it from the Harry Potter films as it was used for filming some scenes at 'Hogwarts'. The house beyond this door is closed up for winter, but I thought the shot down the cloisters towards it made it look very inviting. 

Saturday 11 February 2012

42. Wet


After the snow melted, we were left with a very soggy day.  I wouldn't have wanted these four in my house after their wet walk!

Friday 10 February 2012

41. Self-Portrait


Well I'm not a fan of having my photo taken at the best of times, but it's super tricky trying to take one of yourself! I think this one captures my love of colour (and the fact that it is really, really cold here at the moment) pretty well. 

Thursday 9 February 2012

Tuesday 7 February 2012

38. Freeze Frame


In contrast with my earlier shots of water fountains, where I used a longer shutter-speed to capture the movement of the water, here I used a very quick shutter speed to 'freeze' the water. The sense of movement and fluidity is lost, replaced by frozen droplets. I like how the water almost looks like foam! 

Monday 6 February 2012

37. Tiny


All together now....aaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!
We met this little chappy out for a walk yesterday, tucked inside his owner's jacket to keep warm. So tiny and utterly adorable - I just had to get a picure.

Sunday 5 February 2012

Saturday 4 February 2012

35. Cold


This past week we have had temperatures reaching -10 degrees and everything is now being coated with a fine dusting of snow. A few moments ago I ventured out to try and get today's shot, but visibility is pretty poor. After about twenty minutes I returned with a wet camera, numb fingers and not a lot to show for my efforts! I think I'll be staying inside where it's cosy and warm for the rest of the weekend!

Friday 3 February 2012

34. Friday Fix-It // Wilderness


Not actually a wilderness at all; just a tangle of brush between the farmyard and paddocks, where we live. 
This photograph started out as a pretty unintentional snap - I was testing out the camera in the low light of dusk and what came out was this...


Pretty dull really!

As I'd shot this in RAW, I was able to really play with the image's white balance, exposure and colours. I pulled the blacks right up to 36, the brightness to +65 and the contrast up to +54.I then turned the vibrance down to -17 and the saturation down to -21. 

It was fun to experiment and I was actually pretty happy with the finished result - not bad for a photo I would have discarded for lacking depth and interest. 

Thursday 2 February 2012

33. Motion


This pretty bunting caught my eye last night, dancing in the wind and lit up by a pub's security light. 
It was moving so animatedly that I've only managed to catch one tiny edge looking anything like sharp but I still like the shot. 

Wednesday 1 February 2012

32. Happiness is...


...the first snowdrops. I go giddy for them each and every year. They perfectly sum up 'February' to me - so happy first of the month!