A Different Take

I've had one of those weeks that I guess everybody has from time to time.

You couldn't say it was a disaster but it was full of niggles, nothing went smoothly put it that way. I suppose the hot weather hasn't helped, people would rather be somewhere else (me included) and everyone gets a little irritable (also me included). Just the morning to go and then I can relax, perhaps it will be a better week next week, not that I'm wishing the sun away!

Getting away from textures today back to something relatively straight and like the beach huts a few days ago what post processing work there is was done in Lab Colour mode. I find it quite a pleasing way to work, I'm going to go into it a little more over the weekend. Mind you that was the plan last weekend and I got waylaid by the textures :)

We'll see!

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Heart Of The Village

It's still scorchio (The Fast Show:) here in the south of England, I like it but I'd rather be on my hols enjoying it that's for sure!

This is another textured image and that's three in a row which is a bit unprecedented for me. It's been interesting to note people's opinions to this type of image. Some worried that it's not "within the rules" so to speak.

Personally I have no rules, I just like images in all sorts of forms. If there's one thing I have learnt on this blogging/photographic journey is I must stay true to myself and do what appeals to me, of course it's very gratifying when others like it too I can't deny. What I'm trying to say is if YOU like it then that's enough. I found myself at some point along this road producing images that I thought would appeal to others, what happened was I stopped enjoying it.

Anyway, this is an older image again and definitely inspired by the images of Michael Regnier used in the tutorial over at Chromasia and if you like these type of images I strongly recommend you go have a look. I was inspired by one image in particular and whilst I'm nowhere near the level of finesse shown there I hope I've produced something pleasing to the eye, it is to mine which illustrates my point above :) This is where I live and consider myself pretty darn lucky to.

Let me know your thoughts as always, they're much appreciated.

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Crossed Lines

Phew what a scorcher today, 32 outside and it hasn't cooled down much now.

The batteries seem to be failing in my keyboard so I'll be brief! This is an older image that I was never quite sure of, it had sense of foreboding but not enough, I had another crack at it this evening and came up with this.....

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Dusty (ish)

Another really muggy, sticky day here in the East of England, I reckon I lost a few pounds just mowing the lawn, which is probably a good thing :)

I've been awaiting the new Textures Part Two tutorial from Chromasia and now it's been published it was well worth the wait, I can recommend it without reservation. Anyone who's been following me for a while will know that I do like to dabble with textures every now and then. So with new information I produced the above image.

The original was not technically any good at all, although I have to say I liked it in a way, my wife called it her Dusty Springfield look :) Reading the new tutorial gave me an idea for this image however. I realise, as always, that it may not be to every one's taste much like HDR is or is not but I'd appreciate your thoughts either way. You can bet there will be more to come soon enough as it's it's really captured my imagination ;-)

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Feeling Hut Hut Hut

Blimey Guv, what a storm we're having here!

I just managed to save the PSD file for this image before the electric went off! We all sat and ate our paella by candle light which was pretty good I have to say :) both the boys were here, which is often not these case these days, so that was great :)

This is another image processed using Lab Colour (sorry color) mode, I'm yet to work through part two so more to come I'd say!

Let me know your thoughts as always, they're much appreciated.

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Shower of Inspiration

We've had everything except snow here today. Wind, rain, lightning & thunder which then cleared to leave a beautiful summer's evening!

Still this gave me a chance to try something else and I popped outside in the rain and snapped a few frames :)

I follow quite a few blogs amongst which is Chromasia & it's associated tutorials and picked up on an interview with Dave which I found most interesting and inspiring, you can hear the podcast here. After this I headed over and took a look through the tutorial regarding working in lab colour mode, something I'd skipped over before but hadn't really given it a go. I'm working on one image that I might post but I also processed the above with this method.

Let me know what you think as always. I can highly recommend Chromasia, whether you'd like to learn more about the vast application that is Photoshop or if you just like great images, if you skip back a few there's a series of three infrared shots that I really enjoyed.

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Hill House

I must admit I'm still reeling from the card cloning scam and have to say my bank couldn't care less, they can't even give you times of transactions because "their computers don't work that way" I kid you not folks.

Harping on about it won't help but just be careful folks, I thought I was. Watch out for mobile top ups on your account, mine were 02 but it would seem they use most companies to check if the card is working, it's easy to do......

The image then. Again shot whilst we were walking around looking at the gardens a week ago Sunday. I go past this house every day but I've never taken much notice of it, I think it's attached to a business based on the site but the house seems run down and empty. Rather strange since property of this sort is snapped up round here, perhaps I'll make an offer-oh no, got no money ;-/

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Blind Faith

Well it's Father's day and it started out ok. A quick check of our bank account this morning though revealed all was not well, one of our cards has been cloned!

Yup they cleaned us out, I'm sooo angry, we had to spend hours checking through transactions, phoning the bank, cards cancelled etc and now have no money and even if we did no access to it. Chip and Pin, safety in numbers, what a load of old codswallop!! I know I'm not the only one, so many friends getting in touch to say they'd had the same happen. I noticed because not only did they go spending our money in an electrical store they had the cheek to take whatever it was back and get a refund!!

Oh ranting about it won't help, I just hope we get it all back but as they seemed to shopping locally it's pretty hard to prove who spent what.

Still I watched the British Grand Prix, went for a nice walk, took some photos and cooked up a nice dinner which we enjoyed with both of our boys so all's not lost :)

This image comes from Gardens Open day last week, we climbed the very narrow staircase up the tower and came out into the light only to find a very narrow foot way and low walls. My wife clung on for dear life (I kid you not) whilst I shot some frames and this guy sat on the roof of the staircase cool as a cucumber reading his paper!

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Grow; Old but Never Up

Well it was Gardens Open day here in the village this weekend just gone and despite living here for fifteen years we'd never gone and had a look around the various gardens and thought it was high time we did just that!

It also proved to be good inspiration for photography as we got to see the village from aspects never seen before, including a rather hair raising trip up the church tower, more to come on that.

One of the gardens we walked into was a complete surprise as it was filled with an enormous railway layout! There were four older gents there running these beautiful models around, one was actually coal fired and every few circuits had to be stoked up, amazing! Anyone who knows me knows I love this sort of thing, I refuse to grow up and I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one :)

I have another couple from here that I might post.....

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Like Yer Hat

It has to be said that I don't feel like blogging much at the moment, in fact I don't really feel like picking up the camera even.

We've all felt like this at some time or other and probably more than a few times. It's best to wait and not force the issue otherwise they'll be no enjoyment in it which, for me at least, is what it's all about. I have a lot of shots in the can but can't work up any desire to work on them, it'll come back, soon I hope once I've got some other projects completed and off of my mind!

So having said that I'm blogging, go figure. I was flicking through some older RAW files and came across this. It always made me smile but I'd never processed it. I know it's not a great photograph but it is a great expression and I remember the moment clearly, the sudden realisation that the lens was pointing at him and his hat just as I clicked the shutter. As I lowered the camera I looked beyond him and pointed at something else, seemed to put his mind at rest
;-)

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All Mod Cons

We poppped out on Sunday to attend a fun day in support of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) organised by Predator Motorsport. It was a fantastic day out with plenty going on and all in aid of a good cause.

There were lots of bike and cars on display round by Predator's building and some of the Welwyn Stags Scooter Club had turned out with some gorgeous scoots. It was good to see them and bump into some old faces. The scooters are something still close to my heart and whilst I sold my Vespa last year (because it was going to be a money pit) the desire to get another Lambretta is still very much alive if only finance would allow, next year perhaps ;-)

Anyway this is a shot of one of the Lammys, an Li125 Special. I was a bit disappointed with the shots I got to be honest but just like the car show I was talking about a while ago with all the scoots being so close together and all the people milling around it's hard to get a good shot!

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Cool In The Shade

That's it, holiday over and back to work in the morning so roll on August for two weeks off then!

I spent my last day on my own apart from Tez (who frankly wasn't much help) re-pointed the patio, planted up some tubs, pots and baskets, trimmed back some shrubs etc. All sounds like hard work but it's nice to get the jobs done and it was another glorious day, too good to be inside.

I shot this a couple of weeks back on just such a day. I paused for a moment whilst walking, looked up through the trees at the brilliant sunshine streaking through, the hedgerows had a heady scent all around me and all was right with the world.

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Walk & Talk In Four Four Time

Well I did take my camera with me on the London ghost walk last night and to be honest I really didn't shoot a lot.

I thought I might shoot some more afterwards but there really wasn't much time and the streets were quite rowdy, there had been a football game I think (that's not a jest, I really don't follow or watch the sport at all).

Whilst we waited outside the tube station I did shoot a couple of frames, this being one. I've borrowed the title from a song but I'm going to let you guess what it is, can you?

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Pedal Through The Metal

I'm a few days into my holiday, I think I may have started to relax!

I spent all day in the garden yesterday weeding the borders etc, has to be the worst part of gardening but I feel better for getting it done and it's a good job I did because it rained all night long!

I don't know what the rest of the week holds yet except that we're off on a ghost walk around London tomorrow evening which should be fun. Now do I take the camera? Not for ghost catching you understand, I really don't know why people think orbs are anything other than dust! I might get the airbrush out and do a little model making later on this week, it's a hobby I've neglected for quite some time.

This is an image that I've thought about posting for a while but had never really got around to doing anything with it so having a little time an my hands this morning I thought I'd have a bash at it. I was going to leave it pure B&W but let some colour seep through at the last minute to give a hint of those rusty tones.

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To The Point

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Oi! You Looking at my Bird?

Some images are serious, convey a meaning or message that you wish to get across. Some are just humorous and I hope this is one of those? If you're not from the UK you might not get the title, not sure :-/ made me smile anyway :)

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Dirty Magazine

I'm nearly there, just one more day and then a week off :)

It'll be a heavy day tomorrow but it'll be worth it and then I'll have time to cut the grass, clean the car, paint the fence-hold on a minute it's starting to sound like work!! ;-)

This is another image from Languard Fort, underground in the magazine where all the shells would have been kept then sent up to the guns via an ingenious shell lift system. Apart from that I don't think I've got much else to say about it or indeed anything else.

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Fun Fair No Go Go!

Things are reaching fever pitch, I'm rushing around trying to get stuff finished before my week off and my brain is working twice as fast. I actually had a dream last night about a solution to a problem and it actually worked! First time for everything.

It'll take me most of the week to relax and then I'll be back to work, it's always the same so I might as well just accept it now, I'm crackers :-/

So on top of this I felt compelled to blog, I guess that whilst you're in this state of mind you get stuff done.

This is the pier at Felixstowe. I had read before I travelled that the pier had become derelict and whilst I was sad that this might be the case I thought it would make a good photo op. However it's not, the front section is still open with the usual £1 a go amusements ( remember the days when a small bag of 2p's would last hours?), the rest is just fenced off. There used to be a huge slide and other rides on here when I was a kid, hours of fun were had on those long hot summer evenings now it's just left to rot until it falls down I guess, a rescue plan was abandoned I read somewhere. Perhaps an MP could declare it a second home, be fixed up in no time ;-)

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Ye Olde Watering Hole

As you can see I did find the time for a little blogging this evening!

One thing with not blogging regularly over the last week or so is that I have had the chance to blow off any steam about current affairs.

All this lark about MP's and their expense claims, I could really go into one about it but then that could get me in trouble so I'll just say that this; it's affirmed exactly what I thought of them all in the first place! Know what I mean?

The image today is my local pub. Now I'm certainly no regular but it a nice place to go and unwind, have a pint, a nice meal and even a good conversation, just as a good pub should be ;-)

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Along The Towpath

So where the heck have I been?

It's been a week and a half I tell you. I've had two members of staff off sick for most of the week, one has returned the other is still off. Now these things certainly can't be helped but did I mention that there are only three of us to start with?

It always seems to be the case that leading up to holidays we seem to become busier than usual and then a spanner gets thrown in the works to boot. On top of this I've a couple of personal projects that are consuming my spare time and the net result is that photography and blogging have had to take a back seat. I guess that in the overall scheme of things it's not very important but it is important to me, I fear this next week may well be the same however, we'll see how it pans out! It's frustrating because I already have the shots but not the time to work on them.

I was also side swiped by the print issue that I spoke about, now my screen may not be calibrated perfectly but this print was way off, it made me feel that all the posts I've ever done were in vain. However after chatting with a friend last night it would seem the print was off and I've requested it to be printed again. We'll wait and see......

So I'm sorry for not posting on a regular basis and not commenting much either, I'm sure that you've all had periods like this so I hope you understand.

Oh, I haven't mentioned the image at all! This was taken along the canal towards Ware and again I've let the barest of colour creep through on the opacity slider.

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Standoff

I've had one of those days where you couldn't say everything went wrong but it didn't exactly go to plan either, too many things on the old grey matter! I've a week off soon and I'm looking forward to that immensely. :)

We went to Living Crafts at Hatfield House over the weekend. It was a nice day out and filled with lots of craftspeople making a myriad of different things which is right up my street. I took the camera along but I wasn't really in the frame of mind for images again. I did see these four though and thought it ironic that the dogs seemed quite friendly but the owners decidedly stony faced!

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The Last Defender#Take Two

Phew, it's been a busy day, a busy weekend actually.

Apart from my usual break to watch the Grand Prix of course, can't miss that! What a fairytale season it's been so far for Jenson Button eh? Well deserved too, he's had a rough few years!

I deliberated hard over this post as to whether I should post a straight B&W or this textured version. First because I like to vary my work and second because I'm always conscience of the fact you might get bored. In the end though I preferred the textured version as it has more atmosphere for me. I tried to imagine a wartime photograph that had been kept in a wallet or carried around in some way for the last sixty odd years, have I achieved that look or gone over the top?

As a side note I think I may have a screen calibration problem. I had the "A Postcard From Hertford" image from the other day printed. I used a reputable lab that's had very good reviews and when I received the print I was pretty happy-until I got it home and compared it to the version on my screen. It's too dark, a lot of the foreground highlight detail has been lost. Now did the lab get it wrong or is my screen not set up properly? I know that I've noticed a difference when I've viewed the blog on other screens but I put it down to cheap screens.

My question is does anyone know a good way to calibrate your screen without spending a fortune to do it?

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When The Boat Comes In

Despite it being a short week I feel tired tonight, it's been a hectic couple of weeks so a short post tonight!

This was just one of those moments in time, a quick click of the shutter before it was gone. No time to compose or remove distractions. I just loved it for the two turned heads and bacon rolls at the same angle and in the same hand.

I'd just like to say; No1 you need a haircut and you're running a high risk of me doing it for you! No2, that's a darn silly hat!

Love you boys :)

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A Postcard From Hertford

Funny old things bank holidays aren't they? The Monday feels like Sunday, the Tuesday then feels like Monday and despite have an extra day you seem to achieve less than you would on an ordinary weekend! It's a conundrum for sure! :-/

This is an image from our recent walk along the canal through Hertford and it's another that changed direction whilst processing. I did not intend to add any textures but as I went along the older the scene felt, looking akin to something that had been hand tinted until I arrived at what you see here.

I guess it could open the whole debate of photography becoming digital art but such things in my own work don't concern me and each to their own I say. That's not to say you shouldn't voice your opinion, I'm always happy to have a friendly debate :)

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The Last Defender

So that's another bank holiday over in flash then, I bet if I was at work the it'd still be morning!

I did get the chance to go out shooting this morning, I was offered the chance by a fellow photographer to go and shoot on a country estate where he works. It was a very interesting visit, I was shooting with a particular project in mind which is not for the blog and I haven't had the chance to look through them yet. I hope I might get the chance to go back and shoot some more in the future, I could see some subjects that would work for my own interests and the blog, we'll see!

Back to Languard Fort for today's shot. This was one of those images that you start off with a vision for and halfway through you change direction, does that happen to you? I had a clear idea that this would be B&W and I was thinking of adding a texture too. Halfway through I changed my mind to colour and ended up with something rather different!

This fort fought off the last invasion of England by the Dutch in 1667. The two towers you can see here were built much later and were used in WWII to defend the port against German E Boats. These towers are not actually accessible to the public which is a shame, I used to climb them when I was a kid!

Let me know your thoughts as always.

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Passing Fashion

We spent the day out at Duxford today. It was their Spring Car Show, they hold lots of different events there throughout the year and it's nice to go along and see something different.

They also had some military vehicles displaying, after which you could take a trip in an armoured personnel carrier so Thomas and I took a ride. It was a bit hairy and you had to hold on for dear life but it was fun. There are some fetching photos of us both in hard hats and rubber goggles which I hope never see the light of day!

I have to say I wasn't feeling that inspired when it came to photography. I'm not the biggest fan of car photos but there were some gorgeous cars there including my favourite TVR's (what a sound they make :))))) but these sort of events are not good for images I find. There's always something distracting in the frame, lots of people for a start and if you manage to get a clear shot then you've other cars close by, buildings etc in the background. I think I only have two shots that were ok and may or may not blog them-we'll see!

I mentioned some time ago that us chaps seem to spend a while waiting for our female counterparts. So sitting outside the loos :) I noticed that there was a constant flow of people in and out of the building. I have admired and been inspired by a series of images by my old pal at ID7 called "The Passerby Series" so this is my take on that and tipping my cap to him and his work. Go check them out!

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Nessy Returns

Well how many posts that have this part of the estuary in can you stand before you stop visiting?

The truth is that this in response to some critique on the last image that included Nessy here. As you might know this blog runs in two places and on AM3 there's a critique area in the forums, if you haven't visited yet do so! It's a great place to get some constructive but friendly feedback on your images with a view to improving.

I mentioned there that I had another shot that didn't include the distracting tower in the corner of the shot. I said in the forum that I probably wouldn't post the shot but I'm pretty happy with the way this turned out so I thought why not?

Let me know your thoughts as always and if you have the time how it compares to the previous shot? There's only two minor things that are bugging me with this version; There's some slight lens distortion that I can't seem to correct well and Nessy seems a little stark against the sky, almost as if this is a tone mapped HDR but it's not. These are just niggles and not enough to stop me liking it.

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Fading Memories#Take Two!

I hope you'll forgive me for posting the same image twice but whilst I liked certain aspects of the edit from yesterday something was bothering me.

It didn't meet my expectations, I had a vision in my minds eye when I took that shot. I was sitting having a cup of tea several hundred yards away, the memories were racing around my head and I could see the potential for the shot so much so that I could hardly wait to get over there. All in all yesterday's didn't have the quality of finish I had been expecting or wanting so I started from scratch this evening, came up with this and I'm much happier.

Please let me know your thoughts, if you'd be so kind, on this new version and your preference between the two.

Just a note on the title; My thinking was that the memories were still just as fresh in my mind as they'd always been but the evidence on the landscape was fading away. I hope that makes sense :)

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Fading Memories

I really can't seem to find the time at the moment to get these shots processed and posted.

It's something I feared would happen as soon as I backed off from posting every day. You get out of the habit, what with the lighter evenings and other things occupying my grey cells at the moment I'm finding it hard to apply myself!

Still it's not the end of the world I guess, it's just a tad frustrating because I've got quite a stock of images that I think will work out and I need to get them done before I forget they're there ;-)

This is another shot from Felixstowe in the mouth of the river Orwell. Those posts in the foreground used to have a small jetty on them, I can remember walking along it when I was five or six and now it's just these posts remaining. I can remember it so clearly, the smell of salty air, wind in my hair and the wide grin on my great uncle's face as he told me even more tall tales. I still miss him after all these years.

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Weeks End

It's been one of those days when all we've done is jobs around the house and garden.

I'm sure you know what I mean, pruning plants, fixing the gate, washing, ironing etc etc. It made me wonder after you've done all of these jobs when is there actually time to sit back and enjoy it all?

So in honour of taking some time out to enjoy life and I realise that Sunday is technically the start of the week but I thought I'd post this relaxing shot :)

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