Day & Night

I'm not going to apologise again. You know where I've been and yes I am the slowest decorator in the world!

It stems from the fact that I decide to change everything even those fixtures I was sure were permanent last time and I would never have to change them again ;) Also the perfectionist in me comes to the fore as it does quite often and I spend a silly amount of time trying to get the little things just right, ho hum.

Underneath Cromer pier then in this shot. Many happy times spent here with friends, searching for shells etc on scavenger hunts by day and some evenings too making sure the girls didn't get scared in the dark ;O)

CM2009

No Turning Back

A little later than planned here's the street shot I promised last time out.

I've really not had the time for posting and indeed comments so apologies to you if I haven't got around to your blog the last few days. I have far too much on the brain so I must confess I just took an evening off, perhaps that's not the right approach, who knows, I just needed to switch off for a while.

I realise that street stuff isn't everyone's cup of tea but I saw it, shot it and liked it. Let me know what you think, good or bad.

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Helter Skelter

Well I guess apologies are in order for my lack of posting. It's not like I don't have the shots to post either!!

Work has been crazy since returning and has shown no signs of relenting (which is a good thing) and the home stuff is just chaos frankly with not a lot of progress, hopefully that will move forward this weekend.

So with all that dashing around and feeling stressed I though I'd take a moment to post something calming. In terms of pp I've hardly changed anything on this. Next time I think it'll be some street stuff ;O)

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Worlds Apart

We've just spent the evening at a hog roast works gathering in Highgate so big thanks to my boss for an enjoyable evening.

On another note I'd like to thank the little s*%t that stole from my car this week. Thinking, probably, that he/she had stolen a mobile phone and a measly £1 coin what you actually got was a £1 shaped token to use in a supermarket trolley and a remote control for a car stereo which is completely useless to you, well done, your parents must be so proud!!!!

This is another shot from my hols, the title may have different meanings for you depending on how you look at it.

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Sea Breeze

Back to work this week, it's strange how quickly you can become accustomed to doing your own thing every day. I can honestly say I didn't miss work!

Another from my hols then, just something I saw whilst walking along the beach in the blistering heat, yes I really did say that about an August holiday in England.

That's about all, I'm bushed for today, let me know your thoughts as always.

CM2009

Documented Demise

Just one day of holidays left and it's back to work for me.

All the house stuff is on hold waiting for the plasterer to come and do his thing so we have to live with the devastation for now.

This is another, obviously, of the boat at Blakeney, just by chance I discovered that this boat has a Flickr group all to itself! You can watch its slow decline in a stream of many images. I knew it must have been photographed before but had no idea to this extent!

On another issue I'm entering a very small comp on Bank Holiday Monday and the theme is "A Water Scene" it's 1 o'clock in the morning as I write and I'm still undecided but this could well be in there. I only get to enter two prints and it's quite difficult knowing, with such a broad scope, just what the judges will consider fits the bill. If you've any ideas before I enter by 11.30 in the morning let me know!

CM2009

Rescue Me

My lounge looks post apocalyptic and I'm sitting here covered in dust, if I get wet I'll set!

Yup it's decorating time although it looks more like devastation at the moment and I'm waiting for the plasterer to come and tell me the damage, IE how much smooth walls will cost me.

Meanwhile I found a few moments to process another image from Blakeney and it's the same boat as the last post. When I see something like this I don't think of the rotting hulk out there on the marsh (or the rusty car, scooter, falling down building etc) I see something that was once beautiful, lovingly crafted by hand and I have the irresistible urge to fix things-I don't suppose I'm the only one though!

Your thoughts are appreciated as always.

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All Aboard The Skylark

Well I'm back from my hols then but still another week off of work :)

We had a great week, superb weather and far too much food and drink. My shutter went off an insane amount of times, so many I'm not sure I wish to type it for fear it may become more real!

So you'd have thought it would have been easy to find something to post but you'd be wrong. I have deliberated over various shots yesterday evening and most of today. Whenever I shoot and review stuff at home there's always something you wish you had done differently. I guess that in some ways it's a good thing, you keep pushing yourself to improve but it's frustrating all the same, especially when it's not easy to go back for another shoot.

This shot was taken at Blakeney, I spotted this wreck from some distance and knew I had to get over there, after walking quite some distance I realised the ground was far too marshy to cross and I had to double back, ho hum. I wanted to get lower really and did manage it a couple of times (I may post one or two more of this) but the ground was so boggy you have to be careful where you trod let alone lay down.

Let me know your thoughts as always.

Oh and the title, I think you have to have grown up in the 70's in the UK to know......

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Checklist!

Right so I'm off on my hols, we'll go to Smugglers Top or Kirren Island and solve a mystery or two-or perhaps I read too much Enid Blyton when I was small ;O)

Lenses cleaned and packed
Batteries charged
Charger packed
CF cards
Hard drive
Card reader
Lap top

I have a few clothes somewhere.......feel as though I've forgotten something..........oh wife n kids, CHECK!! :O) The mighty Tez is staying home with a house sitter but shhhhh we haven't told him yet.

I just couldn't resist another from Flying Legends, I have one one that's totally different that I may post when I return but being as I shall have a whole new bunch of shots who knows?

Catch up to you all soon.

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Big Beautiful Doll

It's been a hectic week so I apologise for the lack of posts. I have only one week of work left until holidays and as usual it's crazy busy trying to get everything done before we close.

Should I apologise for posting another image from Flying Legends? I feel as though I should but I must admit that the process has been a pleasant one and the images have certainly captured imaginations everywhere judging by the responses.

So I'm off to finish off that bottle of white that's calling me, let me know what you think, good, bad & ugly.

Oh and the title is the name of the Mustang, not the big fellow giving me the stare!

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Ship Shape

We've just arrived back from a HAG BBQ. For those of you who don't know what that is it's a combined Hen and Stag do. So I would just like to say thanks to Hilary and Jeff for inviting us, it was great to see you and meet everyone. Good luck for monday, good job the best man has a couple of days to recover!! :)

On another serious note I've just read some terrible news, fellow blogger/twitter/facebook friend Tammy Warren has had a fall from her horse and as I write is being flown to hospital. Those of you that know her either personally or, as I do, through her blogs A Cricket In The Garden or Standing Still please hold her and her family in your thoughts and prayers. My thanks to Marcel for letting us all know and keeping us informed too.

The image is again from Flying Legends but I guees the title has a double meaning today and I hope Tammy is ok and ship shape again very soon.

You can see the original version here by the way.

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School Time

I can tell that my holidays are nearly here because work is busy, beyond flat out! Always seems to be the way, a mad rush to get everything done in time. I'm not complaining mind, with the current economic climate we're pretty lucky.

I resisted the urge to go back to the Duxford images today......just!

This is an image shot back in June during the village's Gardens Open day and is our local school which had opened it's own gardens too. It's an interesting place, not only is it an excellent school but it's also a listed building.

The original school was hit by a V1 flying bomb in 1944 just a few yards from my house and this school was built further down the road post war. Being one of the first to be constructed to an experimental design it became listed in 1993.

Let me know your thoughts as always.

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Paella; Weekend indulgence......

So I thought I would post something completely and utterly different today. I joked with a pal of mine that I would post the recipe after he called me a show off, after I thought it might make a change.

My wife looked at me like I had lost the plot when I changed lenses and popped the nifty fifty on whilst I was cooking but what the hey eh?

A disclaimer first; this recipe is in no way authentic, has been cobbled together from all sorts of ideas so I apologise in advance to any Spanish readers! Also if it makes you ill, it was your own fault because I'm still standing ;) This will feed 4-6 people.

You Will Need

• 60ml Olive Oil


• 1 large red pepper, 1large yellow pepper (cut in strips)


• 1 onion & 1 red onion (roughly chopped)


• 4 chicken breasts (cut into smallish cubes)


• 200g Chorizo sausage (cut into slices or as you like it)
• One pack of back or streaky bacon (roughly chopped)


• 200g mushrooms (sliced)


• Garlic cloves, crushed (I started with three, I now use five :)


• 1 tablespoon of lemon zest


• 700g of tomatoes (roughly chopped)


• 1 tablespoon of rosemary


• 2 tablesoons of italian parsley


• 1/4 teaspoon of saffrom threads (in reality I use more to get that yellow colour) dissolved in 60ml of boiling water.


• 500g rissotto rice


• 500ml chicken stock (use a good liquid stock)


• White wine (1/4 to 1/2 of a bottle)

Now I use a large wok to cook this in because I haven't found a paella dish anywhere big enough!

Heat the oil and pop in the onions & peppers, cook until soft and remove. Whilst they're cooking I usually start the chicken off in another pan to save time (once cooked switch off and leave until needed)

Now cook the chorizo until golden and remove, then do the same with the bacon.

Cook the mushrooms, garlic and lemon for about five minutes then add the onions/peppers and the tomatoes, cook until the tomatoes have softened.

Now add the chicken/chorizo/bacon/parsley/rosemary and the rice, pour in a good glass and a half of white wine and stir.

Once the wine has been absorbed start add the stock a ladle full at a time. Traditionally paella is not stirred but I continue to stir mine throughout. Keep simmering and adding stock until all the liquid is absorbed. The rice should be creamy but still have a slight bite, if you find it needs more liquid add some more wine ;)

Now serve onto plates or bring the dish to the table and let everyone help themselves. Serve with lemon wedges if desired.

I don't think I'll be doing this often because 1, it's a photo blog 2, it took me ages to write ;-) (now double the time because blogger decided to ask me to sign in after pressing publish and lost most of what I had written).

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Safe Return

I've spent my evening up to my elbows in dirt fixing the brakes on my son's car. I also spent a whole Saturday afternoon two weeks ago doing the same.

This has taught me three things;

• If you're replacing one wheel cylinder do the other one whilst you're at it because two weeks later it'll fail.
• I'm really not a fan of Peugeot's policy to use many different components on the same year and model of car!
• Last, I'm too getting too old for this stuff, I used to do it for fun and now can't remember why!!

So this is the last in the series of three I had in mind. It's not the image I was going to use but that one didn't meet my expectations. I wanted to get across a feeling of relief and joy of a loved one returning safely but I'm unsure as to whether I've achieved that aim. I can say though that I liked this image just because and that's a good enough reason for me to post it.

Ever conscience of boring myself and you this will be the last from here for a while and I'll stay away from the textures too. I do feel that they suited these subjects though.

Let me know your thoughts as always.

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Terra Firma

I don't think I have a lot to say today, in fact I haven't had a good old moan for ages eh? Never fear, I'm sure something will crop up soon enough ;-)

I would like to say thanks for all the great comments and responses to the last two images, it's really great when others like what you've done.

I was/am very undecided about this one. I'd planned this as a follow on of the post before last with a third to follow. With that in mind I wanted to keep that sort of feeling going with this one but I also liked the straight version. In the end, obviously, I plumped for this one but you can see the straight version here if you wish to. Let me know which you prefer, if any at all!!

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Whispers In The Wind

Whispers in the wind
Bygones in the breeze
Sometimes you may hear them in the bowing of the trees

More than sixty years of skies have passed
Yet still the signs exist
Rusty hangers and crumbling nissen huts
Appear through morning mist

Off you set upon your round
Putters and irons close to hand
But there’s something different about this land

Airstrip on the edge
And criss crossed paths you find
Windsock flapping in the breeze
All echoes left behind

So when you reach the eighteenth hole
And before the nineteenth beckons
Spare a thought for those who have passed
For without them
These days may never have happened

Whilst the images were all shot at Duxford the inspiration was taken from Earls Colne airfield which is now a golf and sports complex in Essex, yet from the air you can still see they were there.

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One Ship Still Missing

As you may have read we went off yesterday to the Flying Legends airshow.

The weather stayed fine (in fact I've never had a bad day for this show) and the show was fantastic. Almost three hours of magnificent flying, too many highlights to mention.

I knew that my longest lens was nowhere near long enough for good aerial shots (not that it stopped me trying) so we got there earlier and went on the flight line walk. It was full of folks in period dress and they made for a great photo op. I shot several hundred frames, most of which are just for me but I did capture some that I will post and this is the first. I didn't go for the posed shots, they don't really interest me. This young lady really looked the part and I managed to capture this shot, she seemed to have a distant, lonely look, despondent even.

I didn't feel that full colour was appropriate for the mood. As a side note, on a WWII airfield with aircraft and people to match it was still difficult to get a frame without something modern in it!

So let me know what you think as always.

CM2009

P.S. small update, I've just entered this shot into Photo Friday because this is one of my favourite spots to be! :)

Can Hardly Wait!

I've had a real busy week with no time for processing and/or posting but that's the way it goes I suppose!

This weekend however we're off to Flying Legends at Duxford held by The Fighter Collection and they blog too here. As the title says, I can hardly wait and having missed last year's show I'm chomping at the bit to get there this year. This is the largest gathering of piston engined aircraft in Europe and in my opinion the best.

So in view of all that here's an older image with a little updated pp work. I don't suppose I'll get many great shots, especially flying shots, this weekend as I don't have a long lens but maybe on the flight line walk........ :)

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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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