Month: September 2014

We walked down to The Broadwood this afternoon for a wee bit exercise and a drink. Enjoyed the walk through St Mo’s and down the back to the restaurant.  Was tempted to have fish and chips, as was Scamp, but decided a home cooked dinner would be better for us.  Maybe it was the wrong answer.  Pad Thai wasn’t too bad for me – if a bit spicy, but I don’t think S liked it too much.  Worth another try I think.

Saw this branch just as we got to The Broadwood.  Just took a snap, but it turned out really well.  Most pleased.

365/253

I watched this sunset building, all the way into Glasgow tonight, knowing that I’d left my camera at home. So it was down to the iPhone and Lightroom to save the day, literally!

This was the first night of Ceroc which is a cross between ballroom, jive, tango and salsa.  I think we both thought it was going to be easy-peasy, but it wasn’t.  In fact, it was a whole new ball game dance game!  We learned three new beginners moves which we both remembered when we got home, which was a great surprise to me.  Now we have to keep them in our heads until tomorrow, and possibly Thursday DV.  Then, and only then, we can record them.  Yes, I think we’d both like to go back.

365/252

The picture says it all.  The farmer of the Three Trees has made his position clear on the dreaded referendum.  I can’t say that I’d want to state my preference as visibly as that, but it was his choice, just as his cross in the box is his choice.  Good luck to him.

365/251

The rest of the day was taken up with cycling, a bit of painting and a lot of photography of beasties, mainly dragonflies which are still buzzing around in the first week in September.  This one was very patient for me.

It’s the top of a Dyson vacuum cleaner.  Very clever design and probably quite pointless, but worth taking a photo of for the POD.

Not a lot to say about today, so I won’t say anything, other than went a walk around the pond and watched the Italian GP.  Oh yes, and took a photo of a Dyson vacuum cleaner.

365/250

Going over the high road between Stirling and Kilsyth.  I liked the sky, the colour of the grass and the position of the farmhouse with the hills in the background.  There’s a lot to like about this place, as long as you don’t have to live here in the winter I guess.

Just a ‘normal’ Saturday afternoon in Stirling.  Went for a curry.  Did a bit of shopping.  Avoided the madness of the Yes and No campaigners.  Had a cup of coffee and came the long way home.

365/249

I saw this rose petal lying on the front step this afternoon.  The lighting was good, but it wasn’t until I was processing it that I noticed the grit in the water drops.

A wet day from start to finish with a few hours of dry weather in the late afternoon.

365/248

I liked the layers created by the mist this morning and revealed by a bit of gentle HDR. The subject is the church in Kilsyth viewed from Dumbreck Marshes.  I hadn’t realised the mist was still there until I was processing the image.  An interesting walk among the blue flowers of yesterday and managed to startle a young deer on the marshes.  Unfortunately I was nowhere near quick enough to catch it on camera.

365/247

Today was quite warm with little sunshine and no wind.  I decided to go out for a walk along the old railway line between Kilsyth and Twechar.  It’s a decent length of walk without being too strenuous.  Anyway, I stopped for a while at Dumbreck Marsh and sat among these blue flowers watching the honeybees, wasps and hoverflies feeding.  Such a peaceful place.  It’s hard to imagine you are only about 10 miles from Glasgow.

I had chosen to take the Sigma 105mm macro lens with me and it was a good choice.  Also, because there has been very little rain it was quite easy to get down low beside the flowerheads without getting too mucky.  I think this a hoverfly, judging by the way it flew and the size of its eyes.  They always remind me of the HUD helmet of a fighter pilot.

On the way back, I wasted spent some time flicking the seedpods of Himilayan Balsam to watch them explode.  It took me back to Larkhall when I was about 5 or 6, walking down to Daisy Cottage with my mum and dad and doing the exact same thing.  A good day.

365/246

I’ve been experimenting with the Intensify app and it was that prog I used extensively in this photo.  I also used Lightroom to get the tonal balance I wanted and to create the slight vignette at the bottom corners.  Some of the effects in Intensify are a bit extreme, but no more so than any other HDR or image altering progs.  Lightroom remains my go-to prog for photo editing and cataloging.

365/245

I liked the wee house behind the pond, but the image seemed to lack some depth, so I turned 90º and snapped a shot of the Campsie Hills and then faked it in with PS.  Quite liked the finished article.  Not a photographic record, but a more balanced shot IMO.

I took the shot(s) after visiting the school.  Don’t know what’s wrong there, but there is definitely a feeling of tension, or maybe distrust.  Can’t quite put my finger on it, but everyone seemed edgy.

Dull day.  Milky sky with not a lot of contrast/detail.  Faked in some with LR using a graduated thingy with lots of Clarity and some underExposure.  Took the shot(s) with the old Oly tele-zoom.

365/244