Category: Macro

Happy Friday Eve – 30 March 2017

Posted on by Zogman

Sitting in the waiting at the plastic surgery unit of GRI just after 9.30am waiting for Scamp to have her stitches removed after her last op, I earwigged in on a conversation between a nurse/clerical assistant, (I don’t know which) and a clerical assistant.  Always find it best not to raise your head when you’re earwigging!  Anyway, the conversation went something like this:

’Good Morning and happy Thursday!’

’Happy Friday Eve, you mean.’

’Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.’

’I said “Happy Friday Eve”.’

’Oh, yes, Friday Eve.  I hoped I’d got it wrong and you’d said Friday.’ <resigned> ’Never mind.’

I’d never though of it as Friday Eve before.  Puts a whole different slant on Thursday.

Scamp wasn’t too long because, as it turned out, she’d had dissolving stitches, so didn’t need them cut out, just washed regularly and massaged liberally with moisturiser.  Since we were out and about early, we went for a run, as planned, to Braehead with the added excitement of taking in a trip to IKEA!  Oh, lucky me.

On arrival, we had coffee in Costa.  Now, I’m not getting into that big Costa v Nero thing again, but Nero sell coffee and Costa don’t.  Fin.  I had an Americano which was supposed to be extra strong.  If this was the extra strong, I’d hate to see the normal variety.  However, it’s only coffee, not worth starting a fight about.  After drinking brown water, I agreed to a walk around this almost empty group of retail opportunities, or shops to you and me.  The only one marginally interesting was the Apple shop where all the shiny new mega buck technology did grab my attention.  One scary machine, labelled a Mac Book, had a cable plugged in to what I thought was a power socket and sported one other socket which turned out to be a headphone socket.

  • No USB ports.
  • No SD card slot.
  • No Lightning connector.
  • No DVD drive, of course.

I asked one of the Apple acolytes if I was correct in my assumption and she said I was.  “If you want to add a usb drive you need to buy a USB-C adapter.”  What about an SD card reader?  “Oh, you can get an adapter for that too.  The USB-C socket is what is used to power the machine and also to connect peripherals when they become available.”  It did come in pretty colours, though, but is it a computer?  I think not.  What would Steve Jobs say?  After watching the movie about his life, last week, I think he would have agreed totally with this ethic.  I don’t.  I think I’ll keep using my eight year old MBP until it stops working entirely.  Hopefully, by that time peripherals will have become available, or Apple will have dropped this ridiculous extravagance.

Thankfully, IKEA have actually listened to consumers and have now provided short-cuts through their massive warehouse and it no longer mandatory to follow the yellow brick road.  We ended up with the purchases we’d planned and a couple more besides.   One of which I’m resting my tootsies on as I write this.  We bought a new rug for the living room.  A cream coloured patterned rug which I am trying to avoid getting dirty.  It looks and feels very nice.

When we got home and had lunch, I went out looking for inspiration and a plant pot big enough to hold Scamp’s azalea.  I found one and also a pretty wee pot of anemones that brighten up  the garden a bit.  My final purchase was a plant pot tray, like a big saucer which is sitting on the upturned cracked pot that used to house the azalea.  With an old clay flowerpot on top it makes a fine water container / birdbath for the garden.  We’ve been talking about getting one since we got back from Trinidad.  I doubt if we’ll attract Blue-Gray Tanagers or Kiskadees, but it might give the Starlings and the Robins a place to drink and have the occasional bath.

No plans for tomorrow.  Maybe lunch somewhere.

The end of summer – 28 March 2017

Posted on by Zogman

Like they say, “What a difference a day makes”.  Gone were the blue skies, gone was the sun, and with it the warmth.  At least it was dry, but the forecast for tomorrow is for wall to wall rain.  That being so, I rest my case m’lud.  The end of summer.

Up and out early to take the Megane to the garage for new front brake disks and pads and a new trackrod .  Spoken like someone who knows exactly what they are.  I know what brake disks are and what the pads do.  I’ve also got a basic knowledge of what a trackrod does and the fact that it’s got an end, probably a beginning too.  What I can say for certain is that, combined, they cost pennies short of £300 which was duly paid around lunchtime when I went to collect the car.  A car that will now stop when you tell it to, and one that will go round corners properly.

Earlier, partly to take my mind off the fact that the Megane was under the knife, and partly because we needed ‘messages’, Scamp drove me to Asda at Robroyston with the inevitable coffee at Costa afterwards.  It was there we saw a *STAR*.  ’Shellsuit Bob’ from River City, no less!  Looking much the same as he does on TV.  Our lives will not be the same from now on, knowing that ’Shellsuit Bob’ is a real person.  We watched River City tonight knowing that we had been sitting within feet of a *STAR*.

After lunch and having picked up the car, the sky lightened a bit and I went out to see what I could see (and photograph) over in St Mo’s.  Took my new favourite lens with me, hoping for some macro shots.  It’s amazing what you see when you’re looking for close-ups.  Most of todays pics were taken with the D7000 and Sigma 105mm combo.  Obviously the deer shot was taken with the 300mm end of the Tamron, and it looked quite good.

Hopefully off for beer and pizza with the Auld Guys tomorrow … in the rain.

Happy Birthday Scamp – 24 March 2017

Posted on by Zogman

Today is Scamp’s birthday.  She had chosen to go to see the live sized portrait of Graham Norton by Gareth Reid in Cass Art and then go for lunch at Vecchia Bologna, so we set off on the round trip after parcels and cards had been opened.  Also after we had a Skype call with Hazy.

As well as visiting the portrait artist’s exhibition, Scamp did a bit of shopping and we had a coffee before returning along the M80 to Bridge of Allan to Vecchia.  Unfortunately, when we arrived the usual waiter came to meet us and tell us that the kitchen had closed early and they were not taking any more diners.  Oh well, there was nothing for it but to head back along the M80 again because Scamp had chosen Milano as her second choice of lunch venue.  Almost as good as Vecchia, but not quite.

When we got home, I helped her out of her massive crepe bandage and got her settled and headed off to St Mo’s while she was on the phone to Jackie.  Got a few macro shots of larch flowers, looking like miniature pineapples.  Also took a four shot vertorama ( vertical panorama ) which I later merged together in Autopano.

Tonight being Red Nose Day, we chose a film from Netflix, only to find that the internet connection was flaky and we had to give up on it.  Ended up watching Steve Jobs from DVD instead.

Overall, not a bad day.  Not as good as it could be, but sometimes life is like that.

Windy Willie – 20 March 2017

Posted on by Zogman

Windy Willie was Scamp’s explanation for strong winds when the weans were wee.  No need then for Storm Agatha or Storm Benjamin.  No, when the house was shaking in the gusts, Windy Willie was out there, that was enough explanation.  Windy Willie was out today.

Scamp was singing again with Gems today.  This time in Stepps.  I had intended to go sketching in Glasgow to get back to more architectural subjects, but when I got there, the horizontal rain and hail put me off, so instead I drove to the Fort to get some cheap pens and not so cheap painting stuff.  I say *painting stuff* because Inktense sticks are difficult to categorise.  They are part pastel sticks and part aquarelle.  Aquarelles are usually in the form of pencils and these are just sticks of pigment in a binder and are like pastels, except when you add water to them they turn into watercolour.  Worth a few quid to try them out and see what kind of mess I can make with them.

I drove back past the old Gartloch Hospital, a scary looking ex asylum on the outskirts of Easterhouse.  I kind of want to photograph it, but it comes into the same category as graveyards for me.  I often feel uneasy about photographing graveyards and most times don’t get the camera out.  It’s almost as if I have to ask permission to take photos there.  I can’t really explain it.  Some day I’ll make time to go to Gartloch and get some images.  Whether or not I’ll keep them I can’t say.  I might just format the card after they’re taken.  I will say this though, it will be a bright sunny day I go there.

Only two photos worth showing today.  One of contrasting textures between the grey sky and the grey aluminium of  the M&S building at the Fort and another of an old knife with a couple of beads of jam on it (not blood!) sitting on the draining board at the sink at home.  I just liked them both.  PoD was  the knife.

Before salsa tonight, I was enlisted to help with beginners Bachata which Cameron was teaching, and teaching quite well.  He still needs to relax, but his voice control is much better and he also needs to realise that he doesn’t need to show off so much.  It all looks like a lack of self-confidence to me, but I’d never tell him that.  Enjoyed it.  Salsa was fast and furious.  New move tonight was Tresario Doble, I think.  Interesting and counter intuitive at times.  We need to practise it.  Also Cubaa Se from last week.  Good fun.

No plans for tomorrow.  Snow and ice forecast with Windy Willie around too.

Macros – 19 March 2017

Posted on by Zogman

Now, before I get started on macros and stuff, I have to make one thing clear.  My skin is old, I’m comfortable in it, and most of all it is, like me, quite thick.  So the the ‘Tramp’ comment by Scamp yesterday was like water aff a juck’s back.  If you don’t understand that, then sorry, life is too short for me to teach everyone the meaning of everything I say.  I accepted that the ‘Tramp’ comment was made in jest and although it might have appeared that I took offence, that wasn’t the case. Ok.  Can we move on now?

The photos above were the best I got today.  If I’d realised that the weather would stay clear and sunny all day, I might have been encouraged to travel further afield to make more of the conditions, but the weather men and women assured us that it was going to be torrential rain all day.  Give them their due, it did rain heavily during the night, but hardly a drop fell all day and for that I give thanks.  I went for a walk along the Luggie which was a raging brown torrent after the overnight rain.  It was treacherous underfoot.  Very slippy and slimy with mud moving about under my sole pair of boots.  Unfortunately, the old boots had developed a hole in the upper, just where it met (or in this case, didn’t meet) the sole, so after six years of exceptional service they had to go in the bin.  The new ones, just over a year old now are great for waterproofing, but not so good on grip.  My bargain walking trainers are great for grip and waterproofing, but are only trainers.  They don’t give support or keep you ankles dry.  I expect they’ll be fine in  the summer when that day comes.  I liked the detail in the green blobs (moss fruiting bodies) and the desiccated rose hip.  Both were taken with the Sigma 105mm Macro.  Such a good lens.  Never lets you down, always bitingly sharp.  Slow to focus, but I can put up with that.  Doesn’t have anti-shake, but doesn’t seem to need it either.  Comes into its own when focusing closer than about 150mm from the front element.  Truly a gem.

The sketch is an edited view of the bathroom window ledge.  I’ve removed half the junk and obviously a bathroom window wouldn’t have clear glass, but artistic license is a wonderful thing.  It’s not the best sketch I’ve done for my one-a-week, but it’s done and on time (must be done by Sunday).  We were both a bit clumsy to start with, but by the end we were getting much slicker.  Must go and practise our moves for tomorrow’s class.

In Training – 7 March 2017

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It was Scamp’s idea.  We had booked lunch at Cafe Tabou in Perth.  How about, she said, How about getting the train instead of driving there?  It sounded like a good idea, a great idea.  I added to it.  Why don’t we get a taxi to the station?  You can never get parked on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.  Mondays and Fridays aren’t too bad.  So it was settled.  A day in Perth without driving and without the drudgery of travelling on the bus.

The journey was really good.  Taxi to the station, train to Stirling, quick connection to Perth.  Brilliant.  Visited my favourite second-hand bookshop and then a quick visit to Waterstones.  One of my favourite Scottish authors, James Oswald was there talking to a readers group.  I don’t do readers groups, neither do I read the ‘Questions to the author’ at the back of a good book.  If the author didn’t explain everything in his book, either he wanted it that way or else he wasn’t such a great writer after all.  Either way, questions aren’t going to provide the answers you want.  Went for coffee in Nero before we went for a walk through the park.  Then more coffee – beans this time in The Bean Shop.  Finally, it was lunch time.  Mine was Venison Stovies, then Saddle of Rabbit stuffed with Pork and Chorizo <Posh Word meaning Sausage> served with Roasted Root Vegetables and Sliced Potatoes washed down with a couple of glasses of Rose D’ Anjou.  Simply delicious.

After lunch I returned to Waterstones and used up my Christmas present from Scamp.  I turned out that James Oswald was promoting his new book so I decided to buy it, along with another two ‘real’ books.  Time to get used to books that don’t self illuminate or automatically remember your page or even provide a dictionary, but ‘real books’ are a great idea.  I think they’ll catch on.

The return journey was equally as good as the one this morning with nicely timed connections.  Even the wait for the taxi was minimal.  A great day out.

Today’s flower photos came from the park at Perth and the bottle pic?  It came from Cafe Nero’s window.  Like I said on my Flickr description, I wondered How?  I also wondered Who?  I finally wondered Why?

Tomorrow?  I think we might be getting in training properly as we return to the gym.

Heady Heights – 6 March 2017

Posted on by Zogman

Today, while Scamp was enjoying the prodding, lazeringand manipulation that is physiotherapy, I was putting the finishing touches to a painting.  With that done, I started into the dishes that were left over from last night’s dinner.  I imagine all painters have this dichotomy in their lives.  After that, I faked yesterday’s blog – sorry.  Sometimes even pensioners don’t have enough time to complete their commitments.

After lunch and while Gems were congregating, I headed off to scale the heights of Cumbersheugh Town Centre, to seek out the mysteries of the Library.  I couldn’t tell you the last time I darkened its doors, but today I rolled away the stone blocking access and entered this eyrie on top of Cumbrsheugh’s monstrous TC.  It was much airier than I remember it and much friendlier.  I was looking for a book by Ann Blockley and, there it was on the shelf!  I’d thought of buying it, but decided that it would be much more sensible to rent it from the library instead.  Then it was back to the deadends and blocked passages of the TC.  I was just thinking that it would be an excellent place to film a zombie apocalypse horror.  You wouldn’t even need to employ any actors as the zombies who inhabit this building would be perfect for the roles.

With the book firmly in my hot little hand, I got back to the car safely without any problems from the zombies.  I thought I might get some big sky shots up near Fannyside Loch – a name that seems to create gales of laughter from anyone you talk to.  It was indeed a good sky and one of my shots of it are above.  The air must be really clean on this open moorland, because there are many patches of clean, fresh looking moss and lichen, both indicators of air quality and they make up the other shots from today.

We made great time getting in to Glasgow for Salsa classes tonight, with CITRAC reporting 19mins to the airport.  Typically on a Wednesday, it’s 29 or even 39minutes for the same journey.  Tonight the moves to torture us were El Nino and Cubaanse (a lengthy 11 bar monster).  Still good fun.

Perth tomorrow, hopefully – tea and coffee capital of Scotland.

Spring? – 5 March 2017

Posted on by Zogman

There’s a smell in the air around the end of August, beginning of September.  It’s the unmistakable smell of autumn.  Possibly an amalgam of the smell of fallen leaves, beginning to decay and that sharp tang of the first frosts.  I notice it every year.  What I’ve never analysed is the smell of spring.  I recognised it yesterday.  It’s a warm, happy smell.  It may be the fragrance of the new growth and of the first flowers, daffodils and crocuses for the main part, but it is definitely there.  The promise that winter is on the way out.  It’ll be snowing tomorrow, just to prove me wrong.

It was a bright sunny day after a rainy damp start.  When we got up, I started the slow cooking of the lamb shank I was having for dinner, while Scamp went for the messages.  When she got back, we started making the pudding which was to be Pineapple Snow.  I say WE were making the pudding, but I was just stirring the sauce while Scamp did the clever stuff.  We had decided to go to Will’s styling class at the Garage before the Sunday Social, so that defined the shape of the day.  However, as the afternoon wore on and we I got involved in the making of the pudding, it became obvious that we weren’t going to make that early class.  That left with the opportunity to walk through St Mo’s and hopefully get some springlike photos.  I took ‘Big Dog’ (the Nikon) with ‘Wee Dog’ (the Oly 5) in my pocket.  Best of both worlds.  No sign of any deer or of Mr Grey.  There were a couple of cormorants in the pond, probably visitors from Broadwood Loch where there are a strong contingent now.  What I did get were some photos of Sphagnum Moss fruiting bodies or the flowers to be precise sitting on some very bright green moss.

When I got back, we drove into Glasgow, watching a gigantic pall of smoke all the way in.  It turned out to be a fairly extensive fire at a scrapyard in Govan.  While I was glancing at it and not knowing at that stage what was causing it, I was thinking that by the colour of the smoke, it was some dirty and probably heavy duty stuff that was burning.  If that was so and all that muck was being lifted by the heat into the atmosphere, where would it eventually condense out and what damage would it do when it landed?  When we found out the cause of the smoke, I began to think about the toxic chemicals in that smoke drifting across the sky.  Makes you wonder what effects it has on wildlife when it eventually comes back down to earth.

After we parked and were walking down Sausage Roll Street, the light on The Beresford was beautiful and I grabbed a couple of iPhone shots.  Salsa was good, and at times relentless.  I was quite pleased when Scamp called a halt.

The slow cooked lamb shank was delicious, but the star of the show was definitely the Pineapple Snow.  Quite the most stunning dessert, mainly due to my expert stirring.  If there’s one thing I’m good at it’s stirring!

Storm Doris – 23 February 2017

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We didn’t actually have Storm Doris, we just had the snow that she was dragging with her.  Woke to a winter wonderland.  Lovely white snow everywhere.  Unfortunately Fred and Val and I were supposed to be going for coffee this afternoon, but when Fred sent me a text at about 10am, I knew it was bad news.  He couldn’t get out of his estate and as there is no bus service there, we agreed to postpone.  I phoned Val to tell him the bad news, I don’t think he was all that impressed, but if there’s one thing that retirement is good for, it’s not having to go out when you don’t feel like it, and we didn’t feel like it.

Sat around for a while watching the snow quickly turn to slush. Put the cases up in the loft.  Defrosted a couple of loaves and set them to rise.  Had the rest of the soup for lunch.  Walked over to Condorrat and then back through St Mo’s but found little to photograph, eventually settling on water droplets on the trees.

It was a bit of a wasted day, really.  Finally settled on snow as a subject for today’s sketch.  Even that took two attempts and by that time the snow was almost gone, but a bit of a watercolour wash rescued the few pen lines I used and made it look decent enough.

Bread looks as if it’s baked well.  Made one loaf into rolls and they look and smell a bit like Jaime’s Hop Bread.

Sitting eating Jub Jubs – sweeties from Triniday.  Jub Jub was my mum’s word for gums or jellies.

Tomorrow we will, hopefully, go out.  Somewhere.  Anywhere.

Just another Sunday – 05 February 2017

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5 FebScamp went to church with M&J in the morning and I stayed home to clean up the blog and hopefully get some photos, but the rain came on.  In fact, the rain came straight down.  Ori (the dog) and I looked at one another and the silent message passed between us “I’m not going out in that!”  So we waited and eventually the rain abated and became a drizzle, a warm drizzle that dried on you almost immediately.  Also, the rain that had fallen had dried up too.  Five minutes later the sun came out, but didn’t stay long because more heavy clouds came in.  I gave up and sat watching the birds having their early morning bath.  We really must get a bird bath for the garden at home. 

When the promised rain failed to appear I changed into swimming trunks (they dry quicker than shorts) and went for a walk in the garden.  Found an empty shell of a wasp’s nest and marvelled at the construction.  Entrance / exit tunnel and all those little identical hexagonal cells, and all made from something as thin as paper.  Amazing.  I found a shield bug on a leaf looking like it was guarding its eggs.  Even saw a little orange dragonfly, but it was far too quick for me.  Gardens are wonderful places if you just have time to look.

Scamp returned with M&J bearing Doubles.  Doubles are two squares of thin fried dough, wrapping up a paste of chickpeas, onions, pepper and spices.  Apparently it used to be considered poor man’s IMG_3730food, but we all agreed it was delicious.  By then the sun had come out and it was hot, so it was time to get some serious sketching done.  So I put on my sketching hat, some sun cream and some insect repellent and went in search of a suitable subject. I finally settled on some plant pots hiding away at the back of the garden.  I had a reasonable rendering of them when Scamp came to tell me it was lunch time.  Lunch was a pork chop for the carnivores and salmon for Scamp the pescatarian with cassava root.  We’d never had cassava before, but it was really tasty.  Scamp described it well, as a nutty potato.  We must search it out and try cooking it some time soon.  Definitely on our to-do list.  With lunch out of the way, I found a new subject.  One that could be drawn from the comfort of the veranda.  I chose Next Door’s Utility room with its big square plant pots on the roof.  Both pots overflowing with roses.  It was basically architectural with strong perspective, a happy marriage for me.  I even added a wee touch of colour to add a wee bit of brightness. I liked it.  Still do.

Remembered to take the photos of the wasp’s nest and got it done along with the flower photos before it got totally dark. Haven’t posted them on Flickr because it went into one of its ‘Bad Panda’ strunts again.  Why do these things always happen on weekends?  Because Yahoo don’t employ enough people to fix it.  They want rid of Flickr which is becoming a money pit for them.

The remainder of the day was spent packing.  Off on our travels again tomorrow with a bit of luck.