Category: photography

Oh No! It’s Snow! – 8 March 2023

Posted on by Zogman

Just a scraping at around 9pm tonight, but it was real fluffy snowflakes that were falling for a while.

You’d never have guessed this morning that we’d have snow tonight. That is if you hadn’t looked at the thermometer. It was -3ºc this morning when we woke and the sun was shining brightly from a clear blue sky. Unfortunately, we had both looked at that thermometer and decided to take it easy for a while. There were puzzles to be done and books to be read. I for one was happy to struggle through them, rather than face the cold world outside.

We watched some tree surgeons performing fairly invasive surgery on some trees across the road and wondered when they’d get round to the poor Ash tree outside our window. It’s been failing for a while now, but it’s been there for longer than we’ve been in Cumbersheugh. I remember the three girls who stayed round the corner swinging on its branches when they were wee. They were wild!

Lunch was Scamp’s ‘Just Soup’ and it was fine. Scamp made her usual deprecating noises about the carrots being too tough and I did comment that it might need a bit of salt, but as a lunch it was fine with a slice of bread.

After lunch Scamp was charging round mopping floors, hoovering carpets and moving furniture around while I eventually dragged myself out to St Mo’s to get some photos. There weren’t a lot of interesting shots today. That’s been the way of things lately. I’m finding it hard to generate some interest in things photographic and I’m getting the impression that Alex is finding that too. PoD went to a row of Salmonberry flowers I spotted by the outfall of the pond. I think they may be last year’s blooms, because this years are still in the pods.

Dinner was a main of soup with rice pudding to follow. I think there will be just enough soup for tomorrow’s lunch.

Today was Jamie and Simonne’s anniversary. Congratulations to them both. Nine years ago we were at the wedding in Trinidad. That was a wonderful wedding, as all our family weddings have been.

Tonight we had snow. The weather warnings have been out all week and finally we got our first taste of the white stuff for a while. Not much, but a warning that winter isn’t gone yet.

Tomorrow, if the roads are clear, we’re hoping to go Tea Dancing.

A sunshiny day – 5 March 2023

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Went to bed too late last night, hence had a later than normal surfacing today.

Woke late. Almost afternoon, Scamp said. That’s the price you pay for a getting to bed too late, or too early in the morning as it was yesterday.

After a coffee and a struggle to get Wordle, the world looked a bit better. Lunch was beckoning and in the style of Neil, my breakfast was half of Scamp’s Prawn Bhuna from last night, quickly reheated in the microwave. Unhealthy? Probably. Delicious? Definitely! That completed the rebooting of my system.

We got a WhatsApp message from Jamie from Port of Spain in Trinidad with a photo of Jaime, Simonne and Scamp’s favourite dog Ori. Scamp was delighted.

Scamp had decided to sacrifice the rest of today on the altar of ‘Ironing’. Her argument was that it needed to be done and once it was done, then the rest of the week was her own. My case was similar, but not so well presented. I needed a walk to clear my head and also to get a PoD if any presented themselves.

As it happened, it was the 35mm LensBaby that produced today’s PoD. There was a lot of lovely sunshine creating nice sparkles on the Whin bushes and that in turn created some lovely bokeh (hate that word) in the out-of-focus areas. It also gave a good contrast with the sharply focused subject which was the bright yellow flowers.

Dinner tonight was Chicken Milanese, or chicken that’s been bashed with a rolling pin, dunked in eggy mix and finally dredged in bread crumbs before being pan fried. Scamp made it and served it with ‘rats’ (AKA ratatouille) and potatoes.

We watched an interesting F1 GP from Bahrain with all the usual ducking and diving from the hopeful beginners and the slightly more sensible driving from the old hands. As usual, Scamp predicted the winner.

That was about it for the day and I’m off to my bed now, hopefully before midnight.

Ducks and Crocuses – 3 March 2023

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Apparently Crocuses, Crocus and Croci are all acceptable plurals for more than one crocus. Just thought you might like to know that.

I had a lazy morning today, to balance out the day because Scamp was off FitStepping. I sat and read for a while and then checked in with Flickr. I might even have snoozed for a while, and by that time Scamp had returned from her exercise class.

Lunch was soup, that last of it – three day soup is pretty good. After that, Scamp was off to chop more of the plants in the front garden. I took the A7 out for a walk in St Mo’s. Found and photographed a bunch of crocuses in St Mo’s. Now crocuses are not wild flowers, so these ones must have been planted in the grass park and were just growing in the wild. They made PoD. I also did a check on the ladybirds which are still nestled in their various trees. Final photos were of a couple of Mallards which usually take off as soon as they see me. I was careful today and got fairly close while I changed the camera setting to Continuous Shooting which means the camera will take a rapid set of shots until I release the shutter button. As soon as the birds took off, I pressed the shutter and followed them as the climbed into the air. I got one clear shot from the seven I took, which I ‘fiddled’ by enlarging it in ON1. It’s a bit rougher than the original, but it does a good job of enlarging the photos without losing too much detail. It still didn’t beat the crocuses.

Read a bit more of my book when I got back and almost fell asleep on the couch.

According to the weather fairies we may be getting some snow next week. Not sure about the detail yet, and we may miss it, but best to be prepared. I’ll put the snow shove in the car again.

Hoping for a long lie in tomorrow with the prospect of dancing later.

Photos – 27 February 2023

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Photos old and new

Actually I hadn’t taken any of the photos I’m talking about.

The first photos are ones that date back to around 1980, we think, and are of Jamie and Hazy, probably in school. The original has sat on the top of the bookcase in the living room for as long as there has been a bookcase there. Unfortunately it faces the front window and gets the full force of the sun in summer. That’s what has faded it over the years. I’ve scanned it and tried a few times to bring back the colour, but without success. When we came back from holiday I remembered that Photoshop now has a beta version of software that they claim can use AI to restore the colour and repair the scratches on old photos. I tried it on a fresh scan of the old photo and it did quite a good job. After that I dunked it in Lightroom, back into Photoshop, into ON1 and finally back into Lightroom until Scamp and I were satisfied with the result. I’ve now printed it and cropped it to fit the frame. Scamp has cleaned the glass and the frame and the photo is now back on display again. The photo restoration took about four hours, but it was worth it.

I thought I deserved a walk in St Mo’s after that, intending to capture another shot of the ladybirds. Instead it was a photo of a tiny little snail, about 4mm diameter clinging to a tree trunk that made PoD. I have no idea why they climb trees, maybe it’s because they are there!

The second set of photos you’ve already seen Hazy. They were taken by the photographer in the hotel. Good photos too. Separated by about 43 years and light years of technology!

That was about it for Monday. Watched another confusing Death In Paradise and envied you and Sim, Jamie!

Tomorrow I’m going to try to get an appointment with the doc.

Sunday is Washing Day – 26 February 2023

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There were two full cases of washing to be done, so we got on with it.

I say ‘We’, but Scamp was the organised one and she got things sorted into stuff to deal with right away and stuff that could wait for a few days.

With that done we settled down to a normal Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg tearing into politicians of all parties while we had lunch.

Scamp decided to do some ironing and I decided to take the macro lens over to St Mo’s to see what it’s one eye would see. It saw a few Cladonia lichen, but they seemed to be a bit dried up. Probably needed a shower to brighten them up. It saw some ‘Green Blobs’ or more correctly the fruiting bodies of moss. It was the Green Blobs that got PoD after a bit of jiggery pokery in Lightroom and Photoshop. I liked it anyway. It was good to get some direct light to brighten things up.

Back home we re-heated yesterday’s curries and had them for dinner. As a starter we had a glass of champagne in new glasses. The bubbles were from Jackie, Murdo and Mairi. The glasses were a present from Annette. Pudding was Sticky Toffee Pudding with ice cream.

Watched a couple of silly programs on the tv tonight and went to bed before midnight – just before midnight for me!

The Pianist – 21 February 2023

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Sunbathing in the morning, all morning.

Walked down to the front after lunch and turned right.

Walked almost out to the paragliders landing area because Scamp’s ankle is improving and it’s a good level path for most of the way.

Just to contradict what I said about the weather here, this afternoon was lovely with white clouds in a blue sky and sunshine. We sat for a while watching the waves crashing and I managed some moody landscape shots. I also got a PoD which was an almost silhouetted group of folk walking along the path between palm trees.

In the evening the entertainment was a pianist and we feared the worst, the return of the disinterested woman. However we were pleasantly surprised to see a well dressed man, Rafael Montalvo who started with Einaudi and continued through the Beatles and Queen and had me in tears with his version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. When he was finished, Scamp went and told to him how much we had enjoyed his recital.

Another evening discussing the day on the balcony with another G&T

 

Busy, busy, busy – 15 February 2023

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Today was just BUSY. It wasn’t the brightest day we’ve had, but there was a lot to do in the house.

Scamp was out in the morning to get her meds and I was busy putting the list of clothes into the big bag and the list of tech in the slightly smaller bag. By lunchtime it was almost done and we settled down to hear what Nick the Chick had to say about SNP and Resignation.

I truly wasn’t expecting that. Neither was Fred, I think. Not one WhatsApp message, photo or dodgy video making fun of her. Nothing. It was that kind of shock. Probably months down the line there will come a revelation that will partly explain the machinations behind her decision to step down as First Minister. For all her faults, she saw the country through two years of Covid and I have to commend her for that. At times we thought she was being too cautious, but better safe than sorry. So, who’s going to take her place? There doesn’t seem to be a rush to pick up that poisoned chalice!

In the afternoon I took a walk in St Mo’s, partly to clear my head and partly to see if the big digger that had been parked there (not in my head) had done anything useful. Well, it had … sort of. Two ponds that act as overspill areas for the main pond had been partly cleared of weed and some of the verges of the main pond had been cleared. Other than that, not a lot. Was that it, or was that just the groundwork for something more major coming soon? Who knows with NLC.

I took a few photos, but nothing interesting, however, on the way home I got today’s PoD which is a trio of swings in the playpark. I think it was one of the photos Alex took at Culross that sparked my imagination. My shot wasn’t quite as good as his, but it was a reasonable PoD.

Finished this morning’s good work and I think everything is where it should be now. No time for a sketch today, but I’ll try to catch up in the coming week.

Early rise tomorrow.

 

A dull day – 14 February 2023

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Not a lot to say about today other than I got my hair cut at last.

I had intended to cut my hair myself with help from Scamp for the bits I can’t reach or see, but things got in the way and instead I earmarked today for the great shearing.

Scamp was staying in to meet up with Annette, so I drove to the station and left the car there and got the train in. So much easier and less stressful than driving in to Glasgow when the schools are on February holiday. Unfortunately, the train was full of Grans and Granpas with loads of weans, trying to keep them amused for the three extra days they’re on holiday – the weans that is, not the grandparents. They’re on duty every day, it seems. Glad we’re not in that subset of humanity. Also, and even more unfortunately, I’d left my earbuds at home. Noisy weans and no ear defenders is no fun for anyone.

For once there was a queue for the barbers, but I didn’t need to wait long before the Big Grumpy Guy invited me to take a seat. He’s cut my hair the last twice I’ve been in The Nile Barber’s. The last twice he’s been fine, the first time he just grumped all the time. His style is a bit rough and ready, but he’s quick and very little chat, which suits me.

With that done I walked up to JL to get some stuff for Scamp and while I was there I had a spot of lunch in the cafe. Lovely chunk of sourdough bread stuffed with tomatoes, peppers, roast broccoli and pickled cucumber. Strange mixture but it tasted fine. That and a cup of coffee that tasted of coffee, which is a bonus.

Took a walk down Buchanan Street and was heading for HMV to see if they had cheap cordless earbuds or an adapter for the S22+ and got sidetracked walked back along towards Waterstones before I remembered I didn’t have a voucher for another ‘real’ book. Decided to cut my losses and come home.

As the train slowed into Croy I could see I could see the layer effect of mist on the Campsie Fells, but by the time I got to my favourite place to photograph it the mist was receding but the sky had added a new dimension to the scene. You lose some, you win some. Actually that’s a lie. The mist was receding, but the sky was featureless, so I pasted in one of my own and that looked more like the view I’d seen from the train.

Came home to Mac ’n’ Cheese ’n’ Bacon. Delicious, especially with a blob of Fruity Brown Sauce! Thank you Scamp.

Today’s prompt was The Green Card. We don’t have Green Cards in the UK, at least not yet. So I thought I’d try an alternative solution, as I usually do.  Three playing cards, all aces (it’s an unwritten compositional rule that you should always have an odd number of objects. It just works) then I invented the Green Card, the Ace of Shamrocks. A lucky card. The Ace of Shamrocks trumps all. Why not? I wasn’t going to attempt to sketch Gérard Depardieu or Andie MacDowell and as I’ve never watched the film, I couldn’t select a scene from it. This is more fun. I like inventing things.

Tomorrow we’re both going to be busy all day with lots of little things to remember.

A day of comings and goings – 13 February 2023

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Messages were flying this morning.

Message from my brother to say he can’t manage a photo-walk tomorrow. Bummer. Cryptic message from John saying “Will you be in between 12noon and 1pm”. Another cryptic message from Hazy that just read “We’re off!” And all of this before breakfast.

After I’d replied to Alex saying tomorrow was going to be tight for me anyway, so not to worry. Then replying to Hazy to say “Enjoy the short break.” After these replies I began to wonder what John’s message meant. I’d a fair idea what it was and decided to keep it a surprise for Scamp. Next message was for Scamp. It was a phone call from Nancy wanting to arrange a date for us to go to their’s for dinner. Scamp got that sorted. I was hoping there would be a lull in the message exchanges just for a short while to allow us to get Wordle and Spelling Bee done and dusted.

Well, we did manage to get the essential puzzles completed and later in the morning Scamp said “Annette’s coming over to see me about 12 o’clock”. Oh oh! Now I’d need to say that someone else was coming over about midday too and, of course had to reveal John’s message. As it happened, Scamp managed to reschedule Annette’s visit to tomorrow and John was just dropping off a parcel and a card before he and Marion drove off. By now it was lunch time and then we were off to Falkirk to see the man who talks in £s and $s and occasionally €s.

Arrived in Falkirk right on the dot of 2pm. Andrew talked us through the money markets as he sees them with lots of interesting asides to keep us interested. We had some questions for him and he gave us good advice on how to deal with upcoming problems. We left after an hour bamboozled, but feeling more upbeat than I thought we would.

Back home I got a photo of a crocus flowering in the front garden and that became PoD. Just a lone yellow flower against a green background.

Today’s prompt was The Sting. I didn’t relish the challenge of sketching Robert Redford or Paul Newman, so I chose another Sting expert as my challenge. Wasps can be vicious insects. Unlike honey bees they can sting you more than once if they choose to do so. That has never stopped me from photographing them, but I tend to more than a little cautious when they’re around.

Tomorrow I’ve promised myself I’ll get my hair cut. I was going to do it myself, but better to get someone who knows what they’re doing to do it.

Dancin’ workout – 11 February 2023

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Today was a dancin’ day and no mistake. No respite either!

The warmup today was a the Cameron Quickstep. That’s almost half a circuit of the floor, even before the teachers begin to make additions. Apparently it’s really a sequence dance! I can’t see many Tea Dancers doing this one without a defibrillator nearby. We tried it slow – a walk through and it was achievable. Then the teachers turned the music on and it was chaos. What comes next?? Is it the Zig Zag or is it the Chair? Nobody seemed to know or care. It was that old joke, all the moves were there, just not in the right order. Eventually, and I mean eventually we worked out where we were, what comes next and where we were meant to be. After half an hour we were exhausted, well, at least I was. I had to have a wee sit down to get my breathing back to normal.

We left the quickstep behind and did a wee relaxing Bossa Nova to cool us down before we entered the next 30min class on Foxtrot. I thought we had this in the bag, but it was in the wrong bag, not the one I’d brought. After some corrections from Jane and then Stewart, we began to find the dance we’d practised for a couple of turns round the living room. The living room Foxtrot bore some resemblance to the Brookfield (big hall) version, but only an expert could see it. Again, eventually, we managed to put all the pieces together and it began to sort of flow.

Another break and it was time for the third half hour which would be Tango. We can do a fairly representative tango, but then the teachers decided to add in another part that was new to us. It wasn’t difficult, in fact it was similar to another part of the routine and that’s what made it difficult. It was similar, but not the same, possibly too similar. In time we’ll either work it in properly or erase it from our memory – probably the latter.

Just to keep our heart rate up it was a couple of Midnight Jives to finish. I’m not sure whether that was a dance class or a workout. It was good and we learned a lot, but I was exhausted by the time we were walking out into the drizzly rain.

Drove home again via the M8/M74 route and stopped for rolls and a Danish pastry at the shops on the way home. I was so knackered, I went for a 45min snooze in the afternoon. By then it was dinner time and we’d agreed on a fish supper each for dinner. I walked to Condorrat and was back in about 15 mins. Record time. On the way there in the gathering gloom I got today’s PoD which was taken in the Adventure Playground in the park on the path to Condorrat. Lurking around in a kids playpark after dark! That sounds dodgy, but I love these rough cut balancing toys they look so graphic.

Today’s prompt was The Big Blue. Not only had I not seen this film, I’d never even heard of it. The only Big Blue I was aware of was IBM! However, I went with the flow (no pun intended) and watched the previews on YouTube. Still it meant very little to me.
The deepest I’ve dived, personally, was 2m in the swimming pool at Butlins, or was it Pontins? I can’t remember. But I do remember it didn’t give me the urge to go any deeper. However, I do remember you needed flippers, and a mask better than the ones you got in Woolworths, so that’s what I’ve sketched and painted today. I like the mask. It’s quite manic looking. Like a Japanese Daruma with both eyes painted in!

Tomorrow we may be resting our weary limbs. We might walk to the shops if we can summon the energy!