Category: St Mo’s

An Early Start – 24 February 2016

Posted on by Zogman

combo bSo what of the day?  Well, it was a really early rise with the alarm set for 5.30am.  A quick breakfast and a couple of mouthfulls of tea then out to defrost the car.  It wasn’t too bad really, only about -1ºc.  It had been colder during the night, but now there were clouds hiding the moon which raised the temperature a bit.  Next we loaded the cases into the car, because today Scamp and her sisters were off to a place where there is rarely, if ever a need to defrost the cars, Fuerteventura.

I was supposed to run them to the bus station in Glasgow, but the CITRAC signs said it would be an easy 19mins to the airport, so I decided to just extend the run out to there instead.  Indeed, for once, CITRAC was right and it was a textbook run out along the motorway.  Dropped them off and set off back down the motorway again in the opposite direction.  I had expected heavier traffic heading east into Glasgow, but the gods were with me because it was far lighter than I had anticipated and I made good time back home.  I was glad I’d left the heating on.  Nothing beats a warm house to come home to.

Today DPD were delivering my new (new to me) camera.  I’d finally settled on an Olympus OM D E-M10.  Apparently:

  • D is for Digital to separate it from the old OM1, 2 and 10 film cameras
  • E is for Electronic (duh, I think the word ‘Digital’ gives the game away)
  • M is for Mirrorless
  • 10 is for the model number

Really?  Do we need all those numbers and letters?  Why don’t they just call it an OM 10D?  Olympus don’t make anything other than mirrorless cameras and compacts now anyway.  Maybe longer names make the objects look more important.  Audi seem to do quite well with one letter and a one number.

Anyway, the parcel arrived dead on the target time of 15.08.  Signed for it and carefully unpacked it – no I didn’t, I ripped off the bubble wrap and stuck the battery in it to see what it could do.  As with my other Oly cameras there were a multitude of menus to navigate.  Luckily, this one was very similar to the E-PL5 (don’t ask what the letters and numbers mean), so it wasn’t the steep learning curve I had there.  Suffice to say that I headed off to St Mo’s to test it and some of the results are show above.  Am I impressed?  I have to say yes, reservedly yes.  It’s a very small camera.  Not too small, I think, but I wouldn’t want to work with anything smaller.  I remember when the OM1 came out in the mid ’70s, everyone said it was a lady’s camera, but a few professional photographers whe were big blokes took a shine to it and it gained acceptance.  I thought it was a lovely camera.

While waiting for the new toy to arrive, I monitored the sisters flight down to the Canaries on Flight Radar 24 which gives vast amounts of information to those interested in such things.

So, the car goes in for MOT tomorrow and I’m hoping to take my mind off that by taking some more photos.  Not testing – taking.

Stirling in the Rain – 20 February 2016

Posted on by Zogman

combo bStirling in the rain is like anywhere else in the rain, it’s a bit dismal. We’d only come here because we couldn’t face going to Glasgow again, we’d been to Embra yesterday and let’s face it Hamilton, Airdrie and Motherwell are pretty depressing. Not as depressing as Cumbersheugh, but nowhere is really. We couldn’t be bothered going far, but wanted to get out the house for a while and Stirling would be better than anywhere else within the 30 mile limit we’d kind of set.

When we got to Stirling the rain actually stopped for a while. Did some shopping, Scamp got some Euros to celebrate Big Davie Cameron’s Battle for Britain. Nah, she got them for going to a sunny place next week. I’m not going, I’m not invited. This is a girls only do. I’m going to stay home and paint and maybe fix the battery in the Mac Book Pro. I might even go out a run in the car, but not to Stirling and not in the rain.

There was a break in the clouds when we got home and I ventured out to St Mo’s to get some foties. Got soaked on the way back, but that was ok because I had a few shots in the bag. Well, to be pedantic, the photos were on the card, in the camera which was in the bag.

Made chicken and prawn pasta with rocket pesto, and made it better than that tasteless Brown’s concoction. If they want my recipe I’ll sell it to them. Had a first attempt at chicken pakora tonight. It tasted ok, even Scamp agreed. Maybe veggy pakora tomorrow, but deep frying in a wok on a gas hob is a bit scary.

Forty Three Years Ago – 17 February 2016

Posted on by Zogman

combo bForty three years ago today the weather was much the same. There was snow on the ground and it was cold. Two young folk, one 22 and one just 18 repeated their vows and became man and wife. How their lives have changed.

Today we took it easy. We had intended going to Edinburgh, but it being the middle of the week and with the prospect of more snow on the way, we decided to cut our losses and go to Glasgow instead. Rather than suffer the long bus journey through the wilds of Moodiesburn and Muirhead, I offered to drive. We eventually got parked in the third carpark we tried, despite the electronic signs telling us that there were spaces in the other two (they lied). Walked down through town me looking at a couple of cameras on the way, but still undecided which or even if I’d buy if it came down to it. Just like a girl can never have enough shoes, a photog can never have enough cameras. Decided on Browns for lunch and were mightily disappointed in the lack of flavour from both our meals. It’s feels like they have a reputation now, so they don’t have to try so hard. I think we’ll try somewhere else next time, but it’s a shame when it was a celebration meal and we rejected a few good restaurants before opting for Browns. Maybe it’s something to do with the name “Browns”: ordinary, nondescript, boring. Sort of sums it up really.

Went from there to the Art Store and picked up a couple of small Pink Pig sketch books and a wonderful bargain of a watercolour box reduced from £79 to £25!! Unfortunately, as I guessed, the Art Store is closing for good at the end of the month. According to one of the assistants, “the company is kaput”. Short term bargains for artists, but long term loss for art in Glasgow. They will be sadly missed.

After we came home, the weather brightened up and I managed an hour in St Mo’s just walking in the snow taking shots mainly with the 9mm. Some of the results are above. No plans for tomorrow, it all depends on the weather.

Ice is Nice – 14 February 2016

Posted on by Zogman

combo bSome days you can only just manage to drag yourself out to take one or two photos, other days the opportunities are endless. Such was it today. When I woke, the sun was battering at the window trying to get in to lighten our morning. After breakfast I couldn’t resist it any longer and I took the Oly out to play in the snow. Great light, but treacherous underfoot with about 20-25mm of ice on paths and roads. I’d only put on my boots, not my crampon things. I detest them, but they are useful on days like this. Anyway, once I got to St Mo’s, it was a bit softer and safer walking on the snow than the ice. Spotted some deer, but not before they saw me and raced on ahead. No chance to even take the camera out of the bag, but it was just as good watching them run throught the trees, occasionally lit by the morning sun.

Today I concentrated on the little bits of light and ice sitting on grass stems and branches of low weeds. Managed one shot of a grass stem with a bead of thawed ice on it. For once I got the focus just right with the grass slightly blurred, but the aerial image in focus. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to get this effect, and this morning I achieved it by accident. Also liked the oversharpened and oversaturated shot of the cowparsley head covered in beads of melting ice. The contre-jour shot of the leaf was a no-brainer. Warm coloured subject against cool background colours. Simple. Just getting back up again from the crouch that’s needed to take the shot, that’s the challenge for me.

Back home for lunch and a coffee, then Scamp wanted to go for a walk to Condorrat. More walking over the icy crevasses, and then one last look for something interesting with the Nikon this time, but the light was too low by then, so I got nothing worthwhile. Up early and out. The early bird gets the worm (and the good shots). That should be my motto from now on, providing it’s not raining. Click on the shots above to see the images better on Flickr.

An hour of good light – 9 February 2016

Posted on by Zogman

combo bWe had intended going to Ayr today, but the weather said NO! It rained all morning, then as predicted by the weather men (and ladies) it stopped at midday. Too late to go to Ayr, or anywhere else really, so we took some rubbish to the council tip. Hmm, not exactly exciting or scenic. However, it was worth a walk over to St Mo’s.

I spent an interesting and worthwhile hour in St Mo’s. The light was good, the ISO setting was reasonably low and I got quite a few shots. From the 70 odd shots I distilled the four above. Top left is a group of Cladonias lichen which will forever be called Green Trumpets by me. Top right is a wummin walkin’ her big dug. Try getting Google to translate that! Bottom right is a coot looking for some bread. I had none today. Bottom left is a rare Scottish Pink Haggis – the female of the species. It was grazing on grass near the old BMX track. They will feed on grass if there is no heather available.

Hoping for more sun tomorrow.

Sore Legs – 19 January 2016

Posted on by Zogman

combo bIt was cold today, not as cold as it has been, and most of the snow has gone now, but it was not particularly comfortable. We went to the gym and had a swim afterwards. This was the most exercise I’ve done in a long time and I’m beginning to feel the effects in my legs tonight. The pool was lovely and warm, maybe too warm. I did a few lengths, but spent most of my time in the jacuzzi and the sauna.

After lunch I went for a walk round St Mo’s and grabbed a few shots with the Oly. I seem to get better results with this new E-PL5 than I do with the Nikon. Sometimes you need the instant response of the Nikon and the quality is better with it, but for day to day shooting and for pocketability (if that’s a word), the Oly wins hands down.

Not a lot done, but a much better day than yesterday. I even got today’s Medium sudoku finished (hopefully correctly!). So things must be getting better.

A cold and frosty morning – 17 January 2016

Posted on by Zogman

combo bWell, that’s the way it looked when we got up.  When I say ‘got up’, I really mean got out of bed, looked out the window and went back beneath the warm duvet again.  I’m not sure if it had snowed during the night, but the temperature was hovering around zero, so it might have.  Didn’t do much in the morning apart from clear up the kitchen a bit.

In the afternoon I struggled into my boots and gaiters to take a walk across to St Mo’s.  Lots of deer tracks, but no sign of the actual beasts themselves.  Spent some time watching the coots and ducks sliding across the frozen pond.  Managed to find a puddle hidden under a covering of snow on a layer of grass.  It was deep enough to reach up to my knees and cold enough to take my breath away.  That alone shortened my walk.  No tramping through the trees today, not with frozen tootsies.  Got a few photos of tracks in the snow, but nothing interesting.  There wasn’t really enough directional light to create the shadows you need when photographing snow.  Came home, dried off and stared at a glowing screen 1 for an hour or so.  I don’t suppose I will ever learn.

That about wraps it up for today.  We should have gone to salsa tonight, but the weather station said it would snow and the temperature was dropping from its high of 3ºc and we weren’t really all that bothered.  Hopefully we’ll go to class tomorrow.  Tomorrow is another day.

  1. “Maybe we spend too much time looking at glowing screens.” 22 December 2015 ↩

A bit of culture, sew there – 14 January 2016

Posted on by Zogman

Combo bAnother bright morning, bright but cold.  Since I was going to a sewing machining class, yes, that’s right a sewing machining class in Glasgow tonight and I wanted to see where it was, we decided to drive in to Glasgow.  It was really quite easy to find and it was near Kelvingrove Art Galleries, so it made sense to just stop and smell the roses, or look at the pictures.  It’s ages since we spent any time in the (F)art galleries, many more ages since I took a critical look at the paintings.  I won’t say I learned a lot, but I did see some intersting techniques that I’ll have a go at.  Since we were on quite a tight time schedule we left without listening to all of the organ recital, but it didn’t look as if Bowie was on today’s playlist.

I had an hour or two before I needed to get my threads and needles ready, so I went for a walk through St Mo’s.  Saw a deer in the distance, but that was it as far as the wildlife was concerned.  Even Mr Grey was absent.  Got some pics of frozen and snow covered toadstools.  We don’t often get toadstools in January, so this is another sign of the mild weather of the last few weeks.  Temperature is dipping quite drastically now though.  Frosted cars in the morning and the grit lorry making its rounds tonight.

Speaking about tonight, I drove into Glasgow to go to the Sew Macho class.  Couldn’t find the actual studio at first.  Luckily there were other dressmaking hopefuls there too and one of them knew where we needed to go.  Only four in the class and I, of course, was the oldest by far.  It was a really, really interesting introduction to the mysteries of the sewing machine.  When I was at school I wasn’t allowed to take Home Economics  – boys did Woodwork or Metalwork and girls did Cookery or Sewing and never the twain would meet.  I’d played about with Scamp’s sewing machine forty odd years ago, but apart from making strings of little ducks and little dogs, I didn’t do anything with it.  I was always scared I’d punch a hole in my finger with the needle, or I’d break the needle, maybe even both!
Tonight I learned to:

  • Set up the machine.
  • Spool the bobbin with thread and load it.
  • Do Single Stitches
  • Do Zig-zag Stitches
  • Make a Simple Hem
  • Make a Blind Hem
  • Sew in a patch
  • Sew on a button

All taught with good humour and confidence by teacher Jenny.  I even managed to patch an old pair of jeans.  I think I will dig out the old sewing machine and see if I can remember some of the techniques.  You never know, I might even make myself a tee shirt … someday!

A little bit of colour – 10 January 2015

Posted on by Zogman

combo bThere wasn’t much light today and it was raining. It was one of those days when you just wanted to roll over and pull up the duvet. I rolled over and pulled up the duvet.

After lunch, I was determined to find some colour in this drab landscape. The rain had turned to snow, well, sleet really, but that didn’t put me off. I’d found a long lost pair of snow gaiters and intended trying them out. To be honest, there wasn’t much snow lying, but the gaiters would keep some of the mud off my jeans. Or so I hoped. Actually, they worked quite well and I’m glad I found them.

Mr Grey was available for a couple of shots before he got fed up posing and flew off. Other than that and the ubiquitous swans, there wasn’t much moving at St Mo’s today. Can’t say I blame them. I got a few shots of some water dripping from dried up weeds (how do the weeds stay dry in this weather?) before I stuck the Oly back in the camera bag and headed for home. If you look closely, there is some colour in the shots, just not a lot.

A little splash of sunshine – 6 January 2016

Posted on by Zogman

combo bAlthough the day started with the usual dull, dull, dull, by midday it was beginning to brighten up a bit. Since Scamp had burned out the shredder yesterday, ripping up almost half a ream of out of date receipts, we had to consign the old shredder to the council tip and then go buy a new one. One out, one in. A good rule to start the new year with.

Went to Robroyston to check out the variety of shredders available. Available was the key word in the last sentence. Argos had the cheapest price for the one she wanted but, as with so many stores these days, they didn’t have any in stock. It appears that the only way some stores can survive the cheap prices of online shops is to advertise cheap deals on their website and expect you to buy online and then pick up at the shop. The shop then doesn’t need a great warehouse in-house so to speak, but to have a warehouse near at hand from which they can quickly have the goods delivered. Curry’s did have the physical shredder in stock and in the shop, so although it was more expensive, we bought it there.

While Scamp was shredding away happily this afternoon, I grabbed a chance to walk in the sunshine in St Mo’s. Got a few snaps of Mr Grey before I got too close and he flew off to his favourite hiding place among the bulrushes. Not long after that, the light levels started to fall off and we were back to four figure ISO values, but I did walk in the sunshine for a short while.