weather – Page 271 – My Photo Blog

Back to Reality – 20 November 2015

Posted on November 20, 2015November 21, 2015 by Zogman

An hour by the pool this morning, then a walk down through the town to buy a final load of stuff to take home, then a last coffee and roll ‘n’ sausage in The Pantry, but…

The holiday is over. We got the taxi early nearly 30 mins early and joined a queue at checkin. An hour later we got to security. Every other queue went down fine, except ours. The through security and duty-free to join the next queue at the departure gate. The. They changed the gate. Next was another hour’s wait for the plane. We’re now just thundering down the runway and rotate! Bye bye Tenerife until the next time. Last temp I saw was 25degrees. I think it may be cooler in Glasgow.

Rain, wind and sunny intervals – 8 November 2015

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Zogman

One of our neighbours said yesterday that he was going out because Sunday was to be worse. He was right. The day started dull and damp, but soon the rain came. The weather apps and web sites were predicting sunny intervals, but none were evident.

By afternoon, the wind had increased and so had the rain. Still no sign of the sunny intervals. I felt terrible. What the doc would call “flu like symptoms”. After I’d put my dinner on (slow cooked short ribs), I had a long shower and a couple of paracetamol and suddenly the place looked better.

Funnily enough, at that point the clouds broke, the rain stopped and the sun shone. We had one of those sunny intervals. The interval only lasted about 15 minutes before the clouds sealed up again and the sun set. In those 15 minutes I managed a few shots of the Campsies with soft fluffy clouds and a warm blue sky.

Dull November Day – 6 November 2015

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Zogman

There’s not a lot you can say about today. It was a dull November day. Almost raining, but not quite. Went to the gym and met Scamp there. We went to Milano for lunch afterwards. That was the only bright spot on a dull, dull day. Much later in the day, there was a lightening of the clouds and a spot or two of blue sky. Unfortunately, that was just as the sun was setting. Small recompense for a day spent with the lights on.

Singing in the Rain – 5 November 2015

Posted on November 5, 2015November 6, 2015 by Zogman

I had intended to get the bus in to Glasgow today. Not for anything in particular, just for a walk and a bit of window shopping. I then noticed that I’d just missed the bus and the next one wasn’t for 30 mins. I decided on the spot to drive in instead. 30 mins until the bus then a 40 min bus ride into the city = 1 hour 10 minutes. Drive in and be there in 15 minutes. No Contest. Ok, the bus is free and the parking will cost about a fiver, but still No Contest.

I had a walk down Queen Street to visit the two art shops there – Ok, I wasn’t really window shopping, I was looking for a portable watercolour paint box. Wasn’t sure if I wanted to pay the price tag for the paintboxes in those shops, so I walked on to Millers or whatever its name is now it’s been taken over by an Edinburgh operation. On the way I passed the wee jazz band busking in Argyle Street and playing their heart out. As I walked past them they started into “Singin’ in the Rain” and the heavens opened … and forgot to close. Wish I hadn’t dropped a couple of quid in his hat.

Millers didn’t have the paint box anyway, so I went back to Queen Street and paid the price. On the way there, I waited a while to see if I could get any interesting shots against the giant animal posters. Managed to get a few, then on to Queen Street. After I came out of the Art Store I crossed to the GOMA. As I was walking past the GOMA, this punter puts down what looks like a bodybag and proceeds to get into it and zip it up (Zips inside a bodybag??). On closer inspection it was a suit bag. I thought “ok, one photo” because this guy is a pri**. The last two letters are ‘k’ and ‘c’, but not in that order.

Soaked, I got to the car and drove home. It had cost me £6.00 for the parking, but at least I could drive home in 15 minutes and get dry, rather than wait for a bus and then have to sit in damp clothes for a further 40 minutes. That’s why I use public transport occasionally and drive the rest of the time.

Hole in my Shoe – 28 October 2015

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Zogman

Today we went to Glasgow on the bus, in the rain. Scamp had booked lunch at the Ashoka in Ashton Lane. We were going to go by train, in the rain, but then I’d have to drive to the station and back again and that meant I couldn’t even have a beer with my lunch. Thank you Scottish Government. The nanny state on steroids.

Lunch was really, really excellent. First time we’d been there. I had chicken pakora and chicken bhuna. Scamp had veg pakora and saag paneer. Both were very good, but the star attraction was the naan bread. Usually these days the nan comes as chopped up pieces of a naan in a basket. I may be paranoid, but I think that leaves the door open to all sorts of possible mischief by unscrupulous restaurants. Using leftovers from a previous client springs to mind! None of that nonsense here. One big fat well fired naan, hanging on a stand dripping with ghee. Superb!! We’ll be back, all being well.

By the time we got back to Glasgow it was raining even harder. Bus back home. Thank goodness by accident they’ve changed the times of the busses in Glasgow so not all the Cumbernauld buses come at the same time. Now if you miss one, you only have to wait 15 minutes not the half an hour it used to be.

When we were walking home from the bus the rain seemed to get heavier. It was then I noticed the squeak from my left shoe an not long after that, I also noticed the wet soaking through. Good summer shoes, but not fit for walking in the rain. Such a shame.

Did I mention it rained today?

Workflow Problems

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Zogman

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I always shoot in Raw these days. I’ve been shooting in this format for nigh on twelve years. I gives real flexibility for post processing, but as a backup, I add a medium quality JPEG. It’s useful for viewing on a tablet when I’ve not got the laptop with me. When I download my pics I use Hazel to strip the JPEG files out to my NAS storage drive so they don’t clog up the Mac’s HD. Hazel also files the images for me by date in a folder on the NAS. Recently this has become cluttered and I want to sort them more methodically so that they are filed by month in a folder and then by date within that folder. I started what should have been a simple rearrangement this morning. It’s still doing it now at 11.55pm!! I thought the NAS drive was supposed to speed up my workflow, but it looks like that’s not the case.

It rained today. First rain we’ve had in weeks and it seems as if it’s going to stay for a few more days. Oh well, the farmers have their hay cut and the the gardens need the rain. We’ve had a pretty dry September and for the first few days of October it’s been better than average. Still hoping for more late sun this month. We can but hope.

Better pleased with today’s monochrome landscape. Pen and wash.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

A lazier day – 22 August 2015

Posted on August 22, 2015August 23, 2015 by Zogman

Today was not a day at the gym, or the pool, or on the bike. Today was Saturday and a lazier day. We went to visit a friend down in Ayrshire and had a pleasant hour or so with her and her son. It’s a long time since we’ve seen them and it was really good to catch up. On the way back, we decided to visit Waitrose and spent a fortune. I think it must have been my jar of peanut butter and my slice of cheese that tipped us over the ‘expensive’ level. Anyway, as we hadn’t had a lunch and neither us could be bothered cooking, we decided to hand the expense and get a Chinese carry-out tonight. It was quite delicious. I had carried a camera with me all day and hadn’t used it once, so I decided to get the ‘weemen’ to pose for me tonight. Unfortunately I pressed the wrong button when choosing the correct mode on the camera and did a sort of ‘return to factory settings’ sort of thing and it took me over an hour to get it back working the way I had it. I won’t be making that mistake again.

I’m running a virus checker just now on my Mac. It’s been going for almost four hours now and has found seven pieces of malware of various kinds, every one a PC virus. Say what you like about Macs, but they don’t pick up as much malware and stuff as PCs. It’s amazing the number of invoices I’ve been sent and CVs I’ve been asked to read by kind people who only want me to open the attachments on their emails. I’ve got a friend who obviously did open one, because someone in Japan is now spoofing his email address. One last thing, Windoze 10 is no longer lounging around on the netbook. It got the bum’s rush today. Thankfully it didn’t take long to restore normal service, only about 15 minutes. Now the netbook looks as if it’s flying by comparison. It’s all relative in the end.

Long Live the Mac.

Another day in the sun – 17 August 2015

Posted on August 17, 2015August 17, 2015 by Zogman

Another glorious day but it may be the last for a while if the magic weather pixies are to be believed. The magic weather pixies control most of the bad weather we have suffered this year and they have been on holiday for the last week or so, but it looks like they’ve returned to usher in the rain again, starting tomorrow or so the weather folk say. Oh well, it was good while it lasted. I even sat outside for a time this morning just enjoying the warmth. Caught sight of a bluetit feeding at the peanuts. I’d have thought the sight of a human so close would have scared him off, but not so. After all, whose garden is it? We’ve got papers now to prove that it’s ours, but do the animals and birds have their own feus? They certainly have their own territories, and from their point of view, we may be trespassing on their land. It’s all a matter of perspective.

I had intended to get the bike out and do some cycling, but the front derailleur needs some adjustment and I’m loath to start it as I just know I’m going to make it worse and then the swearing will start. So, I decided to put it to the side for a day or two and attempt it on the first rainy day (see above). Instead, I cleared a space in the back room and set up a photo that’s been in my head for a week or so now. I’d more or less sorted it out and it was time to put it into practice. I’m quite happy with the result. I could go on tweaking it a bit more, but I’m not sure it would improve it greatly ( a bit like the derailleur 😉 ).

That was about it. Reheated yesterday’s curry and improved it with more chicken and more curry paste. Went to Salsa class and couldn’t do a thing right. One of those nights when nothing seemed to work.

Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Maybe the magic weather pixies will still be unpacking their cases!

The Far East – 8 August 2015

Posted on August 8, 2015August 8, 2015 by Zogman

We travelled to the Far East today. To Kirkcaldy, where the good weather was allegedly to be found. It was indeed there. It’s a long time since we’ve been to Kirkcaldy. It’s gone a bit downhill since then, but so have a lot of Scottish towns. There is one place in Kirkcaldy that has remained constant, and that’s the Art Gallery. It’s changed its name to Kirkcaldy Galleries, but the paintings are still there and still worth a visit. Scamp wanted to see the Great Tapestry of Scotland which coincidentally is on display there, and I wanted to see the SJ Peploe paintings in the gallery. The tapestry takes up three rooms in the gallery and is quite interesting, but we both agreed that although it is an impressive body of work, it is quite dull with a distinct lack of colour. Now, this could be due to the poor lighting in the rooms as the display is not that well lit. Unfortunately, because the tapestry takes up so much display space, the paintings have suffered and especially the Scottish Colourists. They are now reduced to only one room in the gallery and at that, some of the best pictures remain in storage. At least we know they will be restored to their former glory soon. After the gallery, we drove to the parking place beside Morrisons and walked along the coastal path to the old castle to see the seals. As usual they were there basking on the rocks in the sun. We took the much quicker, but less scenic way home and allowed Bombay Dreams to provide dinner for us. It rained as I went to pick up the dinner.

That was summer.

I see sunshine – 7 August 2015

Posted on August 7, 2015August 7, 2015 by Zogman

Yes, it’s been sunny all day. Completed a watercolour painting this morning. Not a new one really. It was one of the first ones I did in acrylic, but I always felt it would look better in watercolour. I’d done a sketch of it earlier in the week and it looked ok., Bits of the finished watercolour are good, the sky for instance, but there are other areas that look overworked to my eye. Onward and upward!

We took a walk down to the pub for lunch. Rather than the usual fish and chips, I had a carvery and just a little bit too much. Scamp was jetting off on the bus to the ‘toonie’ while I walked home, then went out to annoy the deer in St Mo’s. Saw and captured Mr Grey – the heron – a couple of dragonflies a froglet (or toadlet) and finally two deer. I imagine they were quite young, because they let me get quite close and didn’t run away far when I got too close. Two little Bambies!

By the time I got home, Scamp was already ensconced in the garden, so I set Lightroom to import the pics, and build the 1:1 previews while we decided it was Pimms o’ clock. A very enjoyable hour or so sitting reading in the sun with a Strawberry Pimms. Sometimes life is good.