31 Mar 2011

FARM SHOP

As you've probably guessed from the pumpkins, this was taken last autumn.  It was a colourful photograph but I thought I'd like to see how it transferred to black and white and I'm quite pleased with it.

30 Mar 2011

SPOTTY LEAVES

These leaves have spots all over them which is such a shame. But I love the way the light from behind shows up the delicate vein system.

29 Mar 2011

PEONY SHOOTS

The beginnings of this year's peonies are about ten inches high. I love the huge, blowsy flowers but they get very heavy so need lots of support which will have to go in soon.

I'm beginning to get a bit fed up with posting photos of flowers. Will have to get out and about with my camera again soon and find some other interesting things.

28 Mar 2011

MAGNOLIAS

My lovely little magnolia tree is just blooming. It's a stellata type of magnolia, not the big waxy flowers. This is more delicate and the flowers don't last long before the petals drop, after which the tree comes into leaf for the rest of the summer.

25 Mar 2011

SLOW WATER

Another experiment with shutter speeds - 1/10 sec at f/32. It was so great to be somewhere I could play around with lots of little waterfalls to photograph. Wales again.

24 Mar 2011

GROUP OF THREE

This photograph is in response to Kat's Exploring the Camera: Groups of Three post. These strange Welsh sheep were inserted into little nooks in the old wooden beam running alongside the stairs in the cottage we rented recently. Cute!

23 Mar 2011

POT POURRI

I tried very hard to make this square for Kat but couldn't crop it any more or I'd lose some of the subject. Oh well - will try harder!  Sorry Kat:-)

21 Mar 2011

BETWS-Y-COED

Rapids at Betws-y-Coed in Wales where three rivers meet. An ideal place to play around with shutter speeds. This was at 1/8 sec which has smoothed the water falling over the rocks. My husband was getting very fed up waiting for me to take a whole lot of photos at different settings!

20 Mar 2011

ROSES!

These were in a vase by a window in the cottage we rented in Wales. Unfortunately they're not real but they were great fakes!

19 Mar 2011

FIRST COLOURS OF SPRING

My camellia is always the first plant to flower in my garden each year. I love its exuberant pinkness. It's a little spotty this year though and I'm not sure why. Both the petals and the leaves are blotchy.

17 Mar 2011

PORTMADOC, WALES

I don't know what these broken wooden posts were but fancy they may at some time have been a jetty into the estuary. Portmadoc is a town in Wales, near which is the famous Italianate village at Portmeirion.

16 Mar 2011

NOT MANY DEAD THINGS LEFT NOW...


... but I'm still managing to find the odd few, like these delicate spirals of dead old man's beard.

15 Mar 2011

TEXTURES 2

I like the different textures in this image. The tiny stone building was overgrown with ivy and had a bead curtain across the doorway. A really strange find.

14 Mar 2011

WELSH DRESSER

I bet not many people go all the way to Wales to take a photo of a Welsh Dresser! I liked the perspective of this shot but I know I got the lighting wrong as the window behind the plant is overexposed. I'm thinking I should have exposed for the light coming through the window and maybe used a little flash for infill. Any ideas welcomed!

13 Mar 2011

BACK HOME FROM HOLS

This old red 'phone box was just down the road from the house we rented in Wales last week. I have no idea what the Welsh means - it's an impossible language to look at and make any sense of whatsoever!

And here it is in context. The box by the side of the 'phone box is an honesty box containing eggs for sale; they had the yellowest yolks I have ever seen.  We were staying in the house nearest and it was absolutely beautiful and in a stunning location. And the weather really was this good for almost the whole week.

This was the view from the eastern side of the house - so peaceful. A real tonic!

3 Mar 2011

HOLIDAYS

This is a bench with a view on the Ashdown Forest on a slightly misty day (yesterday).

I'm off to Wales for a week's holiday tomorrow so if I'm unable to comment on all your lovely blogs please forgive me - I think there are whole tracts of Wales that have no internet connection. I guess, considering my one little word for 2011 is slow, that's probably a blessing.

2 Mar 2011

SPIKY II

Another image of the spiky gorse which is all over the forest at the moment.

1 Mar 2011

TINY HARBOUR

We found this tiny harbour in the border country last year. It houses one fishing boat but must at some time have been regularly used by local fishermen.