Somewhere over the rainbow

So the weather has been consistently dull and uninspiring and every spare minute has been taken up with decorating the house - a long and seemingly endless task. 

However, I looked up from my paint-roller today to see the sun beaming into the back of the house, the front was enjoying this spectacular rainbow, so using any excuse not to actually do any work I grabbed a quick shot. It would appear that on closer inspection, there should indeed be a pot of gold in my neighbour's house!

Hopefully the decorating will draw to its conclusion soon and this incessant rain will abate so I can get outside and take some shots... we shall see

sun and seagulls

So, Saturday was another dreary wash-out weather wise, I awoke on Sunday morning knowing full well that if I looked out of the window, it would be another 100 percent cloud-cover stylee day - but I was wrong! the sun was shining!! I went to the seaside - STAT!!!

Gulls enjoying a blue sky over Hastings

We set off around Hastings Country Park and although the sky was at last bluer than a blue thing, the paths were essentially nothing but ankle-deep mud. Our circuit took us a couple of miles away from Hastings - slipping mainly on our right (downhill) leg, and the return journey saw the left (still downhill) leg getting a slip work-out, just to even things up. Annoyingly, I could hear waterfalls only to find out that they were hidden behind dense bramble-growth - bummer.
So it was back to Hastings to check out a small photographic exhibition by Matt Kellit and then fish and chips (when in Rome..) while sitting on the pebbles watching the gulls and the (rather small) waves. But at least the camera was out and the light was OK - sweet!

Lobster pots on Hastings beach

Fishing boats on the beach at Sunset, Hastings

just getting plastered

Well not much has been happening on the photography front for a while now, this has been down to: a terrible bout of man-flu; the fact that I have been stuck indoors either preparing for, or making tea for, our plasterers; and the weather being crap.
In good faith and with an expectant gate in my step, I set-off on Sunday for a trundle in the countryside with my trusty canon strapped to my back and as soon as I drove a mile from home, the sun dived behind a bank of cloud and decided that it was best to stay there - it seems for ever!
Man-flu is now fading, rain seems to have stopped and the plastering should be complete by tomorrow. Soon I shall have no more excuses so I might actually get my backside into gear and make a couple of images - fingers crossed!!

Going Home

So today was the day that Harriet travelled back to uni in Cornwall after the Christmas break. We took her to the train station to wave goodbye and wish her a safe (eight hour) journey. It has always been, and always will be, a tough thing for Becky to have to do so I figured, perhaps rather cruelly, that it would be an opportunity to grab a moment of emotion as we all said our goodbye's - it won't be long until she's back.

Then the sun came out...

So after a few days of dark horrible weather and too much food (some would argue that there's no change there!), the sun decided to come out and play for a day. After being stuck in a car or stuck indoors over the festive season, we grabbed at the chance to get outside for a couple of hours and headed into Bedgebury Forest (along with everyone else I think)with my camera on my back.

The forest was not looking its best after the recent battering that it had received and there wasn't a lot of wildlife around - nothing but cyclists and a couple of distant squirrels - so I spent my time gazing at the trees hoping to catch a glimpse of something better than average. I think this one came out OK, it looks as cold as it felt but that sun just made everything feel a little warmer. 

St Andrews Folkigham

OK, so Christmas has finally done its thing and I find myself in Folkingham at the in-laws - so on Christmas Day itself, I trundled into their local church (my in-laws are the key holders lucky enough!) and grabbed a couple of pics of the empty church...

 

The next day, boxing day afternoon, the sun made a rare appearance so I felt that I had to go and try the church again in better light

  

 

...if the sun decides to grace us with its presence in the morning I shall try and grab a shot or two of the morning sun over the alter - how very festive!

Randy & The Rockets Christmas Party

Well it's been a bit longer than I anticipated since my last post, I had in good faith lugged my camera into Tunbridge Wells with the intention of taking a long exposure shot of Victoria Place - unfortunately, within moments of pulling my camera out of its bag, I was pounced on by the mall security guards - who finally had something to do - and told to stop photographing! - jobsworths! - I will be back, I'll just wait for the Christmas lights to be taken down.

...So onto my next shot, I haven't really done a lot of band photography - I tend to be in the band! - but I planned a couple of shots and scoped-out the best vantage points the night before (Double6 were supporting on both nights so I had plenty of time).

My first couple of shots were with the 50mm and they were OK but once I took the 70-200 to the back of the hall, things started to come together. I had a remotely triggered flash on the stage to give the drummer a bit of light and also to give a little rim lighting to the guitarist - I thinks that was the element which worked best and I think that next time I try something like this I will try a flash on both sides of the stage (and hopefully by then I'll some on camera lighting control - let's see what Santa brings!)