TOTNES WITH IVYBRIDGE CAMERA CLUB

An evening out with Ivybridge Camera to quirky Totnes in early September!  The trip began at 6.30pm, and continued until dusk - and was followed by a convivial meal in a bistro!

Some of the images I took - 

Loved the delicate arrangement in this window and thought a delicate reproduction best suited it.

Lots of sweet little windows with window boxes adorning them.

Just looked very inviting.  Loved the circular staircase. Pity it was closed!

St Margaret's Church entrance.

Who lives here?  Bet they are very nice people?

Just loved the "lollipop" Bay Tree mural!

Last light on the row of terraced houses.  Pity the sky was so grim!

Cross-over light looking up river.

Mythic Gardens

As you all know, I belong to Exeter Camera Club.  One of the things they like their members to do is to arrange a trip out with cameras during the "off" season - usually between May to September.

I decided to organise a trip to the Mythic Gardens at Stone Farm, Stone Lane, Chagford TQ13 8JU.  Go to http://stonelanegardens.com to see all!

I extended the invitation to nearby camera clubs - but only two responded - Liskeard CC and Plymouth CC!  Altogether 12 photographers came along and stayed from 4.00pm until 7.00pm, when we had to hurry off to the Ring O'Bells pub in Chagford for an evening meal.

Here are a few of my efforts.  More will be posted on my Flickr site in due course.

Some of the sculptures and strange creatures hidden in the gardens!

I quite enjoy Infrared photography.  This dates back to the good old days of Kodak HiSpeed I/R film. I now use a converted digital camera - and although the end result isn't quite the same as it once was, I still like this genre - and felt it suited the surreal feelings in the gardens.

Puff the Magic Dragon?  Quite a friendly chap really!

A fun place to visit.  They hold the National Collection of Birch and Alder trees - so I expect the colour in the Autumn will be well worth another visit.

AYMER COVE, near Kingsbridge, Devon.

I also belong to Ivybridge Camera Club and on Thursday, we had an evening out at this location.  I had been here once before with the kids and their friends for a barbecue, and frankly, I didn't hold out much hope for anything half decent.  But it was a chance to socialise with club members - and there was a pub meal to follow!  

I was jolly glad I went!  Just a few of the fascinating rock patterns I found!  Will definitely go back another time, hopefully on a receding tide, when the wet and dry patterns on the rocks should look really good.

Aymer Cove - just starting to get interesting light when we had to rush off to the pub!  It's a tough life!

A few rock patterns - 

An amazing place!

Forest of Dean

Exeter Camera Club organised a week's self-catering holiday in the Forest of Dean this year.

It's a location I've not been to before, and didn't really know what to expect.  However, Ros the girl who organised most of it, had lived in the area for many years, and knew it pretty well, and proved to be an excellent "tour organiser and leader"!

I was lucky enough to share one of the chalets with her.  During the day, we tripped around to various locations and in the evening had huge communal meals with much laughter and drinking till the early hours!

The weather was wonderful - apart from the first two days - but it didn't stop us going out and about with our camera!

A few of the images taken during that week.  I'm still processing some of them.

One of the Chalets with the barbecue heating up!

Ros our organiser and Bryan our President enjoying the evening noggin and natter!

Gloucester Docks - first day in the rain!

Gloucester Docks - still raining - but it makes nice pictures!!

A hapless barman - persuaded to 'model' for me!  He was a natural!

Martin finding something interesting in the undergrowth!  Move over David Attenborough!

Another person I persuaded to 'model' for me in Puzzlewood!

Puzzlewood was a spooky place - which suited infrared I thought.

Mud flats at Lydney!  Just liked the shapes.

I won't bore you with any more - but in any case, I am still feverishly processing them.  We plan to have an evening in September when we will look at everything we took that week!  Really looking forward to it!

ELLA DOES IT AGAIN!!

There's no stopping her, it seems!!

Following her success last year, when she won a Natural History painting competition, with a £100 prize and her picture was framed and hung in the Mall Galleries in London - our clever granddaughter has excelled once more!

This time, it was a competition within Surrey schools, where all junior children throughout the county were invited to depict the Magna Carta!

Ella is very creative, and is frequently to be found on her bedroom floor with her tablet computer, videoing little scenarios with her Lego people and toy animals, using her bedside lamp to illuminate the little set-ups!

That was how she created the picture below!  She downloaded the various banner images, resized them, cut them out and stuck them to cocktail sticks, which were then stuck to the little models hands!

She won!!

Once more, she will be "exhibited" and Rachael is under strict orders to record the event when it occurs, as I still don't know when or where it will be - and wouldn't want to miss it for anything!

Granny had to print a 10" x 8" image for her - and a smaller JPEG which will be projected sometime during the event.

Maybe I will be able to post more about this as and when I get to know about it?

Ella's Magna Carta winning image!

New Found Relations!

Out of the blue, I suddenly discovered a new relation!

All my life, we were a "unit" of mother, father and four siblings.  We knew and had met my father's parents - but other than that - we didn't really know that we had any more relations.  My mother's parents had both died before I was born.

Then, a few years ago, I met Gail.  We are a similar age - and got on really well.  The family tendency towards art ran in her blood too, and Gail is a very accomplished artist using oils, gauche and watercolours and has had work exhibited and produces her own greeting cards and prints.  A really talented lady - who also sculpts!

Imagine my surprise to have an invite from Gail to go to London and meet up with ANOTHER cousin!  One I had known nothing at all about!

And so, in early June, we went to London, staying with Gail's son in North London (yes - another relation!!  They were coming out of the woodwork all of a sudden!)

The spooky thing was that I recognised Jinks first when she came into the restaurant we were meeting up in!  She was a dead ringer for one of my sisters!  And even more spooky - she recognised me, saying I reminded her of a 98 year, recently deceased relation!  (Says a lot for how I look these days!)

Anyway, a very personal blog this time - showing off the three cousins!  I hope my sisters will confirm with me that Jinks certainly has a strong family resemblance!

Cousin Jinks

Gail and Jinks

Ann, Gail and Jinks

Gail's son, Geoffrey

The art tendency has followed the line through Jinks, who designs jewellery and Geoffrey designs graphics for promotional purposes for businesses and has his own business with a staff of six, all using 27" Macs!

Did I drool!!

Arena Seminar, Bournemouth

Spent a very enjoyable long weekend in Bournemouth, attending the Arena Seminar.  Lots of good speakers, and some very inspirational work.

Did manage to get up at 5.30am on the Sunday and a quick dash down to the beach to grab a few shots.  Nothing amazing - but good to be out!  No tripod - so no arty-farty stuff I'm afraid!!

View from the balcony window at dawn!

Dog walkers on the beach.  Lovely surf patterns!

Boscombe Pier.  The best I could manage minus my trusty tripod!!

Day Three - Another Three Hours!

Got on location at 11.00am - a little late - but some the birds were still feeding.  Very cold - but the light was rather good.

Started doing the gulls.  I was able to get a little closer than I did yesterday - consequently, filling the frame was easier.  I think these were Black Headed Gulls in winter plumage.  The backlighting was really nice.

I've been told to get the birds flying towards the camera with space in front of them to "move into"

Imagine my delight when I saw an Egret?  At first, it was roosting in a tree - but patience was rewarded when it finished its preening, then made its way down to the water's edge, and began fishing!!

Carefully plodding along the water's edge.  Don't you just love those Marigold-gloved feet?

Soon, it started fishing.

Those feet just cracked me up!

The action was s-o-o- fast!  Even with 10-frames a second - it was hard to anticipate when, and then capture the moment!

Just as I was about to pack everything away and head for home to warm up - look what silently arrived?

And just as silently and swiftly flew off!  Was it an apparition?

And so ended Day Three of my practice, practice, practice sessions with the new camera!  I think it's slowly beginning to come together.  Whatever!  I so enjoyed the time out - and will certainly revisit this location again in the future.

I'm working in the morning, but might try to go out again in the afternoon, weather permitting.  But I think rain is forecast!

We are away at the weekend - then from 3rd February, I head to Bulgaria to shoot Dalmation Pelicans - which is what all this practicing has been about!

Wish me luck?