Unplugged For The Weekend

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2025-10-30

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It's a backup today, because I wasn't happy with anything I shot this evening.

Rising Damp

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Lovely light this evening, but I picked this one as I enjoyed the look of the mist coming up.

Take A Bite

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I actually set up a shot this evening.
I used actual effort, and everything!

My parents brought me this apple back from a trip to Barnsdale Gardens, where I got married. It's a nice apple, and it's a nice reminder of the best day of my life.

Slightly Uphill

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Another backup, because the only photos I took today were at work - first of a blown-up distribution board (a rather novel start to the day), and second, of a temperature rise test we ran (which I can't show you, because I would prefer to remain employed)

Of Great Utility

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I've been feeling very un-creative this last week or so, so I was struggling to pull anything together for this week's 52Frames "Centred composition" challenge.
I had been assembling some new flatpack furniture, and a screwdriver caught my eye as possibly making for a good centred composition, and the balance in the shot might be a nice nod to the perfect balance that a good quality tool often has in your hand.
I added a little catchlight to one side with the aim of accentuating the shape, and to prevent the shot looking too 2D.

Sail Away

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Another late backup, taken a couple of weeks ago.

Concrete Lace

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Very late, but actually taken on the advertised day. How remarkable.

2025-10-23

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Very Late, Very Backup.

Off Season Is Preferable

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I prefer the seaside when there are fewer people in it... That said, I suppose I prefer most things with fewer people involved!
Must be antisocial or something.

This one's yet another backup photo - for some reason, I'm really struggling to find any creativity or drive to pick the camera up this week.

2025-10-21

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Another backup photo from my trip to Whitby.

Descent

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I've been wanting to capture falling leaves that aren't just a couple of small blobs a handful of pixels across for a while, and this is the closest I've come so far.
I feel there is (much) more to be done on the subject, but this is the first one I've captured that was remotely worth sharing.
It's a composite photo made up of parts of 4 shots captured in a burst.
This one's a sort-of backup, shot yesterday, but meddled with today.

Another Autumn Walk

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Hooked

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This one's a possible option for 52Frames "Shadows".
Not totally convinced by it though, maybe I'll come up with something better tomorrow.

Hued Huts

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A backup photo today, shot last night.
Apparently, I have an absurd affection for ample application of alliteration, I am ashamed to admit, at least afore an astute audience.
Away with this addle-pated airhead, and adroitly!

All Washed Up

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Late posting this one.
I've got Bailey staying with me for a few days, so I took a couple of days off work and we went to the beach.
Dog tax is after the jump - perhaps not the finest photo, but in my defence, he doesn't stay still for long, so I'll settle for him being in frame, in focus, and cute!

Dark Walks Are Back

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It's getting dark so early now.
High ISO and an f/1.2 lens found a bit of light to make an image from though.

Gateway Drug

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I do like a nice gate photo.
This one is a backup, shot at the weekend.

Recall With Great Enthusiasm

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This appealing little pooch was very well behaved. She went to give the lake an inspection and then took off like a rocket when her human called.
I would have liked a cuddle, but I had to settle for a photo with the wrong lens.
This one's a backup photo, shot yesterday, I spent all day today working and then driving home, so no photos were acquired.

2025-10-12

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A flat, overcast morning light led to this shot looking fairly uninspiring straight out of the camera, but I think with some adjustments and rendered in black and white, it's come out rather nicely.

This was one of a group of nearly-grown cygnets that were stood on the bank preening themselves on my walk today. They were remarkably tame, completely unbothered by my presence.

I don't expect this to do particularly well on IG, based on how B&W shots usually go down, but it's my account, and I like it, so there 😝

The Relentless March

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I very much needed this walk today.
This is my 52Frames submission for this week's "Time" challenge.
I am quite happy with this shot - it's time on a longer scale, but time nonetheless.

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We had to say our goodbyes to Eve today.
I don't have many words at the moment, but this poem was read at her memorial, and I think it bears repeating here:

We may look through books for the perfect words
To give form to our feelings, make the thing complete,
Set the matter at rest.

But in the hours of searching, each piece lies rejected:
Too precise, too difficult – too harsh, not relevant,
Implying what we do not wish.

But look into the grey wide sky, and the thoughts will come like this,

Remember me when I loved you most – and you loved me most.
Remember me when I was my bravest – and when I did you right.

Then let that be our secret bond,
And just once let us rise in the morning and enjoy the light,
And know that the bird in the mist is returning to the sun.

- David Lott

Your Food Will Arrive Shortly

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All Clear

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Late, and a backup.

A Corroding Frame Of Reference

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A backup photo today, shot at the weekend.

Reminder

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I was doing a (tiny) bit of clearing up tonight and came across this badge from my MR2.
I badly need to get the car back on the road, and this repaired badge back on the car. It had been a bit of a goal for this summer, but that's clearly not happened.
I really miss driving it - it's not fast, but it's extremely good fun, and a million miles away from my normal car.

This did give me an excuse to use the tilt on the new lens though - much more of the badge is in focus than would have been without tilt. More care and a tripod would probably have helped, but the tripod's in the car and I couldn't be bothered to go and fetch it!

I thought I'd stick in a pic of the car when it was on the road a few years ago (after the jump)

Soar

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I've been pretty useless this weekend, doing very little more than lying on the sofa.
I've had to throw out a lot of food that had gone off over the last week or so due mainly to a total lack of energy to cook - I hate doing this in any case, and it particularly pains me too because food waste was always one of Lucy's pet peeves.
I did at least manage to do most of my washing without breaking or wasting anything, which I suppose is slight mitigation.

Evidence Of Autumn

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I went on a mission to the camera shop this afternoon.
While I was walking, I spotted these leaves and pods drifting down the canal, which I thought made for an interesting shot.

A tilt-shift lens followed me home, so I'm hoping to have something to show from that soon.
It's a very long time since I used a camera with lens movements, and even then, I didn't do very much with it - I borrowed a large format camera from the photography department of the uni I worked at in a previous life, so I have some re-learning to do on the Scheimpflug principle.
I did once own most of a 4x5" large format camera that I was working on restoring, but I don't recall exactly what happened to it in the end - I guess the project just dissipated and I lost the bits over time and house moves.
I do remember learning how to make bellows, and I built myself a controller for a Copal 0 electronic shutter I found on eBay. A kind person in the US who I'd met on a photo forum took delivery of it and forwarded it to me, as the seller only offered US domestic shipping.

Texture In Smooth Stuff

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Another possible option for 52Frames texture.
It's interesting to find texture like boulders even on a smooth surface, when you get close enough.
I gelled the flashes in suitably garish colours to bring the texture out more.
This is a 3.5x macro, and is a stack of 22 shots.
The rest of the stone is after the break.

Sticky Business

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A 2x macro shot of a roll of gaffer tape.
Now I have a pile of equipment to put away again 🙃

Interesting Shapes

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I came across this interesting shaped theatre building on a walk this evening.
It's a possible early contender for 52Frames "Texture"

Looking For The Way Out

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Another backup photo today.

2025-09-29

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A backup photo today.

Some silly muppet trying to manoeuvre their van flattened a fence post at the end of my drive, taking my weather station and a light out, so I had to clear that up this evening.
By some stroke of luck, the actual weather station appears to be largely undamaged.

The Fade Out Line(s)

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This one's my submission for this week's 52Frames challenge, "Soundtrack". The song I'm on about is The Fade Out Line by Phoebe Kildeer and The Short Straws.

The lines in the sand reminded me of magnified vinyl record grooves fading out into nothing.

Temporary Mushrooms

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These mushrooms sprung up at the end of my garden. Oddly, they only lasted a day or two before wilting down into mush. I've never seen mushrooms appear and then disappear so quickly.
Not the finest photo, but such is life.

If I Ignore Him For Long Enough, He Might Go Away

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Late posting this one.
My neighbours' cat was perched on my fallen-down gatepost, so I thought I'd make her today's subject.
I may have become mildly delayed going out as a result.

You Have So Many Ears, But You Don't Listen To Me?!

I picked up this chunk of lichen on a walk several weeks ago, and it's been hanging out in a (clean!) poo bag ever since.
I was absolutely knackered after work today, and didn't have the energy to go out, so when I'd recovered at least a bit, I thought it was high time I did something with it.
This is a 5x macro photo made up of 99 stacked shots.
I've added a behind-the-scenes shot to show the scale of the main photo after the jump.

Dribbling Scrawl

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It's a late backup photo today.

Seven Hundred And Thirty One

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Not sure how I'm still here sometimes.
But - after the jump - the million miners still work upon the night's coal face...
(Refer to Out In Space by Travis if you want the full effect)

Selected One

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This one was my 52Frames "one light source" submission last week.
I thought I was going to lose my streak with being away from my lighting gear, but I managed to pull this one together using my little LED torch.
Probably far from perfect, and a macro lens would have delivered much sharper results, but I'm declaring this one a success, at the very least in terms of wrestling victory from the jaws of defeat.

Stumped

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We had to make a visit today that we had all hoped would not be needed so soon.
This place is beautiful, but a place of sadness nonetheless.

This is the GreenAcres Chiltern Memorial Park, where we said our final goodbyes to Lucy a little less than two years ago, and where we must soon gather to say goodbye to another person we love.

It's small comfort, but if we must have these sad times, at least we are fortunate enough to be able to choose to have them in peaceful, natural environments like this, instead of cold, clinical, soulless places.

Unlike Yesterday

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The change in the weather between yesterday and today has been stark.
Last night, my brother-in-law and I sat outside on the patio reminiscing over a bottle of wine until gone 11pm. It was virtually flat calm and remarkably warm for September.
At times today, the glasses and bottle would certainly have been blown over.

Sunbeams And Roses

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It's been a moment to reflect on good times to temper the bad.
I think this may be the first time, certainly the first time in a long time that I've posted a JPEG straight out of the camera on here. They may have a point about "Fuji Colours"...

Old Bridge, New Paint

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2025-09-17

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A backup photo today - another dark shadow has passed over our little corner of existence.

... And It's Not About You Joggers, Who Go Round And Round

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I am quite pleased with this one, I was initially just trying to line the tower up in the viewing platform's window.
As I was mentally lamenting the pillar in the middle of the window, I heard running footsteps approaching, and thought I might be able to catch something like this if I was lucky.
As it happened, the runner came right through the frame in a good spot, and I was able to get the timing about right.

Seasonal Boating

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The name seemed appropriate for the time of year. The boat looked in great shape, it's clearly someone's pride and joy.
This one's a backup, shot yesterday.

Bon Appetighten to 42 Nm (31 ft-lb)

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This is my submission for this week's 52Frames "Out Of Place" challenge.
I quite enjoyed the thinking part of this challenge, coming up with various slightly surreal situations. I had planned to borrow an old rotary dial telephone and take it somewhere odd, but the weather has turned to rain, so I ultimately dropped that plan in favour of this strange out-of-place place setting that I could shoot indoors.
This is the first time in years that I have actually used a flash attached to the top of the camera rather than off-camera on a light stand of some sort. Naturally, It was not actually pointed at the subject, but bounced off the white ceiling.

Catching up 8/8: Finish The Roll

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I had a few frames left, and wanted to develop this roll of film.
There were some interesting clouds, which I wanted to shoot with a red filter to make them pop more against the sky, but I spotted this reflection in one of my doors as I went upstairs to retrieve the aforementioned filter.
I ended up preferring this to the cloud shots. Shot on very expired Ilford Delta 400

Catching up 7/8: Evening Wanderers

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Not a backup photo, for once!