facebook and festive bokeh

Well Christmas is almost upon us and Flickr is full of festive bokeh right now...I love the rich glowing reds and greens. Winter snow has fallen some places and the superb crisp winter landscape shots that are appearing make me glad to be indoors and warm!
My Facebook Page is up and running so please come on over to say hi. It's the place for little updates on what I am doing.

I have been taking a few shots this week of the usual christmas tree and decorations but trying to do something a little different with them...adding a touch of magic hopefully :) A little star picture is on flickr today.

Here is a touch of festive bokeh...

With a week off over the holidays I hope to get out and about and take some new shots as it feels like ages since I was outside shooting.

Gemini

This could not be more true to life :

You may be fearing that you have taken on more than you can handle. This could either involve a work or entrepreneurial venture, or it might be related to a relationship. Either way, you may already be envisioning all the worst-case-scenario possibilities, and dreading what's to come. But hold on a minute, Gemini. What makes you feel so certain that things will go wrong? What you are feeling now is kind of like buyer's remorse. You agreed to something that you really wanted, and now you're worried about the cost of it. But the value will far, far outweigh the cost. Stop worrying.

Now and the future

Just to explain a little about where my work is going right now.
I have been shooting local landmarks and nature and creating images that are a layering of multiple images. I have used images of peeling paint, rust and general decay and layered them onto the sights and scenery I see around me. I feel this makes my work different as for me it's about the balance between chaos and order, ugliness and beauty. It's about capturing light, composition, colour and texture. The layering process produces beautiful and innovative art which I feel communicates more than a factual picture.

The image of Blackpool Mirrorball is created this way and I do feel this is where my creativity lies.

In 2012 I hope to continue doing these pieces of work and also to try my hand at some more crafts. I have been interested in fused glass lately having seen what amazing results you can create from it and feel that it is certainly something I would like to try. It has also been a very long time since I drew and painted and again it is something I would like to get back into doing. As always time is an issue.

This is an image I created that really shows what I am about right now in my photo~art (it is also on Flickr).

facebook and quotes

Well this week I probably read the most perfect quote ever...well in my opinion:

When you have come to the edge of all light that you know and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly
Patrick Overton

Its just brilliant and so inspirational.

Also this week I have put together a facebook page:
Click Here to See

But other than that I haven't been doing much in the way of taking new pictures, just self editing the ones I have.

Plus for those who don't know, I have a picture hanging in the Local Art Gallery as part of a local show untill January 2012.

Cars and trees

Well this week with a little more time than usual I have been editing some of the classic car shots from the summer...well that's what I thought I was going to do till I realised I took way more shots of trees and flowers rather than the cars! You can see where my interest lay then! But here are a few cars from the day anyway :) One more on Flickr tomorrow too.

Things learnt this week

I went to a craft fair this week, which was like a real life etsy shop that you can touch and feel...brilliant creative people all trying to make a living out of their creative talents and passions. So impressive and just a tiny bit jealous of them too.

It was said on the tv this week that some of the happiest people were those who got along with doing the things they loved and who didnt care about what everyone else thought. Within reason I think this is true, know your strengths, limitations and enjoy what youre doing.

Textures, Mulled Wine & Ebay

This week really has felt like the start of the christmas countdown...the nights are dark and rainy and the mulled wine is warm and rich. The only photography I have been doing is shots of things to put on ebay! So not very inspiring.
I have been revisiting some holiday shots and older images and re-editing them and adding textures, so expect to see more of those appearing soon.
I have come to the last of my Blackpool Illuminations images over on Flickr and have really been pleased with them. They probably haven't had the amount of views that my flower/nature shots have had but I am none the less pleased with them. I am not good with night shots generally so have been happy with what I have shot. The camera movement shots have been particularly good fun even if not technically the way to go about things, and I do intend to try my hand with that again.
So here is the last of the Blackpool movers and shakers set :)

Illuminating...

I had a trip through Blackpool illuminations this week on a rainy November night. Although good, it doesn’t have the wow factor it used to, but there were still many nice sights to photograph.

Also this week I have been fascinated by the 'Intentional Camera Movement' group on Flickr. It is such a simple idea and yet it creates such stunning abstract art. Having looked at Blackpool illuminations for half my life I thought it was a perfect time to try some camera movement just to make things a little different. I must say I really enjoyed the creative aspect of it and was more than pleased with the images I took. I am certainly going to try this again in daylight and see what happens. Unfortunately at the moment when I get home from work it is dark so the only photo opportunities are at the weekend.

A world in B&W

This week I have been really getting into black and white shots. It has been some time but once I started I really saw the beauty in them again. Here is a b&w version of the latest shot on Flickr...I really couldn't decide which version I liked best!

Been a while...

For those people following my blog I have been working on a new website for myself. I am trying to up my game a little and put together images which I hope people would actually buy, and also source a printer, framer and give myself some space to work. It has not been easy to do all these things while creating new images and continuing with both Flickr and this blog so my apologies for not being around much.

I am also someone who lacks confidence and self belief in a big way so to achieve these things that I hope to do really will be a massive achievement for me and many times in the past weeks I have thought to give up... easier at times not to try than to try and fail! But for now I am continuing with paths new to see where they go and fingers crossed.

Textures and Troubles

Having had computer problems all week I am now having phone problems...blackberry ones!

Other than that I have been working hard creating more textured works and also trying to put together my own website. I tried out 2 different website hosts to see which was easier to use and have to say that Photium are proving a lot easier to get my head around. With all these things it is hard to fit them in around daily life and work and I always feel as if I am trying to juggle everything!
I have also been lucky enough to appear in Pioneer Womans Group 2 shortlisted images...I enjoy the edit this projects she does and always impressed with everyones take on the images.

Holidays and virus's

Well I have been absent from my Blog and Flickr for a few days due to a lovely long weekend away in the Lake District which looked stunning in its autumn colours. Some photos will no doubt follow!

Also my computer has been playing up due to a virus ! I am hoping normal service will be resumed shortly!!

Here's the unedited version of a textured shot I put on Flickr last week.

A little hope

Recently I entered one of my images into a competition. I really didn't hold out much hope of getting anywhere so was hugely surprised when I made it into the short list. I then had to wait a week to see if I had made it into the final. I was amazed at how much I wanted it, how much I hoped to make it through...but I didn't.

I know to get to the semi final is a huge achievement as it's quite a major event with hundreds of entries, but it is still bad when your best isn't good enough. I know tomorrow and next week I will bounce back and brush it off but right now at this very moment it truly sucks !

So a dark image for a dark mood...

Butterfly wings and stuff

Well it has been a very busy week and I have hardly had time to catch my breath! Been a bad contact on Flickr and not uploaded much either. But I did manage a spot of photography this week and helped out my daughter for her homework. She wanted some shots of butterfly wings for a school project which I kindly obliged.

Also this week I have been busy putting together a new website for myself, something a little more professional than this blog...I am excited by the way things are going at the moment and I hope I am up to these new challenges.

The evenings here in the UK are getting darker earlier once again and it will soon be too dark for me to shoot anything after work, so it will be back to weekend photography!

Here are a few shots from earlier in the year when the light lasted late into the evening...

Notes and lists

After a very busy week I have done a lot of planning and lots of making notes...I am a list maker!
I find it helps if I have things planned out.

In the coming months I will be giving RedBubble a bit of a revamp and also setting myself up on another website too...I have a few to look at before making the final decision. I am toying with the idea of my own website as although I will continue to post shots on Flickr I feel I want another means of displaying my textured images and more heavily edited work which I feel at the moment is where my creativity lies.

My aim is to get myself sorted with these projects for the new year. This Blog will continue and hopefully I will have bigger and better things to put on it!

In the meantime here are a few more images form earlier this year...

Brick wall

I have had several new ideas this week that I had hoped to pursue, unfortunately so far they have hit a brick wall! Life can be very frustrating at times!

Here are a few images I did before the weather changed.

Working on new things

Well this week I have been working on some new things...all will become clear in the following few weeks I hope.

Flickr: a full time hobby !

Some days I don't know which way round things should be...should Flickr be a taster of what's on the blog, or the blog just over flow from Flickr. While I am dwelling on this and other such things I have realised I have lots of Glasgow shots I haven't put on either Flickr or here!

I have noticed if I don't upload shots right away then time moves on and I take more and more and things get left behind....like the Glasgow shots.

Quotes and Flowers

I have changed one of the pages on the Blog this week, it now includes a section on quotations. Those of you who look at my Flickr work will notice I title every shot with a favourite quotation...sometimes heartfelt, sometimes funny. So I have put together a page with some of the ones I liked best, so please feel free to click on the top tab and have a read.

I have been dabbling in textures again this week and also many more flower shots. As Summer drifts away here in the UK it's a lovely reminder of those warm sunny days of bright floral colours.

Also very eye catching in B&W, and textured too.

I have had to remove a contact today as I felt their work had become disturbing. I know all of Flickr isn't all a bed of roses and art and photography is also there to provoke and shock and make us think but sometimes I think a line is crossed when something horrific is glamourised and turned into entertainment. I can't stop those sorts of images but I can choose not to look at them.

Keep Calm & Carry On

In the UK it's a bank holiday weekend, so as usual when I am off work I am not so well...full of a cold :(

But I have been carrying on regardless and have been out taking some shots of flowers and also some cars as it was a classic car show today. So stay tuned for some of those appearing here and over on Flickr very soon. In my bid to tidy up and also to back up I have come across some tulip shots I haven't posted anywhere...so here you go...

My husband says I like photographing flowers more than anything else...perhaps I do !!

Orange Flowers

These orange flowers bloom in my garden every year and always look wonderful. They also lend themselves to every edit possible too!

Whether rain or shine they always glow with their bright colour.

TGIF

Well another week over and I have cleared out some older shots from Flickr as promised...nearly 200 of them!

So its onwards and upwards with uploading some more...I know its relentless ha ha.

As I have mentioned before I am on RedBubble, but dont seem to be having much luck with it. The other alternative is Etsy. Not sure...will have to look into it more. Any suggestions?

Below is a shot from Ashton Gardens in St Annes...just edited beyond belief probably!

960 photos

I noticed today that I have uploaded my 960th shot to Flickr...wow...I have been busy!

There comes a time I suppose when I need to remove some, some of the older ones...or the ones I am less happy with. As I grow as a photographer I look back on my early shots and just know I could do better now. So in the next few weeks I will be removing some from public view.

I also think it is time to review my RedBubble account. I am not sure it is working as well as it could or should be. However, I havent really figured out what to do about it yet!

PS

I saw someone today call a Blog a digital scrapbook...and I thought what a perfect way to describe one.

Sun, Sea and Southport

At the start of this week we went for a day trip to Southport. I was really impressed by it, such a clean seaside town that manages to avoid the tackyness of some others. I had always wanted to go to Southport Pier as I have seen so many fantastic shots of it. We went, but it was a beautifully sunny summer day and it was packed with lots of holiday makers so not really the best for an atmospheric pier shot! I did take quite a few shots anyway, so they will be featuring here and on Flickr over the next week or so.

Rain, wine and competition entries

Rain, wine and competition entries

This last week has seen nothing but rain and flooding (things must be bad if I’m talking about the weather!) this has meant very little in the way of photo opportunities and a lot more time editing the shots I took last week while having a little glass of bubbly.

Also this week I found out I came no where in a photo competition...disappointment ruled the day. I very rarely enter competitions as I am quite happy in my own little world liking what I'm doing without really seeking out any validation from anyone else...other than Flickr of course. However I see Flickr more as an online gallery of my work. Well anyway, the winners and highly commended were shown and I wasn’t amongst them. So, things I have learned; I need more patience when setting up a shot rather than click and move on; that I probably process way to much for the kinds of photographic competitions out there; and that it really doesn’t matter anyway!

Explored, candid shots and other such stuff

I am amazed that my last few shots have made it into Explore...always a joy and so grateful to all the views and faves. Flowers and nature shots do seem to be the way forward or at least the ones with the biggest viewing figures! The summer weather has inspired me to get out and take some lovely shots as natures colours are in full force right now.

Also I have noticed a lot of candid street photography about too, again the summer weather lends itself to every one being outdoors. As I have said before I am really not sure about this type of photography...I can appreciate the skill involved, the eye of the photographer in getting a good shot and in catching the right moment but the whole photographing someone and putting it on Flickr for every one to see and yet the subject of the photograph remains totally unaware?? Well like I said, really not sure thats the way to go about things. I understand the need to "report" things as they happen and document events, but photographing people sitting on a bench eating chips...well really??.

I don't normally comment on news item but if you have seen the news lately parts of England are having riots...I am shocked that things have come to this here. There is a total break down of law and order. I hope all who live in and around these turbulent areas can keep safe and rise above those that initiate these crimes.

Woof, park and flowers

This week I have been out and about to the park and my own back garden as the flowers bloom in the hot sun. The dog and cat have also been out too lying in the sun...untill I get the camera out then they usually hide! But I have a few good shots of them to upload on to Flickr this week as well as some stunning flowers and I have been dabbling with textures again...feeling quite inspired of late....nothing like a bit of sun to brighten the mood :)

Fire and Fences

This weeks fence Friday shot is a close up of my own fence. Some of you may remember we had a fire a few months back well this is my new fence to replace the burnt one.
Although a perfectly good fence it really doesn’t have the same aesthetic appeal as some of the wonderful cast iron and metal ones I often see on the Fence Friday group so it required a little more thought to make it stand out. The fresh wood panels are a wonderful colour so I thought it best to focus in on that with a really strong focus and dof. When I was processing it I couldn't help but convert one to mono and see what it was like...very striking but I went for the colour one for the group.

Shoes Shoes and more Shoes

Today I have posted the first of an occasional project on Shoes. I have so many so might as well put them to another good use! I still have some Glasgow shots to upload too but for now its shoes shoes and more shoes :)

Textured Museum Image

As promised here's the textured version of the shot on Flickr, its taken at the Kelvingrove museum in Glasgow. I have used the Tuesday texture from Kim Klassen The Aurora...always a pleasure to use her textures, she is so talented.

Heres the fab link to Kims website Kim Klassen Cafe