My Girls and Me

My Girls and Me, a photo by boo * on Flickr.

We had a lovely, but very quiet Easter day. Although we'd been planning a picnic, the weather was so gorgeous and the garden was looking so welcoming, that we ended up taking all the food outside and eating there. We had the little fountain running, and we pulled the benches around the pond. Perfect! In the cool of the later afternoon, we took the dogs up to Mousehold Heath, a huge expanse of heath, woodland and open spaces we are lucky enough to have just 5 minutes walk away. It always amazes me that in one direction I have acres of wild countryside, and ten minutes walk in the other direction, I am in the middle of a busy medieval city. It's been so lovely having Ella home for a whole week and I shall really miss her when she returns to university tomorrow.

Via Flickr:
It's very rare to have a photo taken of myself with my daughters - they have grown up to be beautiful young women - in every sense of the word. I am so proud of them!

Getting Ready for Glamping!

For the Royal Wedding weekend, 25 of us (a motley bunch of 40 somethings and their accompanying teens) are heading for Cromer for a long weekend in our tents!! I am sooo excited about getting my beautiful Bell Tent out of its winter wrappings! One of my friends who is coming along too - got her Bell Tent as a Christmas present and we can't wait to see them up together! In preparation, my daughter Flora and I spent yesterday making bunting. We chose 5 different Amy Butler designs, and John Lewis cut them into 20cm lengths. This was enough for us to create two lengths of bunting, one for my Bell Tent, and one for Flora's brand new and oh so exciting classic orange Vango tent. She likes to have her own tent, and for the past few camp trips she's had a basic £30 model from Tesco. This has always done the job - until the last two camping trips. In Wales she got drowned out on her first night - and in Norfolk she almost blew away in hurricane conditions. So the Tesco tent is being relegated for festivals (my older teens seem to like these) and we splashed out on the orange expedition classic. Off for my first golf lesson of this season (yes, golf) - you'll hear more about that in a future post - and I'll leave you with these two pics of the bunting in progress.

Quiet Times

This is a very quiet week. I'm back at work, but there are no students, so the college is a vast space with a few members of staff and the occasional student who comes in to se the library. Ive spent the time catching up on my CPD - (professional development) - which as teachers we have to undertake. Yesterday I completed the essential Data Protection online course - and also carried on with my own CPD project. This involves trying to understand what it feels like to be told that your sketchbook doesn't have enough writing in it!! And where there is writing, how to make it analytical and evaluative. So, maybe some shots soon on how that's progressing! in the meantime, some springtime blossoms to give pleasure.

Both pictures above have been processed using Pixel Lounge's fab overlays, which I am enjoying so much at the moment. Below, is one of them with a different colour - I wasn't able to choose which one I preferred!!

A walk to blow away the winter cobwebs

We finally made it out to West Runton, to walk the three miles along the beach to Cromer. Once there we treated ourselves to chips, the best freshly made donuts, freshly ground coffee and finally - an ice cream!! Perfect food for a trip to the coast!!

West Runton looking towards Cromer.

Reaching Cromer, a quintessential English seaside town, full of Victorian charm and the best freshly made donuts we have come across!!

Cromer Pier.

Back at West Runton, the view if we continued along the coast westwards...

What makes me happy?

1. When I spend a while on a photograph and Photoshop and I end up really pleased with the result! I used a photo I had of an acer in my garden, which had very shallow depth of field. I cropped it to the shape I wanted. Using a texture and overlay from the talented Pixel Lounge, I played with contrast, magic brush and contrast levels. Nothing seemed to be working. It was almost there - for a few minutes I was stumped. And then I remembered 'curves'. I love curves! And curves worked their magic and gave me a result I am actually really happy with!

 

It will be interesting to see what the reaction is on Flickr - often, when I really like something, it doesn't pull the same admiration from my contacts!! Conversely, when I'm not that happy with a pic - it tends to gather quite a few faves!

Finding my feet

I discovered photography when a friend introduced me to Flickr. I had been experimenting with a compact Samsung, my first foray into the world of digital, but this new world of other people's creativity stunned me. I tentatively purchased a starter Nikon SLR and began to explore my own capabilities. Someone had given me Photoshop and it wasn't long before I yearned to understand what it could do - and more importantly, what I could do with it! A painful self taught period started, and culminated in me throwing my arms up in despair. I couldn't, just couldn't, understand layers. And the more people kept telling me that "layers are great - they're so easy" the more I despaired. A kindly work colleague stepped in and patiently taught me exactly what I needed to know. Looking back, those first attempts at layers were not good! I think this one was the first to go public!!

But encouraged by the kindness of fellow Flickrites, I pursued my new found hobby. A golden handshake from qualifying as a teacher came through about this time - and with some trepidation I decided to abandon Nikon and move into the world of Canon - a 40D - at that time brand new. It felt fantastic and I began to fly. The past 18 months has seen a real interruption   to my photographic past time - and it has only been in the last few weeks that I have slowly been able to return. I cannot thank enough those who develop beautiful actions and textures which they give away freely. Lately I have been exploring those that come from the ever creative Pixel Lounge  as used in today's photo. Thank you.

Summer Holiday Dreaming

The weather has turned cold again - so unfriendly!! And I am left looking back at last year's holiday snaps and dreaming of next August when once again we'll be glamping in Gower!

Taking Family Photos

When my four children were small, there was no problem at all with taking their photos. Now, Ella at almost 21 is only interested in being behind the camera, George at 18 and Henry at 15 both point blank refuse. Only Flora can be relied on to provide a continuous record of visual imagery through her life. However, on Mother's Day I used all my emotional blackmail techniques, including the "I gave you life, the least you can do is let me photograph that life" phrase, and Henry agreed to a fast portrait session. Flora was not amused at having to share the lens with her twin - but did see the funny side of it after the first shot produced nothing but mutiny. So here are the best of the results, all taken within 3 very short minutes. The colour photos are SOOC with no editing or cropping. The b&w have been desaturated (obviously) with a few adjustments to contrast and brightness.

And finally, not forgetting the Mother who gave me life, here's one of her and Flora. Ella is back next week and I will make it my challenge to get one of all of us together...

Gardens and Allotments

The last few days have been blissful; unseasonably warm and so sunny!! Unfortunately this seems set to change, so the past weekend has been spent tidying and cleaning the garden. The build up of general muck over the winter is pretty amazing - I only have a tiny garden - but it took hours to sweep, bag rubbish and pressure wash. But it's now done - ready for some serious relaxing with wine, books and bbq's.

The pergola needs a new hammock! Each year I've bought a very cheap one - with the result that they collapse by the end of the Summer. This year I'm determined to buy a proper one!! The only problem is deciding on the colour from this selection....

My eldest daughter has been on the waiting list for an allotment for the last three years - and now that she's reached the top of that list, she's away at university during term times! Luckily, she was allowed to select an official co-worker - so the sunny days saw the first digging over of the allotment. I'm very impatient - we have carrots, peas, yellow courgettes and climbing beans waiting to be planted - I can't wait!!

Of course the dogs come to help too!!

Art is the only way...

Art is the only way..., to run away without leaving home. (Twyla Tharp) a photo by boo * on Flickr.

I've had several exciting deliveries! First came an awning for my wonderful Bell Tent. It came via the Netherlands as even with postage, it worked out a lot cheaper than it's London counterpart... I am soooooooo excited that we are off on a camping trip three weeks tomorrow!!! There are 25 of us going, two of us with Bell tents - and we're going to have an amazing Royal Wedding tea party to celebrate the unexpected, but totally welcome, day off!!
My next delivery was the game Werewolves - bought specifically for the camping trip as it's an ideal game for more than 8 people - hopefully the camp site, the open air and the dark will lend it a huge degree of authenticity. The next arrival was Alison Jackson's latest offering, a totally irreverent but extremely funny look at that same wedding. And my final box?? Well, that contained Wonders of the Universe - a present for Flora who had produced a magnificent school report - A's for Maths and all three sciences... The box also contained the book by the lady who gave today's pic it's title. I can't wait to start reading it.

Flora, Mother's Day

 a photo by boo * on Flickr.

I'm overjoyed to have my camera back again! So here is my celebratory shot for Mother's Day. It's been a great weekend - relaxing in the bar at the golf club whilst Flora had her lesson - collecting my fab awning for my Bell Tent from good camping buddy Maureen, meeting up with my Mum today and eating, several helpings, of her wonderful deep fried won tons in sweet and sour sauce. Yummm - and most of all, spending the day with sweet Flora. I wish Ella could have been here today - but I did get to glimpse my boys for slightly more than 5 seconds!! Happy Mother's Day to all mums out there. xxxx