Boy And His Bird

Some of you may remember reading a book, or seeing a film called Kes. It was about a small boy that was bullied at home and in school, so his only friend was a young kestrel he captured and trained.

This photo that I took today at an open day at a local allotments. Besides showing off their allotments, they also had invited a group called Falconry Experience, with some of their birds including this rather splendid barn owl.

Quite a few people were keen to make friends with the owl, as it flew back and forth between different people, who were all wearing a gauntlet on their hand. The guys who brought the birds along kept giving them titbits as a reward for performing so well.

A Pirate's Treasure

I think you'll agree that everyone loves ice cream. And I bet this little boy whom I saw at Attenborough Nature Reserve is enjoying his ice lolly, especially as it's been so warm and sunny today.

I hope he finished it quickly, as his T shirt is far too nice to get dirty.

Hello Ducky

This young lad looks very studious as he carefully tries to pick up a duck from one of the  stalls that made up a small funfair that visited Beeston as part of the Christmas lights celebrations.

Never Too Young For Rock And Roll

I know there's sadly controversy these days about photographing children in public, due to a few people spoiling it for others, but I just couldn't resist taking a shot of this rock god of the future.

Did John Bon Jovi's dad dress him like this when he was little I wonder, or Bryan Adams'? Either way, I'm sure this 'little dude' was having a great time at Beeston's carnival.

We're Walking In The Air

An unbelievable thirty years ago, Channel Four first screened a cartoon based around the story of a snowman that comes to life and takes a little boy to see Father Christmas. Written by Raymond Briggs, it has been shown on TV every Christmas since then.

This year a new story debuted on Channel Four. It was a similar story, but this time the little boy makes a dog out of snow as a friend for the snowman that he has built. The boy had a dog himself but it died earlier in the year. He sends a letter to Santa asking for a new dog for Christmas.

It was a lovely story and used the same line drawing animation as the previous tale. No CGI, just old style animation. It's worth watching and hopefully will be on again next Christmas.

I noticed that my local branch of the Nationwide building society had a poster in their window of a scene from the film, so I just had to take a photo.

Fun In The Water

As it was a sunny Sunday, Gail and I had a trip into the city centre this afternoon, just to see if we could find anything to photograph.

We sat for a while in the Old Market Square, watching the people enjoying the attractions of the seaside. Which incidentally enters it's final week this week, before being packed away until next year.

There were quite a few kids playing in the water feature. Splashing about and trying to dodge through the jets of water.

This little boy seemed to be enjoying getting wet, that he just kept running through the jets.

King For The Day

After her majesty had left the city centre, I walked around the area a bit looking for interesting characters to photograph, or people that had made an effort in dressing up for the occasion.

There were of course hundreds of people to choose from, but I noticed this little boy dressed like a prince and wearing a very regal crown whilst sitting on the knee of his gran, or aunty.

He looked very happy at being there, and I bet he had waved his little flag that much, his poor arm was aching.

What A Poser

The bride has a couple of grand-children through a previous marriage. The boy; Leighton loved having his photo taken. He asked me several times throughout the day to take his photo. Especially when were were back at the family home.

He also seemed quite relaxed with posing and somehow knew what to do. Almost as though he had done it before; even though he is only about seven. I would just say to him stand there and he would quite happily strike a pose for me. I think that I took more of him than I did of the bride and groom!

But as you can see, he is quite a photogenic little boy, and was more than happy to stand in various places for different poses. I'm sure his parents will be pleased with the shots I've done. Unfortunately his sister, who is a lot younger wasn't so forthcoming. Especially at the registry office, where she wouldn't smile, or sometimes turned her head away. She also seemed to like rubbing her eye with her finger.

It was also nice to shoot a youngster without the fear of an angry parent assuming that I was up to no good. I'm sure there are less photos taken of children these days than there used to be. Especially those of children playing outdoors, as seen through the lenses of photographers in more carefree days.