A Touch Of Pink

A stroll up to the castle today, as I haven't been in a while. Despite the warmth, it has been a bit of an overcast day.

As autumn is rapidly approaching, I was surprised to see some, what I think are crocuses growing in the castle grounds. I find this a bit odd, as I've always thought that they were a spring flower. An indication that winter is saying goodbye. But sadly we are having to face the cold weather and dark nights once again for half the year.

A Rose Between Three Others

A rather nice group of roses. One in bloom and three other that are still in the budding stage.

Everyone loves roses, except for those devilish thorns that are always there, and with inevitably I prick my finger on.

Pretty In Pink

It looks like the Left Lion got a nice bit of attention from this girl, who was wearing some very brightly coloured clothes, as she is caressing his front paws.

Pink appears to be her favourite colour today. It's just a shame that she couldn't find a matching laptop case, as the black one she is carrying just looks so boring for her.

Water Flower

We seem to have a bit of hydroponics going on in the garden, as this hyacinth is clearly growing in the water of a bucket, that I left around.

I know there is a bit of soil at the bottom, and there must have been a bulb amongst it, so somehow it has taken root and is now flowering, with these delicate pink blooms.

I guess I should remove the bulb, otherwise it will start to rot away.

Pretty In Pink

In the run up to Christmas, lots of companies are doing all sorts of promotions to encourage customers to buy their products for presents.

A cosmetics company called Soap and Glory were in the Viccy Centre showing off their make up to the passing shoppers.

What attracted me to the stand was this pink painted Vespa. I expect any Mods seeing this will be horrified, as its one of the icons of their movement. They usually have loads of mirrors on them and sometimes a RAF roundel stuck somewhere.  Have a look at the film Quadrophenia to see how the Italian scooter should look.

Two Heads Are Better Than One

Here's an example of some good graffiti that I came across, during my lunchtime walk.

The big question is, is it a two headed flamingo, or two flamingos?

Maybe the artist wants to keep us guessing. But my question would be about how long will they be on display before they are painted over?

A Touch Of Pink

A quiet Monday, so here's a shot of one of the flowers that I photographed at the garden centre yesterday. A lovely little pink flower, that sadly I don't know the name of either.

In The Pink

There was a light shower this morning, so I snapped this pink poppy while there was still some water droplets on the petals.

The Colours Of Summer

As I am off work at the moment with tummy trouble, I thought that I would try and make the best of things, especially as it is lovely and sunny at the moment.

So I was sitting outside in the garden under a sunshade, when I saw the opportunity of taking a photo presented itself. I noticed how clear the sky was with no clouds, and how the pink of the sunshade made for a colourful contrast.

If this was on an exotic beach somewhere, rather than in the back garden of a Beeston house, then the sunshade probably wouldn't have any creases in it. Well I certainly wasn't going to get the iron out in these temperatures!

Poppy - 2

Another shot of one of our giant poppies. This one is getting some keen interest from a passing bee, who is out shopping for food, judging by the big sacks of nectar that he is carrying.

Poppy

We have quite a few poppy plants in the garden that have started to flower. They all seem to be differing shades of pink. Although there are some of the usual red ones in the front.

Each plant is nearly five foot tall and have really big flowers. They don't really have much scent, but are a lovely colour and really brighten up the garden, if only for a short while.

Bursting Out

The rhodendrums are starting to burst out in colour and scent at Highfields park. It's one of the things that the park is well known for. That and the boating lake.

A Touch Of Pink

Besides crocuses appearing in the garden, our camellia bush has sprouted into colour too, with lots of lovely pink flowers.

Hiya Bud

I cycled through Highfields today on the way home as it was a really sunny. I do hope that the weather is going to be good from now on, although the weather forecasters keep saying that some bad weather is on its way, but thankfully doesn't materialise.

So what to photograph? Ducks? Done them. Swans? Yep. Sadly no bluebells growing in the park, but the rhododendrons are just starting to flower.  Summer is on its way!

Trial And Error

I was in Smiths this morning skimming through the latest copy of Amateur Photographer. I rarely buy magazines these days, unless I think it's worth buying, as some of them are so expensive and probably end up in the recycling.

Anyway whilst browsing AP's pages, I came across an article called 'freelensing'.  Basically it's taking a photo without the lens being attached to the camera. So as it has been a sunny afternoon, I thought I'd give it a go.

For the photo above I used an old manual Carl Zeiss Jenna 28mm lens, set at F11 and to infinity. As the lens wasn't mounted to my OMD, I was able to wriggle it around, until I got something in focus. Well as near focus as you can get. There is also the problem of light leaks, but in this case it has made the sky a nice pink colour.

Photo number two was taken with a Nikon 24mm, also set to infinity and at F8. The same tree, but at a different angle. I can't say that they are the best pictures that I have ever taken, but they are certainly unique.

I will keep practicing with different lenses, to find one that works best. Will also see what it's like using the combo with a model. The magazine showed a couple of examples, which looked quite nice and soft.

Pinky And Perky

The thing about walking along any street, anywhere, is that you never know who or what you might bump into.

Take today for instance, I never expected to come across a large pink elephant as I left work at lunchtime. I don't know what he was promoting, but he was only going up to parents with babies and small children. So perhaps it was for a new toy or sweet. Something like that.

He saw me with my camera and struck a bit of a pose. Well as best a person can dressed like that!

My Sweetheart

There's a new sweetsop opened in Beeston recently and I popped in the other day to see what was on offer; especially as they were only charging 59p for 100 grams.

It was a real pick n mix affair, where you collect a bowl and a scoop at the door and then walk around looking at all the treats on offer in compartments. I selected a number of different sweets. Just one or two, so I could get a good selection. White mice, bon bons, chocolate drops and then I came across some coated heart shaped candies.

Of course I had to select a couple for my special sweetheart Gail. When I got home I said that I had bought her a treat, and handed over the small white bag of sweets. She quickly started eating them, and so decided to take a photo of the last heart before Gail popped it into her mouth to join the rest of the sweeties.

Can You Here Me?

One of the random street shots that I like to take now and again.

A Touch Of Pink

I know these plants are weeds, but I like the delicate pink colour of the flowers. I saw them as I was cycling through Highfields, and so thought I would stop to take some shots.

The building you can see at the back is part of the university. I tried to take a photo with the clock tower in the distance, but just couldn't get the right angle, unless I were to lay on my belly, and take it from the ground up. But as I was wearing some good trousers, it was out of the question.

Poppy

A simple shot today, that I took whilst going to the post office in Beeston.

At the moment, the town is like a bomb site whilst the tramworks are taking place. Everyone is fed up with it, with roads closed, holes everywhere, trees cut down, and there's still probably nearly two years to go.

One of the things that has happened is that all the mature bushes at the front of the parish church have been cut down, and all that remains are the stumps of the bushes and weeds everywhere. So I was pleased to see this brave poppy raising its head to the sky as it twitched in the summer breeze.

They always use the poppy as a tribute to fallen soldiers, so this is my tribute to the devastation that has hit our little town and all the plants, trees and people's homes that have been sacrificed in the name of progress.