Golden Days

Quite a sunny day today, except when I was getting ready to leave work and cycle home, when the heavens opened, and the rain came teeming down.

Fortunately it wasn't around for very long and so I could start my journey home. There was a small rainbow in the sky, but nothing really worth taking a photo of.

By the time I had reached Highfields, the grey clouds had disappeared and there was a great sunset to enjoy, as my photo of the lake and the university shows.

Midnight Mooring

Weymouth at night.

Quiet, still and calm. Even the water is static. Hardly any ripples, so you can see an almost perfect reflection of the boats, buildings and streetlights.

If only water was like that all the time.

Flash!

Some late afternoon sun reflected on the water of Highfields' lake.

A great afternoon to cycle though one of my favourite parks.

On Golden Pond

Despite the very black clouds this afternoon, there was still a golden sunset for us to enjoy.

Of course I just had to cycle through Highfields and see if I could find a different sunset photo, which I think I have with this one. The fading sun reflected in the water of the lake.

Sunset Silhouette

For various reasons I didn't take any photos today, so here's one from last Sunday, a sunset at Gunthorpe.

Warped

There are some serious building works going on in Birmingham at the moment. I was there for work, and it's almost as bad as poor Beeston with its tram works.

They seem to be completely revamping New Street Station, and it looks different every time that I have been. It's taking an age too. Must be getting on for two years now.

I saw this old building reflected into the new covering on some part of New Street Station and thought it would make for a good pic. Just a shame that they have removed one section  for maintenance, as it spoils the overall look of the photo. But I suppose it could be mistaken for a window.

Reading Between The Lines

A shot from the inside of Birmingham's new library.

This is taken from the first floor escalator, and you can see some of the greenery on the outside.

Beware The Yellow Line

Well we have had rain on and off for most of the day today. So I wonder if summer is over for another year.

Fortunately it stopped in the afternoon long enough and a bit of sun came out for me to do a spot of photography.

I decided to have a walk along some of the route that the new tramline is taking. They've now taken a big chunk of land from the side and front of Beeston Parish Church. Safety fencing is everywhere.

There was a great big puddle, and after a few minutes of looking for the best angle, I managed to find one that shows a great reflection of the top of the church's bell tower, only marred by the fencing.

Sundowner

Many towns across the country have been suffering with constantly dull skies this week. Apparently it has been caused by a sand storm over the Saharan Desert.

Nottingham hasn't escaped. We've not seen the sun at all since about Tuesday lunchtime. The sky has been grey ever since. I haven't even managed to take any photos, and I try to take at least one everyday.

So it's a quick look in the archive, and here's one that I took on Sunday, at Butterley in Derbyshire.

The sun was going down when I took this. I like the reflection of the sunlight on the water as it disappears for the night.

Illumination

Some late sunshine reflected off the university's Trent Building, which is also reflected in the lake in Highfields.

University Challenge

Well the days are slowly staying a little lighter longer. Another month to go, then we can put the clocks on an hour andI'll be able to cycle home in daylight.

The light was rapidly disappearing by the time that I reached Highfields, but I stopped off and took a photo of the Trent Building lit up and with some shafts of golden colour in the lake.

Cool Reflection

We had another torrential rainfall last night. It seemed to last for hours, so I was expecting a fair bit of water around this morning on my way to work.

I was surprised that it was sunny though, and so did my first cycle ride through Highfields of 2014, to see what things were like, as I had not been round for a couple of months.

Of course there was plenty of big puddles about, but I decided to take a photo of this one. Of course the reflection of the bench helped, but I also like it that you can see the blue sky mirrored in the water, and the trees acting as a natural frame.

Reflections On 2013

I took this the other day down by the canal, after we had a tremendous storm and gale force winds during the previous night. This puddle, nee lake is along the towpath and was quite deep. Possibly by about five or six inches.

There were some seagulls chilling out on the edge of the towpath, so I had to position myself so that I wouldn't get them in the shot. Luckily there was no rubbish in the water to spoil the scene, only a few leaves, which is in keeping with the scene of the tree's reflection.

Now how does the old saying go; to see the future, you have to look at the past?  Well as I've shown you the past over the last few days. I don't think that I've done too badly this year with my photography. I like to think that I have taken some fairly decent pictures and my skill has certainly developed ('scuse the pun) since I started the blog nearly 8 years ago. I'm planning to take my level of photography up a step or two during 2014, through obviously taking more photos. This will be by going to more events, photoshoots and having another go at street photography, which I have neglected over the last year or two.

Hopefully you will stick with me during this adventure. It would be nice to get some more feedback from you all about my pictures. I do get lots of hits every day, but hardly any comments. I wonder why that is? A question for you, as we rapidly approach 2014.

Wiggles

It is absolutely throwing it down with rain as I am composing this blogpost. The noise on the roof of our conservatory is quite deafening, even with the door almost shut. We leave it ajar so that Oscar & Marmalade can have access, as sometimes they like to have a nap in there.

My photo today has a watery theme as well. One I took yesterday on my way to the BBC studios. It's of the Premier Inn hotel reflected in the canal basin that is just outside.

Lighting Up

Some of the Christmas lights along Chilwell High Road.

Simple fairy lights emitting a gentle blue hue. Very Christmassy I think.

Jingle Bells

The big switch-on of the Christmas lights in the Old Market Square happened tonight. It has been estimated that about 8000 people stood and watched the plunger being pushed. Not by anyone famous, but some children that had come from a renal unit of a local hospital.

It's always exciting to see the lights come on, even though they are always the same. The big difference this year is that the Christmas tree is in a different position and an open air ice skating rink has been built around it.

So instead of popping up a photo that might be similar to last years, here's a bit of an arty shot that I took of some overhead decorations reflected in a puddle.

Calm Reflection

The rowing boats on the lake at Highfields. Quietly resting after a busy day being rowed around.

Art For Art's Sake

Another shot from last night. This time some graffiti or street art sprayed onto the footings of the bridge which spans the canal, reflected in the water below.

Night Noir

We had to go and collect something tonight from Derby, and on the way back we stopped off for something to eat.

We decided to try a pub down by the canal. One that I cycle past everyday from work.

It had got dark by the time we had finished our meal, so of course out came the cameras.  We had a wander down the towpath, seeing if there was anything worth taking in the darkness. I decided to try a mirrored image, as the water was quite still. I put my camera down on a flat, hard surface, as I didn't have a tripod with me, and clicked the shutter a few times, just to make sure I didn't get any camera shake.

The Blue Period

Today has been very cold and windy. The snow that the weather people had predicted didn't turn up. Although some parts of the country did get a few flakes.

So there wasn't very much happening in the city centre today, but coming home, I noticed that the sky wasn't completely black yet. It was what they call the blue period, or dusk. So I stopped along the canal and took this photo of the sky and lights reflected in the water.