Sunny Skyline

Well surprise, surprise, we had some sun today. It was colder than yesterday, but a lot brighter.

As there didn't seem to be anything happening in the city centre, I decided to go to the top of one of the many multi-storey car parks to see what the city's skyline looked like on this bright winter's day.

I chose the one near the castle, as it is the one closest to where I work.

I went in the lift, to the top floor. It was empty except for one van that had a fair few bird poos on it.

The shot above shows towards the east of the city and out into the farmland around Ruddington. While below is the castle and grounds. Half in sun, half in shadow.

What'o Ginger, Chocks Away

I heard a very amusing, but slightly sad story yesterday about a restored WW2 flying Spitfire fighter that had to crashland at East Midlands Airport, after it had problems with its undercarriage.

The plane caused the temporary closure of the airport, and all flights had to be diverted to the airport at Birmingham; 40 miles away  The pilot wasn't hurt and the airport opened after a few hours.

The vintage fighter which belongs to Rolls Royce was fully restored in 2010 and is often used in air displays throughout the summer months. Incidentally Rolls Royce made the Merlin engine that powered the famous fighter.

Hopefully the plane can be repaired and will be able to fly before too long, just like the one below that I snapped in Lincolnshire last summer.

Building Sight

Here's an updated shot of the former Odeon cinema site.

As you can see, all the rubble has been taken away and the big hole has been filled in.  So now work can begin on constructing the new student flats that are going to be built there.

Personally I think the site could be used for a much better purpose like a swimming pool or a group of small independent shops.

Paddling Your Own Canoe

Now that Christmas is well and truly over. Twelfth night tonight. Our thoughts naturally turn to spring, with the lighter nights and hopefully warmer and drier weather.

This carved stonework is part of the kiosk in Highfields where you pay and enter to use the rowing boats on the lake.

You can tell the art deco influence on the carving. Although for some reason the man looks like a Roman Gladiator to me and the kayak looks like the sort Eskimos used to use.

Saturday Scrummage

I tend to spend Saturday mornings shopping in Beeston. Besides the usual food shopping, I love to have a look around our plethora of charity shops. We have about seven. Some I buy a fair bit from; others very little.

The only thing I bought today was this ash tray, which I got for the princely cost of 50 pence. I saw it, and knew that I just had to have it, as it has a local connection with Nottingham.

Home Bitter was one of the ales belonging to Home Brewery, a local brewer that unfortunately closed in the mid 1980s.

They of course had Robin Hood for their logo, as on here.

I'm not sure how old this tray is, as there is no date on the back. It was produced in England though and made from Melamine. Maybe someone with an interest in brewerina might be able to shed some light about it.

I don't suppose it is worth much money, but it is a fun thing to own and part of local history.

A Bit Of Friday Fun

Believe it or not, the sun actually came out today. Hooray!

I didn't really come across anything worth photographing thought. Although January's tend to be rather boring; especially after the excitement of Christmas.

So I had another go at using the 'double exposure' facility of the Olympus OMD. It's something that I've recently come across, and thought I would see what sort of pictures it can produce.

Wandering around the Old Market Square, I saw this man trying to take a photograph with his Blackberry. So I took a photo of him. He then asked if I would take a photo of him using his mobile. Of course I agreed, and so he posed for me, while I took his picture.

I had heard on the radio that this weekend would be the last one for the entertainment and food that's been on offer in the Old Market Square. since late November. So I wondered what would happen if I combined the photo of the guy, with a picture of the sky ride.

And here's the result. I'm not sure whether it is any good or not. But it was just an experiment. I know that you can probably do a similar thing in Photoshop. But I wanted to know what it would look like doing it 'live'.

Lighting Up

Although I am back to work now, I've not really seen anything worth photographing. And the weather has been lousy too. Dull and overcast. It feels like it is permanently dusk.

So here's another shot of model Chrissy who I shot during a recent studio lighting course.

The Twin Towers

Now I know that Nottingham University is a very popular educational institute and that it is oversubscribed for places each year, but I don't think that even the university itself has the money to build an extra tower onto the Trent Building.

No, it's just me and my OMD mucking around with the double exposure button!

Review Of 2012

Well a new year and new beginnings. A time to reflect on the past year and what might happen during the new one.

I have been looking through all my blog posts and really surprised how much I've done and places & events that we've been to.

It's difficult to try and pick one favourite photograph from the 365+ that I've published on my blog this year. They have included many models, shots of Oscar and Marmalade, old cars, large scale events and the little minutiae that make up a day.

For some reason I'm drawn to this shot that I took in May at Wollaton Park at a battle reenactment show. Possibly because it is unusual to see two people in period costume walking next to a period building with no 21st century clutter in view.

I think it looks like a scene from a movie. Although I if I was taking the shot again, I would set the couple more to the right side of the frame and show a bit more of Wollaton Hall. Still I don't think it is too bad a shot considering that it is not posed.

So here's to hopefully a enjoyable and successful year full of photographic highlights and wonderful shots.

Best Of The Year

As it's the last day of the year, I've decided to go through all my postings to find which photo got the most hits.

I was surprised to find out that it was this one, as it is not particularly brilliant. But it did receive an amazing 10745 visits. It is of actress Lauren Goodger from "The Only Way Is Essex" who was launching her line of cosmetics.

I took it at the Beauty Show in Birmingham on 13th May while she was promoting herself and her products.

Well that's about it for 2012. It's been quite a year photographically, with learning about taking portraits of some lovely models, owning a full frame Nikon D3s, and now the amazing Olympus OMD.

Gail has caught the photography bug too and we've visited some unexpectedly nice places like Bradford and Chester, where we met up with top snapper Damian McGillycuddy.

Who knows what 2013 will have in store for us both. Personally I'd like to start earning a bit of money somehow from my photography; possibly through doing weddings or covering some local events.
Whatever happens, I'll be sure to share it with you on this blog. So do keep visiting and I'd just like to wish you all a

                   Happy New Year

Does My Bum Look Big In This?

It's a Happy Birthday to my darling Gail who is ?? today, but looks a lot younger.

Here is one of the presents that I got her. If you can't tell, it's a hand crafted wooden zebra that has come all the way from Africa, from where of course they originate.

She saw a trio of them in a local gift shop that specialises in original art from different parts of the world, and fell in love with them. So I just had to get one for her. I would have liked to have bought her a herd, but we haven't really got the space and they are quite expensive. I think it is quite humorous in the way that it's rear end is sticking out!

Besides the zebra and a few other little presents like chocolates, some mittens, I got her this rather bright and colourful  Doc Marten boots. Pink is Gail's favourite colour. Earlier this year she met a model who was wearing a pair, although in a cherry red colour, and thought she might like a pair herself. And now she has.

In Everyone's Life A Little Rain Must Fall...

... but at the moment, it seems to be a torrent.

Yes it rained again today, and quite heavy at times. I don't think there has been a day this week where it's not rained. This is not helping to relieve the situation with the local flooding that is happening at the moment.

So I didn't see anything worth photographing today, except giant puddles everywhere. But no sun to make the puddles look like mirrors. So here's a shot in the front garden with all the droplets of rain hanging from our fir tree.

Heart To Heart

Now that christmas is over, the council have started to remove the stalls that made up our Christmas market.

The food and drink stalls in the Old Market Square still remain, but I think these will be finished very soon; maybe by the end of next week.

One of the stalls sell all sorts of sweets. I quite like this heart shaped confectionery, which are supported by the hearts on the bags.

Love sweets, or sweet love?

Horseplay

A bit of an arty shot today, as the cupboard is a little bare at the moment.

The fairground ride in the Old Market Square. The guy looks like he's enjoying the horses going round. Just hope he hasn't put a bet on one of them!

Snowballs

No snow over Christmas, just rain. Some parts of Nottinghamshire are now flooded. Fortunately we are high and dry. Living on top of a hill helps. So the only white in the garden at the moment is this bush that sprouts these white snowball like flowers. I have no idea what the bush is called, but they do add a little something to what is basically a bare garden at the moment.

Merry Christmas

Here's hoping everyone has a great time over the festive period, and all the best for the forthcoming year. I hope it is a good one.

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.

Season's Greetings

It's getting closer to the big day.

Are you looking forward to it?

Moody

This is Chrissy, our model for the evening, while we were doing a small lighting course at our friends studio in Clifton.

Besides working in the studio, we went outside and using just one flash, set up a shot like this one.

A Touch Of Sparkle

Since adopting Marmalade and Oscar we don't put up a Christmas tree anymore, as Gail and I are worried that they might try and use it as a scratching post and tinsel and baubles will be scattered everywhere as they push it over.

So here is a shot of a tree and decorations that I took through a window of a bank in Beeston, when Gail and I went for a walk along the High Road when it was dark.