Farewell....

.....To the Harrier Jump Jet. This special plane has today flown it's last operational flights for the British Military forces. It was only a few years ago that this plane was a regular on the air-show circuit, wowing the crowds and making small children cry and dogs bark with the phenomenal roar and downdraft as it went into a hover. It was always forgiven though when it "took a bow" at the end of the display, and its ability to do something (vertical take-off, and that hover) which is usually associated with a helicopter rather than fixed wing aircraft made it extra special.

Robyn

Nifty Fifty Project...

Thought I ought to get back to this again - as I've said before I love using the 50mm lens, it's just getting around to using it that I have an issue with. Then I pick it up, pop it on the front of the camera (works better that way round) and it's as though its never been gathering dust in the bag. I have to start thinking - really thinking - about composing shots and how to get exactly the picture I want. Sometimes I have to re-think the shot I thought I was going to take as it simply doesn't work for the fixed length of the lens - that's a tricky one as my photography head doesn't like admitting that a shot isn't possible.

The shot above was another one taken for the photography challenge I'm doing online with a group of friends. The theme was "Something architectural" and although I guess paving slabs aren't strictly speaking "Architecture" I was wandering round town with my camera and "that" lens, and saw the array of different shapes, sizes and coloured slabs and decided I liked how it looked. The challenges are good fun so far - we're seeing some excellent shots coming from people who had been at great pains to tell us all that they weren't very good at taking pictures - so far the evidence is disproving this! From a personal perspective I'm finding it a real kick-start to thinking about photography again and just plain picking up the camera and using it.

Robyn

Macro lens gets an outing...

and I am VERY excited about this shot. For many years there has been one subject which I have wanted to photograph, but never quite managed. Either I've not had the camera with me, or I've been in a rush, or it's been too windy....the excuses have come thick and fast so imagine my excitement when, on glancing out of the window this morning, with my time to all intents and purposes being my own, I spotted my subject of choice just sitting there waiting for me!



I possibly wouldn't have even noticed it had it not been for the photo challenge I'm currently taking part in - which is going extremely well. It's fantastic seeing a whole group of people actually making use of their cameras and thinking about the shots they are taking far, far more than they usually would. The results being produced are great too - I think it would be fair to say that most of the participants have a far better eye for a shot than they think they have.

Oh, it should be mentioned that I originally had an altogether different idea for my shot for this week's challenge (which was "up close & personal" by the way) but I might now have to have a go at that another time instead. For the time being though, have another spiders web...



Robyn

At the going down of the sun....

In spite of it being fairly close to us, we'd never before been to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. When we realised a while ago that the admission could be paid for using ClubCard Deals vouchers we decided that it would make a good frugal day out, and chose today as our day to visit based on all the exhibits being open as it is remembrance Sunday. (The majority of the time through the winter some areas are closed off - the admission fee drops slightly to take account of this). To our surprise on arriving we were told that admission today was free, so the vouchers have gone back on the shelf for use elsewhere! The museum was holding its own remembrance service which we attended, and the shot above was taken as we left the building afterwards.

I'm currently taking part in a photographic challenge on an online community I'm a member of - it was borne from a number of people complaining that they didn't use their cameras enough, something which I really identified with, so I suggested that we got together and made a concerted effort to put that right. From a personal perspective I should probably use it as an incentive to post here more often - oddly enough it isn't a problem when we're in the hebrides, but once back in real life any number of lame excuses can come along and stand in the way of me simply taking, processing and posting a shot. Annoying, isn't it!

Robyn

One from the Hebrides...

For some reason this evening I fancied playing around with some holiday pictures - I kind of expected to go through and find some I'd not processed before, but instead I found myself re-processing the one above. The deposit confirmation for the cottage has arrived now, and it is always at this point that thoughts start turning to heading back. The RET scheme has been confirmed for an additional year on its trial period, which is good for us as it halves the costs of the ferry fares to, and from Lochamaddy, and there is also some talk of relief on fuel duty in the islands - to the tune of 5p per litre. This would by no means make fuel over there the same price as on the mainland, but it would certainly go some way to bringing costs down.

Robyn

Back in time...

Last weekend we went to the North Norfolk Railway 1940's weekend. We were up in Sheringham last year when it was on, and decided to go back this time around and check out properly what was going on. The first thing to mention is that an awful lot of people dress up and get seriously into their roles at these events, and the second is that the whole thing spills over onto the streets of Sheringham as well as within the environment of the railway. This year even the shops in Sheringham high street got into the spirit of the event with shop staff dressed up, appropriate window displays and even "wartime menus" at a couple of the canteens. Flypasts from a hurricane and a lancaster added to the atmosphere, but above all what really "made it" was the care and attention lavished on the event by the re-enactors, both in terms of their outfits, and the way they really made you feel you were "in their world"

The shot above was taken at Weybourne Station - proud Father about to put his newly joined-up daughter on the train maybe? Who knows, but what is definate is the immaculate way both are turned out. The other people in the background also being dressed appropriately helps, one ongoing problem was the encroachment of the 21st century into shots via carrier bags, digital cameras, and even iPod earphones!

Robyn

Nearly the end...

....of the summer, and with it the airshow season. I've not seen so much of the Reds this season as I would have liked - just the three displays at Eastbourne, Dartmouth & Duxford - but as ever they were outstanding on all three occasions. Of the three displays Dartmouth was by far the most special - it always is, not least because I have now got into the habit of climbing up the big hill behind the town and shooting from there - it gives a totally different viewpoint on the display as a whole - at times you're looking down on the action, and at others the trademark red Hawks seem to be coming right at you!

I went into the display season this year wanting to do more shots where the Reds' smoke trails were as much a feature of the shots as the planes themselves - having been caught a couple of times now with extremely bland skies, or the sort of conditions that make capturing the "Red" in the "Red Arrows" close to impossible, I felt that this would be a good trick to master as it would potentially enable me to come away with even those sort of displays with shots to be pleased with. What do you think - has it worked?