A floaty floral costume in the mountains

Katie and I went for a birthday jolly up Troutbeck Tongue, to seek a good photo-spot for the newly completed costume. We sat out a hailstorm in the car before venturing out to see freshly dusted mountain tops all around.

Katie didn't want me to edit an excessive amount of effects onto the pictures, most of them came out pretty well on their own anyway. But I thought I'd experiment with just this one below. I tried to make it not look too unrealistic, but just more glossy and eye catching. I think the way the light and shadows are cast on the ground behind Katie draw your eye in to the middle of the picture and make it really stand out.

Birthday cake candle experiments

I'd read somewhere that you can get some interesting effects when you use the camera's flash combined with a long exposure. The flash lights up the scene and creates a nice sharp image which the camera records. But if the exposure continues after the flash has finished, then wiggling the camera around can create some interesting effects. I think it looks a little bit like spraklers!

Sunny Evenings

We've had a spell of delightful weather, but it's all set to turn into the usual April Showers tomorrow! I made the most of what could be the last sunny evening for some time by going for a nice stroll. I set off after eating my tea so that I would be in time for the nice evening light, and to see the sun set.

 I went up to the Hoad Hill in Ulverston which is a favourite spot of mine, and was surprised this time to find a flock of sheep grazing at the top! They weren't too shy (too busy eating grass I think!) so I got some nice pictures.

 It;s funny how the moon always looks massive in real life but it looks tiny in photos!

 These last three pictures were from a different sunny evening earlier this week

A Sunday Sunset

Niki came on a quick evening stroll to look for the sunset over Ulverston!

Out and about at the weekend

 The first two pictures here are from another quick evening stroll near my house. It had been a lovely sunny evening, and I thought I'd go in search of pretty things to take pictures of in the setting sun. I was hoping for blossom trees but didn't come across any particularly spectacular ones on my walk. I did find this interesting furry bud thing here though, and thought it looks pretty good with the bright light in the background. Below I tried to get a picture of the spider's web, but unfortunately it wasn't a particularly pretty and regimented web shape! 

 I took my camera with me on a day out in the hills. I was hoping to see some little lambs to take pictures of, but there were none where we walked. The big Herdwick sheep are still rather cute though. Most of them kept walking away from me, but there were one or two that were a bit more inquisitive, and I managed to get close enough to get some pictures.

The Sea and the Sand

Earlier this week I made a flying visit to Lancaster to see Katie as she wanted to take some more pictures of her creations. I took my bike and we cycled out to Morecambe so we could take pictures on the beach. Katie wanted the pictures taking at the sea side as the dress was inspired by the sea, and the swirly patterns of the jacket are like sand on the beach. We made sure it was a sunny evening so the trip would be worth while, and rushed to get there before sunset. I've learnt that there is a time that photographers call 'golden hour', which is a certain length of time before, and just after the sun sets. During this time the sun is low in the sky which creates a slightly golden glow (something to do with the light having to travel through more of the Earth's atmosphere which causes the light at the bluer end of the spectrum to disperse more. I think.), resulting in a a warm feeling in the photos.

 I've tweeked some of the pictures on a program called 'photo director', which I got free with the magazine I bought a while back. The fact that it came free suggests it's some-what out of date, but it seems to many fun things to explore for me!

 The picture above is the edited version of the one below. I like how the skirt looks more metallic and shiny, and how the sunset looks more vivid. I think this picture looks really good because the swinging tassels of the skirt are balanced by the wisps of hair.

 The 'Golden Hour' conditions must have been just right for this next few photos. The effect of the glowing sun has created a background that is interesting, yet uncomplicated so it doesn't distract from the costume.

 This picture here is another one that looks really nice just how it has come out on its own. But I thought I'd play around editing it to see what effects I could create. The product is perhaps slightly overdone, but interesting at the same time. I like how the ripples of the water are exaggerated, and also how  brightthe light shining through the coat looks

 Two more of my favourites here. I like how the reflection of the clouds in the water mirrors the patterns in the coat.