Fireworks

At the weekend I also happened upon a surprise firework display! I had my camera but no tripod, but i think the pictures have come out pretty well. It was a very good display for the little town of Castle Douglas!

Sunsets from the car

Towards the end of the journey to Scotland at the weekend we were greeted by a most excellent sunset, (and a most excellent rainbow which I unfortunately didn'tget any good photographs of). It so happened that I wasn't driving is particular leg of the journey, which I was pleased about as I could take some piccies

Blurry lights

When the background appears out of focus on a picture because the camera is focused on something closer, then any lights in the background appear as little glowing blobs. I saw a picture on Pinterest when somebody had covered the front of their camera lens with cardboard with a hole cut out. Whatever's shape the hole is that let's light into the camera's sensor is the shape that the blurry blobs in the background will appear. As I happen to have a heart shaped cutter, that is the shape I went for. The first picture shows the cardboard piece I put on the front of the camera, and below that you can see pictures with it taking effect! It is a bizarre but clever effect!

Derwent Water

Here are some more snaps that I have been editing to make them more eye catching. I think I might have made the sky a touch too dark though it looks a little unrealistic!

Experiments in Black and White

This week I have been experimenting with black and white pictures, if it isn't politically incorrect to say so. I currently have a free trial version of 'Adobe Lightroom' which seems to be the most popular programme for making adjustments to pictures, and I've been using that to play around with contrast levels etc. I've been hunting down a range of subjects for said monochromatic experiments, and I think they all seem to work rather well.

New Lens

I got a new lens for Niki so have been doing some experiemnting with it. Here are some recent snapshots. The lens can make some very blurry backgrounds, which I think makes the pictures look very glossy, and also can allow the camera to take pictures at higher shutter speeds, which is why on the last blog it captured the water droplets so clearly.

The Lady of the Lake

 It has been a while since the last costume photo shoot, so we were looking forward to having some fun with the sail dress. Katie was keen to have the photos taken by the Lake, as it is made from an old sail that was otherwise heading for the bin! We hunted out a quiet spot on board a canoe, as the popular lakeside spots were likely to be busy with tourists on such a nice afternoon.

 We took a few splashy pictures just for fun to begin with, but the ideas kept getting more carried away when we realised how well the camera was picking up the droplets

 The stick became a fun accessory, generating lots of extra water drops.