Shot from my (stationary) car, through a snowy side window at the romantic roundabout off the M60 in Stockport near a massive Tesco!
I've sorted out all my real work photos today which is a good thing.
We're out tonight to the very cosy Persia Grillhouse to celebrate a friend's 40th for the second time, last week it was a big meal out with many people, tonight it's the actual birthday as as far as I know, just us.
Peter's back from his few days in Holland working with my uncle and tomorrow I'm off to stay with my parents in mum's flat in Fuerteventura. I haven't packed a thing but I have purchased two new shirts and two new books. My flight's at 15.30 so I'll have plenty of time to get organized in the morning. I hate packing.
So that's all for a week, I'm off to the sun!
Friday, 19 February 2010
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Today my online life was more exciting than my real life!
No, I'm not sinking into some deep dark depression, I just went to Oldham in the very cold, dull, post fog, pre sleet weather. I had to make it look like Paris. I don't think I did too badly - Lightroom is a wonderful piece of software which has performed magic for me so far, but it was a very cold and not particularly fun assignment.
After my initial forays around the church, my poor little fingers were frozen so I headed to the Art Gallery for a warm up and a toilet to find that there was a nice looking new cafe where I happily settled with a copy of' Om a very cool yoga magazine (a rare British one too) and ordered chunky veg soup and brown bread with a pot of Earl Grey tea with extra hot water. What I got was a cup of Earl Grey tea with a jug of milk and a jug of hot water and no soup. I was happy thawing out and reading about Downward Dogs etc.... but eventually I got fed up and reminded my very nice but inefficient waitress about my soup. She assured me it was coming. It didn't, but it did for the two ladies next to me. They took one slurp and called the waitress over and complained that it was so salty that they couldn't eat it. Great. I waited some more, no doubt while they 'seasoned' it a bit more. Eventually it arrived, and had that depressing smell that home made soup never has. I make a lot of soup, both vegetable and chicken based and it never has that instant soup out of a packet smell which I remember from school. That aside, the unattractive brown gloop tasted sort of okay, but the carrot (yes, nice and chunky) tasted like a spoonful of salt. Back it went. And the bread was a pappy white roll which had been cut in half for me very helpfully through the middle. The tea was very nice.
The manageress offered me an alternative, but I'd wasted enough time and I told her I couldn't wait any longer and she offered me a sandwich to take out, but I very nicely turned that down too. The soup was erased from the blackboard and she apologised and said that they had been using a 'new stock'. What sort of kitchen buys in stock when the soup's meant to be home made and what sort of chef doesn't taste his cooking?
Very disappointed but at least a bit warmer, I pottered off to find something else to photograph. I was very surprised at how little modern stuff there was, perhaps I missed it?
The nice on line stuff came in the form of a Front Page Treasury with my Red on White 2 print.
And the second nice thing was a feature by the new UK Etsy Blogger Amity UK in The Storque in her 'Get the Look' feature about the wonderful flame haired Florence Welch which is full of great items.
Here's a screen grab of the section with my Have a Seat 4 print:
So I'm well chuffed with that!
Tomorrow I'm out and about doing some more real work (two days proper money is a very nice thing indeed!) down in Derby. Not quite sure what to expect, but I hope the sun shines for me on my ninety minute drive.
After my initial forays around the church, my poor little fingers were frozen so I headed to the Art Gallery for a warm up and a toilet to find that there was a nice looking new cafe where I happily settled with a copy of' Om a very cool yoga magazine (a rare British one too) and ordered chunky veg soup and brown bread with a pot of Earl Grey tea with extra hot water. What I got was a cup of Earl Grey tea with a jug of milk and a jug of hot water and no soup. I was happy thawing out and reading about Downward Dogs etc.... but eventually I got fed up and reminded my very nice but inefficient waitress about my soup. She assured me it was coming. It didn't, but it did for the two ladies next to me. They took one slurp and called the waitress over and complained that it was so salty that they couldn't eat it. Great. I waited some more, no doubt while they 'seasoned' it a bit more. Eventually it arrived, and had that depressing smell that home made soup never has. I make a lot of soup, both vegetable and chicken based and it never has that instant soup out of a packet smell which I remember from school. That aside, the unattractive brown gloop tasted sort of okay, but the carrot (yes, nice and chunky) tasted like a spoonful of salt. Back it went. And the bread was a pappy white roll which had been cut in half for me very helpfully through the middle. The tea was very nice.
The manageress offered me an alternative, but I'd wasted enough time and I told her I couldn't wait any longer and she offered me a sandwich to take out, but I very nicely turned that down too. The soup was erased from the blackboard and she apologised and said that they had been using a 'new stock'. What sort of kitchen buys in stock when the soup's meant to be home made and what sort of chef doesn't taste his cooking?
Very disappointed but at least a bit warmer, I pottered off to find something else to photograph. I was very surprised at how little modern stuff there was, perhaps I missed it?
The nice on line stuff came in the form of a Front Page Treasury with my Red on White 2 print.
Here's a screen grab of the section with my Have a Seat 4 print:
So I'm well chuffed with that!
Tomorrow I'm out and about doing some more real work (two days proper money is a very nice thing indeed!) down in Derby. Not quite sure what to expect, but I hope the sun shines for me on my ninety minute drive.
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
No Oitering
It's been a while. Again. No particular reason, I've just been busy! This lovely scenic view of Manchester was shot in a particularly nasty little area behind some bars on Oxford Road, after walking past it for many years I finally popped in a little further and apart from lots of rubbish, some very dull tags and some very unpleasant aromas this is all I found of interest, but it was certainly worth the look.
I can't help but wonder why someone would actually go to the trouble of painting out the L.
I've got two days 'real' work this week shooting a mock up of a school and then something at a real working school although no one has thought to tell me what or when yet.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Love You Scrabble on Etsy's Front Page
I've been selling lots of my Scrabble Valentine's cards from Folksy which has been fantastic, it's a funny little site which I like for it's UK bias but I find it cumbersome to use but shall persevere as I want to support the UK handmade/craft scene in my own little way. (While I've been typing this I got a happy Transaction email for one of my I Love You Scrabble Jumble cards selling on Etsy, which is the first one to go from there.)
Another Scrabble image is on the Front Page of Etsy (bottom right) right now along with a great and unusual collection of items. I love the little note you get on Facebook to tell you you've been Featured, it's so handy. The last two FPs have been bought to my attention this way.
Anyway, got to dash as I need to pop out to find a late post box for the card I've just sold so it arrives tomorrow!
Another Scrabble image is on the Front Page of Etsy (bottom right) right now along with a great and unusual collection of items. I love the little note you get on Facebook to tell you you've been Featured, it's so handy. The last two FPs have been bought to my attention this way.
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
Featured on the proper main Home Page of Red Bubble!
I really like Red Bubble as a selling venue, it's design is fantastic and I like the fact that they haven't gone mad with the range of products, it comes over as a really classy place. I've sold a few things, but not many. I confess to not giving it much attention, just adding stuff whenever I've generated a few new images and adding them to groups if appropriate. I don't participate in the Forums and apart from familiar names from Etsy I don't really interact.
This evening I checked Red Bubble after I'd checked iStock and found an extraordinary number of comments, ten pages going back nine hours. I swiftly deduced that my Waiting White Cat image had been on the main Front Page:
I'm very chuffed and also very surprised at the generosity of people's commenting and favouriting - let's hope it leads to some sales!
If you like the image, you can find it here.
This evening I checked Red Bubble after I'd checked iStock and found an extraordinary number of comments, ten pages going back nine hours. I swiftly deduced that my Waiting White Cat image had been on the main Front Page:
If you like the image, you can find it here.
Spring Tulips in Vase.
There's thick white snow again in Manchester but I've been thinking of Spring......
Monday, 1 February 2010
Before and After.
When we were in Holland recently we went for a walk on the beach on Sunday morning after there had been a night's worth of snow - the sky was flat pale grey, the sea was grey, the sand was brown with a layer of white.
I'd never taken photos in such conditions before and it wasn't an immediately appealing view, but I had in mind the textures I've been so impressed by recently and decided that the flatness would work beautifully with them.
I'd never taken photos in such conditions before and it wasn't an immediately appealing view, but I had in mind the textures I've been so impressed by recently and decided that the flatness would work beautifully with them.
Before
After
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