Day 31 - Winter Caravanning

We bought a touring caravan toward the end of last year and haven't had much chance to use it, just a weekend on Exmoor in September. The weather forecast isn't too bad for this week so we have brought Rosie ( the caravan) to the campsite @ Kingsbury Water Park north of Birmingham. The park is home to a variety of water sports, which we won't be sampling, and a nature reserve with plenty of birdlife. We have Internet but I'm reluctant to spend a lot of time processing photos. I have



therefore decided to limit myself to photos on my iPhone. the above is our view through the rooflight of the caravan. We've settled in nicely now but had a few problems getting it set up earlier which limited my photographic opportunities.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 30 - Kenfig Pool

I had heard that there are quite a few bittern at Kenfig Pool at the moment so I headed down there this afternoon while LB was playing golf.  It was a lovely sunny afternoon with nice light but I hadn't realised the pool was nearly frozen over!  All the birds were gathered in one still liquid area and there was no chance of bittern watching!  I had a lovely time watching the birds, enjoying the peace and quiet and taking photos.  I've chosen this feather for todays photo though I was spoilt for choice and not sure if it's the best. It's quite nice to be back outside & in full colour too!

 I also had fun photographing the ice and reflections!

Day 29- Flower with Candle

As promised, no black & white today but full glorious colour! It just so happens that the colour is white! I had a very enjoyable evening yesterday, with good food, lots of wine & it was a very late night.  I have discovered that combination does not generate wonderful, original, creative photographic ideas. :)  Also although we had a bit of sun today which would have done very nicely in a photograph it was also cold, so I stayed nicely snuggled up indoors. Lazy! So here's one of the bunch of flowers I mentioned yesterday, with candle and white vase.

Day 28 - Bubbles

I was given some flowers yesterday, which are now on the coffee table in the lounge.  This morning when the sun was coming through the window it made the bubbles inside the glass vase glow so I got out the camera!  I wonder what they're bubble of - air CO2 oxygen? I think this will be the last black & white shot for a while.  They're quite interesting to do but I feel in need of a change so it'll be something random for the next few days.

For the record I had a quiet morning at home today before taking my Dad out for a pub lunch. Mum's hospital ward has a norovirus infection so has been closed to visitors for a week.  Mum isn't affected and I'm rather relieved not to have to go there.  It always upsets me and as she is totally unaware of time she's not going to realise we've not been. Tonight I'm eating out again ( bang goes the diet!) as we're having a curry with friends which I'm looking forward to. Throughout the day I've been following the protests in Egypt. I hadn't realised how repressive the regime is out there, it can't last now the people have turned against it but with no effective opposition one can't help worry what the future holds there.  It makes my flower photo look rather inconsequential but I think it's too late for me to turn into a photo-journalist/war photorapher

Day 27 - Playing Games

This will probably be my one and only self portrait.  In a way I'm cheating with this one as I didn't press the shutter and I was only partially responsible for the composition. Our step grand daughter to be spent the day with us. I'd set up the camera on the tripod & got the settings right on manual to take several photos of her around the stairs which I will combine into one. Of course after doing this she wanted to take a photo of me & LB.  As the camera had been aimed at her height, we had to get down low but she organised us so we were both in the frame & then took the pic.  Having a 6 year old around all day meant no time to think of creative photos so this one is the one for today.  I've converted it to b&w to fit the week's theme.

Day 26 Tick Tock

I have returned to Grandfather's pocket watch for todays photo. I thought I'd swing it like a clock's pendulum and have hourglass shaped bokeh in the background. Not sure if I've quite captured what I had imagined - the hourglasses look more like dividing bacilli to me but perhaps that's just my biology background!   What do you think?

Actually I'm just trying to hypnotise you!   You are feeling sleepeee! : )

Day 25 Plates

I've a rather softer black & white image for today. I wanted to play around with an almost all white scenario with little contrast. This is a stack of plates but is almost an abstract of lines and shapes.

You may realise I'm having a quiet day today!  I have been to the gym though and tonight we are off out for a meal with my cousin & his wife. We haven't seen them for ages so I'm really looking forward to it.  Mid day however, is quiet, so  plenty of time to make improbable stacks of plates.  I found some Blu-tac invaluable at defying the effects of gravity and enabling me to layer the plates as I wanted!

Day 24- the Hands of Time

After yesterday I have decided to have a theme for this week of black and white.  In fact I'm going to try to concentrate on the white end of the spectrum, but not today! Today is more of a high contrast b&w.  I came across LB's Grandfather's pocket watch so have contrasted it with one of my modern watches. Hope you like it

Day 23 - Underpass

 Landscapes and birds are my comfort zone when it comes to photography  so I've decided to push myself to do other things. Today I went into Cardiff Civic Centre to try my hand at something more architectural.  I must admit I didn't feel at all inspired and the few photos I took look much the same as hundreds of others I've seen.  Before coming home I walked to this underpass which goes under Kingsway by the castle.  

It was originally the bed of the Brecon to Cardiff canal, in its heyday a major contributor to Cardiff's wealth, by bringing iron & coal down to the docks.  Kingsway was a narrow road in the 19th century and the arched section of the underpass is the original canal bridge, taking the road over the top of the canal. There's a bit of canal machinery at the entrance, I'm not sure what it is exactly .  Now the road is a major artery into town and this part of the canal has been drained.  There's no evidence of the bridge above ground but the stone arched underside has been extended with a reectangular section underpass of modern brickwork.  The inevitable graffiti adorns its walls.  Below is a small pic of the entrance from outside.

Day 22- Dafydd yr Dafad

Had a quiet day today.  Friends popped around this morning so I got to cuddle baby Ewan who's only 3 weeks old & gorgeous.....but windy!  Slobbed out this pm then thought about todays photo. Took the easy option with a close up.  Tried a couple of things that didn't quite work but may go back to them in future so today there is just one photo, I present.... Dafydd the Sheep!

My son won him, many years ago at a school fete balloon race. His balloon travelled all the way to Normandy in France and the prize was a Grogg sheep witha notice on his side saying"happiness is St Michael's May Day Gala.  We also have a similar sheep which proclaims  " Ban Mint Sauce"

Day 21 - Steel Works

Just the one photo today. This is the steel works at Port Talbot viewed over Kenfig Pool as the sun was beginning to set. It's a strange juxtaposition having a steel works next to a nature reserve particularly when all the chmneys start smoking.

I had a somewhat fruitless trip to Porthcawl today. I picked Dad up and we went to the hospital in Bridgend where Mum is a long term patient due to her dementia. On the unit door was a notice saying the ward was closed to visitors due to a norovirus outbreak. We were told the it had closed just an hour or two previously. Back at Dad's house, the phone rang, the ward ringing to say it's closed!  Mum isn't affected which is good news so we'll ring next week to see when we can visit.  


I stopped off at Kenfig on my way home to take this photo.

Day 20 - Coot before Swan

We had another walk around a pond today, this time with our son & his girlfriend.  The pond in question was Cosmeston Lakes & Country Park which is well worth a visit in the Cardiff area.  We took some bread to feed the swans and had an enjoyable ramble.  I didn't want to be too antisocial so snapped photos as we walked, without too much thought.  As my family are camera shy I won't post any of them so have chosen yet another bird photo.   The background to this coot is a swan & its reflection, hence all the white.

I also like this shot of a cormorant having a scratch!  He was a bit of a distance away & I've cropped the photo heavily so it's not quite the quality I'd like. It's a fun pose though.

Day 19 - Kenfig Pool

We've been very good today and had two lots of exercise!  Firstly, we both had a session each in our respective gyms this morning, then after a bit of a tidy up at home we set off for a walk around Kenfig Pool.  This is a lovely pool set amongst sand dunes that lead down to a huge beach & with some woodland too.  It's a designated nature reserve and in the spring is alive with birdlife.  At this time of year it's a lot quieter although the pool is popular with waterfowl.  We walked all the way around the pool & were thankful for our wellies as quite longer stretches of the path were underwater! Strange considering the proximity to the dunes!  Anyway todays picture is one the you're almost guaranteed to get here, the gulls on the fence posts, I've also included one of the cormorants on the ruin of what we think is an old boathouse.

Day 18 - Multi-storey Car Park

Popped into town to do some shopping today & took the G12 with me. I took these photos in the carpark.  I thought I'd give you some shapes to look at instead of birds or scenery.  Later I'll be taking my father in to see Mum in hospital again followed by a quiet evening with LB, without spending ages on the computer sorting photos! 

Day 17 - Cronfa Bannau & Mynydd Epynt

Well, we didn't get to see the red kites today.  We set off despite a less favourable weather forecast than we'd hoped.  It looked quite promising as we drove throught the Brecon Beacons, with some high cloud and some lovely soft sunlight and I took some photos of the reflections in one of the resevoirs. A good job too as this turned out to be my best of the day.

After leaving Brecon and entering the valley to followed the river Wye upstream we came across the mist and low cloud.  We had a cuppa and a bite to eat in Builth Wells then headed home via Mynydd Epynt, thinking we'd get above the mist and have some nice sunny views over the top of the valley.  No such luck!  We rose into even thicker fog!  I did get some nice atmospheric shots though.  For those that don't know, although Epynt is called Mynydd or mountain it's really high moorland and bleak at the best of times.  It suits fog and the photos suited black and white 

Day 16 - Odd One Out

Yet another grey wet day so I have spent the afternoon playing around with some glass beads.  Only one photo today, you can't get a lot of variety with this set up!

 Having a nice quiet relaxing Sunday today, just pottering around at home. The forecast is better for tomorrow so we're planning on heading up to the red kite feeding centre for some more bird pics. I think I'll abandon any thought of a theme for next week as there's a bit more variety in our plans!

Day 15 - Bubbles & a little bit of Spring

Having read  this article on the Digital Photography School website I decided to have a go at photographing soap bubbles. It is not as easy as it looks! I've spent all morning & all evening on it!  Main problems were unwanted reflections, both of me and the camera and my wonky home made lightbox.  Also a macro lens would have been handy.. All of these are very heavily cropped but I think this is the best of the bunch.

The next is of a bubble just about to burst, they thin from the top before going pop.  The dark one is a ghost bubble that burst mid exposure. It's totally unplanned but I thought was interesting.

Finally, so I didn't go mad with bubbles LB & I went for a stroll this afternoon and saw these catkins, our first sign of Spring! Was also pleased to spot a greater spotted woodpecker and a water rail.

Day 14 - Rough Water

I was going over to Porthcawl to see my father this afternoon.  As it was a windy day & high tide at lunch time I thought there might be some decent waves by the breakwater so headed there before going on to Dad.  I left home in yet more rain but as I pulled up by the harbour the sun came out & the clouds cleared. It wasn't a particularly high tide & I was able to scramble down on to the rocks to look up to the lighthouse.  When there's a spring tide with strong winds the sea breaks over the top of the lighthouse but then the conditions wouldn't be quite so pleasant for photographers! Also the rocks I was on would be underwater!  

I then turned around to get a view of the bay & the esplanade.

Day 13 - Castle in the Mist

Mist is a slightly loose interpretation of water but it's another grey wet drizzly day & as I'm surrounded by the wet stuff I thought I'd photograph it.  This is Llantrisant Castle, or what little remains of it.  I would have liked someone walking along the path for a bit of extra interest but no - one else was fool enough to wander around in this murk!

The next shots are of the adjacent church. Like the castle the present building was built in 1246 although there has been a church here for 1300 years. It is dedicated to three saints, Illtyd, Gwynno & Dyfodwg and hence gives the town its name. Llan being a church or religious settlement, tri is Welsh for three and sant is saint, hence Llantrisant. End of history lesson!

Day 12 - It's Raining

And I'm feeling a bit off colour & uninspired so here's some raindrops on our hedge

Day 11 - Flamingo legs in pond

Bit of an abstract one for today, sticking to the watery theme.  We had a splendid time at Slimbridge, mostly watching the wild birds from the hides.  This photo is from the flamingo pool, however.. I just liked the reflected colours of the flamingos in the water.  Bird photos will be posted on my Flickr site shortly, but not tonight.  I need some sleep before sorting through them

Day 10 - Water Droplets

I've decided on a watery theme this week.  There's going to be lots of rain at the end of the week so expect photos of drips. Tomorrow we're off to Slimbridge Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust.  There's plenty of water there although there will inevitably be a bird or two in it.  Tonight I attempted, not very successfully to photograph water splashes, particularly crowns. I had a problem with lack of light. All the pics were noisy due to the high iso needed to obtain a fast enough shutter speed to catch the splashes sharply but also I needed a narrow aperture to get sufficient depth of field. Very frustrating!


Anyway here's my shot of the day.

And a runner up!

Day 9 - Forest Farm - Nuthatches

Forest Farm is a small nature reserve alongside part of the old Glamorganshire canal in Whitchurch, Cardiff.  It's a mixture of woodland and wetland.  I had a splendid time there today, photographing the small woodland birds.  I didn't even reach the hides by the ponds as I was out of time and the light fading.  I'm struggling to pick a single photo of the day but I''ve settled on this one of a nuthatch.

Here are a few more nuthatch photos as a special treat! There are yet more of todays bird photos on my Flickr page here  http://www.flickr.com/photos/pontydoc/sets/72157624214261163/detail/

DAY 8 - Roath Park

At last, the sun has shown itself, so we went for a wander around Roath Park Lake, in Cardiff.  I was hoping to get a shot of a goose or cormorant in flight but they didn't oblige. Here's a black headed gull instead.  It's not the most interesting shot but all I have for today.  We've friends coming around for the evening so no time to be choosy!

Day 7 - The Kitchen

I was spoilt for choice today, there are so many things to photograph in a kitchen. It may well be worthy of being a weekly theme later on.  As the prime purpose of the kitchen is cooking, here is my shelf of cookery books, some obviously better used than others.

As I've too much stuff the pestle & mortar routinely lives on the shelf, gathering dust & getting in the way!

Day 6 - the Dining Room

I don't believe crystal balls tell the future but this one lets me show you the dining room without a fisheye lens.

Day 5 - The Bathroom

Managed to take my photo nice & early.

I am clean and ready to start the day!

Day 4 - The Bedroom

Took the car to have the handbrake adjusted this morning.  While waiting I bought some half price picture frames in the HobbyCraft sale.  I can put more photos on the wall now : )  This afternoon I had a good session in the gym and then started to think about todays photo! As it was getting dark by then the bedroom seemed an appropriate subject although I won't be going to bed for a few hours. A slight cheat in that this is the spare bedroom. Mine is far to untidy!


It was quite a tricky photo  in view of the brightness of the table lamp close to the camera. Had to play around with exposure compensation and bracketting then combine two photos in photoshop.

Time for bed!

Day 3 -The Living Room - Before the Decorations Come Down

It's another cold grey day, we've even had some snow. Have been catching up on odd jobs around the house, did a bit of shopping & spent ages trying to get Lightroom to behave itself. Have also been thinking of this project and how I'm going to think up enough ideas for photos that are interesting for everyone and perhaps a little testing for me.  I read an article on weekly themes which sounded interesting. I won't stick to a theme every week but drawing up a list has given me new ideas already. This week, as it's going to remain miserable outdoors, I'll be posting a photo each day from a different room in the house, although I might go wild and do something different at the weekend! 


So todays photo is of a Christmas tree decoration in our lounge. The tree will be coming down imminently so I might as well make the most of it.  The challenge was getting a shallow depth of field with my new compact camera, a Canon G12, which I think I've managed. It's a very different camera to my slr and although it has manual controls it doesn't behave in the same way, aperture only goes from f2.8 to f8 for instance. Practice is needed!  Here's todays photo:

Day 2 - A Chilly Walk on a Grey Day

It was a real struggle to pick a photo today.....and it's only day 2! This is not going to be easy! 


Anyway after a bit of tidying up and making some soup with our post Christmas turkey stock, (which I did not photograph!) we went for a walk with friends. Temperatures were just above freezing, the sky was grey, the light even greyer and the landscape bleak. We had a lovely time! After a hearty lunch in the Brecon Beacons Mountain Centre we went for a walk over Mynydd Illtyd Common ending at an old motte in the fields adjacent. This was a small but impressive structure with a deep ditch surrounding the mound.  Remains of sturdy stone walls lined the hollow within the motte, presumably there was originally a round tower here, I know nothing of its history so will have to do some research.


























The photo is of LB atop the motte looking over the ditch and commonland towards the snowy peak of Pen y Fan. Not a brilliant photo as I struggled with the poor light and featureless landscape.  It's the best of a bad bunch but, for me, it's a nice reminder of a lovely winter walk

Day 1 - the morning after the night before

We didn't party but enjoyed some bubbly, quietly at home, just the two of us. A Happy New Year to everyone!