Close up the ice particles on this frosty bench look sharp and brittle like little spikes of glass, but from a distance they have a much softer appearance, almost like fur or velvet that you could run your hand across gently, it almost looks warm to the touch...
I really like a nice fresh scallop, they have such a unique and delicate flavour and when cooked right the texture is so so good. But, I have to say they are pretty weird to look at although laid out like this they look fantastic.
Under the lights I think the colours stand out but when I took these shots I had in mind using the colour splash technique I have used in the second image. I wasn't 100% sure how it would turn out but I think it works really well. It is a very simple subject but the shapes, patterns and textures combine to make this a really strong image.
For today I have chosen a few shots from my early morning visit to the fish market in Venice.
It was really interesting watching the traders setting out their stalls, laying out the fish with great care in beautiful displays. Under the lights the fish, squid, octopus, langoustines and clams etc glistened in a myriad of colours. If you have seen my blog before you will know that I love black and white photography and often can't choose whether an image looks better in black and white or colour and today I have given two of the images dual treatment just to compare.
I wasn't sure whether I would be welcome poking my camera in while the traders were so hard at work. I tried to stay out of the way and be as unobtrusive as possible and most of the time they ignored me and got on with setting everything up. I caught the eye of a few of the stall holders and I think they thought I was a bit odd, maybe I am. However, odd or not I really like these images and hope you do too.
I was fascinated to see the intricate and varied patterns etched in the ice on a small pool of water collected in the uneven surface of the bedrock on Thurstaston Hill. I have cropped the image slightly to remove some blades of grass in the bottom corner because they were a distraction from what I wanted to share.
