Its The Little Things

 Everything is more than the sum of its parts but often we only notice things on a superficial level. I am no different. 

However I do love to find the little details when I am walking around, and as well as capturing the big things I also like to focus on things from a different perspective in order to highlight the little details; for example like the door knob in the first two images or the pheasant handle on the sword in the sculpture in the penultimate shot the additional elements to the fero da prora in the seventh photo. It is important to see these things, after all someone has taken the time to create them and it would be sad if no one actually acknowledged them.

 

Love Liverpool

 I have a little more time on my hands now and so there is a very good chance I will be getting out and about a lot more which can only be a good thing.

Earlier this week as the conditions were pretty good I decided to head into Liverpool for a couple of hours to see whether I could capture anything good. As you can see from the pictures above, the sky was crisp and clear, there was ice on the dock and a definite chill in the air (not quite the coldest day of the year but pretty close to it).

I firstly went down to the waterfront to photograph the architecture around the docks before heading back through town where I captured a few shots of people going about their business in the run up to Christmas, so I have a fair bit to work on and to share.

It is a while since I have been down to the waterfront and I had not realised how popular it has become for people to affix padlocks to the chain link fence around the docks. You can see from the above pictures that it has definitely become "a thing" here in Liverpool as it has in other cities all over. For the effect I think I like the locks in the third image as they go all along the riverside where I think the sheer volume of them has more impact. 

However, although there are currently fewer locks along the dockside fences they do create a fantastic frame for the buildings in the background. In these images the main building is the Museum of Liverpool which is itself a stunning building. I will be sharing some more shots of the museum in the coming days.

Glorious Gloriette

In the magnificent gardens of the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna stands the Gloriette which is effectively a party palace but also a vantage point to look back over the gardens and the palace itself.

It really is a spectacular place. Here with this beautiful sky I think it looks glorious.

Close Up On Cow Parsley

These images were originally shot in colour and although they were a lovely fresh green if felt they looked more striking in black and white.

Lavender Blue Dilly Dilly

One of my favourite lenses is my Canon 100mm 2.8 USM Macro lens but for a while it had been out of action so I sent it off for repair. The day I got it back I couldn't wait to try it out again so went out to the front garden and took these shots of a lavender plant we have growing in an old chimney pot.

Lavender is such a wonderful plant, such vibrant colour and heady perfume that has relaxing properties. Close up you can see the delicate little buds with their furry covering.

I am so glad to have my lens back so I can get up close once more.

My School Trips Were Never This Much Fun

Coming to the end of the tour around the interior of Vaux le Vicomte I came upon a group of school children on a trip. As you can see they were all dressed up in period costumes as ladies in waiting and musketeers and they were being guided through their paces by an enthusiastic young woman.

I don't normally post pictures of people and here I have been careful to shoot from behind so the individuals can't be identified. What I like in each of these images is the way the children are looking eagerly at their tutor feeding off her enthusiasm and excitement. I know that the woman in the second image is not in focus but that was because I wanted to focus on the children leaning in to follow what she was doing.

I chose to show the first two in black and white to give a period feel to the image  but in the third I wanted to show the richness and colour of the costumes. I really like this last scene which shows the children in pairs waiting to be announced as they entered the great hall as if for a grand ball or party. I had some good school trips as a child but none quite as much fun as this one seemed to be.

Inside The Dome

This was the second time I have visited this Chateau at Vaux le Vicomte and there were a few noticeable differences.

Firstly in the grounds the Box hedge parterre has been removed it having been ravaged by the Box moth caterpillar and secondly the additional fee to climb the stairs to the dome and view the grounds from above had increased from 1 euro to 3. Even taking inflation into account my first thought was that this was a bit steep (rather like the stairs). However when I got to the stairs it was obvious that the extra funds had been put to good use in stabilising the stairs which previously had been rickety and quite scary. This time there were new treads and additional supports so climbing up I felt much more secure.

It was worth it too as the view from the top is spectacular although I know that there are some people who seeing these stairs might think twice about venturing higher.

A tasty treat...

I managed to get a few shots of this handsome lizard eating a late afternoon snack. He was guarding it quite carefully and it was interesting to watch him shaking this big bug to break off manageable portions.

I will need to look at my other shots on my laptop when I get home but posting "from the field" this unedited shot will have to do for now.

Springing to life

I have been somewhat preoccupied over the past week and now I find myself in France in a small town between Versailles and Paris.
I have spent the afternoon walking in a park. I spotted a few interesting things and some pretty flowers and I thought this curled vine looks really good.

Kaleidoscope

Today is a return to something abstract. This is another shot of ripples and reflections from Burton Mere over the recent Easter weekend.  

In most of the reflections shots I have taken I have used a fast shutter speed to give a smooth final image but here I have used a slightly longer exposure to create a more wispy effect. I quite like this, how about you???

In The Shady Woodland

I love walking in the woods in the early morning. The sound of birdsong, the sunlight through the canopy creating a patchwork of light and shade and in spring the sight and smell of bluebells forming a carpet of green and blue.

Did you know that the native bluebell is a protected plant? in the UK if you remove bluebells from the wild and you are caught selling them on for personal gain you can be fined £5,000 per bulb!!!

Did you know that every part of the bluebell is poisonous? It is best just to look on and enjoy their delicate beauty and breathe in the wonderful fragrance.

Did you know that in ancient times bluebells were used to make the glue that stuck feathers onto the shaft as flights for arrows?

Sail On

Early morning on the banks of the River Ribble just outside of Preston I was photographing a beautiful Mute Swan on a stretch of the river that was mirror calm, the only movement being the gentle ring of ripples around the swan.  Then out of the corner of my eye I spotted this other swan coming, steaming in. Head down and wings curled he looked quite intimidating. Also with the rising sun breaking through the trees on the opposite bank this shot is beautifully lit. 

This image contains some of my favourite elements, ripples, reflection and wildlife. What more could you wish?

Tiger Face

OK, so it might not be what you see when you look at this image but in an abstract way I think there is a tiger face hidden in the ripples.

One of the wonderful about ripples and reflections is that they reveal something unique every time you look...

Carnevale

Here is another Reflection of Venice.

My visit to the city was a week before the famous Carnevale when the city comes alive with people in costumes and masks and it is a non-stop round of balls and parties. I was a little disappointed to miss it but having spoken to a local shop keeper perhaps I wouldn't have enjoyed it completely. The city is packed with visitors and I think I prefer the quiet of the city as it was

I have called this photo Carnevale because when I look at it I can see lots of faces or masks and it seems fitting for the season.

How many faces can you find?

High As A Kite

It was a lovely evening and I was lucky enough to get home from work in time to enjoy a brief spell out with my camera. 

I had gone down to the common to photograph my daughter-in-law and George the horse that she looks after. While we were there however George got spooked by this guy in his powered paraglider. He and his colleague took off from the common and took a flight across Liverpool Bay but in the process the noise of their motors startled George and a couple of other horses out for an evening ride.

That being said I quite fancy this activity, I can imagine what a wonderful sensation it must be to take off from a field and then gracefully look down on the world below gaining a new perspective. Especially on an evening like this when the sky is clear and the sunset gives a beautiful golden glow.

I would love to be looking down and maybe even taking a few shots, but I also love this image especially the way the light catches the leading edge of the parachute and the face of the pilot.

Blue Flame

Sometimes it is really easy to choose a picture to share, sometimes I even know days in advance what I will post here and I get impatient as each day goes by waiting to reveal the next picture.

Today however for some reason I have had a hard time reaching a decision.

This is another of my Reflections of Venice. Originally it was in a portrait orientation and I had cropped it a little tighter and while I really liked the image I wasn't 100% convinced by it. However rotating it through 90 degrees and expanding the view slightly it became a different image altogether and I love it.

I have called it "Blue Flame" because I think it does look a bit like flames only blue with white highlights. It also looks a bit like sand art and I really like the range of different shades and the different layers of light and dark.

As with all of this series of pictures there is so much going on in the image and each time you look you can see something new.

More Reflections Of Venice

This is another of my reflections of Venice, I was sat on a jetty on the island of Murano looking across to the city of Venice and this reflection caught my eye. The bright afternoon sun lit up the posts supporting the jetty and created this lovely pattern in the rippling surface of the lagoon.

With a lot of the pictures in this series it isn't immediately obvious that you are looking at reflections or that it's water, but here there's no doubt. As with the others though each time you look you can see something different. In this one I can see a Seahorse, at least an abstract representation of one although that maybe because I love seahorses and i may be "programmed" in some way to spot them.

In A Swirl

I haven't posted for a couple of days so wanted to start back with something special from my Reflections of Venice.

There is a mesmerising quality to this shot with the swirls in the surface of the water almost like eyes, or perhaps peacock feathers. Whatever you can see I hope you will agree this is quite special.

The Lighthouse

This cool reflection is of the Faro San Giorgio Maggiore in the last of the evening sun.

I like the transition from blue to gold to green as the reflection moves from sky to stone and then shadow.

Fun By The River

So it might not be everybody's idea of fun but I think that creating stacks of river pebbles like these can be challenging and fun.

Frozen in these images they look sturdy and secure but they are in fact precariously balanced and the smallest slip of the hand or a gust of wind can turn this artistic creation into a pile of rubble.

Once they are built the fun doesn't stop as you try to find the best angle to photograph them.  For these which were built right on the rivers edge it was necessary to stand or rather squat in the river. On the slippery stones on the river bed it was quite trick to keep my balance but I think it was worth it.

The first of today's images is a different view of the stack I shared yesterday and the others are two slightly different views of my second stack of the day. It was a little more adventurous than the first one although I used the same number of stones. I have some more views of this one that I will share tomorrow and then I will post some pictures of my third and tallest stack of the day so come back tomorrow to see more.