Header Challenge 8th December 2010 � Snow.

 

This weeks challenge is that winter favourite Snow.

Now for a change we have had some snow already in South Lincolnshire. Nowhere near as much as many other parts of the UK but even the little we have had seems to have caused chaos. Schools have been closed though much to my daughters disgust not theirs. Even my university the Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln closed its campus for about a week due to the snow.

It may cause problems for many but it certainly is beautiful to look at.

though I don�t think our chickens agreed.

So what should I use as this weeks header?

I thought a first to go with footprints in the snow�

but couldn't get it to fit the full width of the header bar and I wanted something a little better.

How about�

our dog Corky in the snow but again wrong shape for the header bar.

I even looked at a photo I took of the snow as it melted from our garden table forming some very strange shapes�

but it was in the wrong format for the header bar so I chose a photograph taken from an upstairs window looking out across the fields of South Lincolnshire whilst the snow continued to fall.

Hope you like it and are enjoying the picture opportunities snow whilst it lasts.

Don�t forget to leave your comments on my blog and then check out the other snow pictures of the headbangers, just follow the links in the right hand menu bar.

Header Challenge 1st November 2010 � Wheels.

Well this weeks exciting header challenge has been chosen by Gailsman and for his choice he has gone with �Wheels�.

Now the first thing you may think with wheels is cars or bikes but lots of other things have wheels too.

In our house the biggest use of a wheel seems to be for the playing of Mario Karts on the Nintendo Wii�

I�m sure many of you have also used a wheel in your house (or in Pizza Hut) when you have been cutting up your pizza�s�

Some of you will even use a wheel to adjust your heating thermostats�

and if you haven�t used any of those, how about Apples pride and joy the iPod with its revolutionary wheel interface.

If you still haven't found a wheel you have used in the above selection, what about looking on your desk at that mouse you are holding I�m sure that may have a wheel on it�

you may even be sat on a chair at that desk that has these�

castor wheels.

Many objects these days have wheels but one of my favourite wheels are just for watching and that is why I have chosen for my header this week a pair of Catherine Wheels (pinwheel) taken at a firework display at a friends house.

I hope you have enjoyed exploring wheels with me this week. I wonder how many wheels you can find around your homes?

Don�t forget to leave a comment then drop in on the other headbangers to see what they have come up with for the �Wheels� header challenge.

For those of you who also noticed it was Wheels by ACDC playing on my iPod here�s  your chance to listen to a great rock track.

Header Challenge 24th November 2010 � Collage

Now this weeks header challenge theme has been set by by my good friend imac. He has decided he wants us to have a go at creating a collage.

Having checked, a collage is described as being, derived from the French word for "gluing". It originally referred to the physical process of gluing a number of pictures, photos or drawings onto a flat piece of paper, in order to create an artistic composition.

Well I�m sure I can do that with the help of Photoshop. As for the glue well the computer has a cut and paste option  for placing your photos so there is the glue.

My first thought was a group of images, in this case flowers�

Then I thought why not be a bit more adventurous�

by turning one photo into numerous Polaroid's and then sticking them back together again.

I tried a few different ones�

some with backgrounds and some without.

I eventually decided on a photo with all my daughters in. I then laid them out and stuck them onto a virtual desk, I hope you like it.

If you want to know how I did it, leave me a request, via my comments section and I will endeavour to write a detailed explanation on it in a future blog.

Don�t forget to check out the other members of the headbangers, imac, Tom-fishing guy, Lanny and Gailsman to see what collages they have come up with for this weeks challenge.

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Header Challenge 10th November 2010 � Persimmon.

 

Now this weeks challenge, chosen by Lanny is just one word, �persimmon�. Now in Lanny�s neck of the woods persimmon trees and fruit might be easy to come by, but, over here in beautiful Lincolnshire, England its almost unheard of.

I understand that persimmon is a burnt orange type of colour much like our sunsets.

Or the colour of beautiful flowers�

They may be the right colour, but, as we are in Lincolnshire and don�t have access to persimmon trees they still aren't the fruit.

In Boston home to St Botoloph�s church, known locally as the stump, persimmon is seen on many signposts�

Not advertising fruit trees but rather, a house building company, Persimmon Homes.

They are building a new riverfront complex in Boston Lincolnshire so that is what I have chosen to use as my header.

I hope you like my take on the theme Persimmon, especially you Lanny, let me know what you think and don't forget to visit my other headbanger friends to see their take on this weeks challenge. Just follow their links at the top of my right hand column.

Headbanger Challenge 3rd November 2010 � Fall has Arrived.

 

This weeks headbangers challenge has been set by Tom- fishing Guy and is `Fall has Arrived`. Now over here we don�t call it the fall but stick to Autumn. So I hope you don�t mind Tom but I�ll sub head this weeks header with �Autumnal�.

Now autumn colours I love, all the golden yellows vibrant gold's and bronzes of the leaves. The bright red of the berries in the hedgerows, they all make for an outstanding photo opportunity.

So to try and get that great shot I headed over to a little lake in my neighbouring village to take some photos for the header challenge.

 

Now the lake isn�t very big but there is still an abundance of trees surrounding it.

Unfortunately as you can see from this photo I arrived a little late for some of them as they had already lost a lot of their leaves.

So it called for a bit more creativity.

Holding the camera just above the ground gave me this more exciting photo.

I used the berries and tree trunk in this shot to frame the fishing jetty and Lily pads.

It must be nice to live in this bungalow and have the beauty of the lake at the bottom of your garden.

I hope you like the little Autumn jaunt down to the lake. Do you think the different camera angles have worked? Let me know what you think in the comments section.

If this is your first visit why not stay a while have a look around then pop over to see the other entrants in this weeks header challenge. Just follow the links at the top of my right hand column.

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Header Challenge 20th October 2010 � Sepia.

This weeks header challenge has been chosen by imac. His choice this week is �Sepia�.

Sepia is the name given to the photographic development process used to enhance its archival properties and to give the photograph a warmer hue. The process got its name from the adding of a pigment to the chemical development of the photograph, derived from the Sepia officinalis cuttlefish found in the English channel.

With modern digital developments and printing processes the sepia pigment is no longer required to assist the photographs protection against the elements. Now sepia toning is mainly seen in either very old photographs or new photos digitally enhanced to look old.

Most photo editing software can now change a colour image into a sepia toned image giving the illusion that the photograph is old or just to add a warming effect to enhance the image.

The effect can be subtle as in the above photograph. just to add warmth to an image.

It can also be used to give an illusion of age to a photograph�

 

helped in this picture by the addition of period costume.

Pictures of historical societies can also be enhanced by the technique�

as in this group riding their period bicycles through Spalding in Lincolnshire.

 

Changing the tone to sepia has helped to give the illusion of age to the scene, even though it was actually taken this year.

The technique can be used to Add warmth to an image instilling not necessarily age to the picture but atmosphere.

Sepia has a wide range of applications now other than its original meaning.

Let me apologise for the scarcity of my posts over the last 2 weeks but this has been due to a telephone line fault resulting in the loss of internet access other than via my mobile phone. Hopefully the fault will soon be fixed, we have internet now, but, it is very slow as the fault has only partly been resolved.

Tell me your thoughts on sepia, do you think it is still a viable option to enhance photographs?Let me know your thoughts via the comments section regarding anything about my blog, good or bad.

Why don�t you drop in on the other headbangers and see what they have devised as a header and post for Sepia. Just follow the links at the top of the right hand column.

Technorati Tags: Header,Challenge,October,Sepia,pigment,English,photo,image,Pictures,technique,Lincolnshire,comments,photos,bicycles

Header challenge 13th October 2010

It's headbanger time again. This weeks theme has been chosen by me and as I understand it the headbangers have been posting new headers every week for a year today being the first anniversary. So with that thought I chose for this weeks theme, celebration. Little did I know that I would have no home internet due to a fault with or telephone line. Please fix it talk talk and bt.

So todays post is once again coming courtesy of my android phone. I've even managed, (I hope) to get my banner changed, I hope you like it.

Why not let me know what you think and then head over to look at my fellow headbangers posts.

Lincolnshire Project 10th September 2010.

 

The Lincolnshire project continues with this weeks photo taken across the landscape of South Lincolnshire.

As I am trying to take the photo using, as close as possible, the camera settings I used in the original shot, the grey sky this afternoon has given very little definition to the photo.

As I stated in my original post on June 11th, I decided I would take a photograph of the same scene every 2 weeks throughout the year. The hope was that we would be able to see the seasons unfold in south Lincolnshire via the medium of photography.

Looking back at the six photos taken before this one, there doesn�t immediately seem a big difference to the images.

The light and sky is certainly different across the images. The hedgerow has also filled out on the left of the frame, but, unfortunately due to the tree on the right of the frame dying, it remains the same throughout all the images, well that's nature for you I suppose.

Why don�t you follow the rest of the project throughout the year with me, either subscribe via the form at the top of the left column, or simply click the follow button further down on the left column. That way you can make sure you won�t miss a weeks posting of the project.

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With Strings Attached � Header Challenge 8th September 2010.

It was my turn this week to choose the topic for the header challenge that I take part in with �fishing guy�, �imac�, �Gailsman�, and �Lanny�.

I chose for the topic this week, �With Strings Attached�. So when thinking of what I could do for the header I already had an idea of what I might use. You see my daughter plays the cello so I thought that would make an ideal subject matter for the header.

The cello gives such a beautiful tone and the colour and curves of the instrument allowed for some great photographic opportunities.

The cello �with strings attached�. Tell me what you think then drop in on the other contestants in this weeks header challenge to see what they have devised for their headers. Just follow the links at the top of the right hand column.

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Peaceful Glade.

Be back soon!

Peaceful photography

Be back soon!

Hopping off

Well it�s that time of the year again the families summer holiday.

So you will still see posts whilst I am away, (well hopefully if I�ve set the delay timer correctly) and I will be back with all new experiences and photos to share with you.

Oh well time to hop off�

See you soon!

Header Challenge � 25th August 2010

 

This weeks header challenge set by �fishing guy� is �Animal Reflections�.

Now I thought long and hard over this one. Do I go for a traditional animal reflection such as this�

Or do I go for the more abstract view of reflection with an animal such as this�

Or maybe the reflection given in an animals eye such as this�

 

Or even something completely random like this�

In the end I chose to combine a few of my thoughts into one header I hope you like it.

Check out the other headbangers entries, just follow the links at the top of the right hand column.

Technorati Tags: Header,Challenge,Animal,reflection,animals,Reflections

Colour � The subtleties of colour in nature.

 

For those of you who have been following my mini series of posts on colour (those who may have missed it can see the first post here: colour-red-standing-out-from-crowd) I have been exploring the vibrancy of colour and how it can help a photograph to stand out from the crowd. Well today I�d like to bring you some examples of the more subtle hues found in nature, that if photographed correctly can still stand out just as well as there more vibrant cousins.

By keeping the background out of focus it gives all the emphasis to the flower and its subtle shades then become its virtue. Using natural light and taking care of your composition will also help to enhance your photos.

So although bright bold colours can mean striking pictures, photographs of objects with more subtle hues, with a little thought, can also make outstanding pictures.

Go on give colour a go!

 

The beauty of gnarled wood.

As regular visitors may be aware I love wood. I don�t know why maybe it�s the texture, or the feel of it or just the organic shapes that it forms or maybe all of these things. Wood is such a versatile material I can�t help but admire it.

When I came across this gnarled old tree�

with its limbs all askew I just had to take a picture.

It�s sometimes sad to see tree stumps like this one when you know that the tree itself is long gone. I wonder how long the tree had stood there what things had gone on around it and what it had been used for after it had been felled.

The wood has probably gone on to be shaped into furniture or sculptured into works of art or even used to heat a home and it�s good to see that responsible land owners are now planting 2 to 3 new trees for every one they chop down.

As this tree stump has started to rot away the inside has sprouted new plants and when I zoomed in with my camera and took a closer shot it almost looked as if it was a cliff with trees growing at the bottom.

 

Ok maybe I�m being fanciful in seeing that or just got an active imagination but it still makes a good picture.

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Colour � Red, Standing out from the crowd

Colour plays a huge role in photography. Yes I know you can get excellent black and white photographs but the greater majority of pictures are taken in colour.

What I have found with colour, is that it can change a mundane, or basic picture, into something that is eye-catching and memorable.

For example�

would this picture catch your eye without the boy with the bright red top sat on the branch. The red transforms the subtle shades of green into a picture that says look at me.

In this next picture the simple garden path has also been transformed with colour.

The addition of the red rake in the picture adds a focal point to attract the eye to the image, before it wanders around the rest of the picture. It also adds a feeling of story to the scene and that is a key element when viewing a photograph.

Red, being one of the prime colours, is dominate in drawing your attention, even in busy traffic the addition of a red bus stands out from the rest of the scene.

The rest of the scene in this photograph may be worthy of attention in itself but it is the red bus that attracts the eye first.

Red is used by nature to attract attention, such as a flower to attract insects or an insect saying leave me alone I�m dangerous to eat. We use red in our road signs too to symbolize danger as it stands out from the rest of the scene and attracts the eye to it. Red is used in advertising as well as it�s strong colour attracts the eye.

Red = Strong colour = Attracting to the eye.

(Not always pleasing to the eye but always attracting).

By my use of colour, in this instance �Red�, to accent my photos it helps to accent the image, and hopefully for these examples you will agree it has worked to a greater or lesser extent. That doesn�t mean it will work for every photo, you still have to balance the pro�s of the boldness of the colour attracting the eye against the subtleties of the rest of the scene. A red object will nearly always steal the attention of the viewer, so if the main object has more muted tones, then try and avoid getting the strong red coloured object in the frame so it doesn�t steal the show.

Why don�t you have a go yourself photograph bold, red images.

For those followers of the header challenge I am very pleased to announce that my fellow contributors saw fit to award me Gold this week. I am as you may guess very happy and somewhat shell shocked that I received this accolade after only just joining the group two weeks ago. A very big thank you to fishing guy, imac, Lanny and Gailsman for this honour.

Why don�t you go and visit their blogs and check out their wonderful posts and headers, just click on their names or follow the links in the right column.

 

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Ding Dong the Bell shaped blooms.

 

I�m always amazed at the complexities of flowers and the wide range of shapes they come in.

The photos today were taken at Belton House in Lincolnshire, home to a very wide range of trees and plants.

The bell like shape of the ones I have selected today are especially beautiful examples.

They can be simplistic,

intricate,

common,

colourful,

but whatever type they are they are still lovely. I hope you think so too.

Why don�t you leave your thoughts on these wonderful flowers in the comments section and if you can help our readers with the names of these flowers even better.