Monday 18 June 2012

A brief Jubilee recap

Now that Jubilee fever appears to have passed safely, I can put up some photos from East Bergholt's bunting heavy diamond jubilee weekend celebrations! Although the first one is mercifully flag free: it's my mum with an umbrella!

Corking stuff. It was certainly raining enough.

Every year on the bank holiday Monday, East Bergholt hosts the annual pram race, in which teams of people dress in various outlandish costumes to run around the village in prams for charity. I love the countryside. Anyway, here's a line of bunting, and my mum again - this time on the wall outside my house, with added centurions.

Fortunately most of the bunting appears to have passed...there was DEFINITELY an excess of it though. In tribute to the bunt skills of the East Bergholt residents, here's another line of bunting, this time leading to the village sign itself. Don't say I never get you anything!




I think I might enter that one in the most hotly anticipated photographic competition of 2012: The East Bergholt Horticultural Society Photography competition. Literally several people are likely to enter, and this one passes for "an East Bergholt scene". It's certainly a representative amount of bunting.

Ta for now,

J

Tuesday 12 June 2012

Sidmouth!

Hello!

I'm in Sidmouth staying with my grandparents, for a very short holiday indeed. It is, however, a short holiday with a tripod - I did some tripoddy things (technical term): here they are.


Tripoddy thing number one (above) is something I'll try and replicate next time it rains...actually I didn't have a tripod for this one, which meant I had to use a much faster shutter speed than I'd liked. I would also have liked the people to be much closer to me on the prom, but unfortunately they were going the other way...what I do like is the reflected light from the lamps on the floor, which is why I couldn't replicate the shot the next day. Here's hoping for some rain! (**5 minute break while Josh hides from the Devonic lynch mob**)

That was from Sunday night when I first arrived here...I went back again on Monday to try and replicate it, and found not only that it wasn't dark but also that it wasn't wet. Shocking. But I had my tripod, so I thought I'd do some photos anyway, because that's the way I roll. Here's a landscape taken with a telephoto lens:

Not the most groundbreaking shot ever perhaps, but I think it has a certain charm to it. Something with much more potential is image number three below:



It's far from perfect, but you can see what I was trying to do with the first photo...combine these two and you'd have what I was going for. This time the couple are just where I wanted them - nice and prominent, heading blurrily down the prom. Unfortunately, it falls down on all the other fun points. Even though I took them at the same time, the rain clouds yesterday meant it was much darker - which meant the lights were on. As well as that, the floor in the first picture is soaking wet, which gives a lovely lot of fill light and some nice pools of light against the blacker background.

My aim is to come back another night this week and achieve that - I know what I want to do, I've just got to do it!

So let's hope for some rain...

J

Monday 11 June 2012

A Triumphant Return...?

Hello you.

Guess what...blog's back! Bring out the champers!


And yes, that is my own champagne. Consider my student loan thoroughly blown (Big discounts at Sainsbury's - thanks to HM for having been married a long time the same weekend I had my final exam). Yes, after a long exam break, I'm announcing that I hadn't forgotten about this place at all! It may be a month since I last put any pictures up, but never fear - you can subject yourself to many more of my photos over the next few months! Altogether now, Three Cheers...!

I don't hear cheering. I'll let you off.

This time.

Anyway, seeing as my exams are gone now, you may have guessed that I've finished at Southampton University - awesome place, it must be said, and many thanks to the awesome people who awesomeised my time here. Awesomely. Ta very much.

Next year brings pastures new up north int' Durham...until then, lots of photo time awaits...get in. Meanwhile, here's a tribute to Southampton, and 60 years of having done something - I really should find out what all these posters dotted around are...

 
Enjoy. More to come tomorrow from Sunny Sidmouth.

J