The Review: Appreciating the countryside
The photo today is one I took in Sandwell Valley last Sunday. The car park at Forge Mill Farm was quite full. Many of the visitors who visit the farm and lake aren’t British. Perhaps they appreciate the English Countryside more? (more…)
The Review: Subjects for bloggers
Today’s picture is the Birmingham canal at Tipton. I’m hoping this photo will win the waterways calendar competition. Tipton isn’t the prettiest place in the country. In fact the whole of the Black Country can’t be described as pretty. I do take some good photos though, I just wish the planners could see views like this. (more…)
The Review: Another week of writing and photography
Today’s photo was taken on the Walsall canal at Ocker Hill. I do try to show the Black Country in a good light; that’s when I get a good light to take the photo. This is one of the pictures I’ve entered for the waterways calendar competition.
Will this sunshine last all day?
It’s Sunday and so my thoughts today are with photography. I can see a blue sky and sunshine! I have to do some shopping though, I’m running out of food and essentials. I have a busy week planned too, so it would help if I could get the shopping out of the way. I tried yesterday but there was a queue of cars not only trying to get into the supermarket car park, but trying to get out too. (more…)
The weekend review
I took today’s photo in bright sunshine, unfortunately I don’t have that picture any more. The original was wiped from my computer. I only have this smaller one now, which isn’t suitable for a calendar. I’m hoping the sun will come out this weekend so I can try to get the same shot again. We do have some nice places in the Black Country, it’s a shame they’re not always appreciated. (more…)
Britain needs a little luck
Another week ends as a New Year begins. We are still at the beginning of winter in Britain and some parts of the country are on severe weather warnings; there has already been flooding. We need a little luck with the weather now, less rain and we need the rest of the winter to be mild. No snow like last winter please! (more…)
The Christmas review
Are you thinking about making New Year resolutions? Setting goals in life, whether it’s to lose weight and keep fit or something even more challenging can be useful. Try writing some things down and thinking about what is achievable and how you might achieve it. I have a few goals that include more photography. (more…)
Merry Christmas Everybody
If you’re a regular reader then you might remember my short story for Christmas last year. I’ve been writing a sequel and it’s been a struggle. I think I have the ending now and so I hope I can finish it in time. I’ll be publishing last year’s story again too over the next week. You’ll be pleased to know that Ollie and Ivy are still together… (more…)
The weekend review
Today’s picture is of the canal bridge over to Moorcroft Wood. I am still looking for a suitable photo for the Waterways calendar competition. I might go back there tomorrow and take another shot of that bridge at a higher resolution. (more…)
The weekend review
I read a really good article yesterday about how to take night pictures. They say you should consider the exposure triangle to set your camera for this type of picture. That is set the ISO, aperture and speed. While I was doing all that and setting up a tripod, I would probably get mugged for the camera. (more…)
From writing to voodoo
It’s Sunday morning and so this is the day when I write about whatever is on my mind. Today is writing and photography. Writing is about expressing yourself and I try to do that with photography and with the editing in particular. I read a lot and some of the articles I read are boring, which is a crime for a writer.
Weekend conclusion
We have lots of Autumn colours to appreciate now, but do we have time to appreciate them? I saw one of my neighbours children going to school really early one morning and found that some are leaving for school at 7 in the morning. Why? They have to go to the best school. No, not a private school like David Cameron. They’re not aspiring to be rich toffs are they?
Midweek thoughts on English society and culture
The Autumn colours are nice and make photographs more interesting, but it gets dark early in the afternoon. In summer I go out at two o’clock on a Sunday to take photos. This week I was ready to come home by two thirty having rushed to take some photos before the light changed. The weather is changeable, it’s either dark and cloudy or bright and sunny, but very cold.
Invasions of privacy
This was the view from my bedroom window last night. I tried taking a photo with my new smart phone too. It didn’t turn out quite so spectacular. It’s a Samsung Galaxy phone running an operating system developed by Google. (more…)
Another midweek moan…
What do you think of today’s photo? I used this picture for yesterday’s post on a Zillion Ideas – fun with photos. If you would like to edit your photos like that and maybe create art, why not click that link? My art and photography posts are always popular with other bloggers and writers.
Art | Can we define it?
Walsall Art Gallery
Renoir
This drawing might not seem very special, but if I told you it was by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. You might have a different opinion. Art is about perceptions and a well known name or even the name of a art movement affects our perception of a work of art. This little drawing is in Walsall Art Gallery .
This weeks words and pictures
It’s not very warm this morning in the heart of England. I suppose this is good news for the energy companies who will fleece us again this winter. Maybe, the new governor of the Bank of England can bring some pressure to bear on the water companies and energy companies to keep bills down this winter.
The Saturday post
I used to go to the library every Saturday when I was a kid. I was allowed to take books from the adult section too. I read all the kids books. Do you remember the Saturday books? I wish I could get hold of some of those now, they were magical. Many of the writers that I know used the library as children…
Writing and photography
A lot of people think writing is easy, until they try it. You get writer’s block, lack of inspiration and then sometimes you read back what you’ve written and think it’s rubbish! Living life is the main inspiration for writers, doing stuff and then writing about it. I’m lucky I suppose, I’m at an age when lots has happened to me. So I have a little experience.
How to write a memoire
A guest post by Fairy Dharawat
Mémoire writing always fascinates me. Reading your memoire is like a time capsule – a peek in to your past at a particular time. It is interesting to write about a part of your life which gives you a glimpse of how you have grown. There are many sites that talk about how you can write a memoire and here I give a brief on memoire writing and what it means to write the story of a small part of your life. Let’s talk of memoire writing and how fun and important it can be.
Imagination and creativity
I took this photograph on Sunday of the Ridgacre canal. Not very pretty is it? But look again and use your imagination. What would it look like in summer? If the canal was cleaned out and fish added and then a waterfront cafe built and some other features, would you visit? How about apartments overlooking the waterfront?
How to start a blog
If you want to start a blog, you have to think about a few things. You are going to be publishing articles and maybe photographs too. You can choose a number of ways to do it. I use WordPress but I have used Blogger. You also have to think about who will read your blog. Who will your articles appeal to?
How to write a story
You can write a story about anything. Even something as mundane as going to the supermarket. If you want to write fiction, then writing a short story can be a good way of starting. You can make it a few thousand words or very short and try to pack it into 500 words.
Writing for an emotional response
Whatever you are writing, you want some kind of emotional response from your reader. You want them to say to themselves, ‘that’s clever’ or ‘that’s funny’. Better still, you hope they will share their thoughts with their friends.
