How to get the perfect shot. #photography
Most cameras are really smart now, they can recognise subjects and have built in light meters to help you get that perfect picture. They can’t do everything though, what if you want a dark mysterious picture? Then you have to set the camera yourself, rather than relying on auto settings. (more…)
Bank Holiday events #review
Today’s picture is of ‘West Bromwich’ Manor House. There is a re-enactment on there today of an American Civil War battle. It is bank holiday in the UK and so there will be lots of events to go to and for me to photograph. (more…)
Golden Hours #photography
The weather was quite stormy and windy on Sunday. I had looked at this scene before and thought it would be a good shot, but the weather wasn’t ideal. The ideal time for this shot would be about 5am on a clear morning! I won’t get up at that time, but I’ll bear the shot in mind next time I’m there. (more…)
Happy Easter #review
I’ve been writing this blog for a few years now, so when I want a picture to start the post or a bit of inspiration I just look in my media library on WordPress. I just caught these two geese flying over Hydes Pool last April. I named them Maverick and Goose, because they were flying in formation! (more…)
Hoss Muck #review
This photo of a wood pile one of the more usual photographs I’ve taken here in the Black Country. I saw in local news that one place I have taken photos is now become a dumping group and someone has dumped what we in the Black Country call a load of ‘hoss muck’. The council says this is a bio-hazard. (more…)
First day of spring #review
Yes, it’s the first day of spring. Yesterday it was the spring equinox, the solar eclipse and there was even a super-moon, I didn’t see the super-moon, it was a bit cloudy. These things are events like Christmas and birthdays. (more…)
A Wednesbury Goose
I went to the other side of Wednesbury this week taking photos of the geese. This photo will probably be my best one this year. I would have liked the goose in the middle of the frame, but I had to be quick to catch the shot at all. (more…)
Winter editing
This time last year, I was driving through floods. The floods weren’t too bad in the Black Country, but the River Tame did flood in places. In winter you can still get interesting pictures. Bare landscapes with trees stripped of their leaves can look quite spectacular in the winter sunshine. (more…)
The review: #westbrom
West Bromwich
I went to West Bromwich this week. I drove down the High Street, the one pictured, but it’s changed a lot in recent years. The kerbs stick out into the road now, they have a 20 MPH speed limit and it’s pedestrianized at the end. (more…)
Creative Black Country launch
Last week I went to visit a food bank, this week I ventured into West Bromwich for the launch of Creative Black Country. It’s supported by the Arts Council to promote creativity in the Black Country and part of a national initiative. With 2 million in Arts Council funding they hope to ‘engage’ the people. (more…)
Focus keyword for photography post
Focus keyword
Today I’m going to look at how to do a photo blog, because many of my readers are bloggers! I’ve started with an image from my media library. This saves uploading another one and saves server space too. There is no alt text yet, I want that to match my focus keyword for SEO (search engines). (more…)
The Review: perspective
Perspective is the way we see things, such as the pictures on the wall in this photograph. They seem to get smaller as they go away from us, but we can still tell that the one on the far wall is the largest one. The boards on the ceiling and floor add to the perspective of the picture too. (more…)
Thrifty Thursday: January offers
The Aldi super-six today are iceberg lettuce, cooked beetroot (500g), spring onions (100g), celery, cherry tomatoes (300g) and cucumber. They are all 39p. (more…)
Boxing Day: more Frying Pan photos
I hope everyone is enjoying Christmas. It hasn’t been a white Christmas here, but it is getting colder; it was freezing outside when I woke this morning. Today’s photo was taken in 2011. I think we had snow quite early that year. (more…)
Thrifty Christmas Countdown: 14 days to go
The Aldi super-six this week are clementines (600g), little gem lettuce (2), Maris piper potatoes (1.5 Kg), Brussels sprouts (750g), carrots (2.5Kg) and parsnips (600g). They are on offer until the end of the month. (more…)
Tipton Canal and Community Festival in pictures
I photographed the Tipton Canal and Community Festival on Sunday. It’s organised by the Tipton Community Association and features stalls and a fun fair as well as the colourful narrow-boats. The weather was quite cloudy, as usual… (more…)
Photography: Camera settings
The settings on cameras can be difficult to get used to. They tend to be similar on both bridge cameras and DSLR’s. On my Nikon D3200, there is a Guide setting on the dial that will help you learn about how to take different types of image. (more…)
Photography: Out in the Black Country
On Sunday we went out in the wilds of the Black Country. This is Sandwell Valley Country Park and the canalised section of the River Tame. I was using my 300mm telephoto lens which gave me the opportunity to zoom in on subjects. (more…)
Photography: A grey weekend
Sandwell Valley
When it’s not raining we still seem to have grey skies. It’s the summer solstice on Friday and so maybe things will improve with the coming of summer. This picture shows clearly how the grey sky reflects on water and makes that grey too. (more…)
The Review: Life is so complicated
Today’s picture is of the River Tame. Those flowers are dying off now, but it always looks good in May. The Tame is the subject of a heritage project now and they need a volunteer to help.The application seemed a bit too complicated for a job where you don’t actually get paid. (more…)
Photography: Bloody weather
We British moan about the weather. This weekend was a bank holiday weekend and so it was dark, miserable and wet. So what choice did I have but to take some ‘atmospheric’ photos. This wide avenue has a fine church at the end. (more…)
The Review: The Vine, Darlaston
I have been trying to photograph local events recently and publicise them, but I also wanted to publicise local businesses. The more people spend money in the local community, the more it will thrive. I passed by The Vine pub in Darlaston and decided to stop and photograph it on the way back. (more…)
Neodigital Art: editing in sepia
I went to a Boer War battle re-enactment on Sunday which gave me some ideal pictures for artistic edits using sepia. (more…)
The Sunday Ramble: Thoughts of time
It’s Sunday and so my day for a Sunday ramble through my thoughts, before I cook lunch. I’ve had time on my mind just lately. The next General Election in the UK is on the 7th of May 2015. We already have some of the parties starting to prepare or should I say panic? (more…)
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