Day 293: Happy Birthday To Me!

I love the fact that my birthday is Halloween - I get all sorts of cool decorations for my cake and for the house too!  My friend reckons if I lived alone I would have Halloween decorations up all year round and I think she might be right :-)  I had a nice birthday with lots of nice presents and 2 cakes - what more could you want?!

Day 292: Soothing Sunset

I had to go shopping this afternoon and it was painful!  Luckily, there was a lovely sunset to make it all seem better and then my birthday dinner (a day early) at a lovely Thai restaurant in town called Ruan Siam which I thoroughly recommend.  The food was fantastic, the staff were lovely and I can't wait to go back :-)

Day 291: Halloween Nails

I was kind of busy today but I thought I'd take a picture of my Halloween nails before they all chipped.  They are supposed to be (from my thumb): a bat, a pumpkin face, a cat, a spider's web, and the spider who owns the web.  I do say "supposed to be" because I did them myself and I have pretty shaky hands at the best of times so they're not exactly professionally done ;-p  I mean look at that bat... it is so fat it would not be able to fly!

Day 290: Comedy Mask

Ended up back in town today and on my way down the Royal Mile I spotted this guy.  I don't recall ever noticing him, or his partner on the other side, before but I really liked them!

Day 289: The Scott Monument

Bathed in early morning sunshine.  It's not often I'm in town this early now, but there was a special occasion :-)  I was too early, as I very often am when paranoid about being late, and while wasting time I had the opportunity to get this photo in the best light of the day.  I'm really glad I did too as I looked at the monument later in the day and it certainly did not look this good!  The special event was a book signing by Jonathan Stroud and I got a copy of the new book signed to me!!! :-D  I have only been to one book signing before and I was just a kid, so I was scared stupid and up all night, but my friend got me in there and Jonathan was brilliant.  I was horribly awkward and nervous - I managed to blurt out "I'm really nervous" before we'd even done the introductions!  But despite the maniacal grin of terror on my face and my inability to think of anything to say because my head was screaming "stop grinning like that!  no, not like that, that makes your lip twitch like you're disgusted.... oh FINE!  just grin - at least it's better than looking like you're in withdrawal" I had what seemed like a long and relatively normal conversation with the man himself and he made it all so, so much better than it could have been.  I am very glad this is the first book signing I've been to as a "grown up" because it could not have been better.  Jonathan Stroud you have my eternal gratitude for being wonderful, not just as an author, but as a person too.  This book is now one of my most prized possessions and I keep bringing it out, opening it up and smiling so hard it hurts.  On reflection I probably looked a little odd doing that whilst wandering round the shops in town today, in particular in the lingerie department of M&S... but surely it's a good thing that this book makes me happier than knickers do!

Day 288: Dooking

Not the best shot but I was dodging small people and splashing water.  I should be glad they all use forks now since it means they're a lot less soggy and there is far less water to mop up afterwards.  It does mean we have to wash forks though!

Day 287: The Grim Reaper

Well, not really.  This is a candle - one of the many I am loath to burn because I think they're cool.  And I got this one in Chicago so it's not like I can just nip back and get another!  I thought the subject was quite appropriate for this week in the lead up to Halloween :-)

Day 286: Autumn Flame

No, I didn't pose this!  I found it as is at my granny's.  There were quite a few leaves stuck in the lavender but certainly this was the best one.  Isn't it cool when nature arranges things in a way you would only expect from a human touch?  My friend also pointed out that it looks like a flame, and the hole which is holding the leaf on the lavender has a look of having been burnt!

Day 285: In The Canopy

I'm pretty sure this wasn't the best photo I took today but it's my favourite.  I love the colours, and I don't really care that the focal point, the seeds, aren't very clear or that it isn't entirely sharp, because I think I'm happy with the abstractness.  It just speaks to me of a bright Autumn day with the sun shining through the leaves and showing off these beautiful golden colours.

Day 284: Submerged Leaf

I like this.  It's not so often you'll hear me say that but I don't actually care if it's not pinpoint sharp - I just really like it.  I like the reflection in the water and all the highlights around the leaf and the colours.

Day 283: Thermatrip

I found this in the rubble from the shed we have already demolished at Granny's.  I like finding things like this - it's interesting to me and I like the impression of age.  I like that it's rusty and dirty and the colours of it, all the rusty metal surrounding it making such a good background, and the way the leaves are a complimentary colour.  And if you look at it for a few minutes you might also spot an old penny and a spring!

Day 282: Preparing For Winter

These Ladybirds are hiding in the curled up leaves of the bush in the front garden.  There are at least 3 others behind the one I'm focused on.  I once saw Ladybirds hiding in the curled up seed pods of a gorse bush and found it amazing that that was enough to keep them sheltered for the winter.  I hope they survive.

Day 281: Lock Gate

We went for a nice stroll along the canal today before heading home.  It was lovely and sunny and we saw Goldcrests!  Unfortunately, they were hidden away in the bushes where there was no real hope of a decent photo.  The irony today was that the sun was too bright to begin with - making the water too bright to get a nice photo, and then it was a bit too dull in behind the clouds.

Day 280: Ripon Cathedral

This is taken from the back of Ripon Cathedral.  It is enormous.  I would like to have a look inside someday when I'm not feeling ill and have the energy, but a wander round the outside today was nice.  It wasn't the nicest day for taking photos but I made do and I liked this angle, framed by the branches of the trees in the graveyard.

Day 279: Peaceful

This is the bottom of one of the rills in the Peace Gardens in Sheffield.  They have really cool ceramic tiles at the bottom and I really liked this view of them and the reflection on the water showing the clouds and changing the colour of the tiles.

Day 278: Love Autumn

I found this leaf in a garden centre and failed completely to check what tree it was from.  I love it though.  It is a beautiful shape and size (fits in the palm of my hand) and the colours are fantastic.  They make me think of liquid gold blood running through veins, or volcanoes, or fire - all sorts of wonderfully bright and colourful things.  I would love to preserve it but we shall see how that goes!  I am quite pleased with this picture - I had a battle on my hands getting the white balance and brightness as natural as possible as the camera insisted on making things either way too red or way too blue.  Eventually I hit on this and I'm not entirely sure what exposure, etc, I ended up with but it works.  I have to say I think there was luck in there too because what little sunlight there was left hit it just right.

Day 277: Pink Gladioli

Today was spent mostly packing and travelling so I didn't have any much time for photography, and when we arrived it was dark.  Luckily my aunt has some lovely pink gladioli in a vase and they did nicely for something to photograph!  It doesn't quite have as much contrast as I would like but I still think it's pretty.

Day 276: Slinky

Sometimes the problem with taking photos is that you know what you did, and what you were taking a photo of.  This can cause problems with judging what other people will see, how confused they will be and whether or not they will just think it's rubbish.  This is a slinky.  I know this.  I also know what all the stuff in the background is.  And while I like it, I can't quite tell if it's any good.  I mean I don't think it's wonderful by any means but I don't know if it is at least interesting to an outsider's eye.  I like the light in the background, I like the fact the slinky itself is not lit up and all shiny as if taken under a light or using flash, I like the abstract circley-cagey-stripy-smooth-curvy-metalness, and I like the pattern of light in front of it.

Day 275: Reflective Pool

I was in town with my friend today.  It was rather dull and grey so not really the best day for photography (again...I'm getting sick of this), however this pool of water in St Andrews square provided a point of interest.  I like reflections and the colours made me think of Autumn too!  It's not a wonderful photo but oh well.  I was missing my SLR.

Day 274: Flames

I have come up with a new fall-back idea for photos.  If all else fails - burn something!  I love the colours in this.  It's not perfect but it's not bad for a first attempt.  And I like the reflection of the flames.

Day 273: Late Poppy

It seems odd that there are still flowers at this time of year, when the leaves on the trees are changing, dying and falling.  And yet there are still a number of flowers in the garden, including this rather frail looking poppy.  I suppose it is only a matter of time before the first frost hits and they all give up their fragile hold on the world.  Unfortunately, I don't really like this photo.  It is a little too dark because the flower was in the shade and there was not enough light to get a better exposure.  The colour is slightly off too.  It might have been ok if the exposure had been better, but it's slightly too orangey yellow despite having tried every white balance my camera offers.  And to cap it all off it's not entirely sharp either!  The worst thing about this whole project is the number of days you have to settle because there is nothing better on offer to photograph, or no better photograph of the subject you did manage to find.

Day 272: I'll Protect You

I really like how the big one is, like a parent, shielding the little one from the elements and anything big and scary that might come along.  The ironic thing being that they are both tiny and even the bigger one wouldn't stand a chance!

Day 271: Brown Capuchin

I was at the zoo today!  There was lots to see as usual but I think this wee guy was the most interested in us.  He sounded and looked like he was trying to talk to us - what about, I'm afraid I have no idea.  There was one point where he was climbing on something right under the balcony we were stood on and he reached up towards the electric wires which stop them climbing out as if to grab hold and climb up closer to us.  He was met with a chorus of "NO!  Don't touch that!" from me and my friend!  Luckily, he didn't, nor did he the second time he looked like he was going to do the same thing :-)
PS - I say "he" but really, I have no idea!

Day 270: Life On A Log

Mum discovered all the growth on this log a few days ago, not that I remembered to look before now!  The photo is a little darker than I would have liked but it was beginning to get dark so I didn't have the best light to work with.  I do find myself looking out for mushrooms and toadstools at this time of year and I'm not disappointed so far :-)

Day 269: Bright Lights

I actually had to Google what to call the thing I took this photo at - it would seem funfair is the word, but around here we just call them The Shows! ;-p  They're here just now and those of us who are slightly older avoid it because there are too many teenagers about and we occasionally talk about how there used to be so many more rides!  This year, however, I have been twice, briefly, to get candy floss :-D

Day 268: Wet Autumn

Well, it's that time of year where I admire the leaves a lot!  It was a kind of grey and rainy day and the leaves were providing a welcome splash of colour to the the world.  I particularly liked this yellow one with the very prominent veins, browning around the edges and hints of green still.  It's like every stage of the colour change in one leaf.

Day 267: Sunny Duck

Today was one of those days with a lot of different photos to choose between.  And it's hard sometimes because your favourite isn't necessarily the best photo!  It took me a long time to decide on this duck.  She is so beautifully lit, she almost looks like she is looking at me, the light on the barrel she is standing on cast by the ripples is brilliant and I love that you can see her feet under the water.

We had a walk along the beach before going back inland for ice cream and I saw more open, but still joined in the middle, shells than I think I've ever seen.  I decided it would be cool to make a love heart out of them because, well because I'm a soppy girl at times and 2 halves connected and in a love heart seemed somehow right.  Didn't turn out perfectly but I rather like it.

And when we were having ice cream and watching the ducks and swans up the river I spotted a different duck who has since been identified as a Pintail Duck!  I haven't knowingly seen one of them before so I was quite pleased with myself :-)

Day 266: Man Made Clouds

I sometimes see the strangest things and want to take photos of them.  This is probably a good example.  Who in their right mind looks at polythene on barbed wire and goes "oooh pretty!"?  Well I do.  And while it annoys me to see discarded bags stuck in trees and on fences because they'll be there for a long, long time - sometimes they do manage to look kinda pretty.  The light was just beautiful today too.  I love all the light and shadow in the polythene and the clouds are lovely, the blue is gorgeous and the wild movement in the strands is really interesting and exciting and it manages to convey the movement of the wind in a still photo which is really cool.  Well I think so anyway.

Day 265: Derelict

I find it very hard to tell you what I like about this photo.  I have actually spent a lot of time looking at it and thinking and I'm still not really any closer.  We pulled one of the sheds in my granny's garden down today and this was inside the other which is pretty much an empty, derelict shell now too.  I like that the paper reminds me of a treasure map and it is actually the announcements section of a newspaper which has most likely been nibbled to bits for beds for mice.  It's like disappointing history in a way.  You look at it and it looks old and exciting and then you look at the text and think, nah!

Day 264: Silhouetted Willowherb

The sky did look a little bit ominous when this was taken but it didn't come to anything.  It wasn't even as cold as I was expecting today.  I very often get caught out by the beginning of Autumn and Winter by the variation in temperature - some days it's pleasant and others you would think you were in the Arctic Circle.  All the Willowherb appears to be dying back now and it's brown rather than the bright pink it sports in the summer.  There are still a few fluffy seed heads hanging around but the photos I took of the Willowherb itself came out rather boring.  This isn't too much better but at least it has a sense of drama about it.

Day 263: Defying Autumn

This is not the photo I wanted to use and I hate when that happens!  It is still cool though.  It rained a lot today, was very windy and there were lots of discarded leaves flying around.  In short it's all of a sudden become very Autumny in the last wee while.  What I do like about this photo is the water, the reflection, the assortment of different shapes, sizes, colours and stages of decay of the leaves and, in amongst it all, this one wee shoot growing through and trying to defy Autumn.  I doubt it has much chance of becoming a fully grown plant but it would be interesting to know what it is.  It is certainly brave.