The young lady doesn't seem too keen?

You can click to enlarge.

As some of you will know, my dog is very much an old lady, but she still has toys lying around the house and occaisionally she picks one up and plays with it, but not for long. This was taken after one of those moments. When she's finished, she won't be persuaded to play more and this "look" is her way of saying so.
You can click to enlarge the cuteness.

... or just an optical illusion?

When I look at this first pic ...

... I always think that it looks as if the sea rose leaves were "indenting" the water surface. Click to enlarge in a pop-up, then you can see better what I mean.

This next photo - one of my favourites, BTW - ...

... was taken from the opposite side, and all looks normal. But it's a very different angle with which we see the water surface here, not sure if the indent would show (if it exists).

So - are sea rose leaves so heavy (?) that they indeed indent the water surface, or is it just an optical illusion?

We found her legless in my daughter's house

Ever tried to do one??? EEEEKKKK lol
Set up my tripod and remote.
Took about 20, hated them all but this is the best I managed..

.
Then I had a cunning plan!!! Make it Mono, lessen how red and bulbous my nose looks
A bit better (ahem)
.

.
Be gentle..................
Regards,Steve

Another experiment with a gerbera and mirror. It is quite hard balancing a heavy mirror, holding a flower and trying to get the angle right for the reflection you want! Only editing was a slight tweak of the levels and removal of a dust spot or two. Next time I try these sort of shots, I'm going to make sure I have sticky tape to hand but as this was a spur of the minute thing, I wasn't really prepared! Oh well, this is how we learn.

Of all the works of art I have produced this is my wifes favourite. Measuring only 32 x 28 cms it has pride of place in our lounge. The inspiration for this picture came from an original by the artist Jon Kelley entitled Ypres 1917. It shows the devastation of the city after the second battle of Ypres.
If you look closely you can see the subjects of the title of my picture called The Ghosts of Ypres.

Taken at Belsay Hall on Sunday. Small tweak in the levels and a crop.

You can click to enlarge - enjoy the scenery

I love playing about with glitter and flowers so what better way to combine them? I looked like a plank taking this shot, camera in one hand, a mirror and the flower in the other but I think it works! Processed with GIMP and Photoscape, both freeware and easy to download.

...... photographing!

......has an Autumn feel about it

Mellow Fruitfulness

I took this out side my house.

So, yer pays yer money etc. But which do you prefer, the desaturated one or the black and white one?

To see a much larger view, click on the image and then select 'all sizes'.

A little german boy...

Mirfield Agricultural show August 23rd 09

Captured at Mirfield yesterday.

The boys hold an impromptu game whilst the 'official team' play on in the distance.

A few more pics from our weekend away.  They were out harvesting but I found a few fields that had not been done and the Wheat and Barley were golden.

These are from last year but came across them wheni was loking through old SD cards

Hi to everybody...the first planes we saw at the Bournemouth Air show was a Spitfire then a B52 then a modern helicopter that did astonishing manoeuvres...there were also two smaller helicopters but they were just too small to photograph properly...it was a very impressive show by all of them...click on them to see larger images...

This is the flotilla out at sea...there were around 400 craft ranged between the Boscombe and Bournemouth pier...looked great...

Great big hugs to one and all...

Hi to everybody...these were pics of the wing walkers at the Bournemouth Air display...each plane had a person attached to the top...the acrobatics were incredible... One pic shows one plane upside down... A man and a woman were doing it...the woman is a barrister normally...LOL...

Great big hugs to one and all...

Hi to everybody...did get to the Bournemouth Air show this afternoon and saw some brilliant displays, among them the Red Arrows...manage to take some pics on my little camera...could have done with a zoom lens but took 39 pics in all and not one was blurred...amazing!
Click on them to see larger pics...apologies for the line right across so many, but there was a communication wire strung along the entire beach on long posts that cut the sky line across just when the planes were really visible...hmmm...never mind...but a bit annoying...

One drew a heart in the sky and you can just see it completing an arrow through it...

Great big hugs to one and all...

My dog still likes to paddle in streams and puddles, but she's not one for swimming.

What's he on about, I hear you say. It's a snap of some old Bid taking a photo of a piece of modern art. He's really lost it this time.

Not so foolish accolytes. Click on the image to enlarge and look through the frame made by Jennifer's right arm and you'll see why the title makes sense.

Hi to everybody...just checked my photos again...and there's a couple more good ones...click on them to see larger image.
This one shows the lovely little red flower right in the centre of all of them...

And this is a better one of the seeding flower turning in on itself and you can see every stem forming a lovely network all round the seeds...never seen this before...

Great big hugs to one and all...

Hi to everybody...had another walk on the heath today. I wanted to try to get my camera lined up right on the wild flowers, which I have failed to do up until today... Here are the results...it was very windy so really had to practice snapping them during a very brief lull in the wind... Most were blurred but did take a lot to make sure some were still...LOL...rained heavily five minutes after we arrived home so were very lucky...stopped now but looks like there's more to come which is a shame as there are fireworks in Bournemouth tonight for the start of Bournemouth Air Show which covers the next three days...fortunately the forecast is good for the weekend... Please click on pics if you want to enlarge them....

Today's sky...LOL...bit different from yesterday.

This is still in full flower...not sure what it is but it's a perfect fractal.

This is the same flower just turning to seed but still lovely.

This is the seed pod of the above flower...it closes right up in the end but the photo of one I took was blurred because of the high wind unfortunately...

I don't know what this wild flower is either but it's very attractive...

And the bees love it...

Wild sweet pea...

Not sure what this is but the top is all that's is left now it has nearly finished flowering.

Great big hugs to one and all...

Might take a while to figure this one out.

Spiritbird' photo of a shop front in Croatia (presumably) made me remember this shop I've seen

This photo was taken in Neustadt am Kulm, a very small town in Northern Bavaria.  I loved the decoration of the shop, although the huge sign (catalogue shop) is annoying. 
The two were idly chatting in the afternoon sun, nobody rushed them, it was a true idyll! 

click on image to see whole picture.

Yes, the title sounds a little awkward but unfortunately there is no English expression for "Totenbrett":

Totenbretter (pl.) were (and I heard, still are) used in an area in Bavaria known as the Bavarian Forest (Bayerischer Wald), a nature park.

Deceased family members were laid onto the boards for the duration of a wake. After their burial, the boards were painted and inscribed with the deceased person's name, DOB and date of death, and then erected on either the family's property (usually where they could be seen by the public, e.g. a road) or at a special location in the community.

You still see them in the Bavarian Forest but the tradition of having Totenbretter seems to be dying out.

You can see that the wings haven't completely straightened / dried (?) yet:

Escaped from here:

This second photo actually needs to be rotated 90° to the left but I kept it like this because photos in landscape seem to be larger and you can see more details.

These photos were also taken at the former cloister garden in Bavaria.

The one with the wings open was dancing - literally! - around the one with the closed wings.

Taken in Bavaria in a former cloister garden - of all places!

Yes, I just love the moon

But what I don't understand completely is why it's not possible (for me) to take a photo of it at night where you can see all the details? I could see it well when I looked through the camera but the details (craters) just don't come out on the photos. Only when it gets lighter can you see the details.

These photos were all taken on 6 Aug this year, when the moon was full. The green blotches in the first two photos are just reflections of light from the lenses - or could they be UFOs???

BTW, the faint streak from the left of the photo towards the moon is a plane! The green blotch, as mentioned before, only a reflection.

Hmmm ... too many photos? Oh well, I've uploaded them, I might as well blog them

But as you can see, there are no details of the moon visible in the first two shots. And I've played around with all kinds of settings but no matter what I did, the moon just looks almost like the sun.

Do you have any tips?

"Tools of the trade"

AS YOU APPROACH FROM THE SEA

POREC CROATIA

THIS IS ACTUALLY A MUCH PHOTOGRAPHED CORNER OF THE TOWN IF YOU LOOK CAREFULLY

Hi to everybody...we've just got back from a boiling hot walk on the heath...LOL...couldn't take more than an hour...photographed the sky for you and that's all round... The other one is the fur from the big thistles...looks beautiful...so soft...tried for the second time to get a beautiful white flower that has a fractal design but my darn camera is doing weird things...I line up the image perfectly with the cross...make sure I don't move and the image I want is still cut in half nearly...I even asked the Universe to please quieten the wind for a second or two so that I could take it, and it did...much to Ray's and my amazement... and I still didn't get the darn pic...second time it has cut it in half...any ideas why that might be happening, please? Click to see larger image...

Great big hugs to one and all...

This was once a Penny

The barbecued chicken tasted really good - Mmmm

I like this image, but I think it looks better bigger - You can click on it to see if you agree

I've received an email from New Scientist magazine that some contributors to this group may be interested in:

New Scientist Calendar 2010 Competition

A photographic competition from New Scientist

We are creating a 2010 calendar that is entirely made up of images taken by our audience. So, we need your best photos.

Your photo could be something that reflects how science and technology impacts on your life or on our world, something from the natural world that has sparked your interest in science, an amazing piece of machinery, bold and beautiful architecture or an image taken in the lab... the possibilities are endless!

When you upload your image please tell us, in no more than 100 words, what your picture is, where and when you took it and why you feel it represents the importance of science to you.

We look forward to seeing your pictures.

Enter now

New Scientist Calendar 2010 Competition closes on Wednesday 2nd September at 11am BST

Hi to everybody...had a lovely walk on the heath today and spotted some butterflies on the way home...the first was outside my next door neighbour's house...their buddleia has lots of beautiful butterflies now...and the pink flowers were in a garden and so pretty...the others are various views of the heath today...it's a mass of colour now with the gorse and heathers blooming and the blackberries are beginning to ripen now as well and there's a huge crop this year...click on pics to see larger images...and you can go to my media 'Heath(Sunday) album to see a few more I took today...

Great big hugs to one and all...

There are more portraits of musicians which can be seen by clicking here. Then click on portraits.

Tried to replicate a canvas because my Mum who is visiting wanted one,,,,,,,,,,,

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Then she said she wants something green, white/cream and "maybe a bit of Brown!!!" to print off for her living room......
Best I can do with 15 minutes notice!!!!!!! Dragged a branch off a tree "borrowed" some White Roses.......

Regards,Steve

Sarah's kite was the prettiest one today I think.

I loved watching it swooping and diving.

Strangely I like this photo best BECAUSE of the cloud

Some of the other kites were beautiful too.

X

It was a glorious late summer day today by the sea. The blackberries are starting to ripen.

Some people were already starting to pick them.

It made me want some Blackberry wine so I bought some and we are going to have it in a minute.

But it also made me sad, because this is the first decent day here for ages from what I have heard and the Autumn is nearly upon us. I hope it will be an Indian Summer.

X

...I shall mostly be avoiding Mackerel today

'an I've just learnt how to spell it too.

Dennypoos.......................................is now a Mackerel free zone.

AAARGH!!!!!!!!!

I'm unsure if "grasshopper" is the correct name here. We call it "hay horse" in german.

A species of Mackerel seen here pretending to be Moby Dick.

Hello!

This pic of mine made it into our local borough newspaper.  I am pretty well pleased with myself. 
Enjoy!

A very happy party guest at the age of 7...

Today the Saracen took its master to revisit some of his old haunts in the New Forest.

Of course Rufus 'Stone' isn't now an actual stone but is a triangular 1.20m metal obelisk and Rufus wasn't actually killed on this spot and there is much Brouh-Ha about whether it was an 'accident' or murder.

Hi to everybody...my lilies are opening slowly but surely...LOL...and the bottom photo is of one of my new plants the name of which I've forgotten at the moment... memory is definitely going...covered in white flowers when in full bloom...love the perfect ball... Click on each one to see larger image...

Great big hugs to one and all...

I have previously posted pics of my Daughters eyes....

Clump of willow herb on the West Coast of Scotland near Plockton.

A footbal you wont want to kick,as its made of solid rock salt. Tiles you wont want to fit in your bathroom,as they are polished slabs of pure salt

A brick of salt,used for construction in dry climates. Lamp shades of 96% pure salt

A frying pan made of salt slab.You dont need to add salt to this fried egg,do you?

A bowl made of salt.

A salt cave,where everything is pure edible salt.You can lick the walls,the roof,the floor and everything will taste er...salty.

As promised to Marika, this is how the arch looks when in flower. Brodsworth Hall is in the background!

Not a great photo but you see the difference - If it is the same arch!

Hi to everybody...have just taken these two photos of my much tidier garden from the top of the house...you can see clearly how invasive the two jasmine climbers are on either side...the right one is next doors and so is a large part of next doors on the left...LOL...including the Russian ivy now right up to the wall of our house...not really bothered with that as it hides the fence well but the climbers are really huge now...I've now cleared three very large garden bags including a massive one and refilled it...click on pics to see larger images....

Great big hugs to one and all...

More informal portraits may be seen by clicking here then clicking portraits.

A nice clear night for once - click the picture to enlarge it:

Cheers, Tom.

This is a picture of a folly at Brodsworth Hall in South Yorkshire.

Which is better

one

or

Two

I have now started submitting images to Dreamstime.com which is a stock photography web site. Anybody interested can talk to me about the pitfalls when getting started. I also have other images at www.lochnessimages.com

I got some photos of this butterfly yesterday but it was back today and more in the mood for having photos taken. The false eyes are very strange if you look at them for a while.

Click to make big.. er..

Hi to everybody...better late than never...my lovely white lilies are starting to bloom at last... Click on photos to see larger ones...

Great big hugs to one and all...

Five of my friends have seen this on my computer screen and all said she looks scary!!!! May photoshop her eyes to red

An abandoned jetty I found at a saltwater lake in Gili Meno Island.

A recent collection I havent had chance to show ... hope you enjoy it

Hi to everybody...my first white lily has finally bloomed with loads more buds to open...and my pretty lace cap hydrangea is looking good now...it was a pale mauve/blue but has turned pink over the years... Click on photos to see larger image...

Great big hugs to one and all...

My camera has seen better days and first time i've posted in this group so be gentle.

A PHOTOGRAPHERS PARADISE
WE ARE GOING BACK NEXT MONTH

I happened to be at the right place at the right time.

Thats me smiling or trying to

The lead band

Attack of the vampires

Street dancing

Giants in liverpool

The youngest member of the carnival

Blues n twos

Hello miss rainbow

And another