Snappy gifts

I have a couple of cameras. It's sounds so grand. It's not. I bought a new one a few weeks ago so now I have a "big" one to go along with my "wee" one. So, as you can see, even in my own head, that doesn't make me a photographer. I don't have the eye for it. I have an eye for spotting false breasts or for measuring cup and bra size at a glance. Different strokes....I'm just a happy snapper ....with an unusual talent for breast quantisation.
Anyway, Sarah's are lovely. Photos, that is. She has the eye, perhaps even two of them. Lucky bastard.
Photojournalists however, it's probably more about being in the right place at the right time than technique or composition. They've got to put themselves in danger quite often, but even more than that they need to have a certain type of character to allow them to detach themselves from the very inhumanity they may be recording. For that reason I couldn't do it. I was reminded of that fact when I ended up on a web page recently for competition winning photos and the subject matter for the one that started me thinking is linked below.

If you're easily offended don't click here.

P.S. the photo at the top, anyone want to guess?

If only I'd thought of this....

Funny what you come across on the interweb.

I particularly like January 7th.

Do you have a favourite?

changes

Does anyone really enjoy Valentine's day? I don't. I'm not sure I can say I've ever actually enjoyed it so I suppose I'm ambivolent. I got my first Valentine card when I was about 12 or 13 in school. It was sent to me in sympathy because 2 of the most fanciable girls in class had heard me saying I'd never received one.

When I think back that was the start of my insecurities. I felt pretty ordinary, perhaps less than ordinary and certainly lacking in confidence. I can't remember if I got another Valentine card at school, I suppose I must have but I know I didn't have a girlfriend in any way until I was about 17. Self-assured I was not. For years after I struggled to think well of myself, still do.

Isn't it funny how we can allow ourselves to be mentally neutered and how this can stretch out over years of our lives affecting all our important interactions.

I never received a card today. I'm quite happy about that.
So some things don't change. Happily, other things do.




me, now 43. with my specs on. (fretting about focus hence the dour bake)

it's crazy but it's true ....

2 entries in 1 day - I know, anyway here's the first ...

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".
In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.
There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.
In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kanbe expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.
By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".
During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kanbe dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a,reil sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.
Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.

wonder

The sea, it still amazes me . What must it seem like to a child ?

a fine time

This has to be one of the best times of year - not warm, not cold - not wet nor dry - sunny or dark . The sun sets much earlier and at a time when we can't miss the shadowplay and fast changing light .

It's the last breath of summer before the winter arrives .

I love it .

click on the pic for full size

Early Autumn

Summer, it seems, is cancelled this year . The leaves are already turning and the nights are well and truly drawing in . I took a walk on Saturday to a tower near where I used to live . On the way back I took a few shots . The light was incredible with the soon to be setting sun backlighting the trees with a neon green . The only sounds to be heard was the deafening buzz of thousands of flies, wasps and bees as they raced against the changing seasons . Long shadows and shafts of light mottled the paths .
This is a panorama I assembled from 21 shots on the way back to the car . I wish I'd recorded the sound too . To see it click on the thumbnail below . When it opens up click on it again to see it full size .