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Summer-fourteen 5

It’s been a week since I last posted anything on the Summer-fourteen project and during the week there have been several missed sunny photo opportunities, but last week’s heatwave has now given way to quite a miserable weekend with temperatures struggling to reach twenty, so much for lazing around with a cool beer.

Today is definitely too wet to cut the lawn, weed or tackle all those other little garden jobs that would probably not have been tackled if the weather had been good either, so I decided to get the K30 nice and wet.

Damp straw – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Damp straw – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Wet hut – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Wet hut – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Droplets – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Droplets – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Rain stopped play – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Rain stopped play – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
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Summer-fourteen 2

Although I did manage to cut the lawn on Saturday afternoon the evening brought with it torrential rain.  Sunday morning I was out and about with the camera but thankfully the Pentax’s waterproof features were not needed. As you can see, Saturday night’s rain did cause a bit of flooding down in the village but today, Tuesday, the water has gone and some sunny images are on the cards for the rest of the week. Reason enough to enjoy a big fat ice cream in our favourite restaurant’s garden.

Corn – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Corn – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
The day after – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
The day after – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Balmy evening – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Balmy evening – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Time for an Ice Cream – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Time for an Ice Cream – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
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Summer-fourteen

Welcome to my new project: Summer-fourteen.

Saturday morning saw the beginning of the school holidays. The traditional kilometre long traffic jams heading south through the Alps already made the news on Friday evening. Thousands will be bound for foreign lands to enjoy a week or two of all inclusive indulgence and a break from day to day life.

Once again I’ll be using the opportunity to stretch my legs in half empty commuter trains and enjoy a sort of holiday feeling by photographing all sorts of mundane subjects under the summer sun.

Sun? The sky looked decidedly grey on Saturday morning, and judging by the weather we’ve been having during the week the sunflower would probably be the only sun I’d be seeing all day. Fortunately I was mistaken, the afternoon was pleasant and the evening brought with it a fascinating light. As a matter of interest I made it home before torrential rains set in for the night.

Sunflower – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Sunflower – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Clouds – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Clouds – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Cornfield – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Cornfield – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Cornfield – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Cornfield – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
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Summer Solstice

Yesterday was Saturday, and I had planned to capture a poppy or two growing on the edge of a local corn field. But somehow the images just didn’t look right and so I looked around for an alternative. After pointing my lens at all sorts of unsuitable things I finally decided I’d mark the summer solstice with a couple of sunny pictures.

Summer Solstice – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Summer Solstice – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Summer Solstice – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Summer Solstice – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
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Roof timbers

It’s probably fair to say that no one jumps for joy when a block of flats is built just across the road. The reasons for the lack of jolly excitement are surely obvious. Views of a lush green garden are replaced by a those of walls, windows and balconies. Instead of the sun shining unimpeded through our kitchen window, it will loiter provocatively behind someone else’s walls.

But despite everything, there is something quite intriguing about a building site and these roof timbers were just asking to be photographed.

Roof timbers – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Roof timbers – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Roof timbers – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Roof timbers – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Roof timbers – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Roof timbers – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
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Yellow

Whilst strolling around the village this afternoon I noticed that, at this time of the year, it’s almost impossible to make a photograph without anything yellow in it.

A late starter – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
A late starter – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Rapeseed field – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Rapeseed field – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Rapeseed – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Rapeseed – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Buttercups (I think) – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Buttercups (I think) – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

For those who aren’t keen on yellow there were basically two choices: either a sky, or a ploughed field. I chose the latter.

Almost ready to sow – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Almost ready to sow – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
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April weekend

This weeks images were all captured very locally. On Friday evening I couldn’t resist a look in the barbecue’s fire box as the coals glowed ready to offer the sausages a warm welcome;-)

Saturday afternoon the sun smiled and I felt obliged to actually do something in the garden….. no photos on Saturday.

Barbecue – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Glowing coals – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
April1
Blossom – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

Sunday I managed to capture these seasonal images.

Potato field – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Potato field – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Rape seed – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Rape seed – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Ploughed field – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Ploughed field – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
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February mist

During the morning shopping the sun beamed down upon us, and as I meandered through the rows of goodies I was already visualising all those crisp, sunny photos I would be taking later. But of course things are often not quite what they seem, our village and the surrounding countryside was still covered in a thick layer of mist. Not expecting to take any pictures at all I just took the compact Lumix with me…. just in case.  Of course I couldn’t possibly walk past a misty wood without trying  shot or two, and once I’d taken a couple of photos the others just seemed to flow.

Misty Wood – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Misty Wood – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP

The sun was trying to break through, but couldn’t quite make it.  The image below is of a marker post. These posts are set on both sides of the lanes and tracks to stop the snow ploughs from wandering off into the fields. So far this year they haven’t been needed.

Misty post – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Misty post – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
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Happy New Year!

For many the last few days have been spent eating, drinking and doing very little.  I have attempted to go with the ‘many’. However, I have hung a camera around my neck a few times and did manage to capture a few winter scenes from around the village.

Winding road – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Winding road – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Goodness gracious, great balls of silage! – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Goodness gracious, great balls of silage! – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
A little snow remains – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
A little snow remains – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
A bit of sun at New Year – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
A bit of sun at New Year – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Country road – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Country road – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
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Broken Rules

The first blog entry in December, and I thought I’d begin the month by breaking a ‘rule’ or two. What are the rules? Well to start with, I suppose verticals should be nice and vertical, unless one happens to be looking at towers in Pisa. Horizons? Well, they really ought to be nice and horizontal. Somehow I like this picture despite, or perhaps because of the broken rules.

The Orchard – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
The Orchard – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP