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A sprinkling of snow

A bit of snow fell about a week ago, therefore today’s light sprinkling could be regarded as the second snowfall of the winter. The two sprinklings were not really worth talking about, and certainly not really worth counting, but snow does seem to generate enormous interest every year. The media will no doubt be very excited about this mornings snow, although it was gone without hardly a trace by this evening. When I first viewed the images on my laptop I found them, for want of a more artistic term, boring. I therefore spent a little time, a very little time, in adjusting contrast and brightness levels in an attempt to enhance the photos a bit.

Winter Landscape 1 – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Winter Landscape 1 – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Winter Landscape 2 – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Winter Landscape 2 – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Winter Landscape 3 – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
Winter Landscape 3 – Panasonic DMC-LX2; Developed with GIMP
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Autumn 2013 – eight

This is it, the very last in the series Autumn 2013. Since last weekend I’ve noticed a dramatic increase in illuminated Father Christmases dangling from house facades. Coloured lights are brightening up gloomy gardens and of course the first Christmas markets are opening their stalls. But this evening it snowed, definitely time to slide into Winter.

Today’s images were taken late last Sunday afternoon and I feel they provide a perfect end to the Autumn 2013 project. The last sugar beet being lifted before the countryside is covered with snow.

Unloading – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Unloading – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Race against Time – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Race against Time – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
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Autumn 2013 – seven

Today’s post will therefore probably be the last in the series “Autumn 2013″……  with those words from the last posting I was ‘probably’ going to end this autumnal series. Well, as you see, Autumn 2013 hasn’t quite finished yet. Walking the dog late on Sunday afternoon I thought I would try to capture the cold, bleak atmosphere so typical of this time of the year. As it turned out that was quite a challenge. The scenes themselves were not exactly earth shattering, but that didn’t bother me too much because it was the ‘feeling’ I was trying to achieve. The original images were in colour and they appeared quite harmless. Not cold, not bleak and not at all mid November. After removing the colour and fiddling slightly with the brightness and contrast they approached the feeling I was after – but I’m certainly not there yet.

November Scene – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
November Scene – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
November Landscape – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
November Landscape – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Sunday Stroll in November – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Sunday Stroll in November – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
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Autumn 2013 – six

Many trees have now lost their leaves almost entirely and around these parts the bulk of the sugar beet has been lifted and now waits on the side of fields for transport to the factory.  Autumn draws to an end. After a couple of weeks holiday I’ll be back to work on Monday and will most probably only be out and about with the camera at the weekends again. Today’s post will therefore probably be the last in the series “Autumn 2013”. ‘hope you enjoyed it.

Sugar beet heap – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Sugar beet heap – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Sugar beet harvest – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Sugar beet harvest – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Another heap – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Another heap – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Evening light – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Evening light – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
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Autumn 2013 – five

Although not a bright sunny day, the weather was certainly pleasant enough to do a bit of experimenting with light. To some extent I am still playing with the K-30’s settings but I like to think I am getting there.

Empty vines – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Empty vines – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
A patch of light – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
A patch of light – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
A little sunshine – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
A little sunshine – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
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Autumn 2013 – four

A hint of autumnal mystique, last Saturday morning the local countryside was swathed in mist.

Foggy Trees 1 – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Foggy Trees 1 – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Foggy Trees 2 – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Foggy Trees 2 – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Foggy Fields – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Foggy Fields – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
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Autumn 2013 – two

A Misty morning and a bright, sunny afternoon. Local farmers are busily doing what local farmers do at this time of the year and local photographers are happily adjusting their toys to meet the challenging lighting conditions that make this time of the year so exciting.

Sugar beet – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Sugar beet – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Spiders web in the vines – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Spiders web in the vines – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Baled silage – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Baled silage – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Gathering in the silage – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Gathering in the silage – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
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Evening Shadows

The first time I saw these evening shadow on a nearby hillock I was walking the dog without a camera. The following days would have been perfect, but arriving at the spot too late I missed several opportunities because the sun was already far too low. Sunday evening would have been good, but a trace of cloud diffused the light and produced no shadows at all. Then, on Monday everything worked worked out well. These two pictures take within less than ten minutes of each other.

Evening shadows – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Evening shadows – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Evening shadows – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
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Two Cats

I’m sure nobody really cherishes the thought of living across the road from a building site, but at the time of writing it seems our pleasantly quiet agricultural village is being developed by people who seem set upon turning the place into a bustling hub, a commercial centre serving parishes for miles around,

Apart from building a multimillion pound something or other slap bang in the middle of the village for the benefit of all (it remains to be seen who exactly ‘all’ is) there are also two blocks of flats being built just across the road. Gone are the trees and flowers of the house opposite. Instead of bright early morning sunshine flooding the breakfast table I will have to get used to living in the shadows of some architect’s dream.

Two Cats – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Two Cats – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Two Cats too – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Two Cats too – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
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Good idea!

Arriving home from work last Wednesday it was yet another warm and sunny evening, so imagine by delight when wife suggested I could take the dog and perhaps have a pint on the way! Good idea! No sooner were the words uttered than I was seen scampering off through the woods heading towards the local beer garden.

Me and the dog – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
Me and the dog – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
A scamper through the woods – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP
A scamper through the woods – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP