Vic's Blog

23/03/2014

Lazy Sunday afternoon

Having just enjoyed a remarkably warm and sunny couple of weeks I was mentally geared up to sticking my lens into all manner of spring flowers, and pointing it in the general direction of colourful blossoming trees. Alas that was not to be. Saturday’s sunny intervals were few and far between and today even saw a mild snow shower or two. So instead of roaming the surrounding countryside for things in bud, I decided to spend a little time getting to know the K-30’s manual settings and experimenting a little with and old lens or two.

The first of today’s offerings is a view from the dining table through the kitchen window. Admittedly a filling station is not particularly scenic, but the large sign does provide me with a little, albeit very limited, entertainment if the conversation over dinner should lull. How many words can be made up from the name “AGROLA”? – A very warm welcome to all our Spanish speaking readers!

estacion de gasolina – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

I read a very interesting article about high and low key images in my favourite photo magazine this week. (Black and White Photography). This ‘high key’ shot is by no means perfect and I obviously have lots to learn… but as soon as the sun shines brightly again I’ll no doubt be having another go.

Orchid – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

A little less high key – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

10/03/2014

Art, or simply a rusty old fence?

Whether or not a rusty fence around the town’s waste disposal plant can be regarded as art is a matter of some discussion. I am certainly in no way qualified to offer a balanced opinion on the subject. The very fact that I was out and about (reasonably) early on Sunday morning to photograph the town’s most expensive fence just goes to show how it has captured my imagination. I’m sure I wouldn’t have made the effort for a normal, common or garden fence.

The artist is Katja Schenker. She does have quite an impressive CV and it seems she doesn’t just do fences.

Artistic Fence – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

Shadows -Artistic Fence – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

23/02/2014

The first signs of Spring

Taking a stroll around a local wine growing area last weekend I was struck not only by how Spring seems to be upon us already, but also how bare and bleak the vines look at this time of the year. It’s hard to imagine that in a good six months or so all those twigs will be laden with fat juicy grapes – well worth a return visit.

Spring is in the air – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

In need of a bit of TLC – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

Although looking a bit delapidated, there’s no doubt these old shutters do have plenty of character.

sleeping vines – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

sleeping vines 2 – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

09/02/201427/04/2014

In search of snow

We’re well into February and no sign of snow in our neck of the woods. To be honest it doesn’t bother me one iota. Snow in the lowlands is usually quite a miserable affair. It hampers the daily commute and turns grey and slushy after only a day or two. But in the mountains it’s fine and as far as I’m concerned there can be lots of it. Today we decided to go looking for some, not just because I wanted to make a few pictures but also because the dog loves rolling about in it.

Quite bleak – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

It was very windy up the mountain and I was constantly covered in white powder. I had a bit of trouble capturing the wind and driven snow, but it is just visible on the picture below.

Wooden hut – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

Two wooden huts – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

The sun breaks through – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

Snow scene – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

01/02/201401/02/2014

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

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

26/01/201426/01/2014

Nice and quiet

Today’s weather was not bad. Being a bit damp underfoot in places the light was particularly interesting when the sun came out.

Still a bit cloudy – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

After a brisk walk with the dog, the dark clouds dispersed and provided ideal conditions to visit a town that, during the summer months, is crawling with tourists. At just after one o’clock the small, picturesque town centre was deserted.

Just after one – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

Empty town – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

Empty town 2 – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

18/01/201418/01/2014

To the lake >

A Saturday afternoon in January. A definite chill in the air, no snow, no sun and slightly misty. There was almost an Autumnal feeling as I, wife and dog plodded along the very muddy paths through the woods. Suddenly a splash of colour made me reach for my camera. The bright green moss on the old weathered sign pointing the way to the lake was the most colourful thing I’d seen all afternoon… apart from my blue Pentax of course:-)

Strictly speaking the ‘lake’ is really not much bigger than a large pond. During the summer a picnicker or two may grace its shores and a handful of bathers can be seen bobbing about in its waters. At certain times of the year a solitary angler may be seen trying to net the catch of a lifetime. But today was quiet, deathly still and quite deserted. Somehow the following two images just had to be reproduced in black and white, and I increased the contrast a little too.

The lake – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

There was a slight covering of ice around the waters edge. Certainly not thick enough to skate on, but a forgotten bottle of some fizzy drink rested idly on the icy surface.

The frozen lake – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

12/01/2014

Perhaps next time.

On a stroll through a surprisingly snowless landscape yesterday I took surprisingly few photographs. None of those I did take was of particular merit. The sun stayed obstinately behind high cloud. The light was flat, boring and without any sort of contrast. The colours were far from saturated. But the sun, the light and the colourless colours are all excuses of course. The real culprit for average photographs was of course the photographer. At the end of the day I chose the image below for today’s post. Not because it was the best of a mediocre bunch, but perhaps because it reminds me how easy it is to forget to twiddle some of those dials on the camera. Why did I stick to f6.3 instead of opening up the aperture a bit to improve the depth of field impact? Why didn’t I change the angle a bit to make the background more visible and show off some of those mountains. Perhaps if I had stood up instead of getting wet trousers kneeling in the damp grass. Perhaps next time.

01/01/2014

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

Goodness gracious, great balls of silage! – 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

Country road – Pentax K-30; Developed with GIMP

20/12/2013

The Festive Season – 2

It’s that time of the year again, an office party here, an informal get together there, a quick glass of something before plodding home through the night. There’s no doubt in my mind, the choice of camera has an enormous influence on the choice of subject. If I’d have had my DSLR with me on the way home from the office do, I would quite possibly not even have taken the lens cap off. If I’d have had the compact Lumix with me I’d most likely have sought perfection and spent far too much time trying to create nice sharp, well framed images. But as luck would have it I was simply carrying my mobile phone in my duffel coat pocket. The phone has quite a reasonable camera but I don’t expect wonders. So, not worrying about all those reflections in the tram window or whether an f stop more or less may be better, I simply pointed and shot. Total freedom.

A festive glass – Sony-Ericsson W995 mobile phone. Developed with Gimp

A passing tram stop – Sony-Ericsson W995 mobile phone. Developed with Gimp

Riding through the night – Sony-Ericsson W995 mobile phone. Developed with Gimp

Round the corner – Sony-Ericsson W995 mobile phone. Developed with Gimp

Tram stop – Sony-Ericsson W995 mobile phone. Developed with Gimp

Taking the train – Sony-Ericsson W995 mobile phone. Developed with Gimp

Passing through – Sony-Ericsson W995 mobile phone. Developed with Gimp

Almost home – Sony-Ericsson W995 mobile phone. Developed with Gimp