Sunset
Posted: November 27, 2022 Filed under: photography, Uncategorized | Tags: colourful, nature, photography, sky 1 CommentLife happens and when it does it can change everything -especially comfortable habits and routines. So it is that my regular photography hobby has been on the back burner for ages , without much chance of getting back into the swing!
However, I made myself grab my old Stylus camera to take an auto shot of this quickly changing sunset from my window. The winds were quite strong and the sun was disappearing with every second.
I was pleased to have captured this one and hope it’s worth sharing …..
Garden Visitors
Posted: September 8, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: birds, bluetits, fun, nature, photography, squirrels, wildlife Leave a commentI’ve mentioned before, I’m sure, that I am fortunate to have a little patio garden and I’ve been making an effort this year to attract more birds and butterflies. The Bees have always been plentiful. I’ve been unsuccessful with the Butterflies as usual, but now that I have a new bird table and bath the birds [and squirrels] come several times a day. The bonus is that all the cats I used to see prowling around over the years have either moved away or died off. There is just one grey cat left from the flat upstairs. I am a cat-lover, but they can be a nuisance stalking the birds.
I also have a family of foxes playing on the grassy areas in the evenings and I throw them left-over scraps or old fruit if I have any.
I’m mostly behind the glass windows to watch the birds etc , so the pics aren’t super,duper quality, but I hope I’ve captured the fun that I have trying ….
That’s all for now, have a great day, Eileen
Macro Flowers
Posted: September 2, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: alstroemeria, close up, Flowers, macro, photography, Rose 2 Comments
Much of my time is spent indoors and I love using cut flowers as my photographic subjects, sometimes in Still Life but mostly exploring them in macro.
I don’t think I’ve spoken much here about the cameras and lenses I use. Some years ago I decided to upgrade from the simple auto ‘point and shoot’ cameras I was using because , although they do take marvelous images, I wanted to achieve more. I was, and still am, an avid reader of helpful articles and tips – I wanted to learn all I could to develope my camera skills.
I asked for advice in a Parks camera shop what camera to start with and the Olympus Stylus1 was recommended, so that’s the one I went with. I couldn’t really afford to go for an all-out DSLR and lenses – too heavy for me anyway! So it was a matter of initially learning what I could with this camera before moving on when I felt ready to buy a camera with separate lenses.
As the Olympus Stylus had served me well [and I still use it for convenience when I’m out] I decided, mainly because of it’s light weight, to stay with Olympus. Started with Olympus OM-DE-10 and now learning to use the Olympus OM-DE-10 mk lll. My favourite lens is the 60mm macro – used for these shots.
The big nuisance for me though are the over-complicated menus , which, at my age and the accompanying tired and less efficient brain, are a pest to navigate and remember. I’m awful with the techy side of things and hope I can get by with the artistic side instead. [I learned about composition, colour,texture etc when I used to paint almost every day!] And now, over time, certain camera settings have become a habit with use and practice , so it’s easier to find things !
I often admire the work I see from other photographers and find myself looking at the equipment they use and it’s very tempting to think ‘if only I had the cameras and lenses they have, I could achieve so much more !’ But, as the saying goes ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’ and I’ve learned to be content with what I have and thank the Lord for His creative gifts … ha ha – there’s no way I’d have the strength to hold that heavy DSLR and goodness me – those Lenses !!!
Well, that’s all for now dear friends, hope I will have helped someone who may be just starting out on the same journey , Eileen
Busy Bees
Posted: August 31, 2019 Filed under: Nature, photography, wildlife | Tags: bees, nature, Olympus camera, photography, pink, wildlife 4 Comments
I haven’t posted any pics for such a long time – I’m afraid ‘life’ intervenes – as it does for everybody of course, but it gets more frequent as you get older! It isn’t as if I’ve been completely inactive with my camera, for when I couldn’t get out and about, I still did indoor shots, but couldn’t sit long at my pc without getting migraines etc But, no matter, and you don’t want me to add my woes to your own!! I love my photography and thank the Lord every day for His gifts and it’s great to have this blog to share them on.
I also have my pics on Flick’r – if you are interested, just do a search for Flick’r Eileen Thompson and it should find me.
Anyway – I will endeavour to post more now ….
I’ll be posting some of my indoor macro pics next [I hope, Lol!] See you soon,and God bless you, Eileen
Time to Catch Up
Posted: March 3, 2019 Filed under: digital, Fine Art, photography, Still Life | Tags: Fine Art, photography, still life 1 Comment
I’m a bit fed up with myself today and it occurred to me I should catch up on my photo posts. I spend quite a lot of my time on Flick’r now and ‘age’ doesn’t allow me the same concentration that I used to enjoy , so I’m afraid my Blog has suffered a bit of un-intended neglect !
I hope these pics will compensate for that …
Thankfully my love for taking photographs hasn’t waned and I’m still keen to try to make little works of art, although it seems a little presumptive to assume that other people will enjoy looking at them! Still – I can indulge myself here and from past experience I’ve found everyone really friendly and encouraging, and that’s been a real blessing.
I have a collection of small cups and saucers and this set seem to suit the lovely Muscari that suddenly showed their faces in my equally petite patio garden.
Also making an appearance are these lovely catkins . The shrub is commonly known as Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick because of it’s twisted branches, which are seen at their best in winter and spring. Unfortunately, in the summer time, the leaves are also contorted, so it looks as though it has some terrible disease!!
These tulips are not growing in my garden – they are just a bunch I bought. I placed them in a vase in front of the brightly sun-lit patio window ….
Same tulip, different setting. I really enjoy Still Life photography and trying to harmonise the subject within it’s setting. The tulip doesn’t strike me as a particularly ‘delicate’ flower, so I think it can take bold treatment …. not to everyone’s taste of course, but then not everyone is a ‘Still Life’ fan either. But for me it’s a life-saver when getting out and about is difficult.
Part of the joy of Still Life are the beautiful ‘props’ that you accumulate. I’ve had three ‘Macintosh’ style mugs for years but never photographed them before. I added a soft glow effect in my PSP which I though suited it very well…..
See you again soon I hope, Eileen
Festive Fun
Posted: December 18, 2018 Filed under: Christmas, digital, photography | Tags: bit of fun, Christmas, digital, festive, photography, photos 3 CommentsI’ve been cheering myself up with some festive photography lately – hope you like them …. just a bit of festive fun !
Of course, the true meaning of Christmas is that God sent his Son into the world to redeem mankind and offer eternal life to those who believe in Him, not because we deserve it , but He reconciles us to Himself through His grace.
If I’m not back here before Christmas, I wish you many blessings, Eileen
Same Walk, Different Pics
Posted: October 26, 2018 Filed under: History, Landscape, Nature, photography, Uncategorized | Tags: History, leaves, nature, photography, sunshine, trees Leave a comment
This is the first lady angler that I’ve seen at the lake! Fortunately she very kindly said she didn’t mind me taking her photo. The sun was streaming across the lake behind her – back-lighting and high-lighting herself and the trees either side of her. Perfect!
This single leaf also posed perfectly for me ….
It was a really dazzling sun-shiney day with lots of high- lighty bits of nature to see … this could be titled a patchwork or an abstract I thought.
There is this huge Weeping Willow tree along the path leading to the lake and it looked magnificent on this bright, sunny day ….although the figure and dogs are the focal point of the pic.
I did some searching on line yesterday to see what I could find out about the Ifield Mill Pond and Bewbush Water Gardens and boy – what an interesting history – much too much to tell here … so, just briefly :
A park was recorded here as early as 1295. The manor of Bewbush seems to have passed down, linked with St Leonards Forest by inheritance to various Earls and Dukes, etc over the centuries, becoming known as the manor of Holmbush/ the Holmbush Estate from 1787 and being sold on to ‘humbler’ folk titled ‘Lord of Bewbush’ and eventually MPs and the like.
Lots of improvements had been done by a Thomas Broadwood after 1824 and he planted and landscaped much of the estate. Whether it was him or later owners who planted my Bald Cypresses there I don’t know, but maybe there’s a way of finding out? My source [A History of the County of Sussex] says he created a large Lake and several smaller ones – so I guess that must be more or less where we can walk now, since Crawley Borough Council bought the whole area , now known as the neighbourhood of Bewbush, in order to expand the housing requirements for all us ordinary folk. And grateful I am too!!
More of the Same, but Different
Posted: October 25, 2018 Filed under: Nature, photography, Trees | Tags: bald cypress, colourful, cones, foliage, images, nature, photography, seeds, trees Leave a comment
I don’t think I’ve ever come across such an interesting tree before!
As it appears to be native to swampy areas of N.America, I wonder how it came to be here in Sussex at the Ifield Mill Pond and Bewbush Water Gardens? I wonder if, like the Tilgate Lake and Park, the place was originally part of a private estate? That would account for the trees being introduced here as a specimen no doubt…. I will have to do a spot of historical research I think. It’s brilliant that I can look stuff up on the internet!!
I took pics of other things that caught my eye at the Pond too so I will make that my follow on post. au revoir, Eileen
Bald Cypress [Taxodium distichum]
Posted: October 20, 2018 Filed under: Nature, photography, Trees, Uncategorized | Tags: autumn, colourful, nature, photography, photos, trees 5 CommentsI’ve often wondered about this tree that I’ve passed every time I’ve walked around the local lake. I obviously haven’t caught it at its most spectacular up until now! When I got back home I took the time to search on line for its name but of course, it wasn’t showing up in any British tree lists, so I widened my search and it turned out to be a conifer.
What threw me was that I didn’t class it as a conifer because I’d mistakenly thought all conifers were evergreen and this tree clearly wasn’t. Anyway – the clue was in my pics because I saw what sort of looked like clusters of tiny cones and then some larger spherical green ones hidden among the bright colourful foliage that I hadn’t noticed when I was taking the pics.
It’s a very large tree and I wonder how old it is …. maybe I will see if anyone knows on my local FB group.
Oops – maybe next time I’ll take a pic of the complete tree!!
bye for now, Eileen
Catching Up(again)
Posted: October 12, 2018 Filed under: digital, Fine Art, Flowers, macro, Nature, photography, Uncategorized | Tags: creativity, Flowers, garden, macro, photography, photos 10 CommentsYet again I find myself having to catch up with my postings here as I’ve been somewhat distracted with other things. Fortunately [for me, not necessarily you] I haven’t neglected my photography because that is the thing that keeps me happy and sane , together with the good Lord’s gracious care of me….
So, this will be a miscellany of images – hope it doesn’t all seem too disjointed!
It was only after I peered at this flower through my macro lens that I saw this tiny caterpillar popping his head in and out! The flower is a small Jacob’s Ladder.
I enjoy photographing flowers more and more these days and often wish i could get to grips with using ‘Textures’ to enhance the backgrounds. Meanwhile I’m using the usual depth of field of my lenses to achieve, or try to, a softer background and sometimes the much sought after ‘Bokeh’. I haven’t a mathematical brain and age has brought with it less stamina and patience to make the required effort to achieve what I really want – but, c’est la vie ! It was much simpler when I used to paint – no tech involved!
This was shot against the light from the window in my living room – it’s south-facing and can get extremely bright. I like the bright dazzle of a high key picture though.
Another sparkly ….
I loved the soft yellow of this Chrysanthemum ….
Take care everyone, see you soon, Eileen
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