31/365

Today in the digital imaging course I am doing we had to go into the carpark and take pictures to edit.  It was a bit bleak !  Still, these tree branches have a bit of 'mood' about them!

30/365

This was the first photo with my new tripod and was playing about in low light.  However, it is heavily edited just because I wanted to practice in photoshop!

29/365

Bag detail!

28/365

Went to babysit a friends puppy today for a couple of hours.  She's a Cockerpoo - Cocker spaniel x Poodle.  Very cute and this is the look I got when I had to put her back in her puppy pen.

27/365

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I took this on Aperture priority about F2.8.  Saw these little pussy willows sparkling in the winter sunshine and had to stop and try to capture them. 

26/365 Kitchen face

Today I had the most amazing photo lined up and clicked the shutter and nothing happened ............ no memory card!!!!!!!  There's a life lesson!  So, when I got home and realized that the memory card was in the camera and there had been a very perplexing glitch I was left with the task of making a photo in less than favourable light.  I took my inspiration from a Flikr group I saw recently called 'kitchen faces'.

25of365 The Family Curse

We have various food intolerances in my family and sugar is one of them.  Luckily for us there are some alternatives on the market!

24/365 Shopping Centre Ceiling

After a very good but exhausting day S and I went to the shopping centre and realized this was going to be the only opportunity to take our daily photo  I just snapped and didn't really have time to make sure it was in focus or well composed.  Still, it was fun editing it and trying to make the most of the colours and shapes.

23/365

Went to lunch with some friends today.  Their cat uses this planter on the windowsill as a bed - really cute!
I used the 50mm lens and had it open at F1.8 on aperture priority.  Edited in Picassa.

22/365

Travelling in the countryside returning home after seeing someone about wedding decorations and saw a bit of the sunset through the trees.  Not a patch on the one I saw the other night but at least I had the camera with me this time!!

21/365

Ok, the reason there are two photos in one is that they both say a little about the frustration of my satisfying day.  How, in all the clearing and cleaning, did these cards not get put away.  Grrrr - now I have to get back up in the loft!!!! 
The magazine represents what I would rather have been doing.  What really happened was at about 6pm I realized I hadn't taken my daily photo and had to make a quick decision on what to do.  Also had to use the flash.  I much prefer natural light photography.

20/365 Old paper

I haven't been out at all today and have spent the day clearing out a bedroom.  The house looks ten times worse now than when I started but hopefully it'll be worth it in the end.  I found a box of old papers which I have sorted out - some of it was from 2001!  Most of it was rubbish - why do we keep these things???? I feel so much better knowing it is out of here!!!

19/365 What, eat that???? Are you sure?

Can't believe how busy my life is at the moment, but I took a few minutes between rushing from place to place to take a few photos as I passed the seaside.   I tried to be creative and messed about with the camera in manual but still feel like any passable photos happen by accident and mostly have to do lots of cropping!

18/365 Fruity reflections

Busy,busy day!!!  Spent most of it clearing out one of the bedrooms and came across these wooden fruits that I had bought on one of my trips to Australia - in Surfers Paradise I think.  Luckily I took a photo of them as it was the only chance I had to take photos today.  I was a tad frustrated because after deciding not to take my camera with me on a late afternoon bridal shop expedition I witnessed one of the most spectacular sunsets!!!  The irony of it made me laugh because, yes! I have lugged my camera with me everywhere in the last two weeks and the one day I decide not to take it I miss the best photo opportunity of the whole two weeks!
I have edited this in photoshop with layers and you can actually see my reflection in all four pieces of fruit!

17/365 American Diner

I started a photoshop course today with a wonderful friend  and we took these photos (see her version here www.stellas365for2011.blogspot.com ) after going on a post lesson shopping spree in Staples!!  Ha ha, letting loose on our stationery obsession!  This photo was taken hand held which I blame on not being a boy scout.  Note to self - have the tripod with you!!  Also I have a gazillion photos which are all wonky because I have to gradually figure out how to get a straight picture. Yay for digital!!! I did do a posterized version of this photo in photoshop just to practice and if I'd been a tad braver it would have been on the blog! :)   F5.3  1/25s  ISO 1600

16/365 Spotlight

I was fascinated by the light today and have a few photos that are really interesting.  I just liked this even though I had to do a heavy crop.  I love the beam of light falling on the holly  and the background - it's a bit dreamy.

15/365 Hot chocolate love

Spent the day with my daughters shopping for a wedding dress again.  After a fun but totally exhausting day we stopped in at Costa's for a personality overhaul :) before going back to the car!
F4.2    1/15s  ISO 640

14/365 Wedding dress shopping

Went shopping for a bridal dress for my daughter today!  She looked amazing in everything and we had a fab time.  More of the same tomorrow!  I took this photo as I was waiting for her outside the shop, so this is taken through the shop window.  I only took this one photo that was possible to put up on the blog.  I took it very quickly and self conciously (some people get a bit funny about you taking photos of their merchandise) - good job it was in focus!!!  The rest were of my daughter in dresses and they, of course, cannot be had for public viewing until after the wedding!!! F2.5  1/200s  ISO 640

13/365 Beware

Went to a meeting today at a friend's house in the country, in fact, in a different county!  Had a long and beautiful drive through the countryside - even though it is still grey and rainy the mist made it prettier!
This sign is attached to the tree in her front garden and made me smile because I can imagine it was a fun present to someone in the house.   Or maybe it is referring to the alpacas that live in the field behind her house.

12/365 Season to taste

Taken at my favourite little cafe in town.  D. and I went for an impromptu lunchtime date.  I have been trying to practice editing in photoshop with layers and I know it's probably very cliched but it kinda suited the subject. I don't know yet how to import a texture and put it on a photo otherwise I would have done that, so this is going to have to do for now.

11/365 Mermaid Walk

Took my Step Mum to the Marina for lunch today.  We had Frankie and Benny's and then took the Mermaid Walk to the shops.

10/365 Wooden flower

No photography time today and the light was fading when I took these so they are taken at a high ISO so lots of noise in the photo!   Still, I enjoyed playing around with it in photoshop!

9/365 Smile, you're on candid camera!

After church today we spent the afternoon with some friends who live in the country.  We went on a really bracing afternoon walk and spent some time with this smiling horse!  Ok, I exaggerated the smile in photoshop but he really did look like he was smiling and was super friendly.

8/365 Creating with light!

Today was a busy day which involved a 200 mile round trip to see if a bridesmaid dress fitted my niece among other things!  But this moment came as my daughter helped my autistic son write on the lightboard.  It was an incredibly difficult photo to take because it was dark, they were moving, you couldn't use a flash or tripod and we were in the car, so talk about awkward.  I have lots of very blurry photos!

7/365 Wagayummymamas

I went shopping with two of my most favourite people today and we had lunch in one of our most favourite places.  My daughter and I shared this starter of Deep Fried Squid and chilli sauce.  Yummmmmmm!!!

6/365 Twig bokeh

I really struggled for a photo today - especially as I left it too late to use natural light.  Anyway, the twigs made the blog not because it's a great photo but because I liked the little bit of sparkly bokeh. :)

5/365 Surprise biscuit

On 31st December when we met up with some friends I was handed the pictured Family Circle biscuit box with a gold ribbon round it. I wasn't expecting a present so I was intrigued and to be honest expected something a bit rediculous that would give everybody a laugh!  SURPRISE!!! - I was totally speechless.... for quite a while!  These lovely, wonderful, incredible, stupendous people had given me this little gem 'to keep in my handbag for when I couldn't take my DSLR with me!!!'  I love my friends! - although I hasten to add that I would have loved them even if there had been a dirty sock in that biscuit tin! :) but there wasn't and...... Oh how I love my friends!!!

4/365 Partial eclipse,total cloud cover!

Ok, so the story goes that my husband rings me up at about 7am on his way to work and tells me that there is going to be a partial eclipse of the sun and that I should try and get a shot of the rising sun for the blog.  I drag myself out of bed and try and decide just how much energy I am going to put into this photo and decide the least I can do is put the zoom lens on!  That done I went outside and was greeted by grey!!  Total cloud cover, oh, and rain.  This isn't going to happen again until 2015! -(the eclipse, not grey and rain which,of course, is an eternal, perpetual, neverending state here in grey and rainy land)!  Realising I wasn't going to get an eclipse shot I tried to get a photo of the things around me and they turned out horribly as camera shake was terrible and the light was not good.  This is the best of a bad bunch and doesn't look any different in colour !  Although I do think its slightly minimalist look is its redeeming feature.

3/365 The last of the festive fruit!

Today I had lychees - I love them!  I lived in Nepal when I was 8 and remember falling in love with them then.  To have them now is a real treat (and a very expensive one)!

2/365

Today -can you believe it? - we are still opening Christmas presents.  This parcel was sent to us from overseas and arrived somewhat damaged and late but all the presents were there.  I love stamps and this parcel came with a beautiful stamp collection.

1/365

Nearly forgot to take my photo as we were so busy sorting out the house.  So my photo is of some of the Christmas ornaments I had got together ready for packing up to go in the loft.