johnloguk > 24.8.08 - What a difference a day makes :)

My last three Dailies have been very dark, and not just because they were night shots. Today was better. A walk in the sunshine round the Nature Reserve kick started things. I managed to get my first wildflower shots in ages, and picked lots of blackberries to turn into crumbles or just eat with ice cream. I also took loads of shots of these ripples in the small stream that splits the reserve in two. I've never seen it looking so striking as this. I don't know whether it was the angle of light, the level and speed of the water flow, or maybe a combination of lots of things, but I was transfixed for ages watching the patterns constantly changing. 

We take water for granted. It not only gives us life, but it can also be very beautiful in all it's different guises. It is also a major constituent of beer :) A group of us spent the evening unwinding at a beer festival in town. Lots of wonderful beers, a hog roast, some guys casually playing guitar on the benches just along from us, the perfect way to finish the day. So imagine this image, while drinking beer and listening to an acoustic "All Along the Watchtower", in the shadow of Lincoln Castle, yep, that's chillin' :)

There are five other shots from the nature reserve here;  http://www.lightanddreamsphotography.com/gallery/5121648_aU8pe#358234544_AyMnx
johnloguk > 6.4.09 - It's the small things again......

I'm feeling really rough today, a bug has taken up residence in my sinuses and throat. At least I'm hoping it's a bug and not allergies, because allergies in April doesn't bear thinking about! I went for a walk in the Nature Reserve near home at lunchtime in an attempt to clear my head. It worked nicely, apart from the frustration of chasing the first butterflies of the year and not even getting close to a shot. There aren't many wild flowers out yet, but if you look closely enough there is always beauty for those who seek it out. I'm so pleased with this shot, hand held in shaky hands, with a strong breeze blowing, and a 200mm lens that pretends to be a macro on a good day. 

Thanks for the comments on my comedy geese yesterday. I tend to agree with Stephonie that I was too aggressive with the vignette, another lesson learnt :)

Lovers of poetry might want to check out my Monday Challenge entry here;  http://johnloguk.smugmug.com/gallery/7093288_hSxt4#506641924_RCAAZ
johnloguk > 14.11.08 - Escapism

Some days drive you mad, and then there was today! What could go wrong did go wrong, and what didn't go wrong didn't matter anyway. For the fifth week running my courier messed up and my brain exploded. I'm normally such a placid, philosophical and pragmatic guy, but repeated incompetence sometimes needs a rant to get the message across. Next Friday will tell whether or not the rant was worth it, I wait with baited breath.

You will have noticed from past Dailies that when I'm really p****d off I retreat into my head and beautiful high mountains. This is one of my favourite places, it has featured here before, but this is a new panoramic image that I created this evening to cheer myself up. This is Taweche Towers, at about 18,000', looking south across the Khumbu Valley in Nepal. Mount Everest is back over my left shoulder. Considerably less people have stood on the summit of Taweche Towers than have summitted Everest itself, this is a magical place. I wish I could take you all there.

And yes, I'm feeling much better now thanks :)
johnloguk > 10.4.09 - "The Ladye"

Time for another photo from the Lady of Shalott project http://www.theladyofshalott.co.uk/index.html The film will be launched next month, but more imagery has been released recently so this isn't giving any secrets away now. This shot is from the first shoot I was involved in, back in September 2008. It was taken in Hartsholme Park at dusk, in an attempt to recreate a famous painting of The Lady, hence the treatment of this image. I have to admit that of all the tens of thousands of photos that I've taken this is one of my all time favourites. I love the dreamlike quality of it, and the simple fact that it is nothing like anything I've ever done before, and it was also a huge challenge to shoot at the time. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)

I've been insanely busy the last couple of days so haven't been on the Dailies, but I'll try and catch up over the weekend, have a great Easter everyone!
johnloguk > 10.2.08 - Fire in the Sky. Blame Lady Kate for this one! Another beautiful day here in the UK, and lots of photo opportunities. I thought long and hard about using this one, especially as it is from the same place as yesterday's DP, but couldn't resist it in the end. I took loads of shots to try and capture this view. It was really difficult getting any sort of balance between the foreground and the incredible sky. I ended up quite a long way away, almost laying on my stomach at 200mm. People couldn't work out what I was trying to photograph, until I invited them to "lay down here with me"! I got a few funny looks, but eventually the assembled throng realised what I was doing!
johnloguk > 22.3.08 - Happy Easter! We actually had some snow showers today, but none of it settled so no snowy DP today. I had to go into town, and on the way back decided to dodge a particularly nasty snow shower by going into the cathedral. I timed it just right for a guided roof tour, and ended up staying for nearly two hours. This isn't my most innovative or quirky shot of the cathedral, but it does show its gothic majesty off best. I can never get my head round the fact that this was all built by hand; no scaffolding, no cranes, no laser range finders, just blood and sweat. I took over 80 photos today(!), so some of them will make it to other galleries when I get chance. I'll probably start a separate gallery for Cathedral interiors, and there were some stunning views from the roof! Happy Easter..........

I've put one of today's efforts here  http://johnloguk.smugmug.com/gallery/4518270_XDZuH#268878026

New Cathedral Gallery now here  http://johnloguk.smugmug.com/gallery/4562724_EH5v6/1/268904689_tgGam#268904689
johnloguk > 22.2.09 - Red Sky at Night, Photographer's Delight :)

There are times when I feel that sunset photos are nothing to do with me, all I do is point and shoot, Mother Nature and Uncle Nikon do the work! I am also lucky that less than 2 minutes walk from my flat I have this view, so when I see something developing in the sky I just grab the camera and stroll round to the old quarry. Last night was a pretty special sunset as you can see. This is straight out of camera, and there are 11 more in my Lincoln Sunsets Gallery here;  http://johnloguk.smugmug.com/gallery/4053411_yY5Qg#478293082_9jPb4 

 As I said, not a lot to do with me as a photographer, but still damn spectacular :)
johnloguk > 20.5.09 - Hitchin' a Ride

I paid a flying visit to Hartsholme Park this afternoon, to drop off some bits for the Lady of Shalott display commemorating the filming there, and while I was there went for a "short" photo walk. 180 photos later I'd got the best wildfowl shots I've ever taken and a whole stack of wildflower pics. The light was wonderful, and how could I ignore these guys? I followed this family of swans for a while, and eventually the lazy fella jumped off and swam along with the rest of them. The downside was that I got my first set of mosquito bites this year!
johnloguk > 7.7.09 - "Darkness on the Edge of Town"

I was driving down a small lane just outside town this afternoon when I had to stop and try to capture this view. The sky looks so threatening, but so far has produced little rain, and small shafts of light were illuminating the wheat. I'm really happy how this has turned out as a photo, and it is also very symbolic of the next few weeks for me. There are a lot of storms for me to ride out, wish me luck guys :)

Apologies yet again for my rather patchy commenting recently. Most of my spare time is being spent trying to earn money in these difficult days, but I still try to look in and give a few thumbs up.

Late Edit; this is pretty much straight out of camera, just an unsharp mask applied and some specks on the sensor cloned out.
10.2.08 - Fire in the Sky. Blame Lady Kate for this one! Another beautiful day here in the UK, and lots of photo opportunities. I thought long and hard about using this one, especially as it is from the same place as yesterday's DP, but couldn't resist it in the end. I took loads of shots to try and capture this view. It was really difficult getting any sort of balance between the foreground and the incredible sky. I ended up quite a long way away, almost laying on my stomach at 200mm. People couldn't work out what I was trying to photograph, until I invited them to "lay down here with me"! I got a few funny looks, but eventually the assembled throng realised what I was doing!
johnloguk > 10.2.08 - Fire in the Sky. Blame Lady Kate for this one! Another beautiful day here in the UK, and lots of photo opportunities. I thought long and hard about using this one, especially as it is from the same place as yesterday's DP, but couldn't resist it in the end. I took loads of shots to try and capture this view. It was really difficult getting any sort of balance between the foreground and the incredible sky. I ended up quite a long way away, almost laying on my stomach at 200mm. People couldn't work out what I was trying to photograph, until I invited them to "lay down here with me"! I got a few funny looks, but eventually the assembled throng realised what I was doing!
10.2.08 - Fire in the Sky. Blame Lady Kate for this one! Another beautiful day here in the UK, and lots of photo opportunities. I thought long and hard about using this one, especially as it is from the same place as yesterday's DP, but couldn't resist it in the end. I took loads of shots to try and capture this view. It was really difficult getting any sort of balance between the foreground and the incredible sky. I ended up quite a long way away, almost laying on my stomach at 200mm. People couldn't work out what I was trying to photograph, until I invited them to "lay down here with me"! I got a few funny looks, but eventually the assembled throng realised what I was doing!
See photo in original gallery.

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LIGHT and DREAMS
LIGHT and DREAMS
By John Bennett
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