Rolla Derby: yea baby!

Get Sum!

Last weekend Mark and I went to a Rolla Derby Game. I have to admit I loved it! I'm terrible at taking photos of sports, things with fast motion. Really bad, I haven't yet learned what I need to in order to take satisfying images without everything just a blur and I don't have Marks disgustingly high ISO. However both Mark and I found ourselves caught up in the excitement of the skating. I sat on the floor right at the edge of the skating boundaries so most of my photographs are at bum level lol well I have to admit that there is something kinda cool about chicks on skates blocking and bashing and skating hard. It's a sexy sport really – brutal, but sexy.

The only shots that I took that are worth anything are stand stills or slow skating – I will endeavor to improve my motion shots. We had gone initially to get some motion photos for the Edinburgh Snappers Meetup Group but we were the only ones who went, they dunno what they missed lol. So it was a good day but after an hour or so of sitting on the hard floor, that night I discovered I couldn't walk as my back had rebelled. Live and Learn and balance yer desires lol Took a couple of days before I could move enough to do more then lay or sit. A fun day non the less and we will go again, next time i may try a chair.

Edinbrugh Fringe: Photos and Dreams

Fringe Festival-Royal Mile 2011

Mark and I spent a few hours with our cameras snapping happily one weekend while the fringe festival was in full swing on the royal mile. Entertainers, promotions for shows, street performers, a wealth of goodness to photograph. Again I was drawn to expressions and peoples and decided to dedicate the day to a collection of Faces of the Fringe (click for my flickr folder of photos) I would love to do more durning the Festival but health limits my plans so I enjoy what little freedoms I can find for myself and the few hours I can spend doing something I enjoy.

On the 27th of August weather permitting we hope to go to the Portabello Beach busk where there are around 80 street performers showing their talents. Edinburgh really is a wealth of Arts that is especialy demonstrated through July to September. I haven't been to any gallery shows yet and still hope to get to the Journalist Photography World Exibition at parliment building. I went a few years ago with a friend and it's awe imspirering to a photo freak like me. 

Fringe Festival-Royal Mile 2011

I adore Journalistic Photography. I remember when I was young all I wanted to do when I grew up was be a Photographer for National Geographic and when David Attenborough was (cough cough is) my hero. It wasn't just National Geographic that inspired me - I also was drawn to the more extremes of photographic journalisim, war, natural disasters (I also wanted to be a storm chaser at one point as well as a crime photographer for the police force lol) However I let my insecurities get the better of me and was never brave enough to see if I would do anything other then fail. Now I'm to old to take up the profession, I let myself drift to long but a hobby is forming. I have finaly picked up a camera and begun to learn and in doing so have found my passions again. I'm getting better, but still have a long way to go.

Jazz Festival: Snap Snap

July 22 saw the beginning of the Edinburgh Jazz festival and Mark and I went out for the day with some others from the Edinburgh Digital Photography Meetup Group. It was the first day of the festival and opened with a mardi gras (the smallest I have ever seen) procession from the Mile down to Grassmarket, the music was good and there was a chance of a few good photos. 

It was packed, 100s of people were in the square, the sky was blue and the sun was out and it held a promise that his years August festivals might just have good weather...ha! lol, but the day was lovely.  

 

I have discovered a love of taking pictures of people. Trying to capture moments and expressions without pose. I used black n white for the day, there was lots of colour to be had but I just felt like Black n White. Nearly everyone else was shooting in colour anyway. I could have gotten some beautiful colour shots but something just made me want to go black and white.  I got very burnt – it was a stunningly beautiful day weather wise, good music, good mood, good day. 

I'm really enjoying my time out with Mark and the Camera. If I pace myself and don't over do it my health doesn't rebel that much, well not enough that I don't deem the time of recovery worth it. It's nice to get out of the flat once a fortnight - it's good for me to get some exercise for my body as well as for my spirit. Camera and Husband in hand I can face the world with a smile. 

Holidays: Husband, Camera, Country 'n Rain

Black Iris

 It's been a long time since I've been blogging and have a few things to catch up on. The first is my holidays in June. We had hoped that summer would be caught but alas Scotland's weather has been a tad bizarre this year so we had temps from 4cel to 15cel for the majority with a couple of weeks of rain and a few lovely 22cel days just before we left. Always the way lol. But still we managed to get out with our cameras and snap a few things. On one of the better days we drove up to Crathies Castle and took a walk with the cameras through the magnificent gardens. We've been quite a few times now but it's always worth the money to take a walk round the gardens. I ended up with only a few images I'm happy with, but then I'm really happy with them. This Black Iris in particular - I adore the contrast between the deep purples and lime greens.

Rainy Day at Loch

Tillyduke is always a pleasure that we look forward to every year regardless of the weather. The isolation and solitude in the country helps me get through the year of being trapped in the flat. It's become a photographic journey for us.  We met up with the Inlaws for a day and they took us for a long drive around the Lochs (I'll have to find out the names as I have a memory like a sieve. This photo was taken that day. It was raining and I was huddled under my somewhat scant rain coat trying to protect the camera and still have the lens point at what i wanted lol all the while eaten alive by midges. I made a lot of mistakes in my rush - didn't adjust my ISO or give my aperture settings the attention they needed but still I'm somewhat happy with the image - it has mood.

Every year (well now that Mark also has a camera anyway) we go to the Animal Park giving us the opportunities to take pictures of animals we normally wouldn't be able too. We also became somewhat addicted to bird watching and identifying them in the front yard drawn to the feeders. We both enjoy taking pictures of anything Nature and Wildlife – we are yet to discover something we don't like to snap yet.

Isn't he beautiful, and only still a cub really 2 years old. Man I love animals, I could photograph them for the rest of my life and be content. 

Weekend with the Husband and Camera

So this weekend we found ourselves with Sunshine! Yes that's right sunshine in Scotland - Edinburgh no less. Miracle of Miracles! Maybe Spring really is here, fingers crossed. I woke up early on Saturday and saw blue sky - woke the husband up and said "lets get out before it gets cloudy!" (as it did later in the afternoon, surprise!) So out we popped with our cameras and smiles and found ourselves at Arthur's Seat. Mark has a new lens for his camera,  it's a 55 - 300mm for his Pentax K-5 (beautiful camera) so we went to visit the swans.
I love animal photography, there is just something about it that draws me in. You find expressions in the strangest creatures and there is something very intimate in the exchange. You feel like you have been given a gift when you take a photo of wildlife. Well I do anyway. It was a lovely day. A nice weekend in truth. It's been really nice reconnecting with Mark after such a difficult few years.
I have a reoccurring problem with focus and when i get what i think is a great photo back home and look at it on the 29inch screen i see that I didn't capture exactly what I wanted. I feel my composition is getting better and I'm learning the functions of my camera in more detail. Each weekend I get at least one good photo and that's all I really ask. I can't imagine life without a digital camera, it would cost a fortune with film. I shudder to think lol.


I'm pleased with my progress. I'm pleased with Marks too. He is growing so much in how he sees things. He's such a brain box with all the technical stuff that it makes it easier for me to learn too. These are a few images I took of a couple of swans. No Photo Editing or Cropping even if my fingers itch to do so.  I would have been happier if I had sharper focus on both swans in the first image, but I know what I did wrong so it wont happen again. I can't wear my glasses when I take photos that causes a little issues but I can get over it. All in all I'm a happy chappy as far as the photography is going. Now all I gotta do is pull my finger out and start painting and drawing more.

WIP - Edinburgh City in b&w with a dash of ...

Each weekend i hoard some pain meds and My Husband and I take our cameras out and about town to learn new types of photographic thingymebobs and enjoy each others company. It's my, I have to get away from these walls or else i will go mad time. We are very different in our tastes and the ways we learn but we manage to get on and enjoy it without to much personality clashing. Me, I love b&w photography. I mean LOVE. It has so much soul. I love landscape photography, city and nature, I love macro and wide angle. I love Drama. It's been hard to get drama that includes sky here in Edinburgh because, well it's a bland white and overcast uninspiring Scottish sky. And even when it's blue it's so light it's washed out. Frustrating in colour images sometimes unbalanced in B&W. No dark blue sky to offer contrasts. No dramatic streaming white clouds – pfft. It's so different from Australian sky that after 9 years it still baffles me. It's a completely different colour!

Anyway my brainwave happened when My husband Mark was working on trying to make his white (aforementioned type) patch of sky look a lil more like a light blue patch of (aforementioned type of) sky in a photo he took, and I said – Id make it black and white and then make that triangle bit a bright colour like red or something. Hear that? It was my bulb! He did it, I loved it so now I'm gunna do it with some of my Edinburgh Photography.


So that was the beginning of my GIMP Hell – It just wont do what my brain wants it to do. I have a picture contrasted nicely with good b&w tones, except this drab little light bit in the distance and it's doing my head in. I need to bring it more into contrast with the rest of the image. Isn't it frustrating when your imagination just doesn't match your skill level? I mean sure If I had more patience I would tackle the evils of GIMP in a more systematic way, like reading the manual but that's just beside the point, yes? One day I shall conquer GIMP and it shall be my slave evermore. This day however seems to be some futuristic dream at the moment. 

Below are the tentative beginnings of a bunch of Edinburgh City B&W Photos I'm going to infuse colour into. What to start with eh hell why hot PINK – Magenta to be precise. Pretty eh? Please excuse that drab under contrasted background on the left – I'll get that fixed as soon as GIMP and I sort out our personality differences. 


Edinburgh Castle - back. Shot from the top of the City Museum 

Black&White (with irritating washed out offensive bit on the left)

Magenta Baby! (with irritating washed out offensive bit on the left)

So do you think this colour makes my arse look big?

Another Hogmanay and Another New Year

Well it's the end of another year Hogmanay has yet again joined us here in Edinburgh and for the first time I actually regret not being squished between hoards of over excited bodies of semi to hideously drunkards in Princes Street. Biffy Clyro is the music feature in the gardens this year and I do so love Biffy. It also looks like for the first time in many years that there is no rain to be seen, no hail or snow. Clear weather. Shock Horror! I have lived in Edinburgh for 9 years now and never done the Hogmanay thing. Smart eh. I did however go to the German Markets over Christmas and play with the camera, exposure times and pretty lights.

It's been a strange year in many ways. Sure it went fast, sure I have accomplished little. But in many ways It's been a learning curve and what feels like the final step in that “kick up the arse and adapt” stage. It's taken 3 or so years but I'm finally learning to acknowledge my health and the things I can't do and the few things I can with moderation. 

I hope that next year will be a year of discipline, art and not being so hard on myself. Every year I set myself  Firm Goals and then feel bad for failing them. This year I'll do no such thing, just acknowledge a general hope to get through a list I would like to acomplish and take baby steps. Health and Chronic pain will not dominate my life.