Three's company - My World

Or three's a crowd

Well of course I could have gone for the obvious title of Swan Lake, but that would have been a bit of a lie. I'm not averse to bending the truth, well blatantly lying on this blog to illustrate an image with the text when I'm bored, or feeling mischievous but today, play it straight. The three little swan gliding into view are the real part not stuffed but the water is the swizz. It's not the lake but the Harbour inlet. If you look closely at the top half of the image you can see darker contrasting lines reflecting upon the lighter coloured water of the sail masts of the moored boats. Swans always look beautiful to photograph, but don't get two close. For such elegant creatures they have a nasty hiss and can break your arm if they don't want their photo taken. One for the zoom lens and run.


Still on a borrowed laptop, so posts as and when. For other My World images, click here.

Same old scene - Skywatch

Why photograph anything else

Still laptop less at the moment and without access to my older images which the defunct (possibly but it's certainly comatosed) suicidal laptop is holding to ransom I have dipped yet again into the recent archives. Slowly we are going to walk along the whole of this river walk each Skywatch unless I get out there with camera and offer you something new. Why bother. I can dine out on these tranquil reflections for the rest of the year. After all we all know I'm the world's laziest photographer, so anything that makes life easier. Had to take my own image from another site I have stashed images away for when laptops throw themselves off tall building when they have had enough, so not the best size and little small, but you get the general idea.



Short and sweet tonight, bit of a rush job. For for more Skywatch images click here.

Serenity - Skywatch

Reflections on a Skywatch Theme

Apologies to any Sci Fi fans who searched Serenity and were hoping to catch a glimpse of the cast of Firefly ( yes I am TV, film buff, uber geek in addition to the music buff bit too) but his particular image above is my own personal slice of serenity. Not your most up to date image, another of those snowy image shots I rattled off within a couple of hours in one day, knowing the next this scene would disappear, probably for another 7 years until we have any kind of snowfall worth mentioning. I did warn you the icy/ snow photos would run linger for a while but I do try and vary them. Blatant lie there. It's the same Sulby river walk as last week, further along the path with a touch of melting ice in the foreground and the stillest of reflections. You'll note reflections play a big part of the blog. Easiest shot in the world on a clear crisp Winter's day with no breeze and they are always a pretty spectacular shot even in a mere novices hand with a simple (no this is the big Nikon) point and shoot. In other words, if in doubt shoot over water. It doubles the amount of available light by bouncing it around and the flatter it is the deeper the depth of the reflection.


Short and sweet tonight and I won't be around. Babooshka does not exist but the photographer does and I will be out celebrating my Birthday for the next 3 days. Yes I know it is tomorrow, Friday, but somewhere around the world over the next three day it is Jan 29th. That's my excuse an I'm sticking to it. For more Skywatch images please click here

Bold Statement - ABC

Dontcha wish your snowman was hot like mine

B

If you are on B's Facebook you will know I'm less B for bewitched and more for bothered and bewildered by the whole island failure to connect properly with the outside world.the last 24 hrs. Maddening. So you get a last minute substitute image as I've being haranguing Facebook all day to no avail about getting the Isle of Man a proper, stand alone server. We are an island, a country apart. Ramsey is not in Manchester, UK. In fact none of the island is. Don't get me started on that one, or I will tell you why we should not be paying for a TV license either! Rant over. The snowman.


Not sure if it's a snowman or snow woman. Play safe and shall we say flamboyant? Whatever he/she/it is I'm going with Lola ( you should know my musical references by now) and say that is just the coolest outfit you see on a snow person, of which I can take no credit for dressing, and that outfit surely is a "bold statement." Ambiguous B, yes but Bowring Road would be such a boring obvious B, and I have shown you the Britannia pub before. There is a bonus B in there if you look very closely. Babooshka. As I don't really exist though, only for blog purposes, maybe that reflection of the photographer is in your head.

For other ABC' liteteral, lateral or otherwise see here.

Same bridge, different day - My World

It's snow different to all the other bridge images

For those still counting.... No 24

My world just wouldn't be complete without the legendary Ramsey Swing Bridge capture. Well it's iconic to this blog and it's stalkers, I mean followers. The challenge to photograph a single standing item, building, whatever goes on and I chose the bridge and I'm stuck with it now until I finally nail that 100th shot. Actually I have probably taken over a thousand but as this blog is supposed to be about the whole of this one horse town then it would be unfair for me to inflict upon you daily images of the bridge from numerous angles. I do try and stagger them, no more than one a week and do try and show you those dreaded cliche photography words... from a different perspective, dontcha just love that composition, the occasionally juxtaposed person to bridge and of course good use of rules of thirds. Today you just get a carbon copy of the very first image I posted to kick off the blog with one fundamental difference.... you got it covered in a whole lotta snow, reeal snow not photoshopped in. I may be taking the urine with the writing, but the photography I do mostly take seriously.


If you really want to know more about the bridge, see it swing, and how and why I started this challenge in the first place then look out below at the rotating images from the annals of the blog. One of those will tell you all you need to know. For other offering around the world, bridges may feature but not compulsory, click here

Solitary Man - Monochrome Weekly

Man in Black

The photographers best friend is not Photoshop. It is serendipity. It is that single solitary moment when the photography gods conspire to deliver into your hands the image naturally that looks awkward when staged. All you have to do is notice it. You can't learn that from a book or be taught it, it's instinct. As you can see I am still making the most of the one and only day of snow we had and again another gift.The man so helpfully dressed from head to toe in black against such a pure white solid blanket of snow. The one raised foot to indicate movement within a frozen frame. Always capture with one foot slightly raised to show the sole. Again it just looks better, right, good and I am not going to bore with any jargon, it's obvious why. Could only be monochrome. Not an image where you stumble around for your setting, or you will loose the composition of the lone figure which is the key element of the image. Just take it or lose it.

Now that was far too sensible. I should really tell you that the mound of land is Sky Hill where there was this huge Lord of The Rings Style Battle (no hobbits, dwarfs or elves) between the locals and invading Viking, but I have done that soooooooooooooooooooo many times before now that I'm sure the link will pop up again or a picture and you can check it out. No today was simply see point and shoot.


For more Monochrome weekly images click here

A cold snap - Skywatch again

Skating on thin ice anyone?

I know I should of called it "frozen" or "ice ice baby"(but I did sneak one song in) but as a photographer, or should I say snapper, it was the obvious title for you to groan at. Well that's the kind of weather we having been having around these parts lately. So long as it doesn't rain (so dreary) I'll take the ice and snow shots any day. Always amazes me the colours and tones frozen water on a cool, crisp, breeze free winter's day can at sundown over Mooragh Lake can produce. Needless to say manual settings of course to capture the colours and not auto which would bleach out the blue hue of the sky and the deeper blue of those obliging clouds rolling into view. Makes a photographer's life so much easier when the sky complies and those clouds sit atop the trees in the icy lake reflection. The golden yellow tones of the setting sun to break up the blue a bonus. Photographer's are often lazy artists, I know I used to draw and my partner is the artist now. Seconds for me to capture, hours for him to paint.


For other skies of the world from sunsets to sunrises you can click here (8pm onwards) and a visit the globe virtually at the click of a mouse.