May 31st 08 - Things change don't they

Today I took a drive out to Meadowhall with Chris to buy a few things then we headed out to the Peak District to take some photos. While we were in the area we decided to call by an old outdoors centre we used to go to while in Scouts. Today was the first time I'd been there in 15 years at least so it came as quite a shock to see the state it was in.

The photo shows it as it was today. It's called Wilkin Hill if you ever pass that way and is near Low Bradfield in the Peak District. We used to go there almost every winter when we were in Scouts and it was a brilliant place. We have such great memories from spending time there. The Scouts always used to go in winter time so there was a thick layer of snow all around. We'd sledge down the hill just off to the left of the photo on plastic fertilizer bags, go hiking off into the hills and round the nearby reservoirs and have a whale of a time.

When we got there today we found one of the doors open and went inside to find the place wrecked. All the furniture we used to use is still there, in fact the beds we slept on are still in their place. It was so sad to see it like that, I'm just glad I have the memories of the weekends we used to spend there. It's just a shame that other people don't get to enjoy it the same way we used to. Hopefully someone will invest in the place once again and let Scouts and other groups go there and have the sort of fun we had.

I suppose it just goes to show that things move on, people grow up and life changes. I hope the activities they used to run there and the visits from the Scouts weren't put paid to by this silly culture of no win no fee there seems to be. Children are wrapped up in cotton wool when they should be out getting dirty, having fun and taking risks.

May 30th 08 - Gainsborough Old Hall

The last day in my black and white week of my photo-a-day project365. It's been quite a challenge really, so I'm glad of that. No point taking the same old photos day in day out so it has given me new ideas to think about and new processing techniques too.

This photo is of the inside of one of the rooms at Gainsborough Old Hall, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. It's an English Heritage property which seems to be run by Lincolnshire Council. I'd recommend a visit if you're in the area, not only is it a beautiful building but they actually allow you to take photos inside and out, quite rare these days when it comes to old houses.

I thought some of the rooms were a bit plain and the furnishings didn't seem to match the era in some cases but all in all it was a great visit. Make sure you visit the kitchens (bottom floor) of the hall as they are beautifully presented and very interactive. I hear the Hall is often used for school parties and I can see why.

You can find out more about the Hall by visiting their website here: http://www.gainsborougholdhall.co.uk/

May 29th 08 - Gateway

The penultimate day in my black and white photo-a-day week. It has been harder than I thought it would be to tell the truth. But I suppose that was the challenge, to find out new ways to take photos and what subjects work as black and white and which don't. I'm not sure what the next challenge I'll set myself will be, for now I'll just keep taking photos and see what takes my fancy.

This one was taken at the gates to a long driveway down to a lovely farmstead near Firbeck village, not far from where my parents live. It was set in a valley, surrounded by lush fields, woodland and a large lake. Somewhere I definitely wouldn't mind living.

I liked the way that the driveway was flanked by the tall trees and fell away from you down into a vanishing point, not really revealing much about what was at the end. It must be nice to drive down there to your house after a long day...I think a Jaguar E-type with the top down would be perfect for that :)

This afternoon I had to go back to the consultant about my ankle. Its been nearly 9 weeks now since I broke it and I'm still in quite a bit of discomfort and some pain from it. After an X-ray today the consultant was happy the bone had healed correctly but said the pain etc was down to the amount of trauma the ankle has suffered and is how the muscles are correcting themselves and rebuilding the strength. I have to work the ankle as much as possible and try and build up the strength as best I can. He told me that it would take up to six months to completely heal...but he was happy with my progress so far. I've been signed off work for another three weeks so hopefully by then I should be mobile enough to get back to work.

This evening my brother, Chris and I headed into Clumber Park for a few photos.Chris wanted to have a god session with his new camera, a Sony Alpha 200 D-SLR, as he's been pretty busy ever since he got it. He loves the camera,and rightly so, it's packed full of features and he is managing to get some superb photos with it. I know he'll only get better and better as the ones he got with his old Fuji were great too. You can check out his photos on flickr by visiting his photostream here.

May 28th 08 - North Anston Butterfly House

Today was a tricky choice for the black and white photo, part of my black and white week. We'd gone to a Tropical Butterfly House in North Anston, just up the road from my parent's house for the day. Now as you can imagine most of things to photograph there were very colourful so getting a black and white subject proved rather difficult. I settled on this group of flowers as there were so many different colours and tones within the bunch that they made for an interesting black and white when converted. Also I like that it's slightly out of place...flowers are supposed to be colourful after all. But I think it works (IMHO).

The centre was really good, better than I expected it to be. Even though it was very expensive to get in it was worth it if you had the time to spend with a camera. They have a large enclosure (hot house) where they keep the butterflies and there were lots fluttering around, along with the odd parrot, some terrapins and other insects. Including a number of snakes and lizards but thankfully they were kept behind glass. Initially the lens fogged up on our cameras due to the humidity which made taking any photos really hard, but eventually the cameras warmed up and the macro lens came into its element. We all took several photos within the butterfly enclosure before heading out to the other animals, including ducks, geese, goats, llamas, pigs, parrots, birds of prey and many more.

I'd recommend you pay them a visit if you're ever in the area. But avoid busy times such as weekends, bank holidays, half terms etc as it gets very busy indeed. All in all it was an ideal place to go with a camera...especially if you have a macro lens, and a perfect place to take children as it was very child friendly. You can find out more information about it by visiting their website at http://www.butterflyhouse.co.uk/. A review of our day out will appear on http://www.communityfriend.co.uk/ shortly. Head over there for lots of info on attractions in the area as well as dozens of delicious recipes, book reviews and lifestyle information.

May 27th 08 - What lovely weather?!

The third day in my black and white photo-a-day week. I had no idea what to take today, the weather has been awful all day; cold, wet, windy and now foggy! Dad suggested a shot of the barometer in the hallway, so I decided to set it against a stormy sky and this was the result. I'm pretty pleased with it. I just hope it's not jinxed us too much and the weather improves soon!

I feel shattered this evening. I've had a busy day but it's been fun. I went to the garden centre with Mum and bought a few things...she went for a plant that they had ordered for her a long time ago but it was way too big and too established for the garden so Mum decided to pass on it. We also talked to a lovely young lady there about my chilli plant and she gave us some great tips for what to do to rescue it. It's now doing really well and keeps threatening to produce the first chill peppers but then the buds die off, hopefully the tips the lady at the garden centre gave us will come through and we'll have fresh chilli's soon :)

I gave the chocolate brownie recipe another go today and cooked them for about 10 minutes less this time, they turned out perfect, really soft and moist. Beautiful. You can get the recipe here. I've asked the web admin to change the cooking time, but if you get there before he gets chance then make sure you cook them for about 35 minutes not 45 minutes as stated. They need to be slightly undercooked for the best texture.

I had some great news today from a stock photo site I use to store some of my photos. A large bank has contacted the site after selecting a small number of images to use for customers of the bank to have on their new credit/bank cards. My photo was amongst those chosen and I'll be paid a royalty for each time a customer decides to have my image on their card. It's not certain I'll get any money at all, but the market will be huge and obviously it will give my work some huge exposure and the potential to earn quite a bit is very high :) The image is this one of my eye.

Lastly, before I go and get a bath then settle down to watch the Apprentice. I wanted to wish my friend Ruby a very happy birthday. I hope you have a lovely time Ruby xx

May 26th 08 - Roche Abbey

This is Roche Abbey, an English Heritage property near Firbeck, South Yorkshire. The Cistercian abbey was built c1170 and now stands in a valley which was landscaped by 'Capability' Brown to show the ruins off to visitors. The abbey has one of the most complete English Cistercian monastery ground plans.

I last came here when I first got my old camera, so just over a year ago. It's not the most photogenic of places and really needs either a very dramatic sky behind it or a lovely sunrise or sunset to make the most of the location.Unfortunately none of he above came to our rescue today when Mum and I decided to make a visit. But we managed to take a few photos before heading to a nearby pub in Oldcotes for a drink. I enjoyed the walk though!

My brother had some great news today and is now the owner of a brand new Sony Alpha 200 D-SLR camera which he is chuffed to bits with. Read all about how this particular piece of good luck happened here.

May 25th 08 - Carlton in Lindrick

This is day 2 of my black and white week of my Project365 (photo-a-day). This one was taken on the way back from a BBQ at my brother's girlfriends house. We had a great time, it was lovely to meet her family, all of whom are very nice. I spent some of the night reminiscing about scouts with one of the lads there, it brought back some great memories. I wonder how much of what we used to get up to back then would be allowed now due to health and safety and worrisome parents!

This field is an oil seed rape field and much of the yellow flowers had died off apart from the metre or so either side of the footpath so it gave a really nice lead-in line to the church. I wished I wasn't doing the black and white week as it's lost the yellow from the photo...but I suppose that's half the challenge isn't it?

May 24th 08 - start of the black and white week

Mum and I decided to brave the Bank Holiday weekend traffic and headed out on a drive to find a few places to take photos.After a long wait in a traffic jam on the A1 we found ourselves at Tuxford so headed to the windmill there for a slice of cake and a drink. I plumped for chocolate cake while Mum had coffee and walnut. Both were delicious.

The windmill was very impressive and quite photogenic, if you could stand up in the wind! Ironically the windmill wasn't turning as it was too windy. We both go quite a few photos and then headed off past my old Scout camp at Walesby and onto Clumber Park. Mum and I took a few photos and I managed to explain to Mum all about the histogram function on her camera, no mean feat I can tell you! I think she understood and now knows how to do exposure compensation...she has come a long way :)

I've decided to do a week of black and white photos for my project365 (photo-a-day). Hopefully it might make me look harder for what to photograph and improve my digital editing skills. I'm going to allow duo tone and sepia too as they are of the same style I guess.

Let's see how I get on shall we?

May 23rd 08 - Walkington

I had a trip back to Beverley today with Mum and Dad. We checked on the house and all was OK, thankfully. I'll be glad to get back there properly...even though I've loved the rest being at Mum and Dad's I'll be glad to be finally back on my feet and settled in my own house.

We called back at Walkington on the way home and had a sandwich lunch at the Fergusson Fawcett, a pub in the centre of the village, which was lovely. Dad and I had a roast beef sandwich while Mum went for salmon. All were very tasty, so if you're in the area I'd recommend you visit and try them for yourself. They also do an excellent carvery too.

After lunch we had a walk down to the village pond and took some photos. This one is of a row of cottages just by he pond and the entrance to the bowling green.

The best thing about the day fr me was that I managed to drive there and back. The first time I've driven for two months since breaking my ankle. It was a nice feeling being behind the wheel and gave me a feeling of independence again which was great, Although I'm paying for it now as my foot is very swollen and painful tonight...but at least that's one more step on the way to full recovery :)

May 22nd 08 - Piggy Lane storm

I've had a very lazy day. I had an awful nights sleep last night, I woke this morning feeling awful and with the bedsheets and duvet all over the place. I must have been very restless. My foot aches worse than it has for a long time today. I hope it gets better soon, I can't put up with much more of this.

Shortly before we drove down to the local pub for the carvery this evening, Mum and I went down to Piggy Lane, a footpath out of the village through the fields to take some photos of the rape fields under a very story sky. Unfortunately the rape was on its last legs so didn't provide a very good contrast. I settled for a shot of the lane itself instead. The sky still looks quite threatening so it wasn't a wasted trip. It's the first time I've been down there in at least 15 years, we used to go down there as kids and play in the woods. Those were the days.

May 21st 08 - Lest we forget

A wonderful day out at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire today. We visited the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight museum and saw the beautiful Lancaster. What a sight she is. It was quite emotional seeing her there and hearing the stories the guide (Syd Marshall...brilliant!) was telling us.

My Granfy was a navigator on the Lancasters and flew in the Pathfinder missions too. I can't comprehend what it must have been like, the sheer terror of being up there, at the mercy of everything they had to throw at you. Incredible. Everyone of them showed remarkable bravery. Thank you to them all.

"There is no parallel in warfare to such courage and determination in the face of danger over so prolonged a period... it was, furthermore, the courage of the small hours of men virtually alone, for at his battle-station the airman is virtually alone... Such devotion must never be forgotten." Marshall of The Royal Air Force Sir Arthur (Bomber) Harris CinC Bomber Command 1942 to 1945

After looking round the museum we headed off to one of the viewing areas towards the end of the runway and found a mound to climb up to give us a great view of the Typhoons coming in to land. They were incredible and the noise they made just gave me goosebumps. They have the best job in the world! It seemed to me to be a really busy day's flying with Typhoon after Typhoon either landing or taking off. Then we saw a Dutch F-16 take off which must have been visiting. I'll definitely be back as I just loved watching it all...getting the photos was a bonus.

Then before heading home to went over to Tattershall castle, not far away from Coningsby, for a visit. Its a beautiful place, very picturesque and fantastically maintained by The National Trust. Well worth a visit.

May 20th 08 - Locked up

Not much happened today. I got my assignment finished and emailed off to the tutor in plenty of time. I felt it went OK, not the best I've ever written but when there are no other grades than a pass (40%) its hard to summon up enough effort to go for a really high mark. I just hope I've done enough to pass.

The rest of the day was spent being lazy...relaxing now the assignment is over and done with.

The photo for today is the lock on the shed door in Mum and Dad's back garden. I love taking photos of old things, especially rusty things as they are full of texture and quite fun to manipulate in Photoshop too.

Tomorrow we're off to RAF Conningsby in Lincolnshire to see the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) museum. I can't wait as I adore the Lancaster and the other old aircraft that make up the flight. Hopefully they'll be available to see up close, if not I'm sure the rest of the site will be well worth a visit. I may even get to see the Typhoons taking off and landing as they're based there too. Fingers crossed for good weather!

May 19th 08 - Assignment time

I've spent much of the day today doing the last of my CMS assignments. This was due in a couple of weeks after I broke my ankle but I was granted an extension and even though I have set my won deadline for getting this done I left it until the last minute as usual. In the end it was pretty straight forward to do as I knew what I was going to write I just needed to sit down and get it done. Just another 2000 words or so to do tomorrow and as long as it's all done before 4pm so I can email it off to the tutor I'll be OK :)

I won't bore you with what it's about, suffice to say its management theory and involves quality assurance models...are you asleep yet?

May 18th 08 - North Leverton windmill

After a visit to a rater quiet and disappointing computer fair in town Chris and I decided to make use of a rather impressive sky and head out taking photos. We went over by Retford and down to a spot by the Chesterfield Canal to take some shots of the boats and the lovely houses down by the canal.

Then we checked the map and found a windmill nearby at North Leverton. It was quite impressive and even though t had obviously seen much better days it was still being used occasionally by the local farmers to grind their corn. Its looked after and maintained by the local people,good for them. Its great to see them keeping history alive.

The windmill itself is open on Saturdays for you to go inside. At the same time as Chris and I were taking photos there were two women having a look round, one giving a short tour to the other one. After a short while they came over and asked if we were windmill enthusiasts too....never before have I sounded cooler saying "no, I'm into photography" :)

May 17th 08 - The beard had to go

As I'm currently off work with my broken ankle I've taken to not shaving everyday...in fact it's come very easily as I hate shaving. It's a real trial doing it every morning ready for work and it's been nice just letting it grow over the last couple of weeks.

However, today I had had enough and the itching was getting almost unbearable so it had to go. I thought this was a quirky shot so I thought I'd share it with you. I actually think I look alright with a bit of stubble, maybe not a longer beard like this, but some stubble is OK :)

Apparently the Chinese and other eastern races are the most highly evolved humans on the planet and as don't have anywhere near as much body hair as the rest of us. So why haven't we caught up yet? Why do I have to shave every morning when I go to work? Why can't I take a pill or have an injection which stops the beard growing for ever? I think anyone here in the west who has a beard is holding up evolution, you're keeping us in the beard-ages. Shave it off...let us progress, become beardless and evolve!

So, please; David Bellamy, Brian Blessed, Santa Claus, Bill Oddie and all the rest of you...shave them off, now...for the sake of the rest of us!

May 16th 08 - Missed BBMF Lancaster

I woke up this morning at about 9am to Chris knocking loudly on my bedroom door to tell me that he'd just seen on BBC News that the Lancaster is going to be flying over the Derwent Dam in the Peak District to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Dambusters raids. great news I thought, perfect for photos. We didn't have an exact time but the news people were guessing the flight would get there at about 10.30 so Mum, Dad and I quickly got ready and made the 45 minute drive over to the dam to find half the country had had the same idea. We drove around but there was no sign of anywhere to park and the road up to the dam was closed for a ticket only event. Such a shame. So, we cut our losses and headed over to Meadowhell to do some shopping. As we approached the far end of Sheffield we saw the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) Spitfire and Hurricane going over Sheffield on the way to the dam, then as we approached Meadowhall there was the Lancaster on the horizon turning over the Tinsley Viaduct on it's way to the Peak District. So, we got to see the flight after all, maybe not close enough to take photos, but it was better than a completely wasted trip.

When we got home we decided to make plans to go down to the BBMF visitors centre at RAF Coningsby in the next week or so to have a look round the exhibitions and hopefully see the aircraft close up. The Lancaster holds a special place in the family's heart as Granfy (Dad's Dad) used to be a navigator in them during WWII and even flew in the Pathfinder missions. They're all heroes.

To console ourselves after missing the Lancaster at the flypast Mum and I decided to do a recipe for the Community Friend website. It's hard work having to cook and taste such delicious treats I can tell you :) This time we chose a gooey chocolate cake slice...it was delicious. The recipe and many others are available on the Community Friend website.

May 15th 08 - Styrrup Hall Golf Club

This is the clubhouse at Mum and Dad's golf club; Styrrup Hall Golf Club, Styrrup, Nr Doncaster. They were some of the founding members when it opened just a few years ago. It's a lovely club and has really become very popular. We went down there today to take some photos in the woodland just by the 18th green as it has a lot of bluebells in there. When we got there it was pretty overcast, but dry, and the bluebells were a little past their best but it was still lovely walking through the wood. I managed a shot or two of the bluebells which I think came out OK. You can see one at the bottom of the blog.

The main photo above, is a shot of the clubhouse and the pond that sits between it and the 18th green. A lovely setting to sit out and watch the golfers finish their round. The bench to the left on the between the pond and the clubhouse was donated to the club by Mum shortly after it opened, and very comfortable it is too :)

May 14th 08 - Village visits

Quite a lazy day today, then this afternoon we went out for a drive to a few villages near to where Mum and Dad live. We headed for Laughton en le Morthen where they had a lovely church with a very high steeple. We didn't go in as they were getting ready for a flower festival so the place was pretty busy. After taking some photos we went on to Brookhouse, a very sleep village with a stream running through it. It was a typical British country village, lovely. We had a short walk, took some photos of the flowers and the horses then headed home...Dad was keen to get home and cut the grass...he obviously likes his new toy :)

May 13th 08 - Uninspired today

Quite an uninspiring day today for my photo. Other than finding a dead fly on the windowsill that made for a good macro photo the camera didn't get a look in until about half an hour before I was due to settle down to watch Waking the Dead. I went outside hoping to see some of the sunset but couldn't get a good angle from the back garden, and not being very mobile at the moment I had to settle for a shot showing the sunset light on the brickwork of the house. Very uninspiring and quite possible the worst photo on my Flickr account! I'll try harder tomorrow I promise.

Off to the doctors tomorrow so I'm hoping he/she'll give me some advice about my foot and perhaps set my mind at rest about the pain I'm in. Maybe I'm naive about it all and it's going to take a lot longer than I thought before I can take a few steps. It can't come soon enough I can tell you!

May12th 08 - Sudoku in the sun

Another lovely day again today so we headed off into Clumber Park this afternoon for a sit in the sun, take some photos and read our books. We all love it there and as Mum and Dad are members of the National Trust we can get in free.

We found a quiet spot on Limetree Avenue and settled down to read our books and listen to the birds. Mum and Dad occasionally wandered off in search of photos as I got deep into a murder mystery crime thriller set in Ireland. It's very good and is by Tana French, and is entitled In the Woods. Worth a read if you like that genre of book.

The photo above is a shot of Mum relaxing with the Sudoku. As much of the nation has we're all hooked on it and love filling them in. I don't know what makes them s addictive, but they are good. In fact you'll find a e-version of Sudoku on my blog if you scroll down a bit. It changes everyday.

May 11th 08 - First BBQ of the year

Well with such beautiful weather how can you resist having a BBQ...it's a British tradition after all :)

After cooking the chicken in the oven first we then browned it on the BBQ with a mixture of beef and veggie burgers. The whole lot was delicious. I love having food outdoors, especially in the early evening as the birds were in full chorus in the trees surrounding the garden and it was lovely to just sit there and relax with a beer listening to them sing.

May 10th 08 - Day out in Derbyshire

While Mum and Dad were out for the day Chris and I decided to take a drive out into Derbyshire in search of photos to take. We stopped off at a couple of the old mills in the area, first Arkwrights near Matlock then onto Belper. Both are very impressive buildings and you can only imagine what they would have been like in full production all those years ago. You get a real sense of history just looking at them.

Then we went off for lunch at a pub called The Devonshire Arms at Beeley on the Chatsworth Estate. We'd seen a review of it in The Times that morning and thought as we'd be in the area we may as well stop there for lunch. It's a lovely place, very cosy and well maintained. The food was excellent and to a very high standard. Prices aren't cheap but if you don't go there too often it represents very good value for money. I'll certainly go again when in that neck of the woods.

Our drove back home took us past the Chatsworth Estate so we stopped on one of the hills overlooking the main house and took some photos. The weather was beautiful, as it had been all day, so it was lovely sitting there in the sun. The Chatsworth Estate was very busy, probably due to the Nissan International Horse Trials that were on at the time.

May 9th 2008 - Boys and their toys!

Not a particularly interesting day today, other than Dad getting a new lawn mower. He was very excited and set about getting both of the back lawns cut. I hope it doesn't take too long for the dandelions to grow back as they make for great photos :)

I've been trying to put weight on my foot as much as possible today but it hurts so much. I feel really disappointed, even though I didn't expect to be up and about straight away when the cast came off, I didn't expect to be in so much pain. Hopefully it's such stiffness which will slowly go away but at the moment I feel I was better off with the cast on!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, Chris and I are off out for the day as Mum is being taken out by her friend for the day and Dad is playing golf. So all being well we should be able to find somewhere nice to get some good photos, just hope the weather behaves itself too.

8th May 08 - Watching the birds at Clumber Park

Today I had to go back to the hospital to see the consultant about my broken ankle. As soon as I got there they had the cast removed, which was great then it was off to see the Consultant. He examined me and said he was happy for me not to have to have the cast on anymore but I'd need to spend the next three weeks gradually trying to put weight back on it to try and build the strength up in the leg and ankle again. At the moment it's very stiff and very painful to walk on so I'm still on crutches and need to do specific exercises with it to clear the stiffness and get it working again. My foot looked horrific too, lots of skin falling off...it was horrible. So rather than have my photo for today one of my leg I thought I'd show off one of the photos I got at Clumber Park later in the day.

On the drive back from the hospital Chris and I decided to go and take some photos as it was such a glorious day here, we settled on Clumber Park, a National Trust property near Worksop. It's a beautiful place and both Chris and I used to work there years ago. We went in search of bluebells to take but we couldn't really find any great bluebell carpets that would make a good photo. We took a few photos on Limetree Avenue and then drove down to the bridge over the lake and settled by a bird feeding station. After a lot of patience the birds started to get used to us and came down to feed, there were sparrows, yellow finches, blue tits, black caps, chaffinches, robins, and even grouse and pheasant there too. We even saw a squirrel, but he was too shy to come over to feed. We both got quite a few shots. This one here is a blue tit about to feast on the cake on the feeder. Have a look at my Flickr profile for more photos taken there.

7th May 08 - Another lovely day

Looks like summer might be finally making an appearance. It's beautiful here again today and really warm. There's a slight breeze which is nice too. This shot was taken as I spent sometime outside reading my book, Into the Woods by Tana French which I'm enjoying. Dad lent it to me after really enjoying reading it himself.

I've felt like a spare part today and really useless. The decorator finished this morning and that's the last of all the work Mum and Dad are having done to the house so they've spent much of the day cleaning, re-organising the rooms and shifting things back into place again. While all the time I've had to sit back and watch, feeling very helpless and really guilty. I hate not being able to do anything and feel so fed up of being so immobile. I just wish I could lend a hand and make it easier for them both as they are both shattered. I feel awful just sitting there in a chair with my foot up or out in the garden when really what I should be doing is helping them out.

I really hope this cast comes off tomorrow following my appointment with the consultant so I can start getting back on my feet again as I'm not sure how much more of this I can take.

6th May 08 - What a beautiful day

It's a gorgeous day today, wall-to-wall blue sky without a cloud in sight, bright sunshine and very warm! Just right for getting the washing out to dry.

I laid in my back under the drying thingy in the garden and took several shots. Then it took me ages to try and decide which way round to present them, all those lines didn't help...but I eventually went for this one. I'm not sure how many rules of photography it follows, but who cares.

I hope it's been a great day where you are too :)

5th May 08 - Last day of the rainbow theme - today is Violet

Went with Mum and Dad to a village not far from where they live to see a Vintage Tractor engine show. We didn't know what to expect or what scale the event would be, but when we got there it was a collection of about 10 vintage tractors and a couple of traction engines. More of a owners club get-together rather than a full blown show.

It was a beautiful day though so we had a walk round and took a few photos before going into the pub where the event was based for a drink. There were lots of great characters around which made for numerous candid shots. Luckily one of the chaps was wearing a plain t-shirt which with a little help from Photoshop made it look very violet :))

4th May 08 - Indigo, what sort of a colour is that for goodness sake!!

Indigo!! I've no idea what that looks like, all I can think of is a sort of light blue / purple. This rainbow theme photo a day was a good idea a few days ago but I'm struggling now. After consulting Dad he came up with the idea that indigo dye is used in colouring denim. So, here we have it, a photo of my jeans. If you look hard enough you'll see indigo...honest!

Heaven help me, it's violet tomorrow!

3rd May 08 - Blue

Blue. That was the colour I needed for my rainbow themed photo today. So I settled for a photo of my cast. Simple eh? The backdrop is my front room back in Beverley. I miss it while staying with Mum and Dad, even though they are brilliant with me while I'm in plaster, I do still miss my own space and especially my independence. So today Chris agreed to take me back to Beverley for the night, to make sure the house is OK really, but we also made sure we had a great night of pizza, chocolate, sweets, Playstation and XBox 360. A great boys night in! Thanks Chris.

2nd May 08 - Green's turn

Today was the turn of green in my rainbow themed week of photos. So after a very stressful day doing some CMS project work for our group project I went out into the garden and laid myself out on the back lawn aiming to get some nice bokeh photos of the newly mown grass but they didn't come out as expected so I managed to find some really small flowers that had escaped the blades of the mower so decided to try and get them in shot. It was a lot harder than it looked as they were so small but I ended up with some pleasing results.

Shortly after I got inside I saw Mum laughing at me and found that she had looked out of one of the upstairs windows as I was outside on the grass and saw me laid there with my crutches on the floor and had a fright as she thought I had fallen and hurt myself. She worries so much seeing me hobbling around so I'm not surprised it gave her a fright...sorry Mum :)

That night, whilst processing the photos onto the PC I looked out of the study window across the houses opposite Mum and Dad's house to see the most amazing sunset forming with some great vapour lines and contrails in the sky. They were lit up so clearly by the setting sun which had turned the sky a deep red and orange I had to reach for my camera. I managed to get a few photos off before the light started to fail.

1st May 08 - Yellow day!

Today, day three of the rainbow theme week, is yellow day! I thought this would be an easy one but it wasn't. Not that many items that are yellow in the house surprisingly enough. I thought about doing the dandelions on the back lawn but thought that might upset Mum and Dad having the nation seeing the state of the back lawn. It's a true golfers and photographer's garden...just tidy enough to get away with, as doing too much work to it would take time away from doing playing golf or taking photos!

In the afternoon, Mum, Dad and I took a ride out to the Peak District to take some photos near Mam Tor and then have a bite to eat in Castleton or Hope. It was a beautiful day over there with a very photogenic sky and lots of dramatic clouds. We stopped to eat our rolls we'd packed with us on the road up to Mam Tor and managed a few photos before driving down Winnets Pass into Castleton and through to Hope where we found a great cafe for hot chocolate and cake.

It wasn't until we got home that I found my opportunity for a photo of yellow - Mum was doing the washing up with her yellow marigolds on and kindly posed for me :)

30th April 08 - Day two of the rainbow theme

Today was the second day of the rainbow theme and it was orange. So, I picked an orange to photograph :) Easy eh? I chose to do a macro and tried to display the fruit in segments. I tried lots of different angles and lighting but eventually settled for this "mirror-like" crop.

It's doing photos like this that hammer home to me how important lighting is and why you see professional set ups with lights at all angles and multiple reflectors. They must really aid in cutting out shadows and balance the light correctly. I chose the easy option however, and played about in Photoshop!

It was quite a quiet day, although it was a busy house last thing as we had to get the front room ready for the decorator coming tomorrow. Its surprising how many items there are to move, especially the paintings and prints. It'll look great though when it's all done.