17.11.12 - A Stroll in the Park

A beautiful Autumn day in Boultham Park, even the Canada Geese preferred to walk rather than swim or fly!

I've been run off my feet the last few days, I'll try and catch up with commenting at some point :)
09.05.12 - Male Grooming

I've still got no internet at home so I'm having to post two pics today to catch up. These guys sorting out their plumage for the ladies caught my eye the other day. They were so "enthusiastic" that they made bald patches on their chests, I suppose the girls must be impressed?

Apologies for not being able to comment at the moment, my internet time at the library is limited and I have a lot of work to catch up with.
27.04.12 - Shroom Land

Another grey, damp, miserable day, with no end in sight. We were certainly spoilt by the wonderful hot dry February and March, but April has been a total washout. Some days I have to force myself to go looking for photo opportunities. The walk in and out of town along the river is nice, but you've seen that many times already this year, so on my way home yesterday I detoured into Boultham Park in search of bluebells. I found a few, but they weren't as photogenic as these tiny mushrooms growing round an old stump.

With small things like this I take some shots with my 200mm lens to get close-up views, then go to the opposite extreme with my 18mm to get a wider perspective. It is usually a toss-up which I prefer, this time it is the wider perspective that wins out. In an ideal world I'd have a person, or even a dog, wandering by on the left like a giant, but maybe next time :)
07.03.12 - Goose out of Water

This is from a few days ago, still struggling to find the time/energy/motivation to shoot new stuff this week
21.01.12 - Watercolour

Yesterday's "planet" was my first in a while, but it has been a much longer time since I did one of my "watercolours". This is St. Helen's church in Boultham Park, just down the river from me. Mr Willis and I walked there yesterday afternoon in very flat grey light, the perfect conditions for the watercolour effect :)

The original is here    http://www.lightanddreamsphotography.com/Travel/MY-HOMETOWN/4222541_hX7wrs#!i=1680755480&k=7BSZb9p   so you can see the difference.  

It is a sort of poor man's HDR, but the effect is achieved entirely by adjusting shadows/highlights and contrast. I use Photoshop Elements. Go to "enhance lighting" and "shadows/highlights". A box opens with sliders to "darken highlights", "lighten shadows" and "midtone contrast". Push all 3 sliders to the right until the effect is to your liking. I often push them all the way. The effect doesn't alway work very well, but it works best on flat images with lots of detail.

Thanks for the wonderful comments on yesterday's planet, they pushed me to experiment again with shots like this :)
09.04.11 - Spring in the Park

For the last few days Lincoln has been warmer than Madrid, Rome and Athens, so perfect for spending time in the park with the kids!
18.03.11 - Daffs!

Daffodils are everywhere at the moment, but this is the fourth Spring that I've shot them for my Dailies so I've been desperately looking for different ways to capture them. As I was walking home the backlight on these was spectacular, so I played around a bit. Instead of using a long lens to zoom in close and get great bokeh, I decided to get down to ground level and use a wide angle lens, including a bit of flare for effect and to increase the light, allowing a greater dof. I'm quite happy with this, although I still have spots infront of my eyes from looking into the sun!
17.4.09 - Looking Back

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday was cold, grey and drizzly, and this morning was more of the same, but by lunchtime things were changing. This is the reverse of the view in yesterday's Daily, plus sunshine, shadows and a different focus. Thanks to April for helping me put the world to rights earlier today, when I had been way beyond my wit's end before.

To answer Harsh's question about this park, it isn't the one I often use for my Daily. The one I often use is Hartsholme Park, this is the smaller Boultham Park. Eventually I'll give this place the gallery it deserves, but there are already some shots from here in my Hometown Gallery. 

Thanks for all the kind words on the shot inside the Cathedral that has re-appeared on Digital Grin today.

Now I have some work related things to sort out for a couple of hours, and hopefully I'll be back to check out the Dailies later.
16.4.09 - "Are you all white Dear?"

A tunnel of blossom on a grey drizzly day. I just happened to be in this part of town for business, and I had to get off the road to make some phone calls. The park was the most convenient place to gather my thoughts, and imagine my surprise when I came across this beautiful spot. I just wish the sun had been shining, but maybe I'll save that for another day.

Thanks for your kind words on my "sunset on a lorry shot", rest assured you guys will be the first to see it all painted up!
09.05.12 - Male Grooming

I've still got no internet at home so I'm having to post two pics today to catch up. These guys sorting out their plumage for the ladies caught my eye the other day. They were so "enthusiastic" that they made bald patches on their chests, I suppose the girls must be impressed?

Apologies for not being able to comment at the moment, my internet time at the library is limited and I have a lot of work to catch up with.
09.05.12 - Male Grooming

I've still got no internet at home so I'm having to post two pics today to catch up. These guys sorting out their plumage for the ladies caught my eye the other day. They were so "enthusiastic" that they made bald patches on their chests, I suppose the girls must be impressed?

Apologies for not being able to comment at the moment, my internet time at the library is limited and I have a lot of work to catch up with.
09.05.12 - Male Grooming

I've still got no internet at home so I'm having to post two pics today to catch up. These guys sorting out their plumage for the ladies caught my eye the other day. They were so "enthusiastic" that they made bald patches on their chests, I suppose the girls must be impressed?

Apologies for not being able to comment at the moment, my internet time at the library is limited and I have a lot of work to catch up with.
See photo in original gallery.