A fun family day

Society moves on and becomes more secular year by year (and what a good thing that is), but with that comes fewer formal occasions - weddings, christenings etc. But if not a formal christening (for which of course one should be a christian, I wonder how many are?) then what?

The answer - a Naming Ceremony. And that's what was organised for Seraphina - Here are a few photos

There are more in gallery 29 on my photo site:

www.ianj49.co.uk

 

  

  

 

 

 

and then the party was over:

A Photographic Afternoon Out

It was my Grandson Quinn's birthday a couple of weeks ago, he asked for a digital camera. After much deliberation a family decision was made to pool resources and get him one which offered more than a simple point & shoot as he's expressed a real interest in photography. So Fuji Finepix in his grasp, and Olympus E-P2 in mine we set off along the Bridgewater Canal in the direction of Astley Green.

I thought I'd just post some pictures of "the snapper snapped"

Checking those leading lines!

Looking for the next shot

Photographing Grandad
















Small Chap - BIG Engine

Learning to use the E-P2 (and some new Software)

Well, a day off work yesterday and as the weather cleared a little in the afternoon I drove through the little village of Belmont and parked up, then walked through the ruins of Hollinshead Hall.
There's not too much to see there apart from the Well House which does make a great subject for a moody photo:

 

is just how it looks (the out of the camera jpgs from the E-P2 are just fantastic!!).

But that then leads me on to the new software I've discovered, LightZone from LightCrafts the most intuitive way yet of post processing - here's a "tweak" done with LightZone:

 

But of course the E-P2 has capabilities of it's own, a set of "Art Filters" for all sorts of effects, the Well House just seemed to lend itself to the "Grainy B&W Film" filter:

 

Some more shots, looking up the lane that wends it's way through Tockholes Plantation first the "out of camera" shot, then a B&W conversion, again done with LightZone

 

Then onwards through the woods, following the upper reaches of the River Roddlesworth before it enters the Roddlesworth Reservoirs - more excellent photo opportunities

All in all, a very pleasant couple of hours and the more I use the E-P2 the more I like it !

A New Camera and a Handsome Subject

Well I took the plunge and decided to sell off all my Sony & Minolta DSLR gear - so far all the lenses and various bits & pieces have gone (and amazingly I've got back more than I paid!) - my new camera an Olympus E-P2 arrived on Thursday last.

So here's the first picture - as shot, straight out of the camera jpg - no post processing other than a resize and little sharpen after the resize!

Thursday 24th Feb - A sad post script - our Gold Laced Wyandotte (for that is the breed she was) died yesterday - we'd had her for nearly 5 years, so not a bad innings for a chicken - I suspect the chicken equivalent of a heart attack or stroke, but at least it was quick. On opening up the chicken house in the morning she didn't come out, just sat in the nest box, which was unusual for her then later that day just went - very sad.

An afternoon at Quarry Bank Mill - Styal

With the added attraction of an Easter Egg hunt, who could resist? Certainly not Quinn & Sera so off to Styal for a walk round the mill and a look at the latest addition - the "secret garden".

It's been a few years since I last visited and whilst the fabric of the mill remains, there is a definite change in the "feel" of the place.

A number of the exhibits are definitely looking a bit tatty and there seems to have been an effort to modernise the "visiting experience".




In common with so many museums today it seems we have to be challenged by multi-media interactivity rather than being left to make up our own minds.

One thing that did annoy me was the ban on photography inside the property. I can understand banning flash photography in some places with delicate fabrics and paintings - but an industrial heritage site? When was cast iron last jeopardised by a camera?



A stroll in the garden after the walk through the mill was nice with Quinn in reflective mood & Sera skipping her way through life as ever!

Off to take some photos

Another glorious day, so after a lazy morning in bed (breakfast included, thanks Lynne), I decided to take some photos.
My camera is a Sony Alpha 700 DSLR, the latest descendent from the Minolta range of Dyxum (or Maxum) cameras since Sony bought out Minolta's camera business in 2005. The first shot was taken with the Minolta 24mm f2.8 prime lens, hand held and the second with the Minolta 50mm f1.7 together with a 12mm extension tube. For this shot the camera was mounted on my Benbo Trekker tripod.
A drive past the old dyeworks at Belmont then a walk into the woods - found this pond. With the sunlight streaming through the trees and the reflections unruffled in the water it made an attractive sight.

It's only February, but already a hairy caterpillar was out eating lichen on an old tree stump.