The tiny things tripod

I figured as I'm always trying to photograph the littlest items I'd upgrade my diminutive Manfrotto pocket tripod to the one designed for a beefier big-boy camera. It gives me a lot more stability and height options so now...bring on the tiny things!

 

Posted with Blogsy

The great Easter egg hunt!

I had been determined to capture a Lego bunny drowning in Mini Eggs...as you do, but I had searched high and low in the shops of Richmond and couldn't find any of Cadbury finest diminutive chocolate eggs anywhere. Eventually I tracked down an elderly, dust encrusted packet at WH Smith. It was dreadfully out of date and they seemed loathed to sell it to me but it looked like my only chance. So rather late, I finally got the Easter picture I wanted.

The desire to have some little Lego minifig mis en scene with mini eggs started the ball rolling with a theme for my Bleeding London project. I don't really know how the idea occurred but it has already taken on a life if its own!

Posted with Blogsy

It's all about the bunny

The grounds of the Mary Magdelene church in Church Walk is a mass of daisies and wispy elderflower. I want to try and immortalise my minifig bunny and a dandelion clock but they're a little out of reach. The daisies are more accessible though so they have to be the second picture of the RPS Bleeding London photography project. I really wanted to create an image with the bunny and some Cadbury Mini Eggs but I can't find any anywhere. Clearly there's been a run on them over the Easter weekend but as the light fades I'm determined to track some down somewhere.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Bleeding London, inaugural photograph

I've started photographing my entries for the RPS Bleeding London project, photographing the streets of London your way. I've decided to interact with what I find in each street, be it discarded rubbish or the various flora, and possibly, fauna. I found and old style ring pull and thought this might work well with my robot couple. It took me a while to locate the perfect perch. I tried on the sloping top of a solar powered ticket machine but the slant was defeating my ability to get the robots to stop plummeting. Eventually I settled on a metal roof rack. It wasn't my intention to have the male robot appear to be creeping up behind and about to throttle his mate, but these things happen!

This photograph was taken in Castle Yard, one down 72,999 to go!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Everything is awesome!

Due to a happy accident I've ended up with an assortment of Lego minifigs and to inspire me for a forthcoming photography project, I thought I'd try and see the last viewing of the Lego Movie in Richmond. I'm too late for the 3D version but there's one last option on the 2D version, or as we say, the normal format. I enjoyed it more than I expected, it reminded me that I could comfortably have seen myself as a Lego Master Builder when I grew up. I also fancied being a spy or a witch. Sadly these aspirations were never met, though I may have cast a spell occasionally, but not enough to class myself as a "professional" witch!

As the credits rolled I thought I'd break the no camera rule and incorporate the minifig bunny in my bag (surely everyone carries these about) with the Lego backdrops. I don't recall seeing the bunny in the movie, so I addressed that. For anyone else who's seen the movie, can you tell how long does it take for the ear-worm "everything is awesome" to stop buzzing around my head?

 

Posted with Blogsy

Gluttony...or cannibalism!

Tonight's Photography Social is just off Carnaby Street and, as usual, I arrive cutting it fine. The format seems to have changed a bit which is slightly confusing. Instead of just one photo for the team submission, everyone submits a photo for the team photo. Tonight it was "resurrection". I guessed it would be vaguely Easter based but this was a challenge. I opted in the end for a close up of some new leaves emerging on a bush surrounded by the grown up leaves.

The individual challenge was briefly the ten commandments, until it seemed obvious apart some vague idea about not coveting a neighbour's oxen, we'd drawn a bit of a blank, do was swiftly changed to the seven deadly sins. As luck would have it, earlier today I'd taken delivery of a collection of random minifigs because I had an idea of a photo I wanted to do for Easter. Hmm, that gave me an idea. I also had a small bag of tiny Malteser chocolate bunnies too, I could go for "gluttony" or cannibalism, if that was one of the deadly sins. All I needed was a bit of decent light. I stayed at the wooden table in the pub and tried with the aid of iPhones to illuminate the now chocolate smeared face of the Lego bunny to bring life to my vision. The light from the iPhones was too harsh however, so I had to try and harness the overhead lights instead. Eventually I was able to get the shot I wanted. And it worked, I scored myself a ten and another shiny red ten badge. Whoo hoo!

Posted with Blogsy

Capturing Pluckley Woods

So another early start to travel to deepest Kent to peer at flowers through a macro lens. This is my fourth Robert Canisbay workshop, and I have another booked next month. I was determined to be completely prepared for the sunrise start and collect tripod, filters, quick release plate (tripod would be pretty useless without that) and other sundry photographic accoutrements the night before. I transferred the essentials from my handbag to my camera bag and made sure damp grass and muddy paths were accommodated with a small groundsheet and my new pink kneelers. In the morning I was rewarding myself for the preparation and was dressed and ready in no time, just needed to add my hiking boots. I'm not a fan of sensible shoes, too many years in high heels have compressed my calf muscles and they don't enjoy flat shoes. But I know a muddy wood is not the best place for spiky heels so to further my photographic experience I'd furnished myself with two pairs of hiking boots, one black pair and one pink. But neither pair were where I'd expected and this threw me, the only thing I didn't prepare. Eventually I found one black one lurking behind some bags I'd been filling for the charity shop and the other in an entirely different room. The pink ones are still hiding somewhere. I was very thankful I hadn't only found one black and one pink one, that might have raised a few eyebrows. Suitably clad (well, relatively!) I headed for the bus to get to the station.

Pluckley station is very cute, it's won awards for appearance several years running and their are neat stacks of books that you can buy for charity to amuse you on your journey. You can help yourself to a hot drink in aid of charity too. I had arrived early (a very rare occurance) and after securing a taxi for the final leg of the trip I could admire the station whilst waiting for PD to arrive on the next train from London.

Soon we were perched on log benches around a fire on the middle of a private wood. The itinary for today was plenty of flower photography but also a smidge of bushcraft. We had Phil, the resident Bear Grylls explaining about this tranquil wood and how we'd be collecting kindling and wood to build the fire over which to cook our lunch. We were planning our day of shooting and capturing but our lunch had already been foraged from Sainsbury's. No wrestling wild animals today, just wood anemones.

Wood anemones were definitely my quarry, the bluebells are beautiful but they are rather...well...blue! Robert can somehow get bluebells to be imbued with a pinky glow from the setting sun but these ones looked very blue. So initially it was all about the wood anemones and trying to grasp that fragile silvery petals in the diffused sunlight.

After a busy morning, in my case, mainly lying face down poking my lens and closeup filters into a patch of flowers, we stopped for lunch. I was pleased with my Plamp which did a fine job coralling the specimens I wanted to shoot or curtailing the ones I didn't. We gathered the required firewood and Phil taught us how to start a fire without matches. We could all have a go ourselves but with long hair and an unruly scarf I figured I was tad too flammable to play around with sparks! We tucked into a tasty al fresco lunch, appetites boosted by the morning's photographic exertions.

After wiping away the crumbs after a slice of the finest lemon tart we headed off to explore another part of this ancient woodland. Here I was rather taken by bluebells framed by the trunks of trees, I want to say willow but I could be very wrong. Nestling amongst all the blue was a yellow flower, I'm ashamed to say I don't know what but it added a welcome burst of Spring yellow.

With SD cards filled and new friends made we leave the perfect serenity of Pluckley and head back to the big smoke. I've since discovered Pluckley is haunted, but we weren't disturbed by things that go bump in the wood, fortunately. Another fabulous workshop and huge thanks to Rob and Phil for making it another memorable day.

Posted with Blogsy