Framedlight

Here is the picture of the escalators in Westminster tube station which won the monochrome section of the Cambridge Camera Club annual competition I was really pleased as I had not expected to win at all. I took the picture on an excursion with Mairi to see Westminster Abbey in August. 

After another long gap I am pleased to say that I am at last on track.  Was being snowed under before with work, home and family - so work had to go! What news A couple of weeks ago we went to visit Alan's Mum and his sister over from the States in Milnthorpe Cumbria. At last a chance to photograph autumn colours. We visited Tarn Hows and the weather was stunning, although being a Sunday it was really busy We then drove round to Hardknott Pass and visited the remains of the Roman fort And finally a couple of sunsets.The first at Roan Head and the second in Ravenglass.

I realise , shock horror, I have not posted anything for a month. I have spent a few days in the peak district on a photography work shop with Nigel Halliwell and Paul Franklin. I learnt loads, despite the weather which ranged from very wet to damp. Here are some pictures to prove it! No whacky processing here - everything was straightforward and Lightroom This was the first day when Jane and I got completely soaked. Same wet day A little bit of a sunrise the next day Another sunset - over Stanage Edge - got botten to death by midges - I always thought they confined themselves to Scotland Next morning - the balloon goes up! Tree crossing its legs at Padley Gorge The stream at Padley Gorge

I have been looking through all my pictures for items to use for a panel. In so doing I have come acros stuff I had more or less forgotten about. I always hope the latest things I have done are the best, but the weather has not been kind lately, so here are a couple of past numbers! This was taken in Anglesey Abbey last winter and processed using Silver Effex Pro2. This was taken in Wissant, France at the end of a hot September evening last year.

I have been getting together a few of the pictures I took on Lindisfarne of fishermen's huts. These were made of old upturned boats and looked pretty decrepit, although they all had padlocks and were obviously used. The photos have all been processed using Lightroom and Color Effex 4. The weather had been pretty dreadful and we had just got soaked in a heavy shower, but the stormy skies really added to the atmosphere

I thought I would put up a few pictures taken last week in Northumberland, on the way up to share Mairi's graduation in St Andrews. I used Color Efex 4 in the castle pictures in order to get a more atmospheric feel. As you can see the weather was not that great - but hey, all the better for photography! Hadston Scaurs Warkworth Castle Warkworth Castle Beach at Lindisfarne Lindisfarne Lindisfarne Castle

I have been in Scotland for a week at Mairi's graduation and, what with that and work, I have not managed to place anything on the blog. Before l talk about Scotland I thought I would put up some more pictures from Montchavin. This time including some macros done in the meadow just behind Derek's house. I really enjoyed making these - I have a Nikon 105 macro lens which I also use for portraits, obviously not set on macro!

We spent a long weekend in the Alps, staying in Montchavin in the Paradis Ski area. Montchavin is really high on the mountain and you are above the clouds when the valley is full of mist. I had a day on my own in the Vanois park shooting. As a change from England it was a really bright sunny day with a bit of a heat haze.  The scenery was so green and blue I converted to black and white The next day was completely different. I drove up to the Petit St Bernard pass, where the snow still lay and the rain poured down. It was so desolate.

Yesterday we had a fleeting visit to Stowe Gardens before taking Rene back to catch the train from Milton Keynes. The weather was very overcast but the rain held off to the end of or trip. We resolved to go back again when it is quieter - probably winter! It would look fantastic in the snow. The camera did a great job with the foliage and needs very little post-processing to bring everything out. I have only used Lightroom 4 but I am going to load Capture NX2 and see how that performs.

On Sunday we wandered down to see the local jubilee festivities. The rain held off for the afternoon and the all the participants seemed to be enjoying themselves