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MOONdays

Full moon in July and an amazing ripple reflection on the Clyde. The far lights are of Wemyss Bay.

Taken with the 'Nik' on 'nightscape' mode and lens stretched to 8x optical zoom.

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Saturday Symmetry

A tracery of trusses... the central transition hall of Waverley Station, Edinburgh.

Taken with the 'Nik' on auto everything.

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"The knack is to find your own inspiration and take it on a journey to create work that is personal and revealing."
(Martin Parr)

Bracken unfurls.
Taken with the 'Nik' on macro mode.

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Not only is it Thursday Challenge day again, but also Last Thursday with YAM.  The first has the prompt of SKY (or anything to do with...),  and the second is to pick an image and work it into another art piece with whichever software you choose...for fun, creativity and ...just because!

The sky images are all from India, taken with the 'Nik' on various settings... the montage has taken on an even more hazy effect than the original shots - not entirely sure why but is is not displeasing.

(c) Yamini Ali MacLean

This was created using PhoXo. The original is below.

(c) Yamini Ali MacLean

It was originally shot at Australian Reptile Park, Gosford, NSW with the Minolta digicam.

Please feel free to link up your Last Thursday shots - please respect that this linkup is for those who have placed an entry with Dale's Spunwithtears meme page today (or members of this site) and should show an image which you have reworked in photographic software. Let's have fun!

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Wings on Wednesday -

YAM's take on the good, the bad, the ugly and the downright hilarious in respect to photographing birds.

Delving into the archives here is one of the scanned print series.  This was early in the years of the Minolta SLR and is perhaps 35 years ago... swan and black-head gull on Blackford Pond, Edinburgh.

Share your attempts at bird photography (or winged insects)!

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Shipping by...

Views from my window: this is the 'Endeavour' out of Sweden (I was asked to include more detail - which will be done where I can).

Taken with the 'Nik' on auto and lens stretched 10x optical zoom.

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Mondays Critters

Last week you saw the serene face of a mother dog... here she is with one of her litter at the time which had been held back by the family and being integrated as part of their pack...

Taken with the old Minolta SLR. One of the scanned print series.

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SUNdays

One of the scanned prints - can you tell.......!!!  it was taken over Lake Munmorah in NSW about 20 years ago, using the Minolta SLR.

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Saturday Symmetry

Was experimenting with the monochrome modes with the 'Nik' on a rather gloomy day (quelle surprise).

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"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
(Leonardo da Vinci)

Taken with the 'Nik' on macro mode.

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This week's Thursday Challenge is for anything YELLOW.

Have got plenty of that going on and have used the chance to make a collage...whilst the shots themselves are all as original from the 'Nik' on various settings, this piece is a hint at getting creative beyond the lens... Last Thursday at My Take is for those who like to have a tinker with the processor now and then! Start preparing...it's next week!

The Enchanter is moored at Port Bannatyne, Isle of Bute; the rain fellow on the remembrance rose in the Edinburgh garden; the sun set yellow over The Wash, East Anglia; the gorse bloomed bright this spring; the guernsey patterns flagged the exhibition at Sherringham, Norfolk; the bouquet honoured Easter...

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Wings on Wednesday -

YAM's take on the good, the bad, the ugly and the downright hilarious in respect to photographing birds.

Eeeekk, am going to have to go delving in the archives for these posts as well - been really lean pickings on the photography market of late.  This pelican formation team did not leave their contact details I am afraid...  from last November at The Entrance, NSW.

Taken with the 'Nik' on sports mode and lens extended to about 10x optical.

It's linky time for those of you with ornithological offerings...

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Shipping by...

Scenes from the window

This one was inward bound.  You can clearly see the rain on this one!!!

Taken with the 'Nik' on auto everything and that dodgy lens stretched a bit...

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Mondays Critters

Regretfully, I cannot recall this lass's name; she was a breeding dog (puppy pic next week), but also a family pet and belonged to the folk with whom I stayed in Achiltibuie (the place of the secretive seal...) She and her pup will be long passed now.  This was taken with the Minolta SLR some 30 years back.

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SUNdays

11pm June 21st 2014; 
a soltice sunset over Dunoon.





















Taken with the 'Nik' on auto - from my window.

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Saturday Symmetry

It got a mention last week, so here it is; the Toward Lighthouse.





















Take with the 'Nik' on auto.

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"Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower..."
(Hans Christian Andersen)

Taken with the 'Nik' on macro mode...and the dodgy lens...

Fritillaria Meleagris.


...and for my connections there...

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Here we are at Thursday again and The Challenge has been made.  The prompt?  WATER (shipping, sports, rivers, oceans...)

W A T E R...S H I P P I N G...!!!

Regulars will know by now that I am surrounded with the stuff.  What to pick.....

The Vital Spark is part of folklore in these here parts. The tales written were fictional - but based on some likely characters of the region - you only have to ride one of the modern ferries to meet the sort of personality! This vessel was used in the television series. Here she now rests at Inverary, unkempt and unused...

It's two weeks till Last Thursday, so here's one which has been 'adjusted'...get yours ready! (Could have used this for 
Wings on Wednesday too - but have plenty where this came from...Eider Ducks on Dunoon Bay.)

...and just because I couldn'ae resist, please enjoy these Scottish Shanties and a tour 'doon the watter', given by the cast who had played in the original Para Handy Series - Dunoon gets mentioned here and there! (Sadly the Vital Spark herself was not used for this particular film - but if you are curious, follow the links at the end...)

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Wings on Wednesday -

YAM's take on the good, the bad, the ugly and the downright hilarious in respect to photographing birds.

The day was so grey it was virtually monochrome anyway, so flicked it into pure B&W with FOTOR after uploading.

Taken with the 'Nik' on auto everything.

Here is the linky for your ornithological offerings. (Let a couple slip through last week, but please note this is for your attempts at 'shooting' birds or winged insects - thanks for playing!)

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Shipping by...

Views from my window over the Clyde;

Not as large as last week's one but still a sizable container vessel. With one of our wonderful haar's present as usual!

Taken with the 'Nik' on auto and stretched lens...(Have I mentioned the zoom is playing up? Hopping around like a frog on Mexican beans. It requires many takes to catch a focused one!)

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Monday's Critters

From the scanned prints series; Achnahaird, NW Scotland.  A lone seal was fascinated by this early morning walker and followed me down the bay shore, popping up here and there to watch the watcher... this was the closest it ever came and only had the little point and shoot Minolta with me at that stage.  Domed Suilven at back right.

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SUNdays

What do you have when you don't have sun? You have moisture which reflects the light the sun still shares with you...

















Taken with the 'Nik' on sunset mode and lens stretched some 5x optical.

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Saturday Symmetry

One of the many delightful seats to be found in and around Dunoon, reflecting the neighbourhood! This is South of Dunoon, at Toward Point, where there is a lighthouse and this view across the minch to the Isle of Bute...that is Ardbeg directly ahead; it is the suburb North of Rothesay and South of Port Bannatyne.  Just in case you want to go-ogle maps or something... &*>

Taken with the 'Nik' on auto.

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"I never found a companion that was as so companionable as solitude."
(Henry David Thoreau)

This vinca was well ahead of the rest of the pack, enjoying 'solitude' with a smile on its face and 'arms' flung wide!

Taken with the 'Nik' on auto and lens stretched rather more than I wanted...it is starting to play up and the internal mechanism jumps around, so the focus is a little skewed.

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Over at Thursday Challenge, the prompt for today's post is SIMPLE.

That, it suggests, is minimalist, limited colour palette or shape... 

Do these work for you? Fountain spout, Rothesay Isle of Bute (manual mode, 800ISO and exposure lowered three notches and lens stretched 5x optical); promenade post, Dunoon (auto everything and trimmed post process); Black Kites in a Mumbai smog...yup that was the colour of the sky! Taken with the 'Nik' on sports mode and lens stretched 10x optical.

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Wings on Wednesday -

YAM's take on the good, the bad, the ugly and the downright hilarious in respect to photographing birds.

Oyster catchers and Curlew strut their stuff on Ettrick Bay, Isle of Bute.

Taken with the 'Nik' on auto and lens stretched to only about 5x optical.

What have you spotted of late?

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Shipping by...

Sharing the views of the 'watter' from my window.

This was a bit of a monster. Our community newspaper does its best to advise us of the comings and goings of the shipping, with relevant flags and tonnages mentioned.  I am not that good at matching up the info with the visuals though!  It would have to be over the 50000 tonnes though.

The cranes are at the Hunterston Ore Terminal and the wind turbine is (I understand) the first of three to be built at the Southern end of Hunterston Sands.  It is 177m tall. It's about 20km/15miles(ish) as the birdie flies from where I stand.

Taken with the 'Nik' on B&W mode and the lens stretched to 15x optical zoom.

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Monday's Critters

...starting to worry a tad as have had no new photo-opps with critters.  Need to go archive delving...

This was taken at the Royal Highland Show (Edinburgh) back in 1981!!! The darker red, heavier-headed one at the end is the bull.

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SUNdays

When the tide is out... Ettrick Bay, Isle of Bute.

Taken with the 'Nik' on 'snow' mode (I kid not; it was so glarey it was necessary to tone it down so played around with some of the auto settings...)