Impoftheyard's photojournal

Photo from the commute

2011-04-05T17:54:00.001+01:00

I haven't had much time or inclination for photos lately due to being kept busy with work at the moment. I am now on the train home and the elegance of this young woman's snooze caught my eye. I could do with a nap too. Hope all my fellow bloggers are doing well. Sorry for the lack of comments. I hope to look in on you all soon xxx

Wet holiday...

2011-02-28T09:13:00.001Z

We've been having a nice time on our visit to London though it would be nice if it would stop raining. I've rediscovered my love of the lensbaby and have taken loads of photos. Some are up on Flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/impoftheyard) and more will appear as I process them. The one above was a favourite - rain in Chinatown.

Here's Picadilly Circus...

This was another favourite...

We're off to meet meet Biscuits_yum today!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

On our travels

2011-02-25T11:48:00.001Z

The lovely man and I are on our travels and I am trying out a new ipad blogging app. Here is the view of Newcastle from the train window. I have been treated to a first class seat and am enjoying the adventure. More photos will follow!

New hobby...

2011-01-26T17:55:00.000Z

Today's photo is not one of my most exciting but I've not been focussing on my photography lately. (Nor did I even focus properly in this shot!) I've been enjoying a new hobby of making jewellery. I'm learning stuff all the time and here you can see a little of the most recent necklaces I've been working on.

I'm missing my photos but I have to carry so much with me when I'm going to work in different cities that I haven't taken the SLR for a walk for some time. Hopefully I'll make up for it at the end of February when the lovely man and I head south to London. We are hoping to meet with a certain Mr Biscuits on our visit so how can we fail to get out our cameras when we are meeting a fellow photographer?

I'm not complaining about work though. I'm fortunate that I enjoy what I do. While a more steady and reliable income would be nice, I feel lucky to have any income in the current economic climate. The bonus is that I get to see a lot more of Mr Duck (aka the lovely man and a whole lot of other things). He has just bought a new sofa which I am sitting on right now. It's much more comfy than the last one. I shan't be moving for some time....

Hope you're all doing well. I shall pop in onsome of your blogs soon :-)

A day of the mundane

2011-01-08T17:05:00.001Z

We have had a quiet day with the return of the ordinary weekend. Here is the lovely man doing the shopping while I harass him with a camera.

The snow came back last night and is lying in a most unspectacular manner on the pavements in Edinburgh though I gather that even this small amount brought disruption to the airport. I uploaded a couple of photos of the snowy street to Flickr, along with one of legs at the supermarket. They are fairly unremarkable but it is difficult to take interesting photos when your hands are full of shopping! I must get out to take photos with the big camera soon.

My first week back at work did not bring many hours for me as people are still shaking themselves out of festive inertia. Am hoping for more work next week though I have been enjoying getting through the Christmas reading. Hope you're all having a good weekend!

Happy New Year

2011-01-04T20:29:00.001Z

I thought I'd start my blogging year with a silly portrait of the lovely man and I. You may notice that he has had strange genetic and surgical experiments done on him and where he once had an ear, he appears to have grown fingers. He doesn't talk about it much though.

I had a lovely time with family and the lovely man on Christmas day. Sadly, I got ill on Boxing day and so none of my plans for the holiday season came to fruition. I am only now well enough to leave the house and saw none of the friends I usually spend time with at this time of year. I was fortunate that the lovely Mr duck stayed with me and said "there there" with soothing regularity.

One other plan which was not put into practice due to my being indisposed was getting out with my SLR and putting some effort into photos again. Here's hoping I can make up for that soon.

Wishing all my regular visitors a very happy new year (both of you...)!

Christmas night

2010-12-26T17:23:00.001Z

This is what the pavement looked like when we made our way home after Christmas dinner last night. This was not water but sheet ice covering all pavements due to the rain on top of the snow then freezing. Fortunately I had ordered ice grips for both Mr Duck and I at the beginning of the snowy weather and they had finally arrived. I was very impressed. We were both pretty secure on our pins.

We are now relaxing after having had a very pleasant Christmas with some of my family. I have a bit of a lurgy so I'm feeling a little sorry for myself but am overall content. Hope you had as nice a Christmas as we did.

The thaw begins

2010-12-09T18:41:00.001Z

The thaw begins, originally uploaded by impoftheyard.

Edinburgh was melting today. It was very slidey and all of the buildings were dribbling on passersby. It feels positively balmy compared to the -12 of last night.

Snowy Glasgow...

2010-12-07T20:50:00.000Z

As you will have seen on the news, much of Scotland came to a halt yesterday with the wintry conditions. I was lucky enough to have nowhere I had to be, so I was able to cower at home for the entire day with the central heating on, and the oven on with the door open. Today there was no more snow but it was bitterly cold and beautifully sunny.

I ventured out today to meet a friend in a local cafe. I wish the snow would go away, especially as I need to get to Edinburgh tomorrow, but it still lifts my spirits being out in it on a sunny day. It was very beautiful and bright and to top it all, I had of a really nice lunch.

I took a couple of photos and may put others on Flickr later. This one just illustrates the state of the road with the hard packed ice. This is a main road in Glasgow. There are very few buses - I never saw any when I was out and there were none running between Glasgow and Edinburgh today. The highest temperature forecast for tomorrow during the day is -6. Keep your fingers crossed for me getting to Edinburgh tomorrow!

Still in the land of the living

2010-12-01T17:02:00.000Z

I'm blogging from my phone so I'm not sure if this will work ok. Sorry I haven't been visiting my fellow bloggers or posting much here. I've been kept busy with my two jobs - especially since they spread me across three cities. I am not complaining though since I'm lucky enough to love my work.

I have fought all the way through the snow from Glasgow to Edinburgh today but I have no snowy pictures for you. This image is looking at my window through a little stick on optical filter on my phone. I forgot I had those and may playwith them a bit. I'm pining after my SLR but it's just too heavy with everything else I carry.

I hope you're all keeping cosy this weather. Bye for now...

Crossing...

2010-10-28T18:02:00.001+01:00

Crossing..., originally uploaded by impoftheyard.

This photo was taken yesterday on Princes Street in Edinburgh. I liked the shadows and the colours. Notice the wonderful textured pavement so that blind and visually impaired people can find the crossing. Hm. Maybe that will make life too easy for them. I know! Let's put a heavy duty traffic cone in front of them for no particularly good reason. I get annoyed at things like this.

I posted a few other street shots on Flickr. I'm tending to blog from my iPad so it's limiting my to one picture at a time unless I fiddle with it. It's not a bad discipline though.

Hope your week is going well!

Autumn in Edinburgh

2010-10-21T19:50:00.001+01:00

I'm really enjoying having part of my working week in Edinburgh and, yesterday, to top it all, it was the most beautiful autumn day. The autumn colours were gorgeous and the sky was an amazing clear blue. I love the long shadows too at this time of year. I'm blogging from my iPad so I could either show you the colours of the trees or these great shadows.

Now I'm having a quiet evening with the lovely man. Happy Thursday people!

A flower for you

2010-10-16T10:50:00.002+01:00

photo, originally uploaded by impoftheyard.

I rarely look up due to limitations in my neck but after work yesterday, I was in Costa's in Waverly station and leaned back. This is the magnificent skylight that was above me. I took a few photographs and may post some of the others to Flickr later.

I had a couple of very full days at work and was tired at the end of the week. I am fortunate to be doing something that I love. Between my two part-time jobs I will have a five day week next week which I'm very pleased about. My social life, photos and drawing are taking a back seat at the moment but life feels good - in spite of having caught a cold.

EDIT: I'm blogging from my iPad and have just spotted that the photo has been cropped and so is not the original composition but I still like it! You can see the original over on Flickr.

Now it is the weekend and the lovely man is here with me which is nice. Hope all is well with you all and I hope to pop in to your blogs this weekend. I've been missing all your photos.

Caledonian Hotel Edinburgh

2010-10-10T09:47:00.001+01:00

Caledonian Hotel Edinburgh, originally uploaded by impoftheyard.

This was taken last night when the lovely man and I were on our way to friends for a meal. It's an impressive building and I had passed it many times before I noticed all the figures on the front of it. I was enjoying the lights and colours of night-time Edinburgh last night.

We had a really lovely evening with our friends and excellent nosh! I want to try to blog a bit more often and focus on taking a picture a day again. I'm not carrying my SLR as much since I have a lot to carry when I'm going to Edinburgh these days but I have a perfectly good compact for just those occasions.

I hope you're having a nice weekend all.

Made it back to class

2010-10-06T20:25:00.002+01:00

20 Minute pose, originally uploaded by impoftheyard.

Last night was my first night at life drawing for a few weeks. I've just been busy with learning new things and travelling between Edinburgh and Glasgow for work. I was pleased with this drawing as I thought I captured the lighting well in it. There are more drawings on Flickr if you want a look. I was quite pleased with my 5 minute sketches from last night too like the one below.

I'm still enjoying my work and getting more time to spend with the lovely man - not that either of us have much energy on "school nights" - but it is nice to see more of each other. Hope you're all well and I'll try to pop round to your blogs soon.

Quiet night in

2010-10-02T23:14:00.000+01:00

Sorry I haven't been blogging or commenting lately but I've been pretty busy getting used to my new jobs. I haven't even been to my life drawing for a few weeks but I am enjoying myself nonetheless. In time I'll return to the life drawing and my photos and keep better touch with you all. In the meantime, here's a drawing I did on my iPad using my finger as the lovely man watched TV. Hope you're all having a great weekend.

What have I been up to?

2010-09-18T19:35:00.000+01:00

Sorry for the lack of blogposts and comments but I've been pretty busy lately. What have I been up to? Well, I celebrated the first birthday of my great-niece. She is very big for her age. Here she is with her mum.

I also went to visit friends and another youngster. This little girl is six months old and a lot of fun.

Life drawing was next. Another fine Tuesday was had.

Then I went to Edinburgh to visit Mr duck and get ready for work. I had my first day of work on Thursday. I thoroughly enjoyed it and my new colleagues were all very welcoming. I met my niece (not the one pictured above) and her partner after work for a blether before going home to babble in the ear of the lovely man.

I had no work on Friday and so, while sleepyduck was at work, I met friends and had a lovely meal. Thanks guys.

Today I met up with these three to visit the swans and have coffee and cake. It was great.

I also took a photograph of the Shelter shop window. I rather liked this mannequin wearing an octopus on her head.

It's been a fine week or so....

Who knows what's next?

2010-09-08T21:04:00.000+01:00

I've been pretty busy with one thing and another lately and so am behind in uploading photos to Flickr. I have a lot from the weekend I'd like to sort through. The one above is from my wanderings a few weeks ago when the Edinburgh Festival Fringe was in full swing. I really liked it since, though it looks like selective colour, it's not. I also really liked the shadows. It also seemed to epitomise my feelings about my future at the moment. I have now got some part-time work in Edinburgh one or two days a week and will begin next week. I'm looking forward to it. I also have another interview on Friday for similar work which is in a field that I love. This represents movement where there has been none lately. Wish me luck!

You may have noticed missing Tuesday blogs the last couple of weeks. I was unwell and not fit to go to the life drawing classes but I returned last night.

This was my favourite drawing in spite of some inaccuracy and distortion. Somehow I liked the feel of it. I did feel a little rusty from missing a few weeks. I had every intention to draw at home in the interim but never did.

Hope your week is going well. The weekend is getting closer people!

Sonic Soak at Govanhill Baths

2010-09-04T17:39:00.000+01:00

I'm a little late in posting this. This event took place last weekend at Govanhill Baths in Glasgow - a disused swimming pool - two weeks ago. Sadly, I could only be there for the first couple of hours but I had great fun taking photos. It was a two day music festival with all sorts of contraptions, costumes and performances. This was my favourite photo, partly because I loved this woman's costume.

Here you can see more of the old pool in all it's glory. You can learn a little more about the baths and about the group who organised the event from the links below.

www.govanhillbaths.com/

www.85a.org.uk

Why are semi-derelict places so interesting? Here are couple of photos from my walkabout.

This place brought back so many memories!

You can see others in the set on Flickr if you want to see more of the place and of the event.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/impoftheyard/sets/72157624700694135/with/4934012165/

I have many photographs to sort out - even a few from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe which has been over for a week and then some more so I shall be blogging again soon. Sorry for my absence but a lot has been going on the week and I've not been very well. Still coughing but on the mend...

Quiet Night In

2010-08-26T18:20:00.000+01:00

Quiet night in

2010-08-26T18:16:00.001+01:00

What a week it's been people! I had a birthday, got the lovely man to keep me company for a whole week, got a nasty throat infection and had two interviews - one in Glasgow and one in Edinburgh. I squeaked all the way through both - one involved a presentation too - and I had practically no voice. I was offered one of the jobs I went for. It's part time and casual work but for a good wage doing something that I really love. I'm very much looking forward to starting it.

Now we are having a relaxing night in. I am still not very well at all but I'm very pleased with myself.

I was also thoroughly spoiled by a certain person on my birthday. I got an iPad for my birthday - what a lucky sod I am!!

This photo was taken with my iphone and using a camera app that links it wirelessly to the iPad so that I can actually compose self portraits. I kind of liked it.

Sent from my iPad

Yep... It was Tuesday last night...

2010-08-18T12:59:00.000+01:00

I think this was my favourite drawing from last night. It was an unusual pose and interesting to draw. This one was a 30 minute pose. I was glad the model got up slowly as 30 minutes upside down is a long time!

I like this one too though the photograph is not as sharp as it could be. I don't know what I was doing but I couldn't change it easily as my camera battery is very low and I've misplaced the charger! Time to tidy up methinks.

This last one was a ten minute pose - again an unusual pose so quite interesting to draw.

You may remember last week's chalk pose of the woman hugging her knees. We had a journalist with us last week and here is the article: http://news.scotsman.com/news/A-pie-a-pint-and.6475782.jp There was another article from a media visit the week before in the Sun which you can imagine... http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/3096820/Glasgow-pub-offers-art-classes-with-naked-models.html

I haven't brought myself to reading all of the Sun one but I actually thought their take on it quite funny - a caricature of themselves.

You can't see me in the Scotsman photo but my little bottle of beer is in evidence on the table on the left!

Next week I will miss life drawing as I will be with my lovely man for a whole week and we will be in Edinburgh on Tuesday evening. Looking forward to a whole week of hanging out!

Friday buskers

2010-08-13T23:43:00.001+01:00

This is a lazy blogpost today from my phone. The photo was also taken and processed on the phone. It was a gorgeous sunny day here and I was in town buying birthday pressies which is always a fun activity.

I've been pretty stressed this week but today I got some good news. I have a job interview coming up. That's especially good news since I haven't had one for a while.

Have a great weekend folks.

Sent from my iPhone

Shy Piper

2010-08-12T15:19:00.000+01:00

While the Edinburgh urban piper is easy to spot due to its bold and gregarious stance in the centre of the town - often on Princes Street or the High Street, the Glasgow urban piper is a much shyer creature. If you want to spot one of these you have to follow the sound and it may be found piping its tune from behind a bush in an urban garden....

This was taken near Charing Cross train station in Glasgow. He was, indeed hard to spot and it took some time to catch sight of him.

I love the light at dusk when it's not quite dark but not really day either. These photos were taken with my LX3 compact. This is Glasgow's Mitchell Library. I have taken many photos of it in passing.

This is The Beresford. It was a hotel at one point I think and now it's luxury self catering apartments for people on holiday. It's a very beautiful building and one of my favourites.

Breath of Fresh Air

2010-08-11T08:31:00.000+01:00

That's what life drawing was for me last night. Do you ever have days when you're stressed for no reason? Yesterday was like that for me. Life drawing just took me out of the nasty fretful place. That's why I love it so much - I stop thinking and just look and draw. This top one was my favourite from the night.

I really liked the nice sepia colour that my photos came out. The sun was shining when I took them and pad is a nice yellowy tint. It's a lovely large moleskin notebook. It was a bit of an extravagance but I hope my drawings are doing it justice.

It's funny how when I look at my drawings just when I finish them, I don't always like them. I wasn't all that pleased with this one but I like it a lot more today.

This last one was a ten minute pose where the top two were 20 minutes and the third one here was a half hour pose. I find ten minutes a bit tough going but 20 minutes is fine for most of my drawings.

I hope your week got off to a good start. Mine started badly but is looking up!

Sunday wanderings

2010-08-08T22:24:00.001+01:00

It's been a lovely weekend and it's a shame it's over. Today we went wandering with two of our favourite people - one of whom is pictured here - and went to feed the swans and ducks. I took loads of photos which was fun. This one was my favourite photo of the day.

We saw some police horses in Stockbridge. The little one calls them Nee-Naw horses so I will always think of them as that now.

Here's another photo I liked.

Lastly, a small person exploring... There are lots more on Flickr but these are my favourites...

I'm watching Sherlock tonight but it hasn't grabbed me as much as the first episode did. Still, it's refreshing to have something else to watch as the telly has been so dire lately - not a lot competing with it.

I forgot to welcome EzHighway to blogspot. You will find a link to his blog on the right here. He is another who has been suspended by the other place - a growing band of quality photographers. If you're not familiar with his work then you are in for a treat. He takes the most amazing wildlife shots.

Festival Shenanigans

2010-08-07T18:50:00.000+01:00

The lovely man and I went for a walkabout in Edinburgh to have a look at what was going on in the street during the Festival. It was, in fact, very difficult to see much except for crowds so we didn't hang about long in the Royal Mile. We must go back on a weekday and see if there's breathing space. I didn't feel I got my most inspired pictures but it was good to be taking them again.

This one was taken in relative peace as we got away from the city centre. The large face is actually a chair. I liked this shot especially for the reflections as well as the strange chair and the man. I used to live a block away from here about a decade ago.

There are a few more pictures over on Flickr. Here is one of the lovely man during the very serious activity of scoffing a chocolate cake. You can tell by the look in his eye that he means business!

Hope you're having a nice weekend. I am...

Tuesday night

2010-08-04T17:39:00.000+01:00

Last night was another nice evening at the life drawing class. It was even nicer since my friend brought a friend of his along. The picture above was my favourite from the night. It was an interesting pose to draw.

I didn't forget the chalk this week but I was not all that pleased with the result. Here it is for what it's worth.

This drawing was of the same pose and I preferred it.

Here are another two poses for good measure - though I wasn't really happy with these ones due to some distortions.

Cafe with friends

2010-08-02T20:00:00.000+01:00

Those of you who have followed my photographs for any time at all will have seen these two of my friends very many times. Having more than two of us present affords better opportunities for candid photographs as they interact with each other. These were all taken with my Lumix LX3 - a compact. I thought mono suited them.

I love shots of people expressing themselves with their hands.

Here's another I liked.

Here's one I took at the weekend of the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. It was the first time I had really seen the new extension which you can see to the right in this picture. I was very disappointed. It reminded me of the scaffolding that had surrounded it but kind of covered. It's such a lovely old, stone building that this seems a shame.

The artist sleeps...

2010-07-30T12:45:00.000+01:00

I went to visit a friend yesterday to photograph his paintings for an exhibition. Part of the deal was that I got to draw him. It was really hard when he sat for me as he couldn't sit still. He was a great model though when he fell asleep. I was quite pleased with this drawing.

I thought George Square in Glasgow was looking particularly nice yesterday morning in the sunshine. I was going to a course near here when I stopped and took this photo. The course was on marketing your business for those thinking of setting one up. I'm toying with the idea as the job situation is so bad. The course was excellent and really stimulated my thinking about it.

Today is the day that I join the lovely man so I'd better start to get organised... Have a great weekend folks.

Cafe visit

2010-07-28T18:48:00.000+01:00

I had never noticed this witich before. She adorns a shelf in a local cafe that's a favourite with my friend and I. When I commented on her I learned that she was found under the floorboards when the place was being done up.

Quiet day with bit of shopping and a coffee.... I'm hoping to get into a habit of more frequent blog posts again so watch this space.

More life drawing

2010-07-28T11:15:00.000+01:00

I was at life drawing group last night as usual. This was my favourite of my drawings. I particularly liked it because I had actually captured a fair likeness of the model. This was a ten minute pose.

I had a couple of frustrations last night. One was that, though I'd packed my charcoal, I forgot to pack my pencil case with the chalk. That meant I didn't get the usual chalk drawing. Another was that my arthritis was playing up and I had sore hands. Finally, I was slightly frustrated by the prevalence of short poses - most of them were ten minutes last night.

Having said that, these were minor and I am always pleased I went. The group is so popular, it is getting more and more crowded. It would be good if they could book a second night.

You may think that this man is standing on thin air but he was almost one legged as I nearly forgot the leg he's putting weight on! I had just started to draw it in when the pose ended so it's pretty rough but it seems to work.

Those hands were doing such complicated things that a ten minute pose was not long enough to attempt to get a realistic rendition of them.

I had longer for this one but by then I was a bit sore and less motivated. The cushions just ended up being big black scribbles.... Ah well, I think he has something...

I will NOT forget my chalk next week. I missed it!

Lensbaby day

2010-07-24T15:56:00.000+01:00

I have been determined to take more pictures and have been inspired to use my lensbaby again after Sandy's interest in buying a lensbaby. I look forward to seeing what he does with it.

I went out with the plastic optic and I only had one aperture ring with me so all pictures were taken with that today. The above picture was of a massive squash on a fruit and veg shop display. It was my favourite of today's pictures.

It was a really grey and uninspiring day. When you take pictures with a lensbaby, you can take a really dull and uninteresting picture and make it a really dull and uninteresting fuzzy picture.... Great eh? I'm hoping I got a couple that weren't too dull. I'm still really experimenting with the lensbaby - especially the plastic optic.

Here's another that I quite liked.

And now for a touch of colour on a grey day...

Rainy day in t'other place

2010-07-23T13:24:00.000+01:00

A certain other site which I refuse to advertise is at it again with a resultant loss of another excellent candid photographer. The good news is that we can still see their shots here

My message: Keep on posting, it's not you!

Another Tuesday night's work

2010-07-21T13:49:00.000+01:00

I almost never went to my life drawing group last night as my friend who usually comes with me wasn't going. I decided to make the effort though and am glad I did. My favourite was this one though I was pleased with a few.

I did two drawings of this pose as it was a 45 minute pose. The other one is in chalk and you can see it on Flickr.

This one was a two minute pose. While they are mainly a kind of warm-up, I was pleased with this one.

I have had internet contact with a couple more photographers who like candid street shots and remember Mr duck and I's blips. That is encouraging. I will take my camera out with me later when I'm going out and try to get back to the more regular blogging. I have also been remiss with the comments lately and hope to get back to you all soon. Hope you're having a good week so far!

Meeting up with old friend

2010-07-14T19:06:00.000+01:00

This afternoon I had lunch with R. We have not seen each other for around 20 years I think. Her brother is one of my closest friends and I used to see her a lot. We've had recent Facebook contact and so decided to meet up. Here she is with her lovely daughter. We had a fun and relaxing afternoon. I took a lot of photos of them.

Here's another which I liked.

Here's the one for the caption competition!

Life drawing with a difference

2010-07-14T11:29:00.000+01:00

This woman did manage to hold the umbrella for 25 minutes! I was impressed. It did lose a bit of height but still impressive.

Models choose their own pose and this one made me a little uneasy initially but when I'm drawing I draw what I see and I was pleased with the drawing. If I write that blockbuster crime novel I could have one illustration in the bag...

I liked this drawing too. Previous drawings - some years ago - with chalk have been quite a different style and more sparing on the chalk. The lighting where I am is encouraging a different style. I am enjoying experimenting with it.

This pose didn't inspire me but I liked the result.

My weekend

2010-07-12T21:11:00.000+01:00

I had a lovely weekend with the lovely man as usual. We also met a few other people who are fellow blogger/photographers. Sandy - it was great to meet you and it was well overdue! The author of Photographs and Stories who lives in Orkney was also around and met up with us in Edinburgh. It has been a great experience making new friends through our shared interests.

This chap was very elusive and difficult to photograph on a windy day. Here was a glimpse through the foliage on the Water of Leith.

This chap was actually easier to photograph... If I'd known I would see him I'd have taken a bigger lens! Both of these images are cropped and all are taken with a 50mm lens.

Sandy, the woman who takes lensbaby photographs that I told you about is Mary Jo Bedford She takes some interesting shots.

Life drawing

2010-07-07T11:28:00.000+01:00

My photojournal seems to be becoming a life drawing journal. I promise I will get out and about with the camera soon but this seems to be the way it is at the moment. Here was my favourite from last night's life drawing. I wasn't terrible enthused when the model was wearing this helmet but I did like the resultant drawing.

I was also pleased with this drawing and drew this pose twice. You will see on the second one that the helmet is on her knee but omitted from this drawing.

We arrived late which meant I was sitting at a strange angle with the light shining at me and the model's outline emphasised. I thought this would lend itself to a chalk drawing. I find the chalk harder to control than the charcoal. I was pleased with the suggesting the face in this image with so few lines.

Here is another drawing I was pleased with. It's a ten minute pose and shows a little of the almost paint-like quality of the charcoal which I like.

As ever, there are more pictures on Flickr. The conditions were a little difficult this week as it was very busy and where I was sitting, the light was obscured by another person from time to time. Must go earlier next week! It is so wonderful to have a regular, well organised and cheap life drawing group. I am loving it!

That time of week again

2010-06-30T11:38:00.000+01:00

This was my favourite drawing from this week's batch though I was pleased with my chalk drawings too.

Here I gave full rein to my liking for portaiture. I quite like the resultant drawing though I'm not sure it was all that good a likeness.

I was pleased with this drawing. Until these last few weeks I hadn't done much from life on black paper though I have done some drawings from photographs. It is somewhat of an experimental medium for me but one that I like a lot. This image seemed to achieve something that my previous chalk ones didn't.

I've started cycling to and from the life drawing too. By the time I come home in the evening I feel pretty good after meeting a pal, a couple of hours drawing and a cycle. If you enjoy looking at these, there are a few more on Flickr including some two minute sketches.

Today, if I can find enough vegetables in the cupboard to produce something roughly nourishing then I shall be burrowing in for some tennis and a quiet day. Have a good one all!

Cycle trip

2010-06-24T00:10:00.000+01:00

Here is my cycling partner of the day in the gear he likes to be able to wear all summer when it's possible. We cycled to a park a few miles from where we live but that we'd not been to before - at least I hadn't. Sadly, Glasgow's sporting and recreational facilities have experienced a lot of cuts in funding as the purse for these activities is going to preparing to host the Commonwealth Games. I suspect that may be why the lovely cafe in the Winter Garden was closed.

In our quest for the Winter Garden cafe, we found this amazing bench. I wouldn't have wanted to put it under the stress of my large bottom but it is wonderful for seating children. I had a photo without the cycling calves in the background but I thought they kind of added character.

Here we have a random graffitied log. I kind of liked this photo. I've been using Aperture to process my photos and am enjoying playing with the different coloured filter effects for conversion to black and white. This was processed using a red filter which darkened the leaves and made the log stand out more.

It's been a nice day and I got a bit of exercise. I thought it might rain but it didn't. It remains hot and humid.

After my day out I turned on the telly for a little bit of Wimbledon and got caught up in the game that broke all records. It has been running for two days involving ten hours on the court and the score in the last set is 59 each. Until today, I had never heard of Isner or Mahut. I won't forget them in a hurry. They will come back tomorrow to finish the set. Gripping stuff though I share McEnroe's concern for their wellbeing in such a mammoth match.

Time for bed for me so night night all.

Tuesday night again

2010-06-23T11:48:00.000+01:00

Tuesday night is life drawing night nowadays. This picture was a 10 minute sketch hence the unfinished nature of it but I often like the feel of the rougher, looser drawings. I really liked it just as it is.

This is possibly my most accurate drawing to date. It was helped along by a conversation with the guy next to me. I asked him a question about his drawing and told me how he looks for the largest shapes first and then the medium sized and so on. Here, I first drew large triangles and it really made the drawing more accurate. If you like looking at life drawing then I have posted a few more on Flickr

I'm loving the life drawing. I've been struggling a little since my job disappointment a few weeks ago and with all the depressing budget news. When I go to life drawing, it really lifts my mood. I'm really enjoying it and it helps that I often cycle there and back. Today, I'm hoping to go for a cycle with a friend so you might get some pictures of that later. Happy Wednesday people!

Taking a lensbaby for a walk

2010-06-21T21:33:00.000+01:00

I thought it was high time the lensbaby went out to play with me. I haven't used it for months. If you're not sure what a lensbaby is then check here. This image was taken using the plastic optic and wide aperture. Initially I was just photographing the railings till the person came into view. It turned out I knew the person who walked into shot and so we had a nice conversation.

This looks like a very fast cyclist. In fact they're stopped at the lights. I kind of liked the blurring.

Here we have Glasgow Cross with the customary (for Glasgow) shoe hanging from the telegraph wire!

Here's looking at you! That lens covers a multitude ;-)

I took my bike to the bike hospital today and will collect it tomorrow - with new cables and, with any luck, functional gears. It was a lovely afternoon for sitting outside even though it was overcast. Tonight is not as hot and stuffy either so that is nice.

Thanks Jon and Sandy for your encouragement to post more photos and thanks to Jan for understanding when I don't. Hope your week has started well.

An annual event...

2010-06-20T23:52:00.000+01:00

Here's the lovely man being evasive with the camera pointed at him - as he often his. This is his sister. We have been meeting once a year for the last four years. We always have a lovely time and talk of how we must meet more often. Maybe we'll make it this year!

I've not been inspired to blog lately. I think it's time to start a new series. I think I'll get the old lensbaby out this week as I haven't used it for a while. Here's hoping the weather stays dry and I'll get out with the bike... Watch this space!

Somewhere I'd never been before #5

2010-06-16T18:55:00.000+01:00

A few days ago (yes I know I've been slow to blog lately), my friend's and I went to a cafe which is new to Glasgow. It's called ArtisanRoast. This is on of the tables which is made from an old prison door - one from a prison on the Isle of Bute. It's a lovely cafe with a nice atmosphere and very good coffee.

The lightshades are made from old gramophone trumpets.

We have a nice story about how we came to know about the place. A whole group of us were, some months ago, meeting to go to see Neil Innes perform. We all met in a pub and between us all we had a few spare tickets. We got talking to someone who was from New Zealand and new to Glasgow. He came with us to the gig. Now he is running this cafe. It's always lovely to have an unexpected nice time with a stranger but even better if you come across them again.

Sadly, I didn't have my camera with me, only my iPhone. I must go back and get you some good pics with my camera.

As usual, I was at life drawing yesterday. I have posted more pictures on Flickr but I'll just post my favourite from the night.

If you want to see more then you visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/impoftheyard

I've not been blogging so much and, especially in the nice weather, I'm trying not to spend as much time online. I have been cycling a fair bit which is nice. I do hope to catch up with my regulars soon.

I shall leave you with an entertaining video on the recent theme of choosing specs. If only I'd had this choice!

SPECS FOR SHOWGIRL

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Life drawing

2010-06-08T23:49:00.000+01:00

Well people, it's Tuesday again. The routine is have my friend round and then head together to life drawing. I'm often tired and grouchy at the beginning of the session but once I start drawing it really relaxes me. I think this one was my favourite from tonight though the one below, from a 2 minute pose, came a close second as I liked the simplicity.

Here's another I liked.

Once more, I changed to my black pad in the break.

All the drawings on white paper are done with charcoal and the last one is with white pastel and a little charcoal.

I'm a bit behind in reading all your blogs as I've been quite busy lately. I will have a friend staying for a couple of days so I probably won't catch up for a bit but I haven't forgotten you all. Hope your week is going well. It's just about bedtime for me. Night night.

Birthday party

2010-06-06T20:23:00.000+01:00

We were at a birthday party yesterday. Here we have the birthday girl. Thanks for the invite P, it was a really fun evening. It passed far too quickly. I took a lot of photos - as ever. Here are a selection.

Cameras at the ready!

Sneaky shot among the balloons...

This one's ripe for a caption!

Sorry for the absence of my blog recently. I was going to blog last week and had a silly picture for you when events began to unfold in Cumbria. I hadn't the heart to blog as I heard the rising death toll over the afternoon. My thoughts are still with the people affected.

Tribute to Flann O'Brien

2010-05-28T00:55:00.000+01:00

I went with my friends to see The Third Policeman at the Tron Theatre. Some thirty odd years ago, all four of us pictured here read the novel by Flann O'Brien. It is very funny and very surreal. He discussed atomic theory where everything is made up of atoms which move about. When things come into contact with each other the atoms get all mixed up. Cyclists become more bike than human and bikes become more human than bike. How can you tell that someone is more bike than human - they stand at the bar with their elbow sticking out... You gotta read it as I don't do it justice but I had to explain what we're all doing. We also all cycled to the theatre tonight. It was a fun night.

I really liked this one. I love how people express themselves with their hands.

It was harder to catch who I was sitting beside!

Here's a macro thrown in for good measure. See if you can guess what it is.

It was good to be going out tonight as I had had yet another job rejection today. I'm told repeatedly that I interview well and am a good candidate but there was just someone who had a little bit of something I hadn't. Back to the drawing board...

It's past my bedtime and I'm off to Edinburgh tomorrow to see the lovely man.

More life drawing

2010-05-25T23:57:00.001+01:00

Tuesday night has become a regular life drawing slot for my friend D and I. This was my first drawing of the evening and probably one of the best. I have been trying other mediums and this was drawn using a graphite stick. It was the size of a large crayon and I enjoyed drawing with it. I've not used them before.

This was another with the graphite stick - pity my composition slid off the page!

I use to love drawing on black paper and found a nice sketch pad online so I had a go at drawing with chalk. Here are some of the results.

What a shame I've neglected doing something that I derive so much pleasure from - it's a decade since I've done any drawing. I particularly enjoy life drawing and the opportunity has not always been available but it's still possible to keep up with drawing other stuff.

I hope you've enjoyed a little glimpse of tonight's efforts. I certainly enjoyed drawing them.

Day trip to meet the family

2010-05-25T11:21:00.001+01:00

I'm lucky enough to live so close to Arran that a day trip is possible. Since my cousins were on holiday there and live in England, I took the opportunity to visit. Here is a shot of Lochranza Castle. I liked the dramatic effect of the shadows of the clouds. This one is worth looking at bigger. Though some showers were forecast none materialised. It was, for me, a more beautiful day than the one before as it was one for no coat but it was a bit cooler.

This oyster catcher was in some distress and came close to us. It took some time to realise we were close to its nest and even more time to know which direction to walk in to get away from the nest as we couldn't see it. What brave little creatures to take on three giants to protect an egg. There are some more photos on Flickr including one of it sitting down on what I presume to be its nest.

Here are my lovely cousins.

I hadn't seen them for many years and our contact with each other began recently. One of them I had not seen since childhood. In spite of that there are many similarities in our pasts and our interests. We have had Facebook contact for a while and found ourselves sharing the same daft sense of humour. There would appear to be a particular strand of this among the women in our familiy and those of you who have been following my blog will know that this is a very silly sense of humour! It was a wonderful day and passed all too quickly.

I'll return later to pictures of places I've not been before. I think rather than consecutive days, I shall just keep that series going till I have ten of them and then I'll come up with something else to keep me posting. I'd better get myself organised as I have an interview today. Hope you're all getting some chance to enjoy the nice weather.

Somewhere I'd never been before #4

2010-05-22T22:53:00.001+01:00

Mr Duck and I went to the South Side Festival today in Queen's Park in Glasgow. It was held in a bit of the park I'd never been in before. We met up with our friend P and wandered around taking photos. What we saw of the events were not terribly exciting though it would have been a great event to take children too. The above image is of the a woman doing henna painting - with more time I think I would have enjoyed having this done.

Some events seemed a bit lame - like this tyre flipping race. I'm of the age that I couldn't help thinking that they were going to hurt their backs!

It was a gloriously sunny day, as you can see here.

This image is of a part of the facade of the new Victoria Infirmary building that I'd never seen before. I like the colours.

Last but not least, you can see all three of us here if you look closely!

It's been a lovely day - warm and sunny but it's looking like a very hot and humid night. My window has been open since yesterday and it's 24 degrees C in here at almost 11pm!

Hope you've been having a good weekend. My jobhunt goes on and I learned today that I have an interview on Tuesday. Time for bed soon methinks. Night night all.

Somewhere I'd never been before #3

2010-05-20T21:27:00.000+01:00

I've never been up this lane. Actually, I've still never walked through it but this image caught my eye as I passed. I snapped it quickly with all the wrong settings in place and kind of liked the slightly over-exposed look.

I have a few photos from places I'd never been before today. The one below is of bags hanging up in a shop that sells a lot of retro clothes and accessories. It's called Tatty Bon and you can find out more about it at http://www.tattybon.co.uk/ if you're in Glasgow and might fancy a visit. It was a really nice shop with some amazing stuff. The two women were really nice and if you're looking in, thanks for letting me take photos.

Another place I went to in my wanders with my friend was another retro shop/bookshop on the High Street in Glasgow. There are two near each other and we went into both. Sadly I didn't get the name of the shop. The man in there took his bakelite Viewmaster out of the window so that I could photograph it.

What a trip back in time that was! These are from the 1950s and we had one identical to this one in our house. My dad was at sea and we also had some relatives in the US. I think ours came from there either via my father or a relative. I loved it. If you don't know what they are, you get these discs for them with a circle of slide type images around them. When you look through the eye-pieces you can see the images in 3D. I hadn't looked through one of these for years - many thanks to the man who brought it out for me.

What a great day it's been. I cycled into town to meet my friend and visited cafes and shops. I'm pleased with myself for getting out on the bike again. According to my cyclethingy on my iPhone, I cycled 5 miles today and climbed 500 feet. Only a week of cycling three or four times a week has really improved my stamina and how far I'm managing to get up the hills without getting off and pushing it. Now for a quiet evening in and a rest.

Oh, and I thought I'd post a pic of a flower that was on the table in a cafe we visited - just for good measure - especially since it was yet another place I'd never been before.

Somewhere I'd never been before #2

2010-05-19T22:36:00.000+01:00

Ok, this is pushing the theme (of a place I've never been) a little but it was a bit of footpath I hadn't walked on - at least I didn't think I had. I think the local kids going by thought I was nuts. I had my bike and hi vis vest along with hi vis cycle clips (really cool look here) and I was pointing a camera at the ground. Then I put my camera down and carefully picked up the little snail and moved it off the path out of the way of the young people heading my way. This does not give you street cred in the East end of Glasgow. In fact, I don't think it gives you street cred anywhere....

I've had a nice evening watching a film with a friend and having some food. I cycled to her house and back so I'm quite pleased with myself. I've cycled somewhere every day this week. Will I keep it up if it's raining tomorrow? I wonder. I'm off into town to take some photos and I hope to be on my trusty wheels then...

Life drawing

2010-05-19T00:24:00.000+01:00

I'm afraid I never went anywhere I hadn't been before today but I did go to life drawing with my friend. The sketch above was one done during a series of two minute poses and was one of my favourites. I'll give you a few more samples below.

The one below was a very quick study of a pose that I'd done another drawing of which you can see on Flickr if you're so inclined.

I had charcoal with me today which is my medium of choice. I find it far easier to be less fussy than with a pencil.

Until discovering this place where I go for life drawing, it had been a decade since I had done any and I'm loving it. I felt a bit stressed and down earlier but life drawing takes me out of that. It totally absorbs me.

Bedtime for me now...

Somewhere I'd never been before

2010-05-18T14:27:00.000+01:00

I was sitting in a cafe yesterday (Monday) with my regular cafe-pal K and I told him of my plan to take a series of photos in places I'd never been before. I also told him that I couldn't really be bothered going anywhere. He then started to tell me of this church building which is local to us but in a street I'd never been along. Large brick buildings are really quite unusual in Glasgow and this one is particularly unusual. I love the brickwork around the arched windows.

The cross on the top was also really quite unusual and I wondered if the seagull was nesting up there as it seemed so settled.

I was out on my bike yesterday. I cycled to a hospital visit. I'll be taking the bike out again today. I'm hoping to cycle most days as I really need to get exercising. The hospital visit was difficult as the person I saw was very stressed and became ridiculously defensive when I was describing pain she didn't want me to have. I've not been at my best so I wasn't as assertive as I might have been. I'll need to prepare carefully for my next visit. The person I saw had been working in that clinic since 10am without a break. I left her at 3.30. She was telling me that there will be redundancies coming to the clinic too. I'm desperate to get work just now but the cuts within jobs are making people's working conditions really difficult.

Dancing in the street

2010-05-16T20:08:00.002+01:00

This chap was dancing as he passed these buskers. The lovely man has been here for an extra day this weekend and that's been lovely. We had a wander in the centre of Glasgow and these excellent buskers were playing in town. It was the first time in weeks that I'd used the SLR. I've enjoyed a break from it but it was great to be out with it again.

Here's another of them. They did covers of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" and Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street" as well as less well know jazz.

Here is a woman standing outside what used to be Borders bookshop. It's a large premises with very large windows and the entire window is fill with old sewing machines. I liked the display. I haven't been in yet to see the clothes.

I loved this balloon chap...

Last but not least. Here's a little clip of video of today in Buchanan Street so you can catch a little of the atmosphere and hear a little bit of the buskers.

Kirkintilloch

2010-05-13T21:58:00.003+01:00

This will be the last blog in my series of mobile blogs from the
iPhone. I'm kind of glad of that. These photos were taken this
afternoon in Kirkintilloch. I had a trip there with my friend D who
can be seen in the second picture. We went to the local museum which
was once a church and is the next photo. They were exhibiting and
selling craftwork including ceramics which looked smoke fired. I
particularly liked the piece above which was ceramic and woven
material. I studied pottery some time ago and always love looking at
ceramics.

I will take photos this weekend, with one of my cameras, of anything
that grabs my interest. I've decided that next week my theme for
weekdays will be to take photos of any kind but in a place I've never
been before. Hopefully I will then be able to combine the quest with
cycling.

I'm very happy that the weekend is coming and that a certain duck will
be making his way here.

So what did I get up to today?

2010-05-12T22:42:00.002+01:00

Those of you who saw my last post will know I had bad news today. I
was very disappointed and didn't want to be around the house on my
own. I went to meet my lovely niece and great-niece pictured here.
After a few hours with them I went to see a lovely friend who fed me
and let me photograph her beautifully drawn tattoo.
I have been overwhelmed by the kind comments here and on Facebook
today. I have also had texts from friends and family. It doesn't make
bad news go away but it does make me feel better about life. Thanks to
all.

PS My planned time of blogging soley from my iPhone will be finished on Friday. Though I've enjoyed learning about blogging and photographing with the phone on the move, I will be glad to take pics with a camera again. Need to think of another theme.

First casualty

2010-05-12T10:23:00.001+01:00

Second, if you include Gordon Brown. I've just had a letter which was
posted yesterday, withdrawing the job offer due to spending cuts.
Feeling pretty gutted today.

Depressing day

2010-05-11T22:04:00.003+01:00

Once more we have a Tory government. Given the dearth of Tory and Lib
Dem votes in Scotland, I wonder where the Public Sector cuts are going
to be made? A depressing day.

EDIT: Comment seen on Facebook

I knew David Cameron was bad news.
He has only been PM for five minutes and already he's evicted a Scottish family and put them on the dole!

Thanks Audrey

Afternoon out

2010-05-11T09:36:00.001+01:00

Here are two faces that will be familiar to those of you who have been
looking at my pictures for any length of time. I met up with them
after being out on my bike yesterday. It was the first lengthy cycle
for some time and I was pleased with my stamina. The plan is to cycle
a lot more and hopefully get to being able to zip up my cycling jacket
again!

Walk in the park

2010-05-08T23:34:00.003+01:00

After staying up on Thursday night to watch the election results coming
in, the lovely man and I have been having a quiet weekend. This photo
was taken when we went for a walk in my local park. It was a
gloriously sunny day. Why do weekends pass so quickly?

For What It's Worth

2010-05-06T18:02:00.002+01:00

I've been and done it... There won't be any surprises in this area but
it still felt important to do it.
Now I'm off to prepare some food as the Duck and I are having a long
weekend. We shall eat and then watch the circus unfold tonight. Wish I
could feel excited at the prospect of election night but alas, it's so
hard to like politicians. I think of the qualities which make for a
good leader who will work for the good of the country and then I think
of the qualities which would make someone want the job and survive in
it. Alas, in my head, it's a different set of qualities so I'm not
optimistic that I'll like politicians and political leaders any better
in the future. Like many voters today, I can be much clearer about
what I don't want.
Happy election day people.

EDIT Due to nasty spam. I have turned on comment moderation. I thought I'd done it yesterday but forgot to save changes - Doh!

Bored

2010-05-05T19:41:00.002+01:00

I wasn't out today or photographically inspired so you have a self-
portrait. Thanks to Sandy, I have been playing with a new colour
manipulating app, Mill Colour. Hope I haven't scared you too much!

EDIT: Due to someone who posts comments with nasty links, I have had to turn on comment moderation.

Life drawing

2010-05-04T23:34:00.001+01:00

Tonight was a little adventure. In the centre of Glasgow, there is a
pub/club called the Flying Duck and on a Tuesday night they have a
life drawing session. It costs £4 which is very reasonable. I went
with friend and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I haven't had the opportunity
to do life drawing for years and I love it. The time flew by.

Pictured here is the model's chair at the break and below, you can see
one of my efforts.

I am still sticking to taking photos and processing them with my
iPhone. I'll do this for 14 days for no other reason than I said I
would. It's quite fun learning what I can do with it.

Time for bed now so night night.

Domestic catchup

2010-05-04T16:02:00.002+01:00

Today has been a day of domestic chores. The image here is of a
domestic item. It's probably not that difficult to see what it is. I
just liked the shape and the shadows.
I will be feeding a friend this evening and then we're off to explore
a life drawing class held in a pub with a DJ and a bar. I love life
drawing and doing it with bar and DJ will be a novelty! I'll let you
know how I get on.

Bank holiday stroll

2010-05-03T16:49:00.001+01:00

The lovely man and I went for a wander today as the sun was out and it
was rather a lovely afternoon. My first stop was the Shelter shop.
Stockbridge in Edinburgh has rather a good collection of second-hand
shops. I returned laden with bargains including a winter coat and a
warm jacket. I love second-hand shops.

Now it's coming to the sad time when I'll have to pack up and head
home again. Hope you've had as nice a weekend as I have.

Trip to the exhibition

2010-05-02T16:05:00.001+01:00

It's been a lovely afternoon. We met our friend Penny and went to the
Diane Arbus exhibition at the Dean Gallery. Sleepyduck and I have seen
her work before, exhibited in Barcelona. If you live anywhere near
Edinburgh then I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

Afterwards we were treated to a lovely lunch. Thanks Penny. We also
met a lovely little wrinkled green chap who can be seen below.

These pictures form part of my series of blogs from my iPhone. I have
discovered a limit that I can only put the images after the text. This
was not an issue when I blogged from a Nokia. If anyone knows a way
round it other than editing the HTML after submitting the images then
I would be interested to hear from you.

I plan to blog from the phone for fourteen days and then think of
another theme.

Toys Galore

2010-05-01T22:09:00.001+01:00

Here's Mr Duck looking in the window of his local toy shop which now
has toys in it. We've been out for a meal with a friend and although
all did not go according to plan it was lovely to see her.

Self portrait

2010-04-30T14:12:00.003+01:00

This image was taken with, and entirely processed on my iPhone. I've decided that I would like to get back to posting an image on my blog with more frequency than lately. As I haven't been feeling like using my SLR, I thought I might as well start with a series of iPhone images. I can process the pictures on my phone and can be therefore blog on the move. I am looking forward to travelling a whole lot lighter.

Life feels quite good at the moment. I still don't have a start date for my job but I don't think that will be very long in coming. I'm very much looking forward to a weekend with the lovely man.

I'm dictating this using voice recognition software and "the lovely man" came out as "the muffin man". I think that's quite a nice name for him. I hope he has some muffins for me.

Have a great weekend all!

Sent from my iPhone

Vestiges Park

2010-04-28T12:22:00.000+01:00

This is the entrance to Vestiges Park. This was an area of wasteland in Glasgow which was utilised for a sculpture exhibition as part of Glasgow International Festival of Visual Arts. Going in the entrance there are paths within the park which is in the shape of a head - or so the leaflet would appear to show. It is hard to tell within the undergrowth. Let me take you in.

The subtlety of this one made it a favourite with me. There is another image of these mirror sculptures on my Flickr page.

My favourite exhibit was the glove museum. It was a little hut with a rubbery hand as door handle.

Inside was a display of gloves which this image does not do justice to. See anything unusual about this next one?

Sometimes strange noises come up at you from under the ground somewhere. One exhibit in particular called The Thought Fox has a humerous and inventive narrative with it. The sculpture can be seen in the image below but it is only a part of the exhibit.

There are many more images of some of the other exhibits on Flickr. They don't do the place justice particularly those exhibits which also use sound.

It's a lot of fun roaming around the piece of ground not knowing what you will see next. I found that a more fun way of exploring than using the guide. When we had come full circuit we found a lot of small plastecine figures and some more plastecine. We learned that these were left over from a children's event but we felt we wanted to add our figures.

Here is my sculpture.

Striking, ain't it ;-)

I hope you've enjoyed a little visit to Vestiges Park with me. If you want to learn more about the exhibition or the artists or to visit it before it closes then go the website at http://www.lowsalt.org.uk/vestigespark.html

Back home

2010-04-23T12:42:00.001+01:00

I tried writing my blog from my iphone but didn't succeed in doing more than sending the picture. I'll need to work on that one. Here is a familiar face and a wee self portrait taken with my iPhone.

As you will have seen if you followed sleepyduck's blog and from my last entry, we had a wonderful holiday with glorious weather all last week.

Since I came back I have been busy with some preparation for my new job. I still don't have a start date but I had the opportunity to go and meet my colleagues and learn a bit more about the job. No other employer has offered me that chance before I start. The place seems very professional and yet relaxed. The premises are excellent and the people are friendly. I think I will enjoy working there.

The upcoming change has taken a lot of my attention and I'm afraid I haven't seen any of your blogs for some time. I will drop in soon. In the meantime, I hope all is well with you all.

Lovely Kildonan, Isle of Arran

2010-04-13T08:54:00.002+01:00

This photo was taken from the little balcony of our hotel room in Kildonan on the Isle of Arran. I love this place and have been pining for it. It's two years since the lovely man and I have been here.

This is the window of our hotel room. We are staying at the Kildonan hotel which is where we always stay. It's beautiful, the food is tremendous and the staff are always nice. These balconies are a new addition since we were here last and they are great. Our first night we sat out at the little table and shared a bottle of wine - lovely. We have also been blessed with glorious sunshine though it looks a little grey today.

This is not my best seal photo but these three were there to greet us on our first morning when we woke here. This one is taken from the balcony.

A nearby walk culminates in finding many more seals. This one is making his gettaway as I got too close.

Here are his mates chilling out on some rocks. I found a rock myself and sat on it... I think these seals are onto something.... This one is worth looking at bigger.

Do check out the other pictures on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/impoftheyard There is a bird there that I didn't identify.

Signing off now to enjoy the fabulous cooked breakfast.

People's Palace

2010-04-03T22:56:00.000+01:00

Those of you who have visited sleepyduck's blog will know that we visited the People's Palace in Glasgow yesterday. Here he is, enjoying a donkey ride while wearing his best frock.

The People's Palace has some good exhibits but also a very strange collection of things and some displays are a little puzzling. For example, what on earth is the one below about?

One of my favourites is Billy Connolly's Big Banana boots.

With us on our travels were two friends. The little chap below and his mum.

It was a great day.

I have also, in the last week seen my lovely great niece. I have yet to sort all the photos and will share them with you at a later date. Hope you're all having a great holiday weekend.

Night in front of the telly.

2010-04-01T21:47:00.001+01:00

I'm blogging lazily from my phone. I still haven't been online as much but I've been having fun with my new iPhone. This image is taken on the phone and also processed on it using Photoforge. Sandy - I'd love to hear more about what you use. I have a few photo apps and we can compare.

There are still some checks to be done before I start my job so I don't have a date yet. It's just a question of waiting.

As it's Easter weekend, I have the lovely man here and we will have four whole days together. Life feels good at the moment. Hope you all have a great Easter weekeend.

Sent from my iPhone

Autograph

2010-03-29T17:49:00.000+01:00

Last night I went to see Neil Innes with a group of friends. He was great. I took some photos but only had an iPhone so they are kind of over exposed. ("ONLY had an iPhone?" I hear you say. Yes, it's my new toy!) I found myself at the front of the autograph queue without having queued as I went to join a friend who was buying cds. I had nothing to autograph but my hand. I was asked if I also wanted a skull. I said "yes please" but never got one... "Only in Glasgow" said Neil.

If you don't know Neil Innes then he was one of the Monty Python team, a Ruttle and in the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band. Here is Ego Warriors for you:

Here are some of my overexposed photos from last night

As you can see, we were in the front row. It was a wonderfully fun evening.

Now I'm nursing a hangover and playing with my new iPhone. What a lucky lass I am at the moment!

2010-03-24T15:34:00.001Z

I'm being very lazy and a bit experimental and blogging directly from my phone. Today's entry is not about a great photo but rather, some good news. I have finally been offered a job. I'm waiting to have everything finalised but I am very happy about it.

Once again, please forgive my neglect of you all. I haven't been spending as much time online but I do hope to catch up soon.

Messing about with Photo Booth effects

2010-03-17T21:29:00.000Z

This image was created with the internal camera on my Macbook and with some of the weird effects. I quite liked the result.

I'm really behind with all online stuff but I thought I'd blog to let you all know I'm still here.

I have some photo related projects planned which I'll let you know a more about in due course. Hope your week is going well folk.

Some pictures from the weekend..

2010-03-10T16:21:00.000Z

Here's a sleepyduck looking sleepy.... Note the big new lens.

Here are two of my favourite people having a crash landing.

This one was my favourite in spite of the touch of camerashake.

Last but not least, here is the lovely duck looking cool.

Other news is that I finally managed to change the leaky leads on my washing machine and can do my own laundry again! Hooray!

I have many more pictures from the weekend and will post some more soon. I'm still working my way through them and slowly uploading them to Flickr. I have a lot of catching up to do with all your blogs. I haven't forgotten you!

Look what I found in my tonsil

2010-03-08T16:22:00.000Z

I got a bit of a sore throat yesterday and felt like I had a bone in my throat. I wasn't eating at all but when I got back with the lovely man, I asked him to look in my throat. He saw a yellow lump. I thought I had an infection. My throat felt a little swollen. Some time in the middle of the night, I coughed and this popped out. I now have an indentation where it was left. I have no idea what it is or how it got there. The only clue is we had a take-away curry the night before.

There's a slightly revolting story for you. Such things fascinate me. If anyone recognises what it is then let me know.

I've had a lovely long weekend and you will have seen some of the activities if you have looked at sleepyduck's blog. I took so many photos that I am still organising them. I will blog on our weekend activities soon - tonight or tomorrow.

Hope you've had a good weekend. I saw snowdrops in Pitlochry so it's definitely spring!

Lovely sunny day's shopping...

2010-03-01T22:27:00.000Z

I met with my friend K today to go and buy birthday pressies for a certain duck. It was a gorgeous, sunny day with a hint of spring in the air, I thought. I really liked the long shadows. Here's K pushing his bike towards Lidl once we returned from the city centre.

I think Mr Duck will like his birthday presents. It's just a shame that I won't see him till the weekend when he will age midweek. Will visit your blogs soon. Hope your week has started well.

Bumping into a pal...

2010-02-28T21:08:00.000Z

The lovely man and I met this friend while we wandered about in Stockbridge yesterday. It's always nice to see friends unexpectedly. Here she is with him.

Later on we met some other friends and had a lovely Thai meal. Here's another picture with sleepyduck near the castle. The restaurant wasn't far from here.

I have been very lacking in inspiration and motivation lately and have been erratic in looking at blogs. I will catch up soon. I was feeling a bit low last week as I heard that I didn't get the job. I gave a good interview and was second best yet again. Sadly that isn't enough when it comes to job interviews. My lovely weekend has cheered me up and I shall be back with a vengeance next week.

Another photofriend has begun a blog. Do check him out at http://themindlesseye.blogspot.com/

Visit to Glasgow Museum of Transport

2010-02-21T16:49:00.000Z

It was a lovely weekend with the lovely man as usual. We went to Glasgow's Museum of Transport as it will soon be closing and moving to another venue. We've been there and taken photos before but it was nice to go back. My resistance to setting the ISO high meant that I didn't get as many good photos as I should have but I liked this one in mono. I love the floor pattern in that bit of the museum.

After that we went to Mother India - just opposite Glasgow's Art Gallery and Museum. It's a great restaurant that serves Indian food in a tapas style so you buy lots of little dishes. The food is excellent.

I'm having some trouble concentrating as I haven't heard how I did in my job interview yet. I'm hoping I'll hear tomorrow but I hope you've all still got everything crossed.

Hope you've been having a lovely weekend. I'm a bit behind with all of your blogs but I'll catch up soon.

Chinese New Year in Glasgow

2010-02-15T18:35:00.001Z

I could hear drums as I walked along a street in the city centre today. The source of the sound was this group who were celebrating Chinese New Year. I watched the dragon dancing for a while. In this shot it is leaving the building. At one point inside the restaurant I could see people standing and holding glasses up in the direction of the dragon.

It was a pleasant interlude to witness on my trip today. I was out looking for interview clothes and am now equipped for Friday afternoon. Hope you've still got those fingers crossed for me.

Finger puppet fun

2010-02-15T11:00:00.000Z

This little chap didn't want to feed the ducks yesterday. I don't blame him as it was a bit grey and damp. Instead we had a lot of fun with finger puppets. We also had cake. Yum!

Here are some pictures of the stars of the show.

You may notice a a shady character in the background...

Here's another shot I really liked.

It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Cow disguises itself as a car

2010-02-14T21:21:00.000Z

I heard the moo but I wasn't sure whether I was seeing a car disguised as a cow or a cow disguised as a car. The view from behind clinched it when it flicked its tail.

Cars do not have tails. It must therefore have been a cow disguised as a car. Good disguise don't you think?

It's been a lovely weekend. Mr Duck and I had a bit of a wander around the Royal Mile before going for a meal in a Kurdish restaurant with a friend. I took the opportunity to get some lensbaby pictures and took a few that I liked.

Here is the lovely duck himself.

It's a little tricky getting the focus as sharp as I'd like when trying to capture what's happening around me since the lensbaby requires manual focus but it was nice to be playing with it again. All these are yesterday's photos and there are many more on my Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/impoftheyard/

I took some lovely pictures today which I'll share with you tomorrow as I've still to sort them all out. Those of you who explore my blog links may have noticed a new one. It's called Stretching my Comfort Zone This is definitely worth a look if you are interested in photography. I particularly like this woman's colour projects.

I hope you've been having a good weekend. It's time for me to make a cup of tea...

Seeking signs of spring

2010-02-11T17:13:00.000Z

I was in a very springlike mood this afternoon when I went out in search of a pint of milk and some signs that spring was approaching. The first thing I found was in the frozen pond.

Not very spring like but pretty, nonetheless.

The poor ducks and other birds were inclined to mob passersby with bread as there still is not a lot water that isn't frozen. I hadn't seen so many of them here before.

After I searched and searched I saw a couple of tiny buds on a branch that looked like they might be pushing the tiniest bit of new growth. I looked a many branches before I saw this. I did photograph it with my macro filters but not very successfully without having a tripod.

The other sign of spring I saw was the behaviour of the pigeons though I have to confess, I've seen them trying to charm the girl pigeons all through the winter.

It would seem for now that my belief that spring is on its way remains an article of faith rather than something I can find much evidence for here yet. It remains bitterly cold but the sunny afternoons we've been having are cheering though I still do envy those of you across Europe who are seeing the spring well on its way.

Do you think they saw the camera?

2010-02-10T23:57:00.001Z

I have a liking for candid shots so here's one. I don't think they spotted the camera at all. Do you?

I had a lovely evening catching up with old friends. I've only seen the person on the left twice in around 20 years. It was good to catch up.

Now I'm home and I have the munchies so I'm off to raid the cupboards....

Cafe visit

2010-02-08T18:48:00.000Z

K and I went shopping today and then had a few coffees. Here he is in one of our favourite local cafes. This is not the best photograph I've taken of him but I liked it for all the action elsewhere - the woman behind and all the paintings.

I cancelled my appointment with the doctor today as I feel I'm on the mend at last. I'm still coughing a little and a bit sniffy but definitely much improved. I'm so glad. It's been a long time to have a cold for!

I'm hoping to get a bit more experimental with my photos. Watch this space and you might eventually see something different.

Hope your week has started well. I've had a pleasant enough start to mine.

Relaxing Saturday...

2010-02-06T18:05:00.000Z

We're having a quiet and relaxing Saturday. I can smell the duck we have in oven - yum! Hope you're having a good weekend.

What a tasty walking stick!

2010-02-06T11:25:00.000Z

Here is my lovely great niece discovering the joys of eating walking sticks while sitting on granny's knee. These photos were taken at a high ISO and are therefore pretty grainy. We had a lovely afternoon celebrating my niece's 30th birthday and playing with the little on.

Here she is exploring a lovely beard.

All these new discoveries are tiring...

Now the lovely man has arrived and I'm enjoying a relaxing weekend. Sadly, I'm still coughing so it will be a visit to the doc next week.

I have had some good news - a job interview in a couple of weeks time. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Night out...

2010-02-04T10:22:00.000Z

Here's my friend G. You may have seen him before in my photos. Last night we attended the opening of an exhibition of his paintings. It was a small community venue and was a really nice event. He is pictured here in the pub where we met up before it.

It was the first day in more than a week that I had ventured out of the house at all - apart from when I had essential stuff to do on Friday. That was due to having the cold. I am still not fully recovered but am feeling a lot better and it was so good to see the outside world again.

Here is a small sample of paintings from the exhibition.

We have the snow back in Glasgow at the moment. It started snowing a bit before I went out last night. When we went out in the snow later I really liked the patterns formed by it on this bush.

It's a shaky shot but I liked that about it too.

Here he is as a younger man

2010-02-02T19:19:00.000Z

Here is my friend K - a very regular star on my blog given he lives near me now. Our friendship has lasted many years. This photo was taken some time between 1988 and 1994.

I have resolved the problems I was having with getting my HP Scanjet 4750C to work with the new Mac operating system Snow Leopard. HP have stopped producing new drivers. Using Parallels Desktop, I created a virtual drive and installed Windows XP. I was able to install the scanner there. I am very pleased with myself!

The other good news today is that I am far better rested and finally beginning to recover from my cold. To celebrate, I think I'll play with my scanner some more....

Happy Tuesday!

Entertaining

2010-02-02T00:34:00.001Z

My friend K came round this evening and I cooked for him. I made a lamb stew that was really tasty. It was great to have some company as I'm still not well enough to go out and about and I'm beginning to feel a bit stir crazy. I used it as an opportunity to play with my tripod and set it up pointing at K's seat. I took lots of photos using the remote as he was talking to me. I really liked this image. I have a particular liking for how expressive hands are.

Dow there's an idea

2010-01-30T19:16:00.002Z

I still have the cold from hell. I am going through bogroll at a rate of knots and I posted a "poor me" post on Facebook at 4 am. There followed a chain of comments including an entertaining story.

I once had sucha a shocking cold, I decided the best way I could make sure I had hankies on me all the time was to hang a toilet roll on a ribbon around my neck! I was at home. I was proud of my clever, practical idea. Then a delivery man came to the house and I completely forgot it was there, until he'd gone........

What a great idea, I thought! I really am at the stage of needing it very close to hand all the time. I had no ribbon but a luggage elastic sufficed. I felt a little like a St Bernard with it's keg of brandy and that sparked the idea that this would be an excellent and practical addition to a nurse's uniform - I would suggest that it was extra soft toilet roll for this purpose. It could be useful for the nurse and for her/his patients.

This train of thought led to my great business plan (and this is where you must stop reading unless you are a trusted regular/friend). My female readers especially will be familiar with the hazards of female anatomy when eating drippy food. Any stray items end up in full view. This could be averted by using the "Napkin Roll Necklace" which would become a fashion accessory for visitors to all the best restaurants. They could be made in all sorts of bold colours and patterns and chosen to match the evening's outfit. Now please don't tell anyone but soon, I think you may see me on Dragon's Den selling my prototype. I will of course share the profits with my Facebook friend.

In the meantime, this is such a practical solution although not yet fashionable. I suggest for that reason, that if you wish to begin wearing toilet roll or kitchen roll necklaces, that you should do so when you are alone and not expecting a delivery unles, of course, you have already publicly established your eccentricity - as I have. Should you have other people living with you, you may find that you are going public sooner than you intended (see Sleepyduck's blog).

Wonderful accessory, though it is, I hope to stop wearing my necklace soon.

P.S. I may have a temperature.

Later edit:

Here's a bit of light relief:

Old Chestnut

2010-01-28T21:35:00.000Z

I haven't been out taking photos so I'm still scanning old negatives. This is a very old chestnut tree that I went to visit with the friend who is pictured here. I have lost contact with her and the photos have reminded me of her again. I'll try to find her.

That was a great day out and I loved the tree. Here's another image for you.

My feeling a bit ill has mutated into a fully developed cold with stuffy dose. It's been another day at home for me. I managed to lose my iPod Touch for 3 and a half hours. I got really frustrated looking for it but, as Sleepyduck pointed out, that means I need an iPad because it will be harder to lose. I can but dream.... It's a very desirable object in spite of a name too closely related to feminine hygiene.

Nearly the weekend folks :-)

Stuff and nonsense

2010-01-27T18:32:00.001Z

Do you remember this chap and how I said he had a secret?

Well here he is again. If you squeeze his middle then his eyes pop out.

This is my friend who came round today shining my cow torch on my pig and squeezing him till his eyes pop. My how we laughed.... I am feeling quite ill today and that's about as intellectual as I can get. It's very frustrating as I planned to go out and meet people but I don't feel well enough - not terribly ill but ill enough to not want to move. There seem to be so many colds and flus around just now.

I've still been enjoying scanning some of my old photos with my new negative scanner. In the process though I discovered that the latest Mac operating system is not compatible with my high quality flatbed scanner so I'm a little peeved about that!

Here is one of my favourites from today's discoveries in the old negatives.

Old photos scanned from negatives

2010-01-25T19:18:00.000Z

I haven't been taking photos today but I've been playing with a new toy - a USB negative scanner. I have a scanner and it has a negative attachment but I rarely use it as it is a bit awkward to use. The USB scanner does not provide top quality but it's very small and easy to use to scan a lot of images at once. I also really like the peculiar effects it has on the edges and the colours.

The photo above was taken in Heidelberg, as far as I remember. It was around 1990 when I spent some time in Germany visiting a friend. It was taken with an old Olympus Trip. The camera was old even at that time. It was one of the ones with the light meter round the lens and you focussed by judging the distance. I took many photos with it.

Here is one from the same time period taken of Newhaven Harbour in Edinburgh.

I've been posting more pictures on Flickr as I get through scanning the negatives. It is possible that I have mislabelled some of the places in Germany as it is so long ago so if you see an error then do correct it.

I'm tired after all my travels in the last few days so I'm enjoying a quiet evening at home. Hope your week has started well.

First time for everything

2010-01-24T17:48:00.000Z

Do you remember the first time in your life that you ever got to feed the birds? Probably not, eh? Well I witnessed this little chap's first time. I have no children but am lucky enough to have some in my life. It's lovely to watch him explore and learn about the world afresh. He also called me by name for the first time. It was a lovely afternoon with these friends and the lovely man.

Here is another one where he would happily have got more closely acquainted with this swan but had to settle with blowing him a kiss "bye bye".

Soon I will have to start the trip home. Hope you're having as nice a weekend as me.

Lovely visit to Dundee

2010-01-23T13:19:00.000Z

My couple of days in Dundee was lovely. I caught up with friends and discovered that Santa had left me things in Dundee too! This is my friend sporting her gloves. I have a pair of these too. They're great when you're using a camera on a cold day as you can have them either fingerless or as mittens.

I spent time with three friends I've known since I lived in Dundee some years ago and then was treated to meeting a new friend - b1tchesbru - one of you people I have contact with through our photographs online. It was great to talk about life, the universe, photography and everything. What a lovely afternoon that was!

This photo is of a new friend... not b1tchesbru I hasten to add. This was taken with the lensbaby plastic optic. This new friend has a secret which you may learn on a slow photo day.

All in all, I didn't take many photos on my travels. It was hard getting pictures out and about as I had all my bags with me and when I was with friends, I was busy catching up with them. I then travelled on to Edinburgh yesterday to the lovely man. I arrived with that warm glow and sense of wellbeing you get after spending time with really lovely people.