That's me. Well, not shaky but definitely unfocussed and very, very tired. I eventually did the sensible thing and came home from work a bit after lunchtime. I wasn't doing anything useful, just occupying a chair. I won't be doing much this evening.
I only took one shot today, so the only choice I had to make was colour or B&W. A difficult choice: the bicycle was red, her top was multi-coloured and the lines were, of course, yellow. But I'm enjoying B&W, so that's what we have.
I'm still not feeling right. A quiet evening and an early night for me, I think.
I was loitering outside the bus station this afternoon, hoping to find a photograph before heading back to Edinburgh, when I spotted a chap in a bus driver's uniform having a cigarette break. He spotted me too and he spotted the D300 round my neck. He wandered across... "'Scuse me pal..."
He explained that his wife was interested in photography and was wanting a new camera to replace the little one she had and he was wondering what she should get. There followed a really nice conversation about cameras and photography (and bits of other stuff too). We must have been chatting for about 15 minutes. He didn't have much of a clue about photography, but it sounded like his wife was really keen and he was clearly interested too. His wife was thinking of getting a Nikon and an Apple Mac (they didn't have a computer at home), and he seemed very happy when I said that that was what I had too (well, the Nikon part was pretty obvious...). He was also relieved when I said that I didn't think it was excessive to spend £1,000 on a good camera; his relief wasn't at the thought of spending that kind of money (though, surprisingly to me, he didn't seem at all put off by it), but at the fact that the guy in the camera shop had said something similar, so at least the camera shop guy wasn't trying to rip them off.
Of course, I took a quick snap of him to demonstrate. I'm sure it isn't the most flattering shot anyone has ever taken of him, but I like it and I hope he (and his wife) would too.
A very nice guy and a very pleasant encounter. If we had had more time I would quite happily have bought him a drink and chatted some more. I wish him and his wife well.
As lazy Saturdays go, they don't get much lazier than today. We're both feeling a bit better than yesterday, but lazing around indoors still seems like the most attractive option.
The new series of Dexter starts in the States today. If I'm very lucky, I might somehow get to see it sometime soon.
I've been enjoying my B&W spell and fully intended to continue it, but I really had to break it for this one.
The chap in the orange jacket, who was a fellow passer-by, said he thought that this was an advertisement for a place up by Pitlochry where they wrap an entire forest in brightly-coloured material and put on a fancy light show. That sounds like a fine thing to do with a forest, but I don't think I would go all the way to Pitlochry to see it.
Imp and I are both feeling a bit crap this evening, so some mutual TLC is in order.
I shouldn't have posted that bloody song earlier - it has been going round and round in my head ever since. Not an enjoyable experience. Never mind: it's almost the weekend :-)
It has been a dull day. Nothing in particular to report. This photograph is the best of a mediocre bunch.
I have a thing about sharpness and I don't know why. If one of my photographs is blurry, whether due to being out of focus or because of camera shake, my instinctive reaction is to bin it. I'm not at all bothered by poor exposure or lack of straightness or the absence of traditionally "good" composition - quite the reverse, I thrive on those things - but something in me wants my photographs to be sharp. I must do something about that. This shot is a start.
Oddly, this sharpness thing only applies to my own photographs, not to those taken by other people. Strange.
"Not sharp" is also a description of the way I'm feeling. But I don't need to be sharp this evening, so that's OK.
On a course today. I don't expect to enjoy these things or even find them interesting. I only find them interesting because I'm paid to find them interesting. But I do think that it is only polite for the speakers to try to add a little humour or genuine interest. Not today. Oh no. By the end, I really felt as if I had had all the life sucked out of me. The upside? It reminded me that work could in fact be a lot worse...
A relaxing sunday. A trip to the market. A photograph of a woman walking past the olive oil stall.
A lovely afternoon with Penny, Gus, Katie and Lynn. Not only were they great company (as always), they fed me two of my favourite foods: chili and cake. All in all, a splendid way to spend a Saturday :-)
I don't know who coined the term "sleepyduck shot" - it might even have been me, though I don't think it was - but it seems to have stuck. My B&W mode also seems to have stuck, at least for the last few days. I'm enjoying it: it takes me back to the days of film.
It's Friday evening and I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend.
I spent most of today in West Lothian. In a very pleasant part of West Lothian. I didn't know that West Lothian had any pleasant parts, so that was a nice surprise. (To anyone from West Lothian: I apologise if that last remark was offensive. To everyone else: I apologise for apologising, but I'm really not sure whether I can trust my judgment as to what may or may not be offensive any more...)
I didn't think I would have much of a chance to take photographs during the day, and I was right. So I took this in Castle Terrace car park at 0825. I'm clearly still in a B&W mood.
This may not be the best photograph I took today - there are others on Flickr, if you want to take a look and make up your own mind - but I couldn't resist blogging this one :-) I'm still smarting a little from the weekend, but as I look back from a few days after the event, my overwhelming feeling is puzzlement. I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about at the time and I'm no closer to understanding now. But that's OK: I don't have to understand everything.
.jpg)
