Walk to the Park

Photos copyright: Maggie May

Last Tuesday, exactly one week since chemo 2, I started to really pick up energy and I decided to go to a nearby park. It involved a few hills that I tackled quite easily. It seemed strange that I was out when I would normally be at the After School Club. There were no children anywhere. In fact there were very few people out and about.

There was a sharp coldness to the afternoon and a strong breeze, yet the sun was shining in spite of that.

Just being outside in those conditions made me feel alive again. I could feel the health coming back to my body.

Everything seemed good.

I felt better.

I was better.

I had taken my camera with me as I wanted to snap something really unusual. A beautiful bird, or maybe if I was really lucky, some other wild creature that wasn't often seen.

Unfortunately the only thing that seemed alive, apart from me, was this large crow. Oh well....... perhaps next time.

The Red Arrows

Photos are copyright of Maggie May

One Saturday in August Harry and I were feeling a bit lost as Sam had taken the children to Japan for a month and our lives had suddenly changed from being ridiculously busy, to being rather empty and aimless. (This is how we felt at the time, but we soon got over it.)

We decided to go for a very long walk across The Downs which is quite a spectacular place in one of the highest points of Bristol, so I don't know why it is called The Downs.

When we got to the Sea Walls and looked down at the Avon Gorge many feet below us, we began to hear other children asking their parents, "When are the Red Arrows coming?"

I am not sure if there is anyone reading this who has never heard of the Red Arrows but if so they are a group of tiny planes, painted red, who do daring stunts at air shows! You can get more information here.

Anyway Harry and I decided to wait as quite a few people had started to mill around who were mentioning 5 o'clock. On asking different people, it was confirmed that yes, the Red Arrows were visiting The Harbour Festival, not far away, so they would probably be seen by us from where we were standing.

Sure enough at the stroke of five, there was a huge roar as they swooped over the horizon. I had my camera with me and I noticed quite a few people had long angled lens that they had fitted to their cameras.

I did not have such equipment and I knew my little digital camera would struggle with these planes. Even though there is a good zoom, it was surely not meant for this kind of display so far away.

The Arrows whizzed across the sky so fast that it was difficult to catch them at all and sometimes all I got was a trail of red, white and blue smoke which the planes had released, the planes being long gone by the time the photo was taken.

Well this is the best I could do with my camera and if you click on the photos, the tiny planes might show up better.

It did lift our spirits as we walked the long trek home. The Red Arrows are always exciting no matter what your age and we were as excited as any child there.

The Flower Shop On The Bridge

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

All photos copy right of Maggie May.

By now, people will know that I do love the city of Bath in Somerset. I go there a lot.

I was drawn to Pulteney Bridge, last time I visited. Go here if you want more information.

At the back of the shops is a drop into the weir. Last Wednesday I used a photo of the weir for the Watery Wednesday meme. Here.

However, at the front there is a busy shopping community, all built on a bridge!

It was a flower shop that caught my eye.

Crossing the street I ventured closer and using my new camera, which is a digital Pentax P70, I zoomed in on the flowers. There were so many people about that I had to wait a long time for the shop to clear of pedestrians passing by.

Maybe I should zoom in a bit more. It is a lovely shop, don't you think?

Photostory Friday is hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek.

Rest A While

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

These photos are copyright of Maggie May.

I often describe going to my local seaside resort and this is where we sometimes end up having a sandwich while we look out to sea. If we are lucky, the sea is right in, if not it looks miles away and leaves stretches of muddy sand.

We like being here anyway, wherever the sea is.

We quite enjoy sitting in this lovely place. On a good day, it is sunny, if not it is sheltered.

We can't really lose however the weather turns out to be. Except for rain.

Thats the one thing that would upset the apple cart.

Photostory Friday is hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek. I think it would be worthwhile to pay them a visit.

The Carousel

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I had walked past this carousel several times with out thinking much about it. I didn't have any grandchildren tugging at me and asking for a ride, in fact I had barely noticed it. Suddenly it dawned that I could practice with my new digital camera!

This carousel was turning as fast as it could go. My camera had a setting for *moving objects* and I was aiming for the small part of the ride that had no people on the horses. Not an easy task, but one that would have been impossible with my older camera.

I was amazed to see that the photo hardly looked as though the carousel was moving at all.

Not sure if that is good or bad but it wasn't blurred.

This one was taken using macro and by now, the horse was stationary. Looks inviting, doesn't it? However, I resisted the temptation, remembering my vertigo!

For this picture, I stood back a bit, using a general setting after the merry go round had stopped. I can't help but think it almost seems almost like cheating to have these different settings and I have yet to try to capture a lovely butterfly close up or a fluttering bird.

However, so far I have been very pleased with the results of photos taken with my new camera.

What do others think?

Please remember that I am a technophobe as a rule, so don't blind me with science!

Photostory Friday is hosted by Cicely and MamaGeek. Why not look them up and see some great photos?

A Happy Event

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

We are expecting in this household!

No, not me, silly, I am a bit long in the tooth for that and even if I were to have hormone treatment, some of my *bits* are not there now. Nor is my daughter in law, Kaiko expecting (as far as I know) and the girls are far too young!

No, the mother to be happens to be a wren! I first noticed a pair of wrens going backwards and forwards towards the kitchen roof. Then I noticed that they were collecting things from the ground. Leaves and twigs, sometimes as big as themselves.

Years ago, I bought these little pouches and nailed them under the overhang of the kitchen roof. No bird has ever taken the slightest bit of notice of either of them before until now, that is. It seems that this dwelling is a wren's version of a superior detatched home and isn't it Sod's law that we were about to take the kitchen roof off and now our plans will have to be put on hold? Wild birds nesting are protected in this country and we cannot move them. Nor would I want to. I am now going to have to Google for information on how long it takes for all this nesting, laying, sitting and fledging to take.

As most of you know, my blog mentor for photography is David Mcmahon from Authorblog and I know that if he visits this post he will not be impressed with these photos that seem to be blurred and not in good focus. The wren looks like a tiny dot under the nest but that is as far as I could zoom in. My camera is lacking in ability to catch moving birds and does not have the capacity to enlarge the tiny creature any further.

However when I saw this tiny pair of wrens, I rushed to get my camera and I had to take the photo through my not so clean window, in order not to disturb them by opening the back door which is right by the pouches.

My camera is a Pentax Optio and has served me very well for ordinary photos and long distance views and snapshots of people. However, the time has come for me to specialize a little more and I am wondering whether to get a Canon Powershot SD990 IS (USA) otherwise known as Digital IXS 980IS in Aus and UK. My son Sam has bought one of these and has taken some good shots of close up creatures that has really impressed me.

Or shall I update my Pentax with the new Optio S12 which has a more powerful and faster lens than my old one and it is cheaper than the Canon?

I would love to know what you all think and which way I should go. Do any of you amateur photographers have either of these cameras?

I wrote this post a few days ago and thought that I would leave it for Photostory Friday and do you know what has happened? The wrens have abandoned ship! Maybe they thought we were too close to their nests or maybe its the four cats next door, who might have had them for their tea. Anyway, whatever it is, we are not expecting anymore and I feel really sad!

Photostory Friday is hosted by Cicely and MamaGeek.

The Right Time, The Right Place.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

It is really important to remember to take a camera with you on any walk, even if you are only an amateur photographer, like me.

I realized how important this piece of advice was recently, when I stumbled on this normally public piece of green that had been cordoned off by dozens of police men and women who where milling around.

The first thing that I did was to ask a policeman whether or not I could take a photo. They had no worries about that and told me to go ahead. Incidentally, aren't the policemen getting young these days? They only looked like teenagers. Thought I had better not push my luck and ask them to say "cheese". I knew they wouldn't agree to do that.

I had thought this was some sort of open day displaying the work of a police helicopter and had a feeling that the vehicle was getting ready for take off. I was not going to miss that.

I knew this was going to test my photographic skills. Would it just be a whir of helicopter blades blurring the image? I knew there wouldn't be a second chance, so I'd better get it right first time. I am a bit hit and miss with different ranges and I can't do anything too technical. I find my photos either go well or they don't and I have to learn by experience and try to remember what I did or didn't do.

Wahay! This isn't too bad so far. People will at least be able to see what it is supposed to be. You can see the police lady in the background, guarding the tape that was cordoning the area off.

The noise was really loud and the breeze was strong from the turbulence made by the spinning blades.

Soon the helicopter was up in the sky and disappeared from view. The cordons were removed and the police started to get into their vehicles. However, being a bit curious, I asked one of them what had happened and I was told that there had been a medical emergency and the patient had been transported to hospital. 

A real drama for some one and I hope the outcome was good for him/her.

As I started to put the camera away and carry on with my walk, a couple of tourists asked me if Royalty had been and gone and they seemed disappointed when I told them it was a medical emergency. However, I was fairly pleased that I had witnessed it.

The whole event took only minutes, so I happened to be in the right place at the right time. Ten minutes either way and I would have missed the drama.

Photo Story Friday is hosted by Cicely and Mama Geek

A Certain Time Of The Year.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

This photo is very poignant for me and as you know, I don't normally put photos of family faces on my blog, even darkened faces. 

It is the time of the year that makes me think of my Mother. She died almost to the day, in the year 2001 and most of us were able to get to the funeral, even though we were all scattered about the country and in my son's case the other side of the world.

However it was several years later when we all got together on one of Sam's visits from Japan that also coincided with Deb's visit from the east coast, following a family event, that we all decided to go to visit my mother and father's grave.

Sam and Kaiko, with Amber and Millie, Deb and Rick and Dean, my brother and wife and their daughter and son, stood by the gravestone for a while. We explained to the grand daughters and grandsons about my mother and father and some of the things they had done in their lives. We explained how we were all related. Amber and Millie had not been born in time for my mother to see them and my father had not seen any of the four grandchildren.

Some of us decided to link arms, and stand in this circle, and Sam crouched in the middle with the camera. Some said a prayer or two and some just needed to do the huddle without.

I am in the bottom right hand corner and going  anti clockwise is my daughter, husband, niece, sister in law, brother and nephew.

It made us all feel we belonged and seemed to bring the family closer together, for that day, at least!

 

Photostory Friday is hosted by Cicely and MamaGeek.

Legitimate Icing On The Cake!

This was the photo that I was hoping to take the day I went into this shopping precinct, but could not because a security guard told me that I couldn't take a photo in there.

For those readers who might not know what happened last time, press here.

I was idly listening to the news last week and suddenly I heard a bulletin that caught my attention. A grannie, (definitely not me!), who was also visiting this precinct, had tried to take some photos on her digital camera and had also had a problem with the security guard telling her she couldn't take photos there. Only this lady was more feisty than me and held her ground, arguing that it was a public place and that she could take photos for her own use. She had eventually been told to leave and thought that she was about to have her camera confiscated.

She went to the media who contacted the shopping precinct. The person who had full authority there, said that only professional photographers had to ask permission and it was perfectly acceptable for ordinary folk to take photos for their personal use, without being hassled.

Apparently the security guards, were not guards at all but Customer Servicemen. It turned out that they had been over zealous!

Well, being the type of person that I am, I travelled back there and went up to the top floor where one of these men was standing, and took out my camera and snapped the photo that I wanted. He saw me do it and said nothing! I thought that I would leave it at that. I had got the photo that I wanted and a story to go with it.

I feel pleased to think on that first visit, that the man who I thought of as a security guard, thought that I was a professional photographer. Even though I am a grannie and had a tiny camera and no other gear like tripods or long angled lenses. Or maybe I am flattering myself and he just didn't know the rules. Or maybe the company were forced to change the rules so as not to appear foolish.

Anyway, I admire the other grannie who stood up for herself better than I did and if she ever gets to read this......... well, thanks!

So Am I A Criminal Now?

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I don't normally like modern architecture, not for the sake of it that is. However there was something about these glass domes in this new shopping centre, that really caught my eye. I was like a kid in a toy shop at Christmas......... and  I had my camera handy. I started snapping without a care in the world.

Up on a higher level, things got even better, snapping glass domes through other glass domes and the patterns were fantastic. I was really looking forward to going to the very top level and taking photos looking down through the glass domes and seeing all the angles and unusual shapes that would come out in the photos.

"Excuse me," said a voice of a man behind me, "You can't take photos here." 

I turned around and saw the security guard! Gulp.

"Its just that these glass curves in the roof are so fantastic," I stammered. "I am an amateur photographer. They are only for my own use."

"You will have to get permission if you want to take photos here," The guard went on to say.

I half expected him to demand that I delete the photos from my camera or worse still to confiscate it. 

I went on to ask where I could get permission. The man, who was speaking in a very heavy foreign accent, told me some brief instructions that I didn't fully understand, so off I went. I had to go right to the top of the precinct to get to the Management Office. 

Was I feeling unusually bold? I figured that as I was probably captured on thousands of CCTV cameras as a would be terrorist, that I had better go and make it legal and explain my case.

After much asking around (why did I always chose a foreign person each time, who I couldn't fully understand) I did eventually get to the Management Office. The doors were heavily locked and there was not a person in sight.  

Surely that security guard must have known that the office was closed. Is that what they do to put people off? Make it so difficult that they hope people will not bother?

So that was that then. I looked down at the glass domes and realized what it must feel like to be a junkie needing one more fix, or a gambler needing just another bet, an alcoholic needing one more for the road. What was happening to me? 

I clenched my hands in my pockets so that I wouldn't be tempted and tried to think of other things. 

I would find a way to come back some time in the future and ask the Management Office if I could take the photos from the top level.

So for the sake of security, I cannot tell you where these pictures were taken. In which town or city or even in which country. However I will reveal to you that it is somewhere in Europe.

However, as I didn't have the camera interfered with in any way, I feel that it is OK for me to use the pictures that I had already taken.

Am I wrong? Gulp!

These are my photos (I think!) and this is my story for Photostory Friday. Hosted by Cicely and MamaGeek.

A Last Minute Find!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Not long ago on a Saturday, Harry and I used our bus passes and went a long journey! We arrived at a suitable place to take photos. Well I wanted to take photos and Harry was happy to just be there and admire the scenery.

Well, I was happy as a sand boy snapping this, that and the other, when all of a sudden my camera jammed. The zoom wouldn't go in or out and that left the lens open, which I gather is not a good thing. I found a camera shop and explained what had happened. They examined it and took out the battery and the zoom snapped shut. I had got a flat battery. Feeling rather foolish, I thanked them and was a bit annoyed that there was so much to photograph and my camera was dead! Blast!

"Never mind," Harry said, "We can come again next weekend when the camera is all charged up." I thought that was a good idea and that was exactly what we did.

Only this time it was raining! Not possible to take all the lovely photos! Oh well might as well go into the shops and look through the second hand book stalls out of the rain. I bought a book and when we were on our way home we passed a stream and I felt something had moved on the edge of my vision. I went to investigate and saw baby ducklings. They seemed to be on their own. Then I looked closer and saw the mother with about six babies. She let me get quite close and I zoomed right in and took the photo. I felt that was worth waiting for. 

Harry and I will try another weekend and see what else we can snap when the weather is better.

We might even be able to take photos of the ducklings when they are bigger, if they are still there.

This is my true story and photo produced for Photostory Friday, hosted by Cicely and MamaGeek.

Camera Nightmares!

This week David Mcmahon from authorblog: Weekend Wandering asks "What Is Your Worst Camera Nightmare?"

Well this topic seems to have been put out just for me! Most things to do with photography can be a nightmare for me! My new found hobby is being really thwarted because of my lack of technical skills. Its not so much the taking of pictures that causes me trouble, because I am getting better at that, but there is still a problem with links, that is really doing my head in! I was hoping to join a photo story club but I have no idea how to get the draft from blogger into the link so unless some one can come up with help, this will not materialize. My technical support always seems to be out or too busy!

My very first camera was a Brownie 127 by Kodak. It took black and white small photos, which had to be taken to the chemist to be developed. Colour was only for the rich (in America) when I was twelve. This camera was fairly straightforward and I took some good photos with it.

Over the years I took photos of holidays and important events with different colour cameras. Some were instant and produced a snap will you waited, but most had to be developed. Mistakes with these type of cameras were quite costly, so I didn't really do much snapping over the years.

The worst group of photos that I have ever taken, were of holiday shots in Cyprus. I took two reels of film with me and put them in my suitcase. The film boxes were sealed, but after we got home and I went to collect the photos from the chemist, the pictures were barely visible and looked as though they had a foggy mist over every one. So although there was nothing wrong with the way I'd taken the photos, somewhere along the line of processing, a fault had occurred. Some one had warned me that xray machines at the airport, could do that to a film. Wish I had listened.

Well I am not dwelling on the mistakes and I certainly will not show any of the worst of my snaps. I have included one from my travels. I wasn't really being nosey looking into someone's window. I was interested in the ivy up the wall. I can almost see the curtain twitching though! My ambition is to be able to get quite close in to take a tiny butterfly on a flower. So far the butterflies only seem to emerge when I have no camera at hand. As soon as I run to get it, they disappear. 

My long suffering husband now not only has to put up with me trawling the blogs but also has me waiting about in the garden for creatures that might come but on the other hand might not!