suspension bridge

I've already processed this bridge picture (from Fuengirola, Spain) a goodish while ago, but I tend to re-comd through my folders before removing them off my hard disk . I leave them on external back-up disk, of course. This time processing left me with more perfect silhouettes, and I am hoping that this time the pic will be accepted at picture agencies, since people on the bridge are now unrecognizable.

more zebras

just one more pic of them and I'll stop.

Do you see interference (I think it's interference, although my optics are shaky) - an additional pattern is formed on defocused zebra in the background? Or is it just me?

Both zebra pictures were converted to black&white using infrared pre-set in photoshop elements. I just tweaked it a bit, adding more green and adjusting other channels to match. By a stroke of luck, it make the background white in first case.

Zebra abstract

Zebras from Linton zoo. Shame that there is only four of them there (at least, I think it's four). In my opinion, a herd of zebras is a sure recipe for millions of instant masterpieces

baby tapir

Went to Linton zoo today and luckily, came to tapir enclosure just as this young lady was finishing her talk. After the talk she stayed to answers questions — mostly about this very cute baby tapir, two months old, if I understood correctly.

After some very short belly scratching, baby happily flopped on his side, as a dog would. It was all very "awwwww".

Baby tapir pics on Shutterstock

Montana Roja

the mountain in the background is meant to be red, but not in this picture, clearly. Colors are all over the place anyways - intentionally, but still. In any case, it's not really that red, you can only just about see reddish tint in the aerial pictures

Combing old Fuerteventura folder again, clearly a sign of seaside hols long overdue

summer reading - 2

Timur is reading a book from "A Series of Unfortunate Events". I think it's book number twelve out of thirteen. He looks quite engrossed and he really is, which is a nice thing to see. Usually, he prefers books of "Eyewitness guide to.." type - information books with lots of illustrations.

IR jumps

they are not IR photos, of course, but the day was grey and the out-of-camera results were not that great, although dynamic and emotional. They were near-silhouette, but not near enough, plus it felt wrong to loose all the texture from the clouds.

Here the blue canal is almost zero and red and green almost equal, so it's not really IR either, but close. I like the results, they look like photos from old magazine.

Conversion was done with photoshop elements (I would love to have full PS, but it's expensive and elements cover most of my needs anyways)

Place is Wells-Next-the-Sea, that marram-grass covered hill opposite from the row of beach huts.

fly-in sunflowers

I rarely put my lensbaby on camera, which is a shame, but explainable by the fact that I tend to shoot with image stocks in mind and they are somewhat suspicious of unusual effects. but this sunflowers asked for it, I think.

Timur's attitude to posing is normal for majority of kids and many adults I know - that is, once you point your camera at them, they make a face (they won't describe it as making a face, but that's what it is). So to make him to change his expression to something more natural, I had to tell him something funny, which was "nobody expects the spanish inquisition!", and produced desired effect

red and black

another color block picture, red and black this time.

this one is from last year, I was just thinking that the weather is too gray at the moment to go to pick-your-own. but we'll probably go there soon anyway - Timur likes jelly and so far blackberry jelly's his favorite.

He decided to try something new a few weeks back and asked to make orange jelly in orange skins - the idea picked from Canaries, where they had lemon and orange sorbet this way. To my surprise, jelly did set (somehow I was sure some weird chemical reaction will prevent setting), but it wasn't great success. so I figure we should go back to old favorite.

sweet corn

when we first moved to Saffron Walden area, all those, oh my, almost twelve years ago, most noise during market days was produced by the fruit and veg seller. He was putting real passion into his "Strawberrrrieeeeeees"! and "We have ba-na-nas in their pi-ja-mas!".

Nowdays, very similar, but even louder and more piercing noises are produced by a young guy who, I assume, is his son. At least, voices and intonations are quite remarkably similar. The "original" guy sells, but doesn't shout any more.

Sweetcorns above is from their stall today

summer reading

there is this huge beech tree in Brandon country park that kids never pass just like that. They always climb, with various degrees of success.

Timur came to it this time with a firm idea that he'll sit on a branch and read. But, being still small(ish), he had difficulties finding a spot and then getting there. He got there in the end, with some help, and finished his book there, but I didn't get a good picture of him.

Yuri had no troubles at all, he found this angled low seat on one branch and spend some time reading Sherlock Holmes stories. He got this book after watching last movie, and likes it. Old-fashioned language or the fact the movie and the book have little in common don't seem to bother him much.

Oncidium

original plan was to go to Wandlebury for a little walk or something. but soon as we got off the front porch it started to drizzle, so went to Scotsdales. kids like it there because there are fish and some pets to look at and I like it because I can buy myself a new flower every time. this time the orchid gallery had some plants there that I immediately labeled as "suspiciously cheap" to which Yuri (I think it was him) added "going all the way up to outrageously expensive".

the plant of the picture is from suspiciously cheap end of the spectrum - 3.99 I think it was, cheap for a tall bright orchid.

And another bit of useless information learned today was its name - Oncidium. I hope writing it will help me remembering it.

and we did go to Wandlebury after that, too. Heavy rain only caught us on the way home.

cannibal pacman

it's not really my idea - I was minding my own business, photographing lemons on our brand-new blue plastic cutting board, when Kirill took my models off me and made them do his bidding.

picture came out nice and cheerful though

iguana again

ok, it had to be done. It's not the exact tracing of the drawing by Timur, but it is close and got his approval. When we get to do henna tattoos again, I will try this one for sure.

and a variation on the theme

una iguana se cayó de arriba de una escalera

School holidays are finally upon us and a lot of school project work came home over the last few days.

and here is Timur's T-shirt with iguana. I thought they were two iguanas, but no, its a reflection in a stream. and sure, he didn't get the optics right here, but the way he uses available space amazes me. I wish I can do as good as he does now. Of course he might loose this graphic freedom at some point (Yuri did, according to himself "I can't draw as good as before any more"), but I right now he's very good.





as to the title - no, this particular iguana didn't fall off any stairs, I just like this song

Liverpool carnival

This beautiful young lady was one of the dancers at Liverpool carnival parade this saturday. The parade was not nearly as big or impressive as one in Luton, (I think there were maybe five floats, and ten or whereabouts groups of drummers and dancers), but it was a nice experience anyway. If I understood correctly, it's a relatively new thing, organized just for the last few years by a samba school in Liverpool, so it might grow into something much bigger eventually. that might make it a lot less accessible, though.

It was good to visit Liverpool. I was there only once before, years and years ago, on a dismal winter afternoon, and had mostly unpleasant memories. Now it looked lively and vibrant, very liveable. Sure, there are still parts of it that will probably benefit from a extensive flamethrower treatment, but hey, it's a city, what city doesn't have those, I ask you.

alarums, excursions and wandering commas

our next door neighbours had a problem with their house alarm - it went off during daytime a couple of times over the last few days, last time today. as a well-trained house alarm, it was making noises for 20 mins or so and then stopped. both times I went out to check the front and back doors and of course it was nothing, so I didn't think too much about it. I saw our neighbour after it went off the first time, and she apologized for the noise

today, she intercepted me in front of the house and presented me with a bunch of roses and lilies. I thought they arrived for me while I was out but no - that was from her, to compensate for the inconvenience :) I thought it was really sweet, although not necessary, I wasn't all that inconvenienced, after all. But she said it makes her feel better :)

So, now I have photographed the roses, and lilies are still unopened, so I am all set for flowers for the nearest couple of days

the alarm, btw, apparently was triggered by thunderbugs getting inside the system. you know them, they get everywhere. they are especially annoying as wandering commas on your screen, when they get under the glass (or whatever you have). And the next stage, of course, is a stationery comma - when they die there

carnival crown

There was a Carribean topic in Timur's school going for a while (so he kept asking me if we can go to Barbados or Dominica for our hols, hmmm). As the high point they had a carnival parade together with another school. It happened on on school grounds, so it wasn't a public event, unfortunately, because it seems that kids and teachers and helpers produces some very nice artwork for the parade, including some huge animals made of colorful paper on some sort of 3d-carcass. I only saw a giraffe, because it apparently didn't fit into the school hall (which gives an idea of the size), it was very impressive.

Above is the carnival crown the Timur made and decorated for himself. He is fascinated by the sea turtle motif for a goodish while already and here it is on the central "feather" of the crown






and another one, from the headband (oil crayons clearly don't draw very well on metallic paper, but still)



also, octopus motif in the center of headband was one of his favourite drawing subjects for a while, ever since they did a celtic topic

Carnival pics on shutterstock - here 

starry pool

one more from Lanzarote. Usual trick with star-shaped highlights. No reason except it's a summery picture and I am still combing my old folders.

might make a nice userpic though

being cool

it looks like Timur is doing some dance accompanied by finger gestures of some kind. He doesn't really, he just run downhill from the dune behind him and is trying to slow down. why slowing down takes this form is anybody's guess

I am combing through my Lanzarote-Fuerteventura pics from the last visit. sure sign I want to go again