From the other side (Day 365)

Yes the final day has come and I have reached the end of the project and felt I should really do something a bit different.  So I moved to the other side of the camera for a self portrait session. When doing portrait / family / wedding sessions I frequently have clients concerned as they don't like to be photographed and are 'shy' of the lens.  Well so am I.  The camera can be unforgiving, all those grey hairs and wrinkles, fluff on the jumper etc. etc.   So to celebrate all those that I have cajoled into smiley poses, double clicked for the blinkers and generally had a laugh with to get the picture, I present myself unedited wrinkles and all.

As for the 365 project - I'm both happy and sad it's finished.  At times it has been frustrating as I haven't had an image that I felt was good enough to publish, but have published it anyway to achieve the final goal.

Yes at times I felt like giving up, but I am stubborn and know I would have regretted it.  So I invented more challenges, like the last couple of weeks using my mobile or compact.

The worst part was having a great colour image that just did not translate into black and white.  However, I do think it has helped my photography and in some cases black and white surpassed my expectations.  It also brought back a lot of memories of when I did my original photography training with a rolls of film and a twin lens mamiya.

 But now I move on and know that after a couple of weeks I'll be looking for another project.  Not sure what it'll be next time.  Any suggestions welcome.

 Maybe I'll go back to using film.  Maybe I'll try photographing a beards.  Whatever it is, it will be a shorter project than 365 days.  But I'm glad I did it.

I'm now off to get a large G & T and I'll raise my glass to my dad for the inspiration for the project.

Totally unsatisfactory penultimate installment! (Days 354 - 364)

Now by totally unsatisfactory I am talking about the standard of the photographs in this instalment.  I decided to shake up the last couple of week by not using my usual camera and instead using my mobile phone (a new experience for me), a compact or a bridge camera.  It turned out to be a combination of frustration and fun - lots of missed opportunities but a freedom of travelling light. So the offerings are detailed in the captions.

Day 354 - Selfie on the mobile when out running (cani cross) in thick ice - not mastered getting the dog to look at the camera.

Day 355 - Bridge camera on a mountain walk up Goatfell in lovely sunny conditions with plenty of snow near the summit.

Day 356 - Bridge camera - stormy with lots of light reflecting so frustrated at not having a polarizing filter. But I got some good atmospheric images.

Day 357 - Bridge camera - again not bad considering I didn't have a tripod or a filter.

Day 358 - So happy I wasn't subjecting my main camera to these conditions!  Wow it was wild.

Day 359 - Trying to work out how to actually use my mobile phone camera and not doing very well.  There was actually a fantastic moon rising but the camera just wasn't up to it - frustrating - but then my phone only cost £70 and there are great cameras on some mobiles.

Day 360 - Proper camera day.  Out to capture birds but the weather didn't play ball, although I managed a quick snap of this shelduck which is the first record of its return this year after migrating.

Day 361 - A snap on the beach.  The storms are washing up lots of debris, including skeletons of various mammals. 

Day 362 - Mobile - Actually a great photo (in colour) of one of the brightest rainbows I've ever seen.  Shame the quality of the image prevents me from doing much with it.

Day 363 - Foul weather and I took this from the car - feeling lazy today.

Day 363 - No idea what happened with this one taken on my mobile - the image is distorted and I really can't get the hang of using my mobile, I prefer the compact if I can't carry anything bigger.

On my knees (Days 337 - 346)

Day 337 - Fungi class

Today's photography class challenge was to work in low light (and freezing temperatures).  I had scouted an area in the nearby woodland that had lots of interesting fungi growing from the rotten branches.  Unfortunately most of these were at ground level so the morning was spent crouching or kneeling to get the best shots. The students got stuck in as usual and didn't bat an eyelid at the conditions.

Day 338 - Woodpecker

On my knees again today as I stepped out of the house and slipped on ice on the way to the ferry.  A weekend away saw me walking the dog in a lovely forest somewhere near the Kincardine bridge when I had to stop to give the dog a break from being in the car.  The walk was obviously popular and had several wood carvings along the way although I never saw any 'live' wildlife I'm sure it was there.

Day 339 - Hard cross country

Another cani cross race today, near Dunfermline. It was very cold and quite windy and I wasn't feeling at my best (bruised knees from yesterday) but it was only a 5k race - or so I thought until I passed the 5k marker with a nice encouraging 'not far now' notice!  I loved the cross country route and although I found it hard and came last in my group, I was actually quite pleased with my time.

Day 340 - Cormorant display

A lovely winter's day and this cormorant seemed happy to display his wings as I moved in closer for a shot - keeping low (those knees again) so as not to spook him into flight.

Day 341 - Sunrise

Not visible in this photo (watch out for the colour version on my facebook page), but the sunrise turned the sea a beautiful golden colour. Taking it easy today as I feel rotten with a cough and cold.

Day 342- The boathouse

Still feeling rotten, so its snap time from the beach at Machrie as I can't be bothered to even think about taking pictures today.

Day 343 - Seaweed

 Feeling marginally better today and a blustery walk along the beach helped even if the lashing rain deterred me from too many pictures.  The seaweed today was mixed colours of black greens to rustic ambers.

Day 344 - Arran Island Porcelain

Nearly there now and out came my lovely Arran Island Porcelain tree baubles. A lovely cute mouse and cheeky robin - now I've just got to get a tree.

Day 345 - High heels

Gosh not worn high heels since last Christmas!  OMG how do I walk in them?  Knees creaking and looking like I'd already had one too many, I staggered across the gravel drive. Thankfully things got easier on solid floors and I was sat down for most of the night.

Day 346 - Last bit of wrapping

Why do I find it easier to wrap presents on the floor?  My poor knees have had a bashing this week as it is, so kneeling on the scissors didn't help me one bit! Ouch!

Learning curves (Days 306 - 316)

Day 306 - Light at the end of the tunnel

Well after the disaster of dropping my camera and favourite lens, the new one has arrived - amazingly in one piece considering the state of the parcel!  I won't name and shame the the large mainland courier but I would have expected better. Can't wait for tomorrow to start putting it through it's paces.

Day 307 - Play time

A few new settings to master, so notepad and camera to make sure I remember what does what and I'm quite excited by the 'in camera' effects - but mostly by how quiet the shutter is.

Day 308 - Not squint

About the only good thing I can say about Day 308 was that the photo is straight.  One of those days where my energy levels are in my boots and I just want to crawl under my duvet. Maybe it's because I cannot view my images as my software was unable to read the new raw file format!  It really is about time there was a universal standard for raw formats.  Meanwhile I wait patiently (not) for an upgrade to arrive.

Day 309 - Late afternoon

Late afternoon now arrives about 2.30pm, when the light starts to fail but also has it's moments of glory before the early sunset. Being on the wrong side of the island for the sunset I had to enjoy how the light bounced off the trees in a golden glow.

Day 310 - Off island

Saturday and I find myself over the East side of Scotland quite near to Dunbar.  This looked like great fun and I couldn't believe it was empty on a Saturday (although it was a bit pricey).  No safety ropes just the water to break any fall - good motivation to hold on tight.

Day 311 - Queuing for the race

And here was the reason for being over on the East side - cani-cross racing.  This is some of the competitors queuing for the start of the race.  Each racer goes through the start at their allotted time, about 10 seconds apart (so the dogs don't get tangled). The best runners start first to try to reduce overtaking and the potential of dog entanglement, so needless to say I'm right at the back - not quite last.

Day 312 - Reach up and touch the sky

The cloud literally looked like I could reach up and touch it, but this is definitely another day 308!

Day 313 - Trying harder

I think it must be pre and post race fatigue but I am trying harder today and back to looking for some textures for my black and whites.  Stone walls always hit the mark.

Day 314 - Back to basics

Trying to get my mojo back (only 50 days to go) so going back to basics with the textures and still loving these rocks.  Fortunate today to have a little boat go past at just the right time.

Day 315 - Grass fan

This grass just jumped out at me from an otherwise fairly mundane path.  It just seemed to fan out in a golden arc with the dark green firs behind.

Day 306 - Cold and windy

Even the swan looked cold!

On the home stretch (Days 296 - 305)

Day 296 - Wet

The last few days have tested my ability to be flexible and roll with the changes.  Today started sunny but after an unforeseen delay the dog walk ended up being quite late in the day and after all the good weather had disappeared.  However it was made much more enjoyable walking with friends and their dogs.

Day 297 - A quick photo job....

You would not believe the amount of times I knocked this ball off the tee before I managed to get the shot I was aiming for (not this one shown). Good job I don't play golf!

Day 298 - Another very wet day

Carrie joined me and Watson for our run today, which was very wet and the fords that have to be run through were running quite high.  But they both enjoyed it and run side by side most of the route.

Day 299 - Stunning day

 Wow what happened, the weather has done one of its dramatic u-turns and the sun shone all day.  The light was fantastic and I took the opportunity to go for a long walk instead of doing any work.

Day 300 - Bonfire night

 It seems fitting that day 300 should be marked with fireworks.  I really feel that I'm on the homeward stretch of this challenge now. The evening stayed fine and my regular class had asked for a change of night so they could practice some firework photography. I think they were quite pleased with the results (lets not mention the amount of images that were deleted).

Day 301 - Disaster

Today I dropped my camera and smashed it.  This is the first time in nearly 30 years that this has happened.  It just fell as I went to put it in my car.  It was horrible to hear the glass shatter but it seems to be mainly the lens and filters.  The above shot was to see if anything was working afterwards.

Day 302 - Moonlight

After yesterdays disaster I nearly forgot to take a picture today and was fortunate to have another clear night so I could grab this shot before I went to bed.

Day 303 - Canicross training

 A slow and very wet run up Glen Rosa for us both today.  It was quite hard with the dog on a harness as he had to keep slowing down when the path was rocky to let me keep up.  But we really enjoyed it and only saw 2 walkers when we were out.

Day 304  - Old tree

 I keep getting caught out with the light as it is drawing in so early now.  This was taken about 4pm and the light was seriously fading.  I know one day this dead tree will fall but for now I love the shape.

Day 305 - Fall back photo

Now I'm getting near the end I feel that I can do some of those photo's that I have kept in reserve for a 'rainy day'.  I pass the Machrie Moor  post box most days and its a great feature on the island.

Favourite things (Days 274 - 284)

Day 274 - Scowling cow

Most young animals are quite cute and fall into the category of my favourite things. This little calf has lost one of its ear tags - I bet that must have stung a bit.  Maybe that's why it's scowling.

Day 275 - Stunning sunset

 A calm evening with a stunning sunset that lasted over an hour as the sky turned through pinks to yellows - neither of which can be shown in monochrome.  But it was a pleasant way to spend and hour or two - sat on the beach having a natter and taking the odd snap.

Day 276 - Evening clouds

I am strangely fascinated by clouds and the wonderful shapes they make, especially when several different types have formed in the sky.  Dusk provides lovely light to photograph them, catching the detail without worrying too much about exposures.

Day 277 - Evening outside the Glenisle

Monday evening and it's the evening class group.  The nights are now dark enough to practice their night time photography skills. This evenings challenge was to block items, such as people or cars from the picture on long exposures. A useful trick as it's frustrating to have to start again if the bus goes passed.

Day 278 - Not a favourite

Today picture does not fall into favourites, in fact it's an irritation.  Dumping.  I'm sure someone will have salvaged it by now as it only needed a bit of TLC.

Day 279 - Sheep

A circle of sheep.  Why is this a favourite thing?  Because they looked up instead of turning away.

Day 280 - Ailsa though the drum

This old oil drum provided a challenge for today's workshop students as I asked them to photo Ailsa Craig through it.  The easy way is to bend over and shoot backwards between your legs!

Day 281 - Dull dyemill

Today I got totally carried away with the autumn colours and forgot to select an image that was more suited for black and white. But I just love this time of year.

Day 282 - Leaf

Again I'm swept away with the colours of autumn but I did manage to remember (just) to take a leaf that stood out and this yellow sycamore leaf was clinging on to the dark branch.  I don't thing it will still be there after the wind of the last couple of days.

Day 283 - Bramble leaves

Why do leaves of different trees go different colours in autumn?  Beach trees go yellow and brambles go red. Some trees seem to go straight to brown.  I'm sure someone knows the answer.

Day 284 - Guilty pleasure

Oh dear, clearing out the cupboard and I came across a stash of 'Gu' pots. I use these for loads of things but it was embarrassing the amount that had collected in the back of the cupboard.So if anyone wants one I took them all to ARCAS in the hope that someone will be able to use them.  I now I have an excuse to go and buy my favourite pud.