Bonjour and hello,
I'm still in France so another early blog.
Since the last posting I've been to Le Touquet, Bruges and Amiens.
Le Touquet (if I've spelt it right) is a very pleasant seaside resort on the French west coast. It's very tidy with lots of things for the children to do. The perfect place for people in northern France to take their families. Indeed, it felt like they all did exactly that on the day we visited. It took an age to get from the end of the motorway to the resort itself. Although once there, it didn't appear that busy. Anyway, as it wasn't a 3d day we'll have to head back there again to record it for the website.
In Bruges we had a good stroll around and enjoyed the ambience. My wife came up with a real find, more of which I'll share with you next week, as I want to do a little research before I tell you more. If you're a 3d fan it will be worth the wait, promise.
Amiens was a very enjoyable day. The cathedral is the biggest gothic example in the country and was well worth the visit. The old part of the city was equally as interesting. Needless to say I took a fair number of photographs/3d's and they will be coming your way in the non too distant future.
The weather has been rather hit & miss since we've been here, but hey, there's nothing we can do about it so we've enjoyed ourselves regardless. In fact we've been rather lucky on our days out and we have escaped the worst.
We are heading home on Friday so normal service will be resumed as of next week.
My other photography website will be updated next week too, so make sure to pop by for a visit to check out the new additions.
I hope you have all been good whilst I've been away.
Please forgive any spelling mistakes. A French keyboard does not a good typist make!
That's all for now, more next week.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Thursday 21st August – Journey to Work 2
Hello to you all,
Continuing on from the blog a couple of weeks ago, one thing that I have been made much more aware of is the varied wildlife that surrounds me.
There is rarely a day where I don’t see a buzzard flying by, or a squirrel scampering off to the nearest tree. In the fields next to our house rabbits are a constant sight, as indeed are deer and foxes. I’ve spent many an evening trying to get as close as possible to photograph the animals as they show themselves at dusk. Unfortunately the lenses I have at my disposal do not enable me to get close enough for decent photographs to be taken.
Last week, when cycling to work, I had a special treat.
From my house I have to go up a lane before coming to a junction that joins on to the old main road to Frome (Called Brottens road). After turning into the road and travelling about 20 metres I was aware of a large bird sitting on the fence to the right, just ahead of me. As I got closer I could see that it was an Owl of some sort. I expected it to fly away but it just sat on the fence and carefully watched me as I peddled past. It was a good sized spe
cimen. At a guess I would say he was about 60cm height at least, maybe bigger. I passed within about 2 metres of it and found it fascinating to be able to see one so close without it being in captivity. Once I got to work I spoke to my boss, who is a keen bird watcher, and after giving him a description he was able to tell me that it would have been a young Tawny Owl. Apparently it’s quite a normal thing for them to sit on fences. An older Owl would have flown off. The picture shown is not one of mine but was found in Flickr and belongs to a set by Joanpix.
My knowledge of wildlife is rather limited but seeing these wonderful creatures on a regular basis really encourages me to want to know more.
My biggest problem is that I have too many other interests and so find it difficult to spend as much time as I’d wish on learning something new.
This week's update is the village of Hemington.
I'm on location in France at the moment, hence the early updqte, so next week's blog will have news on where I've been and what photographs you have to look forward to viewing to on my return.
Thanks for reading, more coming your way next week.
Continuing on from the blog a couple of weeks ago, one thing that I have been made much more aware of is the varied wildlife that surrounds me.
There is rarely a day where I don’t see a buzzard flying by, or a squirrel scampering off to the nearest tree. In the fields next to our house rabbits are a constant sight, as indeed are deer and foxes. I’ve spent many an evening trying to get as close as possible to photograph the animals as they show themselves at dusk. Unfortunately the lenses I have at my disposal do not enable me to get close enough for decent photographs to be taken.
Last week, when cycling to work, I had a special treat.
From my house I have to go up a lane before coming to a junction that joins on to the old main road to Frome (Called Brottens road). After turning into the road and travelling about 20 metres I was aware of a large bird sitting on the fence to the right, just ahead of me. As I got closer I could see that it was an Owl of some sort. I expected it to fly away but it just sat on the fence and carefully watched me as I peddled past. It was a good sized spe
cimen. At a guess I would say he was about 60cm height at least, maybe bigger. I passed within about 2 metres of it and found it fascinating to be able to see one so close without it being in captivity. Once I got to work I spoke to my boss, who is a keen bird watcher, and after giving him a description he was able to tell me that it would have been a young Tawny Owl. Apparently it’s quite a normal thing for them to sit on fences. An older Owl would have flown off. The picture shown is not one of mine but was found in Flickr and belongs to a set by Joanpix.My knowledge of wildlife is rather limited but seeing these wonderful creatures on a regular basis really encourages me to want to know more.
My biggest problem is that I have too many other interests and so find it difficult to spend as much time as I’d wish on learning something new.
This week's update is the village of Hemington.
I'm on location in France at the moment, hence the early updqte, so next week's blog will have news on where I've been and what photographs you have to look forward to viewing to on my return.
Thanks for reading, more coming your way next week.
Thursday 14th August - Combe Hay
Good morning,
Last weekend was a bit of a mixed bag weather-wise, but I managed to get out and about on Sunday to capture some more Somerset villages for the 3d site.
The initial plan was to visit Peasdown St John and then to explore the area around the town. Peasdown is a place mostly filled with housing estates, so it was a bit of a challenge to find subjects that I felt would be interesting to the viewer. So challenging in fact that I'm going to have to go back for another search to ensure I have enough pictures to post.
After Peasdown I then ventured off to a nearby village called Carlingcott, then on to Withyditch, followed by Dunkerton, Combe Hay, Southstoke and, finally, Priston.
All the locations had their individual appeal and, in each case, I had never been to any of them before.
At Combe Hay you will find a Cotswolds stone marker at the entrance to the village. Many will be surprised to find such a marker in Somerset as, to most people, the Cotswolds are in Gloucestershire. Well, that's partly true. The Cotswolds lie mainly within Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire but also extend into four more counties, in the form of Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and good old Somerset(shire). Not many people know that.
Last weekend was a bit of a mixed bag weather-wise, but I managed to get out and about on Sunday to capture some more Somerset villages for the 3d site.
The initial plan was to visit Peasdown St John and then to explore the area around the town. Peasdown is a place mostly filled with housing estates, so it was a bit of a challenge to find subjects that I felt would be interesting to the viewer. So challenging in fact that I'm going to have to go back for another search to ensure I have enough pictures to post.
After Peasdown I then ventured off to a nearby village called Carlingcott, then on to Withyditch, followed by Dunkerton, Combe Hay, Southstoke and, finally, Priston.
All the locations had their individual appeal and, in each case, I had never been to any of them before.
At Combe Hay you will find a Cotswolds stone marker at the entrance to the village. Many will be surprised to find such a marker in Somerset as, to most people, the Cotswolds are in Gloucestershire. Well, that's partly true. The Cotswolds lie mainly within Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire but also extend into four more counties, in the form of Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and good old Somerset(shire). Not many people know that. 
The photo-shoot at Combe Hay was in two parts as I was rudely interrupted mid-way through by a violent storm. I had to take refuge in a nearby pub and console myself with a cheese sandwich and a glass of fizzy carbonated pop (No product placement here!).The second half of the shoot ended with me witnessing the many attempts 3 stables girls took to convince their nervous horse that it was ok to get into the trailer (Photos below).
The 3d's will be coming your way soon. This week's update is of Chard.
More from me next week, have a good one.
More from me next week, have a good one.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Thursday 7th August - Journey to work
Hello and welcome to August.
As predicted last week there were no trips out due to the weather, so I've included in this weeks blog some photographs I took a month or so ago.
As many of you will know I walk or cycle to work most days, and during my journey I see plenty of the countryside around me. A while ago I thought it would be a good idea, and interesting, to record my journey to work photographically.
I actually found the project a lot more interesting than I first thought I would. I always thought that, living in the countryside already, I was well aware of my surroundings and already appreciated how lucky I was. However, by making an effort to record an event with photographs, I found I really took a lot more notice of what was around me and, as a consequence, appreciated so much more, not just how lucky I was, but how brilliant it was that I had all this right on my doorstep.
Indeed, the experience has prompted me to take the project further. My next plan is to video my journey so I can create a sort of travelogue that covers the 4 and a bit miles of Somerset that I see most days of the week. When I'll actually do this has not been determined as yet. There are some plans to be made, kit to be invented/purchased and time to be found before I can put the idea into practise.
In the meantime I hope you enjoy some of the pictures of my journey below. If you click on them they will open up to 1024 x 768 wallpaper size.
So, what is your trip to work like? How about recording your journey. Are you really aware of what's around you? Is this the beginnings of another website?!
This week's update on the 3d site is of Nempnett Thrubwell and Ventnor on the Isle of Wight. I have also uploaded some new photographs onto my other photography website so please take time to visit and drop me a line to tell me what you think.
That's all for now, more next week (Don't forget the pictures below).
As predicted last week there were no trips out due to the weather, so I've included in this weeks blog some photographs I took a month or so ago.
As many of you will know I walk or cycle to work most days, and during my journey I see plenty of the countryside around me. A while ago I thought it would be a good idea, and interesting, to record my journey to work photographically.
I actually found the project a lot more interesting than I first thought I would. I always thought that, living in the countryside already, I was well aware of my surroundings and already appreciated how lucky I was. However, by making an effort to record an event with photographs, I found I really took a lot more notice of what was around me and, as a consequence, appreciated so much more, not just how lucky I was, but how brilliant it was that I had all this right on my doorstep.
Indeed, the experience has prompted me to take the project further. My next plan is to video my journey so I can create a sort of travelogue that covers the 4 and a bit miles of Somerset that I see most days of the week. When I'll actually do this has not been determined as yet. There are some plans to be made, kit to be invented/purchased and time to be found before I can put the idea into practise.
In the meantime I hope you enjoy some of the pictures of my journey below. If you click on them they will open up to 1024 x 768 wallpaper size.
So, what is your trip to work like? How about recording your journey. Are you really aware of what's around you? Is this the beginnings of another website?!
This week's update on the 3d site is of Nempnett Thrubwell and Ventnor on the Isle of Wight. I have also uploaded some new photographs onto my other photography website so please take time to visit and drop me a line to tell me what you think.
That's all for now, more next week (Don't forget the pictures below).
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