Saturday Self-Challenge

Explored! Thank you very much :-) Saturday Self-Challenge 9 June 2018 "Anything Red". When Helen & I went to Stowe last Sunday I spent a lot of time looking for 'anything red' :-) Found a red mailbox but didn't seem able to get the right framing. Then saw some red roses but think I should have got in a lot closer to the subject. Was kinda on point of giving up but as we headed towards the exit I saw something red in the distance. As we got closer I realised it was red sunglasses. I guess someone had dropped them and some kind person had lodged them on the top of a fence :-) When, later, I was looking at the Group I saw Karen's "Challenge is closed for the week. See you next Saturday" photo of red sunglasses and I thought to myself "This is a bit spooky and I hope that Karen doesn't think I stole her sunglasses" :-)) Added to ~ Saturday Self-Challenge I am also adding my photo to 'Sight and Sound' because, perhaps, the sunglasses I photographed are 'cheap' ones and ZZ Top recorded "Cheap Sunglasses" :-)) Added to ~ Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Cheap Sunglasses ~ ZZ Top

SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 16 JUNE 2019 ~ My error was spotted by Graf Geo :-))) "GUESS WHAT I AM" Solution - A large pussy cat .....well, Lion as most identified correctly :-) This is outside Stowe House, Stowe Landscape Gardens.

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 23 JUNE 2018 "HIGH CONTRAST IN BLACK & WHITE" Thought this building in Aylesbury might work for this week's challenge. I was in town on Monday but only had my 'iPod Touch' with me. So, I figured I would take a few test shots and go back later in the week with a 'proper' camera :-) However, the light was really good so I stayed with my iPod photos :-) I am, also, adding this photo to 'Sight and Sound'. The building is the County Offices in Aylesbury where I once worked :-) I think "In Tall Buildings" by John Hartford is a logical link :-) Added to ~ Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ In Tall Buildings ~John Hartford Probably best to view on black :-)

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 7 JULY 2018 "SUMMER, FAVOURITE ASPECT OF THE SEASON" One of my favourite aspects of summer is the opportunity to take photos of Water Lilies :-) But, most of my shots seem to finish up in the Recycle Bin! The best location is, probably, the 'Lily Pond' within the grounds of Ascott House. Not too far away from where we live :-) There is also a risk of toppling into the pond :-)

SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 14 JULY 2018 "SOMETHING THAT IS 'ROUND' AND USE A SQUARE ASPECT RATION (1:1) IN YOUR CAMERA OR CROP TO BE SQUARE" A coloured plastic cup filled with water mixed with mouthwash photographed from above :-) Also added to ~ Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Circles ~ Atlantic Starr

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 21 JULY 2018 ANYTHING MADE OF GLASS This is a wine bottle and I'm thinking I would like to improve upon this shot. I may, therefore, need to go out and buy another bottle :-) The wine is 'Bicicleta Reserva, Pinot Noir' and features a bicycle symbol in the glass because the vineyard workers travel around by bicycle, tending the vines using natural methods in order to produce the best quality grapes. The Bicicleta symbol is a tribute to them. Also, I have added this to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music because I came across a version of "La Bicicleta" by Carlos Vives & Shakira :-) ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ La Bicicleta ~ Carlos Vives & Shakira

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 28 JULY 2018 FILL FLASH Many, many, many moons ago I would have, occasionally, tried Fill Flash but these days the thought of using this technique has never crossed my mind!! This challenge has, therefore, been a real eye opener!! And, I didn't realise that my wee Nikon Coolpix P7800 has a Fill Flash setting :-)) I did have difficulty choosing a subject and this is plastic streamers that are supposed to keep the flies out :-) The shot, below, without Fill Flash was framed a bit differently :-) Having had an initial look at some of the entries this week I am now starting to realise the benefits of using Fill Flash. Thank you for a brilliant challenge, Karen :-)

SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 4 AUGUST 2018 CHOOSE ANY SUBJECT AND CAPTURE IT IN "SILHOUETTE" This is the Eros Water Fountain in the grounds of Ascott House. Eros was the Greek God of Love so I am also adding this to 'Sight and Sound' with a love song. And, that is "Love That Makes a Cup of Tea" by Gretchen Peters :-) Added to ~ Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Love That Makes a Cup of Tea ~ Gretchen Peters

SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 11 AUGUST 2018 ZOOM BURST A word of explanation :-) I initially tried this technique with my little Nikon but didn't have any success. I then fished out my Nikon D50. I have just noticed ip says this was taken on 1 January 2005!! I actually took this a few days ago! The D50 has been in a cupboard and was probably last used a couple of years ago so I don't understand why it has reverted back to a 2005 date. On 1 January 2005 I was likely in Guernsey and definitely not photographing Coke cans :-) No doubt there is a logical explanation :-) And, here comes a wayward link for 'Sight and Sound' :-) Coca Cola can be known as Coke and Coke can also refer to Cocaine. Hope you are following me so far :-) "Truckin" by the Grateful Dead features on their classic album "American Beauty" from 1970. "Truckin" has references to Cocaine. Job done methinks :-) Added to ~ Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Truckin' ~ Grateful Dead

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 18 AUGUST 2018 "FIND SOMETHING RED, SHOOT IT, BUT THEN CHANGE THE IMAGE INTO BLACK AND WHITE" A very, very difficult challenge for moi, but participating is the most important part I guess :-))

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 25 AUGUST 2018 "PHOTOGRAPH THE VIEW OUT OF YOUR WINDOW AND USING YOUR FRAME AS A FRAME FOR THE PICTURE" This is a window in our house.....honest! The room was very dark hence the loss of detail in the frame. Part of our neighbour's roof is in the bottom right hand corner. Probably needs to be viewed on black :-) And, probably the window needs cleaning :-))

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 1 SEPTEMBER 2018 "BOKEH IN THE FOREGROUND" Another can of coke :-) Together with tiny candles (battery operated). Very, very, very difficult to watch but for 'Sight and Sound' I have chosen "Candle in the Wind, Goodbye England's Rose" by Elton John played at Princess Diana's funeral. Doesn't seem possible it was 21 years ago yesterday (31 August 1997) that Princess Diana died. Added to ~ Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Candle in the Wind, Goodbye England's Rose ~ Elton John

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 8 SEPTEMBER 2018 "SQUARES AND RECTANGLES" Been away for several days this week and struggled to find squares and rectangles. But, hopefully, there are some square and rectangular shapes here :-) This is part of a door leading into Hereford Cathedral. I think most of the reflections are from outside but odd bits may be inside the Cathedral :-)

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 22 SEPTEMBER 2018 "TAKE A PHOTO AND POST PROCESS IT TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL FOR YOUR SUBJECT" Over many years I have tried 'painterly' effects with varying degrees of failure and occasional success :-) A long time back I was pleased with the results from using the 'Art History Brush' in Photoshop 6. But the more I used this process the worse I got! A while back I came across the 'Dream Smoothing' filter in GIMP Photo software. I have been pleased with some of the results :-) I have previously uploaded a few photos where the effect was used but they were mostly using the default settings. GIMP says - "A relatively slow filter that uses anisotropic filtering to smooth an image. More iterations produces a softer image as does lower opacity values. Practical modes for merging are Alpha and Average. The results are resolution dependent". Of course I knew this :-))) This week I have spent a lot time trying different combinations of the settings. Already there appear to be endless combinations :-) The Arty border came from a free giveaway of Borders in 'Digital Photo' magazine from a long time back. In the PiP one I think I may have got a little bit carried away :-) And, for Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Some Bridges ~ Jackson Browne

SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 29 SEPTEMBER 2018 "LEADING LINES IN BLACK AND WHITE (Minimal post-processing is allowed for this challenge) I normally use the Channel Mixer in Photoshop 6 to convert colour shots to Black & White. But the result was very flat. I, therefore, settled for one of the Presets in Silver Efex Pro 2. Still a bit flat though :-( I left the sliders alone :-)

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 6 OCTOBER 2018 "USE DIAGONAL LINES TO FORM YOUR COMPOSITION. IT CAN BE OF ANY SUBJECT, IN COLOUR OR BLACK AND WHITE, AS LONG AS A DIAGONAL LINE OR LINES ARE THE MAIN SUBJECT OF THE COMPOSITION" Barbed Wire in Stowe Landscape Gardens. And, for 'Sight and Sound' - I couldn't find many songs about 'Barbed Wire' but I did find a song about 'Wire' by The Kinks :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Close to the Wire ~ The Kinks

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 13 OCTOBER 2018 WATER DROPLETS TAKE A PHOTO OF WATER DROPLETS IN ANY FORM, SHOOT MACRO OR OTHERWISE. POST PROCESS AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE. GET CREATIVE AND HAVE FUN! Each time I thought of tackling this week's challenge there wasn't a single drop of rain about!! In desperation I asked Helen to pick up a water spray bottle for me :-) I have been spraying everything in sight but whenever I did get some droplets to form they disappeared just as quickly!! I then tried a blue coloured blank DVD, put it on the windowsill in the sun. Probably was a bit heavy handed with the spray but, at least, I got some droplets :-)) I should have fished out my DSLR but time was getting short so I used the 'Macro' setting on my little P7800 :-) Also, I have added this to 'Sight and Sound' 'cos I've just noticed there is a 'starburst' in a few of the droplets. And, Rodney Crowell recorded "Stars on the Water". Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Stars on the Water ~ Rodney Crowell (Live version) ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Stars on the Water ~ Rodney Crowell (Studio version) Maybe view on black, please :-)

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 20 OCTOBER 2018 LET'S TAKE A SHOT OF ANYTHING LOOKING UPWARDS. PLEASE KEEP POST-PROCESSING MINIMAL" I did use a black and white shot of this building for the "High Contrast in Black & White" SSC Challenge back in June. I decided to take another shot of the building for this week's challenge. I would have liked to have said it took me "Just One Look" to come up with a different viewpoint but after taking lots of photos I decided upon a very similar viewpoint :-) For 'Sight and Sound' I figure I can use "Just One Look" by Linda Ronstadt :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Just One Look ~ Linda Ronstadt (Live version) ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Just One Look ~ Linda Ronstadt (Studio version)