Thursday Doors: Haddington
Posted on December 1, 2016
For the next couple of weeks, Thursday Doors will be coming from Scotland again, more specifically the market town of Haddington in East Lothian, a still largely rural area to the east of Edinburgh.
Rather like St Andrews, there’s a bit of a Calvinist streak in a lot of the local architecture, as in the gate to the old manse:
and this building – whose purpose isn’t immediately obvious – just along the way:
Like something a little more colourful? Bad luck:
To be fair, though, it’s not all John Knox inspired gloom:
We stayed in a holiday cottage just outside the town. It was converted from the old byre (cowshed) and is all mod cons. The same can’t be said of these other outbuildings, although you can’t complain about the vivacity of the doors:
Next week, some of the commercial premises of Haddington, which I promise are much more colourful.
Thursday Doors 1 December 2016
Macro Moments: Week 21 – Claw
Posted on November 30, 2016
While on holiday in Australia a few years ago, I chanced on a lizard soaking up the sun on the back of a bench in the grounds of a hotel in the Hunter Valley. With these talons, there was no way it was about to fall off.
Nikon D300 with 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens at 55mm. 1/640 sec at f5.6 ISO 200. Cropped and edited in Lightroom.
Macro Moments Week 21
Tuesdays of Texture: Singer
Posted on November 29, 2016
A few months ago Madame realised a lifelong ambition and acquired a vintage Singer sewing machine – similar to the one on which she herself originally learned to sew. At the moment, it’s sitting in our entrance hall in front of a bright and cheerful quilt that hangs on the wall: one interesting texture set against another.
52 Weeks Photo Challenge: Week 17 – Laughter
Posted on November 29, 2016
‘Laughter’ is the theme for this week’s challenge hosted by The Girl That Dreams Awake.
A game of peek-a-boo is guaranteed to produce laughter in a two year old. This photograph of one of my grandsons comes with free reflection.
Mundane? The New Frames The Old
Posted on November 28, 2016
Another entry for the Mundane Mondays challenge hosted by PhoTrablogger.
Close to Circular Quay, in the heart of Sydney, you can still see some of the original stone that must have welcomed the First Fleet, although most is now concealed behind more modern brickwork:
WPC: ‘It’s Not This Time of Year Without…Frost’
Posted on November 26, 2016
We’ve had a couple of frosty days over the past few weeks. So that’ll be November then:
Abstract Geometry
Posted on November 25, 2016
I took this photograph while on a weekend photography course in Abu Dhabi a few years ago. The colour original isn’t up to much: an over-exposed (very bright sunlight) pale yellow section of what, apart from a line of these tilted squares, was a pretty nondescript wall.
However, this monochrome version is, in my view, a lot more interesting: the shape itself is emphasised – helped by the vignetting I added – and the whole thing is somehow much ‘grittier’ thanks to the greater contrast available in black & white.
Thursday Doors: Mezieres-sur-Issoire – the gates
Posted on November 24, 2016
As promised, this week we feature some of the more interesting gates to be found in our local village of Mézières-sur-Issoire.
You’d expect the grander houses to have gates and indeed they mostly do, like this rather commanding set:
although personally, I found this next set more interesting. I particularly liked the way that the autumn leaves wrapped themselves around the gatepost.
Whereas those two examples are a bit off the beaten track, the gates below are on the main road, and at least you can see the house that sits behind them (the architecture is quite typical of the maisons de mâitre around here):
Notice also that those gates and railings could do with a lick of paint. As indeed could the long-unused gate at the corner of the garden of the same property:
…or this one in front of a much smaller terraced house a little further along the street:
And, of course, gates don’t always have to belong to houses – or even lead anywhere:
Thursday Doors 24 November 2016
Macro Moments: Week 20 – Butterfly on Buddleia
Posted on November 23, 2016
Back in the summer, our buddleia bushes were, as usual, hosts to many butterflies. This was one of them that I managed to isolate and get back-lit.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 lens at 200mm. 1/250 at f6.7, ISO 500. Cropped and edited in Lightroom.
Macro Moments Week 20
Tuesdays of Texture: Quilt
Posted on November 22, 2016
Last year, as a wedding present for our son and (now) daughter-in-law, Madame made a king-sized bed quilt, with most of the stitching done by her own fair hands. It took close to a full year to complete, and the last Swarovski crystal being stitched on just two days before the wedding. This is a work-in-progress image.
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