so, the world didn't end...

...but the term did :)

The end to a year is always a strange one for me...Melissa likes to think back over the year and set herself goals and targets for the next - I'm usually just glad to have survived another 12 months(!). It's been a long hard slog up to Christmas at school, but now I have 2 weeks off - I may even take some photos, you never know.

I've just completed a project to make a calendar for next year (one of those postcard-sized-one-sheet-per-month jobs) - an idea from one of my stack of photography magazines - which was fun, and more interesting that using the photoshop templates...honest (ok - so I only realised there WERE templates when I had already completed the project, and I wasn't annoyed...not even a little bit...).

However, I have also discovered that the best thing about being a wannabe photographer is that you can palm off your photos to friends and relatives under the guise of Christmas presents, and all it takes is a few minutes to order from photobox, and a quick trip to IKEA for frames. Bonus!

Have a Happy Christmas :)

ps I'm getting a new lens for Christmas, so hopefully incentive to take more shots!

November blues?

Maybe it's just the time of year, but the last few weeks have seemed really hard. Life is so busy, and I feel like I never have time to just slow down and 'be' any more, let alone take photographs. I've tried hard over the last few days to get out and take some shots, especially since I have invested in Photoshop Elements 11 and I don't want to waste that money(!).

I may have to retract my 'I hate photoshop' rant ( http://alexharrison101.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/manipulation-vs-editing.html ) because I do really like what I can do with it. I'm not talking ridiculous stuff, just (hopefully) subtle improvements...

This is my best ever shot of the moon, and the editing I did has hopefully only improved it. The package has also allowed me to improve shots to produce images like this:

On a separate note, the weather is turning cold now, and we're getting more and more frosty mornings - bad for scraping the car in order to go to work, but good for getting shots of icy crystals:

Obsessed? Slightly...here's another:

It's just really beautiful. Here's looking forward to snow this year!

(see, now I feel a little better...)

(yaay!)

autumn colours

Took some shots of these fallen leaves this morning and combined them to make a triptych...just a little project now I have no university study to be doing (although I'm sure I should be doing stuff for school - ah well!). I haven't been able to get many shots of the autumn colours - we went to Bradgate Park over half term but the trees were still resolutely green in the main part:

It was a nice day though, and we hunted down this white stag to get a shot of:

Obviously we didn't ACTUALLY hunt it, and it didn't seem especially bothered about us being near it...! Most of the deer were in the (restricted-unless-you-pay-£30) deer park, so couldn't get many more shots without fear of being shot ourselves - and not with a camera.

Back to work tomorrow, so photography likely to take a back seat again until Christmas. Unless it snows. Or is nice and frosty. Or misty. Or...

oh well

I didn't win anything in the Matlock Bath competition...ah well. Life goes on(!). AND I have one exam done, and only one to go. That's only 3 hours that stand between me and FREEDOM. I did get out with the camera the other day though, trying out my ND (neutral density) filter - it's like sunglasses for the camera...took these shots at Swarkestone:

I think they're nice...I want to use the filter to get some shots of moving water - it lets you blur the movement so it looks all milky and ethereal. Of course, I'd have to find some picturesque moving water first - in short supply around Derby to be honest! And I'm not sure Melissa will accompany me to "the country" (must be said with a look of pure horror on your face) any time soon.

But her, half term is in just a few short days, and I'm hoping to get out to Bradgate Park for some of the autumn colours, and maybe even a few shots of the deer rut - here's hoping!

first frost

The first frost of the year is quite beautiful...I couldn't resist getting out early and firing off a few shots...

These were of the top of the car...I was glad I'm not off to work this morning, because I haven't bought this year's de-icer yet, and scraping ice sends shivers through me(!). I then crawled around on the floor looking at little stuff:

There was a spider's web in the grass, but the limitations of my camera (and my skills) meant I couldn't quite get it in focus...the dew drops were pretty though. Next I attacked the neighbour's flowers (not literally...):

And finally I saw this massive drop of water nestling in a leaf...very pretty (although I admit, not actually still frost...):

I had fun...and it put off doing revision for an hour or so(!). I must get back to it now...but photos are much more fun than infectious diseases. Mind you, MOST things are more fun than an infectious disease :)

shortlisted!

For a photography competition. A real one, with real judges and everything(!). Admittedly it's the Matlock Bath Partish Council annual competition, but hey, I'll take anything at this point (I currently have nil point in the weekend competition on the DCW website...). The photo they chose was this one:

In my opinion, this is a pretty average shot...but then I'm not gonna complain at this point :D The potential grand prize is (wait for it) a massive...£75!!!!! But it's all about the prestige, right?!

clawing back...

...a little time to take photos. I took this of some roses I bought Melissa at the end of the week:

Pretty, eh? Yellow roses are her favourite...

I got in with the competition last week (subject: 'surrealism') with this shot:

It was pretty rushed, and I only received one vote, but I was glad to have been able to enter the competition at all, to be honest. This week's theme is 'something old, something new' and I'm in with this:

The old medal was my great-uncle Joe's from the second world war. He won 5 medals in total, and I took them from their house after they died - they were in a little wooden box that was going to be thrown away, and I couldn't bear to see that happen. It would have seemed like such a waste. Who'd have thought that one would be featuring in a digital photography competition, eh?!

Revision continues to rule my life, so that's it for this weekend I think...2 weeks and it's all over. Gulp.

time (or lack thereof)

Having started back at work, I'm finding I have NO time for photography at all...I haven't entered a competition in weeks, it seems, and I'm concerned that my hobby is having to take a serious back shelf for a while. Which kinda sucks, it has to be said. I grabbed this shot one day when I was getting up at some ridiculous time in the morning:

That was the last photograph I took, and it was taken over 2 weeks ago...I do hate it when life's 'stuff' gets in the way of life itself...

On a positive though, I had my first request for prints of my work - admittedly from my brother as his birthday present, but it still counts...right?!

results...

Well, the theme for the weekend competition was 'beyond reach', so i did a (slightly tongue in cheek) interpretation called 'the housing ladder':

The winner was a lovely shot of the moon:

Speaking of which, I tried to take some shots of the moon recently...not as good as that one though(!). My attempts at a full moon:

...and a waning moon:

Mine just look really washed out and fuzzy in comparison...ah well. I look forward to the day when I can afford a better lens and therefore get a better shot!

competition results

Well, the results of the weekend (and monthly) competitions are in...drum roll please...I came second in the weekend competition with my shot of St Mary's Church (theme = nighttime) with this as the winner:

I'm not ashamed to be beaten by that - a lovely shot! Derby doesn't seem to have the same choice locations as Gent(!).

In the monthly competition (theme = refraction) I came...joint first! My shot:

...and the other winning shot:

Now I think we have to come up with a new theme for this month. Quickly, seeing as it's the 8th already(!).

I don't know how much time I will have for photography for a little while - term has started up at school, and my uni exams are in a (frankly terrifying) 5 weeks...eek.

Dovedale...and Derby at night

I went out to Dovedale today, and was very lucky with the weather - the sun emerged and gave me a lovely afternoon of light. I walked up to the stepping stones:

then I looked up. I saw Thorpe Cloud. I thought to myself "that doesn't look that bad" and decided to climb it.

Turns out it's further than it looks - and steeper! But then when I got to the top (and sat down so I wasn't blown off the ridge) I was rewarded with some fantastic views:

Although next time I go, I shall wear more appropriate footwear (i.e. not these...)

The climb down was terrifying and I swear I nearly died...twice!! Maybe I exaggerate slightly, but you get my drift - decent shoes with some sort of grip would have been a definite advantage...

This evening I spent an hour after dark wandering round Derby taking photos for the weekend competition (theme = nighttime). I was after one of those 'lights reflected in the river' type shots, but the best I got wasn't good enough to enter. Although that's probably not going to stop me putting it up here:

Funnily enough, I had given up and was driving home when I happened to pass this church, so screeched to a stop and took this shot (well, took about 10 shots, of which this happened to be the best):

After this, I was hit on by a homeless man who asked me if I wanted a cup of tea, so I decided I needed to go home and reassess my clothing before being out in public again...(!).

competition results

Well, I came second - no shame there! The winning shot was very nice though.

 Will wait to see what the new theme is...

manipulation vs editing

All my life I have hated PhotoShop. Ok, so maybe not ALL my life, but you know what I mean(!). Ever since I wanted to take photographs in a more serious way, I have looked at other shots, thought about how I too could produce something like that, then been bitterly crushed when I find out the shots are not 'real' they have been PhotoShopped...For instance:

Beautiful sunset shot - but it's not real. It has been PhotoShopped to look like that, and as such I would not be able to recreate it, no matter how hard I try - thus I feel tricked and disappointed. And that's before I even get on to some of the RIDICULOUS photo manipulations that are out there...For instance:

Now, what's the point of that?


However, in a shocking turn of events(!) I have begun to edit my photos *GASP* using a program not dissimilar to PhotoShop *DOUBLE GASP*. So why would I do this? Well, it turns out that (and I will sound foolish and naive here) most digital photos have been 'adjusted' in some way, and this is "not a bad thing". I've been reading digital photography magazines, and it seems the digital darkroom is fully utilised and NOONE CARES. So, I decided to venture into the muddy waters and see for myself...I downloaded a free trial of PhotoShop Elements, but decided I couldn't afford the full thing so abandoned that and downloaded a program for free called paint.net. After being completely baffled for several days, I found some tutorials, and then it was like a light had been switched on...I could make my photos look better, but I didn't have to destroy them with stupid effects!! Having decided to get down off my high horse, I set out to see what I can do. Here are some of the results...

The top image is what I actually did - the bottom is with a bit of editing, and (I think) looks much better. How about effects like these:

These aren't possible in real life (I had to learn all sorts of digital editing for them!), but look kinda cool...

So, it seems my outlook has softened on the whole 'digital darkroom' front, and I find myself going to my editing program to 'just tweak a few things' on any photo that I wish to improve. Is this cheating, however? Thoughts please...

DCW weekend comp - theme: 'a star'

so this is my entry for this competition:

i was torn between that one and this:

but went for the origami in the end...we'll see!

ok, so this is my blog(!). not sure how much time i will have to spend on here, but i'll try.

the focus is on my photography journey. in here i'll be posting photos i like, details of competitions i've entered...that sort of thing. as well as my frustrations about not being able to get that 'perfect shot'. expect a lot of that :)

before i set up the blog, i'd entered a few competitions, mainly on the Digital Camera World forums ( http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/forum/index.php ) but also for National Insect Week ( http://nationalinsectweek.co.uk/competitions/photo_competition.htm - yes, i know...) and the Matlock Bath Parish Council Photo Competition ( http://www.matlockbathparishcouncil.gov.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=192:pro-loco-photography-competition-2012&catid=47:competitions-a-events-2012&Itemid=100 ). i won one of the DCW weekend competitions with this shot (the theme was 'vanishing point') :

that's my only win so far...but at least i'm getting votes now :)