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snowy WexWorlds
The drive down to Wexford yesterday was good, if somewhat tiring, and on a couple of occasions made frustrating by a lack of signage – an old problem on roads in Ireland. We went to the opening of WexWorlds – the Mayor of Wexford showed up – met friends, and had food. This morning we were greeted by a winter wonderland. Unfortunately, it’s meant that some of the guests of the convention have not been able to get to Wexford. My two panels thus far have been very enjoyable, even though the numbers were smaller as a result of the weather. So far everyone seems to be having a great…
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winter morning
For a dog that’s camera-shy – Minnie hates me taking her photo – she’s beginning to creep her way into a lot of my nature shots lately. I don’t mind as it often adds a spot of interest to the image. As you can see it’s cold today with wintery fog. I won’t say anything else about that image because it’s doing all the heavy-lifting. I’ve been churning away at the novel, and it’s over the 30K mark now. I had a couple of missed days for a variety of reasons but I’m in the swing of things now. I need to be because I have WexWorlds this weekend. I…
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night walk
Tonight, there is an amazing moon. I’m lucky to live in a place with little liight pollution, and there are some nights when this is a joy. Earlier this evening, because it was a clear night with strong moonlight, I decided to walk Minnie in the woods in the darkness. I don’t do this frequently, but whenever I do I swear I’ll do it more often. When we arrived at the woods I noticed that the person with the property opposite to the entrance was having a bonfire. It was magical. The fire snapping and popping, the saffron-crimson flames licking up between the gaps of the trees and Mistress Moon…
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making friends
This is a picture of Mr. Barky and Minnie, which I snapped today after they became friends in my local woods. I don’t know the name of the dog, but that’s what I’m calling him, after his method of introduction when he spotted us. Dogs are pretty easy to understand if you take the time to learn to read their body language, and remember that they normally strive for harmony. They want everyone to get on, and preferably to live together in a large, affable, smelly pack and to run about, play, sleep and gnaw the odd bone. This is not to say that they don’t grump at each other…
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going monochrome
I’ve been experimenting with changing some of my recent photographs of trees to black and white, and taking a slightly arty style. In some of them I’m using sepia tones. I start with the base image, go with my instinct about which filter works best and start building layers of effects. Of all the creative work I do artwork and photography are probably the most satisfying. I lose massive chunks of time when I get involved in it because it absorbs my attention completely. It’s also the work that has no pressure attached: I do it simply for my pleasure. I’ve mentioned before that woods and forests are where I…
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sun on sun
There was more stormy weather last night so there isn’t a leaf left on any trees in my garden. This morning the rain fled and left behind freshly-scrubbed skies and searing sunshine. I took this image after my walk in the woods, where I snapped a few nice images also. It’s difficult to capture a moment of beauty in its entire spectrum, be it in words or images. Much of what I do is a failed attempt. I try to squeeze the intangibles into the pixels and letters, but even when it’s good, it rarely does the experience justice. There are so many little moments that squeeze my heart. Such…
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the frost dance
Another picture from today where Minnie edged her way into the background. She’s a rather impatient dog and doesn’t like it when I stop to take photos. Sometimes she’ll snuffle around, while other times she’ll plant herself on her arse and wait for me to stop staring at mushrooms through the shiny metal object. There are flaws to this photo that make it less than perfect, but the double subject makes up for it. For those of you who don’t care for dogs, you get a mushroom, and for the dog and mushroom lovers you get nirvana. If neither takes your fancy then I might not be the best blogger…
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Jack O’Leaf
I was pleased to capture this image this morning just using my mobile phone camera. Halloween might be over, but this looks like a Jack O’Leaf to me. It was a frosty, sunny morning in the woods today, which can mean good photos if you can find a subject. There is little foliage left on the trees after the rain and wind over the weekend (not as bad as predicted). The view from my office is of my back garden, and of the three trees I can see there are perhaps half a dozen leaves hanging on grimly to the stark branches. I’ve begun putting out peanuts in feeders for…
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flashback to Greece
Yesterday’s post with its emphasis on sunshine reminded me that this time last year I was in Greece as part of the first World Conference of Screenwriters. I was running the conference blog and social media, and it was a wonderful, if exhausting, few days in Athens. The above picture is of the Parthenon at dusk on the opening evening of the conference. It’s one of the cluster of ancient buildings that make up the Acropolis – which is perched on a flat-topped outcrop 150 meters above Athens. Our international group of screenwriters and Guilds representatives was extremely fortunate to get a private tour of the Acropolis just as twilight…
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get it while it’s sparkly
I snapped the above picture nearly a week ago, on the last bright morning before we turned the corner into Winter and settled into November. It’s been grey wet days since then. It was a lovely surprise to stumble upon a variety of mushrooms in the woods on that occasion, as it’s somewhat late in the season for a lot of them. The photograph of this duo was a special delight, because I managed to capture the magical quality of a sunny late autumn morning. I like the extra shine in the image, even if it could be taken for a flaw. We’re heading into colder weather soon, with a…
