In the words of Elmer Fudd et al...
Th... Th... Th... Th... That's All Folks! I just cannot believe how quickly a year can go. This is my last month. I will admit that there were times when I thought I would not get here and I struggled for inspiration but here I am cruising into the home straights. Actually, I ought not get too cocky because there is still a month to go which is about eight percent of the distance, ahead of me. Heads down for the big finish!
Day 366. Sleep tight. OK, OK, I will admit it... I am a 365project junkie - a regular 365project tart of the worst sort. I couldn't resist posting a shot for today as well - just to go one better than merely completing my year. You only did 365 shots, eh? Pshaw...
In this one I was playing with my new wireless flash trigger and off camera flash (yes, I went and blew some more cash in Park Cameras yesterday). This was done with a small aperture, long exposure and high speed sync flash, rotating the camera as I took the shot. I thought the effect was quite nightmarish. Those of you with a long memory will recall this chap from http://365project.org/steampowered/365/2013-05-12
In this one I was playing with my new wireless flash trigger and off camera flash (yes, I went and blew some more cash in Park Cameras yesterday). This was done with a small aperture, long exposure and high speed sync flash, rotating the camera as I took the shot. I thought the effect was quite nightmarish. Those of you with a long memory will recall this chap from http://365project.org/steampowered/365/2013-05-12
Day 365. The...the...the...the...the...the...that's all folks! With a hand like this, who needs a partner? :o)) This is the last day of my project. Such bittersweet memories, the pain, the pleasure, the experience... I couldn't have done it without the love and comments of you wonderful people. I will be resting for a few days now (probably at least until after the wedding shoot I am doing this Saturday coming up) and then I will be back with a vengeance. To those of you with some time to go, "Stick at it!" and to those of you just starting "Make the most of it, it soon goes!".
Once again, a big "THANK YOU!" to you all, I really couldn't have done it without you and your fantastic support. I hope that I have got everyone below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saQJ8z4714w
Once again, a big "THANK YOU!" to you all, I really couldn't have done it without you and your fantastic support. I hope that I have got everyone below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saQJ8z4714w
Day 364. Mud, sweat and tears. So I thought that today I would go back to where it all began... (http://365project.org/steampowered/365/2012-12-31) with my smartphone and take another photograph at the same place (just a different view). The fields are sopping wet, muddy and there is yet more rain to come. Tomorrow will see my project come to an end as I post my last picture. No wonder dark days are a looming. It's not that I won't be posting pictures in the future but my promise to myself to stick to it for a year will be fulfilled and there will be little cause to celebrate.
Countdown... One...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT44cUPZQ2o
Countdown... One...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT44cUPZQ2o
Day 363. Heads or tails? A five shot HDR of these two gorgeous ebony statues (another charity shop find).
The countdown continues... Two...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UzBSxoXVRs
I was going to have Rolf Harris doing "Two little boys" but I think that he is in enough trouble with that sort of thing as it is!
The countdown continues... Two...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UzBSxoXVRs
I was going to have Rolf Harris doing "Two little boys" but I think that he is in enough trouble with that sort of thing as it is!
Day 362. High five! Step aside Danbo. Meet Cubebot. He was in my Christmas stocking and believe it or not, he does fold into a cube - that is how he comes out of the box and I am blessed if I can see how to get him back in again! As you can see, he likes WALL-E
Countdown... Three... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK2IAyCuJ4U
Countdown... Three... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK2IAyCuJ4U
Day 361. Bokeh slippers. I hasten to say that these aren't mine! They were a gift to my wife from her Mother... honestly... would I lie to you? I will admit to being liberal with the white balance to give a more "golden appearance"
Countdown... Five...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC9YY1urT8Q
Actually, I miscounted and today ought to be Four so here is the Countdown tune for that too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9duaOZu3SQ
Countdown... Five...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC9YY1urT8Q
Actually, I miscounted and today ought to be Four so here is the Countdown tune for that too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9duaOZu3SQ
Day 360. Christmas... ...is like this pencil. Pointless.
Countdown... Six...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK0LZu80FHU
Countdown... Six...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK0LZu80FHU
Day 359. The closest I will get... to some young lady stripping off and posing for me. A very quick shot today as I am running very late. This little bronze lit up beautifully along the right hand side as she [ahem!] displayed her charms.
Countdown... Seven...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-q7Mih69KE
Countdown... Seven...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-q7Mih69KE
Day 358. A little light reading. With the storm beating its way towards us (at the moment it is only very soggy with a stiffish breeze blowing) I thought that I would put the time to good use (i.e. trying to think of a photograph for today!). It's probably better if you enlarge it - that way you might be able to see what the reading material is.
Countdown... Eight...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Il9q397lL0
Countdown... Eight...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Il9q397lL0
Day 357. Patina of age. Over fifty years ago, we lived next door to a dear, little, old Welsh lady, Jenny Jones. She surrounded herself with brass items which she kept scrupulously clean. Today, whilst visiting parents, my Mother gave me some of the brass pieces that Jenny gave to her shortly before she passed away. I looked at my Mum and saw that she was a sweet, grey haired little old lady just like Jenny was when I knew her. It broke my heart because this last year my Mum has grown so old, both physically and mentally. Where is the fiery Suffolk lass with the shock of black hair who enchanted my father so much that six weeks after meeting her, he married her? Surely she can't have been replaced by this wizened old lady? Where is the fire breathing dragon of a mother who wouldn't stand for any nonsense from me but should I fall and skin my knee would pick me up, clean me up and set me off playing again? Surely this little wrinkled old lady can't be her? I just can't believe what the ravages of time have done to her. I waited until we got home before weeping.
Countdown continues... Nine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaERHs8Q93E
Countdown continues... Nine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaERHs8Q93E
Day 356. Naughty kitty. I found a charming pair of Chinese fans in a charity shop a few weeks back and I have been wondering what I could do with them. Donna suggested a scene from Madame Butterfly that we saw some years ago where the leading lady danced naked behind a screen but I didn't have a nubile young lady who would bare all and Donna wasn't volunteering! So I found this wooden cut out kitty to perform instead. My trusty monitor got used as a light source once again!
BTW, I'm on a countdown now. Ten...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk1IK0VmzpA
BTW, I'm on a countdown now. Ten...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk1IK0VmzpA
Day 355. ...should accidentally fall... Part of the lyrics of "Ten green bottles". I was stuck for a shot today so after I had completed a marathon ironing session, I went into town to buy Donna's Christmas present and to seek inspiration. I found these charming little bottles full of buttons but having purchased them and whilst rushing to get back to the car before the Horsham Hitlers (aka traffic wardens) nabbed my car, I dropped the bag with corresponding "crash, tinkle, bonkle" sounds. I didn't have time to waste so I scooped up the bag and waited until I got home to survey the damage. In the end it wasn't too bad because it gave me a shot.
It's a five shot HDR created in Photomatix and then tarted up in Photoshop. BTW, if you are a Photomatix user then there is an update to version 5 available. Lots of new goodies in there so go and get it now!
Today's music is Annie Lennox (ex Eurythmics) singing "Walking on Broken Glass" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de2f6j3tiQE
It's a five shot HDR created in Photomatix and then tarted up in Photoshop. BTW, if you are a Photomatix user then there is an update to version 5 available. Lots of new goodies in there so go and get it now!
Today's music is Annie Lennox (ex Eurythmics) singing "Walking on Broken Glass" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de2f6j3tiQE
Day 354. Love is... simply black and white. I want to dedicate this picture to my child bride, Donna, for all the love she puts into our relationship. She got me home yesterday when I was feeling dreadful and tucked me up into bed which was for the best. The best thing that has ever happened to me is Donna. I'm still smitten with the latest cold bug but definitely feeling more human today.
On the technical side, the plate was £4 in our local branch of Tesco (it was just too good to pass up), shot against a black background in daylight, tweaked in DxO Optics pro to get rid of lens distortion, converted to look like Fuji Neopan 100 film in DxO FilmPack and then finally tarted up in Photoshop to crop it to square and remove a few blemishes
On the technical side, the plate was £4 in our local branch of Tesco (it was just too good to pass up), shot against a black background in daylight, tweaked in DxO Optics pro to get rid of lens distortion, converted to look like Fuji Neopan 100 film in DxO FilmPack and then finally tarted up in Photoshop to crop it to square and remove a few blemishes
Day 353. Where did you get...? ...that hat? Those of you who know me will know my love for silly hats. Just a quickie today because I am up in London at my wife's office Christmas bash.
Day 352. Forthcoming wedding. This is just one of the shots I was playing around with for my neighbours daughter's wedding in three weeks time. This is a filler shot or possibly one that I can use as a title shot / background shot for a video that I plan to let the newly weds have.
Alternate shots here:
http://365project.org/steampowered/something-diffe/2013-12-17
http://365project.org/steampowered/hodgepodge/2013-12-17
Alternate shots here:
http://365project.org/steampowered/something-diffe/2013-12-17
http://365project.org/steampowered/hodgepodge/2013-12-17
Day 351. Christmas is getting on my wick! OK, OK, I Promise that I will stop whining about Christmas after this shot. It's two shots, merged in Photoshop and then given a feel of Fuji Neopan Acros 100 B&W film, a hint of a white light leak and a bit of a blur vignette (all courtesy of DxO FilmPack 4) plus a suitable simple frame added back in Photoshop. I have just realised that I only have two weeks to go until my project comes to an end. That is just downright scary... where has the year gone to?
Regardless of all that here is some classic music from James Taylor - "Fire and Rain"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3uaXCJcRrE
The fact that I have possibly linked to this piece of music before doesn't come into it. It is so enjoyable.
Regardless of all that here is some classic music from James Taylor - "Fire and Rain"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3uaXCJcRrE
The fact that I have possibly linked to this piece of music before doesn't come into it. It is so enjoyable.
Day 350. Sorry to see you go. This small shot is dedicated to @thirtysevenways because he is leaving us today. Andy is having a bit of an "awkward" time at the moment which you might want to catch up with here http://365project.org/discuss/general/20198/goodbye-and-thanks-for-all-the-favs . I found out today that he was the chap who paid for my Ace membership - a corking gift for anyone and it just goes to show what a grand bunch of people there are on this site.
This is a five shot HDR of a pewter loving cup, tweaked in Photoshop (I think that you can guess which magazine I was using as the background!)
This is a five shot HDR of a pewter loving cup, tweaked in Photoshop (I think that you can guess which magazine I was using as the background!)
Day 349. Humbug? I am a miserable old curmudgeon when it comes to Christmas and this is going to be my one and only shot of a Christmas related subject. In this case, a felt decoration (courtesy of Oxfam) and a bright little smiley button.
Day 348. Totally pooped. Let's face it, with all of the days I have been spending up in London recently, I am totally nadgered. I feel like the sandman only makes fleeting visits these days and sleep is but something to dream of. I guess I am just becoming too old to burn the candle at both ends [Sigh!]. This was shot in Raw, processed in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop and then given the feel of Ilford Delta ISO 3200 film using DxO FilmPack. The grain in the picture matches what I feel under my eyelids at the moment. Need I ask you to enlarge it? Probably not. Now I must go and try and clean the wax off the table...
Day 347. Walls have ears... and hooves, nostrils and manes too! Poor old @padlock couldn't make it up to London today but I decided to go. I had to go past Park Cameras new store in Rathbone Place (I only had to go two miles out of my way to go past it!) and spent a few quid on accessories for my new GoPro camera. Then it was on to Camden market where I had a great time. Near to Camden market is this other market based in a set of old stables. There are bronze horse statues everywhere including this magnificent set, high up on a wall. Can I suggest that you need to see it enlarged? No? Right. I will shut up then.
Day 346. Mooooon River. I was going to call it "Give me the Mooonlight..." but decided on this instead. It's a cow piggy bank (if you can call it that of course) that I found the other day. I am dedicating this shot to @annied because she said she likes cows. It's a quick shot today because I have sooo many things to do like having to take my brand new, hideously expensive Manfrotto tripod back to Park Cameras because when I unboxed it last night, it was broken(!) but enough of my woes...
Here's a choice of cow related things for you to watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qADyj_VYPno (which is a rip off of the Body Rockers track here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAOJ_azIvus )
or there is this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RrbyyQ9TZc
See? You get a cruddy photograph and some rubbish entertainment and for not a penny extra!
Here's a choice of cow related things for you to watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qADyj_VYPno (which is a rip off of the Body Rockers track here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAOJ_azIvus )
or there is this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RrbyyQ9TZc
See? You get a cruddy photograph and some rubbish entertainment and for not a penny extra!
Day 345. Shoot that poison arrow. It's no good, I just fall in love with different women every day but in the end, it always makes me fall in love even more with my child bride. Today I bought a few metres of different coloured cloth that I am going to use as backdrops for some of the wedding shots I have promised (you know, photo of the rings, the shoes, the veil etc.) and I just LOVED the way that the cloth responds and ruckles up when stroked with the fingers. Then it was a case of seeing the beaded heart decoration and that was it. Music for today, straight out of the eighties http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAc5C4pfBtg
Day 344. Cool for cats? One of the definite plusses of the trip to London on Saturday (apart from the good company, the curry and the beer) was a wander around Spitalfields market. There were so many wonderful stalls selling gorgeous things. I fell in love with this pair of sunglasses with interchangeable lenses. It made me feel like I was a child of the seventies once again.
Actually, these remind me of that ace scene from Terminator 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufWgXA1XPTQ
Actually, these remind me of that ace scene from Terminator 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufWgXA1XPTQ
Day 343. Cheating! In England we call them "knuckle dusters" and in America they are "brass knuckles" but this little lot are more like "duckle knusters" or "brass duckles". Not a lot of time for serious photography today (sorry @jo13 ) so I cheated and whipped up the fastest shot you ever did see.
Day 342. Well done @padlock! I had a great time up in London courtesy of the get together organised by @padlock and I hope that all of the others that came along did so too.
@jo13 @suesmith @bizziebeeme @rosiekind @boxplayer @pixiemac @emmadurnford @nicolaeastwood @andycoleborn @taz_o @davidgnc @houdiniem @johnnyfrs
@jo13 @suesmith @bizziebeeme @rosiekind @boxplayer @pixiemac @emmadurnford @nicolaeastwood @andycoleborn @taz_o @davidgnc @houdiniem @johnnyfrs
Day 341. Boots, Oxford Street. I've been to three exhibitions today. The first at Osborn Samuel Gallery, the second at University of London (SOAS) and the third at the British Museum. I took plenty of pics but this set of windows on the Boots store in Oxford Street was just amazing and blew me away when I saw it enlarged. The reflections from the buildings across the way were superb. If you enlarge it, you might even be able to see the black and white coat inside one of the windows!
Day 340. Tread carefully. I knew that my small windfall wouldn't last long (so I was right to go and get a toy yesterday!). I peeked at my tyres this morning and saw that the front ones were bordering on illegal. Actually, Sebastian Vettel was thinking of making me an offer for them because they were so slick! Anyway, while my poor little Fiat was being re-booted, I wandered into town and trawled through the charity shops and came across this hideous chromed apple and thought "Nice!". The background is a rush placemat that seemed to fit the bill.
Day 339. Holding out. I need a hero, I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night....
Thanks to my bank mis-selling me Payment Protection Insurance a few times in the past, I have come into a small sum of money as compensation. So Christmas has come a little early for me. I purchased myself a GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition, which I intend to use underwater the very next time I go whale watching (plus I have one or two other uses for it.) Ooh - I also ordered my self a big boy's tripod and the big boy's geared head to go with it but that is going to take a week or so to get delivered. Park Cameras must have thought that Christmas was coming early too!
OK, so who thought that I was going to give you Bonnie Tyler as the music for today? I thought that I would treat the world to some Nickelback (come, on guys, the world might hate them but they do spin out some good tunes).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPr8ZqRHTQo
Thanks to my bank mis-selling me Payment Protection Insurance a few times in the past, I have come into a small sum of money as compensation. So Christmas has come a little early for me. I purchased myself a GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition, which I intend to use underwater the very next time I go whale watching (plus I have one or two other uses for it.) Ooh - I also ordered my self a big boy's tripod and the big boy's geared head to go with it but that is going to take a week or so to get delivered. Park Cameras must have thought that Christmas was coming early too!
OK, so who thought that I was going to give you Bonnie Tyler as the music for today? I thought that I would treat the world to some Nickelback (come, on guys, the world might hate them but they do spin out some good tunes).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPr8ZqRHTQo
Day 338. Dance the light fantastic or "May we never meter gain". I found this cute little light meter in a charity shop and despite the fact that it is nigh on clapped out (the needle barely moves in anything but the brightest light) I had to have it. Sorry it is such a late post today but I have been helping out my child bride with one of her work projects and time has just flown.
Day 337 Face Saving Exercise. AKA "it's right there, you idiot!" Did you ever have one of those days where your mind goes blank and you can't remember a keyboard shortcut or where to look for an action that you need? Yeah... I had a real brain fart this morning and could not remember Ctrl + S as the shortcut for File---Save and that' is how and why today's picture was born. You might want to look at it enlarged because it is a bit of an in-joke. My apologies for not shaving. That is something else that I forgot this morning. Coffee... cofffffeeee... zombie must have coffeeeeeee!
Day 336. What is there to photograph? We have spent another day down with Donna's parents trying to keep things running smoothly and we only had a few minutes to walk on the beach. The tide was high, the weather was a bit grim and I didn't have a huge amount of time to take a shot for the day. I did come across this dinghy and thought "That will have to do"