Dramatic skies

After all the blue sky, sunny weather we've been having for weeks, photographically at least it was a relief to get back to some cloudy and more interesting skies. Here's quite a brooding, dramatic sky above the equally brooding and dramatic canal-side facade of Salts Mill.

Applying a few textures makes it even more dramatic.

[Bloggers... Is anyone else struggling with the 'new Blogger' interface? Or is it just me? Seems such a palaver now to upload photos. Every step in the process now seems to consist of three. I keep losing photos I've uploaded because, if you upload several at once, you can't choose which ones to add to a post like you could before. If you then remove photos from a post they don't stay 'available' for the next post and you have to fish them out of the blog album, which takes ages to load. So frustrating. I hate how they suddenly change things for no apparent reason. 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it', software developers!]

River abstracts

I enjoyed finding patterns in the river as the water rippled in the breeze.
Then I enjoyed playing around with them in processing, to see what else I could do with them. In the images below, I just added a layer of texture and soft colour.

How much is that kitty...?

Spotted a rather sleepy looking cat sitting on a windowsill in the sun. It put me in mind of that song: 'How much is that doggy in the window?'

Then I had a little play with the photo, adding layers and textures. I don't like the effect of the glazing bar down the middle, but I had some fun anyway.

A rainbow and a memory

I've been following a few photography projects that I've seen online. The inspiration for this image came from a photographer called Paul Sanders, who teaches 'mindful photography'. He says: "I, like many of you, will have seen the rainbows drawn and painted by people and then placed in the windows of shops, homes and offices to acknowledge support of our health service heroes. This got me thinking and playing. Remember that I spoke about approaching things with a child's mind and that photography is really about playing anyway, so I played. Get your camera or phone and photograph things with the colours of a rainbow - remember the verse from school? Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain - Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet - simple or you can sing the song that goes "Red and yellow and pink and green, orange and purple and blue, I can sing a rainbow" it really depends on how much playing you want to do! Fill the frame of your phone or camera with the colours, doesn't matter if the images are out of focus, remember we are playing and there is no judgement. What you are effectively doing is photographing abstract colour. It is a celebration of gratitude, not only of the power of observation but of the key workers and front line health services battling to save the lives of those affected by the Coronavirus."
A dear friend of mine, also - coincidentally - called Paul Sanders, recently passed away, having been infected with Covid 19. My rainbow is dedicated to his memory, as well as to the NHS heroes who looked after him and continue to care for so many other people.  Paul was a warm-hearted and very kind man, who will be sadly missed by his family and friends. Sending my love and prayers to his family. 

Project 'Inside' 2

More idling away of time in lockdown... This triptych is made with paper and coloured acetates through my macro lens.

Tiny planet Saltaire

One unexpected bonus of the current crisis is that the car park in the centre of Saltaire has been completely empty for days. It means you can get a panoramic view of Salts Mill's long frontage without cars in the way. I remembered my phone has a pano setting too. It gave me the photo I've used as my new blog header. Then I remembered that there's a way of converting a pano into a 'tiny planet' so I had a go at that. It proved quite difficult, mainly because I was working with such a large file that my computer was struggling. There's an art to them. For one thing you have to have an uncluttered foreground (which becomes the centre of the planet) for it to look right, and that is often difficult. You also need the edges to be blended to avoid a hard join and I haven't quite managed that here. Still, it's quite fun - and an undoubtedly different view of Saltaire.

Project 'Inside' 1

Given the current constraints on being outdoors, I've been trying, without much success, to interest myself in some indoor photography projects. I had a little play one day with my iPad and a glass vase I've had for ages. I like the colours, at least. It's good to experiment - and then push yourself to experiment some more. The first image I came up with is below and I do quite like the simplicity of it. With a bit more thinking and inspiration I created the image above, marrying the vase with a sprig of fake blossom that I keep in my bathroom (don't we all?!). The more complex study is, I think, the better of the two, though it will no doubt be down to personal preference in the end.

Creative London

I've been continuing my adventures into creative photography. This is a multi-layer composition based on some slow-shutter speed images I took in Spitalfields in London. I guess you either like this kind of thing or you don't. I think it's a step forward from my earlier attempt in Saltaire (HERE).

Lacy

Another photo montage using layers and blends. 'Salty Pumpkin' asked yesterday about flowers. so this is a flower one. I quite like its delicacy. I'm a great fan of alliums anyway, and these white ones (at Burton Agnes Hall) were so pretty.

Too much red wine?

I bought myself a book on creative photography techniques recently and have been trying out a few ideas. This was my first attempt at an impressionistic multi-exposure. I think I need to be even bolder with the technique to avoid it looking like camera shake, an earthquake or too much red wine. (I hadn't touched a drop, honestly!) Still, it's such fun trying out these ideas.

It at least gives a slightly different view of the much-photographed stretch of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal between Saltaire's two huge mills: Salts on the left and the New Mill on the right. The boat was nicely placed for a photograph too. You have more chance of seeing one in the short-term day moorings here in the summer, when there are more hire boats around. People often want to stop and explore Saltaire.