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!]

Swansong?

As the global coronavirus pandemic gathers speed, I wonder how much longer I'll be able to keep up a flow of new photos on my blog. We've been asked (we may be ordered) to stay at home where possible. Attractions are closed. The countryside is 'open' so far but, as my own emotions rise and plunge in hope and despair, I may not always have the motivation to make the effort to get out. I will do what I can and I guess, anyway, that others are in just the same boat. Stay safe and well, everyone.

Talking of boats, there were none on the canal when I walked down there recently, apart from the ever-present ice-cream boat in the distance. I haven't seen that open yet this year and I suppose it will be a long time before it can trade again. There were two swans gliding around hungrily. They were chasing me in the hope I'd provide food but I didn't take any with me.

It's a long time since I did a texturised photo of Saltaire, in this case the classic view of the two mills: Salts on the left and the New Mill on the right. I've added a coloured texture layer and a bit of 'glow' to lift the scene as it was quite a dull day and the original image lacked a bit of oomph. Now, I quite like it.

Blessings at Christmas

May the blessing of JOY abide within you; 

May the blessing of PEACE rest upon you;

May the blessing of LOVE flow out through you;

May all the blessings of the Lord be yours 

at Christmas and in the New Year.

Happy Christmas to all who celebrate the festival, and warmest wishes to those who don't. 

Thanks for another year of friendship and sharing. 

(The crib scene is my own, crafted from olive wood by Christian Palestinians.)

A picture postcard view

A picture postcard view from Whisby Nature Park, Lincoln.
This is one of the former gravel pits that have been flooded to make lakes. It's a pretty scene that I enjoyed giving a painterly look with some texture.

Treating myself

Sometimes I treat myself to a vase of fresh, cut flowers. Tulips are a favourite and these rather fancy ones are a gorgeous colour. I get double pleasure from them, both as something to look at and something to photograph and play with.

More playing

Just for fun, here is the same image I posted yesterday and I've added some texture, colour and a few 'birds'.

When I was confined to the house by the heavy snow for nearly a week, I kept boredom at bay by reading and by playing around with photo editing. I tried to motivate myself to do some 'spring cleaning' of the house. I managed to do one room!

Whiling away a winter evening

On these dark, winter evenings, if I'm at home, I occasionally watch TV but mostly, to stretch my brain, I read or do puzzles (crosswords or sudoku - and I'm having fun with some logic puzzles at the moment). I used to be an avid reader when I was younger and then, as a busy mother, I let it slide a bit. Now I have more time, I'm back to reading in a big way, though I find I can only read a few chapters before I need a short break. Whether it's age, eyesight or the sapping effect of technology on my brain, I'm not sure.

The very best relaxation though, as far as I'm concerned, is sorting through my photos and experimenting with processing. So it's a nuisance when I can't get out for walks and I run short on stock. Then I resort to trawling my photo archives, maybe finding an image I missed first time around, or one that I can see could benefit from a new treatment. I sit at my desktop for serious work but sometimes it's fun just to play on my iPad. I have some photo apps on that, more frivolous. I've also been scanning some very old family photos. I might show a few of those one day.

You'll recognise the photo above: my favourite trees, along by Dowley Gap Locks. In an idle half hour one evening, I added some textures and a few 'birds', just for fun.

Hops

'Hops... good for what ales you.'

I seem to have been to several places lately that have been liberally decorated with bines of dried hops. They look very attractive. I thought these made a pretty still life, especially when I added a texture layer. Hops are the flowers of Humulus lupulus and are, of course, the traditional flavouring for beer, as well as being used in herbal medicine and as a sleep aid.

My own recollections are a bit less benign... Years ago, at primary school, we used to be marched in a 'crocodile' down to the Victorian swimming baths. The walk took us under the darkly dripping arches of a railway viaduct and past the brewery, where there was an acrid stench of hops. I hated swimming lessons, I hated the walk and I hated the smell! I've never quite got over it - and I still can't swim very well!

Soft and hard

Bradford Industrial Museum - studies in texture. A hamper full of raw wool and the pock-marked floor of the spinning shed.

Romance in the air!

I decided a while ago to get winter tyres fitted to my car, since I have to drive over the high Pennine moors to my daughter's home periodically. I find it a hair-raising drive at the best of times and, whilst I don't deliberately drive in snow if I can help it, there is always the chance of getting caught out by bad weather. So, the expense and hassle of specialist tyres seems worth it. It meant a bit of waiting around at the garage in Silsden, so I went for a walk. The Leeds-Liverpool canal winds its way through the centre of the little town. I took a snap from the bridge on my iPhone and then added some textures to the image, whilst I waited for the car to be finished. Much better than being bored! The end result gives a decidedly romantic flavour to the scene.

Twilight

Another reflection - and another late afternoon walk, that brought me back home via the canal towpath as night was falling. It's rare that I pass that way on a winter evening. There was no wind either and it struck me that I'd never before noticed the lit windows of Salt's Mill reflected there so clearly. I liked the way the bright windows echoed the autumn leaves floating on the water. I played around with textures to give the image more depth.

Diva

I bought some purple tulips. I love tulips at every stage, from upright buds through to when they go drunkenly floppy and blowsy. Somehow even when they are dying the colour seems to deepen. I added some texture layers and I really like the additional glow that gives.