Day 21...choo choo...

I went to a train museum for a hdr challenge that required an image of wheels.
Fascinating place and lots to take photos of.

Part way through processing the images now - mostly hdr which I love.

Here is part of one train on show...the Caerphilly Castle.

Click for larger image.

Day 20...an almost full moon.

The full moon is tomorrow, but it looked absolutely gorgeous tonight.

Click for larger image.

Day 19...Valentine's Day roses.

My husband bought me some beautiful red roses for valentine's day.
I got round to trying to photograph them today and had difficulty with getting the right red on macro shots of them.
This is one I singled out on of the buds and backlit with diffused natural light and used a little fill flash.
It was very close to the correct colour.

Click for larger image.

Day 18...night photography.

I visited Cribbs Causeway in Bristol, and as we were about to leave I decided to take some pictures of the outside of the building.
It is a hdr combining three images +/-2 in Photomatix.
The people that were wandering about at the edges vanished in the long exposures.
Thankfully nobody walked down the centre of my image!!
On the left is a temporary ice rink which will close down in about a weeks time.

Click for larger image.

Day 17...a close look at money!!

I was testing my macro lens to see how close I could get to a bank note.
This is part of the hologram on a £5 note.

Click to see larger.

Day 16...Spring is on the way!!

I started to look at seeds that need planting for the summer.
These are Purple Wisteria seeds sent to me by a lovely man in New Orleans.
I planted some of them a couple of years ago and have a plant growing in the greenhouse.
This year I will put some more in my propagator and see if I can germinate them.

Click for larger image.

Day 15...warming up!!

I got my husband to clean the glass on the woodburner before lighting the fire as you could hardly see the flames.
It does get very warm in the sitting room when it's lit.

Click for larger image.

Day 14...need to catch up posting!!

I'm keeping up with taking pictures every day, but have not had time to process them all.
This one I did for a challenge - "blue and smooth" - and really like how it turned out.

Click to see larger.

 I also took more images on Friday that I liked, mainly of cockerels and chickens!!

Day 13, yet another macro.

I'm really loving this lens.  I was sat in my car last night trying to get images of raindrops on the window when I decided to also take pictures of instrument panel in the car too.
This was the result of it.  I rather like it.

Click for a larger image.

Day 12...a ladybird.

I went to a village called Castle Coombe to take photos this afternoon.
While taking pictures of my daughter who was laid out on a stone structure looking fed up, I spotted a ladybird in a crack.
It was wedged into a crack near the top of a wooden post.
So I got my switched my 100mm lens over to macro as I had been using it as a prime and took a few shots.

When I got the images onto my computer it looks as if the ladybird is actually tied up in strands of spiders web.

I wonder if it is no longer alive.

If you weren't aware, you can click on the picture and see it larger -in fact you can click on all the pictures to see them larger.

12/365

Day 11...the snowdrop has opened more.

I kept the snowdrop in water and it has opened up nicely.
Rather than using a dark background, I used natural light from a window and a little flash to compensate for being backlit.

11/365

Day 10...Vibernum.

I have three vibernum bodnantense Dawn in the garden which have been flowering on and off all through the winter.
There are lots of new flowers opening at the moment.

10/365

Day nine - snowdrop.

It has been so dark outside recently and also so windy that I  picked one of the snowdrops and brought it inside.
Could have been lit better, but will have another go in a few days.

9/365

Day 8 Macro.

This is a lovely image to show the depth of field at f.7.1.  The section of letters is only 36mm across in real life.

8/365

Day 7 still with macro.

I wanted to try the depth of field on my macro lens, so used five Waitrose Oatcakes with Cracked Black Pepper.
They taste delicious with cheese.

7/365

Day six.

I decided to try something different yesterday.
This is an image of vehicles taken from a bridge overlooking the motorway.
I liked the  blue and green lights of the trucks and the cars moving lanes.
There was a strong blustery windy so quite difficult to keep the tripod perfectly still for the long exposures.
I will definitely try this again when it isn't windy.

Day five...

Nearly caught up now.

We often drive past a field with a donkey in it, and my daughter and I play a game of spot the donkey as there is a tall hedge and a few buildings.
On Wednesday for the first time we stopped and fed him an apple left over from my daughter's morning tuck.
A very gentle donkey who carefully took the pieces of apple with just his lips.
We will have to go and visit again soon.

5/365

Day four!!

Still in catch up mode, this was taken on Tuesday.

Mist was rolling across the field, so I caught it using my 100mm macro as a prime...just love this lens!!

4/365

A couple more I took at the same time...

Day three!!

Another macro shot, this time of a clematis seed head in the garden. 
I think it is Bill MacKenzie, but I got it as a seedling from a village plant sale.

Clematis seed head - Bill MacKenzie

Day two!!

I've decided that I love my new 100mm lens for both macro and as a prime lens and have used it a lot since it arrived.

This is an image taken in a neighbours garden of the flowers on a small Witch Hazel which has very pretty flowers with shaggy petals.

Hamamelis x intermedia 2/365

A few more images from Rode Hall in Cheshire...

Old Boat House with icy lake behind.

Looking across the frozen lake from above the new boat house.

From the shore.

My first Daily image!!

Several people have suggested I publish a blog with my photographs over the last couple of years.

Spurred into action by starting a 365 project which means I take at least one image each day for a whole year.
This should encourage me to try new things and stretch my boundaries.

I went to Rode Hall on Saturday 29 January, which was the first day of my challenge with my family and took lots of photos.
Here is one of them of the statue in the rose garden between the house and the lake.

1/365