Low tide sunset

Another shameful delay between postings, for which I can only apologise to you, my imaginary reader. By way of making amends, here's a photo I took the other day while out walking my new lens, a Nikkor 50mm f1.4. It was the wrong lens for the job really - something wider would have resulted in images with a bit more scale I think - but hey, I'm not complaining. I really like the results.

I'm a sucker for a nice shadow

I can't resist a nice bit of shadow play. And that's a nice colour too - maybe one to bear in mind when (if?) I get round to painting our front door.

The front door has needed a coat of paint for about seven years now. I've resolved to do it at least a dozen times in each of those seven years and, of course, it remains unpainted.

This year though...I can feel it. It's really going to happen this year.

Mischievous girl

Honestly, this girl will be the death of us. The other day she went ominously quiet for a few minutes - just a few minutes is all it took. Next thing you know she's administered a DIY haircut on her fringe with a pair of nail scissors. The following day we receive an emergency walkie-talkie call from Oskar around bedtime. He reports that she's sitting in bed eating a pack of his M&Ms, bold as brass! When challenged she said she didn't know they were Oskar's. Oh well that's alright then...

These are just a couple of several minor irritations for which she's been responsible over the past week or so and to be honest the temperature was rising a bit. So it was kind of timely that there was a gas leak at her school two days ago and we ended up spending a day together, just the two of us. There was a gorgeous sun-kissed break in the horrible weather (don't get me started on the weather), so we headed for the seafront with bike, picnic and camera.

We had a great time and are now officially best mates again. I'm going to miss these days when she grows up.

The big freeze

Can it really be nearly a week since I last posted? Good Lord...

Brighton has been hit by a lot of weather lately as I've mentioned in previous posts but this weekend we really struck the jackpot with two days of proper snow and barely an overnight thaw between them to ruin it all. Actually, that's nonsense, we've actually had just one night and half a day of snow, it's just stuck around for longer than it usually does so it feels like we're in the Alps all of a sudden.

I've been out seeking nice photos, obviously, and you can see the fruits of my labour over on my Flickr pages. Capturing the one you can see here was a perilous affair. In order to get the sunset colours in the background I had to climb onto the bench of one of the seafront shelters and cling onto a protruding design feature (I think it was some kind of flower) with one hand while operating the camera with the other. As I stepped onto the bench my foot slipped in the snow and ice and I very nearly did a dramatic lunge into the shelter that would certainly have ended in tears - particularly as I was unfortunate enough to go completely arse over tit last night on my way to a boozy Christmas party. My legs went from under me and I landed heavily on my back, which wasn't much fun (even though I'm sure it was actually quite amusing to watch) and left me with a very tender back, so the last thing I wanted today was another injury. Ah, the things we do for our art...

Puddle

In a rare moment of calm during the recent downfalls I went for a stroll on the seafront and found lots of puddles where you don't normally find them. I grabbed some nice reflection shots but this was the one that I kept going back to for some reason. I think it's the shape of the wooden kerb that I like - and in particular its reflection in the edge of the water.

I'd view it large (by clicking on the image)...

Sea, sun, bird

There's been nothing fabulous enough to post with pride over the past few days so you'll have to make do with this, taken the other day on a squally seafront. There's something about a stormy day that really makes me relish the prospect of heading out with my camera but the results are, more often than not, disappointing. Trying to photograph big waves is rather like trying to capture a rainbow - easy enough to commit to a photograph but borderline impossible to make interesting. Anyway, take it from me, this looked brilliant in the flesh.

Stormy Saturday

Last night we were warned by those sages at the Met Office that there might be a storm today and for once they were right. It wasn't quite as biblical as they feared it might be but the wind was strong enough to drive the rain into my face so hard I had to change direction this morning as I walked towards the seafront. The wind was funnelled along the street I was walking along and the rain felt like multiple pin-stabs on my forehead - really painful. I briefly wondered whether it would have been quite so intense if I'd had a bit more hair but figured there was no point dwelling on that one. Obviously this wasn't the only shot I took. There are loads more on Flickr.

Seafront kip

It felt a little intrusive taking a photo of this couple snoozing on the seafront but it made for such a delightful image that I snapped the buggers anyway. For all I know they could have been blind drunk after an epic pub crawl or a three hour lunch, but somehow I doubt it. I prefer to think they'd been strolling around Brighton for much of the day, sat down on this seafront bench and before you know it the sea air had got the better of them. Moments after this was taken one of them probably jolted awake, gently shook the other and shared a joke about not having quite as much energy as they used to. Then they'd have helped each other to their feet and walked slowly home.

Wide-angle bandstand

The newly refurbished bandstand on Brighton seafront has already become something of a photographic cliché so I approach it with some caution. But the sunset was beautiful last night and this couple were in just the right spot taking pictures of each other and the wide-angle lens just happened to be on the camera so I went for it anyway. Clichés are clichés for a reason after all (how clichéd was that?)

Tweaked subway family

I won't make a habit of this, promise, but I'm reposting a picture I used on here just two posts ago because I'm so gobsmacked by the effect a few Photoshop tweaks have made to it. I'd taken the colour out of the original shot on a whim. Then I tweaked the levels a bit and reposted it on Flickr. My mate Dave (the legendary Disco Dave 2000 that is) saw it and made a few suggestions: clone out this, tweak that, add a shadow here... And I thought he might have a point, so I went ahead and made the changes. This is what emerged - suddenly I think I have a new favourite photograph (of my own I mean...let's not get carried away). I particularly like the converging curved lines, the texture on the walls and the mystery that lies beyond the bright light...

Subway family

This is what you want from a point & shoot: the confidence that you can just point it and shoot without stroking your chin for ten minutes over white balance and ISO settings, and still get something serviceable at the other end. I'm sure the D90 could have handled the challenging light conditions just as well on auto mode, but then so it should being twice the price and all that - and that's without a lens. So all told I'm pleased with the Ricoh so far - even though I'm still half convinced I should have gone for the RX200. But then I may have just got tied up in the purist photography options it offers and missed this shot altogether.

More aerial shenanigans

It's not every day you get the chance to take some photos from a basket hanging under a crane nearly 200 feet above Brighton beach so I'm sure you'll forgive me for using one more from the weekend's bungee shoot (get me, I'm calling it a 'shoot'). In fact I reserve the right to use more of these if the mood takes me and I don't find anything fresher to offer. I very much look forward to spending some time really getting to know the new camera properly and then practising with it. Right now I feel somewhat out of my depth - both with the camera and the new wide-angle lens - but I'm seeing this as an opportunity to learn stuff, once the pesky job is behind me.

New toy!

It's not about the camera or the lens, we all know that. It's about the moment captured and the memory saved. Sometimes it's even about the art (although rarely in my case). Nonetheless it is a happy day when one finds the wherewithal to add some shiny photographic kit to the small but growing pile of slightly less shiny kit. Despite my intellectual side pouring scorn on the idea, the childish insecure sad side of me thinks 'This [insert camera/lens/widget name here] is what I needed! Now, at last, I can fulfil my artistic potential! Etc etc'. So it was with some excitement that I stepped out on Friday with my new Nikon D90 complete with a new Sigma 10-20mm lens. Both will take some mastering I think - I ended up feeling much more comfortable using the (also new) Nikon 35mm lens instead, but I saw glimpses of what's possible with the Sigma and I'm very excited about spending some time trying to pursue it.

Due South reception from above

In haste tonight because I'm tired and I want to go to bed (and I had a little drink about ten minutes ago...) but here's another aerial shot of the outside area at Due South. I say 'another' but I'm actually not sure whether I've used one on here before. I quite like the wonky perspective on this one. I straightened it in Lightroom rather than twisting myself so completely off the pavement above the restaurant that I fell into the ice bucket - seemed sensible at the time. And of course the shadows work for me too.

Scary bike

Yet another apparently fruitless amble along the seafront revealed a golden picture opportunity the other day, when this rather distinguished chap rode past on his unfeasibly tall bike. I was intrigued by what he'd do when the time came to dismount but I'm afraid the answer's rather prosaic: he simply swung a leg over the back of the saddle so he was hanging off one side of the bike, then tilted it until it was safe to skip off sideways. The manoeuvre was dexterous but undramatic so I won't dwell on it. But I wouldn't fancy trying it in traffic...

Seaside diva

We spent much of today sipping lager in the sunshine on the beach, to mark the 40-somethingth birthday of Mrs humbert15, bless her. Our day was made all the more special by the arrival of this charming creature, who set up shop not ten yards from us and sang various arias to seafront passers-by. She had an amazingly good voice - and a wicked sense of humour. When someone tried to take her photo she pulled various hideous faces as she sang - never missing a note mind you - to spoil their shots. Luckily she did no such thing when I approached her - perhaps it because I gave her a quid...

Snapper's delight

I went to a Brighton Flickr group beach barbecue last night and had a great time. There were many good photographers there, some very interesting cameras, and some very nice actual people too. I didn't take many photos for some reason - not sure why really, perhaps I was intimidated by the sheer weight of photographic experience on that beach. Or perhaps I was just having too good a time. I did get this one though - that sky was a truly amazing colour and the clouds were swirling in the most extraordinary patterns. This doesn't do it any kind of justice but it still looks pretty good. It takes a lot to persuade me to photograph anything sunset related on the seafront these days because it's all been done before so many times, but this one seemed justified. I hope you agree.

Drummer from above

This turned out a little better than expected. I think I have the cymbals to thank. It's truly amazing how much there is to photograph on the seafront. However grey the day, however sparse the crowds, however devoid ones head is of inspiration, nine times out of ten something turns up. Today the weather's not that great, I'm feeling slightly below par (as you may be able to tell due to this scintillating prose), the crowds have stayed away and I hadn't a clue what I was going to come home with. Then I walked along the path above the Gemini and heard this band playing - they weren't bad either...

We also joined the library today. I'm slightly embarrassed and ashamed to say it hadn't occurred to us before now - eight years after moving down to Brighton. We've been shelling out on books that get read once and then effectively discarded, but something had to give because Osk is now reading at a fairly scary rate - he got through four thick junior James Bond books inside the last month - so we had to find a way to stop the growing cost of feeding his habit. It's a very photogenic building once you're inside so I think I'll try to get permission to take some shots there. It may not be possible but it's certainly worth asking.

Seagull

Well, you know. If you live in Brighton you've got to take the odd shot of seagulls. I think everyone starts off hating them, then moves towards accepting them, then kind of admires them, before finally loving the ornery fekkers. If you need any help moving on from the hate phase, just pop down to the seafront on a stormy day. As you snuggle into your waterproofs and bow into the wind, seeking out places to shelter from the weather, you may just spot the gulls dipping and diving and skimming the thrashing water with their wingtips. And if you didn't know better you'd swear they were laughing with the sheer visceral joy of it all. There's no way they're just surviving out there - they're playing, damn it. That's when the respect starts to kick in. We're visitors here; they own the gaff. All power to them.

Sunset bikes

Back on that shadow theme again. It would have been good to capture the full bike shadow image on the ramp in the foreground and maybe have slightly less clutter in the image as a whole but I do like the setting sunlight on the huts and the graffiti wall below them. I think this one would have been improved if I'd stuck around a little longer too - both to get a richer, redder, sunlight and to catch some gnarlier jumping. But hey ho, I was on my way to a bowl of chilli and a subtitled movie and missions don't get much more serious than that.

I really feel lucky about the number of opportunities there are for photography around my way - you could really go in any direction around dusk at this time of year and find something amazing within a 10-minute cycle.