My First Photograph

This is the first photograph that I took. It was of my father and younger brother (the late CJ).  I was 8 years old.  My father was a keen photographer and a member of the (Royal?) Liverpool Photographic Society which 75 years ago used to meet in the Bluecoat Chambers in Liverpool City Centre.  The Society  doesn't appear to exist now although there are other photographic societies in the area.

What really struck me is the fact that my father was wearing a suit and tie despite the fact that we were on holiday and staying at the holiday cottage my parents had. Unfortunately I'm not sure which one it was. My parents had a cottage in or near Mostyn on the Welsh coast of the estuary of the River Dee at one time but also had one on the Wirral coast somewhere around Heswall for a while. I think that the latter one was green (and called The Green Hut) so this is probably the former. 

My First Digital Photo

On the 18 July 2000 I took my first digital photo with my first digital camera: a Kodak DC280 Zoom Digital Camera. The zoom was x2.

The picture was of two of my parents' 'mascots' which lived on the settee.  The koala was brought back by me from Australia the previous year. I cannot recall the origin of the other one.

We went for a drive to Delamere Forest where the next picture was taken. This one is of CJ and I and is unusually rare in that CJ is outside but does not have his camera on him (obviously it would have been within easy reach). Interestingly, despite being the owner of a newfangled digital camera, I am still carrying my trusty Pentax SLR which, in fact, I continued to use in parallel with the Kodak for several years.

 

The Kodak with it's 2x zoom. A far cry from the 50x zoom of my last digital camera (a Canon SX50) before I decided a couple of years ago to go back to Pentax but with a DSLR.  I still use the Canon occasionally for its sheer lightness and convenience.

The iPhone as a Camera

Adrian commented recently on one of my posts that "It looks great but a pity you used a camera phone and not a camera. Age comes to us all."  I wasn't clear what age had to do with the price of tripe because I would have though the youngsters rather than oldies like me would be the phone camera generation. I suspect, though, that Adrian has a misconception about modern camera phones. I use my iPhone as a camera all the time: usually for matters of record and for things I want to share with family and friends via WhatsApp, Telegram or iMessage or the like. Most of the time, though, I use my Canon bridge camera or my Pentax K-3.

I'm not suggesting that a phone camera will produce the best photographs but then many of the photos I take with my K-3 don't come up to Adrian's exacting standards (or even my less exacting ones).

However here's a selection which demonstrate what is possible using an iPhone even with my limited abilities.

Flats in central Wellington, New Zealand

Probably the Ground Beetle Carabus clathratu. Grimshader, Isle of Lewis

Glowering clouds over the mouth of the sea loch at Grimshader

The tip of my Parker ball point pen

A Diptera. I wouldn't even know where to start trying to identify which one

The same Diptera

?

Can anyone guess, or does anyone know, what I photographed in the last image? It's not something obscure. I'd be surprised if readers don't use them frequently. 

Thankful Thursday

I've been taking photos since before ever so long ago.  Obviously in The Olden Days I took them in black and white (for you youngsters that's 'without colours').  Sometimes I used B&W even after colour had become my norm.  Some people like Andrea use no colour most of all the time.  Strange but true.  She has a Bronica ("bow, bow ye lower middle classes...").  I never did but this one still turned out to be square so I obviously had some camera or other which took square photos.  We may never know which one it was.  This was my Mum holding a couple of sparklers.  I've always been rather secretly pleased with it.  Today I am coming out and turning secret into no longer secret.

Today I am thankful for Dad who encouraged me to take photographs from a very early age and who helped me enormously in every way.

Owls and a Sad State of Affairs

When I was in Glasgow a few weeks ago Anna and I went to her local garden centre.  At the entrance was a young lady with some owls: an obvious photo opportunity as everyone scurried back to their cars for their cameras.  As I raised my camera I was immediately asked not to take photos because there was a little girl in the vicinity.  As I was actually taking closeups without any children in shot I was a bit taken aback.  All the more so because none of the other photographers who were all standing further back and mostly using point and shoot cameras which were likely to be including the children were being asked to desist.  Then I noticed that I was the only male taking photos.  The matter was easily sorted when I assured the parents and asked if they had any objection.  They seemed quite non-plussed and said they certainly didn't.  A donation towards the birds' feeding expenses seemed to make the handler happy too.

It made me feel very sad though that the world has come to that.  It also made me realise just how different Britain and New Zealand are.  No one would have batted an eyelid in New Zealand where every school play and event is still captured on a hundred cameras and video recorders.

Little Owl: the smallest British owl at 22cm (8 1/2")

So alert

Hands to give an idea of just how small the owl is.

Look at the eyes

This is his left eye closeup

An Eagle Owl.  At 71 cm (28") this beauty is capable of taking a Roe Deer or a Capercaillie 

I wonder what he's thinking.

Barn Owl. 34 cm (13 1/2") I should think this is Britain's most common owl.  It's call is a blood-curdling screech but it can also hiss, snore and bark.
I apologise for the burn-out on the face but all my full-body shots were the same.

Such inquisitive and all-seeing eyes 

Thankful Thursday Already

I'm Dinner Monitor.  It occurred to me that I'm not sure how much that will mean to many people.  For those who went to an English Grammar School or a Public School it will probably bring back memories but if it doesn't mean anything here is a brief explanation (I looked for one on Google but couldn't find one).  Each aspect of school life had a 'monitor' who was responsible for looking after it in some way.  So, for example, on the way here to cope with the peage on the French autoroutes and anything else which required money (and following John and Sue's example - thanks) Diane was appointed Coin Monitor.

Apropos nothing to do with this post Diane has just picked up a white carton and poured some of the contents into her tea.  It was pineapple juice - not milk.  I feel better knowing I'm not the only person in the world who does things like that.

So after we got home last night after a day in Sienna and after Diane and I had cooked dinner I was flakers.  I'm not sure what today's programme is but the weather looks set for sun for the next week.  That would be good.  I'm hoping today will be quiet enough for me to get a few posts written and read.

In the meantime here's last evening's picture of The View after a singularly spectacular storm which occurred here at The Villa before we arrived back from Siena (you'll doubtless hear more in my Siena post).

and this morning's view with not a cloud to be seen.  This was at about 0800.  An hour later and the photo would have been almost impossible shooting into the sun and an enveloping heat haze.

In fact the whole matter of photography here in Tuscany is causing me some thought.  It is well known that the light in Tuscany is difficult to capture and can certainly be different to anywhere else I have ever been.  It is proving to be thus for me.  For example the rainbow picture above is an evening picture and the light really was near that magical colour to my eye but not to the plain photograph from the camera so I tone-mapped it.  This morning's was into the sun and therefore very dark to the camera and  increasing the exposure simply caused burn-out.  So again it is tone-mapped to reflect as best I can what I saw.

Turning the camera so that I'm photographing away from the sun this was the picture wthout any tone-mapping.

and a house in the valley below The Villa

and a harvester I just couldn't resist

After all that who couldn't be thankful for a life that allows me to see such beauty.  I am very thankful.