Landscapes

I seem to have a problem with landscape photography, that I don't really know how to sort out. My images always seem kind of flat and uninteresting. I know that we are all our own best critics, and when you know that there is a fault or something wrong with your picture, your eyes are just drawn straight to it. I have been trying just this past week though, and am quite pleased with the sunset picture above. This is obviously helped by the canal (luckily full at the time) leading through to the background, and the reflection of the setting sun.


Here, I am rather liking the fact that I managed to get some feeling of volume to those lovely fluffy white clouds, and the road travelling into the distance helps with acheiving some sort of perspective or depth. The fact that I took it whilst travelling along the motorway must also give me some brownie ponts too no?

I'm fairly pleased with this one too, the view from my front terrace, although I obviously need an artistic director to do things like remove the plastic table - hahaha

A Hard Day's Night

When I first saw The Liverpool Band at the comparsa of the Contrabandistas during the Moors and Christians fiestas of Orihuela. I was very impressed. They are an all Spanish Beatles tribute band and are really, really good.

Tonight they were playing in a Bar on the coast and we went down to see them. Still very good, but it was so much better in the open air. Where the stage was a lot bigger, better lit and with better acoustics. Will still be keeping an eye on their web page however, and would like to see them play again at another outdoor venue.

Happy Birthday to Me

Yes, I know that in my profile it says Gemini and that is quite correct. I had a choice for my birthday this year, a child free weekend in Barcelona or a new barbeque in the garden. Girlies - bless 'em - voted for the weekend away, but I decided on a barbeque. It was really hot this summer, so no chance of cement mixing in the heat, I'd have to do sweating - yuk yuk!!

So we went and ordered the bricks, blocks, cement, sand etc., and started to prepare the base. Unfortunately, we have had loads of rain since and so no more progress has yet been made :-( But the ground is starting to dry up now, So watch this space, I will be updating regularly.

Organised Mum

I really don't know how I used to hold down a job that involved all bills, wages etc. being paid on time, as these days I really can't remember what I did yesterday, let alone where I am meant to be going either today or tomorrow!

So, in a effort to not double book or forget appointments, parties, birthdays, meetings etc. I invested in a new calender for 2010. Oh the joys to discover it started in Sept 2009, has enough columns and spaces for everybody and best of all... It came with stickers!!!

I ordered it from here and am very impressed with their service. Which reminds me that I must check up on another order I have made through the internet.

El Guateque de Los 60's

Tecnica 2000

Well, this evening I went out with the Camera Club to take photos in the local shopping centre, as they are running a competition for photographs of the centre. Personally I found it very difficult to take any pictures at all as I just find the place so very ugly - but there you go.

We met up at around 18:30 and had a quick beer like you do to wet the whistle and plan the attack. Around 20:00 we regrouped and I said that we were just going to go and get some dinner and then go home. "Oh no you don't" the cry went up. Apparantly the town hall was putting on a concert of 60's music in one of the parks. So obediently we went along.

Los Griegos

There were 5 acts, ranging from ho hum to pretty damn excellent. One of my particular favourites being Los Escorpiones as they sang a lot of English songs and managed to get the crowd up and dancing.

Los Escorpiones

In the Audience

The final group were Tecnica 2000, who were just excellent, although they weren't on stage for long enough. So at 04:00 I eventually got home and fed the poor dogs, as they are far too countrified to take, unlike the pampered city dog above!

¡Viva Los Novios!

Well, we currently have on loan a "boyfriend" for Margarita, just recently she has been a complete pain, constantly bleating and terrorising the chickens and duck (only one left now :-( We had a recent bereavenent). This new addition seems to have quietened her down a little and there are less garden pillaging exploits, which is just as well as lots of my pot plants are looking decidedly ragged round the edges.

The girlies have named him Lorenzo, although I have explained to them that we are not keeping him. I don't think that she would be able to comply with his demanding nature - hahaha. I now realise where the expression randy old goat comes from :-0

Could you just ...

take a few pictures of my daughter, I've left my camera at home. Was the request from one of my neighbours. So, with a face as cute as this how could I possibly resist.

I've cropped this from the corner of the original, quite hard, and did all the processing in lightroom. It was such a long time ago that I can't quite remember what I did, even though *I think* that I could go back and check on the history. All sharpening and skinsoftening was done in there, as for me , for minor blemishes it gives a much smoother finish - maybe I am too heavy handed in PSE. Once I had finished playing, I exported and uploaded it, without touching Photoshop at all. I am really pleased with Lightroom, although in PSE, I could probably have wiped her nose better, for a quickie I am really quite pleased with this.

I really need to go through all my photos from the summer now and download them as "printers" from Lightroom, and take them to actually be printed. Who knows, if I do it might just bring me in a sitting or two ;-)