Three ladies and a dog!

I've been thinking a lot in the past few days about what sort of photographs I really want to be taking. This is partly due to a book I'm reading - Within the Frame by David duChemin - and partly because I want to up my game a bit a lot. It lead me to think about how I love taking candid shots of people (although I still feel very self-conscious about it) and about how much I love black and white photography and how the two things go so well together. I'm inspired by the photographs of people like Henri Cartier Bresson, Elliot Erwitt and Rui Palha. And I've been watching some video tutorials on the Scott Kelby site where he goes on a photo walk in Paris with Jay Maisel.

This is a photograph I took on holiday recently which comes nearest to what I want to do. Jay Maisel talks about the need for 'gesture' in photographs which is that moment when the person or people you're framing do something special or unusual that connects with the viewer. In the case of this photograph I think it's the dog and its appearance of boredom with the chatting women. I hope it goes in some small way to approach what he means.

EXPERIMENT IN FREE MACHINE EMBROIDERY

In my defense, I've only recently bought a sewing machine and am still getting to grips with it. It took me at least an hour to thread it up and another half hour to get the tension on the bottom bobbin right. In the end I took a photo of the bobbin and pasted it into my sketchbook so I have a visual record of which way the screw head points for this type of machining!

After all that, as you can see, I had trouble getting control of where the needle went. The idea was to sew a couple of circles just inside each fabric patch and then join them all with circular stitching outside of the circles. I think this is going to take as long to master as driving a car! I was a little more happy with the line of circular stitching on the left but I need to think more about stitch length and also buy some more threads so I have something that will show up better. The lines of hand stitching at the top were a breeze in comparison and I used some gorgeous hand-dyed linen thread from Stef Francis again. It varies between purple and orange. Unfortunately the scan (it's easier sometimes than photographing) doesn't pick up the subtle sheen on the thread.

I have so far to go, but I'm so enjoying playing!

BEAUTY...

...can be found in the dirtiest of places. This lovely, delicate blue flower in amongst the litter and cigarette butts transforms a dirty corner at the side of a street into a place of beauty.

FROSTED SPIDER WEBS

We had a very cold night and temperatures haven't risen much during the day today. I found these spider webs, still frosted and with the sunshine reflecting off them, strung between the twigs of a shrub at the edge of a pond at lunchtime today.

While I was out I practiced shooting from the hip so I can get the hang of it for my street photography. But instead of practicing on people, I practiced on trees because they're pretty dumb and didn't object (sorry trees, I know you're not really dumb!). Of all the shots I took, only one was in focus! I think I'm going to have to work on that a bit!

STREET SCENE

This is one of the photographs I took yesterday when I was working on my Street Photography course. It was really cold and I just couldn't stay out there too long. The exercise was to produce photographs that froze action and others that showed motion, so I was photographing people walking along the street and chose this cafe as a good backdrop. In this one I had a pedestrian just coming in on the right-hand side but I decided to crop him out and convert to black and white for my blog photo today.

MORE FROSTINESS

Today has been another cold one and yesterday's frost didn't completely clear away before another last night. This buddleia is a lovely dark purple in summer and it still retains some of that colour, enhanced by its sprinkling of frost. I was tempted to convert to black and white but I like the slight greenness of the background which compliments the colour of the flower.

We've had the wood burner going full time since Friday and in the garden the smell of woodsmoke is lovely, beckoning me in to sit in front of its cosy warmth. This morning we went for a walk on the forest and the ground was rock hard - a nice change from mud. The view from the top of the hill showing everything coated with a pale coat of frost against a watery blue sky was stunning.

I think the coming week's street photography course includes work with motion and different shutter speeds. I suspect anyone outside in the cold will be walking pretty fast so I'll start panning at 1/125 and work from there. It sounds as if I know what I'm talking about doesn't it!!

MR. ATLAS

This was a submission for week 3 of the Street Photography course I'm doing. The assignment was to find a place to make a good backdrop and then to wait for someone to come into the scene to make a good image. I knew of this sculpture at a nearby town and thought it would be a good scene for my photo - unfortunately I didn't know they were re-paving the precinct!!

I got a coffee from the cafe in the background and sat around waiting for the 'right' opportunity. It was freezing cold and I was sitting on a concrete bench and I'm lucky I didn't get a nasty case of piles! Luckily, just as I was about to run out of coffee and patience, and after several pretty boring photographs, this man came along. He had a shopping bag with him which he put down just by the sculpture and bent to tie up his shoe lace. I didn't realize until I downloaded the photographs that in my image it looks as if he's trying to lift the sculpture.

I converted to black and white to try to get rid of some of the distraction of the workmen's fences in the background, but it's a real shame they were there.

NOT DEAD - JUST UNDRESSING

There are a lot of birch trees in one of my local woods whose bark is peeling off. I wonder if this is a regular winter thing, or a regular life thing. This one most certainly isn't dead and I think the textures work OK in black and white.

I'm now in a quandary! I was dead set on my next lens being a 24-70 f/2.8, but in order to pursue my street photography ambitions I think I'd be better off having a 35mm (or equivalent for my 550D which I guess is a 20mm). Canon do a 20mm f/2.8 but it has mixed reviews. On the other hand, it isn't a whole bunch of money compared with the 24-70. Another plus is that it's much lighter and easier to shoot from the hip, which must be pretty near impossible with a heavy zoom lens!

My cunning plan is to be able to sneak up to people, looking appropriately innocent and unconcerned, and surreptitiously click that little button. This of course will result in amazing candid images. Well, that's the plan anyway.

Anyone with any opinions on the 20mm?

Lines and Clouds

This is the museum in my home town. The slats seem to translate really well into a black and white image probably because they're very graphic and repetitive. This was part of my town walk-around yesterday for my course. I won't use them for the course assignment because that was all about taking the same view with different lenses and focal lengths.

Another Shop!

I was out and about in my home town today taking photographs for my street photography course. I've sort of noticed this shop before but have never really looked closely at it. I don't even know if it's still in business, but I suspect they do bicycle repairs if nothing else. But, amazingly, the shop looks exactly as it must have about 50 years ago. The paintwork is badly flaking and doesn't look as if it's had any TLC for a long time; the signs in the window speak of another age. The striped reflections you see in the windows are from the tudor buildings on the other side of the street.

I completely fell in love with it and hope it stays the same way for many years to come. The shops either side are modern and newly decorated but instead of standing out like a sore thumb this lovely old shop is a rose among thorns.

Bric a Brac Shop

I stopped at this shop this morning on the lookout for props. I wanted a small, rustic table for placing objects on to photograph. They had a lovely one in the window - all chipped paint and bare wood - which would have been perfect but, apart from being a little larger than I want, it was also hugely expensive!

But I did buy a potato/apple storage tray for £10. You can see them stacked on the pavement outside (with the watering can on top). I'm sure I'll get lots of use out of it - the textures are good.

The shop was full of interesting things, from furniture to ornaments to pieces of vintage fabric. And that lovely little milking stool you can see by the step.

Street Photography Course Week 1

Well, my online street photography course officially starts today and lasts for eight weeks. I was conscious that I'd be expected to get out there and get going pretty quick, and as I had to go to London to see a client this morning I didn't want to miss an opportunity for some nifty photoing. But I didn't think I could take my beloved Canon as well as my laptop and everything else for my meeting, so I took my husband's point and shoot Lumix.

As soon as I saw these colourful hire bicycles I knew they'd make a great image.

This is my morning espresso fix at an outdoor cafe in a London street.

And this is my first real photograph of an unsuspecting person acting naturally! Woefully out of focus but my excuse is that I couldn't shoot manually so it's the camera's fault :-) I loved the expression of concentration on this little boy's face as he took a photo of his family in the concourse of Victoria Station. I took quite a few photographs there while I waited for my train home but I wasn't happy with any of them except for this one which I like for its subject but definitely not for its lack of technical ability.

For the next eight weeks I'm going to be welded to my Canon day and night. I've got to get used to focusing quickly and learn how to work out exposure with no help from the camera. Anyone heard of the 'Sunny 16' rule? Nor had I this morning. And maths was never my best subject!!

STILL PLAYING ...

...but I promise to stop soon!

And yes, I've found out how to put a watermark on my photos! I took this photo in the same way as my pine tree experiment yesterday, but this time of autumn leaves.

With this one I chose a long shutter speed because the wind was blowing quite strongly. The idea was to get the branches in focus but not the leaves.

I've rejected loads of other experiments, but I'm beginning to find out what my camera can do and what it can't and what effects I get from playing around.

But to be honest, this isn't what I really want to do. I've been pursuing an online course specifically for street photography and have found one I think I'm going to enrol on. It's an 8-week course and starts next Tuesday, or again in another two months' time, starting at the beginning of January. I've almost made my mind up to go for the November one and my finger keeps hovering over that Buy Now button. I know right now I'm going to click it but am SO enjoying the anticipation.