Star Trails

Tonight I tried something a bit different. Star trails.
I left my camera on for about 10 minutes (bulb setting) at aperture 3.5mm just outside in the backgarden. I knew I'd have a problem with light pollution but I was just testing to see what I would get....and here is the result (with a slight bit of fixing in Photoshop for the sky and ignoring the house detail - the house is only there for a reference point).



Now that I know how it should be done I will be venturing out to less light polluted areas for my next attempt.

From high above.

I absolutely love the work of Masao-Yamamoto. He prints his photographs onto specialised papers and uses dyes and inks to create the images as though they were paintings.

I aim to, eventually, experiment with papers and dyes but for now I am using Photoshop.

This bird was taken from the spare room window and I cropped the image to include only the very top of the tree and then manipulated it in Photoshop to give the following result.



(I am aware that my framing skills will have to improve dramatically!!!)

Trying something new!

I thought I'd try my hand at the mini-planet effect tonight.

I used a photograph I took of Chloe-cat, sitting at the window in the living-room this afternoon. I love the repetitiveness of the vertical blinds and I thought this would look great in the 'round'.
The photo was taken on my Nokia N85 but the final result is still impressive (I think).

This second image is of Doune Castle (where part of Monty Python: The Holy Grail was filmed - yes, I did knock the coconuts whilst riding my pretend horse up the hill). I think the finished result of this image looks brilliant and it has inspired me to look for bizarre scenes that may fit this type of effect.

I think I could improve this image a lot even just by cropping inside the 'circle'. However, this was my first attempt so I can only get better....

Enchanted Forest!

Although it was really dark and rainy, the woods of Pitlochry were beautifully haunting during the Autumn Festival!

One of quite a few pumpkins carved by Reke, a Polish artist residing in Pitlochry


Sporadically lit trees in the Enchanted Forest.


A mermaid found by local fishermen.


I would like to visit Pitlochry in daylight hours. I spotted many sculptures lurking about in the dark recesses of the high street. I imagine there must be many treasures to be found off the beaten track.