(Or possibly a goose. But I think it’s a swan.)

Yesterday’s entry (the one that features my first ever poem) had a lovely photo in. But of course I took more than just one good photo, duh!

So… for about 10 minutes I tried to get a swan to sit still. It’s a lot harder than you might think. I tried soothing noises (perhaps I should’ve podcasted this entry, so you could judge just how soothing my ’swanish’ is), I tried arm-waving and then sitting dead still, playing dead. I even tried shining the light from my phone, hoping it would transfix him with mortal fear.

No dice. He just wouldn’t sit.

I almost got him! But, as you can see, it’s a bit of a shit photo. Alas.

But, my friends, do not despair for I have some pretty ones to make up for it!

First, the sunset that I was actually chasing (you’ll need a properly-calibrated monitor to make out the detail of the field):

(Beautiful, eh?)

This is about 20 minutes later but from the bottom of the valley so there’s a lot less available light. You can see how the sky could lead into the photo I showed you yesterday! I like the water lilies!

Finally, just as another example of what you can do with a little digital trickery, check this out:

This photo isn’t real (you’ve already seen the original, further up the page). But it’s still beautiful right? I wonder which one would sell better…

Silver (and orange and gold) Birches & Skirts, Knitwear, Coats

(Click each photo for a larger version)

Seb: I told you I’d be photographing Autumn (Fall)! I tried some oaks, some beeches… but none of them were quite autumny enough! The silver birches were the first trees to go truly ‘autumnal’ in our garden; beautifully golden and yellow, every gust of wind blowing yet another handful of leaves fluttering from bough to ground.

I almost took a photo from the ground up, so you could see the leaves amongst the grass, but this angle worked better. I love how the very bright sun is just dappled enough to make this photo possible (though you can see a gap where the leaves didn’t quite block enough sunlight to prevent overexposure… damn!) — and of course, once the light passes through the yellow leaves… the ambient light is GOLDEN!

England — at least the south — is beautiful right now. It’s warm, but the nights have an edge of chill just to remind you of what’s coming. I’ve started wearing socks again! And most importantly, it’s blustery. If you’ve never been in a British forest in the Autumn with the wind blustering all about you, head hunkered down into your jacket to keep your ears warm — if you’ve never done that, you really ought to.

Abi: Skirts, Knitwear, Coats: The last days of Summer. The colder months are just around the corner… I hate to say it but lately the air has been all “back to school” cold in the mornings and I have stopped wanting to sleep naked, covered only by a white sheet at night. Soon the leaves will turn and fall and we will be no stranger to socks and practical footwear. But I’m OK with that, I like Autumn.

I took this when I was out and about yesterday. If ever you wondered where “Women of a Certain Age” go to get their clothes, then I think this is it. I am not sure if this type of fashion emporium cater for seasonal change.. nor am I certain of the approximate age when women are supposed to offer these places their custom, but the handpainted sign got me and seemed somewhat appropriate for the coming season.

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Seb’s Flickr Stream — Abi’s Flickr Stream — you can comment here, or there!

These photos will likely find their way to Flickr eventually, but I need to get them all up here now, or I’ll forget about them. It’s crazy how many photos I have taken that never quite make it to the public domain. Either I get side-tracked, or I don’t like the photo at the time — or sometimes I just have too many go through and I don’t want to swamp my various sites with page after page of photo.

So, if you don’t want random photos of me and my friends, or a pretty landscape, you can navigate away now. Otherwise, scroll on down. Notes are attached to the images as usual — hover over them to read ‘em!

I’m still feeling pretty rough. Head feels a bit groggy… a bit… tight. Going to try and write something for tomorrow now… and drink some more water.

(You can click either to get a larger, zoomed-in view… if you really want that…)

First, I just wanted to clear up some issues. Yesterday, when I ‘leaked’ (sorry) the first picture on Twitter, I had a lot of responses questioning the colour (and consistency?) of my urine. No, I do not have anything wrong with my kidneys. I’m not taking any vitamin supplements. I did not drink a lot of orange juice. That’s just the natural, slightly-radioactive hue of my urine. Sorry. That’s just how it is.  [And if you want more too-much-information, hit up Lilu's blog. Can girls write with yellow snow as well as boys...?]

Would it make it any better if I said my entire family were out and about enjoying the snow on our estate today, as I defaced our lawn? I think my sister’s off to the left somewhere, making a snowman. Also, after I had done up my fly, we made snow angels. My mother’s up the drive, shaking snow from the trees. I think my dad was off in the other field making a ramp to practice his snowboarding.

Anyway, it’s still snowing here in the UK. It’s really, really crazy. It’s easily the most snow I’ve ever seen — apparently it’s the most we’ve had in 50 years! The first half of it fell during the Christmas holiday, but this latest batch has effectively shut down the country. Really, really crazy.

Don’t Walk & Timberland

Abi: I have been listening to PJ Harveys album Stories from the City, Stories from the sea a lot lately. She is one of my favourite artists of all time and the reason I mention her here is because this image puts me in mind of the cover image of this album.

I have been thinking for a while that I would like to try to recreate this photo and part of the reason I was out and about at 10pm was to find a suitable spot to shoot it. I am not very good at night-time photography.

It is more due to the fact that I have had little experience and rarely seem to find the time to actually go out at night to take pictures. Knowing I would be returning home after dark this evening, I deliberately took my camera along with me.

I would like to say that this is NOT the image I had in mind. I wanted something involving Bristol Cathedral, or College Green. I even wandered along to the Planetarium and messed about with some light reflection on the water. Nothing worked.

There are loads and loads of great photo opportunities that the night time affords us but for some reason they were all proving elusive. Then PJ came on my ipod and I knew what i was after. The whole waterfront area in Bristol is a riot of coloured lights and reflections at night time and I like how it is a place of beauty in the middle of a city.

Seb and I don’t discuss our ideas for individual photos, unless we are collaborating on a portrait idea so I like the tenuous shoe/walk/don’t walk reference here.

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Seb: My trusty boots!

When I was at school, back when all the cool kids were wearing Quiksilver and Billabong apparel, I longed for something equally cool and fashionable (and expensive). You see, I flirted with Quiksilver but despite my best efforts, I just couldn’t fit in with a bunch of 5-foot-nothing skater friends. I was 6′5″ (196cm). They were stocky and thuggish. I was tall and… well, not very cool-looking.

So I decided I would have Timberland boots. Because they were mega cool! And expensive! Too expensive, as it happened — my mother refused to buy them for me.

I had to wait YEARS until I finally got a pair — and I had to buy them with my own money (seriously, £180 is too much for a pair of boots — but they don’t make many pairs that fit my feet) — BUT… (Jesus, this is a ramble), I’m still wearing them! I don’t know how old they are, but they at least 5 years old… I think nearer 8…

Proof that they were worth the investment, or that I just don’t leave the house enough… I’m not sure.
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Click either photo to peruse the (often hilarious, occasionally a bit weird) comments on Flickr.