Bob the Apple

Bob the Apple.  Nikon D7000

31st October 2012

As it is Halloween this evening, I thought a festive image was in order.

I did not have a pumpkin, so I thought a twist on a traditional apple-bobbing theme was in order.

The torrential rain this evening was very welcome as it stopped most of the infernal trick-or-treaters calling :)

Muse-ical Evening

Muse on stage at the NEC.  Fuji F11

30th October 2012

Jo and I went to indulge our ears to the delights of Muse playing at the NEC in Birmingham tonight.  Ironically, it is the second time in a week that I have been within a few hundred yards of the band as they played in Glasgow next door to the hotel I was staying in.

It was much better being there in person, in the mosh-pit.

The music was loud, the singing was superb, but the crowd were really tall!

Muse were supported by The Joy Formidable, who were really not bad at all; it would have helped if I knew more than the one song of theirs though.

Overall the night was a real spectacle and well worth getting a sore throat and ringing ears for.

Chalk Pot

Chalk Pot.   Nikon D7000

29th October 2012

I made this little pot many years ago.   The glaze on it is very matt and rough and is ideal for writing on in chalk.  It has lived in the kitchen, by the chalk board and now has many many small stubs of chalk sticks of assorted colours in it.

We often forget how useful the insignificant items are in our lives.

Candles arn't dead

Sparklers.  Nikon D7000

28th October 2012

Although it is not Bonfire Night yet, we did have some sparkers today.

They were on a birthday cake and although it looked great, they are not easy to blow out and also leave a thin layer of grey soot on the cake afterwards.

Candles are not dead technology yet!

Apple Splits

Russet split by the rain.  Nikon D7000

27th October 2012

In a similar manner to how the cherries all split open after swelling with the rain, some of the Russets have succumbed to a similar problem.

The split apples are in a bad way and starting to rot now unfortunately; it looks like the chickens may be in luck again.

Bloodshot Window

Bleary eye.  Fuji F11

26th October 2012

I thought I would try something different for a change.   On flicking back through my pictures of the week, I noticed that the only portrait is of a plaster version of Elvis.

I decided that a self portrait may be the best place to start, but as I look so rough from having a week away organising a conference, I thought I would takes pictures a bit at a time.  They say the eye is the window to the soul, even if it is a bit bloodshot.

It is quite tricky to compose an image of your own eye; I used a compact camera with the LCD reflected in a mirror to make sure the camera was focussed, however you have to look back into the lens just as you release the shutter.  If you keep looking in the mirror, the image is not so good!  

I accidentally cropped the image with the eye pupil just off centre 'the wrong way'.  I quite liked the effect as it is not quite the normal way we would expect to see an eye.

Early Mooning

Early morning Moon.  Fuji F11

25th October 2012

We found a pub that stayed open late after the conference dinner last night and I realised that it was now very early this morning when I walked back to the hotel, rather than yesterday (yes, still tired).

The Moon was over the top of the BBC Scotland building and it was reflecting in the river too.

They do not seem to have cottoned on to the idea of money saving at the BBC as there were stacks of lights on but 'nobody home'.