Amongst all the trees, foliage, grass and plenty of mud, runs a train line. I have a feeling that it’s purely for goods trains, but that’s only because that’s all I’ve ever seen going along it. This track runs right through the park and I found myself wondering what it was originally for, and what it would have been like when it was first built.

We only saw one train on it this afternoon, and that was a diesel engine without any trucks. Sadly, I was just a little bit too far away to snap a picture of it.

Jack came with us and enjoyed his very long walk, although his belly and paws are now a rather nice shade of brown as he would insist on walking through all the mud!

“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
- Will Rogers

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Everybody at work was cheerful and my day of photocopying, typing, emailing and drinking tea was a very jolly affair. There’s something very pleasing about being able to look out the window at the blue sky and the sun shining away. The dark nights of the winter are slowly fading and soon the long hot summer will arrive – well, it will somewhere; probably not here…

Whilst I love summer, the one thing I hate is wasps. I don’t understand why they have to buzz in your face when you’re just minding your own business. And they don’t take no for an answer either, whack them with a newspaper and they just come back for more! I’m not a big fan of bees either, but at least they just buzz straight past you when they realise you’re not a flower. That actually has nothing to do with today’s picture, just thought you’d like to know.

I thought I’d take advantage of the brighter weather, so blue sky and a fading sun are on the menu today. It’s kind of a merging of the seasons, with the bright sky we’re familiar with during warmer times, and the bare trees reminding us that winter hasn’t quite left us yet.

“The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world’s joy.”
- Henry Ward Beecher

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The idea is to arrange 6 sheets of white A4 in an arch shape and photograph. Sounds simple enough doesn’t it?

We have actually ran out of ‘normal’ A4 paper so I had to resort to using a ‘text and graphic’ alternative, which is ever so slightly thicker and ever so slightly harder to arrange into place. On the plus side, it wasn’t going to go anywhere once it was stapled.

Once I had created the required shape, the next step was to place the paper arch onto a white background (yet more A4!) making sure there was enough light from a window to…erm… light it. The idea is extremely simple but any photographer will tell you that trying to make white things look white in a photo is easier said than done.

After numerous shots using different exposures and apertures, as well as having the  paper positioned at a range of angles, I finally got a result I was happy with. A quick convert to black and white, followed by editing out the staples, all was complete. It’s probably not as white as it could be, but I think that adds quite nicely to the image.

I really enjoy creating abstract images with bits and bobs lying around the house, an enjoyable way to pass the time on a rainy day.

“This paper will no doubt be found interesting by those who take an interest in it.”
- John Dalton

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I’ve been waiting for this day since the start of February; it’s one of the very few I’ve actually had a concrete idea of what I’m going to shoot. Saying that, it was a no brainer really that today would be pancake related.

I’m not one for giving stuff up for Lent, although my unhealthy addiction to Salad Cream did prompt me to leave it in the fridge for 40 days last year. I never thought I’d miss something quite so much! After the torture I went through, I’ve decided not to have a repeat performance this year.

A trip to the supermarket was on the cards after I’d finished work to pick up some edible pancake mixture. When I say ‘edible’ I refer to pancakes that I actually planned to eat rather than the one’s I’m about to discuss next which were purely for photographic purposes.

These were unfortunately omitted from my shopping trolley, so a quick detour was required on the journey home. Thankfully I think it worked out quite well because Aldi’s scotch pancakes only cost me 39p, which was a bargain considering how sodden with maple syrup they were after I finished photographing them. I didn’t realise I’d got through half a bottle of the stuff!

Sadly, these lovely looking pancakes are now feeling very sorry for themselves in my bin. The ‘proper’ ones I had however were very tasty, especially as they were covered in sugar, lemon and maple syrup with two giant scoops of ice cream – unfortunately I haven’t got a picture of those.

Hurray for Pancake Day!

“The laziest man I ever met put popcorn in his pancakes so they would turn over by themselves.”
- W C Fields

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A seascape I take in Barmouth for instance, where I spent many happy holidays when I was growing up, will stir completely different emotions in me compared to those felt by  someone else.

You may be asking yourself ‘why is he rambling on about this?’

All will be revealed.

I ventured into a part of Sutton Park I have never been before this morning, along with dad and Jack (our Westie, who had a wail of a time!). It was whilst we were busy getting lost, and I was hunting for interesting things to photograph, that I stumbled upon a twig that I instantly thought looked like a bird’s eye and beak. I find it quite amazing that I found this small insignificant twig in the whole of the park, and if we’d gone a slightly different way today’s picture would be something else entirely.

Going back to how people interpret photos, I was flicking through today’s images when mom saw this one and thought that it looked like a snake ready to flick its tongue out. That thought had never crossed my mind. She also said that from a distance it looked a bit like a turtle with its shell. I had only ever thought it looked like a bird. So much so that when I was photographing it, I had to look at least twice to make sure it actually wasn’t a dead bird’s eye looking back up at me!

Funny isn’t it, how we all interpret the same thing differently?

What do you see?

“Photography is all about light, composition and, most importantly, emotion.”
- Larry Wilder

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I often look out the window and wonder what treasures could be hiding away in this shed. From the looks of the outside, I’m guessing they probably wouldn’t be in that good condition, but a place like that is sure to have some hidden gems.

I was tidying up all my stuff in the loft the other week and found quite a few of my old toys from when I was a kid that are still in the removal boxes from when we first moved here. It’s funny how many memories they bring back. I also discovered plenty of stuff that’s now heading for a car boot when the weather gets a little warmer. My wardrobe has also been sorted and there’s a load of jumpers, shirts, jackets and the like on eBay. I always think if I haven’t worn it in the past year, the chances of me wearing it anytime soon are pretty slim.

There’s something quite satisfying about having a clear out and making some money along the way.

To be honest, I’m quite surprised this poor little shed has lasted so long, it always looked as if it’s about to fall down.

“This mess is a place.”
- Author Unknown

50 days in and it’s re-cap time!
049/365 – Hanging Around
048/365 – Monumental
047/365 – I always say no to coffee
046/365 – Just messing
045/365 – You rang?
044/365 – Nuts and bolts
043/365 – Letting off steam

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The one thing I’m discovering as I progress through my 365 project is that it’s really quite difficult to go out everyday, take a photo, edit it, write about it, and get on with everyday life. Saying that, I’m really enjoying completing it and I’m very grateful for the many followers, readers, subscribers, likers, tweeters and commenters – does that cover everyone?

I know it’s only been 49 days, but I’m already enjoying looking back at all my pictures and seeing how they’ve progressed over time. At the end of the year it’s going to be amazing to remember all the good times I’ve had just by looking at the pictures I’ve taken.

I’ve already started putting my book together on Blurb; I thought a ‘complete it as I’m going along’ approach would probably be best, save me messing about with 300 plus images towards the end of the year. I’m rather excited to see it all in print, even if that won’t be until early next year!

Today’s picture is indicative of what I’ve been doing over the past few days; chilling and hanging around (in a good way, not on street corners causing trouble).

“I think I’ve discovered the secret of life. You just hang around till you get used to it.”
- Charles Schulz

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EDIT: There was a picture there I promise but it appears to have gone walkabouts. Note to self, don’t post from my phone! I’ll have to get back on the trusted computer tomorrow and fix it…….

I’ve not posted from my phone before so this will be an experience. If there’s loads of typos and the like then please accept my apologies.

I think this will be my shortest post…ever, well so far anyway. I’m so tired but I’m determined not to have a repeat performamce from earlier in the week when I missed a day.

Today’s picture is of a monument in my local park and I really like how the trees frame it. I haven’t got a clue what its for but it looks good anyway.

Night people!

“This monument is going to be built as a symbol.”
- Bill Russell

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When I was little, I really liked the idea of drinking coffee and wanted to try some. On my first sip, the taste was, well… disgusting, it was like I hadn’t put enough sugar in. Little did I know that was how it was meant to taste, until countless spoonfuls later, when it still tasted just as nasty. Needless to say, I don’t think I’ve ever touched the stuff since. I’m a big tea drinker though, but strangely when I go to a coffee shop, Hot Chocolate is always on my menu.

Costa really do make nice Hot Chocolate. It always tastes delicious, although it would’ve tasted  a lot nicer if I’d had enough Costa points on my loyalty card to have a free one. (Why is it that things we get free always taste nicer?) I was 15 points short! Can you believe that? My ‘points update’ email told me I had enough – must have been for a coffee instead. (Yak!)

Hot Chocolate is always good for calming you down when you’re getting ready for bed, unlike my other favourite hot beverage Tea, that literally has me bouncing off the walls until the early hours if I have a cup too late. It’s funny how a cup of Tea will keep me awake, but I can down a whole can of Pepsi and I’ll be sound asleep in no time. I can’t quite fathom that one out because I’m sure they’re both laden with caffeine, and the latter with just as much sugar!

I have to admit, I don’t drink a lot of hot chocolate, tea’s always my first choice. So if we should ever meet and you’d like to offer me a drink…

1½ sugars and milk, thanks!

Oh, and my thanks to those of you who do know me and how I like my tea (and for the countless cups you’ve probably made me!)

“Coffee is not my cup of tea.”
- Author Unknown

P.S. I didn’t meant to use Retro Camera again, but I accidentally selected it when taking today’s image and I was so pleased with the results that I didn’t want to take another.

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• Coffee, Tea or Hot Chocolate: What fuels your day?
  (twomischievousmonkeys.com)

There was a very interesting article inside about taking pictures with your phone. The app they used was Instagram, but sadly that only appears to be available for phones and pads starting with ‘i’ at the moment. The Android version is in the pipelines, apparently. Until then, a very good alternative is ‘Retro Camera’.

Lying in bed last night after having downloaded it to my phone, I attempted to take some pictures of my lamp, but they weren’t anything to shout about. The main reason being that it was a little too dark and I couldn’t be bothered to get up and put big light on.

Retro Camera basically lets you use a range of different cameras, such as the Polaroid, Pinhole and the Little Orange Box, to produce pictures in the style they would have been developed. I’ve messed about with most of them with some rather impressive results. For a freebie, it’s quite powerful. All the images are captured in square format which really makes you think about the composition.

I’m sure I’ll use it whilst I’m out and about to capture a whole range of other things over the coming months, but for now here’s something I took whilst I was ‘just messing’.

“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”
- Bertrand Russell

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