Early to bed, early to rise.

These two pictures were taken 11 hours apart.

First image is a sunset as viewed from my hobby room yesterday evening.

Second image is a sunrise I captured while on my way to work this morning.

More lazer pen fun

Just did this one. Bit of an odd one I know, but hey it's good to think out the box every now and then. I used a lighted piece of paper to create the smoke needed to "bring out" the lazer beam.

Lazer-related Fun

Was in an experimental mood this evening. So, using a lazer pen, a Starship Enterprise model, Archer the Action Man and my D40, I came up with these two pictures.

Morning Glory

Finally, I was treated to a classic "fiery" sun rise this morning. Captured this beaut - the first of it's type in what seemed like ages - while I was on my way to work at 6 am this morning. The mound is the most western of the four hills that lines to the back of Folkestone.

Spirograph For The 21st Century

Photography masterpiece, or I need to get out more? I suspended a small LED torch off the ceiling using a piece of cotton wire, then set the camera for a long exposure shot and let the light swing above the camera for a certain length of time.

Inquisitive Squirrel

One of the local squirrels that had taken residence in a churchyard that is only a 5 minutes walk from my house. I used my S5600 for this one, but even with it's 10x zoom, I had to get pretty close to this lass (yes, it was a female squirrel - and pregnant as she looked very plump in the belly) and get her to trust me in order to get this picture.

Me at my best.

This is what I look like when I chill out and smile.

This picture was taken a few days ago, but I've put it in here today to keep this thing going. I did say I was going to keep it random and relaxed.

Red Skies

Lately there's been a good run of red skies. While I've yet to see a full blooded "fiery" sunset, this evening's - and yesterday evening's - effort were very photogenic in their own right.

One possible theory for these unusual hued sunsets is a higher than normal concentration of volcanic dust in the upper atmosphere.

But it's funny how I've not seen a single decent coloured sunRISE in ages.

Top picture was taken today, bottom picture was taken yesterday.

Sign Of The Times

I have no idea what it's all about neither. The sign was fitted above a shop a couple of years ago. I have taken a photo of it before but I gave it another go at 6 am this morning. I quite like the navy blueness behind the lights.

It's all in the name.

A completely random and pointless photo, but at least it filled in the gap!

Johnstone/Barrett-Smith/Deal Clan

Today, a small family reunion took place as my Aunty Maureen and Cousin Alan and his family came over for the afternoon (they all live in Bexleyheath - my birthplace).

Firework

Two hours after the car photo (shown below) was taken, I heard this banging sound coming from behind my house, so I peered out through a window to see this very impressive looking firework display going off! Unfortunately by the time I got my camera out and had it set for 5 seconds long exposure, I caught the tail end of that display. But for something that was done on the spur of the moment - AND hand held (without a tripod) I'd say it's not a bad capture.

Classic Motor

A friend visited me today, he's the proud owner of a "classic" Ford Escort Mk 4 XR3i

Aaaaah, they don't make 'em like 'em any more!

Chad

Chad having his nap disrupted by me.

I wanted to road test my new tilt-adjustable flash attachment for my D40 (sssh, don't tell mother), and Chad just happened to be there.

Such a flash eliminates the harsh lighting, red-eye syndrome and limtied coverage often associated with built-in flashes. It's also ideal for baby and portrait photography indoors, thus I won't need to rely on natural lighting.As you can see, this picture provided a great debut for my new addition to my growing photography kit family!

Night Rider

Experimented with night time photography. Actually, I've done loads of such photography but wanted to see how things came out with a fish eye lens attached to my D40. Considering that the lens was only a £12 ebay job, I think the result is pretty good!

Folkestone Montage

I did this video footage a week ago, but it's only this evening I've got around to uploading it to this blog. (Click on arrow to start the video).

The video serves two purposes:

Firstly is to prove that you don't have to travel very far to see stunning sights. it proves that my home town does contain some hidden beauty.

Secondly, it is my "official" promotional video to show off my newly-acquired photography skills. If you have been an avid follower of my 365 photos web site then you will recognise some of the photos in the video.

Music is a track taken from a 1996 Tangerine Dream album.

The Morning Post

Took this while I was on my way to work at 6.30 am this morning. Wanted to capture the early morning mist, but thought the posts added a bit more interest.

Emma

I actually took this a few days ago, but I've put it in here as a space filler. Plus it's dawned on me how much I really like this photo. I don't often do people shots but this one worked very well. Granted I added a bit of photoshop-type warm glow to it.

The Future's Bright . . .

The Future's . . .

Feeling The Force at Folkestone

Finally, the first REAL bit of weather in what seems like ages as an active Atlantic depression had reached these shores. These pictures were taken at noon time today . . . God, it was good to see something like this.

Good riddance that is the stupid season of Summer and welcome Autumn! Let's have some more of this, please. (Along with some early morning low lying mists which is common at this time of the year).

Bear in mind that these photos were taken with my knockabout Fuji A900 as I didn't fancy getting my trusty D40 covered with salty sea water! The poor ol' Fuji did get wet but I've just given it a clean and it still works, phew.

Another Classic Camera

I seem to have developed a thing for classic cameras. I picked the one as shown above at a boot fair a few days ago for £2. It's only today I got around to taking a picture of it.