Day 114

craft beer and quick lighting 2

Day 113

Beer bottle with quick lighting set up.

Anchor Steam Beer made by the Anchor Brewing Co - is a caramelly amber colour with a thick creamy head and according to the bottle is virtually handmade in San Francisco. It was quite drinkable with a light flavour but slightly tart aftertaste, perfect for a hot sunny day by the river with some snacks!

Day 112

too cute

A lady and her daughter were carrying some kittens they said were a month old through the streets of Offenbach. I thought they were going to sell them but could be wrong. They were too cute to not take a photo.

Day 111

chivalry is dead

The guy kinda tried to help but gave up. Then the lady in the leather jacket just walked over and did it, carried the pushchair up and then came back down the stairs as she wasn't even getting a train on that platform. Come on guys, don't wimp out from helping others!

Day 110

Black Harley with pink detailing and pink leather seat

Day 109

somebody likes bean sprouts

Day 108

DEAD HOT PIXELS!

This is not nearly as glamorous as it sounds. Products like TVs and LCD screens are covered in millions of pixels and as they are not all guaranteed to work by the manufacturer, sometimes you just have to live with a dead one or two on your massive TV screen. The same is true for camera sensors but somehow seeing bright spots in photos that I know should be completely black irks me a lot more.

Try it with your camera. Take the lens off and put the body cap on then take a photo on a manual setting at 100 ISO for a couple of seconds. The whole image should be black. If you have any pixels on your sensor that are misbehaving you will see a bright white or red/green/blue spot. I was originally looking for ways to fix dust on photos taken before using the "Dust Delete Data" tool on my Canon, but glad I stumbled on this youtube video for beating hot pixels - How To Fix A Hot or Dead Pixel (Canon 7D & 5D & others).

After following the tip in the vid and taking another photo the same way as before and checking on my camera's screen, all of the hot pixels appear to be gone! So try it out if you have been plagued by any stuck pixels on your camera too.

Day 107

Day 106

something about that look

Day 105

precious

Was busy at a wedding yesterday and missed this post. Hopefully that's a good enough excuse.

Day 104 - Birmingham

Birmingham is a big mix of modern and historical architecture filled with a population as diverse as its neighbourhoods including places like Aston, Bourneville, the Chinese and Jewellery Quarters, Gas Street Basin and the shopping metropolis that is the Bull Ring. Even though you could visit Birmingham without even noticing the canals, they are still very much in use and an important feature of the city even today.

canal boat lock queue

Selfridge's and gull

the other right

Is he really reading that?

St Paul's

BT Tower

Snow Hill KPMG

Shopping with bubbles

Day 103

finding a vein (Canon 6D)

Day 102

slate cliff face colours (Canon 6D)

Day 101

I am a rock (Canon 6D)

No regrets!

If there is one piece of advice I would recommend to everyone is never go anywhere without a decent camera. When the voice pops into your head that says 'I won't need it, I'm only going to the shops/pub/put for a moment,' ignore it, or better yet overrule it. The opportunities for photos is practically infinite and I only regret not taking the photos I wished I had.

If your main camera is too big to carry all the time, go smaller and get a compact for emergencies.  Last night I was out in the countryside trying to get a good sunset. I got a couple of OK shots but nothing great. Tonight I decided to go out for a meal without my camera and to my dismay the whole sky was filled with flaming whisps of red cloud on a perfect turquoise that faded into a light yellow below. Such moments are never repeated again exactly the same way, so I will suffer the extra baggage for the chance of the right photo in future!

Day 100

To celebrate me even managing to post 100 days running give out take a few mishaps I thought I should go all out and put a few up in no particular order for the centenial post.

lily by night (Canon 6D)

alien flower

Aberystwyth University

sea front selfie

Aberystwyth pier

seaside waterfall

Waiting for shooting stars

Amazing sunset

Day 99

Aberystwyth University (Canon 6D)

Day 98

The order got a bit mixed up from being in Wales with no good Wi-Fi or phone reception. Hope to be running normally from now on. 

nothing says European like Clive (Canon 6D)

Day 96

taking a photo of a selfie photo. Is that a new trend? (Canon 6D)