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Sunday was my birthday, and I’m afraid to say that – whilst I was greatly cheered up by the efforts of Frances and her family, and an excellent concert – I was rather stressed by the ongoing kitchen woes which reached a head on Monday morning. So this evening, with things starting to at last look like they’re at last resolving and returning to normal, I cheered myself up by going through my old photos, and uploading many of them to my flickr pages. I’ve also decided to “re-do” my birthday in a few weeks, when all the house improvements which have caused lots of stress are safely behind us

This picture of daffodils is certainly amongst my favourite I’ve taken with my new camera (It’s just one of a number of ‘natural scene’ photos I’ve taken). It was taken on a trip to Killearn in March last year when we stayed at the excellent Black Bull Hotel. Now, I adore Daffodils, tulips, and all the vibrant spring flowers, and I’m sure I’m not alone in my excitement about the coming spring: As the daffodils are very late arriving this year, I’m sure we’re in for an absolute treat when the winter weather finally breaks. Make sure your cameras are at the ready!

Imagen 021a,
originally uploaded by steven_chilt.

Interesting pictures courtesy of Natalie and Steve as they visit Argentina. Plus plenty of penguin pictures. More at natandsteve.blogspot.com

We were in Somerset this weekend, and one morning I managed to drag myself out of bed at the unearthly time of 8am (hey, it was a Saturday!), to go for a walk in Stockhill Forest. I took along my digital SLR and took a few photographs. A few of my favourites are available at flickr.

Later that morning, we then went Go-Karting for my brother Peter’s 30th birthday party…. A few pictures from that event – and the ensuing drinks at the Vic – are available on flickr too.

As mentioned last week, we went along to see the fireworks . We didn’t go along to the green itself, as we thought it was going to rain (it didn’t in the end). Rather, we popped along to Frances’ uncle’s flat that overlooks much of Glasgow, and took in the show from the entire city, rather than just one spot.

The result was a spectacular evenings entertainment, and the Glasgow Green display certainly took the biscuit!. I took my new camera along too, and experimented with taking pictures of fireworks, as you can see. I don’t think the results are that bad for a first attempt! It was difficult at first as I had to balance a fast exposure and film speeds, to avoid blurring due to camera shake (I’ve not got my tripod back together since moving), and the low-light conditions which normally necessitate longer exposures and slower film speeds.

Anyway, a selection of 11 of the 138 pictures I took over on my newly upgraded flickr Pro account. Thank goodness for a 1Gb Compact Flash card too!

I’ve written before about rainbows, and how alluring they are, all the more so when you understand how they form.

Frances’ brother, Paul, e-mailed me a link to a dramatic rainbow picture over Ullapool Bay. This reminded me of a few pictures of a beautiful rainbow that appeared out of our back windows last month. A double rainbow in fact. Here’s my favourite picture from the set (others uploaded to flickr):

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The light conditions were rather tricky, as it was twilight, and overcast (as you’d expect!), and the courtyard area is usually quite dark and in shadow anyway, but I quite like the moody result. It could have been better, but I did the best I could. The other pics give a better idea of the double rainbow, but aren’t quite what I was after.

On the subject of pictures, funkypancake.com has some interesting and quirky pictures taken about London (via Roger)

Wow. Some truly fascinating photographs picked up in flickr’s new interesting feature (see August ‘05 and July ‘05 too). The algorithm they use identifies photographs that are heavily linked to, marked as favourites, and goodness knows what else. Whatever it is, it’s working. Very. Very. Well.

The results are spectacular, I’m sure you’ll agree. If only I had even a tiny part of the inventiveness of some of these photographers, I’d be able to retire a happy man.

Here are some of my marked favourites I’ve come across. I suppose I can live in hope I might one day take a photograph that even comes even slightly close to some of these.

“A Picture of Britain” promises to be a visually stunning series on BBC1, one that shows our country at its best. All too often we see a bleak vision of the country portrayed in the media, so that this series sets out specifically to show it off is refreshing. It’s also what Sunday evening television should be about, not too involved, but certainly educational, interesting and something to be relished (Much like Inspector Morse!).

Fascinating too is the perhaps more photographically technical companion series A digital picture of Britain on BBC4, which also seeks to involve viewers from around the country, and features regional programming. I’ve a few pictures of my own up on flickr, and certainly hope that I might feel brave enough to submit one or two to the competitions that are being run. The phenomenon that is flickr is also helping bring photographers together in local areas, such as the Glasgow, Scotland, and UK groups. It’s already provided a few excellent photographic ideas I’m hoping to find some time to try out!

David Dimbleby certainly seems to have landed a plum assignment, and his enthusiasm for the subject is abundantly demonstrated, as he explored the scenery that inspired artists and authors. I’m also hoping that the programmes together will provide plenty of inspiration and fresh ideas, which for myself as an amateur will be particularly useful for taking better photographs. An excellent programme that exemplifies all that is good with the BBC.

Early one morning up in Scotland, the frost created some fascinating and beautifully detailed structures on the roof of a car. I happened to have my digital camera to hand, and snapped this picture of the ice crystals. More pictures on my flickr page.

Update 05/JAN/06: I’ve updated the URL to reflect the pictures new location. Contact me for higher resolution pictures suitable for printing.