oh I do like to be beside the seaside

that nice soft effect on these photos – its natural, not pixel magic – its fog!  And yes there were still people enjoying the beach, because the temperature was in low 20s C.  We’ve had lots of days recently that start with heavy fog over the water – but then it goes to reveal

all the photographic wonders of stripes of sand and water and sky.  There were actually quite a few people on the beach when I took these – I just chose the empty bits to photograph.  I’m addicted to capturing the horizon where water meets sky and all the stripes of colour. Shame the sun doesn’t rise or set in that direction.

do you have a photo addiction?

Look Up Look down at the train station

I’ve always loved the structures of the old British railway stations with their grids of painted metal and glass across vast areas.  So when a train pulled up at the opposite platform while I was waiting for my late train I knew I had a good pair for my up and down this week

I enjoy that this week I have a strong structural pair as well as capturing a moment of my week.  The train eventually arrived 20 minutes late but at the third stop they announced the train was stopping here and we all had to crowd onto another train and then change again to reach our eventual destination (on time !). 

Look what I’ve been making

I’ve been beavering away on 2 projects that do not involve my computer or camera.

First some bunting to decorate the marquee that my uncle used for his big party this past weekend. 

They only had to withstand being put up and one evening and as I was making 5 x 40 feet of bunting I went for the easiest method and attached each with one staple (except when I missed the yarn and took 2 or 3 to attach it).

Well worth the effort as they did make a big difference – alongside the length of crepe paper bunting my Mum had made

My other project involved wool and a crochet hook.  I’ve been making items for a charity which provides warmth to AIDs orphans in South Africa for several years but in a rather haphazard way.  Over the past few months I’ve been experimenting with crochet patterns and decided to turn them into something useful.  So I’ve challenged myself to create enough squares for one blanket. 

I actually have another 5 which I haven’t photographed yet so my goal is reachable.

Several of my squares started as circle patterns which seem to be popular in crochet blogs and magazines at the moment.  I then turn them into a square

I’ve also been playing with making a square from the corner and adding on two sides on each row

Trying out the different patterns and mixing colours keeps me amused and motivated to make more.  I also like the size as I can finish them quickly which makes it easier to experiment with different patterns and colourways.

Do you have any big creative projects on the go?

Look up Look down at the Fringe

I love August in Edinburgh when the city fills with performers from all over the place.  I enjoy going to a range of shows and I also enjoy the people watching.  A section of the Royal Mile becomes the gathering place with buskers and performers handing out leaflets and trying to catch the attention of potential audiences.  I captured these two for my look up and down pair this week

It was a hard choice picking just 2 – other possibilities were

* a sleeping man with a plastic chicken on him

* jugglers

* a white ‘statue lady’

* people dressed as a blue whale

* a man with a fox tail and ears

* various balloon creations (they all seem to involve more balloons and twists this year)

* a ‘princess’ wowing a young girl

* flags and banners

I do love the madness of the Fringe and the creative buzz.

[scavenger ] hunt the tiger

I realised that I haven’t shared all of my scavenger hunt finds from last month.

I shared an up and down photo from the Highland Wildlife Park and mentioned that I had also saved one for the scavenger hunt.  The park had recently welcomed the birth of two tiger cubs and they were on public view with their mum – or at least they were in their enclosure but playing at the far end behind lots of trees and grasses. 

Another item that I knew where to find but needed a roadtrip to see were teh wind turbines on the hill between Edinburgh and where my parents and sister live.  There are two stopping places with great views so capture did not involve car windows or speed.

and while visiting family I decided that this was the bench for me

Only 4 more to capture and I know where to find them – just need to do it!

Look up Look down at serendipitous direction

Often I have an idea for my photo pair but this week I was looking for inspiration and happened upon a link on my walk. 

I took the weather vane along with lots of other shots of the scenery because I find that I am taking many more shots looking up since I started this meme.  Then I spotted this lovely handmade signpost and thought it would link nicely with the  golden yellow and directional nature of the weather vane.  I do love some serendipity.  And I hope Charlotte and her friends had a lovely party.

this I know

a simple thought to start the week

[that’s not me in the photo – I spotted her when walking along the paved areas above the beach and loved her turquoise boots amidst the drab sand and sea]

making the most of a beautiful blossom

After enjoying pure digi creation with Summer of Colour I’m ready for a change in focus for pixel magic play and was delighted to find a new gathering of photo art at Nature Footstep memes which has 4 weekly themes, one of which is abstract.

I took some photos of this flower in my garden with the idea that it would provide a good vehicle for some abstract play

first I cropped and inverted the image – love the shapes and colours

then I played around a bit before duplicating and tiling the images

to create a circle pattern

and a piece that I think would look great as a fabric

Pleased to have found a new place to share abstract photoart and look forward to visiting the other participants and probably following some of the other memes too:  catching the light;  blo-ma (a Swedish phrase referring to macro flowers); and winged.

Look up Look down 5 months later

last month I looked through my up and down posts so far to find any that I could revisit as a way to show the changing seasons and one that I found was on the hillside park in the middle of Edinburgh.  When I took the photo pair in March it was cold and wet with empty benches and branches

whereas now both are full and the pair look totally different

the angle is slightly different because there was an ice-cream van parked in the spot where I took the first pair!

Another month totted up

and in a blink of our sunshade hidden eyes July was gone and all that is left is to tot up the numbers for sharing via Julie’s lovely month in numbers meme.

with a nice mix of seasonal and unexpected.

Julie has initiated a monthly communal count, taking the delights of counting to the new heights of  the possibility of graphs – you can never take the data analyst out of this girl!!

First up was the number of items in our handbags.

I often don’t take a bag and just use my pockets (hence my number 1 law when I get to be government for a day – all outer garments and lower body garments must include a practical pocket)

but the basics for pockets or a small bag are the same 4 items: camera, keys, purse, phone

when I do take a bigger bag I only take another 9 items giving a grand total of 13

tablet (sometimes kindle or book instead), hair scrunchie, bottle of water, torch, shopping bag, lipsalve, mint, pen (purple), sunglasses

and the biggest thing I notice is that yes I do love the red – purple section of the colour wheel

so interesting seeing how much or little others have in their bags.

Hunting for (un)intentional laughs

I love spotting funny signs, both intentional and unintentional. When I am travelling I read signs all the time and try to capture some of the amusing ones.  so I was happy when I saw this item on Rinda’s scavenger hunt list this summer. 

I’ve only capture 2 so far but will be keeping a look out for more over the summer

This one is outside a local pub

my nephew tells me that this is intentional as there are facebook memes with similar alcoholic items posted from around the world.

My next I’m guessing is unintentional

unless the competition for takeaway food custom has gone to extraordinary lengths recently !!

looking forward to seeing how others are getting on with their hunt on the end of July round up over on Rinda’s blog.