Birthday Card Brought to Life

This little monologue is in response to the ‘100 Word Challenge’ here. If you haven’t already done so, have a look at the funny cat picture and the details of the challenge first. You can also check out all the other responses via links from there.

Well, well, well… Here’s a familiar face! A suit now, eh? Always thought you’d do well. Let me think… You must have left us in the summer of ’87. Terrific year, that was… Remember it ’cause I retired two years later… Good leaving bash we gave the year six lot, wasn’t it? Mind you, the staff and I used to enjoy it as much as the leavers, I reckon… Oh, well, that outfit up the road can’t have done you too badly. More than I can say for some of them who went there… Anyway, lovely to see you again!

*

Happy Birthday, Son!

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Photography: Choosing and Using Equipment – No.1 – Testing the Water…

O.K… I’ve finally got round to what I’ve promised/threatened to do for some time – starting a series of posts here on just what the title says: choosing and using photographic equipment.

First of all, a big ‘thank you’ to all of you who take an interest in the pictures I post on here, and leave comments. Many of you have expressed interest in how various pictures were taken. You are all partly the inspiration for this idea. If continued interest is evident, I hope to make this post the first of many.

Not that I am the world’s greatest living authority on cameras and accessories. But I hope this concept will stimulate the right kind of approach among all who are interested in taking the incredible unending journey that is photography.

So… To start us off…

The first item of equipment I’d like to talk about won’t involve you in any expense, or, indeed, in any choosing. This is because you have it already. And you’re already in the habit of carrying it everywhere, which is useful. But I hope, too, that you’re already in the habit of taking care of it. This is because, unlike the kind of things I’ll hopefully go on to discuss, This item, although it has cost you nothing, is irreplaceable.

That’s right.

A pair of eyes.

Those two things at the top of your face, one either side. Together with your brain (it’s no use protesting, you have got one. Even I have one) you use them for seeing. With a little practice, you can use them for noticing. Noticing beauty in the everyday things as well as the unusual. Let’s look at an example.

A dewy spring morning with sunshine. Something we all know at least something about. But how much have we noticed?

This kind of picture captures the beauty of nature. And it doesn’t need particularly advanced equipment. It just needs you to stop, look around you, and notice where the beauty is. Oh, and in this case, you’ll need to lie on the ground and get wet.

This conveniently leads me on to the only other main point I’d like to make, for now; that is, no amount of expensive equipment will extend your skill. That comes with practice and experiment. What extra equipment will do, however, is to extend your scope. It can do this either by making a particular kind of shot possible, or by enabling significant improvement in the overall quality achievable in a given situation.

Interested? Please let me know in the reply box below. Thank you for reading.

Added 27/10/15: Dew twinkles in the sun, right? and it’s Tuesday, so I’ll link this to…

Mummascribbles

…hosted by Lisa at Mummascribbles (and helpers!)

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