Monthly Archives: April 2012

Gibson Sunset

Gibson Sunset

What a day I have had, up at 4am , out with Stormy at 5am then off to do my Navigation assessment for Mountain Rescue.

Really enjoyable though, 4 hours on the moors, compass and map, grid ref to grid ref then finding specific points topped off with a brisk uphill walk, top stuff, just gotta wait a few weeks now to see if I get in, my mate Bill did well too so fingers x’d we both get in, he’s a husk guy too so were off out with them over the coming weeks.

 

Picture opposite is Gibson Sunset – so called as my mate Wayne took one look and said, its a Gibson Guitar, then name stuck and yes it does look a bit like one doesn’t it.

Again no trickery its all filters at the location, just cleaned in photoshop to a fine art standard for sale on my site.

 

Image below is Bill on the left and our assessor Ian on the right for our 4 hour Woodhead Mountain Rescue Hill Assessment.

MRT Assessment

 

Sunset Dream

Sunset Dream

What a bank holiday, I spent 6 1/2 hours in white conditions up Bleaklow on Sunday and then like an idiot I did it again yesterday for another 4 hours. I don’t think I have ever been as wet without swimming. Now there is a very good saying

“No such thing as bad weather, only bad gear” or I’ll rephrase that to clothing before someone comments on the drugs link..lol

Saying that my kit did hold up rather well apart from my day bag rucksack which gave up the ghost and basically rotted off my back poor thing. On a plus note I went along to those nice people at Go Outdoors and bought a spanking new one this morning, oh joy its an Osprey Kestrel 38 Red really nice and if your into your kit bags they are great quality. Out tomorrow to give it a run through.

As you may have guessed this shot isn’t  from Bleaklow! instead it’s still part of my Anglesey Wales shoot and probably will be for a few weeks until I have finished going through them all so please bear with me.

 

I did my good deed for the day yesterday and helped a broken down motorist on the top of Snake Pass who’s RX8 Wankle engine decided to blow up on him with plumes of smoke, I gave him a lift back down into Glossop so he could call the RAC. Probably  a tow or low loader job, it had gone when I got back down from the B-29 crash site. my halo is in the post!

 

Anyway onwards and upwards, much to do, but first it’s a walk with Stormy

Enjoy

Adrian

 

Pyramid Mist

Pyramid Mist

Hi all

Very quick one today as me and Stormy are heading up on the moors for a walk with Bill and his 2 huskies, should be great. Was going to be Bleaklow to practice map skills but teh A57 is still closed due to Tuesday’s snow….booo hooo

Today’s shot a mystical mix of mist/smoke a crystal pyramid and several filters all combined to create this sunset image, hope you like it, I love it!

 

Getting a few more requests for training workshops now so word must be getting round, hooray!

 

have a great day the sun is shining

 

Adrian

 

 

Sunset Flow

Sunset Flow

Wednesday and it’s snowing , SNOWING in April?  yup, heavyish snow falling as I type, looks great but it’s ruined my walking day, should clear later apparently but I don’t know if it will be in time for me to get out and about.

Another Wales shot here, using my filters to control time, yes I am a time lord..lol NOT….. but Lee filters make some beauties and in conjunction with my reverse grad add some fantastic colour and light to the frame.

This was taken on Broad Beach, Rhosneigr, Anglesey. I was lucky enough to get 6 full sunset shoots in so I have a vast supply to work through again, keeps me happy while the weather is bad.

Now back to the diet, I haven’t cheated and training is slow but getting there with my back condition, still way off what I used to be able to do but definitely some strength returning which I am so pleased about. Looking forward to my chest and back session this morning. I have now lost approx a Stone in 4 weeks, I won’t know for sure until Thursday when I get weighed. One more to go and I should be feeling good or at least better, it’s not fun carrying too much and trying to climb mountains especially carrying 2st of camera gear as well. I keep sorting through my bag but I don’t like leaving anything just in case plus I could easily take 3 bags full if I could carry it all, I have enlisted friends help in the past of which they were not impressed!

Lets hope today improves weather wise

 

have a great Wednesday

 

Adrian

Crystal Dream

Crystal Dream

Really enjoying going through my shots from Wales, just getting into my stride as it were, I always find it very exciting scanning through the files of shots picking out ones I think will be sellers. This one’s an obvious choice as it mixes the ethereal with mysticism and a top sunset to boot.

Again processing is kept to an absolute minimum and if you look down in my recent posts on facebook there is a copy of this image straight from the camera, this has been cleaned and refined and a very slightly different crop but still holds the emotional feeling I put into the composition at the time.

canon 1DS MKIII with Lee .6 glass and of course my new and much loved Singh Ray Reverse Grad Filter.

Poor little Stormy is on heat at the moment so I’m limited to her walks, she was pestered by a chocolate Lab this morning, she quickly saw him off with a swish of her big paws, he tried to bite her but she is far too powerful and sent him flying. Saying that she was on her lead and the other owners lab wasn’t so not my problem., Some owners !!!

 

Adrian

Between A Rock And A

Between A Rock And A

hey hey we’re back……..

what a fantastic week we had in Wales, I can confidently state we have had summer and I was there shooting sunsets every night…what great weather we had, red hot during the day and cool at nights, how it should be.

I can now start going through the 40gb’s worth of shots I took, should keep me busy for a week or two!.

Here’s the first one out of the bag as it were. Taken at Broad Beach Rhosneigr and yes I know we haven’t moved there yet, I keep trying, part of our trip down was to check out prospective properties, we think we may have found one but will need to check a few things before we go any further, plus it’s quite small compared to ours for the money but that’s what happens when you can see the sea. Until then we’ll keep staying at Bodfan Farm Camping and Caravan with Alwyn and Rhian, a wonderful peaceful place to stay that is right in the heart of Rhosneigr and a stones throw from the sea.

I used several filters for this shot but mainly a Singh Ray reverse grad, it helps control the bright horizon and fades away to the sky to leave as natural as possible, its effect is to tint the image and draw out the beautiful sunset colours that are already there. I also used a Lee .6 glass to slow down the shutter speed and give the dreamy effect. Processing was very simple 15 mins max, cleaning dust bunnies and correcting levels…thats it nothing else to do….95% at locations and 5% computer as it should be.

Very sadly going to a funeral this morning, a friends sister died after a long battle with cancer, i think the church will be packed judging by the facebook activity, she was a very vibrant girl who lived life to the full, she’ll be missed so much by so many, God bless you Jackie.

A few walks to get in this week, fitness and weight loss going well, I’ll get weighed this Thursday hope I will have lost my first Stone, fingers crossed.

Hope today is the start of a great week for you all

 

Adrian