A Private Viewing
Posted: October 20, 2015 Filed under: art, exhibition, friends and family, interiors and design, local interest, paintings, photography, sculpture | Tags: art, collage, drawing, exhibition, ipad art, multi media, painting, photography, pop art, sculpture Leave a comment
The Capsule Poster
I went to an exhibition at the weekend in a super little private gallery in Norfolk called The Capsule.
The Capsule Extension Gazebo
The very talented and very lovely daughters of my dear friends John & Kate were invited to exhibit some of their fabulous work in The Capsule and it is their exhibition that I went to see.
John adding the finishing touches
Jess and Millie are also the grandaughters of Pam and Neal French’s and you can see how they are so talented. It clearly runs in the family.
Getting Ready
Their work is brilliant and hugely diverse.
Checking everything over
It is done with nearly everything you can think of to create with – pens, pencils, crayons, paper, cameras, ipads, paint, clay and many more. I really think they could make art with just about anything.
ready for the viewing
The exhibition is a collection of just some some of their stuff
Millie’s photos
Both girls are hugely busy and enthusiastic artists. Millie loves photography and Jess loves ipad art but their talents spread across everything they try.
Jess’s ipad art
And their work has such charm and freedom of expression.
Jess’s Clay Sculptures
I loved it all.
and the people came
The entire day was a delight
Jess and Millie talking to visitors
Setting up, chatting to those viewing the exhibition and watching the girls pieces being so well received made for a super atmosphere.
viewing and chatting over a drink
The interest was phenomenal and I hope it has encouraged them to carry on with even more lovely work.
Millie talking through the work
They were so professional in their dealings with people, it was wonderful to watch and I’m sure they learned some valuable lessons.
Jess talking through some orders
I imagine it would be quite daunting for such young talent to put themselves out there but they seemed to take it very much in their stride and rose to the task wonderfully.
and they keep coming
Their talent is endless!
in the fading light
It was a completely lovely exhibition.
Millie’s street lamp ipad art
It looked like the girls had a great time and there were lots of visitors to chat to about their work.
Night Sky
The interest was keen and a lot of their pieces were sold.
riverbank
Their sales were across the exhibition; some originals and some limited edition prints which will be despatched to their supporters soon. The sculptures were just about sold out and I don’t think they went home with much.
a lovely lady in her finery
I am myself, the the proud owner of a few of their pieces and I am delighted with them.
cute croc
So, people, you saw it here first!
Watch this space because I don’t think this is the last you will see of these super talented young ladies.
a very happy Millie
Go Pro
Posted: January 31, 2015 Filed under: dogs, friends and family, photography, technology, Uncategorized, we love | Tags: go pro, harness, JRT, photography Leave a comment
Max the Go Pro Mule
JC bought a Go Pro Hero 3 + black edition in August 2014 and has been playing with it and buying bits for it ever since. He is officially in love with this little bit of tech heaven and now our friend’s daughter has one (from Santa) so they can be geeks together.
a few adjustments required
Geek aside, it is rather sweet to watch them getting over excited about a tiny box of tricks. There are a good few decades separating them.
nothing unusual about having a big black box on your back
Anyway, in the interest of Go Pro advancement in our household, our terrier Max has been persecuted with a cumbersome harness and a little camera recording his every move on some of our weekend walks.
camera position adjusted to front
To be fair, Max is completely ok with all of this and just takes it in his stride.
I think the harness is designed for a larger dog and some adaptions will be needed to the straps but they get by and Max seems unaffected by it. On occasion, he does try to bury into a straw stack or some undergrowth and can’t quite seems to understand why his progress is limited.
returning with a little more than just the camera
JC doesn’t have much footage that he has chosen to keep yet but he is persevering and we have some half decent stills so far.
Cool as a cucumber and couldn’t care less
Watch this space, our little Go Pro mule might offer some interesting images to show you yet!
olloclip
Posted: January 3, 2015 Filed under: countryside, flowers, miscellaneous, photography, technology, Uncategorized, we love | Tags: 10x macro, 15x macro, fisheye lens, iphone, iphone 5, iphone camera, macro, olloclip, photography, wide angle lens Leave a comment
dandelion clock
I use an iPhone (5) and I love it.
I use it every day for emails, calls, texts, vibe, whatsapp, FB, instagram, twitter, maps, waze, evernote, pinterest, contacts, calendar….. you name it.
I didn’t think that the camera on the phone could be improved as it such good quality already. the iPhone 6 has probably managed to improve the camera further but until I have an iPhone 6, I will have to wait to see.
But I read somewhere ages and ages ago that there was a little attachable lens was available from a company called Olloclip to use with the phone as an attachment, providing more flexibility and giving you a tool that would truly explore the potential of the smashing lens in this little phone.
As an early christmas present to myself, I ordered the 4-in-1 combo. This provides you with a fish eye, wide angle and 2 strengths of macro lens.
I have a canon 6D that I use all the time and have a variety of different lenses for it. It provides such good quality shots that I use it for serious photography and pictures of my work but I have never really considered the iPhone to be a contender for serious shots. As good as it is, how could it possibly be used as a serious working camera?
The review were good but my true expectations for what the addition of the olloclip could do to the camera on the iPhone were limited, but the results have been amazing.
It is tiny attachment and a bit fiddly and would be very easy to lose but if you have the time and the patience along with helpful additions to your camera bag such as a gorilla pod and a clip for your phone, you can set it up to get great photos.
It is great fun and the results are very effective.
Olloclip has an instagram account where people share their images using the olloclip and some are truly incredible.
I need some time to get more interesting shots and I have not taken advantage of the wide angle fitting yet but I’m delighted with the macro results
See for yourself……… all taken with the phone hand held without the support or steadiness of a tripod, gorilla pod or surface
Fish Eye
at eye level
seated
10x Macro
flower head
daisy
rotting knot in fallen tree
15x Macro
drooping flower head
detail from flower
offset shot of flower – my favourite
dandelion clock
dandelion clock
dandelion clock
Booth Nation
Posted: November 10, 2012 Filed under: friends and family, funny, london, love and romance, photography, we love | Tags: booth nation, entertainment, family, friends, london, Photo booth, Photographer, photographs, photography, pictures, wedding, wedding reception Leave a comment
3/4 of the coven
At our fabulous friends Mark and Vicki’s recent wedding, they arranged a photo booth for the reception from Booth Nation.
the coven complete
Apart from being a fantastically fun way to punctuate an evening, it is hilarious to see how buttoned up people are at the start and not so by the end!!!.
new coven member
Each print is the classic photo booth set of 4 black and white shots and they are just brilliant.
the boys and the girls
I have always had photos up on the wall wherever I lived be it student hovel, shared student flat, rented room or anything since and we’ve carried that on in the hall of our london home with a rogue’s gallery of photos. Just about everyone is represented to a greater or lesser extent.
the lovely bride and groom
No matter how long it is since we saw them or how far away they are, it ensures they are right there in front of us. Some are no longer with us and it’s nice to be able to say hello.
more fun and laughter
They also serve as great memory joggers of all the good times, the passing of life stages of all those we are close to and a daily reminder of how lucky we have been with our gloriously mad families and amazing friends.
shenanigans!
The 30+ prints we ordered from the night of fun and laughter are now in a huge frame to show off the lovely couple, our lovely friends and a fantastic day.
LOL
I have chuckled at each photo while writing this blog and it raises a smile EVERY single time I walk past it.
yey!!
I proper love you lot!!
ta da!!
wildlife photographer of the year
Posted: March 26, 2012 Filed under: art, countryside, miscellaneous, photography, we love, weather and wildlife | Tags: bewick swans, buffalo, flamingos, hare, photography, poppies, robin, snow, swans, wildlife, wildlife photographer of the year, wildlife photographer of the year 2011 Leave a comment
"taking flight" flamingos on a salt lake by Paul Goldstein
every year the wildlife photographer of the year comes to the natural history museum and it is a must see.
"the charge" by Eric Pierre
being a bit partial to some wildlife photographer myself even it we are talking totally different leagues, it makes my appreciation of it far greater I think.
"snow hare" by Benjam Pontinen
Some shots are so incredibly difficult to get. Equipment isn’t as key as patience and sometimes a huge amount of luck.
"illusion" by Stefano Unterthiner
that is not to say that each one of the incredible images that we saw in the recently finished 2011 winners exhibition wasn’t technically incredible and that technical skill truly comes into it, it’s just that sometimes luck gives you the hand you need to make the difference.
"territorial strut" by Ross Hoddinott
some of the images come into the category of under 14s which always blows my mind. HOW? when someone is so young, do they manage to achieve such brilliance when it should be the domain of the greatly experienced?
"fading beauty' by david maitland
These photographs which I took of the postcards we brought home that depict some of our favourites from the show do them no justice what so ever and the originals really must be seen to appreciate just how fabulous they are.
chezlah 