The Snowflake Experiment

The school where my eldest daughter teaches English had a snow day today. I was delighted when she invited me to join her and her boyfriend for lunch on her unexpected 'day off'. On the way home from our Burger and Coffee at the local Wetherpsoons, a perfect snowflake landed on her black coat. It lasted just long enough for us to admire its intricate beauty before melting into a tiny wet spot.

It got me wondering if I could possibly capture that beauty on camera using the primitive equipment at my disposal. So, armed with a small piece of black paper and my Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ8 with its Macro Zoom function, I set about my Snowflake Experiment.

It would have been easier to collect my tiny subject if I had had the idea when it was still snowing with any conviction. As it was, the very occasional flake drifted lazily from the sky, and mostly avoided my attempts to encourage them to land on my paper. When I did get lucky, they would melt before I could switch from 'catch' mode to 'photograph' mode. Painfully cold fingers were not that adept at holding the camera still, framing or focusing. The result was a lot of blurry nonsense.

I did manage a couple of shots that came close to what I was trying to achieve.

If I had been a fraction of a second quicker, this could have been a spectacular example of the complex symmetry that make snowflakes so beautiful instead of a ghostly wet shadow of its former glory.

My second example was spoiled by the fact that it was not a single snowflake (which presumably is why it didn't melt as rapidly).

As experiments go, it wasn't a resounding success. I should perhaps leave it to the experts. However, concentrating on one tiny snowflake at a time as I was gave me a totally different perspective on the snow. It is mind boggling when you consider the vast numbers of these fragile ice crystals it takes to make a snowman.... and to wreak the havoc it does.

I am looking beyond my computer screen and out of the window in my study. I can see some perfect specimens falling gently towards the ground - teasing me. I feel the strong urge to grab my wellies, black paper and camera and commence The Snowflake Experiment - Take 2!

I really should learn to control my urges.

Schleich Safari

I have talked before about how much I love the exquisitely detailed Schleich animal figures. My two little ones use them for a wide variety of imaginative games and they are great for learning the names of the more exotic animals that are not often encountered.

When I was sent a selection from the Wildlife range to review, I thought the best thing to do would be to let them speak for themselves and take you on a 'Schleich Safari' on location at my house!

Here goes...

Pelican - £4.99

Zebra Foal - £2.89

Camel -  £5.49

Polar Bear Cub - £2.89

Pogona Lizard - £2.89

Tiger Cub Standing - £2.89

Meerkat Sitting - £2.89

That was a surprisingly relaxing way to spend part of my Monday morning!

Harvestman Attacks!

I have really been enjoying experimenting with my camera and taking photographs of some of the weird and wonderful visitors to my garden, many of which I'm sure I would have failed to notice had I not been ready with my lens.

Yesterday, my little girl came running in, exploding with excitement, telling me that I had had to "come and see this quick!!" What she had found was a long legged harvestman lying very flat and still against her slide.  I told her we should take a picture of it and went to get my camera.

When I got back, the harvestman (possibly spooked by the close scrutiny) decided to unflattened itself and use those impossibly long legs to make a speedy getaway.

Taylor's boyfriend had other plans.

He scooped it up and allowed it to pass from hand to hand. It did finally stop it's unproductive scuttling and came to rest. As I had my camera with me, I thought I might as well try and get the photograph I'd set out to take.

I used my (newly discovered) macro zoom and placed the lens as close as I dared.

The spider must have seen its own refection in the lens and mistook it for a threat. It launched itself at my camera in full attack mode.

Viewing this through the magnifying lens made for a fairly terrifying experience! I am ashamed to admit that I jumped back squealing, heart beating wildly and desperately trying to dislodge the poor creature before it ran up my arm. Luckily, I had the presence of mind not to just throw the camera! I would have been one very frustrated amateur photographer with a broken camera.

Needless to say, the photograph wasn't exactly what I 'd hoped for!!

Late for Silent Sunday

Photographing Seagulls

I love taking photos and whilst on holiday recently, I really wanted to capture an image of the magnificent seabirds that were soaring overhead against the backdrop of a perfect summer sky. I only had my little Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ8 with me and in the bright sunlight, all I could see on the screen was a reflection of my own face (crinkled with concentration!)

What I lacked in equipment and expertise, I made up for with enthusiasm and perseverance.

I did manage to get a few results that were close to what I hoped for but for every shot like this or this...

... there were plenty more like these:

As well as the problem of trying to anticipate the flight path of the gulls, I also had to make the adjustment for the slight delay in pressing the button on the camera and the picture actually being taken. I wasn't very good at it! Far from getting frustrated, I actually found it stupidly amusing - almost to the point of mild hysteria.

I had intended to delete all of the failed attempts but looking through them made me laugh again (much to my eldest daughter's bemusement). I decided to keep them as a memento of a wonderful day at the  seaside and a reminder that I will never make a living as a wildlife photographer!

If I were to wonder what my elusive feathered subjects were making of my feeble attempts to photograph them,  the expression on this one's face could just hint at an answer.

Snapfish Canvas Review

We have been in our current house for about 6 years now. We have done a lot of work to it to get it how we want it and still have a few projects yet to do. One of the little things that we have never really got round to is hanging pictures. This is something I want to rectify because it is such an easy way to turn a house into a home - a home that reflects who you are.

When I was offered a canvas to review from the online digital photo printing service Snapfish, I thought it would be an ideal way to get started.

I have thousands of digital photographs stored on my computer, many of which I have used on this blog. There are some that I love and some that even have some technical merit that would have made good candidates for the canvas. However, rather than trawling through the library of images, I decided to create something brand new. We were about to go on holiday which would no doubt present a  photo opportunity or two.

We were so incredibly lucky with the weather. Beautiful clear blue skies against the golden sand dunes at Camber Sands in Sussex made a fantastic background for a photograph. All I had to do was add my subjects - two adventurous little children - point and shoot. Ideally I would have liked a photograph with both my little ones in it but it didn't work out that way. The image that I fell in love with and knew was going to be the one to make into my canvas was this one of my boy.

I love the colours and the way the dried grass seed heads are the same shade as the sand. I love the way the curve of his little body is mirrored by the curve of the grass. Most of all I love how, to me, it captures a truly lovely day at the beach.

The thing to remember about choosing a photograph to be made into a canvas is the the picture needs to be cropped quite generously to allow for the canvas that wraps around the wooden framework. If I could have this moment in the sand again, I would have allowed a little more negative space on the bottom margin so my boy's feet could be included in the finished print. As it was, I had to make a small compromise.

I am always filled with a sense of dread whenever I use online digital printing services. It can be quite a mission to upload the photographs from your computer to their site. In this instance with Snapfish, it was completely painless - very quick and efficient. Maybe that was because I was only uploading one image. Choosing the right sized canvas and cropping the photograph were also very straightforward. There was a very good 3D effect product view feature that gave a sense of how the canvas would look.

I chose a 16x12 inch canvas that would have cost me £34.99 plus £6.99 p&p. As soon as I had sent my order, I received a confirmation email so there was no anxious wait to see if I had done it correctly!

I placed my order on the Saturday before I left for my second holiday and the package had been delivered by the time I returned the following Thursday. It was securely wrapped in protective packaging and strong cardboard  and it did feel a bit like Christmas as I opened it!

The quality of the product is superb - sturdily made with a true colour reproduction.

It is no doubt more expensive than buying off the shelf canvases but this is original and very personal to me which I think makes it excellent value for money.

Now I just need to decide where to hang it!

Let Me In!

Frog O'Clock

The Gallery - Sunshine

"A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love."

Max Muller

This little cactus lives on a sunny windowsill in my kitchen. I was quite surprised to see that it was forming a flower bud and delighted yesterday when it opened up into this beautiful bloom.

I left it on the windowsill to photograph it because I liked the way the sunshine made the petals glow. I used the black corrugated packaging material from the top of a box of chocolates (that also bought some sunshine to my day!) as a makeshift backdrop to give the definition I wanted.

This is my attempt to capture sunshine and my contribution to this week's Gallery.

Ladybird Lovin'

There's an awful lot of this going on outside at the moment. It would seem that spring has definitely sprung.

ZEBRA

Visitors to my blog may have noticed that I like zebra print!

The absolute best way of appreciating zebra print has to be on a living breathing zebra.

On my recent trip to West Midlands Safari Park, I took the opportunity with a most obliging zebra to capture some images in the hope of replacing my blog background with one of my own photographs. I haven't had the opportunity to play around with that yet so I don't know whether QWERTY Mum will be about to undergo a minor facelift, but I did enjoy indulging my passion for the black and white and stripy!

On Safari

I would love to go on an African Safari but for now I will have to make do with a day out at West Midlands Safari Park with the kids. It doesn't really bare much comparison but the weather was kind, the kids enjoyed themselves and it was a good way to get up close to animals.

The day wasn't really about photography. I didn't take my SLR camera and long lens. I only had my  Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ8. With a combination of auto focus, zoom, framing and leaning out of the car window I managed to get some shots I was quite pleased with. It think it is a great little camera - small enough to fit in your pocket but capable of capturing clear images with excellent colour and contrast.

These are some of my snaps.

The Pachyderm Parade

No Safari Park Photo Collection is complete without one of these.

Of course, once my little girl discovered the Amusement Park area, she decided that she didn't like animals any more!

We had a lovely family day out and as the Park give you a voucher for a Free Return Visit we shall definitely be back - maybe next time with all my photographic equipment to see what difference it makes to my photographs!