Waiting

I went to see my sister today. Her third child is due in three weeks time, so I'm going to be an uncle again.

Vera is one of those people that doesn't enjoy having her picture taken. She just doesn't think she's photographable, but she did mention that she'd like a good picture of herself whilst pregnant. I promised to come back with my camera and lighting on my next visit and take a picture I know she'll love. She said that was impossible

I only had my iPhone with me today. I took a quick snap of her by her window where she was already sat. She was worried about her double chin in her profile, I told her not to be daft (she's pregnant after all). I told her to look up at the ceiling to try make the picture more flattering for her. I was just playing really and she was laughing when I snapped it. Still, as a one shot taken with and edited with an iPhone, it's not too bad. Vera thinks its a good picture, but has concerns with her profile

I think there's a good picture in there somewhere, and I'll return to try find it.

Times ticking

Watching

I'm always struggling in which way or that way with my own photography. As a kid I would set up feeding stations, make bird tables, film and photograph them. Mum, Dad & I would go to Dunwich in Suffolk to see the then rare Avocet at Minsmere, staying in Pat's (the vet) caravan on top of the sandy cliffs.  If I'm really honest with myself then nature photography is my thing.

I was strongly reminded of this when I saw the blackbird sitting on her nest yesterday right next to where we park the car in the front garden.

Ken

It didn't look like that from here

The sky up here was full of light grey clouds during the eclipse. Thankfully there was plenty of breaks in the cloud to see the eclipse in all its celestial glory. But lets face it, the surrounding sky itself looked quite dull. I stopped the shutter down on the camera to capture the eclipse, not to make the sky more dramatic, but that is of course what it did happen in some of the shots. 

People who have seen the pictures have said. “Wow…It didn’t look like that from here!”. Even my partner in crime said much the same. I was quite surprised that she did not know that what a camera sees and what we see are not necessarily the same thing. 

On Tv, an eclipse usually looks quite dramatic. Before I understand exposure I always thought it just looked more dramatic in different parts of the world, but I know different now. How disappointed I wonder were those kids that had only seen one in pictures or TV before? 

The real wonder is the eclipse itself, not the clouds. 

The end looks nigh

I made my way to Egypt

It didn't look like that from here, either.

"Nature will reveals herself as she is"
Richard Feynman

When shooting eclipses or people, it might be worth remembering what Ferdinando Gonzaga, the 17th centuryDuke of Mantua said to the painter who painted the portrait of his wife, Christiana.

 “You have depicted her better than any other,” since you have improved and embellished her looks without diminishing her likeness.”


 Sean

Dad's Birthday

It's late at night (or early morning) and it's Dad's Birthday today (20th). I wish he was around to share the solar eclipse, I know he would have loved to have experienced it.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Ken