Travel Theme and Weekly Photo Challenge: Twinkle With Freedom

Travel Theme and Weekly Photo Challenge: Twinkle With Freedom

I love the freedom of creating abstract photography with lights and glass. It takes me back to my years of painting with oils and developing my photography in a darkroom. Starting out with a simple subject and taking a creative journey, testing, experimenting, without any agenda, just unconscious thought and the joy of the imaginative process.It often makes me feel like a small child on Christmas morning, clutching a full stocking in my trembling hands and trying to guess what’s inside from the feel and sound of its contents!

During such a busy time of year I’ve also been having fun with the freedom to artistically explore my photography with the apps on my phone! I can sit comfortably at my favourite coffee shop with a mocha and a cake and enjoy the simple pleasures of creating something that I hope might surprise and delight. I hope to spread some twinkling, festive cheer with a little gallery of stars based on our tree-topper. I used a combination of Google+ Photos, Aviary, Adobe PS Touch and the brilliantly bonkers Superphoto (all for Android). Have a wonderful silly-season everyone, enjoy the simple pleasures and have fun in all you do 🙂

Travel Theme: Slow

Travel Theme: Slow

Haiku: Slow

Nature spreads slowly
Through seed and spore, reclaiming
Vacant wilderness

Travel Theme: Above

Travel Theme: Above

Ailsa’s theme this week was based around images that she’d taken above various subjects and landscapes. My own take on this challenge is of a subject that was above me! No it’s not a UFO, or Christmas lights. This is part of the lighting rig for Peter Gabriel‘s Back To Front tour, which Simon and I went to this week at Wembley Arena. I wasn’t an official photographer for this concert so all images were taken on my compact camera. I was very impressed by the staging and production design for the tour. The lighting was kept simple but produced in an innovative way, bringing an extra sense of theatre to a fantastic performance, with a great twist at the end!

NaBloPoMo and Travel Theme: Colourful Comforts

NaBloPoMo and Travel Theme: Colourful Comforts

It was wet and horrible outdoors today but I made a quick stop into our local gift shop, Apples & Pears, and was confronted by all the wonderful colours and scents of Christmas! I found one or two ideas for presents but mostly I just enjoyed browsing in such a comforting atmosphere.

NaBloPoMo, Travel Theme and Blue Monday: Added Colour

NaBloPoMo, Travel Theme and Blue Monday: Added Colour

With Christmas approaching, it’s getting harder to find blue colours when I’m out and about. It’s not the most popular seasonal colour! These flowers all started out as very different colours indeed. I used Adobe PS Touch for the first and last image and Google Photos for the second. My first image was created using tonal adjustments, inverted layers and graduated fades. The second image had a cool-toned Retrolux filter added before popping the colours with an HDR and Drama filter. My last image was created with a tinted filter and merged with a high-contrast B&W layer to add some drama.

NaBloPoMo and Travel Theme: Colourful Abstracts

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NaBloPoMo and Travel Theme: Colourful Abstracts I created these abstracts using filters and layers in the Adobe PS Touch app on my Sony Xperia Z 1 phone. I’m really having such fun working artistically with only my phone this month! … Continue reading →

NaBloPoMo and Travel Theme: Colourful Bouquets

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NaBloPoMo and Travel Theme: Colourful Bouquets It’s been a thoroughly dreary day here but these seasonal flower bouquets made me smile 🙂

NaBloPoMo and Travel Theme – Belonging at The Lovely Music Night

NaBloPoMo and Travel Theme – Belonging at The Lovely Music Night

Every month a Lovely Music Night is held at The Phoenix Cultural Centre in Woking. Tonight was that night and it was truly lovely! There’s such a feeling of belonging for both audience and musicians at these events. Thank you to Dave Lambert, Ciaron and Alan, Lisa Von H, Dave Salsbury, Dan Shears and The Velveteen Orchestra, Andy Twyman and Cardboard Carousel for the wonderful music!

All photos taken on Sony Xperia Z phone and processed with Google Photos App.

 

Travel Theme: Arches

Travel Theme: Arches

This week I’ve chosen some images from my phone that I took in Kos and Rhodes, Greece. Some have been processed and others are just as they were taken. Arches are synonymous with Greek architecture so I wanted to show you a variety of monuments with interesting arches.

 

Travel Theme and Wordless Wednesday : Autumn

Travel Theme and Wordless Wednesday : Autumn Glory at RHS Wisley Gardens