RHYMES WITH PLAGUE (30/08/13)

Thanks for a serious criticism. I don’t have a pro editor  so as a Muppet  I fly by myself. I shoot in RAW. It’s the nearest  to old film one can get. Film has had it’s day.

  This is what the camera saw.

  This  is more like my eye/brain interpreted the scene. So this is what I posted. I try to make life easy for folk.

I use the camera as a means to express myself. Any image you see here has my stamp on it.

What’s your proper name? I can’t be arsed writing Rhymes With Plague every time….If you don’t tell me otherwise I’ll call you Eric.

Be honoured, it’s only because you write so well that I dedicate a post to you. 

DOOM AND GLOOM. (30/08/13)

It’s been a gloomy couple of days. I left Onich yesterday and drove up Glencoe on to Rannoch Moor.

The last view from the shores of Loch Linnhe captured in a rare bit of sunlight.

This morning I set off for Kinross and stopped for a square sausage and egg sandwich. The views looking down Glen Orchy from the layby can be spectacular. It was a bit grim this morning but still worth a look.

Loch Tulla.

  Glen Orchy.

Ben Mhannach. I hope.

We are now at my sisters in Kinross and will be till Wednesday as the dogs can’t have their hair cut till Tuesday.

Have a good weekend.

BORING BUT DANGEROUS. (29/0813)

Dithery David. Our leader. He only has power on the back of Cleg or the bottom of Cleg or even may I suggest Cleg’s bottom. It’s the worst form of government is this coalition. No. It’s a case of all the old school pissing in the same pot. Queeny is so much to blame, if the daft bat could read and write she wouldn’t sit there doing nothing. If they had sent her to Eton or that place near Brighton, Rhodean or Roedeer she may have been learned in something.

I am prepared to stand up and say

“Enough is enough.” 

Dithery is learning the job as he goes along.

Forget that. He is just power mad. A puppet for others more devious than him. No good shooting a Scaramouch or an Icon.

He knew his agenda, He is a big fat posh bastard that eats more than he should. Nothing wrong with fat…look at Clegs wife. Look at Boris. I’ll have to give them their due..fat is good. If you are after piling  on the pounds at the expense of the Hoi Pollie. That’s a bit of Greek meaning the general populace. It is if I’ve managed to spell it properly. Then the big fat pigs are for you.

What I don’t understand, I’m a bit thick. No buts, sos’ or ifs. If Syria is such a danger why doesn’t  Dithery just fly out there and sort him. No good asking William Hague to do it. The poor bugger would be asleep a couple of minutes into a  Wily Hague drone.

 .http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157

No pictures today.  Today is serious.

I notice the British government have destroyed the link. Ho Hum! That’s the way the the world is heading……..

BALLS. (28/08/13)

After eight hours I have eventually produced something in Blender 3D that  I dare post. I kept saving it as I went along. It was just as well it went belly up dozens of times.

  BALLS. I really must get out more.

I’m going up onto Rannock Moor tomorrow, then diving down to Kinross on Friday.

Have fun.

BRAIN ACHE. (28/08/13)

The light is very flat at the moment. It seems ages since I could wander out with the camera and see any real contrast in the landscape.   It looked as if we were in for a good sunset over Loch Linnhe yesterday evening but it never really amounted to much.

This morning I wandered out with the 135mm lens and stuck a 36mm extension tube on it. All these flowers are growing on a  shingle bank. Amazing they survive.

I think this is Unscented Mayweed. It did smell faintly of Marlboro but then most things do.

Groundsel……no doubt at all.

     Rough Hawk’s-beard……I’m seventy percent sure.

My head really hurts. DAVID AT ONE PERCENT sent me a link to some open source software called BLENDER 3D. It’s a very sophisticated 3D modelling and animation program. It’s also a real headache. 

This is just a tiny bit of what it can produce. This entire image was created in Blender but not by me. Despite a day and a half and a very late night I am still struggling to stick two cubes together. One day I just might get this good. If my head doesn’t explode first that is. The genius responsible for this is Andrew Price and the tutorial can be found here WATER SPLASH IN BLENDER 3D.

It’s brightening up here so I'm going for a walk. Have fun.

SNAP, CRACKLE AND POP. (26/08/13)

This morning I spoke to Mr Jones whose land I had being abusing in Connich and he says he will drop me a text when the leaves turn. He was a bit short . His daughter came for lunch with the dogs and I yesterday…..Should that ‘I’ be a ‘Me’?…let I know.

Anyway she isn’t my perfect shape and at the tender age of twenty four more than I could handle. I gave her dad this URL so she’d looked and knew when I asked her to pose it wasn’t a good place to get into. She was well aware of the tone of the blog and birds are not a top priority. I told her she must be in the top one hundred I’ve ogled this year  but still the little madam wouldn’t share her attributes with you….A wise girl!   Broom seed pod. It was dry and hot yesterday, I was surrounded with Broom. It’s supposed to crack like a banger on bonfire night. They just sit there and open with barely a whisper. It’s a boring plant…Looks half right in spring.

We set off to Fort William. Hit Morrison's big time, the dogs have food, my tinned fruit is overflowing, I’ve one of their posh quiches with red onion and fierce,…sorry wild mushroom. Sausages by courtesy of a deer. The dogs and I are, we are …Well made up.

I’m back down at Onich. I like this bit of Loch Linnhe. even with flat light it’s half good. 

  This is the view from the van. I was prostrate and in pain with a tripod to focus stack this but was defeated by the wind. I can get half decent piks by substituting  one clear shot into the HDR process. I can’t focus stack as well. Twenty four images down to the bin. On the positive side I managed to regain the vertical position. A lady thought I was dying, pity it wasn’t the lady from yesterday. I would have died but it would have been a happy end.

Now Mr Yorkshire Pudding. I recognise that you were my first ever follower, When I first started blogging I didn’t realize one had to follow or could. After four or five years here we are back together. You are here as an has been teacher but I also accept your criticism. Here is the Catholic Church perfect.

   I know from years as an engineer that near enough is not good enough. Be aware I'm a picky beggar when it comes to straight. This one slipped thorough the net. I would like to blame Lewis Hamilton and Cal Crutchlow. They did their very best. Good enough isn’t near enough.

Finally Glo is back, I was worried she had become extinct. Not a bit of it, she’s overcome her drink and drug dependence and is back fighting what the world chucks her way.

GREAT TO SEE YOU BACK IN BLOGAND GLO..  

   Don’t I look the dogs bollocks. I wish…. HERE IS GLO. A damn good photo processor. She also makes old men look young….Glo, where were you yesterday afternoon when I needed you?

Have fun.

A TALE OF TWO RIVERS. (25/08/13)

I have been in Cannich for a couple of days now and thought it was time I gave you a look at the place. It’s GP day today so I’m rushing a bit. You all know what it’s like when one has too many jobs and not enough hours in the day. It’s hot with a gentle breeze.There is not a sign of Ultravox, Thin Lizzy or there illustrious member and his followers. I thought I caught a whisper of ‘Don’t They Know it’s Christmas’ on the breeze but so far so good.

    This is the river Cannich. I stopped here to investigate as I intend coming back for the Fall colours; I use the American noun because Ortum is hard to spell.

    This is the river Glass. The former is a tributary of the latter and the river Glass flows down Glen Affric. It’s a driving job from here. I’ve left my e-mail address and phone number with the site owner and he has promised to phone at the first sign of autumn…nailed it this time.

     The Police House in Cannich.

    This one is for Red…. Heather, Rowan and the Church of Scotland.

     Here is the rest of it.

   Cannich Catholic Church.

That’s all from here, tomorrow I’m heading for Fort William for a few nights then down to Kinross to get the dogs hairs cut.

Enjoy this week.

I NEED A GOOD KICK. (24/08/13)

I’ve just spent six idle days in Kinlochewe. The weather has been very mixed but not mixed enough to account for the lack of pictures.  All these are from last week and taken suffering from, mist, rain and the little midges.

I see our leader Dithery has been on the Isle of Jura but he’s got a bad back so had to forsake his deer stalking. I bet the Gillies were delighted. I can’t imagine anyone relaxing whilst he is in charge of a lethal weapon.   I woke a few days ago and was surrounded by mist. Off we set up the hill but when I got high enough to see Kinlochewe the mist had dispersed.

    Ben Eighe.

     Slioch with her head in the clouds.

     Mountain Ash or Rowan. It is a magical tree.

     Devil’s-bit Scabious. I hope it is.

    A Golden Ringed Dragonfly. I spent a desperate half hour watching these defending their patch before the Midges drove me away.

Yesterday I drove down to Cannich. It is another beautiful place. I’m only here for three nights as I’m getting desperate for a proper re-provision. Fort William is the nearest, I could have stopped in Inverness but intend being back here in October to try and catch the autumn colours.

I’m off out now for a look round and to do my bit for the midge population.

Have a good weekend.

THE SPEAR. (17/08/13)

This morning we were up withe the Lark, I took the dogs a quick walk and after packing we trundled off in a south easterly direction on the A832 towards Kinlochewe.

  I knew there was something missing in my life. I’d got both dogs, the wind speed was showing zero on the weather station so I’d fetched that in. I had a pair of jeans on….I’d remembered to get dressed. After four miles I realised I hadn’t had breakfast so stopped at the side of Loch Bad an Sgalaig.  The dogs thought we had arrived at our destination and despite my cursing and swearing would not be gainsaid. Jacket back on and out into the rain. Half an hour later I managed a couple of Wheetbix and a yogurt. I’ve stopped buying those posh proactive ones. I just get the low fat Greek yoghurt. I’ll give the dairyman pro-active-bio whatever; I thought I’d contracted dysentery. There should be a health warning on the stuff. 

I’ll tell you now it was a wild, wet and windy journey. I was relieved that the road is a good one and for the most part two lane. After eight miles or so I hit the shore of Loch Maree, found a layby and strolled out into the elements to get the photographs I came here for.

      Apart from the Rowan trees fruiting there wasn’t much to see so I backtracked a couple of miles.

      This was better. It wasn’t really this bright but I can’t help trying to show the positive side of life. By this time the lens cloth was useless; soaking wet and a bit grubby. I think I found all the rain drops but if I’ve missed one well such is life.

      This is a bit of Slioch, in English it means spear.

I’m here for six days but by the time you read this you will know that. There is no internet here but there is a phone signal.

I’ll see what tomorrow sends my way.

COSMOPOLITAN. (15/08/13)

I was very lucky this morning. It rained for the best part of the night. By dawn it was looking a little brighter so I decided to walk round the head of the loch to investigate the harbour.

The French couple camping next door decided to join us for the wander. They were both dressed in white jeans so I decided to smarten myself up. There was always the chance of her husband falling in the sea and getting himself swallowed by a whale. Off I set in clean shirt and cargo trousers…mine aren’t white but a muddy brown colour. I have found it’s no bad thing to buy clothes in shades of brown and grey, preferably with a pattern.

I’d only completed half a mile of beach and I was already looking grubby. I don’t know how the French manage to keep so clean. Their clothes must be made out of special material.

  It’s not as if it’s a particularly dirty beach. The dogs and I can find muck anywhere.

      An American shop.

     An Australian shop.

A Scottish Kirk. I don’t know why it has two doors. I suspect one will be for the ‘Wee Frees’ and the other for the ‘All are Welcomes’.

The French turned back here as it had started raining again. It was also hellish hot and humid, not nice at all.

    

This is the War memorial and it is in a wonderful place, the second picture is the view from it with the Isle of Skye on the horizon.

    This is as far as I got today Charlestown and the harbour are just behind the headland. They can wait for tomorrow.

The pub here is dog friendly so we’ll dine out tonight. Rare things are dog friendly pubs in Scotland.

That’s all for today.

I’VE MOVED AGAIN. (14/08/13)

Yesterday was pretty grim. Internet was intermittent-net. I hate it when it does that. No internet is fine but when it keeps dropping out at random it makes me use very naughty words. Not a good idea with children about and the window open. I also felt dog rough. I occasionally do but if I’ve been to the pub and had a skin full then I know it’s nothing serious and after a good walk and breakfast I’ll be fine or at least back to normal.

This morning I took the dogs out and feel okay, well, middling to good. I then packed up the truck, retrieved Bertha; I’d lent her to the site warden but I don’t think he used her or if he did I never saw the results. We then set off and drove south. What a journey I’d no sooner left than I’d arrived at Gairloch. The temperature gauge had barely shifted. It’s a good job I don’t have a particle filter on the van, the crap diesel I fill up with in Scotland would have filled it to the brim.

This is a bit of Gairloch, It’s actually a place called Strath but it’s a suburb of Gairloch. 

  Like most Scottish towns it is pretty much a one road town with little to recommend it architecturally. The views are better than many English ones. I will have to learn to accept the towns and concentrate on the scenery.

I’ll have to look into this and tune in. It’s Two Lochs Radio. Bloody mad are folk round here. There is also a good book shop and a Mace for the necessities. I’m only here for three nights, I’ll have a wander and see what I can find.

I did find a millimetre scale that was half reasonable. I took these this morning.

A Garden Snail’s head at twice life size. I did get a shot of it’s eye but the rest was a blur. The scale is life size so divide any scaling by two.    This is a Wild Angelica flower and a bit of cobweb at life times two. It’s the same scale across the top but I got rid of the white background using the multiply blend mode. If I’d used lighten then the black writing would vanish.

I seem to recall that the other day I stated that the frames were 36mm on the diagonal. I’m sorry I was jabbering. 35mm film is 35mm across the film including the drive spools, the image bit is 36mm x 24mm. I’ll keep working at this and when I find an easy way of doing it I’ll pass it on. This is the fifth ruler and the best….Where did I save it?

Have fun.

BLAST FROM THE PAST. (12/08/13)

This is a test post as todays magnificent effort is not showing on Blogger Dashboard but it has published……It’s not that bad a post but I can’t, in all truth, say that it is magnificent.

This is……………………….

                 I thought these were a thing of the past but they are still made in India. The Indians have made a superb job of it. The engines and brakes are not to the original British bike design which is probably just as well; I had a single cylinder 500cc BSA which needed an hours notice in triplicate to stop. It was quicker to use engine braking. Engine braking was ferocious as was the clutch. I used to have to pluck up courage to kick start it and often used to push and bump it as the lesser of two evils. Parking on a hill was the favourite. It used to leak oil at the rate of a pint every fifty miles. Most missed me but I can remember it ruined a perfectly good relationship and several pairs of her jeans.

Hopefully this will publish and you can click Older Post for todays drivel. It’s called ‘Half A Dozen.’

Have fun……I’m really a Google fan today. I hope the original Blogger team are enjoying the fruits of their duplicity. May your yachts get trashed in hurricanes.

 

HALF A DOZEN. (12/08/13)

  I have a choice of macro gear. Yesterday I was reasonably pleased with the 100mm with a 36mm extension tube. It ups the magnification about 30%. Tomorrow weather permitting I’ll pop the 400mm on a tripod with a 2x extender and about 60mm of extension tubes. This won’t give anything like true macro ie. 1:1. But it should make life easier. I wont be in the little insects faces.

Today I used the MP-E 65mm lens hand held. Aperture was f11 and shutter speed was 1/250s. I used the MR-14EX ring light on ETTL. I must have missed about twenty shots. This lens doesn’t have a focus ring. You set it to the magnification you want which can be 1x to 5x. Then whilst holding your breath you move the camera till focus is achieved. Half the time the subject gets sick of waiting and flies away. The other thirty percent get hit by the monster flash ring or the front lens element. It is a nightmare but good fun. 

I pressed the shutter six times and here are the six images. None are totally horrendous, none are cropped and all are at twice life size. The ETTL consistently under exposed by half a stop but I’m happy with that. It’s easier to recover shadow than highlights.

  I’ve no idea…..I suspect one of the Hoppers. It can fly as I found out when I tried to turn it round with a blade of grass. This frame is 35mm on the diagonal. I’ll try and think of a way of popping a scale on these pictures.

  A Flesh Fly. This is about as good as I get.

   This cocoon is on a grass stalk. It’s a beautiful colour and around 3mm diameter. 

    This moth has fantastic eyes. It’s about halfway between a micro moth and the Silver Y in size.

    Another Flesh Fly.

    This was a Needle Fly on Bramble Blossom but it flew off just as I fired the shutter.

     This is the set up. It weighs a ton. I’m exhausted. I can’t think of any way to make life easier. A pair of those trousers that plumbers have with knee pads in would make life more comfortable.

The next image was taken yesterday with the same set up and again hand held. It’s not for the faint hearted…..I hate these damn things.

      It’s a female Sheep or Deer Tick. The little white strings are Molly hairs. It’s a daily job at the moment is de- ticking the dogs. I see this one has a leg missing it fell off whilst I was turning it onto it’s back. This is at four times life size and cropped. When fully engorged with blood she will be two or three times this size. Revolting things. I bet God made them on a Friday afternoon.

That’s all for today, I’m off for a rest.