Mild

 Wrapped up against the mild weather

What a lovely place to stroll

I told you it was mild and dry the other day. Probably why it's been lashing down all morning - now my pals are arriving from England. Oh well, at least they get to see the real island :-)

Weather

We are having weather up here at the moment. Rain seems to have been falling for weeks, gales too. Mick & Bee, wintering over the other side of the Atlantic in Maine with the good ship Hannah told me this m0rning that more gales are heading this way later. I really wish I didn't know that!

Portrait of a horse

On the other hand, yesterday was lovely. Mild and dry with no wind at all most of the day. It seemed a perfect day for a stroll so off we went to the Eishken Estate on the Isle here. Twas wonderful. So quiet, so beautiful with deer on the slopes of the hills around us, seals in the loch and Golden Eagles soaring overhead. There we even the semi-feral horses to talk to.

Soggy Boxing Day

 Eh?

 MV Arran

Evelyn and my Dance Teacher

It's been raining for days up here. Gales howling too. I think The Crofter's coows have probably grown webbed feet by now. Still, it is unseasonably warm so we don't have to wrap up too much.

My dance teacher Karmiena, and Eve posed for me on a recent beach walk when I was lurking with camera with COLOUR FILM IN !. And then 'we' snapped up two views of the Harbour in Stornoway - one of which may contain my image. It vaguely resembles me anyway. It's not digital ICE I need with these colour neg scans but cryogenics!

Greetings all

Winter Beach

Many thanks for taking a look in here from time to time [and here as well ]. I enjoy taking the snaps and sharing with you all - as well as making the up rubbish I write. Thank you all so much for taking the time to read it!
Just want to wish all the very best over this Festive period - whatever it means to you. Take very good care and hope to see you all again soon.

Shopping. What's that all about then?

We had to do a bit. Shopping that is. Tradition demands it for some reason. It's all to do with the Festival of  Conspicuous Over-Consumption don't you know. Luckily, local customs haven't embraced this festival fully yet preferring to get on with the day as per normal. But us English have been infused if not infected with this pagan celebration with gay abandon, drinking the supermarkets dry and emptying the shops as if they will be shut for a month - not the one day [possibly] that they are down there.

After coffee with Lewis Photographica [continuing] on Saturday, Eve and my good-self when into The Smoke - Stornoway, our small capital. The place was heaving. Lovely day though, sun shining and all that. Dosed up with coffee and cakes from Toots and the Windy's we raced around getting a few minor items to send southwards and an extra potatoe for us on Christmas Day. I took the opportunity to snap up the scenes of  mad shopping with a lovely Fujica Slr I have lurking - loaded this time with old Kodak Fine Grained Positive film. That's an old copy film with an iso of around 1 or 2 with a paper-type emulsion, Developed in Multigrade paper developer when I got home, I present to you;
Stornoway gone mad -Wabi sabi;[ a Homage to Nickolai Globe].

Did I tell you about Toots?

He's happy.

I can hear it ........

 North Tolsta

  North Tolsta

 "So, you're taking landscapes now are you? And pictures of the Callanish Stones too. What an earth has got into you?"
I can just hear it as I walk into the coffee club on Saturday morning with him of the Coelyns bending my ear and Toots grinning from ear to ear - as he is prone to do these days. I must admit that I may have mentioned that 'I don't so landscapes' once or twice.  I may also have mentioned how much the endless snaps of  the stones at Callanish are a particular irritant. But these are different. The snaps at the stones were because I went there to show a work colleague - [see below] - and my picture taking finger got over-excited. The other snaps? Well, I just like the look of snow :-)
"So Mi Lud, there rests my case."

All change

 John A and friend

 Oh no, not a Stones snap!

 Monochrome rainbow over a croft

Snow. Eh?

No, it's not snowing. Been there, done that. And maybe it'll do it again too. But it is raining now. Has been for days. But when we had snow I did take a few snaps with my trusty Zorki6 and some RolleiRetro400s. You can see some Crofter snow images here too.

And I took a snap of a rainbow - in black and white of course. 

Standing

The Tooter stood in the sunlight and shadows and waited while I pointed an optical device at him 


What it says.

Paper-neg in camera then enlarged onto Ilford RC

Anti Tunnock

The Tea Cake Connoisseur surveyed the feast before him and noticed there were no tea cakes. A candle drooped in his disappointed glare.

I always like a good title. And I think this is one I like. If you visit the Arts Show thingy in An Lanntair in Stornoway you may happen upon some more nice titles. The images there are lovely too. In reality the whole show is lovely. And I have a my eye on a little painting there too :-)

Now, I can hear you all thinking this image is a bit weird. Well, I meant it that way. I didn't happen upon it for a change but used my paper neg [Orwo paper]  in-camera and then enlarged onto more paper [Ilford] technique. Eh?