Fun with tilt shift

Ever got the feeling that your photos need pepping up a bit? Faking the tilt shift look in Photoshop is one way to go, turning flat and dreary shots into fun and colourful ones, which look a bit like you've been on a visit to some miniature village. I've only just come across the technique, but it's really quite addictive. Given the evidence on Flickr, there are plenty of others bitten by the tilt shift bug, with several groups dedicated to the genre. It's best done on shots looking down on the subject, but this one of Tetbury has come out quite well. There are a few more over on my Flickr pages.

A couple of rainy hours under trees

I spent a couple hours in Westonbirt Arboretum on Sunday dodging the heavy showers, while trying to take some arty shots of trees. It's a great place at this time of year with spectacular colours, especially the Maples. The main problem was the wind, the damn leaves wouldn't stay still. I tried shooting into the sun from underneath the canopy with the flash to see what that was like - I got some very mixed results.
I'd like to head back there around Christmas for the floodlit winter walks.

A day out with David 'Biggles' Jones

It was decided at the The Dog on Sunday evening that we should fly down to the Isle of White for lunch on Monday. So after a quick coffee and a pastry at the deli in Dulwich Village we headed for Biggin Hill, via a gridlocked Crystal Palace. David sorted out the pre-flight checks and off we went - 45 minutes later and we were landing at Sandown airport (it's little more than a field), but Mr Jones managed to get us down safely.

A 10 minute taxi ride and we were on the seafront and heading for lunch. You'd think for a seaside town there might be some restaurants serving local fish, but think again. I imagine the only thing local about the seafood that David ate were the germs that infested it; luckily we made it back before he threw up. I had a decent enough meal and the pint of lager went down very well.

Although David was feeling pretty sick by the time we landed the sight of a Cirrus SR22 Turbo GTS had him drooling. It's a nice looking plane with a parachute in case the pilot gets disorientated and needs to cut the engine - pretty trick stuff. They're a bargain at £500k, but there's one going on eBay which he has his eye on!

2009 Tour of Britain, Stage 8, London

I had a great day out at the final stage of the 2009 Tour of Britain. I was fortunate enough to secure a press bib for this one, thanks to John Mx at LondonCycleSport.com which meant I had access to anywhere on the circuit. I took myself off to a quiet spot just behind Northumberland Avenue and set up the remote flash - this one of Tom Southam (Rapha) was the pick of the bunch.
I bumped into the Simon Warren and we set ourselves up on traffic island underneath Hungerford Bridge. We managed to avoid getting run over and got some great shots of the riders coming out onto the Embankment. I really like this one of Ed Clancy (Halfords).

I very nearly didn't make it back for the finish (I had to run, which didn't do my back much good) and was too late to take my place out on the circuit for the classic head on shot. However, I think this one captures the excitement and danger of the extremely close finish.

The rest of the shots are on Flickr.

Crystal Palace 31 July 2007

Another fantastic evening of racing at the Palace saw Warwick Spence get the better of Matt Seaton as the pair of them lapped the main field.