Photo book

There has been a hold up in the publishing of photos on this blog due to the concentration on getting a collection of photos into a self published book form, this now having been completed.

It has been published as 'Photos John Likes' through the Blurb site. You might like to have a look at it through their site.

Photos should on the way to this site again in the near future - fingers crossed.

Fishy story

And the story behing this picture is a bit 'fishy'. The puns are getting worse!

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Mass carrots

There's quite a 'tail' about these carrots. What a terrible pun!

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These were on display in a French market. Rather attractive.

The Smiling Assassin

Here is the smiling assassin, with assistant - I make no further comment, other than I don't like them, they're too menacing!

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You wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of this pair!

Reflected stalls

It might be difficult to make it out, but with a little bit of patience you will see that the scene is of a stall in a market place, with a mirror at the rear of the stall, this reflecting stalls behind us. Quite fascinating.

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Village stall

This market was in France, for those who may be interested, though those with experience of such in that country might well have deduced this already. Did I hear a whisper about healthy and safety regulations in the EEC - surely not!!!!

Bonaquil village street

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This photo is of a street in Bonaquil, a village in France. This particular street is extraordinarily narrow, and it has been retained like this as part of the traditional area of the village. Though I'm not sure that i would like to live in a street like this, it is difficult to argue against the thought that it has a charm about it that would be lacking if it wasn't there.

Rose flowers

We have a tree in the garden up which climbs a rose, this picture is emanating from this scene. The impact of the flowers is the fact that the sun is behind them, providing a contra-jour shot. Ir really makes them stand out. I think it's great!

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Roses in a tree.

Tea break at leisure

How about a scenario that many an older retired couple would like to be able to do in their back garden, when the sun is out - just relaxing with a cup of tea!

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Tea break at home

You could almost feel the sun, and the enjoyment obtained from the couple in this scene, sipping their tea! Can you think of anything more relaxing than this?

Pheasant

This fellow came right up to our holiday home rented in Scotland, whilst we were sitting out enjoying the scene. He was determined to be photographed, so being of an obliging nature, I did just that!

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Pheasant

I think he looks rather superior, perhaps used to getting what he wants - mmmm!

Fuchsia

This individual fuchsia flower was showing itself off against varied garden background, and I thought it looked worth recording. It almost looks alive, peering out from above a bulbous nose, waiting to see what you are up to.

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Single fuchsia bloom

It think it's important to note that I did actually escape from any aggressive action that this flower had in mind. I really was not happy looking at it for too long, especially with it looking at me from under those hooded eyelids - most unnerving!

Poppy field

As well as sunflowers seen in many places in France, one can also see plenty of poppies, this being a typical example. It gives an amazing mass of concentrated colour - quite impressive when seen in situ.

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Poppies (obviously)

In this photo it is almost just a blur of red!

Facility for paddling on grass

The river through this french village was only slightly flooded, to the obvious disadvantage of the residence and holiday makers, who were numerous. I felt it was nevertheless quite a relaxed scene, with the ducks naturally not at all bothered.

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Ducks on grass

I also quite like the format of the scene.

Return of the young tulip

And what about the young tulip that was ostracized from the family group photo two postings ago, and was seen about to go out on 'the town' in the last posting. How did she get on?

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Home return after the night out!

Depending upon what was expected by the young tulip when she left home, this picture could well give an indication of how it all went - I don't think it went at all well! But isn't it great that tulips can have the same sort of life style as us humans? Yeah ................ right!

Young tulip going for a 'night out'

This is one of the youngsters from the previous tulip group photo that were left out of the photo-shoot, possibly for family reasons. She has prepared herself for a good night out, and seems determined to enjoy herself.

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Ready for a good night out.

Isn't this fantastic! Gives just the right impression of her intentions - I can imagine her having spent hours preparing herself - she really looks determined to 'go for it'.

Tulip group photo

Nothing special about this photo. This has been posted just to show you what is missing, and the following two postings will each look at just one of the tulips in this family that have been left out of the group shot. I think they are each a 'dream'.

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Family group

One will show a young tulip on the way out to enjoy herself, and the other will show the effects of the night out when she returns. I'm biased, but I think they are each fantastic.

Laminated rock face

This is a different photo than shown previously, though of a very similar area, if not partly covering the same stretch. Why post it, you might ask?

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Laminated rock face

The reason I have it here is to see how a different overall picture which has a slightly different composition both in actual content and format can change the feel of the picture and one's impression of it. I find it interesting!

River Dee in motion

The River Dee, as seen looking over a particular bridge, in Scotland (obviously to those who know the area, but not necessarily otherwise)

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Pattern in water

I particularly like this shot as it shows various water depths with the differing effects on the water surface, and different colors in the water fairly peculiar to many of the Scottish rivers, and is believed to be the reason why Scotch has the colour it has.

I find it's one of those photos that causes me to be look further into it to try and answers questions that arise by looking at it!

Windscreen forest

This is the last of the 'frost' pictures for now. Weirdly it looked just like a forest of living trees growing on the windscreen of my car - really quite unnerving!

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Windscreen forest

How on earth can frost produce such a variety of pictures when they all appear during the seemingly same freezing process? I find this quite amazing - one of the miracles of life on this planet!

Roadside flowers impression

The picture is based on the same photograph that ended up brown on a recent posting. This one has gone through the same process as the previous one, though clicking on the software on a different option, but with possibly a more artistic outcome

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Wild flower impressionism

I find the effect of this transformation as very cheery, and full of life. I don't find it relaxing, but I do find it revitalising!

Rock face

This is one of those pictures I tend to gaze all over to study all the variations in the details. I probably don't even know what I am looking for, I'm just unconsciously forced to look into all parts of the picture, possibly trying to justify my interest in it -I don't know!

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Rock face

Maybe part of the appeal is the fairly large variation in the texture of the rock over the picture. Whatever, I like it!

Time to relax

This scene of flowerpot folk relaxing after a day in the garden appealed to me, and having observed it whilst driving past in Scotland I had to return to get a record of it.

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Flowerpot men relaxing

I find this scene rather charming.

Windscreen frost growth

It's amazing what a sharp frost will do - the patterns it creates -  just like the roots of a growing tree - and this one is only a detail on a car windscreen.

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Windscreen frost growth

And the other amazing thing is that nothing gets duplicated - all the parts are in a different pattern! It really is just like something growing before your eyes - can be quite unnerving!

Roadside flowers in brown

The original photo of these roadside flowers was really somewhat uninteresting, but a click on some software transformed it into, what I would consider it to be, a possibly mildly interesting atmospheric picture. Nothing spectacular but quite relaxing, in a somewhat old fashioned way.

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Roadside flowers in brown

Jack frost

I get up one morning - look out of the window - there had been a sharp frost overnight - look at the car - and what do I see on the top of the car? A shaft of sunlight is throwing itself across the car highlighting the results of Jack Frost. Amazing and quite beautiful!

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Frosty pattern

Just out of interest, the sun is traversing from top right to bottom left, so the sun hasn't yet had any effect on the bottom left portion of frost, but at the same time the sun is about to leave the top right where Jack Frost has started to warm up sufficiently to start melting - this can just been seen.

Ready to go Sir!

The hounds, at The Hunt, are waiting to get going

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Hound discipline

And they look prepared, not panicking, and not impatience, just waiting.

Bird remains

One day fancied takiing a photo of feathers. First thing next morning I looked outside to find a pile of feathers on the drive. Not being a witch, I put this occurance down to chance, but the pile was a lot more than shown here. This is just a small portion of them, just to show the variety there.

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Feather pile

Depressingly, this showed that there had been a fight during the previous twelve hours that had resulted in the demise of at least one bird, possibly more. Nature can be so cruel at times!

Beach runner

This photo was taken on a beach in Sydney, of a runner moving on the wet sand.

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Lonely beach runner

It was just chance that I caught him in a position where he was obviously running, with his footprints obviously in the wet sand behind him. Why he was running can only be guessed at, but I thought the picture was delightful, though shrouded in mystery.

What did you say?

Horses can have such piercing eyes, looking as though always wanting an answer.

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Horse's head

This fellow's whole demeanour gave me the impression that he wasn't sure what I wanted, and whether he had misheard me. Maybe it was just that I had clicked the camera earlier and he therefore thought I had said something. In fact I hadn't said anything, though there was a lot of chattering going on in the area.

I can well see the fascination for painters when they want to paint the face of animals!

Autumnal shopping

Trees, a slight haze, with sunlight shafting in - what more could one ask for in a picture like this? How about also having a lone walker, perhaps going home with her lunch in a carrier-bag?

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Stroll along the railway walk.

Or maybe there is a psychological aspect to this picture. Is it really an illustration of someone going through life without a real aim, heading into a void, perhaps with some refreshments to help her on her way, but certainly on her own? I wonder............... Certainly the picture is as it was, with no alterations!

Barfleur church window

Church windows can be a delight. I think this one in Barfleur church joins that group

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Stain glass church window

Not another one!

The Hunt waited so long to get started that some of the members were considered to be needing refreshments - almost non-stop.

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OK - just one more!

The publican hosting them at the time clearly felt that offering the poor fellows refreshments was a 'must', with the result that one gets the impression that the horseman is getting concerned that ill might come of having any more. All that can be positively stated is that he wasn't seen to fall off his horse!

Water bottle a-light

We were walking up behind a couple, one of whom had a water bottle under her arm - not an usual sight. What made the difference here was that we were walking into the sun and it was shining down the bottle from the top of the bottle to the bottom, and the effect of this is what we could see.

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Back lit bottle bottom

You don't want to say that too quickly!

But it is certainly fascinating what one can see sometimes without planning, other than having a camera with you.

Frosty gated view

This shot just appealed to me because the scenery seemed to work with the gate, though it maybe does look a little too formal!

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This looks cold, though sunny, possibly promising a good weather day.

Sydney bridge harbour-side

It can be seen where this photo came from by referring to an earlier posting, the first one being from the original colour photo including the bridge. You could have seen this details by enlarging the original, but to save doing that it is included here. This selection makes the young lady more dominant in the picture.

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Resting young lady

The following one is in black and white, of the same view, but put here to get a feel of the different atmosphere that can be created in each medium. I find this comparison fascinating.

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Lonely young lady

By concentrating on only a portion of the original photo, with the bulk of the bridge having been removed, this has made the figure a more dominant feature, to it's advantage, accentuated with the back-lighting.

Damn it, what went wrong?

This rider caught my eye at the Hunt, after he had just taken a sip.

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What has he suddenly decided to regret? We shall never know.

Cities in caves

This started as an ordinary picture of sea braking up against a rocky shore, and of no particular interest, but a simple click on some computer software produced this picture.

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I think this is now a very interesting picture. I can now see what looks like a city under a dark blue overhang, maybe a cave - but where could this be?

Four tulips

This photo has evolved from the last entry, with a little bit of clearing up and tulip movement - nothing has been added, just taken away or moved.

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Does that not now look dramatic, or what, or does it now look unreal?

I like this picture for its impact, but for a slightly more relaxed feel I think I'd go for the last entry.

Three tulips

I quite like this photo of three tulips in full bloom together with a bud wating to erupt, with a partial background of other less dominant flowers - it has quite a nice feel about it - almost as though the flower mass is throwing the tulips out in the wild.

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I think for the next entry I shall do some work on this photo to see if we can alter the atmosphere.

I think I might like you

This is Katy again, but what is she thinking this time? My feeling is that she is wondering why she thinks the person she is looking at is likable. Difficult to be sure, being the person who took the photo, but that's the nearest I can get to what might seem a reasonable description of the thinking behind her expression.

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I think you're intriguing!

She has a just determinable slight smile, and her eyes have a slightly quizzical look. Fascinating...............

Alone but not alone

A photo taken of Sydney harbour bridge produces a picture which gives a pleasant feel about it - quite calming, with the only person evident seeming to relax wih us in the view. Much of the atmosphere is created by the colours, especially with the blue sky. It's relaxing!

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The original bridge photo

But what if we get rid of the colours and just have a black and white photo? The result is quite different! The scene becomes more dramatic, as though something may be about to happen, without knowing what that might be! Much of that drama is created by the back lighting! I doubt if the sitter is feeling quite so relaxed in this scene

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Black and white bridge

It's amazing what a difference it makes when getting rid of the colour!

Boat reflection - uneasy

One software click to an ordinaty rowing boat and reflection photo produced this result. I find the result disturbing - I can't relax when looking at it - it makes me wonder what is the point of doing this, except to see how a simple software click can change the atmosphere of a photo to produce a picture which has such an unnerving impression.

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Uneasy reflection

I suppose the picture could compliment an environment somewhere, but I wonder where?

Do you think I look pretty?

When I look at a photo of a person, I often wonder what the person's expression tells me - it might be totally wrong - but that doesn't stop me wondering - so what about this one of Katy?

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A confident young lady?

I think this photo tells me that Katy is waiting for a positive response to the question ,' do you think I look pretty?' whilst knowing herself that she is. Or is she just looking mischievous.

Both possibilites might, of course, be wrong!

Columbine in control

This Columbine is just a weed to many people, but there is a certain beauty in them, especially back-lit as seen here.

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We have the power!

The way the flowers are lit has highlighted both sides of the stalks, and this helps to give a more dominant feel to the picture.

Though they are a ramshackle collection of flowers when viewed in the garden, almost feeling as though they are ashamed to be there, but wanting to be, this back-lighting has given the flowers a dominating feel as though they are in control. That's one of the assets of back-lighting. I like it.

Sydney botanical gardens

When visiting Sydney botanical gardens, I tried to get a photo which gave a good impression of the serenity of the place. I think this does the trick.

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Garden peace.

What this does in addition to giving an impression of peaceful serenity, is that it also gives a great feeling of life quietly bubbling under the surface, with some ducks on the surface of the water reinforcing the point that life is there.

Whenever I want to relax, I just gaze into this picture..................

Two show dogs

Paying a visit to an agricultural show I particularly noticed a section with dogs, not all the dogs, just this pair. There was something about them that found my gaze riveted to them, trying to work out what they were up to. It's not very difficult to see why they held my attention.

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Two attentive dogs

They're both poised in a very alert manner, both apprehensive yet excitedly waiting for something to happen, seemingly associated with the figure in the chair to the left. I'm guessing that the part figure was the owner, but was it? I don't know.

To me, whilst both heads are differently held, they both have appeal. The right looks more alert like an animal who is new to this situation and doesn't know what might happen next, whilst the left looks on with a sort of 'having seen all this before' attitude and knowing what to expect, though with a small element of doubt lurking within..

The big hug

Some time ago a twelve year old grandson, produced for a present a statue that he had made and had titled 'The big hug'. The challenge was to photograph it to its best advantage.

The first photo shows the proportions of the statue when compared with some wall tiles, it being about 15" or 38cm tall. This is where it resides, in the kitchen in full permanent view, and it gives a nice huggy feel about it.

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But how about in the open air, with the view looking up at it, rather then looking slightly down at it - how would it look then?

Well, the following is the result of this exercise, and it has transformed the basic likable statue into something that looks very enthusiastic about giving someone a hug, and a big one at that. It is looking expectant for something special. It now looks more exciting!

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Isn't it amazing how a varied viewpoint can make so much enormous difference to the feel of the picture! And the statue could be any size now!

Sydney harbour bridge by night

Night shots, if they can be exposed just right, give a vibrant atmosphere to the scene, and this one of the bridge, I think, does just that.

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It just makes me feel that life is really worth living, to see such beauty that can only be seen when some are already in bed. I find it very relaxing, yet invigorating.

I do think the picture might have been improved slightly by lighting the handrail in the foreground just a little so that it could be slightly more obviously visible, though I'm not sure that that wouldn't have spoilt it.

Gulls perched

It is amazing how the lighting can affect the result of a picture being taken ostensibly of the same situation.

The first of these two pictures has been taken with the light coming from the rear, and this has produced a serene occasion where the birds have got together, and are just being sociable - not a care in the world.

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This second picture has been taken against the sun, of the same situation, but has produced a totally different feel about it. The birds don't seem so relaxed, but more alert, as though there is something around about which they are not totally happy, or are aware of something about to happen, almost as though they know what to expect.

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It's fascinating how different a picture can look just from a different lighting prospect.