Day 84

Two photos today: my 'official' 365 shot...

and a photo I took earlier in the week for SPARK, a collaborative creative event pairing writers, artists and musicians. My partner this round was my brother, who lives in Finland. I created this image in response to a song he wrote and recorded called 'The Language of Love'.

Day 83

I was drinking a glass of water while I was cooking the evening meal tonight, when I noticed the striking shadow the glass was making on the kitchen counter. Luckily, it wasn't anything that needed constant stirring, so I was able to take a photo break without ruining the meal!

I realised this morning that I forgot to post 'The Saturday Site' yesterday. Oops! I'll write myself a reminder for next Saturday.

Day 82

Breaking news: Apple announce the iBin.

I sent Iain out yesterday to buy a new kitchen bin, and he came back with a 'boy's bin': a shiny stainless steel number with a sensor in it that senses when your hand gets near it, opens the lid and then closes it again. I nicknamed it Audrey  II. Today Iain found an old an Apple sticker, put it on the bin's lid, and re-christened it the iBin.

Day 81

Iain spent some time this afternoon putting up shelves in our wardrobe, so he emptied the wardrobe and put its contents on the bed. Pookie took a liking to one of the shoeboxes.

Day 80

Today I was short on time, short on inspiration and short on results. Never mind, there's always tomorrow!

Day 79

Does this shot look better in colour or black and white? I can't decide! Which do you prefer?

Day 78

Day 77

This spider would appear to have made Scully its home!

Here's a close-up. Don't you just love that flap of skin still sticking to the skull?! ;-)

Day 76

I really, *really* want a macro lens!

I spotted this little fella climbing up our doorway this evening, shortly before sunset. I'm pretty sure it's a cricket, but feel free to correct me if I've got it wrong. Even after six years in New Zealand the sound of crickets on a summer night still delights me. There's nothing comparable in the UK, and it sounds so exotic and foreign.

The Saturday Site: 3

If you've ever read a copy of National Geographic magazine, you won't be surprised to learn that their website has got an awesome photography section. There's a photo of the day with 'best of' collections for every month, searchable galleries, beautiful wallpapers, photo tips, and profiles of some of the photographers who regularly contribute to the magazine. If you're interested in nature, this is one website you'll want to bookmark.

Day 75

It was another hectic day today, with almost no time to spend on photography, but I managed to grab this abstract-style sunset shot with the iPhone. The only change I made in Photoshop was to crop it.

Day 74

What a day! We had the electricians in all day, doing their final fix, but it was worth all the mess and hassle. For the first time in 15 months we now have wall sockets and ceiling lights!

I love our new set of lights above the kitchen counter, so I decided they should be the subject of today's photo shoot. The Hipstamatic shots came out a lot better than the ones I took with the Canon.

Day 73

I love the effects that Sharon from SKC Photography gets when she uses her television as a background for still life shots, so I thought I'd give it a try, too. I grabbed an apple as a 'stand in' until I could find a more interesting subject to photograph, but when I was reviewing the shots, I hit on the idea of rotating them through 90 degrees, to give the impression that the apple is falling off a tree. Thanks for the inspiration, Sharon!

Day 72

Two little birds... I wonder if they're the same ones as in Day 69's photo?

Day 71

Hmmm...I'm not sure whether this one works, but it was fun to do.

Day 70

A pink flower for Valentine's Day. A clover flower is not quite as romantic a rose, but it's the nearest I've got!

Day 69

I like moody skies, I like silhouettes, and I like animals, and if I can get all three in one shot, then I'm a very happy snapper.  :-)

The Saturday Site: 2

This week I've chosen Light Stalking, which is a magazine-style website that showcases great photographs. There's always something new to read, the articles are well-written, the photos are amazing, and you get an introduction to the work of lots of top-notch photographers. The credit links alone can have you buzzing around the net for hours! Light Stalking also write tip-style articles, and occasionally review photography books and gear. They're very active on Twitter and Facebook, so you don't even have to visit their website to get your daily photo fix.

When you first visit the site there's an annoying pop-up inviting you to subscribe to their newsletter, but other than that, the site is fairly user-friendly. The advertising is pretty low-key, and it's all relevant to people interested in photography (no promises of weight loss miracles or making millions working from home!)

Day 68

I was so busy yesterday that I didn't get the time for my usual early morning and late afternoon 'camera breaks'. I thought I'd have to take some shots indoors, after dark. Then, about an hour before sunset, I glanced out of the window, and saw this!

Day 67

Our rusty old caravan might be a bit of an eyesore, but it's an interesting place to explore with the camera.

Day 66

Why, oh why am I drawn to views that really need a macro lens when I don't have one? It's almost as if I enjoy being frustrated!

Day 65

Three colours today:

Red,

brown,

and gold.

Day 64

Animals are always doing such funny things. It's a great feeling when you manage to capture animal antics on camera. Have you ever seen a sheep shaking itself dry? It's hilarious. I'd love to get a shot of that!

Day 63

Early morning dew on a thistle head. This is as close as my lens would let me get. Guess what's top of my photography wish list -- yep, that's right, a macro lens!

Day 62

This photo, which I took with the Canon, is of the cellophane on one of our new kitchen cabinets.

This one is an iPhone/Hipstamatic shot of a lampshade.

The Saturday Site: 1

Welcome to my new weekly feature, The Saturday Site, where I share links to cool photography sites I've found.

For my first pick I've chosen This Week in Photography, a free, weekly audio podcast covering pretty much everything to do with the world of photography. It's aimed at both professionals and amateurs, and while a lot of what they talk about is quite technical, there's still a lot to interest someone like me, who's just starting out in the hobby.

If you follow the link above it will take you to the page on iTunes where you can subscribe to the podcast, but TWiP has also got a website and forum, here.

Day 61

We spent some time at our neighbours' yesterday. Their garden was looking so lovely, I nabbed Iain's iPhone and took some Hipstamatic shots.

I look forward to the day when I'll be able to take photos of our own garden. At the moment we're still living in the middle of an empty field!

Day 60

From alert to comatose in 30 seconds...

Day 59

Today's shot is a view of the valley from the bottom of the hill, on the roadside near our gate.

Day 58

Today's photo is shot no. 3 in the 'Monthly Skull' series. Here's Scully as you've never seen her before. "All right, Mr De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up!"

Day 57

Here are a couple of things I've learned so far from taking part in this project:

1. If you're drawn to something as a subject for a photograph, but none of your shots come out right, try changing your point of view.

Over the last week or so I've taken dozens of shots of this fence during my morning photo shoots, but none of them worked. All I had to do to get the right shot was to wait until the evening, hop over the fence, and take the shot from the other side. But it took me a long time to work that out!

2. Ignore the classic rule about never shooting into the sun. 

You can get some interesting effects shooting into the sun, especially when it's low in the sky.