Uploads from Keith Williamson

Pride of place Project 365(5) 14/06/2013

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:57:50 -0700

Last year, Pamela came home with the trophy for the Higuest Score (miss spelling of highest). This year, she came third in the Womens' Darts League and was given this trophy.

Considering that Pam had trouble hitting the board when she first started playing, this was quite some achievement.

PS Even still, I doubt that this trophy will stay on the mantelpiece!

Another visitor to my pool Project 365(5) 13/06/2013

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:56:47 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

I found this dead insect in the skimmer box yesterday. I've no idea what it is but thought it deserved some recognition on Flickr.

Dead as a doornail

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:56:46 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

This insect had obviously landed on the surface of the pool, got its wings and tail wet and then could not take off. Quite a few wasps do exactly the same thing. They all end up in the skimmer box.

Strike a pose

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 03:06:17 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

The final group shot had all 90 odd guests in it. I'd already given tips on how to pose to gain a good silhouette* to the smaller groups but with this many I was against the odds and so let them stand as they wished.

The lady in the middle clearly knew what to do, the one on the right worked well with her legs and hands.Sadly, the one on the left did not know how to make the best of herself.

* Turn to one side, put your weight on the back foot, lean slightly towards the camera, tilt your head a little and bend your arms and wrists so that they are not just dangling. If you want to force a smile, don't go for the bared teeth look. instead put your tongue to the roof of your mouth for something more natural.

The incidentals make it

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 02:37:23 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

Jemma spotted this lane going down from the church when we visited two days before the wedding. We planned two different shots; one from below looking up to the church which didn't really work and this one.

I would have liked more people in the lane to fill it but we'd opted for just the main party so had to make do.

The incidental is Molly (the little girl right front) trying to make a heart shape with her hands. You just can't plan for these things to happen.

A sign of hope

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 02:37:23 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

Apparently, the couple leaving the church into the light is a sign of hope for their future so I wanted to get a shot of this.

I grabbed a couple like this with them facing me and then turned them around to face the light but looking towards each other. The light through Jade's dress was absolutely beautiful but unfortunately, because they had separated, the focus point was between them on the trees in the distance. Doh!!! Ah well, you can't win them all.

My son-in-law is a Nikon shooter

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:47:05 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

When Dave asked me what entry level DSLR he should buy, I advised him to look at the Nikon D3100. As a Canon guy, this might have seemed an odd choice but I reasoned that the equivalent Canon was not as well built as the Nikon.

I was right. Since buying the camera, Dave has produced some cracking good photos proving that his choice was a good one.

In his latest batch though, there are some that are over exposed and others that are not tack sharp. His picture of me taking this shot, for example, looks as though it suffered from camera shake and was also a tad over exposed. Apparently the D3100 can overexpose contrasty scenes and thus blows out highlights - something for Dave be aware of.

I know that Dave has moved away from the "green square" program mode and has tried others including fully manual. Unless I need to use a particular shutter speed for some reason, I usually stick to Aperture mode and set the ISO and white balance to Auto which seems to work well for me. I also shoot in RAW format which allows me to make wide ranging corrections to colour balance, exposure, shadow detail etc in Lightroom afterwards.

We have two weeks together starting Saturday on the lovely island of Mallorca. Hopefully we will have some time to talk about how he can resolve these problems and take his photography to another level.

An unusual choice Project 365(5) 12/06/2013

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 23:47:30 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

When we are out for dinner, I rarely choose chicken. Last night though, this chicken breast with rosemary along with a side salad and chips took my fancy.

Chicken breast is normally quite bland but I have to say that sauce made all the difference. I should have made a note of what it contained other than garlic and roast peppers.

Failsafe 1 Project 365(5) 11/06/2013

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:22:48 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

In case there is nothing else worth photographing today, here is the sunset from last night.

Failsafe 2 Project 365(5) 11/06/2013

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:22:47 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

In case there is nothing else worth photographing today, here is the sunset from last night.

¡Qué frío! Project 365(5) 10/06/2013

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 10:21:31 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

This thermometer shows that the pool temperature is 24.1C which is far too cold for Pam. Look at the time and you will see the sun has been on the water all day - this morning it was even colder.

I took a brave plunge the other day when the temperature was 25.6C and have to say it was "refreshing". It had better warm up soon otherwise the newly cleaned pool will see little use this summer.

Saturday we fly to Palma to meet up with Jemma, Laura, Dave and Molly for a two week holiday in a beach side villa at Puerta Pollenca. I hope the pool at the villa is warmer than this otherwise Molly won't go near it!

Sweet senoritas

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 09:35:52 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

Another one for Pete.
Just two things to say about this:
1. Beauty is in the lens of my camera.
2. The old adage about "girls in glasses" is clearly unfounded.

The mane thing

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 09:18:05 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

I just can't imagine how long it took to prepare this horse's mane ready for the Feria de Sevillanas in Bigastro.

One for Pete

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 09:18:05 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

Knowing that my friend Pete is a great lover of natural beauty, I had to post this picture for him.

Horsing around Project 365(5) 09/06/2013

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 09:18:04 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

A favourite trick amongst horsemen here in Spain is to get the horse to rear up on its hind legs. It is hard enough when you are on the horse, it must be even harder from behind.

Feria de Sevillanas 2013

Certified

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 00:58:40 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

Pam and I were in England for the end of year presentation. Fortunately one of the other members of the class picked up our diplomas along with these gifts from the town hall.

Without opening them, I'd guess they were Spanish books for children - a thoughtful giftt for those of learning the language.

My apologies.. Project 365(5) 08/06/2013

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 22:22:11 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

...for posting yet another sunset. Actually, five minutes before and it was even better and five minutes later it was gone.

I expect there is a scientific explanation for this layering of clouds but I am sorry it is beyond me.

No need for encouragement

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:09:18 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

After taking a few normal photos of these boys, Jemma suggested they should pull some funny faces. Naturally, they rose to the challenge with great enthusiasm.

Through analysis Project 365(5) 07/06/2013

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 10:16:07 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

Called in at the doctor this morning to collect the results of my blood and urine analysis which, as you can see, amounted to four sheets of A4. Three areas of minor concern: cholesterol, triglyceride and TSH.

The doctor explained that the levels were only slightly high and that tablets would not be necessary. He did give me a diet sheet though and told me to return in 3 months for a further test.

Interestingly, Pamela had similar results. Her cholesterol was slightly higher than mine as was her TSH but her triglyceride level was lower. Pamela had in fact two tests. In the first one her triglyceride level was very high at over 300. Quite how it then dropped to 119 in the space of a few weeks remains a mystery.

Testing time Project 365(5) 06/06/2013

nobody@flickr.com (Keith Williamson) — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:22:15 -0700

Keith Williamson posted a photo:

Having taken the trouble to get the pool in perfect shape for the summer, I want to ensure that the water quality is just right.

I had been using a comparator kit to measure free chlorine, total chlorine, PH and total alkalinity. The reagent tablets for the tests are probably out of date now and in any case the method relies upon comparing colours which is not entirely accurate.

The new kit uses a photo cell to measure the colour of the water sample more accurately and covers a wider range of tests including calcium hardness, potassium levels etc. Some of those tests are only necessary once or twice a season.

The important ones are chlorine levels and PH. If the PH is too low, the grouting will start to dissolve; if it is to high then the chlorine from the tablets isn't trapped in the water. If the chlorine drops then the water turns green.

The new kit should enable me to keep a close watch on what is happening and take corrective measures.