johnloguk > 24.2.08 - Ellis Mill. The grey drizzly weather suited my grey drizzly mood today, but I decided not to stay in being miserable again. A lunctime beer cheered me up, then I walked down the road to visit this old working windmill. It was very quiet so I got a 1:1 guided tour which was brilliant. The mill is kept going by volunteers, and they certainly know their stuff. I've had a bit of a play in photoshop, to add a bit of drama to what was a pretty flat photo to start with, and I'm quite happy with this result.

There is more info on the mill here; http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/section.asp?docId=46233
johnloguk > 1.2.08 - I finally decided to start a daily photo gallery late in the evening of Feb 1st '08, which kind of restricted what photos I could take for that day. No chance to walk outside and take a photo of the local nature reserve, or a nice sunset over Lincoln Cathedral. I'm very comfortable taking landscapes, but haven't taken any indoor photos in natural light for a long time. Anyway, these scented candles seemed an obvious choice in the end. I experimented a bit with different set-ups and lines of focus, and after much deliberation I decided that I liked this shot the most. Ah well, now I've started I'm commited to a photo a day, let's see how long I can keep it up and where it will take me.
johnloguk > 11.5.08 - Lincoln Grand Prix Cycle Race. I've done a bit of sports photography in the past, but mainly running events where I personally knew a lot of the competitors. This was my first cycle race, and it was a real challenge. Until you've watched a top class cycle race you have no idea how fast the riders go. There is no time to set up your shot. Once you have seen them coming it is too late, you need to be prepared in advance. Luckily I knew the course, and with 11 laps of an 8 mile circuit I could move around and capture the action at different places. This probably isn't my best shot from the race, but it does sum up the efforts of the riders and the encouragement of the big crowd. It has been a beautiful day, maybe too hot for riders on the 1:6 climb up the cobbles of Michaelgate, but perfect for spectators. The colours, sights, sounds and smells of the race were fantastic. I missed several good shots because I was too busy cheering and clapping the riders!

Full results and race reports can be found on the event website at  http://www.lincolngrandprix.org.uk/webtest/frontpageframes.htm  

I have a big gallery of shots from today at:  http://johnloguk.smugmug.com/gallery/4911469_jXkRM#293306267_sq3Fj

I've just found this video of last years event in the pouring rain! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8DTYDQhBJc&feature=related
johnloguk > 23.3.08 - Merry Christmas...whoops, I mean..oh you know what I mean, the snow this morning confused me! This isn't my best shot from today, but it tickled me and I knew it had to be my DP. It was really funny this morning. No sooner had I walked up to the Cathedral area than the place was swarming with photographers, including Steve, all clammering for the same views and trying to make the most of our biggest snow fall for years. I've got loads to work through and edit, but I'll create a gallery of some of the prettier and more creative shots and add them later.    

A gallery of the rest of my photos from today is here;  http://johnloguk.smugmug.com/gallery/4569358_QePgN/1/269329315_JgBMY#269329315

I've added a few to my "Watercolours" gallery too here;     http://johnloguk.smugmug.com/gallery/4518270_XDZuH#269327191
johnloguk > 30.3.08 - It is the first day of British Summer Time today, so we were expecting rain! But no, it has been a beautiful bright sunny day. The City itself ground to a standstill this morning as thousands took part in the annual 10km road race, so I thought I'd go for a walk along the river to the East of town and get away from the crowds. I took loads of nice pastoral landscapes, all very "me", plus a few interesting shots of industrial dereliction. It has been really difficult choosing a DP out of about 70 shots, but I've gone for this one as it a very different subject for me. 

I found this graffitti under an old railway bridge, right out in the countryside, a very non-urban setting. Mischievously I originally thought I'd do a pastiche on "street art", giving it the high contrast grainy monochrome treatment, with maybe a quirky angle for good measure. But I thought that was a cheap shot, and decided to give it the "John treatment" instead. I hope it is effective, and yet again I've ended up with a very different DP to what I had envisaged when I left the house.

I'll post some of the pastoral images somewhere later, but I've already uploaded a couple of my more adventurous shots from today here;  http://johnloguk.smugmug.com/gallery/4328734_9ZqLR#272304080
johnloguk > 6.6.08 - New Life. It has been another grey day here, incredibly grey in fact. The sky has been amazing for it's almost total lack of texture, just flat gun metal grey. I went for my regular walk round the Nature Reserve and quarry after I finished work for the day/week, and found this splash of colour. Not long ago this was a working limestone quarry, nothing but naked rock and dust, but it is rapidly being colonised by wildflowers. I'm not sure what these are, but they are very common. Some people even have them in their gardens locally, but there are meant to be some rare orchids out there at the moment. It is one of my tasks to find them for you over the weekend :)

On a different note today is the 64th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Sadly my Dad died in 2002, but he was very proud to be a Normandy Veteran, and he got great pleasure in his later years from meeting up with his old mates, many of whom he hadn't seen since the War. They were great company and had some wonderful stories to tell, expecially after a few beers :)

So this image of new life from a barren landscape is dedicated to my Dad and his old comrades.
johnloguk > 2.5.08 - Light Relief! OK after yesterday's rather depressing shot of the "don't jump" sign I thought we all needed a bit of a giggle :)

This is particularly aimed at American SmugMuggers, most of whom won't have seen a roundabout in the flesh. I know they drive on the wrong side of the road in mainland Europe, but at least you do have roundabouts. I saw one in Edmonton, Canada once, but I don't think I ever saw one in the US. As a child a remember my American Uncle nearly wiping out half the family, by attempting to go the wrong way round a roundabout while visiting over here. And yes, I have noticed that the guy in the red car hasn't closed his door properly :)
johnloguk > 8.4.08 - Industrial Farming. After a few days of pastoral images I thought it was time I added some grit and grime, and maybe even a bit of politics to my DPs. This farm is right next to an "Eco Centre" and Nature Park, and it often stands in stark contrast to its neighbours. When the wind is in the East the smells coming from here are beyond belief, much worse than the usual "farm aromas". I'm sure there isn't anything sinister going on here, and although I'm a keen environmentalist I hate the hyped media nonsense about "Frankenstein Foods" etc. But then why do they need so many CCTV cameras around the place? The treatment makes it look a bit like Chernobyl on a bad day, but it's all a bit of fun really, isn't it?  ;-)

I took this at the Eco Centre next door, and it was a close contender for DP today;  http://johnloguk.smugmug.com/gallery/4518270_XDZuH#276718760_qQVBD-A-LB
johnloguk > 10.3.08 - Time to reflect, and be a bit more abstract again. We had another stunning sunset yesterday, some shots of which appear in my sunsets gallery here  http://johnloguk.smugmug.com/gallery/4053411_yY5Qg#264153925  

But this "throw away" shot just as I got back to the car caught my eye when I was processing them this morning. Strange how you set out with one intention, and completely change tack later on.
24.2.08 - Ellis Mill. The grey drizzly weather suited my grey drizzly mood today, but I decided not to stay in being miserable again. A lunctime beer cheered me up, then I walked down the road to visit this old working windmill. It was very quiet so I got a 1:1 guided tour which was brilliant. The mill is kept going by volunteers, and they certainly know their stuff. I've had a bit of a play in photoshop, to add a bit of drama to what was a pretty flat photo to start with, and I'm quite happy with this result.

There is more info on the mill here;http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/section.asp?docId=46233
johnloguk > 24.2.08 - Ellis Mill. The grey drizzly weather suited my grey drizzly mood today, but I decided not to stay in being miserable again. A lunctime beer cheered me up, then I walked down the road to visit this old working windmill. It was very quiet so I got a 1:1 guided tour which was brilliant. The mill is kept going by volunteers, and they certainly know their stuff. I've had a bit of a play in photoshop, to add a bit of drama to what was a pretty flat photo to start with, and I'm quite happy with this result.

There is more info on the mill here; http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/section.asp?docId=46233
24.2.08 - Ellis Mill. The grey drizzly weather suited my grey drizzly mood today, but I decided not to stay in being miserable again. A lunctime beer cheered me up, then I walked down the road to visit this old working windmill. It was very quiet so I got a 1:1 guided tour which was brilliant. The mill is kept going by volunteers, and they certainly know their stuff. I've had a bit of a play in photoshop, to add a bit of drama to what was a pretty flat photo to start with, and I'm quite happy with this result.

There is more info on the mill here;http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/section.asp?docId=46233
See photo in gallery

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