Hi All 👋 Feel free to join in this weekly challenge whenever you find yourself thinking “I’m a fan of…” (see below for how to).
This week’s Fan Of… is a branch to sit Lensy on. I’m always on the lookout for somthing to sit Lensy (my lensball) on; I can often get much clearer pictures that way. If I’m lucky there are some low or fallen branches that I can use.
Whilst writing this post, I realised that some of the shots from different times of the year had a similar composition, so I thought I’d use the compare block to display them.
How To Join In
1. Create a Fan Of… Photo Post. 2. Add a link to your Fan of… blog post in my comment box or create a pingback by linking to my post. 3. Title your post Fan Of… or add Fan Of… tag.
I needed some new gloves, so began by looking on Amazon at fingerless gloves, but quickly discounted them; didn’t want my fingers exposed the entire time. Next I looked at mittens that had a top section that folded back to reveal fingerless gloves underneath. These seemed the way to go, apart from most were made of wool & I wanted something waterproof; that and the fact that the fold back section were either held down with velcro (never lasts long) or buttons (tend to fall off & fiddly).
In the “more items to explore” section I spotted some gloves specifically for photography (a bit steep at £74). I then put gloves & photography into the search & several showed up. The ones I decided on ticked all the boxes; waterproof, the thumb & forefinger tips hinged back & were held by magnets. There were no fancy buckles either, so they’re easy to slip on & off. They do have grippy material on the palms & fingers, but to be honest, it’s the most slippy, grippy stuff I’ve come across (only downside)! They also featured in Amateur Photographer, and got a thumbs up from them.
Sewn in magnetsThumb & forefinger tips folded backThumb & forefinger tips folded back
There is a zip pocket on the back of the left glove, for spare SD cards; this pocket is actually quite big & a DSLR battery easily disappears inside!
Zip pocket
I took the gloves with me when I headed to the park in the snow, in temps hovering about zero; they kept my hands warm & dry throughout. If my finger tips got cold with the tips folded back, I put them back over my fingers, which warmed up again in no-timeThe tips folded back easily & were held well by the magnets, & went back over the finger & thumb relatively easy. They are not too bulky, either, so basic operation of the camera could be carried out without the tips folded back. When the tips were folded back, I had full dexterity for finer manipulation of the camera & lens. I could also easily operate my phone for Instagram posts without having to take my gloves off.
When I got back, my wife took a few shots of the gloves in use.
Easy off gloves in use
How To Join In
1. Create a Fan Of… Photo Post. 2. Add a link to your Fan of… blog post in my comment box or create a pingback by linking to my post. 3. Title your post Fan Of… or add Fan Of… tag.
Hi All 👋 Feel free to join in this weekly challenge whenever you find yourself thinking “I’m a fan of…” (see below for how to).
This week’s Fan Of… is Low autumn sun.
This week finally saw me back out with Snappy in one of my favourite local places, Cumbernauld House Park. I specifically headed out this morning owing to a forecast calling for clear skies, with the hope of getting some good shots using the low lying sun to create shadows & highlight the natural undulations in the Park.
This was only partially successful, for the forecast clearskies were in actuallity about 3-4 octas of StratoCu & AltoCu (once a forecsater…). I was able to gets some good shots as the sun broke through gaps in the clouds; plus bonus of being able to get some good shots for Hammad’s weekly sky challenge.
How To Join In
1. Create a Fan Of… Photo Post. 2. Add a link to your Fan of… blog post in my comment box or create a pingback by linking to my post. 3. Title your post Fan Of… or add Fan Of… tag.
Hi All 👋 Wow, I can’t believe it’s been just over a year now that I’ve been running the Water Water Everywhere challenge, so, I’ve made this the subject of my Fan Of… post this week. Thank you to all you awesome people out there that take part& I look forward to another year of awesome contributions from across the globe!
Feel free to join in whenever you have a water picture to post (any type of water, in any state, will do). See below for how to join the fun
I’ve put together a gallery of watery pictures this week, some previously posted & some new
How To Join In
Create a Water Water Everywhere Photo Post.
Add a link to your WWE blog post in my comment box or create a pingback by linking to my post.
Title your post Water Water Everywhere or add WWE tag.
Hi All 👋 Feel free to join in this weekly challenge whenever you find yourself thinking “I’m a fan of…” (see below for how to).
This week’s Fan Of… is Stormtrooper Beer
I have always been a huge fan of Star Wars since the originals back in the late 70s. Of all the characters, the much maligned Stormtroopers have always been my favourite, so, when I saw this beer on sale, with pint glass, I had to have it.
Stormtrooper Beer
Had a bit of help from my lego guys to get in to it
First, they had to get into the box!
Next was getting the bottle open.
The guys weren’t strong enough, so had to call in a Scout Walker.
Success, cheerz(One guy did get stuck in the bottle whilst checking there wasn’t any left)
How To Join In
1. Create a Fan Of… Photo Post. 2. Add a link to your Fan of… blog post in my comment box or create a pingback by linking to my post. 3. Title your post Fan Of… or add Fan Of… tag.
Hi All 👋 Feel free to join in this weekly challenge whenever you find yourself thinking “I’m a fan of…” (see below for how to).
This week’s Fan Of… is flowering cacti.
These two cacti featured last year (Fan Of… #45). They had lots of flowers on them when my wife bought them for me; the blooms lasted a long time, but as with all flowers eventually wilted & died. For a long time nothing much happened, although a couple of flowers did materialise on the pinky-orange one in Aug. Through all this time, new leafs continued to sprout & finally, almost a year after they were in bloom, pretty much over night, they went crazy with flowers.
How To Join In
1. Create a Fan Of… Photo Post. 2. Add a link to your Fan of… blog post in my comment box or create a pingback by linking to my post. 3. Title your post Fan Of… or add Fan Of… tag.
Hi All 👋 Feel free to join in this weekly challenge whenever you find yourself thinking “I’m a fan of…” (see below for how to).
This week’s Fan Of… is best wishes & being home. A massive thank you to all you awesome folk out there around the globe sending me your best wishes
For those of you that follow me, you’ll know about my recent unscheduled visit to the hospital. It all started last Wednesday with what I believed was a simple stomach ache. Come Thursday morning, it was still there but not really any worse. It was my day off so I’d already decided to head to Cumbernauld Park to boost my autumn photographs, & a bit of a sore stomach was not stopping that. Still no real issues, until lunchtime, & my first inkling that all was maybe not as it should be.
Horsechestnut leafsCumbernauld House Park
At midday, I decided to phone work & let them know that I wouldn’t be in for my 5 o’clock shift the following day & then everything (including my pain levels) started to accelerate. Within the next 3 hrs, my wife filled out the patient questionnaire on the NHS Scotland Website, was prompted in a huge red box (seriously, you can’t miss this big red box) to call an ambulance immediately & I was blue lighted & nee-nawed to Monklands hospital & there diagnosed with suspected appendicitis.
I put up a quick blog on Thursday evening (from my iPhone — ain’t technology a wonderous thing), just to let you guys know I’d be off the scene for a while.
In Monklands Hospital
Friday was a day of being prodded & poked by various knowledgable looking people, a CT Scan, & a lot of blood tests. Apparently the norm for appendicitis is an age bracket of 20-30 years old; since I’m kicking down the door of 50, they wanted to make absolutely sure that there wasn’t something else going on.
1730 rolls around & I’m off to theatre, a new one for me. Now time didn’t just accelerate, it disappeared. I’ve never had a general anaesthetic before, so wasn’t aware of what it was like. To my mind, it seems like a switch was flicked off, & some time later flicked back on. The anaesthetist had told me to think about something good as I was going under, so I remembered back to the Jurassic Park ride in Universal Studios, Hollywood, that my wife & I went on so many times, & in particular the theme music. I was humming this in my mind when I went to sleep, & was still humming it when I woke up again, wierd
Friday night was pretty uncomfortable & sleepless & Saturday afternoon I was discharged & back home. In all, I went from a sore stomach, to being back home with no appendix (and an increased sense of smell–what the?) in a little over 48 hrs (did I mention they shaved my left thigh).
I’ve still a long way to go before I’m back to normal. Although the procedure was done using keyhole surgery, it is still very invasive & I have 3 entry wounds to heal (I’m held together with upwards of 20 clamps at the moment).
I’ll be taking it quiet for a while & hope to start getting back to normal with more regular Fan Of… & Water Water Posts in a couple of weeks (sometime in November).
Again, a massive big thank youfor all the support & best wishes from you guys, makes everything a bit better when you know you’ve got folk rooting for you.
How To Join In
1. Create a Fan Of… Photo Post. 2. Add a link to your Fan of… blog post in my comment box or create a pingback by linking to my post. 3. Title your post Fan Of… or add Fan Of… tag.
Hi All 👋 Feel free to join in this weekly challenge whenever you find yourself thinking “I’m a fan of…” (see below for how to).
This week’s Fan Of… is Sun through a trees & branches. I love the eefct you can get with the sun coming directly through the branches & sometimes create a deliberate flare.
How To Join In
1. Create a Fan Of… Photo Post. 2. Add a link to your Fan of… blog post in my comment box or create a pingback by linking to my post. 3. Title your post Fan Of… or add Fan Of… tag.
Hi All 👋 Feel free to join in this weekly challenge whenever you find yourself thinking “I’m a fan of…” (see below for how to).
This week’s Fan Of… is Sun through a lensball. Whilst out recently with my lensball, some of the shots were towards the sun, resulting in some great sparkles in the lensball.
Sparkle in a lensball
How To Join In
1. Create a Fan Of… Photo Post. 2. Add a link to your Fan of… blog post in my comment box or create a pingback by linking to my post. 3. Title your post Fan Of… or add Fan Of… tag.
