‘Life you know…’.
This afternoon whilst walking around the Cathorpe Interchange, Leicestershire’s version of Spaghetti Junction, I came across this little lady. (Well I think it is a lady as I don’t have the best track record when identifying Dragonflies or other insects for that matter). The reason why she was there is because there are several balancing ponds around the junction which are great habitat for all manner of invertebrates.
So last night saw the last ‘Blue Moon‘ until 2037. This of course got me standing out in the dark pointing my camera and rather large lens at the moon. So here we are – the last Blue Moon for more than a decade. Exciting isn’t it. If you are wondering why it is not blue well that is because a blue moon isn’t blue but rather it is the 13th full moon of the year which is rather rare.
The moon really is a wonderful object but it is almost unmeasurably tiny, as is the earth, when viewed against the infinite (almost?) size of the cosmos.
The only time I was able to capture a ‘blue’ moon was when clouds and contrails drifted across the sky and the light reflect from the moon was refracted through them.
In other news…
Blast from the past….I’ve been working through some of my older iPhone images and I came across this one from 2015. When I se works like this I always wonder just how many pieces have of the exploded building, in this case a shed, they get in the correct place. I suspect with all the best will in the world something missing or in the wrong place. Either way it was a fascinating piece of work to encounter.
A few more images from walking around the local area with an iPhone…summer is fast descending into autumn and these warm sun afternoons will soon gain a sharper edge. The nights are now really starting to draw in.
Soon be time to start taking the vitamin D the bones aren’t getting any younger.
I’m relistening to The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry and this inspired the sketch above. The book is about a fallen poet, Ted Wallace, who is sent on quest by his goddaughter at the grand country house of his oldest friend. In truth it really is a thinly veiled caricature of Fry himself with the Wallace, a burnt out metropolitain snob, and a screaming queen director called Oliver Mills acting as two sides of Fry’s own character – well at least that is how it appears to me having consumed a couple of his biographies. The advantage of the audiobook is that it allows Fry give these two characters their full throated roar. Wonderful.
The film of the same name is an edited version of the book but is still so much fun with Roger Allam as Ted and Tim McInnerny as Mills. Both are on great form. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t do each of their character’s full justice but what you get is still very good.
Life is a very strange experience – very strange. We struggle though somehow and yet do we really understand what the hell is happening? I really don’t think so unless we are so Donald Trump delusional. I suspect most people are just happy the creep into their bed at night knowing they got through another day. Or is it just me?
Take me. A month ago I was convinced that my latest iPhone’s camera really wasn’t that good. I’ve written(?) about it on this blog but then someone asks the obvious question and suddenly I have to go back and reappraise how I’m using the iPhone and now I have changed my mind. However, a lot of things have happened in the last month to change a lot of things in my life so perhaps these might have had an influence as well?
I don’t know what mixture of influences, stray comic rays or ineffable plans have come together but I have changed my mind.
See life is strange.
What is there not to like? A warm late summer afternoon, a camera, a selection of excellent lenses and a sky to die for. It was so nice to just enjoy capturing images.
The extra bonus comes from the fact that these images can be used in a long running project called Gartree Explored, the third of a series of projects to capture images in the district council areas of Leicestershire. This was started back in 2020 and then, well, COVID happened which somewhat put a stop to things. Lets just hope it doesn’t take another 3 years to finish this.
Humble Pie is being consumed. I know I bitched about the camera et al on the iPhone but it would seem that what the real problem was with the operator. Perhaps a bit harsh and melodramatic but it is true. The difficulty getting reasonable images out of my iPhone was me or rather I wasn’t working the images before passing them onto my post production system. Know the main problems with iPhone images is physics: crap lens and incredibly small sensor. In the world of image quality size really does matter. However, as an everyday camera the iPhone has regained its position and I am so glad about that. Yipee. (I have no shame)
Over the past few months I’ve been moaning about the images I have captured with my iPhone. Then yesterday I had a short exchange with a fellow blogger about my views on the iPhone which got me thinking…is it the iPhone or is it me? So I went back over 14 years of images (yes it has been that long!) and then the penny dropped. I really should start to engage with the current iPhone app rather than just dismissing it. When I did that I found that images that I had previously abandoned suddenly became interesting.
I have been so energised by the process that it has inspired me to create a new book. Life is funny at times.
Footnote
This is what the WordPress AI thought of this post….
To improve the post:
1. Consider expanding on the specific features or techniques of the iPhone app that were found to be beneficial in capturing interesting images.
2. Elaborate on the themes or concepts that inspired the new book to provide additional context for readers.
3. Explore the emotions or thoughts behind the process of going through 14 years of images, highlighting any significant discoveries or insights.
The current structure and inclusion of images effectively support the content. Ensure the post has a strong conclusion that summarises the overall impact of the iPhone app and the author’s journey.
I’m really glad I don’t give a fig about these things…(BTW that was written by a human – ME not AI)
I know, I know, I don’t like the iPhone camera or rather what the software does with the images captured. But when the iPhone is the only camera you have with you then you have to make the best of a bad job. Actually this make it sound like I was suddenly transported into this strange lightshow unprepared but that wasn’t the case at all. We had planned to see the Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience at All Saints church in Leicester for a couple of days so I could have taken a better camera – but I didn’t (what does that say about me?). So I can’t gripe about the camera but I will anyway – as anyone who might read the above will see.
The show itself was really quite good, although we did baulk at paying an extra fee for the Virtual Reality experience. I have seen a number of Van Gogh’s greatest paintings in real life so I don’t need to see a ‘virtual‘ version.
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