Simon's 52 in 2023

Three beautiful shots Simon, you chose the right one to post to the main thread.
 
Fuji Dave said:
Never seen a white falcon before, my favourite out of the images.
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Peter123 said:
lovely bird. You did a good job with your pocket camera.
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Thanks both

The RX100vi is a fantastic little camera. Optically so good. Tiny - yes. Fiddly- a bit. But you get used to it. It takes really lovely images.
 
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The red kite is awesome! Fabulous shot!
 
Week 27 Torn & Tech close up

Rather than waiting until the last minute (as per the last tech), I thought I'd try and get this one out of the way quickly. It's close-ish enough I think to qualify as "close-up", but maybe if another theme opportunity lends itself in the next couple of months I can submit a second one (is that allowed @Cobra?).

Anyway, as you can see, and perhaps smell, this is some torn basil......ah, summer days...:)

DSCF0288 by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr
 
That's real nice. Fresh and vibrant. Nice soft shadows under the tomatoes too.

A spray or mist of water on the tomatoes might have worked??
 
overbez said:
That's real nice. Fresh and vibrant. Nice soft shadows under the tomatoes too.

A spray or mist of water on the tomatoes might have worked??
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Thanks Graham. Placed on a white board near a window but with a bounced flash off the ceiling (I’m not that good with flash so was always going to be a bit hit and miss as to whether it worked!).
 
Week 28 - Unsightly

I knew straight away what to shoot for this week's theme. These old public conveniences on Barry Island have been falling apart for years. They are supposed to be completely renovated into some sort of eatery (I know, I know :puke:) at some point, but whether it'll ever happen is anyone's guess.

Anyhow, they're pretty unsightly. I was going to go with the second one initially, but seeing the brightly painted boarding "Welcome to the Vale of Glamorgan" on the other side sort is sort of an added bonus in the sense of "Welcome and what a mess! ". Maybe the marketing team at the Council need a nudge.... :LOL:

Unsightly 1 by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr

Unsightly 2 by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr
 
Yep. Either of those but the irony of the Council's advert really makes the first one.
 
Looks good in a bad way :)

There's a big public toilets near the hospital in WIgan that you could smell as you poassed on the bus. Now a lovely small cafe and pongless :)
 
-Oy- said:
Looks good in a bad way :)

There's a big public toilets near the hospital in WIgan that you could smell as you poassed on the bus. Now a lovely small cafe and pongless :)
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Cheers Dave. I hope this will be pongless, whatever it eventually turns out to be :)
 
Welcome indeed, I wonder if whoever decided on the location for the sign also feels the building needs to be sorted one way or other.
 
nog said:
Welcome indeed, I wonder if whoever decided on the location for the sign also feels the building needs to be sorted one way or other.
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It is supposed to be being completely refurbished (though I'm not yet sure into what), and nothing overly significant that I can see is happening yet. It's an eyesore for sure!
Thanks for dropping by and the comment Keith! (y)
 
I think they wanted to turn it into a restaurant, at least the toilets will be plummed in :)

Just saw the bird pics very nice.
 
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Week 30 - Windows

Yesterday I did a walking tour of Cardiff's Victorian arcades - those that are still here, and a few that are long gone. It was a fascinating insight into a city I've lived in (or near) for the last 40 odd years and I learnt a lot from the informed and knowledgeable tour guide (who's only lived in Cardiff for 5 years!!!)
It was also a great opportunity to take some great street shots that hooked perfectly into this week's theme. Still got a lot to learn about street photography, but I hope you like these.

This is one of the new buildings adjacent to Cardiff Central railway station. The area is awash with new buildings with loads of glass including the new BBC building. I'm not sure what this one is, but I liked the angles and windows against the sky.

New building by Cardiff Central Station by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr

This building sits on Queen St, one of the main shopping thoroughfares in the city. I was taken by the ornate architecture, with hints of Venetian influence - the tour guide said that this was probably because this building once sat adjacent to a canal (long since filled and built over) and was likely built like this to copy Venice. Unfortunately difficult to get a clean shot due to the trees, and my vertical alignment processing skills aren't up to much!

Building on Queen St by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr

The iconic Cardiff Castle Clock Tower - It's fairly heavily HDR processed on purpose to make the colours pop - the original was a bit "meh", but I've also been learning about exposure bracketing this week and used this technique to try and test out my new knowledge!

Cardiff Castle Clock Tower HDR Merge by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr

I love this shot. It's actually taken inside one of the Arcades, so totally undercover. I like the "street lights" and the stained glass window.

Duke St HDR Merge by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr

Taken outside the famous Cardiff Market - it is a window, but there's this huge canvas behind picturing the produce which I thought was just a bit different.

Outside aCardiff Market by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr
 
A great set, and I think you chose the best image. Interesting to learn about the canal.
 
Boots said:
A great set, and I think you chose the best image. Interesting to learn about the canal.
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Thanks Paul. The old Glamorganshire canal ran from Merthyr Tydfil right through to theCardiff docks originally Most of it in and around Cardiff was built over, but they're currently uncovering a small section not far from where this was shot, with the intention of opening up a "canal quarter".
 
Week 31 - Abandoned

We're currently away for our standard August family holiday in Pembrokeshire. This week's theme came out just before we went, so I had some immediate thoughts as to what might fit the bill, and today's bright(ish) sunshine - possibly the only sun we'll get this week, gave me an opportunity to try and get what I wanted.Neither shot is perfect by a long way, but the essence is there.

This area has a long history of slate quarrying, although that ceased a long time ago. There are however, plenty of reminders about the place and these two shots are prime examples of that.

This first shot is of the disused slate quarry at Abereiddy. It's now known as the "Blue Pool" or Blue Lagoon" or "Morlyn glas" in Welsh.It's as deep as the cliffs at the back are high, although local legend is that it's bottomless. Red Bull held a round of their cliff diving championships here a few years ago. When the slate working was finished, a narrow gap was blasted into the rocks at the front which you can just about make out, to let the sea in. At low tide this is dry, but today was a full high tide. Coasteering parties love this spot and you can just about make out some people on the far side about to jump in. When the tide's out, that drop is high!!!!!!!

Abandoned 2 by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr

The quarried slate was taken around to Porthgain, a small harbour couple of miles away close to another quarry area. The old brick stone hoppers, now ivy clad, still line the dock at the harbour, but I couldn't get a decent unobstructed shot today. The shot below was the best I could do - not great, but gives a sense of scale of the operation. I've been coming on holiday to this area so long (50 years!!) that I remember these without the ivy and other greenery growth!

Porthgain by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr

Instead, this next shot is from the old workings buildings above Porthgain close to the long silent quarry.

Abandoned 1 by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr
 
Nice set and best one chosen. Would look good in mono.
 
Abandoned is a nice set, looks an interesting site. There is a similar site on Anglesey coast- Porth Wen brickworks
 
Love the windows against the clouds and blue sky - nice perfect vertical in the centre, and the perspective of the sides coming in emhasises the "looking up".

Your HDR shots don't scream HDR which is always a good thing!

The old quarry building work well too - like the green, blue and red colours making a nice simple pallette.
 
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