Winter Gallery

Posted by Jude

I haven't added anything in a while so I thought that I would post a few pictures that I took over Christmas. It's hard to believe, looking at it now that there was as much snow as this. However I do remember the December day well, that I put on about 7 layers of clothing and ventured out, just before sunset, onto Middle Braniel Road near Gilnahirk to take these landscapes. Sensibly, no other cars were on the road which hadn't been gritted - the higher I ventured to try to get above the sunset, the more I started to worry about making it home!

As much as I think the winter skies below are beautiful, I can't wait for the warmer weather. It's much easier to use the camera without the woolly gloves......

 

All the shoes after an afternoon of sleighing with Jack, Abby, Daniel, Dougie & Brian at Knockbracken. Everyone made it back in one piece for hot chocolate it front of the fire.

The City Hall on Christmas Eve, before Brian and I went to the Carol Service at St. Anne's Cathedral. The church is beautiful, but it was freezing inside - hard to sing with chattering teeth!

Solitude, Banbridge

Had some time to kill before going to the Torturer (Dentist) this morning and also a new digital camera to get acquainted with.  So I had a walk around the new Solitude park.  Now it's not that new, about two year old if I'm honest, but I've never had a proper dander around it.  I've already had a play with the camera yesterday as shown in the last blog.

As mentioned already I'm very impressed with my new Fuji AV200.  I'd need to be as I bought 10 of them for our photo school.  The photos have all been taken with it and have not been photoshopped in anyway.  They have been edited in Lightroom and that is all, saturation tweaked and sharpness but no photoshop.  

Banbridge was my home town and I spent many hours killing time in Solitude and it's amazing how nostalgia can get you.  I had a few formative moments in life in Solitude and the the odd drop of cider to add to the mix.  It's funny how spending some time in your old home town can make you feel when you have time to really think.  I wish adults could get the message across to kids to stay being kids longer.  I dread the day my two lose their innocence.  I've been an adult 16 years and am already bored with parts of it.

Anyway I was very impressed with Solitude, particularly the Dance studio area and the amphitheatre.  I wish councils would go a bit further and give kids ownership of some public areas.  I pay my rates to Lisburn city council and they have done some great work on Wallace Park.  The kids play area is fantastic but what I'd love to see now is skateboard area and a mountain bike stunt course.  In amongst those areas could be places where kids could graffiti over and over.  Allow them to change it monthly and photograph each month so they feel like someone cares.  Then have a competition to decide which month was best.  Get the kids who are not interested in all the sport going on to photograph and paint them, that way you have a park for sporty kids and arty kids.

Kids really aren't as bad as everyone makes out at times.  Look at adult society and take a guess at the percentage of headers that we have and the percentage of headers in youth society and I would be surprised if the figure was significantly different.  Headers grow up to be big headers no shock there.  If you're from Banbridge enjoy the pics because this place has to mean something to you.

Dan's Extreme Reading Project

Dan came home from school with a task that was made for a Dad with my skills.  He had to be photographed in funky locations reading for a competition in his class.  I had just purchased 10 new compact digital cameras for a photo school That Jude, Gary and I do in our schools.

So I needed to play with my new toy to get to know it and he needed photos taken.  I felt a big light had been cast upon me and could hear the music from the classic Old Spice adverts.

The cameras I bought are all Av200's made by Fuji.  They cost the princely sum of £62 and are to shorten all this, amazing value.  They are no DSLR (non photo geeks read, big camera!) but you get what you pay for and these are a bargain.  14 megapixels and shoots HD movies, has simple modes anyone could work.  Look no further if you're in the market for a cheap digital camera the size of a cigarette packet.

Here are some of the photos of Dan in some places Health and Safety probably wouldn't be too happy about.  We start on the top of the Oil Tank.  I know we've all read on the oil tank many times but we had to start somewhere.