Oborne, Dorset, February 2010

More scurrying ducks, slow shutter speed & panning the camera to follow them

Church wall

Reflection in car's front end

120th visitor country is...

Bolivia! Congratulations and welcome to you! Been waiting for this number for a long time!

Sherborne, Dorset, UK, February 2010

Lali cutting up fresh khachapuri (Georgian cheese bread) made with a mix of extra mature cheddar & a bit of stilton cheeses - yum!

Ducks moving along, Oborne, Dorset

Sherborne, Dorset, UK, January 2010

Espresso, meet capuccino. Tony, meet Ruth

Tony trying in vain to blow out the blasted self-relighting candles on his birthday cake, to the endless amusement of Anne Charlotte, June, Karen and Mark, with Lali behind the camera lens

Yummy mince-stuffed cabbage rolls, part of my birthday supper, which was mostly delicious and sorely missed Georgian food

Sherborne, Dorset, UK, January 2010

New job: part-time chef (among other things) at a nursing home in Sherborne). First time I've had the proper uniform!

A couple of shots from the UK's Big Freeze of earlier in January. Not much snow if you're used to it, but if you're not, a whole new world in both good and bad ways

Sherborne, Dorset, UK, January 2010

Weeeellll, it's about time I posted some more photos before I forget HOW. Got a new part-time job which is keeping me busy - about which more later.

Eggs, shop window

Lali & our hostess, Anne Charlotte McDermid, outside the house (our window is top left)

Dogs patiently waiting for owner outside a supermarket

Sherborne, Dorset, UK, January 2010

Tony & Lali doing what the kissing gate tells them to

Katy & Paul doing what Tony tells them to

Sherborne, Dorset, UK, January 2010

Ice near Sherborne New Castle - structure and pattern everywhere one cares to look

Sherborne, Dorset, UK, January 2010

Pond ice at home... goldfish don't mind it at all, they're safe below

Sherborne, Dorset, UK, January 2010

Dear Me: Happy 43rd Birthday!

A frosted leaf, in shadow and sunlight

View over Sherborne including its ancient Abbey

Sherborne, Dorset, UK, January 2010

Just frost scrapings off a car window... and observation drinking in the amazing capabilities of H2O to take on any form

Sherborne, Dorset, UK, late December 2009

William McDermid doing his stuff - he's an amazing magician, baffling, self-confident, great at parties. Once again, I'm playing with slow shutter and flash to freeze at the same time.

Sherborne, Dorset, UK, late December 2009

Bookshelf items noticed in passing for the umpteenth time

Sherborne, Dorset, UK, late December 2009

That festive period between Christmas and New Year's Day... a Sunday pub lunch (hooked on blur/shutter), and late Christmas cake, which I hated as a child but have since grown to love

Pond Ice, Sherborne, UK

A fascinating discovery: pond ice 1/2-1" thick, cracked with the heel of my shoe, reveals nice (polarised?) light patterns in the fault lines

Weymouth, UK

Happy New Decade!!!

Seagull

Reflection

Window frame

Sherborne, Dorset, UK, December 2009

Morris Dancer's splendid jacket

Ancient High Street architecture, Sherborne

Ivy

Morris Dancers, Sherborne, UK, December 2009

More of the local Morris dancers doing their thing for the amusement of all

Christmas Preparations 2009, Sherborne, Dorset, UK

Merry Christmas everyone!

Getting crazy with the combination of slow shutter speed and flash, to both blur and freeze motion in the same frame. Top: rotating the lens. Middle: moving it sideways. Bottom: zooming in!

Interestingly, some of the tree lights we put up are revealed to be flickering at a very fast speed, which is why they are not smooth lines but dotted ones. By the way, we DID also have fun putting up the tree...