An unexpected new buddy crashed landed on Wednesday

Hi buddies
It's been a while.
Afterall it's summer in the UK and for a short while we are out busy, things to do, places to be, people to see.
It's summer break and that means the kids are out of school.
Indeed it's been a time of country side travels, loads of cycling and more importantly many hours with the camera in search of that elusive image!!
Well I trust you are having fun wherever you maybe.

Don't foreget to send in an image that depicts beauty to you. I would relish the opportunity to see that.
I leave you today with an image of a buddie I befriended today.

Here's the short story.
I was returning from the grocer when I noticed this little creature in distress on the pavement. Picked him up and settled him into my garden after taking a few choice images of this incredible chap.
In summary he/she a dragon fly, about 5 inches long with distinct yellow and brown colouring and hasn't moved in almost 5 hours.
So I lay him down and thinking I can't give him mouth to mouth, Perhaps some sugar water or a leaf or two?
I'm like " hey buddie lift your face off the surface".
He's probably thinking, "just leave me be for a few minutes".
I'm again, " it can't be that bad, time to shake a leg".
Anyway, hopefully he'll be himself in the morning.

To my returning readers, wishing you all a great day!
And welcoming new visitors from China, Korea and Latin America.
Ni hao, Anjoung haseyo and my favorite HOLA!

You are welcome to visit my FaceBook page @ https://www.facebook.com/ValentynePhotography
In the next couple of weeks I hope to have my 'images for sale on canvas' available up and running.
So here is that image of my new buddie.

Happy Wednesday
Dave

Photography services offered in Berkshire and surround

Informal and dedicated Photography services on location to capture your life event and experience. Shared on CD as well as transferred to canvas.

I am an investigative,curious and passionate photographer. This means I will take the time and do whatever it takes to create the image that brings to life your dream. I am pragmatic and informal in my approach to making my clients feel comfortable no matter the setting.

I speciliase in covering occasions such as

* family experiences

* personal portraits

* adventure settings

* commercial images

* party events

* modelling stills and artistic depictions

I also love taking scenic landscapes and am very happy to share those images with customers on canvas.

You can find me on https://www.facebook.com/ValentynePhotography

Wishing you a great day!

Dave

Moving through midweek

Greetings, its midweek

I sincerely hope you are having a great week?!

If communication is about sending out a message and someone receiving it...

...then surely a photograph is a great way to communicate. I find that I spend more time immersed in photographs than my other family members and that’s understandable as photography is my passion. When I ask them about this image or that one I don’t see as much interest as I hope for. So I have taken to dabbling in ‘High Dynamic Range’ (HDR), which demonstrates the dynamic range of light between light and dark. The finished photograph definitely then takes on a more dynamic and vibrant feel at times which seems to garner a little more attention.

Adding a description or comment to an image often provides greater context to the photographic message. On many occasions it’s also fine to simply put the picture out there and let folk observe the image, let them construct their own story and derive their own personal message from it.

Here is one that depicts life and dynamic movement for me.

I hope you like some of my new stills on the HDR page and trust you are constructing great mental stories for the rest of your week.

Cheers Dave

Saturday salutations!

I’d like to say THANK YOU to all those visitors who have stopped in at my site.

In 2 short weeks the site has passed 1000 views.

I name some of the countries from where you have visited from:

UK, USA, China, Russia, France, Austria, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Pakistan,  Australia, Netherlands, Serbia, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Japan, Germany, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Belgium, Italy, Norway, Kenya, Poland, Argentina, Switzerland and sunny South Africa...

...and so to mark the 1000 visitor milestone, I set a challenge and dare you to send me a picture of someone or something you consider to be beautiful and explain why (email on contact page). I’ll post the top image or image with your words.

To start off, I took this picture of a dear friend of mine’s (Stacey) pets.  It reminds me that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'. These two feel and look beautiful. I for one found them both adorable.

Happy Saturday

Dave

Making hay while the sun shines!

Greetings from sunny Berkshire in the UK,
Today has been a wonderfully warm and generous day.
Hell... there's a saying as we all know, 'make hay while the sunshines'.
That's precisely what I did and combined all of my passions, cycling, outdoors, photography and time with my boys.
We set off for a late afternoon cycle and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the countryside.

I trust you are taking advantage of opportunities as they arise?!
Here's to making hay while the sun shines.
Best regards
Dave

Summer arrived with a bang!

Greetings readers

Firstly I like to thank those following my blog and especially those that have taken the time out to leave a comment. And then I am delighted to know that folk from as far as the US, SA, Russia, Australia, Thailand, UAE, Canada, Paraguay and various Europe countries are visiting the site to view my images.  

Well the last few weeks have been exceptionally hot in the UK. They say be careful what you wish for. After a dreadfully cold winter we were looking to the heavens for some warmth. That arrived with some record breaking temperatures. I didn’t have to look further than my own street to witness the rising temperatures melting the tar on the road surface. On another day I saw a dog give up chase on his feline bounty to lie down and take some respite. In my garden I had cracks appearing in the clay earth which were almost wide enough to hide unwanted birthday gifts.  But mostly the searing heat brought a complete stillness at times. I begin to appreciate why the Spanish enjoy their ‘siesta’ in the summer afternoons.

On a Spanish mid-afternoon walkabout I took this picture. 

People and dogs aside I couldn’t even detect a fly moving in the August heat.  Not far off from what we were experiencing back in UK.

Well needless to say we have been enjoying some home cooked BBQ’s in the garden. I can also add the most popular and used consumable in our household has been good old fashioned ice lollies. My family has been devouring these refreshing beauties right up to bedtime to choke out the unbearable heat.

And then like all good things, they have to end soon enough. That’s when the unusual lightening arrived followed by spectacular thunderstorms bringing torrential rain and flooding in places.

In two weeks we have experienced extreme weather from all of the continents arriving simultaneously, which makes the UK an interesting and definitely unpredictable place to enjoy summer.

Wishing you a great day and lots of sunshine ahead!

Dave

Passionate Tuesday

Hey it’s Tuesday and life is great!

So I came across a great reading piece on LinkedIn and wanted to share it with you.

Finding your passion in work

It’s all about passion in the work place & living your dream, since life is no dress rehearsal.

Well, what does that have to do with photography you may ask?

To which I reply, “It has everything to do with photography”.

As photographers we are always looking for new angles, new ways of seeing the world around us.

it's about identifying messages through visual cues or linking natures beauty to our every working day.

And so I have a great picture I took a year or so ago.

Mushrooms grow quickly, almost appearing like a fever over –night, not unlike passion unleashed, with focus and immense power to burst forth, hence the common expression ‘to mushroom’.

Today’s message: “Review your place in the business environment, adapt your position if need be and then unleash your passion like a mushroom bursting out of the ground”.

By the way, when something grows so quickly from almost nothing, surely there is wonder at work?

Share my blog with your pals and then please leave a message.

Big hugs and welcoming Wednesday!

Dave