Peace and quiet?

 I'm wondering what peace and quiet feels like.  See the thing is I don't get much of it.  From the time I get up to the time I go to be I'm more or less with people all the time.  

I've been trying to do some videos for ages, but no matter where I go within a few minutes I'll get disturbed, either by dog walkers, or more often passing loonies.

The thing is sometimes a person likes to be alone, a bit of thinking time, a chance to chill out in peace, without making inane conversation for the sake of it.

Now I've said this before, I'm not anti social, I'll chat to anyone, but sometimes I just want to be alone, and it's getting harder and harder to find a place where a person will be left alone.

Maybe it's time for town and cities to have a "quiet space" an area with lots of benches, but no talking, somewhere a person can sit and be left alone in peace.

Town centers used to be fairly busy, but people mostly ignored each other, these days if it's not nutters coming up to say hello, it's PITA sales people bothering shoppers.  

Note to street sales people. READ the street traders consent notice, the conditions normally forbid you going onto passers by and stopping them.  That's a condition.  As is displaying the notice of consent.

So pretty please, if you see a Wayne out and about and your not one of my mates, leave me alone, please.

Did Da Vinci do pugs?

 I've heard Da Vinci was a dog lover.

If Monet and Cezanne did poppies and tardis.

 

If Mondrian did Tardis

 

 If Piet Mondrian did Tardis painting, would it look like this???

Some real photos

 Took these over the last few days for a competition.  These are my favorites.  Various cameras, but the 2 with shallow depth of field are Canon 5d3 and Sigma 50mm macro lens, the other is a TZ80.

If Van Gogh did Tardis paintings...

 

I know I'm milking the Van Gogh, but I do quite like his style of painting, for those who don't I do have other artists styles coming up...    You have been warned...

If Van Gogh did poppies.....

 

My version of Van Gogh's poppies

AI pics from my mind

 

 Yes more surreal images dreamt up by my crazy mixed up mind.  It must be hell in there.

Still, it fun to do when the weathers total crap.  I wouldn't say it's rained a lot here in my part of Wales, but I've just planted seaweed in the garden.  My neighbor is building an ark.

Anyway the pics.

 

Here's a surreal image for you.

 

 One from my fevered mind for you.

Thinking back....

 

Didn't seep that well last night, and got to thinking back on my life.

I was laying there trying to sleep and thinking of all the things I've done., and the places I've been. Some of it good, and some bad.

Reflecting like this made me wonder what sort of person I'd have been if I'd done things differently, how different my life would be now.

It's the butterfly effect.  One small change somewhere along my path and now I could be living somewhere different.

I could have ended up in Bermuda, my father nearly went there to work when I was young.

One good thing is my two sons, that I wouldn't want changed, some other things, yes I would change.

It's strange how deep things can get.

Still that's enough depressing thoughts for one day.

A local old church.

 

This burnt out a while ago, first decent shot I got of it.

Tour de pug.

 

It's the cycling pug with the yellow jersey.

Water bleater!

 

 Yes, sadly I'm back to silly titles again, at least for today.

The only limit is your imagination.

 The thing with AI is despite it's faults, the only limit is your imagination.

 

Flying the flag

 

As someone who is British and proud of it I'm flying the UK nation flag.  Or at least my version of it, the British Lion (Richard the Lionheart started the lion)  And as a man born in Wales and proud to be half Welsh I'm flying the welsh flag.  Or my version of it.  (we didn't have a lion and dragons weren't real)

Spider watch.

 Spider watch, spider watch, does whatever a spider watch does....

Yes, Wayne's been playing again.

Wedding done

Well I've done what might be my last wedding. Frankly,  I don't think I'm going to miss them as much as I first thought.

You see, while I enjoy doing them, it's bloody hard work.

Carrying a heavy camera,lens, and flash for hours is no joke when your an old bastard.  Then there's the fuck about factor. 

Time's and places to be. Dealing with stressed and sometimes drunk people. The ever changing weather. It's  a royal pain in the arse. 

This week the wind was a PITA. And getting home a nightmare.  

With a motorway closed, coupled with a motorway fixated sat navigation, and miles of dark country lanes. it was bloody hard work.

I was lucky I wasn't the driver. It was still a nuisance. 

Now all I have to do is edit the best part of a thousand images.

Gritty portrait 2

Black and white portrait.

 A gritty AI portrait. 

Fantasy scene.

 Guess who has been playing with AI.

Yep, me!

My last wedding?

 

 I've been busy sorting out my camera gear and charging about 20 camera batteries (not that I need that many) Ready for .   Drum roll.  Maybe my last wedding.

I got a wedding for a mate coming up, and with no more on the horizon, this is looking like maybe my last one.

Over the years (a lot of years) I've done a LOT of weddings, and I mean a lot.  Easily many hundred, probably thousands.  I've learned a lot since I started, and strangely out of all those there's been only a few I haven't enjoyed.

OK the first few I was nervous about, but I still enjoyed them.  The rest I've had a blast!  

Yes I know I'm mentioned I like being alone, but I've also said I'm not anti social, so getting to meet and talk to all the wonderful people I've met at weddings over 50 odd years has been fun.

I've made friends with some, others still say hello and remember me.  The same applies with other photographers.  Again I've worked with a good few.  All of whom I still think of and some I'm really good friends with.

It's been an experience.  I've had to treat casualties, mind children, deal with barmy vicars, stop fights, calm down VERY stressed brides, repair bride and grooms clothes and deal with a death.  All at weddings.

I've done then in baking heat, pouring rain, howling gales and snow.  And they say wedding photography is easy.  

So what will I miss after this one?  I'll miss the atmosphere, the meeting people, the interaction between myself and the other photographers most.  I'll miss the cooked dinners and buffets, and wedding cake (come on I'm human) and I'll miss the challenge of getting great pics in terrible places.

What wont I miss.  Orange brides, pissed grooms, fights and bad feeling between the two families. Barmy vicars, pitch dark churches and wedding venues (pay the electric bill you tight bastards). 

I wont miss the long drives, trying to find the bride or grooms house, wondering if my car will be still there when I come out.  I wont miss annoying children trying to grab my camera with sticky fingers, we're photographers not a cheche.

Nor will I miss the editing, now admittedly if you can get it right in camera, it cuts down a lot of editing, but there's a ways some that need a bit of tweaking, and others that I like to add some effects like black and white, or soft focus too..

That's a few hours over a few days, I find trying to do too many in one session gives me headaches from the screen.

All that said overall I will miss them.  Maybe I'll still get the odd one, but as I say there's nothing planned, and the wedding photography things seems to be dying.  Phone cameras I'm guessing.

Still at my ripe old age and with my various old bastards health problems, maybe it's time to hang up my camera strap, get my slippers out and start keeping chickens and settle down with my old sweetheart...... oh hell!  That's when they always get killed in the films.  So maybe not......