Category: Family

Family related posts; generally only of interest to fellow members of the Brown Clan and relations by Marriage into this mad house.

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No Blog Tuesday – and possibly Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

Steep Hill GigIts sometimes tough, sometimes very enjoyable, but when I started this blog I set the rules that I would blog at least once a month, and where possible four times a week; Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Well so far I have been pretty good and I have managed to keep to my rule.  For the rest of this week though I’ll not be blogging.  The reason is that we are moving.

No not virtually but physically.  Currently we live in a lovely village just outside Lincoln but it does lack room and when ever I need to use a studio I have to hire a space, either in Lincoln or my favourite studio in Worksop.

Studio Complex Lighting Setup
Studio Complex Lighting Setup

Well this week we are now moving to another lovely village near Lincoln but this time, we have room not only for my office, but also for my Photographic Studio; and also for Caroline’s Craft Studio.  It will be a while before we have everything fully setup, and will be welcoming clients and models to our new place but this week is the start.

So lots of hard work ahead but great times are ahead.

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iPhone 5S, 5C and iOS 7

iphone 5sWell its going to be a busy week for Apple.  We have the release of the new hardware this week, basically tweaks and improvements to my current iPhone 5.

I am more interested in iOS 7, there are some significant user interface improvements that I am looking forward to, and I will be one of the first to upgrade all of the family Brown Apple devices to it on Wednesday when its released a couple of days before the new phone.

If your after more details about the new Phones and iOS 7 check out Apple’s website and also MacRumours, as well as some interest thoughts from Chris on his Blog; (i)Phone Update Part 1 & (i)Phone Update Part 2.

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Make your own Coffee

Inventors Blend

 

I have to admit to being a bit of a coffee geek.  In the office I make good coffee with an aeropress, I hand grind all my coffee fresh each morning.  At home I tend to use a Chemex but also sometimes a Kalita pourover, and when the mood takes me even a Turkish Hob Coffee pot.

I like to support the local coffee roaster but also buy coffee mail order from great online shops like Hasbean.

Recently Hasbean have being doing monthly specials, coffee blends that are a bit risky, a bit different, some you will love some you will hate but always different and educational to the palette.

This month they are being different again and offering you the chance to make your own blend, four very different beans, which you can mix to produce your own, looks like I am going to have a fun month!

 

 

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Heading Home

Aysgarth-4After a few days in Scotland it was time to head home, but we did not want the holiday to finish just yet.  So we made a quick phone call to one of our favourite Bed & Breakfast establishments, Heather Cottage.  They had room so that was going to be our next destination.

We made our way through Kilder Forest, then headed to Hawes in North Yorkshire for a cream tea before finally arriving at Heather Cottage in Aysgarth.  A lovely village, well worth a visit and lots of photographic  options around.  I do recommend a tripod if you are visiting.

Tomorrow we are heading to Whitby for lunch and then home.  Its been a great holiday and a great biking holiday.

 

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Visiting Melrose

Melrose Abbey

After our day in Jedburgh, we decided to hit the road, but ever so briefly and visit Melrose.  We made a quick stop first, just on the outskirts of Jedburgh to visit a quilt shop.  Caroline was restrained and only bought one kit, well we had limited luggage space on the bike ;).

A quick ride out and we were soon at Melrose.

It was a hot day and we left the helmets and gloves with the bike when we parked up.  We then quickly found a air conditioned tearoom to cool down and relax.

Sandwiches, Bannock Cake, and petit cakes, with Caroline having a pot of tea was lunch dealt with; it was now time to visit Melrose Abbey.

The lady at the till kindly offered to look after our jackets while we went round the Abbey.

Melrose Abbey Remains

 

After the Abbey we visited the local gardens.Flowers at Melrose

The gardens were used to produce dried flowers.  They still had a drying room and a lady there demonstrated some of the techniques they used.

Melrose Drying Room

Wondering round the gardens, taking in the views and taking photographs.  As we were on the bike I just had the Nikon V1 with me.  Walking round the gardens it proved to be an excellent choice.

Melrose House

With my biker jacket hung over one shoulder I only had one hand to operate the camera, but the V1 can easily be operated with one hand as long as you do not need to change modes.

SweetpeasOne handed operation and being able to quickly change settings is something to consider in small cameras.

Melrose was a great day out, if a little warm.  Heading back to Jedburgh we went via Kelso as that is another place we want to spend some time in the future.  As we rode through the town, the bunting was out and crowds lined the streets.  There was even groups of men and women on horse back.  Like the recent event in Jedburgh the riders were going to ride the boundaries of the town.  With its cobbled streets the town is definitely on our list for another longer visit.

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Travelling up to Shetland Islands

The Shetland Islands are some of the most beautiful islands in the British Isles. The easy way of getting there is to fly and to hire a car. We did it the hard way, a long drive up on day one, stopping at Kinross.

Day two was and easy drive to Aberdeen where we caught the over night ferry to Lerwick, the modern capital of the Shetlands.

Once on board we found some comfy recliner arm chairs and made ourselves at home.

The ferry was due to depart at 19.00 that night. Just before we set sail I headed up on deck with the Leica M8 and the 35mm Summicron.

I photographed a few structural items on deck and also took a few shots of Aberdeen with my iPhone which I tweeted (@r1chardbwrn).

As the ship started to sail we had quite a crowed join us on the top deck, as well as photographing the city, disappearing into the distance and setting sun, I photographed some of my fellow passengers as we watched the city disappear over the horizon.

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I thought the people on board made more interesting subjects then the scenery.

When we took the ferry from the Isle of Skye to the Outer Hebrides I took the SLR, long lens and monopod, this time with it being an overnight ferry to the Shetlands, the big lens and SLR’s were safely tucked away in the boot (trunk to our American Friends) of the car. I spent the crossing trying to photograph the puffins. So this time my subjects were the ship, crew and passengers.

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That evening I once again backed up my shots to my iPad and added keyword and metadata information to them using the PhotoSmith App. Time to sleep and rest ready for our arrival on the Island.

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Enjoying Hay-on-Wye

Our first major trip out on our Photography tour of the South West saw us heading out to Hay-on-Wye. First stop was to the North East, English side of the River Wye. I was trying to find a clear view point towards Tintern Abbey. There was a road that according to the map had possibility. We eventually found it but the road quickly deteriorated to the point that only a four wheel drive vehicle could continue so we had too head back.

Books BoughtOnce back on the main road we headed to Hay-on-Wye. A small town in Wales but quite a capital of books. We explored its streets where nearly every other shop sells books.

Books are quite a vice for the both of us and far to often indulge our passion. I managed to accomplish quite a coup and managed to purchase a first Edition 1935 Leica Manual. Not the typical manual but a hard back book nearly 500 pages detailing all aspects of the Leica system.

I also managed to find in one particular fine and beautiful book shop two books from a set of three I have been after for a long time.

The master of Black & White Ansel Adams wrote three books, one called ‘The Camera’, one called ‘The Negative’ and one called ‘The Print’. One of the shops had the first two. The staff in the shop were extremely knowledgable and one of them was also a Leica M user so we had a good talk about the Leica System. He had the M9 and was thinking about purchasing a M7.

Being the owner myself of a Leica M4 and a Leica M8 I find them quite complimentary. In fact I would love to add a film MP and. Leica Monochrom.

Walking the streets of Hay-on-Wye I enjoyed immensely exploring its shops and taking snaps of the scenes that emerged before me.

As a portable travel camera the Leica is ideal. If you like the range finder experience and manual focus the enjoyment if using such a precision instrument is truly a joy and makes photography a true artistic passion and pursuit.

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Whisky – other brands

I love Whisky and I think there is a Whisky for everyone, from delicate drinks like Dalwhinnie to heavy peaty drinks like Lagavulin.

Last Monday I visited the Whisky Shop in Lincoln. I had a few questions about English spirits, particularly English vodka which is getting a quite a following.

I have to say the staff are extremely knowledgable and also very quick to offer samples if your interested in a particular drink.

If your into spirits and not just Whisky the I recommend you give them a try.