Some "Low Level Snapping"

Still bloomin' cold - and I'm not being paid to suffer sub-zero temperatures ...so I didn't venture too far after the morning's "movie production" (to be honest it was just a trip to the supermarket !).  Still - thought I'd try something different (and got some funny looks as well)  I offer a worms-eye view of some odds and ends in the Greenfield area:

Ground View - 30Jan14

Some ideas there for another (warmer) day and another place maybe ...
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As Yesterday ...

... but at least this has "some images" !!!

Something I've wanted to put together for ages - but never had the time ... this same bloomin' guitar riff just kept on appearing - so a cold Thursday morning in Mossley seemed perfect !! So ... thanks to Windows Move Maker, EZ Vinyl Converter (and my quality music collection !!!), I offer up ... "THAT RIFF" ...

... and I bet there are many other tunes out there in "musicland" that contain similar (do let me know - and I'll add them on !!).

FRIDAY AFTERTHOUGHT ... above might only be one (repeated) riff ... check out this - 100 riffs in 1 take - amazing !!

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Not photography but ...

... a very well-written article

Pete Seeger died today

One of the quotes ... "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer" ... ironic isn't it as the jokers in charge of this country are today trumpeting a growth in GDP - "the recovery is working" ... not north of Watford it ain't ...
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Macro Photography "on the cheap" !

Weather still grim - so staying in for now ... however ...

I've got a new toy - a "lens reversing ring" - a good quality macro lens can cost hundreds - the reversing ring cost £9. Basically you screw the ring to the camera, and then attach your lens to it - IN REVERSE !!  Naturally you lose all aperture control and autofocus etc (camera can't communicate with lens), so it's into manual mode we go - and here's a first stab at macro photography ...

Cute eh what ??  Reckon it would be nice to try this outside with small insects, flowers etc - just need some weather for it !!
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No football ...

... something to do with the weather !!  A few pics of a very wet Seel Park (Mossley AFC) at

Match Postponed (grr !)

One from cameraphone today ... taken from the top car park in Ikea in Ashton  - showing the newly installed tram lines on the Ashton to Manchester line, the radio aerials on Ashton Moss, and in the distance ... Manchester with the distinctive Beetham Tower towards the left ...

 

Got a week's holiday next week - so may well get "out and about" with the camera, looking for inspiration ...

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Stalybridge Celtic v Gloucester City

New Celtic signing Godwin Abadaki gives it the old "forearm smash" !!


Not quite what was planned - was supposed to be "doing" Curzon Ashton v Warrington Town for the "Non League Paper" ... but when I arrived at 1415hrs, it was a touch quiet - and I discovered it had been called off at noon !!!  Still managed to cadge a lift up to Stalybridge off someone else who'd turned up not knowing ... pics from game at

Stalybridge Celtic 2 Gloucester City 2
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Welling United 0 Hyde AFC 2

It has to be said ... goals from Almond and Hughes ... and it's finally happened for the Tigers !!!

...and I trust the faithful are having a very satisfying trip home !!
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I Hate Winter .. I Hate Wet ...

Football-speaking ... following from Saturday's postponement @ Curzon Ashton, tonight's Cheshire Senior Cup game @ Stalybridge is off ...
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Weekend Walk - 12Jan14

No Saturday football - Curzon Ashton v Northwich Vics called off (a bit of a bugger as I was on a "paid job" to cover it for the "Non League Paper" !!). 

Went for a walk on Sunday near Harcastle Crags (near Hebden Bridge) - took new "walking lens" out for its second outing - weather not as good this time however ...

Hardcastle Crags Walk - 12 Jan 2014







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Pictures that make me ...

... go WOW ...

There must be loads of photographs out there that make me think "How did they do that ?" ... or "I wish I'd been there at that time" ... or other such superlatives.  Here's a couple that still make me go ... WOW ...

The Apollo 8 "earthrise" from 1968 ...

... and one I found during the "War Horse" film kerfuffle ... a "real war horse" - devoted to its rider - I look at this picture and think when it was taken .. truly humbling (tbh it still brings a tear to my eye) ... this IS photography ...

Stuff like this drives me on ...
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Stalybridge Celtic v Barrow

Stalybridge Celtic 1 Barrow 3
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Curzon Ashton v Mossley

Pics at Curzon Ashton 2 Mossley 1

Mossley Report or Curzon Report

Noise Reduction Software is a wonderful thing ...especially when you're working at the level wot I am.  You look at the pics in the paper from the Prem etc - so many of those snappers are using the same sort of gear as me (especially lens-wise - the good old Canon 70-200mm f2.8) - but they have one bonus - decent blooming floodlighting !!!  Not for them having to bump up the ISO above 4000 and dropping the shutter speed to "slower" ... and if you need to know about ISO check this definition out.

Plus ... the pro "togs" have on further BIG advantage - they have one job to do viz following one team and one team only - or being told to concentrate on one or two players (because these bloomin agencies have several snappers at one game - and someone else will pick up the pieces) - whereas I'm trying to get the best of both worlds - so invariably end up at the "wrong end" - a phrase unknown to the pros !!!

If you get what I mean - here's Matty Warburton celebrating his second goal yesterday - at the "wrong end" (!) ...

A bit far away - so we crop the picture and get this ....

If you blow that pic up (try clicking on it !) ... it looks a bit grim - so bang it through Neat Image (at the very basic level) and ...

Much better ... does have some drawbacks though - you sometimes end up with a rather "creamy" effect (can be solved by going back into Photoshop and sharpening up) - but sometimes the sharpening means you end up with small white dots on the picture - why ???  Here's a good explanation:

Sharpening works by making brights brighter and darks darker at the edges where lights and darks meet.
When you sharpen an image that's already degraded by noise and JPEG compression, you end up making brighter brights
and darker darks
(1) in places where that shouldn't really happen,
(2) in ways that drive already light pixels to blow out to pure white.

Plus of course ... I'm only playing with Photoshop and Neat Image at the very basic level - because it's always been the case of get the pics up ASAP - especially the football stuff.  Maybe in the more relaxed atmosphere of "STS Photos" - I might try to extend my knowledge !!!

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