Sauntering Vaguely Downwards
I have worked my way through the remaining photos from last year, and have uploaded them all to Flickr. Small selection below, mostly flowers. I’m rather fond of the Lisianthus photos (first two and in the header), because I like they way the buds are tightly curled up, and then the flowers unwind going through several stages of shapes. Almost my favourite flower, pipped to the post by Lilacs, because of the scent.
Back in 2005, I took this photo of blue marbles. I have no idea how I did it, it was one of those happy accidents thing, and I guess that the sun just hit them at the right angle (I took this one outside). I love this photo, but there’s a problem with it. Because it was 2005, the only image resolution I have is 480×360, and that’s just ridiculously small these days. So I thought I’d set out to try and replicate it using various methods, including the original sunshine method, pointing extra lighting at them, using the flash, and also using my light box to back light them. Nothing replicated the effect. Maybe the sun was at the wrong angle, maybe it was those specific marbles from 2005 that were magic (if they ever turn up, I’ll try them). I was disappointed with the results, and had to take a step away from the photos for a while to get some perspective.
So this is what I’ve been doodling on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, mandala-style doodly things. I’ve also seen that calling things like this ‘zentangles‘ is a thing, seems to be a term they coined for their experience and method of what many of us just call our doodling style. I’ve been doing it this way since my teens, and it’s cool that they provided a method for people to learn. Worth a look, it’s a fun way to pass the time.
Long time no post. I do this, have rashes of posting things and being creative, then hibernating for a stretch. Or I’ll be creative and not get around to posting everywhere. If you’re following me on Instagram, then you know I’ve been alive posting photos (mostly of cooking and Jake) and some artwork.
I’ve not been doing anything more serious photography-wise than phone snaps, though I have got some stuff from August and October last year that I’m going through. One set was a project I wasn’t happy with at the time and needed some distance, the others are flowers that I didn’t post because the other project was lurking. There’s not been much of overwhelming interest to take photos of over the Winter, and I haven’t been anywhere all that interesting. Spring is around the corner, though, so expect lots more flower photos again when they all start poking their noses out.
It was my 40th birthday last year, so with a combination of a work bonus and pay raise, I bought myself a Samsung Galaxy Tab S4. This is 10.1″ tablet with S-Pen technology, which means you can use it as an art tablet. I’ve been doodling quite a bit on it, and have posted some of them to Instagram. I’ll do an art post here later. My dad got me a swanky new mattress, which arrived two weeks ago, and my body hasn’t been this ache-free in years. My sister got me the Epson EcoTank 7750 photo quality A3 printer (she got it me early for extra playtime). It’s amazing, the ink doesn’t seem to run out. I’ve printed a few photos, a couple at A3 size, and the quality is awesome. I also printed my own wrapping paper with it for Christmas.
I finally got my referral letter from Leeds to go ahead with the hysterectomy surgery. Only took them 8 months to get a locum to sign the thing. So that should be happening this year, and as it’s routine surgery, shouldn’t take as long as everything else does when you’re going through a GIC. Current game is if the surgeon will contact me before Brexit or not.
On the subject of Brexit, I finally got off my backside and put in the application for my first adult passport. Not because I’m planning on going anywhere (need to save up for that), but mainly because if Brexit does happen, I don’t trust the government to not make the whole process more annoying and complicated than it already is, especially for trans people. Also, red passport.
Games played… Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Since release. Because it’s one huge, fun, awesome game. I took a break to replay the Castlevania Lords of Shadow games because they became backwards compatible on Xbox One, and have also got a game of Darksiders going while I wait for the next AC DLC chapter and Devil May Cry 5. It’s okay, and looks to be short. Next epic game (DMC5 won’t be very long) will probably be Dark Souls III, which I had no plans of playing, but my sister is persuasive.
Otherwise I’ve been plodding on, family and Jake are fine, we’re just all freezing our toes off. Roll on, spring!
Now I just need to remember how the Flickr plugins on here work…