weekly Manxmaid's 52 for 2017 - Week 51 & 52 Festive & Weather added (and COMPLETE!)

Well worth that trip to the far north:D Lady Isabella looks great against that deep blue sky and a bit of an unusual angle too. The Pier excellent in B&W as is the MG. Not sure I signed a model release form for that progress picture :p but I'll let you off and finally bugger forgot you said you had done a picture of comet sunbathing for pleasure, looks like I copied now:D He does look very happy :)
 
24 Pleasure(able) - Nicely obsrved. I can feel the heat ;) Sometimes I think I'd like to be a cat, then again ....
 
Hi Andrea,

Pleasure - Our moggy spent most of the heatwave hiding under the trampoline in the garden to keep out of the sun. Your's seens to be enjoying it rather more. Great capture of the daft positions moggies get themselves into.
 
Looks a very content cat, good composition and perfectly on theme

Thanks, Allan, he was very content indeed :)

certainly says Pleasurable .... we've seen some cat shots on here over the years, good to see the entirely different.

Thanks, David. We have two brothers and this 'shoot' was quite funny as I swear they were competing for my attention. They kept trying to out-do eachother with silly poses :)

Really like your MG and the happy cat, you need a tin roof to put it on

Thanks, Clive. I'm sure they'd love a hot tin roof, as they seem to seek out the heat and love roasting in the sun!
 
Not a cat person myself but the cat seems quite content and bliss.

Thanks, Stan. I know cats can be Marmite for some people, but our two are quite engaging characters and this 'shoot' was great fun with their antics.

We use to have 7 cats two dogs and 153 mice and loved them all, I like how the cat looks so comfy lying in the sun :)

Wow, Dave - that's some menagerie! The most we've had is two cats and two dogs, currently two cats and one dog, and I can't imagine the house without a pet of some sort. He was extremely comfy in the sun, and kept rolling over to make sure he was baking evenly :D

This cat looks very content (y)

Very content, Bernd :)

24 Pleasure(able) - Nicely obsrved. I can feel the heat ;) Sometimes I think I'd like to be a cat, then again ....

Thanks, David, I often ponder that myself :) I'd definitely be a cat in our house!
 
Well worth that trip to the far north:D Lady Isabella looks great against that deep blue sky and a bit of an unusual angle too. The Pier excellent in B&W as is the MG. Not sure I signed a model release form for that progress picture :p but I'll let you off and finally bugger forgot you said you had done a picture of comet sunbathing for pleasure, looks like I copied now:D He does look very happy :)

Thanks, m'dear, and now you've gone ahead and overtaken me again! Perhaps I need to travel to the far north again, as it seems to inspire my 52 catch-ups this year :D
 
Hi Andrea,

Pleasure - Our moggy spent most of the heatwave hiding under the trampoline in the garden to keep out of the sun. Your's seens to be enjoying it rather more. Great capture of the daft positions moggies get themselves into.

Thanks, Tim, he was loving the attention and they were seeking out the heat on this occasion, although at other times they head for their favourite shady spots.
 
Week 25 - Tiny


25 Tiny by Andrea Thrussell, on Flickr

I'm beginning to hate these poor Russian dolls! Twice this year they have been my favourite idea for a theme and twice this year it's been so hard to get the image I had in my head :banghead:

I have failed again and I really don't like this result, but I've had so many attempts that I'm now sick of the sight of them and it's time to move on :exit:
 
I like this tiny shot Andrea, nice focus on the first one and like the reflections too :)
I gave up trying to get good shots of our Russian dolls ages ago.

Thanks, Dave. I was happy with the focus but not a lot else! This will be my last try too, I think :D
 
Sooo frustrated! I have my shots planned for Face and Agriculture, and an idea for Graceful, but I need suitable conditions for the first one and it's been wrong for the whole week. If I can't get it done this evening then I'll be four behind by tomorrow with a busy four days away when it's unlikely I'll be able to take or process any images. I prefer to take and post the images in order, but I'm half tempted to do the next two and return to Face when conditions are right :banghead:
 
Tiny
That's really well done, there are some great colours in there, a good reflection and good dof.
 
Week 26 - Face


26 Face
by Andrea Thrussell, on Flickr

As explained in a post above, I was waiting for the right conditions to get this one, as I wanted the angle of the light on the cliff face to highlight the fissures in the rock. I thought I had the light this afternoon and nipped along to get the image, and had to sneak through a road closure as there is a festival at this location this weekend and they were already setting up! I have converted to black and white to help to highlight the shapes in the rock, and hopefully you will see two faces here. Not just the cliff face itself, but if you tilt your head to the left you may see half of the unhappy face of the sleeping giant.

Ideally of course, on a calm day you would get reflections in the sea to form the whole 'face', but days like that in this west-facing bay in the Irish Sea are incredibly rare :)
 
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Week 27 - Agriculture

Moving swiftly on.... I had a few plans for this one but haven't had the time to go and do them, and with a long, busy week ahead I'd rather post this general view over the south of the island, showing the edge of a reservoir, which is stocked with fish, some fields with sheep, and in the distance some of the fields with crops. I'll look forward to the next re-shoot as I'd like to revisit this one when I have more time.


27 Agriculture by Andrea Thrussell, on Flickr
 
2 good photos for the theme, having lived by the Irish Sea it would have to be an exceptional day to get reflections, the unhappy sleeping giant makes it for me

nice view of the fields for agriculture lots of different agricultural activities
 
Looks like you had fun with those russian dolls, I like it.

Face ... good drama you've captured there.

Lots of interest in Agriculture ... road bridge and adjacent little wooden bridge connecting two farmers fields.
 
2 good photos for the theme, having lived by the Irish Sea it would have to be an exceptional day to get reflections, the unhappy sleeping giant makes it for me

nice view of the fields for agriculture lots of different agricultural activities
Thanks Allan, you're right about the Irish Sea, although you wouldn't believe how smooth it was as we sailed out of Douglas harbour this morning! Didn't have time to go back for the giant before we sailed though. Grrr...
 
Looks like you had fun with those russian dolls, I like it.

Face ... good drama you've captured there.

Lots of interest in Agriculture ... road bridge and adjacent little wooden bridge connecting two farmers fields.
Thanks, David, but 'fun' is not a word I'll associate with those flippin' dolls :-D
 
28 Graceful


28 Graceful by Andrea Thrussell, on Flickr

We were away for the weekend helping to move our eldest son back to the island, but among the packing, cleaning and lifting we made the most of a beautiful Sunday afternoon to take a break and visit a local park. I had my camera and told my son I needed images for 'graceful' and 'fruit' to get up to date, and we found both within the same location!

I did spot a pair of swans and they even obliged (eventually) in swimming towards each other and forming that cliched pose, but the water surface and background was horrible so I've opted for this fountain. I used a slowish shutter speed to add some blur to the arcs of water and decided on B&W because the background was a bit distracting, but I think the shape formed by the water is quite graceful.
 
Great shot for tiny Andrea - just the right amount of reflection and nice colours - much better than my attempt at Russian dolls earlier in the 52! The fountain works well for graceful with that hint of blur as well, but I love the sleeping giant...you really can see his face!
 
Great shot for tiny Andrea - just the right amount of reflection and nice colours - much better than my attempt at Russian dolls earlier in the 52! The fountain works well for graceful with that hint of blur as well, but I love the sleeping giant...you really can see his face!

Thanks for the feedback, Emma, much appreciated - and I'm glad you liked the giant :)
 
Week 29 - Fruit(s)

And here's the second theme image from Sunday afternoon. My son had discovered a fruit garden at the park we were visiting and the lovely pinks and greens of these apples caught my eye straightaway. I tried different angles but liked this one best, with just a few fruit isolated from the background.

I think that brings me up to date.... well, for a few hours anyway :D


29 Fruit
by Andrea Thrussell, on Flickr
 
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Great colour in your fruit shot, I like the idea behind graceful too, though it's quite hard to convey how graceful a fountain can be without movement
 
Great colour in your fruit shot, I like the idea behind graceful too, though it's quite hard to convey how graceful a fountain can be without movement

Thanks, Allan, I loved the pinks on the apples. I tried to convey movement in the water with the slowest possible shutter speed, but on a bright day and no filters to hand it was the best I could do. You're right though, no photo can really capture the constant motion.
 
Week 30 - Vehicle

I have done cars and steam trains already this year so I went for something different, while still following one of my aims at the start of the year, which is to feature some of the idiosyncracies of the island. This is one of the horse-drawn Victorian era trams that run the length of Douglas Promenade.


30 Vehicle
by Andrea Thrussell, on Flickr

As you can see below, 'Keith' is a very handsome 16-year-old and he tossed his head and posed for photos in between the odd mouthful of carrot as he waited to make his second trip along the Prom from the terminus.


Keith
by Andrea Thrussell, on Flickr
 
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