Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette #2!

The following photo’s are of my youngest son… taken while he jumped on a trampoline and did different poses in the air!  He and I had great fun doing these!

Heel click!

Running man 1…

Running man 2!

Taking it easy!

Muscle man!

O.k. whatever!

Got it!

Leapfrogging a beach ball on a trampoline… of course!

Peace!

Life’s great!

This is my second entry to this week’s challenge for Silhouette… to see the first one click here!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Threshold

For this week’s challenge I decided I would post a couple of pictures of my eldest son on his 18th birthday, December 2013. Here he is opening some of his gifts, still a boy in so many ways… but on the threshold of manhood!

My son’s 18th birthday and the threshold from boy to man!

Having just opened one of his gifts… all smiles because he got the guitar he wanted that I’d been telling him he wasn’t getting because it was too expensive!

“A threshold is a point of entering; that point just before a new beginning — that split-second moment in time, full of anticipation. All the hard work is over; relief is palpable.”

To see other entries click here!

 

It All Started A Year Ago!

Yes that’s right folks… WordPress inform me that The Amateur Camera is now a year old!  

One Year Woohoo!

I had no idea what to expect from blogging when I tentatively hit that first ‘Publish’ button.  It was my daughter Stephanie, also known in the blogging world as ‘GRaDABOUT‘ who encouraged me to start but as much as she loves my photos it was scary putting them ‘out there’ for all to see and comment on.

I have to say, over the past year I have met some really wonderful people through WordPress and received some lovely encouraging and uplifting comments on my photography, as well as finding some awesome blogs that bring joy to my days along the way!  So a great big THANK YOU to all of you out there in the blogosphere for your support and encouragement and especially to my wonderful daughter… Grazie bella!

Here’s to the next year!

Weekly Photo Challenge: From Lines to Patterns

For this weeks challenge set by The Daily Post here are a few lines and patterns taken in the garden, on the beach and by the river…

Click on any image to enlarge and for slideshow.

Lines in the acorn, patterns in the cup!

Barbed wire fence

Tractor tracks

Bark of a tree trunk

Boat rope bumper!

Crab shell (biggest one I’ve ever seen!)

Old garden shed door

Reeds by the river

Snail patterns!

Stinging nettles!

Washing lines

Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside…

I had fun with this weeks photo challenge it made me think outside the box! Couldn’t resist this, inside the lens…

Books on the bookshelf inside one of my lenses on the arm of the sofa!

Cropped image of the one above showing books, upside down inside the lens!

Photographer inside the lens! 🙂

Weekly Photo Challenge: An Unusual POV

This weeks photo challenge had me trawling through my photos trying to find one that fit the ‘unusual point of view’ theme…

Challenge yourself to rethink your ideas about what subjects are appropriate, and then challenge yourself again to find an unusual perspective on your subject.

I came up with this one taken at The Village Green Festival, it’s a reflection of the view my Son was seeing through his sunglasses!

He played his first live gig (guitar & singing) in a festival setting… I was very proud of him!

Daily Prompt: Reflections…

These were taken last Tuesday on a steam train ride from Paignton to Dartmouth in Devon… I think they go quite well with today’s Daily Prompt theme!

Steam trains bring out ‘The Railway Children’ kid in me! (Film from my childhood!)

Same train, different view & depth of field!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Nostalgic

I took these photographs a few weeks ago… whilst clearing out my loft, I came upon a bag full of the children’s old dressing up clothes… my teenage sons of 17 and 15 were delighted with this blast from their pasts and promptly dressed up in everything that they could still fit into!  So this is my take on nostalgic for this weeks photo challenge…

Eldest son, on the left, is dressed in a fusion of Cowboy hat, meets Jack Sparrow pirate headband with hair attachments, Jack Sparrow pirate belt & pirate sword, meets Lego Bear shield! Youngest son on the right is dressed in a fusion of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mask, meets Knights facial armour, meets Lego Eagle shield, meets Harry Potter glove, meets Laser tag gun!

I had to add this one… when my youngest son looked down and saw his old handmade hat he wore for a school assembly his voice went all high pitched as he exclaimed with a sharp intake of breath… ‘My broccoli hat!’

I could not stop laughing for ages… it was so much fun seeing them enjoying all of their old childhood stuff once more… such a lovely nostalgic moment!

Pigeon… In My Lounge!!!

I had just made myself a lovely lunch and a cup of green tea… everything was arranged and I was just about to get comfy to enjoy some peace and quiet… apparently not!

I heard some noise in the fireplace and upon inspection found some soot had fallen out and onto the rug… as I stood and watched, more and more kept falling down and out in front of me.  There was a few moments of nothing then again more fell out… Ohhh nooo… I looked at Mutley, Mutley looked at me… and promptly took off upstairs!  Fine protector she is!!!

I was left looking at the fireplace and said out loud “please don’t let anything dead fall out!” and then “actually, no, please don’t let anything live fall out!!!”  Literally two seconds later a pigeon landed unceremoniously in the fireplace and took flight into the room, missing my head by two inches as I ducked and ran for the door!  I flew for my camera whilst screeching to my son… “There’s a pigeon flying around the lounge!”

Doesn’t look too ruffled or dirty… all things considered!

My son arrived on the scene a little bleary eyed and dishevelled, having just woken up (he’s 17… say no more) armed only with an old childhood dressing up Spiderman glove, recently found in a loft clearout!

Spiderman glove meets pigeon, pigeon’s thinking ‘what the hell is that?’ and my son says… “Ah, can we keep him?!”

Flash back… to when he wanted a German Shepherd and promised to walk her and pick up her poop… Ha! Not falling for that one again!

Decided he doesn’t like Spiderman glove…

… and takes off only to fly straight into conservatory door!

Looking out of my blinds to freedom, whilst pacing up and down on the back of my sofa … and pooping on my hand stitched Indian throw!

Mutley… proved to be a bit of a ‘fraidy cat!

Of course after she realised it was only a bird, not something sinister and could hear it flapping around she tried her best to get back into the room, nearly tripping me up everytime I retreated with my camera when the pigeon flew in my direction… he had already proved he wasn’t great at navigating!

All wrapped up and ready to go!

Armed now with some more sensible gloves, my son managed after several attempts to throw my youngest son’s jacket over the pigeon so that he could pick it up and carry it out…

Making a break for freedom!

My son ducks to the left while the pigeon makes a break for it to the right!

I’m free, I’m free!

He looks a bit bewildered but focused on his destination towards the rooftops and hopefully away from chimneys… mine anyway! 🙂

Mother’s Day Breakfeast!

My wonderful teenage son’s brought me tea & coffee in bed this morning (they made tea first, forgetting I like coffee in the morning so brought both up!) and then cooked up this feast… which I thought deserved to be shared!  Lot’s of things make being a Mother worthwhile but sometimes it’s the small things that put the biggest smile on your face and in your heart…

This is the breakfast my sons’ of 17 & 14 cooked for me this morning for Mother’s day…

… it consisted of scrambled eggs with bacon & chestnut mushrooms all piled on top of toasted salt & pepper tiger loaf bread with a rocket leaf salad garnish… it was absolutely delicious! Two chefs in the making I think!