Bluejon's Photo Gallery;
 

Nice stuff John - the area around Keswick is my favourite part of the Lakes. Until recently, a group of us used to spend an extended weekend at the Keswick Country House Hotel twice a year - March and late October/early November. Its worth it to see the trees alone, whether in Spring bloom or Autumn 'burning' colours - never mind the bacon they serve for breakfast in the Hotel :drool4:
I'm now off to dig out my Lakes pix and refresh a few memories :}

Many thanks Rod,I originally come from the South Lakeland area,moving up to the western lakes many years ago,so obviously my hankering is still for the South Lakes Windermere/Coniston region,btw whilst talking about the food,don't forget about the Cumberland sausage,we're famous for it lol.

Best Regards.

John.

Many thanks Derek,great to here from you,Jan & I hope you & Lilian are keeping well,we are thinking of you both.

Very Best Regards.

John & Jan.

Wonderful pictures as always, hope you and your good lady are keeping well and look forward to seeing the both of you again

Aw gee thanks mate,very kind of you,the same to you & your family,likewise look forward to seeing you all soon.

Kind Regards.

John.

Once again John your photos continue to give pleasure and many thanks for posting them up. I see you have your signature added to them. A good idea.
I liked the dramatic sunsets. The past couple of nights I have been going up the mountain to practice taking similar shots over the bay to Cape Point. The lads here have given me a few pointers and any advice you can give will be welcomed. I am restricted in that the shutter speed on my Canon bridge cam will only go to 1s. I use it on the P setting. multiple bracketing, ISO 100, 200, 400 and even tried 800 on a tripod with a 2 sec delay.

Perhaps you are able to reveal the settings you prefer to use? or not ;)

Keep posting John and do keep us enthralled.

All the best

Phil

Those are pretty stunning shots John -Hartside and Alston area is one that a lot of people have never seen -and they are missing its wild beauty.
Its pretty awesome in the middle of a hard Winter too.

good photos :bowdown::bowdown:

Hi Rod,a few of us often go up to Hartside cafe now & then,you're welcome to join us anytime ;)

Cheers - give me a shout next time you're planning a visit!

Great pics John. :}

Keep an eye on the trees though, they keep gettin in the way innit... :D:D
...

They are stunning pics John

Superb as usual John - I do like Windermere and Bowness - the problem is so do thousands of other people on a nice day :}
I don't know whether they still offer it, but you used to be able to get a sort of 'roamer' ticket on the pleasure boats - go anywhere you want for the day, get off, get back on, do what you want. We spent, with friends, virtually a full Saturday - down to Lakeside and a trip on the railway - back up to Ambleside and get off for a visit to the garden centre - loads of food and drink to buy on the boat - a really relaxing day :}

I'm running out of photos to compete now - I'll have to get out and take some more - how do you fancy a few shots of a half-built offshore wind farm in the Tees Bay :D

Not sure about the ticket situation regarding all day travel Rod,I know they do a joint ticket in the motor museum,which covers entry to the museum,return travel on the railway & lake steamers,I would presume they do it vise-versa,meaning you should be able to travel on the steamer first,as they have a shuttle bus to the museum from Haverthwaite station,should your car be parked at Ambleside or Bowness.

Yeh! post away Rod,I like pics on any subject really,I'm just rekindling my love of photography,now I'm retired officially,can't wait for some better weather now,then hopefully we can compete lol,mind you I'm no expert in any shape or form,so you have no great competition in me I'm afraid,Keep up the good work Rod,always look forward to you posting.

Best Regards.

John.

Stunning photo's.

Many thanks kind Sir,very much appreciated,

Best Regards.

John.

A slight change of tack,whilst on a weekend visit to Edinburgh in May of this year,meeting up with some of our Scottish Members in South Queensferry,on the Sunday,I just had to take some shots of the stunningly famous landmark,'The Forth Bridge,absolutely awe-inspiring.

The pics were taken from both sides of the 'Forth' from North & South Queensferry,hope you all enjoy,in particular the 'Scottish' Guys.

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BEST REGARDS.

JOHN.

Running out of superlatives for your pix John :bowdown:

I came over the 'new' Forth Road bridge the day after HM The Queen opened it - as a small boy in father's A55 Cambridge. Nowhere near as interesting as the subject of your photos though!
As it happens, I should be crossing the Firth of Forth next Summer (and the Moray Firth too) all being well.
As a retirement 'present' for SWMBO, I'm aiming to take her back to one of her favourite caravan sites - down by the beach at Rosemarkie, North of Inverness on the Black Isle. If nothing else, towing a caravan up to Inverness will be a good test for the Rover and marinabrian's Xpower upgrade - the A9 through Aviemore should be very interesting!

hi John,i must congratulate you on your photographers eye,beutifully put together and the colours are amazing, GARY.

Hi Gary,

My sincere apologies for my late reply to your kind words,many thanks for your very nice words,very much appreciated,makes taking photos all the more worthwhile when you receive nice comments,again many thanks.

Kind Regards.

John. :christmas:

Brilliant John (as usual!) - they illustrate two things to me -

1. It DOESN'T always rain in the Lakes - look at all that blue sky!
2. I wonder how many people realise that the area has such a stunning coast - the conception of the Lake District is lakes and hills - not necessarily coastline

Right - I'm off on a hunt for some more of my photos now :cheesy:

John always a pleasure looking at your pictures and again always a pleasure meeting you and your lovely wife.

all the best in the new year and look forward to seeing you and the good lady again.

Many thanks Thomas,Jan & I would like to wish you & your family the very best of wishes for a very happy,healthy & prosperous New Year,we look forward to seeing you all again,all the best Mate.

Best Wishes.

John & Jan.

Lovely pics, I do hope we get some snow, but only if I'm at home by the fire with my feet up ;)

Many thanks Phil,totally agree with you,looks great in pics,but don't really like being out & about in it myself,hope you had a good Christmas & all the very best for 2013.

Best Wishes.

John.

hi John, i think i should have asked you this question first what camera do you use? i know what sort of money you can go up to regarding price, but am afraid can only afford a bridge seeing that canon have just brought out the first 50 times zoom in the SX50 HS have gone for that one at £400 will post pics as soon as i can see how i get on,best regards to you and family. GARY.

Hi John, Hi Gary,

Forgive me for jumping in here. Gary, I would be very interested to know how you get on with the SX50 HS. Last January, I bought the SX40 HS and on the whole I have been quite happy with it as it means I do not have to carry round with me lots of lenses and I do not have to worry about image stability. What I did not like about the camera was that I found it almost impossible to track a moving subject at speed as in a bird of prey and its claim to be able to take night shots in low light was not perfectly true. No remote control either. I wonder if the SX50 HS has been able to improve on these deficits?

Here are a few photos I took recently. Two are evening shots with the sun behind me and with the light constantly changing on the P setting - views from the house on the Helderberg Mountain ZA looking towards Sir Lowry Pass and the vineyards early December. The other photo is one of a young Cheetah I took yesterday whilst I was on a walking safari outskirts of Nairobi. Using the high powered zoom was easy.

What a view Phil. I am envious.

John,

I continue to enjoy looking at your photos of the countryside and sea views in winter - the blues and ghosting of the snow and frost add to the chilly atmosphere Brrrr. I can imagine that you spent several hours taking and editing them. I am still awaiting to hear about the techniques and skills you have been able to use in putting these together. I am only teasing ;) I still use the Nikon sometimes and also the Canon Bridge camera. I am back in the UK in early March and again in July for the summer and it would be great to meet up to see Blue and Silver as well as to have a chat :}

hi Phil,you are more than welcome post to me on the subject CANON SX50 HS got to give it a try must save you carting lenses or having to change them in a hurry,i have seen the tutorial on [you tube] look amazing zoom.would we not love to take such photoes such as you and your subject matter must be endless Nairobi you lucky man, look forward to talking to you again Phil soon i will take a photo of my cat he can be quite wild. all the best for now GARY, PS thank you for posting to me appreciate it.pps must comment on your remark re not able to track a moving subject ,i found that if you dont try to track it with the camera just dont take your eyes off of it and point at it and snap as many as you can sort them out on pc when you get home.

Thanks Paul I am lucky to have been able to have been surrounded by so much space and beauty. I did a selection of sunsets over looking the sea to Cape Point also from the house and have not had the time yet to post them up. As you know we lost the house and the land on the mountain to a wild fire in April 2011, now rebuilt and finished it in December. We also had to repair and make new roads, do the fire breaks and dug in 2 km of irrigation pipes around the farm and around the mountain. Tenants moved in a few days ago and they signed an 18 month contract. We will see how that goes. We have another farm house to do up as it will fall down it we leave it any longer. The roof is leaking in several places, a pine tree has cut into the foundations and some of the walls are cracked with mould. So I am still going to and fro from ZA to Kenya and the UK. We are having a break at our place on the outskirts of Nairobi and getting ready to go on a camping trip up north to Mount Kenya and further afield into the bush on Wed. I will be taking my cameras with me. It will be a bumpy ride and I have already had one tripod which was not man enough and fell apart. I would like to know of a tough tripod which is tough and swivels ever so smooth on its axis? Life is full of challenges and I do count my blessings seeing the wildlife and countryside in Africa through the lens so to speak. Just as well I am retired :)

Thanks Gary for your advice on point and shoot! I will give it a try. Perhaps you could take some photos of your 75 inside and out, maybe at different locations in your area. I did catch sight of your 75 at one of the meets at Halfway House and was impressed at how pristine and well cared for your car looked. I will start a thread called Bridge Cameras - discuss as this is John's post and I hope he does not mind me diverting away from his excellent photos. Sorry John.

hi Phil,yes my car still looks good am thinking of respray this year same colour copperleaf, it's my own fault it is suffering from finger trouble by myself Halfords paint can mix don't match job best left to the guys that know what they are doing.am quite embarrassed at the halfway house meet i had blue reversing sensors gone now thank god not entirely my fault but my grandsons thought it would be a great idea, enough of car i am glad you have started a thread BRIDGE CAMERAS i have a lot to learn interested in macro and how good the canon is at it as you will know i too am retired and have had to give up playing golf so back to photography that i used to do in the 50s 60s no colour just black and white ,had my spare bedroom as dark room enlarger had to soak and fix prints and hang them up,the smell was not great open windows, got to go now Phil will no doubt be chatting again. GARY.

You could have had some of my snow John - we had more than enough to go round - see http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=134671
As usual your pics are stunning - I feel a need to book at least a weekend in the Lakes coming on :}

Look after yourself and keep on clicking the shutter :D
Rod

Cheer's Rod,I think most of the snow fell further East,the A66 over Bowe's was closed,but that's not unusual,but was still surprised there wasn't more around the Keswick area.

Hope you can manage a few day's up this way,try & let me know if you can,am thinking Jan & I may have a run down your way for the meet Colin [2Diesels] is organising on 10th Feb,weather depending of course,take care Rod.

Best Regards.

John.

On Tow;
 

Snapped these on mob,[apologies for poor qualiity]wasn't expecting this,taken in haste, at dusk on 5th Feb,on a high tide at Workington Harbour,Cumbria,two fishing boats from Troon,Ayrshire,TN36. towing TN35.a sister vessel into the Harbour.

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I have always had a penchant for marine photos and old marine paintings. Nicely captured John. What was the data setting? If you can't tell me it is not a problem.

Lovely pix John - they make me feel cold just looking at them http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...pse0d7414c.gif
Although I reckon they are for making 'phone calls on, and cameras are for taking photos :}, I must admit that the quality of photographs on mobile 'phones is getting better all the time. My mobile (a cheap LG) has more megapixels than my first digital camera had :)

Hi Phil,

Many thanks for your kind comments,always a pleasure to hear from you,firstly,I feel I owe you my sincere apologies for what looks like to me,unintentionally ignoring your previous replies,the honest truth is,I know nothing on the tech side of camera's,settings,exposures etc.

My camera is nothing special,a Kodak Z1012,10.1MP 12X Zoom,mostly taken on Auto,I think & if I dare to say,without sounding too bigheaded,I think my area with photography is having an eye for good composition & knowing what a good shot needs leaving the rest to the camera & pc.

I have never had expensive camera's in my life,but have alway's loved photography,going back to my steam railway spotting days & think there-in may lay the problem,not studying camera techniques when I was younger & now find it more difficult taking in all this modern tech stuff.

Mind you,it's not just camera's,it took me ages to get to grips with pc's & mobile phones,again at the risk of blowing my own trumpet [can't play one of those either lol] I'm more of a practical sort of Guy building,mending thing's & again that was when I was a tad younger,severe arthritis now prevent's most of this nowaday's.

Sorry for the long winded reply Phil,hope I have not bored you too much,but any tip's or hint's you Guy's can offer,to improve my shot's,would be very much appreciated,btw,the last 3 shot's were taken on my mob which is the new Samsung Galaxy S111,which I believe has an 8mp camera.

Very Best Regards.

John.

Hi Rod,

Many thanks for you kind words,I agree with you on mob phones,as I was saying to Phil above, my knowledge with these is very limited,but must say with my present mob,the quality is a vast improvement from my earlier one again a samsung.

But,as you quite rightly say,they are mainly for making calls,texts etc,but obviously come in handy when you sometimes go out without your camera,as I had on that day,was returning home towards dusk on an otherwise cold dull day,passing the local harbour,when I spotted the unusual event pictured above,too good to miss.

Very Best Regards.

John.

Hiya john it's been a while since ive looked in on your photo's they are great as always mate,...

Hi John

I did not realise you suffer from severe arthritis. What a blight for you to have to endure and as you said John, it has changed the way from how you used to be able to do things. Thanks for letting me know about the Kodak and your new Samsung Mp phone. It is quite amazing how these devices are getting better than some of the main stream digital cameras and how they are more convenient for carrying around. I had forgotten about the Kodak.

You do have a good eye for composition and creation which is seen in your photos: the different filters, lighting effects, reduction of noise, then finishing them off with a nice frame for added impact. I do not know how many photos you take before you are happy with the ones you publish here. I take hundreds and then take a pick of the best wildlife ones, then maybe from those I feel I am able to use just a handful. I keep meaning to add some more to the 'Out of Africa' series I have done, but have not got round to it.

I still find post editing takes a long time and I can take 2 - 3 hours in one session to do maybe 30. I checked to see how many photos I have on this laptop and it is almost 5000. Last year I took the bull by its horns and deleted nearly 2000 and how quickly they have creeped back up again.

I suspect that some of the 'Big Guns' on the photo section of the club would have 10's of thousands. I am only guessing.

I bought Adobe Light Room 4 and a plug in for Light Room, a HDR program called Imagenomic. I hardly use the HDR one as it is a bit severe with the special effects but is fun to toy with.

I had better pause there John. You might not be aware but you do have quite a following on the forum John, so do keep posting as we are looking forward to seeing your next creations. I hope the weather improves soon for you guys in the UK :)

All the best

Phil

Outward Bound;
 

Took these shot's this afternoon,of a Scandinavian Vessel,departing Workington Harbour,Cumbria,destination unknown,with the Port's Pilot Vessel in attendance.

The latter two shot's,job done,the Pilot return's to Port.

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Best Regards.

John.

Magnificent - as usual John :bowdown:
Whenever I see photos of commercial shipping setting sail, it brings this mental picture of cold, lonely oceans and nothing to see for miles around - and these pictures really are the epitomy of that :}
Any chance of sending some of that bright blue sky over to this side of the Pennines please - we're stuck in a rut of cold, foggy, misty, frost at the moment :(

Hi Rod,

Many thanks,I am with you on that,commercial shipping has always been a favourite of mine.I was actually born in Barrow in Furness,hence my interest in all things South Lakeland,as you may know,Barrow was for many years,a very busy shipbuilding Town,both Militarily & Commercially.

Concentrating latterly on Submarines,even that is not what it used to be,same all over I guess,alas,shipbuiding much to my dismay,is a thing of the past,in this Country,I'm afraid.

As for the weather Rod,what a difference a day makes,today was just the opposite to yesterday,overcast,cold, finishing off with rain this evening,ah well! back to normal for around here I suppose lol.

Best Regards.

John.

Very nice pictures John I really enjoyed looking at them :D

Many thanks Anthony,very much appreciated.

Kind Regards.

John.

I've run out of words now John :bowdown:
I wouldn't mind being on the cruise vessel, heading for warmer waters :}
How have you fared with the snow - we've escaped it almost totally, but go 35 miles further inland and its a different story :(

Hi Derek,

Many thanks for your kind words,sorry we missed you leaving last weekend,Jan & I set off for home not long after,journey home was long & tiring,but dry at least,much better than the journey down,still,well worth it,we both thoroughly enjoyed the whole weekend & seeing you both again,looking forward even more now to next months POL.

On the weather front,we have been very lucky,where we live,we have had no snow at all,the conditions all around us is quite serious though,with lots of road closures & blizzards on the hills with the strong wind,it's a bit like sitting in the eye of hurricane,calm where we are,snow & chaos all around us.

Jan & I hope Lilian & Yourself are keeping well,glad to see you both got home safely,so untill we see you again next month,take care & look after yourselves.

Very Best Wishes.

John & Jan.

Hi Rod,

My sincere apologies mate,missed this one,must have turned a new page,yes,know what you mean,we get cruise ships in the summer,bringing tourists to the Lake District,via Whitehaven,I get very envious every time I see them.

Like yourself Rod,we have been very similar with the snow,we have been surrounded on all sides,but apart from the odd flurry,none where we live,one of the advantages of living on the coast I guess.

I went to Cockermouth,about 8mls from me & was laying quite thickly there,but did not last long,all gone now I think,still plenty on the tops,what a stunning backdrop to have,pic wise.

Hoping to go into the Lakes Easter Monday with the family,hope to get some nice piccies to post.

Best Regards.

John.

Been a week or two since I last posted,thought I would re-commence with a mixture of images taken over the last few month's around Lakeland & West Cumbria.

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BEST REGARDS.

JOHN.

nice photos :}

Many Thanks Stephen,very good to hear from you.

Kind Regards......John.

yep contrast and hdr are useful tools LOL :D

Its wonderful to see you posting up John after such a long and hard winter. I have never tried 3D photography and you do not have to, as you are almost there without it! I had a few looks at your latest offerings John and I could not see any examples of you using HDR tools, unless you have been able to fine tune the tone mapping and detail enhancers to an infinitely low level. No matter John, I continue to enjoy looking :)

Hi Phil,

Lovely to hear from you,many thanks for your kind word's,Jan & I hope all is well with you & your family.We are into May now & still feels like Winter,the pic's I posted were taken over the last couple of months & as you can see from some of them,we were getting better weather then,than we are now lol.

My sincere apologies if I repeat myself,but have no idea with these techy terms & the knowledge you guy's seem to have,as I may have said before,with me,it's more a question of feel for a good shot & composition,I just set my camera on auto then leave the rest to myself & picasa to come up with the rest.

I'm happy with the result's I get with my limited knowledge on this fascinating subject,but am over the moon & still feel very humble,although very appreciative that you guy's like what I am doing.

Very Best Regards.

John.

John - just what we've come to expect from you and your camera :bowdown:
I'm desperately waiting for some consistent sunshine to take some brighter photos - heaven knows how long I'll have to wait :(

Many thanks Rod,yes I know what you mean with the weather,getting a wee bit tiresome,all this wind & rain on most days,although Monday,around here wasn't too bad,sunny with a bit of a cool breeze.

Managed to get out with the cam,took a few shots around Whitehaven Harbour,will post some up.

Best Regards.

John.

We had a beautiful sunny day today for a change,took advantage of it & went for an evening stroll around a local parkland area,with a gorgeous setting sun,took a few shot's of the local foliage.

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Best Regards.

John.

nice photos:}

Beautiful - as usual - John. I think today's the first day this year I've worn a short sleeved shirt, so things are looking up!
I'm caravanning near York week after next, and then off up to Inverness in 5 weeks time. I'll try to get some photos of the dolphins in the Moray Firth to share on here :}

Many thanks Rod,hope your trips go well,haven't been up to Inverness since 1987,smashing part of the World,hope you get some nice pics to show us,take care.

Best Wishes.

John.

A few more shot's taken from around the same parkland area as above.The River in most of the shots,idyllic in these shot's, incidentally, is the River Derwent,from which,in 2009 the vast amount of water, flowing down the river,due to excessive rainfall ultimately caused serious damage to the bridge in the last pic,necessitating in closure for several months.

Two bridges further down river,one a footbridge,the second,another main road bridge were completely destroyed,being washed away by the volume of water,very sadly,a Police Officer on duty at the road bridge,lost his life when the bridge collapsed.

The Town of Workington was literally divided into two halves,road traffic had to make lengthy detours,to get to either side,the towns inhabitants,traveling between the two,without road transport had to make use of Rail travel,incidently,the Railway also crossed further down river,escaped relatively intact,thus carried on in service.

After months out of service,the bridge you see here was re-opened,a new footbridge was built,as was the roadbridge that collapsed, re-opened with a new, very stylistic, modern bridge which was opened in honour for the Police Officer who's life was lost.

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Best Regards.

John.

I'm getting VERY envious seeing all that blue sky

Here's one for you to identify - it's on your side of the Pennines :}

http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps342375f3.jpg

Just what we've come to expect from you John - SUPERB :bowdown:
Because I spent the Summer on the East coast, there were some spectacular shows of light, but not to the extent you've seen.
The strangest was this one
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps67184adf.jpg
... a strange mix of very dark clouds,with sunset orange under them, against an otherwise clear sky, taken at about 10.00pm at night.

Hi Rod,

Many thanks for your kind words,nice to be back after a quiet spell,on the piccie front I mean lol,very nice shot of a what I imagine was a very unusual cloud formation.

As you say Rod,being on the East Coast,you will have the opposite to us,some I imagine very spectacular sunrises,as sun rise/sets are my favourites,we could have a little thingy here,you do the rises,I will do the sets.

Look forward to some good-uns mate.

Kind Regards.

John.

John many thanks for being brave and dipping your toes into the realms of creativity, manipulating the colours and light with good effect. It really is an art and a skill to be able to get the shot and edit right. You are there. Do keep it up.

nice photos :}

Many thanks Kind Sir,very much appreciated.

Kind Regards.

John.

Some lovely shots you have taken John:bowdown:

Being on the east coast we have to make do with sunrises accros the sea.
That involves getting out of bed early in the summer:shrug:
I tend to wait until winter draws in for those shots bring lazy:D

Many thanks Jeff,I know what you mean,I'm not really an early riser myself,so can stir just in time for a nice sunset,lol,must say tho' I much prefer the clearer shot's of crisp winter sunset/sunrises,keep em coming mate.

All the Best.......John.

Idyllic setting and very well captured :)

Hi Jeff,

Many thanks for your comments,very much appreciated,yes!an idealic photo location nowadays,mainly a quiet little fishing port now,many years ago it was quite a busy industrial port,in the sailing/early steamship days,infact it was quite a busy shipbuilding port.

Maryport has quite an interesting history,one being associated with the 'Titanic',the founder of the 'White Star Line' Thomas Ismay, actually came from Maryport,before moving to Liverpool to create the above.

Once again,many thanks.

Best Regards.

John.

Smashing photos John - in many respects that area is somewhat similar to the North East coast, Robin Hoods Bay, Staithes etc. - a reminder of our past :(
Many moons ago, we spent a superb day at Ravenglass - that was a real blast from the past, but incredibly beautiful on a sunny day. The village is a bit like the land that time forgot!

Many thanks Rod,yes,they have made alot of improvements,environmentally to the area,Maryport,Workington & Whitehaven being particularly heavily industrialized in the past,the largest impovements to date have be made at Whitehaven, with the re-generation of the Harbour area into a Marina,with a lock system to keep the water in,with numerous mooring points for yacht's etc.

I agree with you on Ravenglass Village,a quaint place where time seem's to have stood still,btw Rod, did you have a run on the Ravenglass & Eskdale Miniature Railway,known around these part's as't La-al Ratty,take a look at a pic I posted of one of the loco's in P63 on page 7.

Best Regards.

John.

Yes John - we made a really good day out of it. Us and two other couples were staying at the Keswick Countyr House Hotel (the old station building I believe?) We drove over Hardknott and Wrynose passes, parked at Ravenglass, got the train back to Boot, had a cup of coffee and a sticky bun, train back to Ravenglass and ate a packed lunch sitting on the sea wall there.
It was October, but a glorious sunny day and warm enough for shirtsleeves

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'RETURN TO SUNSETS'

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BEST REGARDS.

JOHN.

A few seasonal pics,taken over the last few years,from my local region,of the type of weather more associated with Christmas,than all this wind & rain,just to set the Festive scene.

Very Best Wishes Everyone.

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:smiley::christmas::smiley:

A Merry Christmas to you and Jan too - photos to your usual standard - think I'll put the Lake District into my list of "places to take the caravan in 2014" - only problem is I dislike the A66 over Bowes and Brough - not really designed for towing caravans!
The thing is - the scenery at the end of it is worth all the hassle :xmas-smiley-018:

Lovely winter scenes John,
I hope we get some winter weather some time so I can get out with the camera:xmas-smiley-018:

A few pics taken locally Today,stormy seas,coupled with very high tides,hence the height of the water in the Harbour.

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BEST REGARDS.

JOHN.

Great photos, and a happy New Year to you too John! I'd love to be able to shoot like that - sadly I don't have the patience...

Superb John - I'm glad I'm on the East coast this Winter - most of the winds have died down a fair bit by the time they reach us :}

Best wishes for the Year to you and Jan - let's hope for some similar sunshine to last year. I'm heading South this Summer, so most of my photos are likely to be of the Cotswolds and Cornwall

Fabulous pictures to start the day with, thank you!:bowdown:

My pleasure kind Sir,many thanks for your nice comments.

Best Regards.

John.

Very nice indeed, now all we need is all the surviving Deltics:D

Many thanks Simon,yes I agree,that would be fantastic,they were always a special favourite of mine.

Regards......John.

you should have called in for a cuppa only 12 miles further on

Derek

Many thanks Derek,never thought,still maybe next time mate,how's that nice motor of your's doing?

John.

Well , John its never been out of the garage since the road tax ran out at the end of december but I will be retaxing for the start of March and am letting the austins have a rest this year see you at Longbridge/Gaydon in april it wont be long Derek

Hi Derek,

Which Hotel are you both staying?

John.

Hi ,the usual one at bromsgrove Derek

Aw! we're staying at the Marlbrook one just up the road with the rest of the gang.

John.

Beautiful John,

Could be from the pages of a magazine. Keep up the wonderful work!! :)

Many thanks for your kind words,will do my best.

Regards......John.

John - I've run out of superlatives to describe your photos - I'm going to have make a huge effort this Summer to get anything even close to their quality - keep up the good work and thanks for sharing them with us :bowdown:

Aw Gee! Many Thanks Rod,for your kind words,I hope you Guy's get as much enjoyment out of them as I do,I'm very much looking forward to seeing some of your great work,if & I say if,we are ever going to see some better weather.

Once again kind Sir,many thanks,hopefully see you at a meet during the year.

Regards.......John.

Welcome back John. Superb photos of the sunsets and cloud formations which I was just showing to Jessica. We enjoyed looking at them :)

Many Thanks Phil,good to hear from you both,I hope you are both keeping well,it feels nice to be posting again,now at the start of our Autumn/Winter,I hope to get some really spectacular Sunsets,once again,many thanks both.

Best Regards.

John.

Great photos as ever John,
Keep them coming Sir:bowdown:

Many thanks Jeff,very much appreciated,will do Sir.

Best Regards.

John.

A few Maritime pics especially for Phil [Gatekeeper]they were all taken at the PORT of WORKINGTON on the West Coast of Cumbria ,including the Dredging activity,mostly around sunset,as that is usually why I am there,the shipping making a splendid addition.

The first & last shot are Scottish based vessels which carry Timber to the local Wood/Pulp Plant which can be seen in the far background immediately behind the Dredger in the second shot. I particularly like, for atmospheric reasons,the last shot,sailing into a glorious sunset on a beautiful calm Summer Evening.

Second last shot is the local 'PILOT' Vessel 'DERWENT' also seen in attendance with 'AMAZONE'.

Incidentally this Vessel 'AMAZONE' from the Netherlands I believe,featured on a Television program a few weeks ago,can't remember what it was now.

Anyhow,just for you Phil & everyone else of course lol.

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Welcome back John - I'm going to have to dig my camera out again (I don't think it's seen the light of day since we were at the Lion Inn) - but I still won't compete with you - those are superb :bowdown:
I'm sort of hoping for a drop of snow this Winter - a good covering always leads to a few wonderland scenes worth snapping :}
Hope you and Jan are both OK ?

Good evening John. You certainly know how to compose the photo with that 'eye' of yours - the eye for the shot. Not everyone has this natural talent. Thank you so much John for taking the trouble and for posting them up. I love the sunsets and maritime photos you managed to get together for all of us to see. I take my Gate Keeper hat off to you :bowdown:

I was just showing them to Jessica. We have a special interest in the maritime ones you took, as her uncle is a maritime artist for The Imperial War Museum in London.

Great photos again John, those skies are wonderful:bowdown:

Many thanks for your kind comments,I count my self pretty fortunate living by the sea,thus enabling me to select as it were a subject I have always had an interest in, ships/shipping.

With it, comes an added bonus of some spectacular sunsets,in my mind there is nothing like a superb sunset over water,some of the effects on the water can be breathtaking,hence why I an going to post one of my favourite sunset pics,

Once again Phil,many thanks to yourself & Jessica,hope all is well.

Best Regards.

John.

Many thanks Jeff,I have to say I am very pleased with the effects I am getting

Best Regards.

John.

I call this one 'SOLWAY SUNSET' taken close to the waters edge of the Solway Firth,this is one of my personal favourite sunset shot's.

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Best Regards.

John.

Beautiful picture John!

Where is the car?

Don't tell me you parked it at low tide? :shrug:

(i know, I know!! no tide in the lake) :duh:

Lovely John.
Been there a fair few times, before retiring to the Keswick Country House Hotel for dinner and a drop (or two!) of alcohol :}

Hi Rod,

Many thanks,One of my favourite photo spots,just as the sun is setting over the mountains,you sound just like Jan & I,whats better than a nice days shooting, [pics] that is, a nice comfy hotel & a few wines/ales to end the day,oh! what bliss,take care.

Best Regards.

John.

The middle shot is stunning

Many thanks Simon, very much appreciated.

Best Regards.

John.

I like the first photo John as there is so much in it to see and you have not missed out on any details. The the glow from the sunlight through the trees adds warmth. Could even be a summers evening, just before the sun starts to go down. I recently joined a photography forum to get some tips and to see what other people are doing. Seems to be British based and they are all a friendly bunch of photography enthusiasts:}

http://www.photography-forum.org

We're going to have to keep our North West and North East attractions quiet you know John - otherwise all them Southerners will be flocking up 'ere to see the sights and there'll be no space left for thee and me ;)

Hope you and Jan are keeping OK - roll on some drier, sunnier and warmer weather :}

A lovely set of three stunning photos John:bowdown:
A very tranquil and relaxing place to be I suspect:}

You have to be kidding you need to see thee magnificence of dorset, the New Forest Avesbury and Stonehenge to name but a few of the treasures we southerners have to enjoy :D

Been there, seen the Dinosaur Coast, been kicked by the ponies in the New Forest and yes, you're absolutely right - the South has some fantastic scenery on offer. I spent two sun drenched weeks in deepest Cornwall last year and am booked for (hopefully) the same next year on the Southern edge of Exmoor.

Most years, I head South in the Summer - 'cos despite our scenery - the South is always a few degrees warmer ;)

If you get the chance Rod, Studland Beach, Sandbanks and Poole Harbour are beautiful places to visit, with each having their own merits :)

Hey Guy's,I hadn't planned on creating a bit of friendly rivalry lol!well,doesn't do any harm really,long as it stay's friendly,anyhow,hows about some nice settings from the warmer half of the Country,to show us in the colder half,where we may be able to give our woollies & wellies a spell off for a while lol!

Between us we should be able to come up with some stunning stuff,I hope the members from Scotland & Wales are up for this as we all know they have some really stunning stuff to offer.

Cheers Guy's.

John.