Balck and white, harbour sunset

                        View from the pub


The colours were amazing stunning spectacular and all those adjectives some people use to describe their photos, when it should be for the viewer to decide. Stripped of colour, Ramsey Harbour, view from outside the oneof the many pubs of the town. Not a bad pint, and not a bad view either, even if it lack colour for some.

Jane Hards Photography for more images

Photo part of The Weekend in Black and White

Three's company - My World

Or three's a crowd

Well of course I could have gone for the obvious title of Swan Lake, but that would have been a bit of a lie. I'm not averse to bending the truth, well blatantly lying on this blog to illustrate an image with the text when I'm bored, or feeling mischievous but today, play it straight. The three little swan gliding into view are the real part not stuffed but the water is the swizz. It's not the lake but the Harbour inlet. If you look closely at the top half of the image you can see darker contrasting lines reflecting upon the lighter coloured water of the sail masts of the moored boats. Swans always look beautiful to photograph, but don't get two close. For such elegant creatures they have a nasty hiss and can break your arm if they don't want their photo taken. One for the zoom lens and run.


Still on a borrowed laptop, so posts as and when. For other My World images, click here.

BLOGGED OUT AND WATER BORED! - MONOCHROME

Oh look it's another reflection I'm reflecting on.

Monochrome

Just an monochrome, nothing odd. Straightforward reflection of a bridge. Not the famous Ramsey Swing Bridge I hasten to add. No just, the little footbridge towards the entrance of the Park. That's the black lagoon again, I mean lake that I went for my unofficial swim in after tumbling out of a canoe. Looks so calm doesn't it? How deceptive is the camera to capture one second of pure, silken, flat water just before that gust of wind catches the ripples or that canoeist makes a splash.


The title I think says it all. I am in need of more challenging images, things that move, things that don't have reflections, things that aren't in Ramsey. Not very good that when this blog is called "Ramsey Daily Photo" is it? I can't be false about it. Honestly you can get bored of the place. Don't get me wrong the image is a beauty, but I can do this "mirror reflection" image in my sleep, in fact most of the images. So no critters this week, no odd shot. Posts as you can see will be as and when, no longer than two days but no guarantees they will be daily. Basically I am itching to photograph the Blues festival, the TT Road Races, Ramsey Rocks, events in other words. It's been a long wet dull winter blues now it's time for the promise of summer and hot shots in more ways than one.

I'm working strange hours too so posts also erratic due to this along with blog fatigue.


Time to go again. Not around I know. Busy Bee(or should that be B?) For other Mononchromes of Maniacs see and Aileni play nice or I'll send those Manx Fairies over your way to cast grey clouds, with no silver lining!

The Blues Festival is next Saturday. Can't wait and yes you'll get to see it here.

Silver folied - monochrome

Grey is the new silver, Dahlinks!

I know I'm all out of kilter again and blog posts are popping up willy nilly(always loved that saying or nolens volens if you prefer to be more cerebal today) at random times and days. Sorry about that. Also note this is a straight forward Mononchrome. Wouldn't want to mislead the odd odd shoter(?) thinking this is a perfectly normal image and trying in vain to find oddiness(I really am making up a new language today.) What colour do you see though? Is it grey or silver?



Image is an empty(who keeps letting the plug out?) lake I've shown you before up the Mooragh(sounds slightly risque like that) the park that is. I know some of you have no idea what I'm on about now. As I was saying. Well I grabbed one of those images from that week of pure blah di blah images with no manipulation as a monochrome, greyscale. Reminds me of a new roll of tin foil when the light catches it and you get that funnel of white light. As it shimmers I see silver. If this was a matt image I would say grey. Think of it this way all you folks out there with a few grey hairs, try calling them silver highlights. Now how precious do they sound? Silver linings you see, even cynics note grey clouds have those.

MONOCHROME ODDSHOTS - " I WAS HERE"

A couple of weeks ago my monochrome oddshot was of this housing Estate being demolished and how a once familiar site not being there the next day to me was odd. This was the last house to be demolished. I shot it through the metal fence, which is the dark blurred lines you see. As it's a real shot, not tampered with, no need to clone or remove the lines. What you see is what you get. If you enlarge the photo you will see a very poignant message on what would have been a bedroom wall," I WAS HERE."

The Pondi contained an Estate of houses known as "Commissioners houses. "To UK readers you may be more familiar with the term "Council Houses." I am not sure what the equivalent would be in other parts of the world, or even if this type of housing exists in this form elsewhere. Council Housing is a form of accommodation that is owned by the local Council authority and rented out to tenants on long term lets(lifetime in some people's cases) at a low rental. They are not Private sector rentals. The idea was to abolish the slum landlords and overcrowding and provide the working class or lower income families with affordable habitable accommodation. This enabled people to pay a lower rent with a view to purchasing their own home in subsequent years, then relinquishing the property to new tenants and continuing the cycle to provide a step on the mortgage ladder for all. With the boom and bust nature of the world at the moment, we need more of these, yet none are being built. All I will say before I go into a rant.

I have now discovered a change to the above paragraph. Council housing is now referred to as Social Housing. Thanks to Gerald, HYDE, DP for enlightening me on this fact. Since moving from the UK to the Isle of Man several changes have taken place, like this renaming.

So, who was here then? I wonder just who it was who wrote the very poignant message. Whoever you are, thank you for creating another oddhsot opportunity. I wonder if you captured the image for yourself?

Want to join the weird world of Odd Shots Monday? Then see KATNEY

Want to join the beautiful and creative world of Mononchorome Monday? Then see Aileni at LOOSE ENDS

UNBALANCED BENCH ON THE LOOSE IN RAMSEY!- MONOCHROME ODDSHOTS

I swear I don't make these things up! I know you think I saw this bench chained up outside the tram station and thought that's odd, but not quite odd enough. I know I'll just go over tip it to a 45 degree angle against the conveniently placed tree, wait for the right light for the long shadows and then photograph my handiwork. Shame on you for thinking I set this Bresson scene up. Not even I think that fast on my feet. Besides that it's a busy main road. Now there is one thing being seen taking the image of an unbalanced bench chained up outside the tram station, but staging the scene, tipping over public benches, no way. The police station is just round the corner you know!

I suppose you want to see the tram station now I've mentioned that. Typical me, I snapped everything else around and only got one of the tram station building. Too busy knocking that bench over and dragging to the tree... I mean adjusting my camera setting accordingly, and finding my focal point and dispersing the fractured light... you just don't believe me do you?

In case you are wondering, this is a sober post, despite the tone. The irreverence purely due to the fact that this blog is of no importance whatsoever, and really does it get me work on the island, or just waste my free time. It seems, I'm told of no importance. Now you really think I man handled the bench don't you?

Want to join the weird world of Odd Shots Monday? Then see KATNEY

Want to join the beautiful and creative world of Mononchorome Monday? Then see Aileni at LOOSE ENDS

HALF LIFE - MONOCHROME ODDSHOTS

Half life
Babooshka

I think this will be my most divisive image to date. You will either love this or hate it. Unlike the flower, there are no half measures. Make of it what you will, but this to me is a pure monochrome, a study in light, shade, contrast and textures and equally an odd shot the half blown away flower not being the usual subject for a portrait.

The image was taken the day I took last Wednesday's railing and lake shot, over at Mooragh Park. It was one of those down on the ground shots I like. When I am not going for an unscheduled swim in the lake,( falling out of a canoe for those who didn't know) you will find me mooching about looking for an interesting shot. Actually you will often find me after the plain old very mundane stock photography shot too.

I was asked last week if Mooragh was Welsh. I can see why the question was asked as in the girl's name "Morag," but no. It's not a viking word either. It's Gaelic and it means" wasteland by the sea." Mooragh Park remember was swamp land before it was transformed, hence the name. Another interesting fact for you going off at a complete tangent, there are 95 men to every one woman on the Isle Of Man, according to the The CIA World Factbook . Now I'm not arguing with the CIA. Not even I'm that mad. I would like to ask them however how they worked this out though. I mean, did they ask for my input, no?

Want to join the weird world of Odd Shots Monday? Then see KATNEY

Want to join the beautiful and creative world of Mononchorome Monday? Then see Aileni at LOOSE ENDS

SULBY RIVER, POYLL DOOEY, MONOCHORME ODDSHOTS

At a distance this image always looks like like a shipwreck at low tide, along Sulby River. This image had been under water for a month or two now due to the heavy rainfall, but when the riverbanks relented, the rain ceased, this strange scene was still there. This is as close as I can physically get to it without actually going down onto the river bed, which you shouldn't do anyway. There is a path along the river for a reason. To walk on! The river is to look at.

A far as I can tell it's actually tree branches embedded into the riverbed with what appears to be seaweed of some kind draped across it. When it's icy this area always takes on an otherworldly charm, like Narnia. It's not icy just yet so I went for a mono shot( just a straightforward desaturate colour) to see if it would appear ethereal and for me it has in a odd eerie way. Something ghostly about the whole innocuous scene. It could be perhaps those Manx fairies have draped there shimmering attire over the deadwood. Who knows? They are a little cheeky.

Blogger was off for sometime today, so was my server too hence little activity this end. Gary has just built his new website, my turn next. Why is it when you plan to undertake certain work on your laptop it all goes awry. Naughty Manx fairies again possibly? Perhaps they don't want me to show you the fairy magic they weave throughout the island or is Manannan out with his cloaking devise( Star Trek baddies merely borrow it) to thwart prying eyes.

Want to join the weird world of Odd Shots Monday? Then see KATNEY

Want to join the beautiful and creative world of Mononchorome Monday? Then see Aileni at LOOSE ENDS