FUJI

Tuba Skinny....the best Contemporary trad jazz band Ever...... seek out their numerous videos... Shay, the trumpeter is the leader.... an incredibly talented group.

Purely by chance, opened this fascinating glimpse into a long gone English life.... almost certainly Lancashire or Yorkshire, going on the shawls and clogs.... The video has a rather strange start.... but once going, it will fascinate you.... people from another time almost making contact over the years....obviously playing to the new-fangled cine camera...a real rarity back then.. FUJI.

A superb shot John...a well deserved win. FUJI

Hi, Folks.. This is one if the best presentations on this subject I have viewed... so I share it with you..

Hi, both.... yes...new, or, vintage lenses can give real pleasure... Any old lens can be made into a tilt-shift one.... have a few bevies too many then go out with your camera.... walking, of course. FUJI

Very well done Cheryl ....a well deserved win.... I enjoyed the challenge too. FUJI

Flippin’ ‘‘eck Martyn, A very warm welcome back to the fold.... TIPF is still functioning much as it did in the past.... despite being completely wiped of the digital map, a few years ago. It was resurrected, and has continued ever since, with a steady core membership..... I really look forward to see what you can do with your new gear. FUJI

A great bit of kit for what you do Denis..... Soon it’ll’ be.... Gambol with me gimbal through the tulips ..... ? Cant wait time see results. FUJI

As rendered by...Waterlogue.... my iPad watercolour app.... it can produce surprisingly good results. it was difficult to lighten that dark top using the much used jpeg as a starter. FUJI

Great news Denis.....congratulations to all. we treasure our grandchildren..the youngest will be 16 soon..... . FUJI

Many congratulations Rye.... very well deserved. FUJI

Oooer, could a mod whiten that text fir me please....for those using the dark theme.

Hi, All Mystery noises in the chimney this morning.. Silence ! Silence ! All day, that is until I managed to have the first few mouthfuls of my evening meal .... then it began... An obvious Jackdaw squawk, not loud, not really in distress but obviously making an effort to shift itself out a pitch black awkward situation. But, every time I took the temporary board off the front of the fireplace, all I could see was a pile of soot, sticks and debris.... fortunately out three storeys of Victorian chimneys posses a fierce drought upwards, so very fine dust was carried that way. I was half way through my meal, when, the scuffling, scraping and scratching got louder, as did the occasional squawk... on inspection with my torch, all I saw was one pretty fed up fully grown male Jackdaw, disoriented and unwilling to move. Jackdaw’s have fierce Looking eyes plus a good old beak, never mind claws. So, I literally boxed clever....I shut in three sides of its escape route with my painting boards, then, on the third open side, I placed a box with broken bread inside. For half an hour nothing happened....then, just after I finished my ice cream....a huge black Covid launched itself past my catcher box, into my room. Fortunately it flew almost directly on top of our Victorian sideboard... I shot as quickly as I could to open the front door.... thankfully it saw sense and flew straight out then up.... so surprised we we we didn’t see exactly where to.... But on our roof and all of the neighbour’s roofs about 50 Jackdaws permanently gang out.... most folk including us have wire chimney protectors to prevent nesting. Ours had been pulled out or removed during chimney repairs.... so we had one adult bird plus most of its twiggy nest all the way down three stores of chimney...a drop of about 50 feet. The only damage I can see is a claw hole in my Victorian portrait of a lady.....so we got off pretty lightly. FUJI Sent from my iPad

Many congratulations Polly ......a very well deserved win. FUJI

Sit back with a glass of wine....coffee and cake....or........beer and crisps...... just..... Enjoy ! ....... FUJI

I love Marigolds..... well done John.... sadly `I don’t have a gardening bug.... only those I take macro shots of...in season. FUJI

Many congratulations J2 .....It reminds me of the work of Sutcliffe. FUJI

This video is a must if your Kern on Bird Photography.... FUJI

He is one of the best.......should you want to learn, how it’s done, he is worth following.....I drop in on his videos every so often too. FUJI

Many of you, like me, are currently stuck in, or very close to home for the next three months or so..... keeping one’s photographic mojo going might be a very real challenge for some....but have no fear.....the answers.....HERE! ZIP over to YouTube.... seek out the photographic works of....Man-Ray...... most quirky and very eccentric..... but most done with a sense of ......tongue - cheek humour and wit. You don’t have to copy, but to be influenced by his creations, whether inside or out, human, animal, plant or inanimate item. He uses textures, shadows, crayons, paper cut-outs, lighting, masks, wicked combinations of opposites....I love his, tin-tack smoothing iron.. Have a think, have a dig in those drawers and cupboards for junk, magazines and tools.... persuade your nearest and dearest to pose for you, but not in a...Family-Photograph manner.... I love his female head resting on table, with mask. or.... Explore any other photographer who you admire, use their work for inspiration.....or.... simply go photographically NUT’S .....yourself..... no one’s watching ? I am really looking forward to a thread on here, sharing lots of original, creative works..... the possibilities are endless. FJJI

A huge thank you everyone.......Drawing and painting have been my saviour through crisis since being a very small child.... a paintbox, brushes and pencils were my favourite things, next to my books. As to my resolve and mostly positive attitude to life.... it comes through having had very little, as a wartime brat....we were literally forced to make the best of what we had to hand, or, to make it ourselves. Also, much of my positiveness, rubbed off from my amazing resilient students at the Day Centre, where I was deputy manager for over 20 years...... because no matter what particular handicap/s affected them, they all lived life to the full with our help. Our establishment was known for its mainly cheerful creative, positive students. As staff, we all enabled a....Can-Do.... atmosphere.... A music group, a self built theatre, sports galore, and the lunch-time disco’s were the best ever, never mind the amazing lunches cooked and presented by students, under supervision.....always served on proper table cloths cutlery and glasses. Staff sat at random mixing with groups in turn so very little...us and them atmosphere. I admit to crying my eyes out after being forced to leave, when the powers that be, altered our whole approach, toward a more industrial pattern, that included pre-cooked frozen meals....had I stayed, the stress would have killed me. That is why I left earning a very good salary and job satisfaction, to set up my tiny but successful ~Toy research and recreation business, touring School's, museums and historic sites. I hardly earned a profit, for the next 18 years, but loved every minute.... reasonably good health has made my early retirement easier. Moral ? .....Make the best of what you have, at any time... I thank you all for your interest in this old codger. Cyril FUJI

A BIT OF A CHANGE.... A few months ago, I, quite by accident learned about the amazing almost unbelievable ......Water-Mixable Oil Paints.... I found sets online....acquired oils brushes and boards, via a local branch of ....THE WORKS.... i once, painted regularly in oils but real turps and thinners became too volatile with children around, and weren’t very wise in my attic studio. After a very shaky start....trying to unlearn watercolour washes and techniques, I have re-discovered my ....Alla-Prima. .... style.....I began using generic methods, but then discovered...on ...YouTube...the teachings of New-York Artist...DAVID Leffel....his influence has been so strong, It is with his techniques I will stick. i know that some of you take an interest in my dabblings, so hope you don’t mind me continuing posting in this thread....? i recently spent of £ 80 on antique and Fine-Art ceramics via eBay. I can’t very easily climb the narrow twisty staircase to my Victorian Attic Studio now...so I paint in our tiny glass porch to the back door. It faces due south, so I had a full-width roller blind installed that helps diffuse the light. My Art, Photography and Woodturning, helps to keep my old brain functioning, currently it is helping me to rationalising 12 weeks of being confined to the house, because of the dreaded virus. FUJI

Congratulations BP .....a very well deserved win. FUJI

Congratulations Polly..... it is really good to see the signs of Spring at last... FUJI

Folks could try....eBay....or....Abe Books UK for used copies.. FUJI