FUJI

Thanks VW……

It is just over six months since Nala took us over….she has put on a huge growth spurt to turn into a very gentle, loving companion….gone is all the climbing and peripheral damage….it has been replaced ,by games of hide and seek….complete softee roll-over’s for tummy rubs…. ….. she makes no demands for food, she simply accepts the diet she came with.

Advanced old age is catching up with me….I have slowed down considerably during the last few months…..my camera still goes where I go, but mask wearing has ruined street photography….. I have begun to pick up where I left off, so expect a few posts soon….

very best regards to all

FUJI 

GREAT NEWS DEE!..

Please see my reply to Polly, posted just now.

cyril

Thanks Dee….thank you everyone….

My back, is a good deal easier, so being driven to Coventry later today for a Street shoot, in an Arty cosmopolitan Area 

FUJI

I agree Paul…..

Just how can I or anyone resist eyes like these ?     Pure Amber…….. so very different ?

FUJI

What a brilliant sequence here Denis…..nothing like being in the spot during a drama….

My granddaughter is a qualified Equine Vet now, only a few weeks ago she was filmed sedating a horse in a similar incident….. she also had to stay with the horse for some time afterwards until she was sure it was OK .

FUJI

Thank you Polly , both for your observations and for deleting the double post.

I was still editing when it vanished in to thin air, so I did  it again .

My very sore back has prevented any ventures far from home, it is improving slightly.

FUJI

We thought Nala our relatively new Rescue cat had hidden away somewhere ou of sight this morning….but no, she was hiding in plain sight, but on the forbidden place……The top of the sideboard where she broke three expensive collectibles and a cut glass bowl.

Neither if us thought to look there, but there she was with a cat-like grin on her feline face…….then, after discovery, and as I began to shoot this short series her reaction, was to give me a challenging look….to stretch and yawn, then to roll into an….I-Love-You…..roll…..

Such a  little cutie who is stilll crossing boundaries as we find our way into each other’s hearts….

CATS ! ! ! 

FUJI

Thank you Dee……it’s so good to see you posing again……..it isn’t good being crook…..is it ?

I’m laid up currently, with a severe bad back…… Doc investigating cause….. I have stage 3 kidney disease….but ai think it’s a trapped nerve…….I’ve just completed a short course of  DIAZAPAM to see if being totally dozy would unlock the spasm….. 

Excelt for feeling dreadful and functioning like a sloth, they didn’t make much difference…..I’m sleeping downstairs now, in a new chair-bed…..still getting used to being so close to the floor.

At least Nala my new rescue cat keeps close company…she is lovely.

FUJI

WOW!

What a wonderful surprise, totally unexpected……thank you so much.

‘Currently I’m laid low by severe, debilitating back pain….the doc has put me on a short course of DIAZAPAM…. so I’m all dozy and relaxed……

So POTW has made my day better..

FUJI

1 hour ago, Paul said:

It just shows how things change. On phones in the past we were limited to the ability of hardware, now, it's very very good.

There is good blurring on the background on some - better than many would expect.

Good on ya for joining the revolution, but don't bin the camera just yet!

Paul.

Thanks Paul,

Dont worry, I have no intention of slinging my treasured GX8 or GX9 , or any lenses…

My 5 yr old iPhone 7 was free with my BT all in account package…. I decided to bite the bullet this time …call it an…Oldie Treat….. so pleased I did.

FUJI

Thank you !

FUJI

At the request of Polly, I present here examples of my Woodturning.

I have been very lucky in obtaining quite a large stock of fairly rare English Boxwood…. Not so rare as a garden hedge, but as a fairly large and very old tree…yes. my son,  tree surgeon was tasked with cutting it up after it fell into a road….

if you look at the bottom of the pendants photo, you will see a section of the raw material …it is extremely fine grained and very heavy.

The lidded boxes and the pendants have what is called a…chatter-pattern….made with a thin flexible blade that vibrates as it digs into the revolving workpiece.

The pendants are made from the box offcuts, again using a chatter pattern filled with gold paste….the white infills are surprisingly a mix of baking powder and superglue… bring them together and there is an instant chemical reaction, resulting in a stone hard , textured fill….

Woodturning is just one of my creative escapes…. Photography, painting and writing take up the rest of my time, unless reading or sleeping…. I do listen to a wide variety of music, but I usually sleep not long after it starts…

I am currently having my fourth….Photo-Book…printed….I created it using the free…Open-Office..software…..then…BookprintingUK do the rest…

I enjoy meeting a wide group of friends in my home town, and two ther photographer pals who take me along on Street Shoots…and another, a pro Artist meet weekly to discuss our various projects and to put the world to rights…

FUJI

A Street shoot in COVENTRY last Wednesday turned into quite an adventure, half way through we were caught in an almighty thunderstorm with lightning too close for comfort, despite our waterproofs we were soaked…we both left pools of water where we sat for lunch….Afterwards, we sort of dried out enough to continue. 
 

The first two shots are from my LUMIX GX9….and the other from my new iPhone 13 Pro….converted to mono in an iPad app.

Coverntry City Centre has lots to offer to a keen photographer, plus lots of good shops eateries, a market and lots of places to visit…..

FUJI

On 04/10/2021 at 12:58, Clicker said:

Your usual candid captures  of  ordinary people   doing ordinary things  still evokes a curious  narrative Fooj ... Good to see you still popping in  with some street photography despite  your mobility issues and  heartened to see from your cat posts that  you still have the energy to cope with a Bengal ! ... We miss your usual ubiquitous  presence on the Forum but understand you   have  issues that  take priority since you lost your brother especially .Do show us  some more of your  paintings and woodturning  projects  too  I see you are also doing  greetings cards  as I have been  doing now for a number of years ...  

  Regarding the photos above .. the  lady in the first portrait looks really familiar ... is it because you have  posted a pic of her before  ?

Hi, Polly,

re the Lady….yes, she is one of the oldies I like to cheer up, every so often…she is so sweet, always has a smile ….I haven’t seen her since I took this one…I have two prints done ready to give her.

‘I have lots of projects on the go, so will post results soon….

I have also dived in very deep, in treating myself to a brand new iPhone 13 pro….with added video grip, so I can hold it safely with my sausage fingers on hands losing grip…..I have posted pics…and there will be more…here are portraits taken this morning…

My artist pal Chris and…yours truly

FUJI

I took delivery of my new toy yesterday……a shiny new iPhone 13 Pro……I’m still getting to grips with the whole thing never mind the more than amazing camera….the weather hasn’t been kind.

Here then a three of my first photographs……I am truly amazed….

no worries, I won’t be giving up my proper cameras, but just pleased to know that I have this back up if required.

FUJI

An incredible set Paul….when I see macros like these I always feel very pleased tgat insects, spiders and bugs can’t grow any bigger than they do.

FUJI

3 hours ago, Clicker said:

That looks like it took some doing Fooj ….  Good to see ya keeping in touch too .    Many thanks !…… Yes! It was my very first Selfie using the front camera on my ageing iPhone 7 for the first time, I had to use the phone at a strange angle to get us both in……

Practice I think, forvwhen my  new iPhone  13 arrives during the next two weeks , the new camera arrangement in that phone intrigues me, so expect my iPhone input to rise a little in future, especially on the Macro front…can’t wait to e]see what it can do.

I won’t be neglecting my trusty LUMIX GX9 though ….it produces exactly what I want.

I’m shooting  less, but keeping more….if that makes sense…..Today I am battling with transferring iPad PHOTO format pics into JPEGS for my new photo-book…a bit of a pain…

FUJI

Nala and I during a bonding session, she sprawled across a cat-tree platform ….a quite difficult to do selfie, with moggy.

No apologies  for cat pics ….I’m busy creating my 2021 Photo-book just now…..normal service should be resumed soon.

FUJI

I sleep downstairs now….this was my wake up call at 03:40 ish this morning……not funny!

CAT’S ! 1 !

You have to love them though…..

FUJI

I absolutely love your cat stories….I am SO pleased to be able to contribute my own, every so often now.

FUJI

An incredible set Paul…..I am hoping by now, that you are getting some of your work published ?

Many University’s and researchers would like to see them in research papers and in specialised publications…. I know this because I had a forum message from. Japanese professor asking permission to use one of my worm pics to illustrate his work on earthworms… He was kind enough to send me a copy….all in Japanese of course… but including my pic with acknowledgement in English…. 
 

I treasure it.

FUJI

Good morning Tipfer’s

I’m not up to speed on here again yet…. All kinds of things have slowed things down here……My mobility has slowed somewhat….advanced old age is beginning to bite …. no need to go into detail…..also since my brother died in April without making a Will I have been busy with legal help to sort his affairs out through Probate….   (Please make a will folks  ) ….To keep my old mind active, I have concentrated on my painting and Woodturning….then with a brand new printer, I’ve been creating a range of personal greetings cards for family…..plus creating my 2021 Photo Book….New moggy Nala keeps me more than occupied too…she has brought much mischief and happiness to our household.

I haven’t neglected my photography, one of my camera’s is with me whenever I leave the house…mainly my LUMIX GX9 with the Lumix/Leica 1.4 - 25 lens attached….a combination that’s hard to beat….I call it my ….Poor Man’s Leica .

I have decided to attempt to follow in the footsteps of three of my favourite photographer’s …..Vivienne Maier…. Jane Bown….and Karsh… not to copy but to be influenced by…all three my favourites for various reasons.

Examples below…

Thank you Rye…

I have been studying the excellent…natural -light portraiture of …Jane Bown….she is well worth looking up on YouTube..

Here is another if a photographer pal…

FUJI

Hi Rye….

Benfal cats are not long removed from the wild as far as domestic breeding is concerned….they have incredibly jumping and climbing tendencies…when the are fully would up there can be chaos…it’s well worth looking them up on YouTube to see that…they have no fear of falling, land like a ton of bricks….love water….a unique fun breed…. She keeps me on my toes.