Category Archives: Photography

Fun, Photography

Introducing…Hazel

Hey guys! Nattoben has let me guest blog on his site and I have to say how great it is to be here.

So, let me introduce myself. My name is Hazel and I’m a 15-month-old Jug (that’s a Jack Russell and Pug cross for those of you who are wondering).

Like most Jack Russells I love going on walks and chasing small animals in the park. I have been trying to catch blackbirds over the last few weeks but just as I get ready to pounce, they fly up into the trees. There are also some really big birds in the park that are called crows and although I like to chase them they make me kind of nervous, rather like they are eyeing me up for a meal when it should be the other way around. When I am lucky, I see my best friend Bo. That’s Big Bo and not Little Bo. I like him as well but he is not my best friend. Anyway, Bo is a huge dog but he’s very gentle with me and even lets me lick his teeth. The only time I can’t play with Bo is when he has his ball with him. Then, he doesn’t even know I am there until I try to steal his ball and he growls at me. I wonder if Bo is reading this blog?

Like most Pugs, I looooove to eat! I will do anything for a “treatie” as my owners call them. My favourite treatie is cucumber, especially slices of the mini ones because they are just so juicy and sweet. I get some cucumber at night time when I go outside to toilet just before bed. I say go out to toilet but recently there is a cat that likes to visit and it drives me mad. As soon as I have my cucumber, I go racing up the garden to bark as loudly as I can at this big ball of fluff that sits on the fence looking down at me. It has recently started to poo in the flowerbed which is disgraceful! At least I leave my poos on the grass where everyone can see them. I also get a slice of cucumber when I come in again. It’s a bit of a rigmarole as I have to sit in my bed and shake paws with my owners before I get the goodies but, as I said, I will do anything for a treatie.

I also like sleeping. My favourite place to sleep is on the sofa. My bed is nice but the sofa is the best and sometimes I can squeeze up next to my family when they are sitting there looking at screens.

When I was a very young puppy I used to chew lots of things and was always being told off. Now that I am a big girl, I don’t do that much anymore but once I get a dirty sock in my mouth there is nothing that will prise open my jaws. You can’t beat the sweaty smell of feet. I have even learnt how to steal them from the washing basket which is a fun game for me but apparently not such a fun game for my owners.

Well, my paws are getting tired now so I’m going to finish up and go to sleep. Great meeting you all and hope to be back on here soon.

All my love,

Hazel  x

P.S. These glasses aren’t mine, just something that one of the boys stuck on my face for fun. I didn’t mind, really, and think they make me look rather intellectual.

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Nature, Photography

Up close and personal

I recently found an old Canon camera lens my late grandpa used in the 1980s. It was a pretty decent one by all accounts – or at least that’s what my online search told me – so I thought I would buy an adapter ring and try it out on my Nikon DSLR. What I didn’t know was that to use the lens properly I needed to have purchased a higher-end adapter with a built in correction lens. I could, however, use it for macro shots which led to some surprisingly good results.

Through being forced to look at the world in extreme close up, I gained a different perspective. The picture above resembles a Japanese pine tree clinging on by its roots to the edge of a cliff as the sea crashes into the rocks below. The plants in the picture are actually weeds: petty spurge, moss on a brick and purple-leaved oxalis corniculata in the background. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought before ripping them out of the ground but thanks to an inherited lens and an under-researched purchase I was able to capture this delightful scene.

It’s the same in our lives. Too often we tread a familiar path, stick to a routine, pass by without noticing and in doing so miss out on small moments of beauty that make it all worthwhile. I’m not saying go out and buy a camera and an old lens. Just try looking at something or someone from a new angle or with a different focal length.

You might be surprised with what you discover.

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Nature, Photography, Relaxation

Spring is on its way!

So, I’m in my forties and this is my first blog post. Shame on me…

That’s not to say that I haven’t been writing – it takes up more of my spare time than I would care to admit – just moving my writing online is something that has taken me a while to convince myself to do.

Today at 1615 was the Vernal (or Spring) Equinox , hard to believe with some patches of snow still on the ground, stubbornly hanging around as a reminder that it’s not yet time to put away the heavy coats, hats and gloves. The picture accompanying this post was taken before the most recent cold snap but the hint of warmth from the sunshine partially obscured by the branches of the tree in the foreground felt very Spring-like to me which is why I am sharing it with you now. It also makes a change from the daffodils that are the image of choice for this season.

After I took this picture, I closed my eyes and stood still for probably no more than a minute, filling my lungs with the cold and fresh air, enjoying the subtle warmth of the sun on my skin. Despite new technology making us more productive, I have never felt so rushed off my feet. It is these little moments that are worth grabbing and holding onto.

Through my posts here, I want to share with you the joy that the simplest things can bring to our lives. I hope you enjoy reading about them.

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