.....I could tell you about my Male Diva Moment....

Where to start?......I could rant about the local council, I could tell you about my brush with fame when the local paper published my "grumpy" letter, I could regale you with the story about the pack of "snappers" in the woods that had me cornered, or I could tell you about my Male Diva Moment regarding my photography.
I guess I have gone off track regarding my photography so let's go there today. I had a moment, I like to call it a creative crisis or a symptom of my artistic temperament but, I am ashamed to confess, it was a Male Diva Moment (MDM). I took a look through my photographs and decided they were all rubbish. That meant, of course, that I was also rubbish and had no right carrying a camera. It was all very puerile and involved stomping around and lots of exagerrated arm gestures, I stopped short of crying as that isn't very manly and I had to have some pretence of "butchness" to my moment, speaking in a deep voice, wearing a tight T-shirt although that felt a little "metrosexual" and I don't do that as it's a modern invention, mind you, I don't really do androgyny well, despite my androgynous moment.
It was, however, a pivotal moment as it made me stop stone dead and evaluate everything that I have done, why I had done it and what I can do to improve it. I realised that I had been lucky with the shots that I had got and that to move forward I had to have the eye and technical skill to capture the moment as I want it to be. Stupidly, I had been eyeing other peoples work and thinking that I needed Adobe Photoshop to get anything near that level of perfection but this moment distilled my whole thought process into a better, more critical and fulfilling place. I don't need Photoshop, I need to take better pictures, it was as simple as that.
I always shoot slow exposures, always with a tripod and make full use of filters. I hadn't been picky enough with the results out of the camera. I hadn't been picky enough about the composition of the shot itself and I didn't wait for the optimum moment, these were the key ingredients that I was missing, the details that make an average shot better and a better shot superb. I saw an immediate improvement in my work, the feel and the composition was getting there. I am now determined not to become boring and complacent and to continue to improve and more importantly, learn.

I went to North Wales yesterday. Precisely, I went to Cadair Idris, Mochras, Harlech Castle and the Elan Valley. Unlike the last washout, we had superb weather. It was cold but sunny and clear all day. Cadair Idris reflecting in the Tal Y Llyn Lake was a beautiful sight and I would normally say that I was lucky except that careful planning with a map, an eye on the weather on the web for a week before and leaving early, put me in the right place at the right time, nowt to do wi' luck.
Mochras, also known as Shell Island, is incredible. So few people and miles of gentle sandy beaches sloping to lapping waves. I wouldn't normally photograph something so boring but this was special and I hope the pictures capture even a fraction of that. I would recommend Mochras to anyone that likes peace with their beaches.
Harlech Castle was impressive, but my daughter was embarrassed by my singing of "Men of Harlech" even when I pointed out to her that it was apt as we were in the right place. She did explain that it wasn't the song that was the problem, it was my interpretation. A lovely Castle and well worthy of a visit.
The Elan Valley is impressive and the next time I go back I intend to spend more time on it. The light was fading so we had a quick drive round before heading home.

My MDM may have been a bit girly and possibly a little pretentious but it has brought me down to earth and ultimately shown me how to work for the shot, it doesn't come naturally to me and luck is no match for judgement, technical ease and a trained eye. A trip to London a week or so back and the trip yesterday have shown me that I can take better pictures, all I need to do is become more consistent, keep questioning myself and keep my critics eye focussed on my own work rather than other people's, but that's a whole other lesson.......

....the new levels of their incompetence.

I have been struggling to get words down but I am, amazingly, stuck for
words.
I am still angry with the AVDC about the new development but words are
failing me at the new levels of their incompetence. Less than a year ago
they dug up a road to remove a central reservation, at a huge cost. They
are now planning to put it back in.......

They have built the new theatre that seats 1800 people, but not made
any provision for parking. So then they had a good idea, why not tear
down the multistorey opposite and have a single level of open plan
parking for 110 cars. Brilliant, tear down a large carpark to create  a
smaller carpark. They are calling this phase one. It's a shame phase one
and any other subsequent phases weren't considered before the grey
granite monstrosity opposite was built.

The main issue that I have, excepting their project management style
of steam rollering public opinion, frivolous waste of massive  public
funds and gross ignorance of the needs of the area, is that we are being
asked, on a National level, to pull together and reduce the National debt.
On one hand we're urged to caution and tightening of belts for cuts that
are going to hurt all, on the other hand we see our local council jollying
along, wasting millions of pounds of our money on things that won't
benefit the local economy, the majority of families or youngsters that
have nothing to do except wait until they are old enough to be served in
pubs.

It does raise a very obvious question: if a small, backward and narrow
minded provincial council like Aylesbury is doing this, are they alone?
I would be interested to know how many other councils are guilty of
equal and greater waste.

Some things just sicken me.