2008 - My Year In Pictures

Day #366

admin — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:31:51 +0000

Title: The Years Tick By
Location: Faulkbourne
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 17-85mm EF f/4-5.6 IS USM
Notes: I have reached the end of my 366 journey. I can’t quite believe I’ve made it this far. But I’ve had a very enjoyable year. So although I’ll be sorry to see the end of 2008, I’m happy that I have decided to continue my Photo A Day into 2009. This image was taken during a quick lunchtime trip around Witham, White Notley and Cressing. It’s a lovely Art Nouveau lamp from the church of St Germanus, Faulkbourne. Although I wasn’t specifically aiming at a date theme, this was the best image of the day as the weather was pretty cold and grey. I’ve just made it monochrome, no other effects added. A fitting end to the year’s pictures.

Day #365

admin — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:24:40 +0000

Title: Frosted Fern
Location: Hylands Park
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 17-85mm EF f/4-5.6 IS USM
Notes: The sun shone for most of the day. But with little or no wind to speak of, it seemed warmer than yesterday, even though there was frost on the ground for most of the time. Delaying work for as long as possible, I went to Hylands Park with Alistair to look for another couple of geocaches. The gardens were rather wintry, and this poor fern looked like it could do with a bit of sun on its leaves!

Day #364

admin — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 03:34:31 +0000

Title: Redeye II
Location: Maldon
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 17-85mm EF f/4-5.6 IS USM
Notes: Spent another chilly but fun day finding geocaches around Beeleigh and Maldon, with a brief, warm respite for lunch in the pub at Heybridge Basin! We ended up at the Thames Barges in Maldon Quay, and this was a bit of a reprise of the location of my May 11th shot, with a twist – of rope, no sun and about 25 degrees colder!

Day #363

admin — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 03:13:48 +0000

Title: Croxton’s Mill
Location: Little Waltham
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 17-85mm EF f/4-5.6 IS USM
Notes: It was a sunny day, but bitterly cold for most of it. Nevertheless, Alistair and I set out for a day’s geocaching mission around Little Waltham and Broomfield. The Nature Reserve is a lovely place to walk and for the most part, the sun shone. By the time we had completed the caches here, the light was beginning to fade and it was freezing. But we then headed south to Galleywood to look for a special 500 Finds Geocoin in one of my cache hides, as it was Alistair’s 500th geocache. Can’t imagine how that got there. Not that he’s an addict, or anything

Day #362

admin — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:46:25 +0000

Title: Plotting A Route
Location: At home
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 24-105mm EF f/4 L IS USM
Notes: The sun we were promised in the forecast never materialised today. A shame, but I was busy with various jobs at home. Tomorrow, my fellow geocaching addict friend Alistair is coming over, so I spent a little time this afternoon plotting some caches we can visit. Let’s hope the sun comes out for us!

Day #361

admin — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:20:57 +0000

Title: Let’s Play Trains
Location: Colchester SMEE
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 24-105mm EF f/4 L IS USM
Notes: It was a lovely sunny morning, so I headed out to the Colchester Society of Model and Experimental Engineers who had an open day, with my Dad. The have two gagues of track and several great little engines whizzing around. Nice to smell some steam in the air after being cooped up all day yesterday.

Day #360

admin — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 19:31:28 +0000

Title: Jingle Bells
Location: Wivenhoe
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 50mm EF f/1.8 + 12mm extension tube
Notes: Merry Christmas all! This is a decoration on my parents’ Christmas tree.

Day #359

admin — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 19:10:48 +0000

Title: Dusk At Dry Dock
Location: Wivenhoe Quay
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 24-105mm EF f/4 L IS USM
Notes: I drove over to stay with my parents for Christmas, and managed a quick walk around the Quay area of Wivenhoe before the light disappeared compeletely. Yes, I know it doesn’t look very dry. But as previously explained, it’s the name of the place.

Day #358

admin — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:42:54 +0000

Title: A Reviving Cuppa
Location: At home
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 50mm EF f/1.8 + 12mm extension tube
Notes: Another day of drab weather and too much work to do. Still, a nice, reviving cuppa works wonders.

Day #357

admin — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:45:15 +0000

Title: Coins Of The Realm
Location: At home
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 24-105mm EF f/4 L IS USM
Notes: I was really busy today, spending most of the time working. And the weather was pretty drab, so I didn’t even feel like popping out for a few minutes at lunchtime. However, I’ve been trying to think around this week’s 366 theme, Circles. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without chocolate money, now would it?

Day #356

admin — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 15:54:35 +0000

Title: Admiral’s Folly
Location: Admiral’s Park, Chelmsford
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 24-105mm EF f/4 L IS USM
Notes: The sun showed its face again today, so I took a quick trip to Admiral’s Park to get some photos before lunch. This folly was casting nice shadows on the grass.

Day #355

admin — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 17:28:01 +0000

Title: Going Round The Bend
Location: Galleywood
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 24-105mm EF f/4 L IS USM
Notes: I have a confession to make. I hate the run-up to Christmas. For starters, December has such short daylight hours, and you’re lucky to find any sun at all on some days. Thank goodness it’s the Winter Solstice tomorrow – things can only get lighter from then on. And then there’s the insane knots people tie themselves in, during their frenzied shopping, for all those “essentials” for the Christmas period. It’s only a couple of days when the shops are shut, but some folks seem to get a seige mentality and insist on stocking up with weeks’ worth of provisions. Not to mention the angst caused by not knowing what to get as presents, or wondering if you’ve spent too much. To be honest, I’ll be glad when it’s all over and I can relax and spend some time with friends. So, there you are. My little rant is over. Sorry to be a Scrooge about it all. Bah, Humbug!

Day #354

admin — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:22:45 +0000

Title: Rest A While
Location: Battlesbridge
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 24-105mm EF f/4 L IS USM
Notes: I had to go to the antiques centre at Battlesbridge to pick something up for Christmas today. One of the shops there sells old garden furniture, so I took a wander around and spotted this lovely table and chairs, casting a shasow on the wall. Shame I didn’t have too much time to sit and rest a while…

Day #353

admin — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:04:36 +0000

Title: Ceiling Details
Location: Chelmsford Cathedral
Camera: Canon EOS 30D / 24-105mm EF f/4 L IS USM
Notes: I had a few minutes to spare while in Chelmsford this morning, so took the opportunity to have a quick look inside the Cathedral. I’d never set foot in the place before, but having seen some photos of the interior recently on Flickr, I decided it was worth a visit. I love the ceiling pattern.