Flaming June, or so goes the saying. It was pretty good weather-wise for the most part. Even too hot at times! I prefer it sunny but a little cooler myself.

Nevertheless, I managed a lovely walk around Herongate and Thorndon Park on Day #530. If I had not spotted the wonderful butterfly in the churchyard at Thorndon which I used, I think I would have made this shot of flax and oilseed rape my picture for the day.

I loved the contrasting yellow against pale blue of the field [right].

Opportunities for picture-making were left a little bit late on Day #534 when the first shot I took was at nearly 10pm! This one in the pub [left] was a close contender for the best, but in the end I liked the shadows under the gate more. I’ve certainly learned not to panic if I haven’t taken a shot until late in the day. Something always seems to present itself just in time!

The next day I had to go and photograph some rooves for a website (ooh, the glamour of my life!). I nipped out first thing for a short walk and was going to use the image of backlit grasses [below] when I first saw it. But then, once I saw the dramatic lighting on the roof, I couldn’t resist using that for Day #535.

I made two very different trips in June. The first was a long weekend in Sheffield for an unconference. It was good to see some old friends and meet new ones. A couple of days were spent largely indoors, but Alistair and I managed a bit of geocaching on the Monday before each returning home. It was good to get out and about in the Peak District again – something which I haven’t done for ages.

One urban image which caught my eye was the silhouette of this car park [above] which I noticed on the way from the hotel to the unconference venue. I thought it looked very Moorish.

Then, right at the end of the month, I went to visit friends in Barcelona for a few days. I went previously in 2006 and did a lot of the regular tourist sights. In fact, on my return, I wrote my very first post in this blog! But this time, apart from the fact it was very hot and we didn’t feel like doing a lot during the day, I was able to see some of the more unusual and out of the way bits of Barcelona.

On the first evening I was there, I went with my friends to an open-air film on top of the hill at Montjuïc. We had a wonderful view of the sunset [above], and this silhouette of the church very nearly made it on Day #546.