Taking a break 2

In a week when i re-adjust to life generally in 2012 as an armchair photographer, I am sitting here at my kitchen / dining table dreaming about nostalgic times in the past and a few pre planned trips that I hope to fulfil this year. My Mother is now back home and there are different concerns to worry about but I am mainly assisted by a professional team who are supervising her three times a day. I visit her most nights I can for about an hour and then return home to a regular rotational e-mail list to report on the progress. Contrary to what followers think, I haven't abandoned or stopped blogging but it's been difficult trying to fit everything in. Just as I wanted to publish something in February, I will endeavour to comment on blogs over the next week, sorry for my absence to your works.

In a parallel journey, my internet problems this year have led me to explore issues of watermarking and although I have moved on in life from the previous post, hence why I need to post something new ... the Hotel who were not directly profit making from the photo, apologised, removed the image and offered me a free cream tea !! ... probably worth around £5 !!

.... it's a nice thought but not the easiest of places to get to, 370 miles in the car, possibly 2 or 3 nights Bed and Breakfast ... in The Sidmouth Harbour Hotel ... moving on to the next paragraph...

The first step in my editing journey was the complex issue of Photoshop elements 10. It seemed like a great idea to sign up for the free 30 day trial. I have come to the conclusion like anything to do with computers ... "it is easy if you know how". My journey began with the difficulty of trying to access the beast. Personally I think 30 days is not long enough as it is more important to gain an understanding of how the system works during the period rather than perform advanced editing.

I managed to create some brushes thanks to a YouTube link from Petra and a Seeing to pictures post from Adrian. However I had difficulty creating a standard size brush for both cropped and uncropped images which Adrian answered personally but I couldn't understand why this didn't work. I asked a question in a Forum to which it took several replies to ascertain that my elements page had been corrupted in some way and it was unfortunate that he spoke a different computer language to me !! As I had spent too much of the month on this issue, I had a desire to sample other features of Elements ...

 ... next on the list was the other hot topic on my page of eliminating distorted verticals on buildings. As an introduction, all my photographic life, I have used standard lenses with the option of moving up to zoom lenses on a variety of cameras. With my lack of knowledge on the wide angle lens ... of 24mm from December 2010, the temptation was too great to push it to the limit in an area that I was unfamiliar with.

This process of correction was difficult at first but with two YouTube clips I found a complex and detailed link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpAiIVWA5t4

followed by a simpler one who sounds like one of my Yorkshire friends ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h6mQ_D4zm8

Unfortunately the file was 70MB and wouldn't load through my photo storage supplier. I found by accident a short and unusually swift presentation of how to reduce the MB size of an image or rather "Get as many hits to the link as you can because there's no way you are going to understand this after 4 plays " !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMgY22pyoNc

Unfortunately, I may not have been looking at the correct video because after the file of specific images were reduced to 3.8MB or even 1.5MB, loading was still an error.

I discovered by accident that I could copy from the Facebook note page but would not load the initial file of 70MB, however after re sizing it did. Yeah, that nasty website meant that you are looking at the next four images.

"Computers are easy if you know how" !!

I was overwhelmed by support and ideas in the comments section of the previous post. All these ideas and programs need time to explore. Wind ... you have gone way beyond the call of duty, I appreciate your input and your comments have been noted. As a tribute to Wind, here's my take using some past images...

I dream of escaping ...

My door ... in Summer

My Car ... stuck

My door ...  in Winter

My dinner .... lol

My next trip !!

Ah well, best go and get the milk out of the fridge and make another cup of tea !! ..........

Bristol - Balloon Fiesta (2) ... take off

.... After the first two balloons were filled (previous post), it seemed like carnage elsewhere in the field as the crowd wondered what the partially inflated balloons were going to look like.

(When I decided back in early January to publish my 2009 south west travels as I was a bit short on material and trying to sort out issues with the new camera at the time, I had always planned to show this post as a grand finale celebration of colour ... Hope you like it.
I have a couple of Christmas posts up my sleeve from this area for later in the year in case I get snowbound again!)

"Have you got a great view ?'    "Ohhh Yes"

This nearby fellow from a British insurance advert kept my attention during inflation for some time as he was only recognisable when the facial features filled out.

It is unfamiliar territory for me to capture a balloon festival and it turned out to be quite a challenge as any viewpoint for photography was difficult. My original location was several metres from the fence and it was difficult to move through crowds to vary the images.

There is a skill in the ground control of hot air balloons that needs to be learned !

can't keep hold of it any longer

An aeronautical engineer called Don Cameron who came to work in Bristol early in his career had social pursuits with a nearby gliding club. After reading an article in National Geographic about the invention of the modern hot air balloon, the team constructed and flew their own in July 1967 after many constructional and design problems.  Excited by the possibilities of this new hobby, Don Cameron decided to build a few more balloons and eventually gave up his job within 3 to 4 years to start Cameron Balloons Ltd. The first decade was all about adventure to unusual places such as the Alps and The Sahara desert with occasional talks to enthusiasts. On one of these occasions, a question was asked about a festival and in 1979, The Bristol Balloon Fiesta was born.
Cameron Balloons Ltd is now the world's largest balloon manufacturer and is based in an old factory with three floors in the Bristol suburb of Bedminster. The company produce 500 balloons each year with numerous special shaped balloons being produced for advertising purposes, many of which are seen here.

Full inflation

Churchill monitors the take off....

.... making sure that Health and Safety is being followed !

local balloonist with G - LENN

From the latest published data (December 2007), Cameron Balloons has had two thirds (1073) of all UK Hot air balloons registered with the Civil Aviation authority.

All this waiting around is making me rather hungry !

The skies are filled with colour and..... propane gas as they all head over Bristol City centre.

Static exhibits... you're not being let off the lead today

Whats this ... 1 ? Putting on (outsize) dancing shoes.

Whats this ... 2 ? ... I think you've guessed

"The Flying Scotsman"... or not as the case may be today

Like so many major events held beside small roads, traffic is always a problem. This route to the festival was normally free flowing when I was taken into Bristol on all of the fridays that I was there.  On this particular occasion, we were to be dropped off by car, but as the road was gridlocked, a 1 & 1/2 mile walk seemed ... and was the quicker option. The best days out are sometimes the most exhausting and First Bus let the customers down badly on the 359 bus route by not providing sufficient evening transport and forgetting about some of their .... last buses !!  A 3 mile walk is tough at the end of a long afternoon with no seats.

The overflow car park !

Lastly, it is time for me to take my own flight into the sunset and say goodbye to the South West and re - position myself into 2011.

Left-Right : North Wales, The River Dee, The Wirral Peninsula, The River Mersey and Liverpool

Bristol - Balloon Fiesta (1) ... colours and faces

I have now moved back up to Bristol for the last leg of my 2009 south west tour.
The Bristol Balloon Fiesta which is usually held on the second weekend in August is now one of the largest in Europe and attracts balloon enthusiasts from various parts of the world.

The free event in the 850 acre Ashton court estate is held over four days and it has been said that 100,000 can be in attendance on any one of the days.

Ashton Court on the edge of Bristol city centre.

Ashton Court Mansion is a historic grade 1 listed 15th century  building which has been extended over the years by the successive generations of the Smyth family who owned it. In 1946 the dynasty of family ownership ended but it was another 13 years before the City of Bristol acquired the forgotten and neglected building. Restoration was a slow process but the building is available for business and wedding hire. Personally, I was privileged to be able to attend an evening function for a wedding during the previous year to when these pictures were taken.

On arrival in the park, the crowds were in awe as the Red Arrows RAF team arrived to do what they do best .... giving a jaw dropping aerobatic display...

Despite the team being formed in 1964, they have a long 20th century history in other forms and despite threats in more recent times of the fleet being dismantled due to spending cuts, it took the British Government to step in and overrule the decision as a matter of public relations for worldwide air shows.

It was time to take my place of the showground and got a good vantage point near the fence ready to watch the colourful spectacle as the balloons arrived in their ground transport.

I didn't expect to come across another colourful spectacle as I took my place behind a feathered friend.

"Who's a pretty boy ?!"

I seem to be attracting all kinds of animals as a dog arrives on the scene and doesn't seem too excited about what is going on in the field.

Unfortunately the Parrot is not so sure and requests a swap from the shoulder to the opposite knee and is also for alternative reasons not too bothered about what is going on the other side of the fence !!

I hope you enjoy the following series of images as a more intimate introduction to the festival...

"I think we are missing something! "

"I'm sure I packed the balloon in here last week !"

"Found it... I hope this stitching holds that I did after last time ! "

" Having difficulty inflating.... I wonder if I can ask for a volunteer ? "

" I'll come and help blow it up "

"Help, I'm getting crushed against my car with a balloon ! "

"Not much to look at but it's warm in here "

"First up, all done and ready to go, just need to wait for all the others now"

To be concluded in part 2 as more balloons are inflated and take off commences ........