365/7 project - week three (last train to giggleswick)

This weekend Paul and I headed to my adopted hometown of Manchester to visit one of my best friends, Vicky and her gorgeous son, Thomas.

Gone are the days we would hit the town till the wee hours (well almost!)...we now mostly favour catching up over a bottle of vino and some tasty food of the takeaway variety. In order to work up an appetite we ventured out to a garden centre in Cheshire which has it's own miniature steam train - perfect for 'Thomas the Tank Engine' obsessed Thomas!

These are just a few photos from our train ride (yes we all went on it...Paul particularly enjoyed it) as well as Thomas's 'post-train-ride ice-cream' (even though it was -3 outside!).

365/7 project – week two

Something a little different this week... I wanted to inject a bit of bold colour into this post (and give my husband a break away from the lens!). So whilst deciding on what colour to paint my nails, I thought I'd photograph my options.

It took quite a few attempts to get the nail varnish drip just right. A few 'accidents' and practically a bottle of nail varnish remover later I got it.

365/7 project - week one

Okay so quite a few folks on the photography circuit have started the year off productively by doing the 365 project. This basically involves taking a photo a day for the entire year. Amazing. It's a great way to ensure you are taking photos purely for yourself and for fun plus it helps get the creative juices flowing. It's all to easy to go from one job to another and not pick up your camera in between.

I did attempt this last year on blipfoto. I lasted 4 days and by the 4th day was using my iphone camera. So this year I've decided to embark on this project with a few adaptations to the rules.

Firstly, I'm not going to commit to a photo a day but instead a weekly photo (or photos). I work full-time as a project manager on creative consultancy projects with young people, I love my job but it's tiring work. Throw into the mix weddings/portrait/engagement shoots at weekends and I'm done in. So a weekly photo project  is certainly more realistic.

Secondly, I'm only going to use my digital SLR's. I love my iphone and all the crazy apps I've downloaded. I use it all the time, everyday, but I want to become a better photographer and by using my digital SLR's I'll hopefully develop my technical skills.

Lastly, I'm going to be honest. They might not be the best photos in the world, but I'm going to not worry too much about them and post them anyway. It's about recording my year, demonstrating and testing my skills... and having fun.

So, does that mean I can be part of the gang? hope so.

The images in this post are from Paul and I's trip to the seaside yesterday...the first time I've ever been on a beach covered in snow.

This is Paul and his new parka. To me, my husband is one of the most photogenic people I have ever photographed (and so is my sister-in-law, it runs in the family!).

I then decided to face one of my fears and turn my camera on myself, used my 50mm prime lens, knowing it would be the closest 'close-up' I've ever had. I'm living with the result.