Jiao zi

Hopping across the Pacific from Argentina to China. Traditional boiled dumplings, with a pork and cabbage filling. Top: before, middle: after.

Alfajores

All the way from Argentina, and supposedly the best brand available, Postres Balcarce. If you've had these before your mouth should be watering already, if not, get your hands on some! Many thanks to Ernesto for the tip.

Monkey atop a tree

Cinnamon rolls

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman. It's good to be home for Christmas.

Snow

Or is it more ice?

Macaroons

Home for Christmas

Cancelled flights and delayed trains, and a very respectable performance at ISO3200.

Featured

On the BUAFL news feed. Pity about the crop.

A study in fog

Originally in black and white, but I opted for colour in the end.

Scrimmage

More from Bees @ Bulldogs here.

American football

A new lens, and with it a jump into sports photography. Bath Spa Bulldogs versus Bath Killer Bees. Gallery on facebook.

Long exposures

And messing with colours.

Late lunch at Tobacco Factory

Sea scallop and clam risotto (above) and 'Catch of the day' with crab meat ratatouille and tartare sauce (below). The Tobacco Factory (website) is a surprisingly nice discovery away from Bristol's city centre. With dance studios, a theatre and bar/restaurant/cafe amongst other things. Far too much for me to talk about, find out for yourself! The food was wonderful, as were the tea and cakes.

Slicing the branches

Frozen cars

Dog in the fog

And some brave runners. I just don't get tired of fog photos. Perhaps it's the novelty.

Mist and lights

And sub-zero temperatures. And a hard lesson on photo gear and condensation.

Mist and shadows

The Clifton Suspension Bridge casts a shadow over a misty Avon gorge.

Mist in the gorge

So I've been wanting to go photograph the Clifton Suspension Bridge in early morning light for a while now, and the first time I saw the bridge I thought, "This would be nice in a fog."

I decided to get up early one morning this weekend to take some photographs, but come seven a.m.  Saturday I was far too comfortable in bed to brave the cold and the dark, and slept until midday instead. Seven a.m. Sunday was the same story, but nine o'clock rolls round and I thought I'd check the weather, just in case. It said fog, which woke me up, then I glanced out the window, which woke me up even more. Ten minutes later I was out the door and scoffing down a chocolate cookie as breakfast.

The walk there was precarious, I was rushing and excited and the ice didn't help matters much. I immediately regretted not wearing my boots. But when I turned the corner to face the bridge I was astounded by the view in front of me.

I spent the next three hours filling my memory card and remained absolutely astounded by the shots I got. I've fallen in love with fog.

Lots more to come, stay tuned!

More from the Millennium Stadium

That moment when you know, "It's on!"

The church

In chilly Caerphilly.

Urban abandonment in Port Talbot

All that excitement with the police and stuff, I forgot I actually took some photos. Here's an abandoned building site Ernesto and I contemplated wandering around in. Trespass did play on my mind, but the locked gate and high walls pretty much made that decision for us. I settled for a peek through a hole in the wall.

Freelensing

A first foray into freelensing. I don't know where the term came from but it basically mimics the tilt effect of a tilt & shift lens. They're usually used to correct perspective distortion but perhaps would be more famous for creating 'false' miniature photos.

Could be fun, but I just don't want to give the elements easy access to the delicate innards of my camera. Also, not the best example of a distorted focusing plane. More to come?

One a side note, 100th picture blogged. It's out of focus and blurry. True to form for photography. Wahey!

First snow of the season

Kiwis and Cardiff

What a weekend! Packed trains, sub-zero temperatures, snow, ice, kiwis, Cardiff and rugby. Glad I brought my camera.

Below: Wales vs. New Zealand at the Millennium Stadium. The cold certainly didn't keep the crowds away.

Cherries from Alfarnate

Breakfast in Córdoba

The Greek

High ISO

Norweigan hunter's casserole

With venison and mushrooms. Thanks goes to Arnstein, the chef of the day!

Pecan pie!

New toys

Organic pumpkin soup

Beautifully comforting, and entirely makes up for the fact that it's Monday.

Halloween

Pumpkin hunting, jack-o-lanterns and bobbing for apples. Pumpkin soup to come, as is some pecan pie, an attempt to stave off the immediate christmas bombardment by retailers.

Bristol cathedral

The shot

Dave and... dave?

The set-up

Reindeer mafia

From left to right: Dave, Dave, Dave, Dave and Dave.

Stripy farfalle

Who? What?