Three storms in as many weeks has meant putting everything on hold....
This time last year we had a really bright spell with warm and sunny weather allowing me to sit out in the sun with a coffee and cake.
This year has been the complete opposite.
My thoughts are with all those that have suffered flooding. It really must be awful to have your home and possessions destroyed.
For us it wouldn't be so bad...
If we suffered flooding it would be relatively easy for us to replace the van and as we have already downsized and stripped back all our possessions anyway, what we do have would be easy for us to gather together and head off to the nearest Premier Inn or similar... That of course is one of the benefits of a mobile lifestyle...
As I write this the rain has started yet again although luckily the gale force winds of this latest storm 'Jorge' appear to have moved on away from us.
Normally at this time of year I would be starting to prepare the van for the touring season ahead.... getting all those little jobs done that we need some settled weather in order to complete..
Things such as cleaning and polishing the van....sorting out all the summer kit... checking the awning... replacing items that have worn out etc.
At the moment I have no idea when I will make a start on these tasks although the one thing we do have in our favour is the fact that we are staying on our winter pitch for an additional three weeks in order to avoid the inflated prices of club sites over the Easter holidays.
It seemed to make sense to hang on here and start touring again when Easter was over... It will save us money but more importantly it will give us some extra time to prepare as due to the weather everything seems to be delayed anyway. .
A couple of weeks ago I bought myself another camera but due to the terrible weather, until a few days ago I hadn't been able to get out and try it .....
For this blog most of the images I use are direct from my mobile phone camera with the occasional shot that I might have taken with my small Sony RX100 111.
That is a brilliant little camera that can produce very high quality images which is great for such a small, convenient carry everywhere camera...
The new camera I purchased was an upgrade to the Fuji XE-1 that I have been using for a few years now for my more serious images which are mostly in monochrome.
I love the retro feel of the Fuji X series cameras and I find that the controls are more intuitive than a lot of other modern cameras including my little Sony...
It probably says a lot about my old school way of thinking when it comes to camera design in this digital age ...
Anyway a couple of days ago we had a very cold but almost dry day so I was able at last to get out and try out my new photographic acquisition......
The moor is very very wet and walking on it is a bit like walking on a wet sponge but I headed up to the old Harrowbeer airfield which is a short walk from our campsite and for an hour or two I was able to play around with the new camera.
I took a number of shots in and around The Rock which is a rocky outcrop on the edge of the moor...
I have posted an image of The Rock below but that photo was taken with my mobile phone camera. I took it when I was setting up the shots with the new camera as I wanted to quickly check the composition of the images I was proposing to shoot...
To the left side of the image you can see a couple of walkers sheltering from the bitter wind that was blowing that day...
Eventually you will be able to see the results with the new camera as they filter through to my monochrome photo blog 'Aura of Past Shadows'.
Currently I am posting images on that blog from my back catalogue of files... If you are interested in taking a look there is a link in the sidebar on this blog.
This time last year we had a really bright spell with warm and sunny weather allowing me to sit out in the sun with a coffee and cake.
This year has been the complete opposite.
My thoughts are with all those that have suffered flooding. It really must be awful to have your home and possessions destroyed.
For us it wouldn't be so bad...
If we suffered flooding it would be relatively easy for us to replace the van and as we have already downsized and stripped back all our possessions anyway, what we do have would be easy for us to gather together and head off to the nearest Premier Inn or similar... That of course is one of the benefits of a mobile lifestyle...
As I write this the rain has started yet again although luckily the gale force winds of this latest storm 'Jorge' appear to have moved on away from us.
Normally at this time of year I would be starting to prepare the van for the touring season ahead.... getting all those little jobs done that we need some settled weather in order to complete..
Things such as cleaning and polishing the van....sorting out all the summer kit... checking the awning... replacing items that have worn out etc.
At the moment I have no idea when I will make a start on these tasks although the one thing we do have in our favour is the fact that we are staying on our winter pitch for an additional three weeks in order to avoid the inflated prices of club sites over the Easter holidays.
It seemed to make sense to hang on here and start touring again when Easter was over... It will save us money but more importantly it will give us some extra time to prepare as due to the weather everything seems to be delayed anyway. .
A couple of weeks ago I bought myself another camera but due to the terrible weather, until a few days ago I hadn't been able to get out and try it .....
For this blog most of the images I use are direct from my mobile phone camera with the occasional shot that I might have taken with my small Sony RX100 111.
That is a brilliant little camera that can produce very high quality images which is great for such a small, convenient carry everywhere camera...
The new camera I purchased was an upgrade to the Fuji XE-1 that I have been using for a few years now for my more serious images which are mostly in monochrome.
I love the retro feel of the Fuji X series cameras and I find that the controls are more intuitive than a lot of other modern cameras including my little Sony...
It probably says a lot about my old school way of thinking when it comes to camera design in this digital age ...
Anyway a couple of days ago we had a very cold but almost dry day so I was able at last to get out and try out my new photographic acquisition......
The moor is very very wet and walking on it is a bit like walking on a wet sponge but I headed up to the old Harrowbeer airfield which is a short walk from our campsite and for an hour or two I was able to play around with the new camera.
I took a number of shots in and around The Rock which is a rocky outcrop on the edge of the moor...
I have posted an image of The Rock below but that photo was taken with my mobile phone camera. I took it when I was setting up the shots with the new camera as I wanted to quickly check the composition of the images I was proposing to shoot...
To the left side of the image you can see a couple of walkers sheltering from the bitter wind that was blowing that day...
Eventually you will be able to see the results with the new camera as they filter through to my monochrome photo blog 'Aura of Past Shadows'.
Currently I am posting images on that blog from my back catalogue of files... If you are interested in taking a look there is a link in the sidebar on this blog.
4 comments:
That new camera looks good. Lets hope the stormy season goes soon, this constant rain is depressing and I dont envy you in the van, as its bad enough being stuck in a house. But despite the rain I've managed to get out on the bike but its a case of choosing the right time.
Enjoy your new camera!
I like a camera to have a viewfinder, but they don't make them any more with a viewfinder. Perhaps Sonny does, but her products are expensive for me.
@ Dave
I have to admit that overall this has been the most depressing winter we have had since we started full-time touring....
Due to the weather I have not managed to ride the bike anywhere near as often as I would have liked.
@ Duta
I like to have a viewfinder on my cameras too. I have now got very used to 'electronic viewfinders (EVF)' and both my Sony and Fuji cameras have EVFs as standard.
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