Challenge Preparation - *updated

In preparation for the A-Z challenge though April starting tomorrow there will be no image of the day today. However, as a treat here are some randoms that haven't made it onto the blog scene as the are classed as seconds (or not good).


Roll on the Challenge tomorrow, i will be undertaking the following for the challenge:
Not only adding daily photos but sharing what programs i use and the techniques that created them.
I will also try where possible to add a few words. Weather it be inspirational, informative or funny.

 If you leave a comment I will do all I can to head over to your blog to return the favor.

 Happy AtoZ Challenge everyone, this should prove to be a very interesting journey.

Shaun

And now the Photos

Image of the day - angel (HDR)

Whist spending the day in Worcester cathedral I spotted this praying angel atop one of the coffins Looking ever serene but very imposing i had to get the shot.

Images of the Day - Day Four

The last in the installment of our holiday pics :( a sad day i know. But i feel that i have kept the best until last. We went to the beach town of Exmouth, renowned for its attraction for all types of water sport and we could see why. Long coastal stretched and coves that catch up the wind for the wind surfing guys.

I hope you like the following

Our boy Dylan just before our big last day outing.

 The towns harbor located at the most westerly point of the town

At low tide these boats were not going very far

A homeless man looks out to sea, i wonder what he is thinking about?

A lick of paint wouldnt go amiss im sure !

An easterly look along the shore line, it was extremely foggy...

Images of the day - Day Three

Day Three, we went into the depths of Dartmoor to a place called Becky Falls. This natural beauty spot has been open to the public since 1903 and had inspired people such as Virginia Woolf. The weather was overcast so perfect conditions for shooting long exposures.
 It was a bit of slog walking some of the trails with the dogs, as it can get very muddy.

I hopr you like the assortment of photos from along the waterfalls route.

 And to finish off a photo of a chaffinch

Images of the day - Day Two

Day 2 of or Whirl wind trip of Devon saw us venture across Dartmoor moors and into a small market town of Tavistock. There wasn't alot there to be perfectly honest, i was more captivated by the river that run though the town center and the church.

A buzzard playing Life guard over the fish ponds

The local church

 The mini waterfall at River Tavy

An onlooker taking a view into the river Tavy

The Versatile Blogger Award

The Versatile Blogger Award

Written by Shaun Gibbs

This was a nice surprise to wake up to on a Monday morning. I've been given The Versatile Blogger Award by Jamie at Mithril Wisdom. Thanks dude!

Here are the instructions that go with the award:

•  Thank the person who gave you this award and link back to their blog.
•  Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly
•  Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award
•  Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

 Okay, so without further ado:

Seven things about me 

1. I am a MotoGP fanatic. Everything from watching the races to knowing about the latest technology that is going into the bikes. My favorite team is Ducati and favorite rider is Nicky Hayden from Owensboro,USA.

 On top of all that i get to go to Silverstone this June to watch the guys in action. OH YEAH !!

2. I am a lover of all things World War 2. And i mean everything, if it flew had wheels, tracks or could be captained at sea i will read about it.

3. The great outdoors. Myself, dad and my fiancee love the outdoors. Me and dad go hunting and fishing regularly, while me and the Fiancee (Gemma) love to go out walking and bike riding in the surrounding countryside.

4. Reptiles. I totally and utterly adore everything and anything about them. Keeping, reading, handling there is nothing that i dont love about everything reptilian. We currently have several lizards and snakes in our collection at them moment, and (lets hope) that one day i can set up a breeding program for them.

5. I have a passion for reading (see point 2) i like all sort of reading, apart from the soppy romantic stuff. the more graphic and gorey the stories the more compelled i am to read on. Biggest inspirational authors of the moment are Adam Nevel, James Herbert and the might Stephen King

6. I am a techno geek freak. If it flashes, spins, is shiny or is totally useless i must have it. there is something very alluring about gadgets. 

 Now i have my long standing hobby of photography i have more expensive gadgets to buy now !!!

7. My Fiancee and family. These people are the most important people to me. Aswell as keeping me grounded, focused and driven they tend to keep all of the above points about me in check. And as you know hobbies can become addictive and addictions mean spending money. :) A massive thank you to those people (you know who you are)

And the award goes to
If you don't participate in awards, memes or blogging games then feel free to ignore the tag. You still deserve a mention. 

Deno -  http://www.whatdoallthesebuttonsdo.com/ 

Andrew -  http://rambleswithacamera.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Gemma - http://stitchinggems.blogspot.com
Bob -  http://birdsfod.blogspot.co.uk/ 

John - http://hwyfly.blogspot.co.uk/

Tammy - http://iheartfloridabirds.blogspot.co.uk/

RedPat - http://occasionaltoronto.blogspot.com/

TexWisGirl - http://www.run-a-roundranch.blogspot.co.uk/

Tanya - http://monroega.blogspot.co.uk/

Nancy -  http://www.joyfulaltitude.com/ 

Hey BJK -  http://www.heybjkoutdoors.com/ 

Michelle -  http://itsasmalltownlife.blogspot.co.uk/
Candy C -  http://lazyjbarcfarm.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Barbara l. Hale - http://commonplacebeautyphotography.blogspot.co.uk/

Jeremy - http://jeremyinglisphotography.blogspot.co.uk/

Thanks again for the award! Even if you weren't tagged, share one random fact about yourself.

Images of the Day - day One

Well im back off of my weeks break, and boy was it worth it. Although the weather here was not the best ever, a week spent away from work with no stress or hassle is a week blessed.
 We did not get to our holiday lodge until just after 4pm and the light was fading fast, i managed to snap a few images to share.

Our home for the week

The Master of Disaster; Dylan !!

Shaun

Images of the Day - Published at last

Well as you know from my previous post i mentioned that i had one of my photos published in the local papers. Our paper is called the Merthyr Express. This is by no means a big thing for those of you who get published quite regularly but it is hopefully the first of many, and the start of something on my journey.

Many of you have seen this photo before but here it is in all its paper glory

Bit of a busy week - Catch up

Well guys i must apologize for my awful lack of activity on here over the last week. It has been a hectic one.

Now that you have started reading i will tell you all about it, its all a big build up to tomorrow, but i will get to that later.

Monday i had to wash my beloved car, as it hadn't been washed since our first fall of snow back in lat January. I should be ashamed of myself as i am usually have OCD when it come to cleanliness of my car. After many an hour slaving over a pressure washer and a bucket on Monday i managed to come up with this.

Tuesday was a prep night ready for our fourth coming holiday. As the dogs (Missy and Dylan) are coming with us this time around we have to accommodate for them, is a country like ours there is no shortage of places to go hiking.

Wednesday we were off to see the head of the family. It was my grandfathers 88th Birthday, it was so nice to see him and all of the family together for his birthday celebration. He is, as i have said many times the inspiration behind the whole photography / blog thing.

Thursday saw my and Dad out on the farm tonight to do some rodent hunting. We help the local farmers rid their barns and stables of unwanted rats, the weather was really good and it was a productive night.

Friday was important for 2 reasons. One was that i had my first ever photo published in the weekly local paper. the other i that they are playing a charity rugby match for my friend who was killed over the Christmas period.
 I was ecstatic over the publishing, as i managed to get this blog address published with the photo. I will be putting a photo up of it.

Saturday daytime was a bit of a lazy one as the week was starting to catch up with me. Went to the in laws for lunch in the evening for the father in laws birthday. Was very nice and had beef wellington.

And here we are today. The car is all clean (again) and packed with all the essentials for a what feels like an expedition to the north pole.

I doubt i will be active over the next week but please be assured that i will be back armed to the teeth with all new images from my travels. Lets hope for good weather i guess

Have a good week everyone. Ill speak toy you all real soon

Shaun

Image of the Day - Times journey

Right fellow bloggers I am going to have to tie a couple of my recent posts together for tonight's installment. For those that have been following my blog you will sort of have an understanding of whats happening. For those who haven't I will try and add in the links for the relevant posts.
 The significance of this bridge is an important one, it was one of the first local stone bridges to be built other than the viaducts (See An afternoon in the rain) to be a load bearing structure for the steam trains to run on between the towns of Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil in the mid 1800's
 It was coal that was to transported on this line, and was destine for one of many steel works that scattered the area; with the main works being at Cyfarthfa (see the iron masters house Here)
 The Cyfarthfa Steel works toward the end of the 1800's was run by William Crawshays son Robert who made the steel works one of the most profitable and synonymous the world over (see Here for the grave site of Robert Crawshay)

Anyhow, the bridge fell into dismay, got torn down. As a part of local heritage, a wooden version was put in its place and added to the now Taff trail. which stretches from the Brecon Beacons to our capital of Cardiff.

The original stone bridge

The new bridge in B&W

 And a colour version for contrast

Image of the day - Anyone for a pint

I was out again this morning in the sticks to see what i could stumble apon. I have driven past this place but forgot what fond memories it held.
 Up until 4-5 years ago this run down ramshackle of a building was a local watering hole for the local rambling community. Called the Pontsarn Inn, it was synonymous among the locals and as soon as spring came and the nights grey shorter you could guarantee a good crowd there.
 But as times grew hard people stopped going to the public houses and this fell victim as a result.

A photo in its heyday back in 2004

                                 

And as it stands today

Around Roanoke, VA (A Daily Photo Blog): Train Car in B&W

After a suggestion to turn a colour photo into Mono, my US counterpart had a very good result. Check out Tanya Work on the below link.

Around Roanoke, VA (A Daily Photo Blog): Train Car in B&W: My bud across the pond, Shaun @ Valleys Shutterbug , suggested black and white on yesterday's photo so here it is, with a little grit adde...

Images of the Day - Vaynor Church

Whilst on my travels yesterday morning i stopped off at Vaynor church and graveyard. This site is an important place in Local History. Below is an extract from Alan and Georges old Merthyr Tydfil Website about Vaynor church and the importance of one of its occupants.

"Vaynor is a separate parish from that of Merthyr Tydfil. There are two river valleys in Vaynor, the Taff Fechan and the Taff Fawr. The place name Vaynor is derived from the Welsh word ‘Van’ meaning high or lofty. Other spellings such as Faenor or Vainor are possibly of early Irish origins. The original Vaynor Church was built in 874 or 714 but was burnt down during the battle of Maesvaynor which took place in 1291, the church replacing this very early one became dilapidated by 1867 and the Crawshays had a new church built which was completed in 1870. The church is dedicated to St Gwynno. There are lots of stories and legends about Vaynor, one is that the church tower was often used as a temporary prison and that a thief sleeping overnight there discovered 100s of skulls.
 One of the most remarkable memorials in Vaynor Churchyard is the grave of Robert Thompson Crawshay, known as the ‘Iron King’. It is a slab of stone of immense size said to weigh 10 tons. He famously had the inscription ‘God forgive me’ on his grave. This has been interpreted as meaning that he was sorry for his actions ( closing the Cyfarthfa Works and making hundreds of his workforce destitute and possibly also the way he behaved towards his own family ), however, these words were a very common inscription on Victorian tombstones.

I hope you enjoyed the photos i took

Images of the Day - something Spanish in the morning

May i first apologize for my lack of posting the last few days, its been a busy one.

This morning i was out by 7:10am and into the local wilderness. I Wont tell you everywhere i went, that will have to wait for the coming days blog posts.

The first installment is a Spanish style manor house that has many stories of its origin, the most popular one is that a local young man went to Spain, met a lady who moves back to Merthyr Tydfil with him. years pass and she becomes home sick. To ensure she stays with him in Merthyr he builds her a house in the style of back home in Spain.

Here are some of the photos taken with the Nikon D3100 with the 18-55mm kit lens