Photography

Margarita in a wine glass, with salt.

I regularly try to come up with insightful and wise things to say to accompany photographs that I take. I always want my words to sound like some awesome mix of Ansel Adams, CS Lewis, and Irma Bombeck. Unfortunately, I usually just end up sounding something like Jack Handey or Yogi Berra.

Oh well, I can still take pictures and steal other peoples words to go with them.



Stay busy, get plenty of exercise, and don't drink too much.  Then again, don't drink too little.  ~Herman "Jackrabbit" Smith-Johannsen

A little margarita(if even in a wine glass) is good for the soul some evenings :-)


Happy Hump Day, my friends! 

Bubbles. 4th April.

Water has been a problem for me today! I was planning to go out and shoot for my project on the English, but the weather destroyed any chance of me getting the photographs which I had planned as British people tend to run away from anything which hints at rain! I do have a number of shoots planned over this week and next week which shall hopefully not be impacted by the weather though, so I am a little bit excited about that!!

Back to the Marsh hide (again)

Again I found a gap in my work schedule today, so I spent an hour in the Marsh hide, this time walking the path from the Stodmarsh end of the reserve. I saw my first Blackcaps of the year and on the way down past the Alder wood, several Wrens were singing as if their life depended on it.







I saw two Orange tip Butterflies but they were in a hurry and never stopped for a photo, no such trouble with a Peacock that obligingly let me get within range.



As I reached the Marsh hide, a Common Buzzard circled high overhead, I took a photo but it was much too high to get anything reasonable, and I counted 6 Marsh Harriers in the air together as I entered the hide.



A pair of Garganey were out in front of the hide,(at last) and I got 4 shots off which was lucky as a Marsh Harrier scattered everything on the flood about 30 seconds after I arrived.
The Jack Snipe was seen again, in exactly the same place as yesterday, I only noticed it as it started bobbing. I saw it on a couple of occasions but it is one of them birds that although you know it’s there, it’s hard to see.





The Marsh Harriers were putting on an aerial display, and I was able to get a few photos as they passed by fairly close to the hide. It was quite a productive hour spent in warm sunshine, a contrast to what the weather men said it was going to be like.

Panorama

Walking by the evening Moscow

One of these days I found one pet shop. On its website I read that they had products for pets of very high quality. The shop was situated on Malaya Bronnaya street. That's between Tretyakovskaya and Mayakovskaya subway stations. When I checked the maps to look for a proper way to the shop I found that the shop was situated not far from Patriarshiy pond. Everybody who read "Master and Margareth" by Bulgakov, knows that this mystical novel started from this place. That's why I decided to take my camera with me even though I was just going to the pet shop.





When I came out from subway to the street I understood that I found myself in a Moscow place I liked most of all: old narrow streets and side'streets with their history and which are not still spoilt with high buildings of glass and metal. Unfortunately, the historical part of Moscow is not seen behind modern architecture. So pity... Every house here is a masterpiece. Despite their tatty exterier they saver the charm. Most of all I like their details: these windows, balconies with columnes, sculptures... Walking here, it looked like I sat into the time machine and went to the end if XIX or the beginning of the XXth century.  Only modern cards on the both sides of the street reminded me that  it was the XXIst century. Huh... People produce so many new cars and technologies every year... Please somebody constructthe time machine at last, eh!

Stella

Thank you Karen & Stella for a great morning @ the Arboretum!

Twój chleb na wielkanocnym stole (na zakwasie lub

Po lewej - melasa i kocie łapy, po prawej na górze chleb na zakwasie, po prawej na dole chleb na drożdżach (oba tuż przed włożeniem do koszyków)Jakie są Wasze skojarzenia, gdy słyszycie słowo: chleb?
Czy patrzycie wtedy na słoik z zakwasem? Czy jest to rumiany bochenek z chrupiącą, popękaną skórką?Okrągły czy podłużny?Mocno upieczony czy raczej blady? Czy macie przed oczami wielką jak lotnisko, pszenną pajdę posmarowaną grubo masłem? Z plasterkiem wędliny, pomidorem, solą i pieprzem?A może małą, wydzieloną razową kromkę z wiórkiem masła i plastrem chudego czegoś na wierzchu?A może prostokątny, niby-dietetyczny kawałek chrupkiego styropianu?Czy ten chleb ma dodatki?Kminek czy czarnuszkę?A może mak? Czy prażone ziarna słonecznika i dyni?I w końcu czy Wasz chleb jest drożdżowy czy na zakwasie?Nie wiem jaki jest wasz ulubiony chleb, ale wiem jedno. KAŻDY z Was może go sobie upiec.
O moim szacunku do chleba pisałam wielokrotnie, bo pamiętam czasy kiedy go u nas było mało. Pisałam również, jak wielką magią jest proces jego pieczenia, który dla mnie jest swoistym rytuałem.Dotykanie chlebowego ciasta dłońmi, ugniatanie, formowanie i przekładanie go do koszyka - wszystko ma swoje miejsce i czas. Chleb nie lubi pośpiechu.Nie lubi braku należytej uwagi.A najbardziej nie lubi być wyrzucany na śmietnik.
Po okresie mniejszych lub większych niepowodzeń chlebowych wracam do korzeni. Sięgam do książki 'Bread', którą napisał Jeffrey Hamelman i wybieram przepis na klasyczny, niekłopotliwy chleb. Lekko go modyfikuję i na drugi dzień wyjmuję z pieca dwa rumiane, pięknie pachnące bochenki.
Moja mała podpowiedź - polskie mąki są inne niż mąki angielskie czy amerykańskie. Potrzebują mniej wody, więc nie bójcie się zmniejszać jej ilości chociaż przepis podaje inaczej. Z całego serca polecam kupić mąkę chlebową z dużą zawartością białka. Z mąki, która ma go mniej niż 10g nie upieczemy ładnego kształtnego bochenka. Ja ku

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