Good morning and what a lovely one it is; commitments not being until a little later in the day we strolled into town calling at the Lightbox for a coffee, very nice; now we are home and getting on with life's chores. Yesterday we did a slightly longer than usual walk over the fields between Knaphill and Heath Common. The weather was a royal mixture from down pouring rain, to bright sunshine, with everything between and under those varying conditions we passed the tree stump below.

On mucky days many people put their cameras away, well I would most certainly challenge that attitude. Rain washes everything, cleans it and makes nature look anew. Sunlight makes it sparkle. Overcast conditions providing it isn't to dark, makes colours deepen, without burning out the high-points and also reflecting light into the shadows; so images taken under those conditions, when taken with care, tend to glow.  We can see into the shadows, whilst also seeing the shinny edges on the leaves. If you are a techy sort of photographer, under expose very slightly, but not to much, say about a quarter to a third of a stop. For example see the above.

For those of you who might feel that my ink work is being neglected, yesterday, after quite a struggle ,the above was finished. An oldish oak tree. The textures and details of the trunk, leaves and undergrowth, were very difficult to produce and having finished it, I realized how challenging the piece had been to complete. Upon completion I must admit to a sigh of relief! Oh well, on to the next piece.

Going for my flu jab now; see you soon.

Duncan