Updates new pictures and sales and more pictures

sorry but I do find it difficult to make a start to these things. It is now Tuesday and since my last missive I have updated the website. I have expanded the front page and added in a recent pictures page this I will try and up date as I manage to go and take more stuff. In addition I reworked "Say Hello" pages to take out the flawed guest book. I assume it is something I have done. I will try and fix it at a later date. I also put in one of the few pictures of me that I possess as taken by one of my Children. My wife refers to it as the Axe Murderer, and wants a "better" one. I quite like it.

So what do you think, its me and I have had a shave.

I had tought I would be able to update the site with new comment and photos regularly given that I had more time on my hands. This may not be as often as previously thought as Pertemps have offered me a job starting next week. So I will return to the world of full time employment, not quite what I had in mind but it will pay the bills and give me more time to develop a market for Vertrouge. We will see how things go.

On Sunday I was at the Ironbridge Craft Fayre, the new venue seems to be working as we have had over 100 people in every week this month with over 150 this week alone. I try and keep count just so I know, but all the other stall holders seem to be very keen on knowing how many we have had in.

I actually managed to sell a picture this weekend, This one, called Out to Sea, This is one of my most popular pictures I have sold several copies of it. I took it in Goring by Sea last November, the companion to it "low tide " has a man on the beach, I like it. I took them in the afternoon after my Doris Hayes' funeral, just before sunset. She would have liked the walk on the beach.

Talking of walks I managed to go back out to Sandwell Valley this morning. the light was different today. The sun hid behind the clouds for much of my time there only deigning to make an appearance as I walked back towards the car.

I got in about 8:30 there were more people around and although the was no mist there was a fair cloud cover.

I got a few picture of the colour of the water, I do like the golden glow that you get from the the low sun especially filtered through low cloud.

I walked clockwise around the lake starting from the farm. The light was not as good as on other days I had been there. I took photos, but they did not "feel right" even when I was taking them and looking at them later I was not particularly happy with them.

I suppose there is almost and immediacy effect, in a way I am still comparing the actual picture with the shot I thought about in my head, if the match is not there then I am not happy. However often I will come back to stuff I shot some time ago and the greater the distance in time between me taking the picture and seeing it again the fonder I am of it.

These two I am not sure about. I suppose I wanted to reproduce the autumnal feel and add in the dimension of the path curving away

I look at them and am not sure if I have got it right. I know I tend to be hyper critical of stuff I have just taken so may be they will mellow with age.


It was not until I came on the final section that the sun really made an appearance. I think it was as I looked to take a shot of my on going favourite the Teasel

It may not be my best picture of the spiky form but it made me happy today. After this although the sun hid itself every so often, It reappeared on regular intervals.

The seagulls and the lapwing on the lake and Islands were particularly flighty this morning and seemed to fly up for no reason. I originally put it down to them noticing me, but once I saw the Sparrowhawk that had settled on the Island take off and head towards West Bromwich, I understood the nature of the threat.

OK more tomorrow or definitely next time.