Weather watching
The past month and a half has been hot and sunny in this little corner of the world, with the odd day of heavy showers and mizzle. We’ve had afternoons of wandering around the garden barefoot in the grass. Days where the streets in town are filled with people on day trips, in search of coffee and cake or lunch and cold drinks to be enjoyed al fresco. Stifling nights where you kick off the bedcovers and still can’t get cool enough, and you don’t get nearly enough sleep.
Flowers are going to seed already; the world’s still green and lush but a certain tiredness is creeping in at the edges. The sulphurs and amethysts of late summer are making an appearance, coaxed out by the relentless sun and heat of a summer which already feels uncharacteristically long.
The school holidays don’t start for another week yet.
I’ve been out and about with my camera a lot lately. My photography course ends soon, and I’ve had assignments to complete which put into practice all the theory.
Because of the endless bright sunshine, I’ve been waiting for cloudy days to coincide with not being in work, and I managed to get one last week once Joe was dropped off at school. I just tried out different settings and got caught in three rain showers (one heavy). But I didn’t mind that - it was welcome after all the heat.
The most recent assignment was about capturing the weather. And last weekend we got an overcast, breezy day which was perfect for getting up on the moors at Oxenhope (between here and Haworth). I’d got my camera settings sorted: focus, white balance, RAW (not JPEG)… I was ready.
The course has a Facebook group and I’ve been struggling a bit lately with my photography. Everyone else’s pictures look so professional and accomplished, whilst mine have just looked a bit blah. It’s dented my confidence.
I can put this down to a few things: firstly, I’m using the kit lens which came with the camera way back when and it’s pretty limiting. I have ordered a 35mm prime lens which is taking an age to arrive (I got an email on Wednesday saying it was delayed by another week) and I’m frustrated because I really wanted to use it for this course.
Secondly - I haven’t been giving myself anywhere near enough time to practice and experiment. I’ve used my camera in manual mode for years now, but tend to instinctively adjust ISO and shutter speed and that’s about it. Aperture isn’t really much of a consideration due to the kit lens (it’s complicated). I haven’t ever used single-point focusing or shot in RAW or tried spot metering.
The latter has been something of a revelation.
I’ve always wondered why, when photographing landscapes, the skies have always ended up ‘blown’ and white. I always fail to capture the clouds. And apparently, to do that I need to meter for the sky. So I did.
And the pictures looked terrible.
I was so disappointed. We’d driven up there, left the car and walked into the wilds. Joe was being an enthusiastic little helper, taking direction very cooperatively. The weather was just right. And yet, having followed the instructions and changed all the camera settings, everything was going wrong. I felt defeated and upset and annoyed.
Jay was his usual glass-half-full, rational, encouraging self. So I kept going.
Mostly because we’d done a Zoom session on using Lightroom. Again, I already use it but that’s just tip of the iceberg stuff. But I thought, even if just a few images turn out OK after some tweaking, this outing won’t be a complete write-off.
If you meter for the sky, everything else looks scarily underexposed. But you can lift shadows with editing. An overexposed, bleached-out photo is almost impossible to rescue whereas a dark one can be fixed. So that’s what I did (in the photos where Joe’s the main subject, I metered for his skin).
I once read that photographs should be perfect straight out of the camera, and that editing is ‘cheating’.
Well, that’s a load of rubbish.
Editing is in itself a creative process, and it takes skill. And it not only fixes pictures - it can turn them into little pieces of art. And it’s fun.
I got some great feedback for these photos, and it really gave me a boost. Comparing yourself to others is always a bad idea. I know that. Not doing it is hard. But I’ve leaned so many lessons already - about myself as a photographer, about the technicalities of photography, about photographing people rather than just nature close-ups and the odd landscape. Challenging myself and using the light and trying new things. There’s a lot more to learn, and I’m relishing it.
And I just got a message - my new lens is arriving today, just in time for the weekend. Amen to that!
No more photography talk for now.
A brief miscellany instead.
At the moment, I’m
Reading: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender (also on the to-read pile: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, and Stuart: A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters)
Watching: The Handmaid’s Tale (still) and - I’m so embarrassed - My Unorthodox Life. Sod it, while we’re talking embarrassing, I’m also rewatching Gilmore Girls (again) and Dawson’s Creek. Look, I sat through Peter Rabbit 2 with Joe at the cinema last weekend so I’ve earned it. Waiting with anticipation for Ozark to start again - does that one replace some of my depleted credibility?
Eating: Well, Pizza Friday has now become a Thing in our house. I get gluten free basic margheritas (80p each!!!) from Morrisons for Joe and me and we load them up with mozzarella, artichokes, mushrooms, anchovies, olives, whatever we like (Jay just gets himself a fancy one to begin with). Joe’s going veggie for today’s selection and I’m joining him. We made burgers last night - I rarely eat beef - with melted cheese and relish and gherkins, so meat-free is no bad thing
Drinking: Sparkling water with lemon. From the fridge. And coffee. I’m now completely, chronically caffeine dependent and struggle to function without it, particularly first thing
Wearing: Anything that fits post lockdown (see: burgers and pizza). And glancing yearningly at my autumn woollens. But coveting a pair of Saltwater sandals. I am, as the Americans say, conflicted. BTW, also want some of these for work
Planning: A trip to the zoo tomorrow with Joe. He won the egg and spoon race at sports day on Tuesday despite being extremely unsporty (he’s more of a maths/art wonder). Plus, he’s a star so he deserves it. Also, thinking of summer holiday things we want to do - the usual list will be compiled and added to.
Finally, a house update…
We viewed one last week and I foolishly set my heart on it (I started a Pinterest board and everything - insert ‘oh no’ emoji). It needs completely modernising but is in a fantastic spot at the top of a hill on the edge of a conservation village. Close to Joe’s school. Big garden. Perfect for *investors.
*Boo, hiss etc.
There were twenty viewings that day and the agent stopped taking bookings due to being inundated with enquiries. They were going straight to best and final offers. So we put together an offer which was a stretch financially, and wrote a carefully-worded supporting letter. And crossed our fingers for the following four days.
On Tuesday morning, at sports day (and just as the headteacher was about to address us all) the phone rang and it was the agent. We didn’t get the house. She was so disappointed for us, as she’d hoped we’d be The Chosen Ones. Apparently, we had been the favourites but someone from out of the area had made a last minute cash offer which exceeded ours by £20,000. She said it was far more than the house was worth, and that once another £40,000 (at least) had been spent on modernising it, the new owners would find themselves in negative equity.
Not that that’s much consolation. But it’s how the market is at the moment, especially around here. Demand far outstrips supply. And there are always people with lots more to spend than you have. I’ve heard lots of stories of offers being accepted, only for someone to turn up and make a higher offer, effectively pulling the rug out from under a buyer’s feet. This ‘gazumping’ is illegal in Scotland but not here.
We viewed another house on the same afternoon (my friend was visiting and kindly kept Joe occupied while we took a look around). But we didn’t really get ‘the feeling’. And then I asked myself, is ‘the feeling’ a luxury which just doesn’t apply any more? Do you simply view a property and try to buy it before someone else does? Even if you feel decidedly indifferent towards it? Is that how it works now? Am I stuck somewhere in the early 2000s along with Gilmore Girls and Dawson’s Creek? When house buying was simple, and bootcut jeans and those T shirts with kittens wearing sparkly tiaras were in? When we over plucked our eyebrows and got excited about GHD hair straighteners?
It’s all changed so much. You used to view a house, think about it, maybe go back for a second look. Think some more. Actually, no. Ponder. By which time, the agent would be giving you wheedling phone calls, desperate to shift the house which had been sitting on the market for months, hoping to unlock that nice commission and move on. If you loved said house, you’d make an offer - usually a bit below the asking price - and secure your new home.
Now, you contact the agent as soon as a ‘new to the market’ notification appears on your phone just to ensure you get an appointment. Then you attend on a viewing day where you find yourself in a strange turnstile situation, behind the previous viewers and in front of the next lot. You try and suss out their situation. Do they have a posh car (and therefore a big budget?) Do they sound like they’re from south Manchester/London/other standard out-of-town location where properties sell for ridiculous amounts (big budget again)?
I think the only thing harder than buying a house at the moment is getting a doctor’s appointment.
The world’s gone mad.
I sound about ninety, don’t I?
Anyway, here endeth the rant.
We’re actually viewing another one this afternoon but that’s all a bit hush hush and I’m not tempting fate. Just wish us luck. Please.
Finally, thank you again for your comments. And to my pen friend in the Outer Isles: I’m so sorry for not writing. Life has been hectic lately… nothing new there.
Have a great weekend - it’s going to be another hot one!
