Author: dalecooper57

dalecooper57 may or may not necessarily be my real name, although I couldn't swear to it. An aging hippy living in Devon, I do all this stuff (and I do mean everything - blog, animation, music, photography, the lot) on my lovely smartphone because I started like that, and now I'm too stubborn to get a computer. I don't have a theme, because I don't see why I'd want to talk about the same thing all the time, so why only write about one thing? So if you like eclecticism, humour, nonsense, opinionated ranting, and occasionally educational stuff, you've come to the right place. Any and all feedback is welcome, both positive and negative, on the content, style and overall look of the blog. You keep following me, I'll keep telling you stuff, ok? Cheers, dalecooper57

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Black and white.

On By dalecooper57In editing and effects, photography11 Comments

Hi there, I hope you had a good weekend, now let’s see what you have to offer The Cosmic Photo Challenge.

This week the prompt was nice and straightforward, leaving the subject up to you, as long as your pictures are in; Black and white.

I took a walk around the town and captured some everyday scenes in shades of grey.

What did you find for this monochromatic Monday..?

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.

Cosmic Photo prompt.

On By dalecooper57In photographyLeave a comment

Good evening, happy Friday, it’s time for your weekly prompt from The Cosmic Photo Challenge.

This week we’re going out searching for subjects that look good in; Black and white.

There, couldn’t be much simpler than that, have a great weekend and we’ll all meet back here on Monday, cheerio.

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Compass points.

On By dalecooper57In nature photography, photography7 Comments

Hi there, today on The Cosmic Photo Challenge we’re seeing things from all four; Compass points.

The concept is simple: four photos, each taken from (or towards) one of the cardinal points of the compass, North, South, East and West.

I was visiting friends in Sussex at the weekend, so I took a walk up onto Ashdown Forest, home of Winnie The Pooh, where I captured these four shots…

North
East
South
West

…and this bonus panorama, which nearly covers all four.

How did your all-round mission go this week..?

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.

Cosmic Photo prompt.

On By dalecooper57In photographyLeave a comment

Friday again, so it’s theme time on The Cosmic Photo Challenge, which today takes the form of the prompt; Compass points.

I’d like four shots each this week, please, one from each of the cardinal points of the compass; North, South, East and West.

The photos can be in as many different locations as you like, as long as there is one facing in each of the four directions.

Got that? Excellent, I knew you were a clever bunch.  ;~}

Have a great weekend, see you all here on Monday.

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: From underneath.

On By dalecooper57In nature photography, photography14 Comments

Good morning, welcome to another edition of The Cosmic Photo Challenge, this week featuring pictures based on the prompt; From underneath.

I took a walk down the Tarka Trail from Fremington Quay on Saturday, capturing views from beneath the bridge, electricity poles and various vegetation.

I also used a short video clip I shot of the electrical poles, to make my own small tribute to visionary filmmaker, artist, musician and all round creative genius, David Lynch, who sadly passed away last week.

What made you look up over the weekend..?

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.

Cosmic Photo prompt.

On By dalecooper57In photographyLeave a comment

Good evening, it’s time for The Cosmic Photo Challenge to furnish your weekend with photographic activities, via today’s prompt; From underneath.

So start looking up for inspiration and I’ll see you back here on Monday for the big reveal.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Close up.

On By dalecooper57In editing and effects, photography12 Comments

Hello there, welcome to The Cosmic Photo Challenge on another chilly Monday morning, which today is focussed on; Close up.

I started off taking random pictures around the house, then got carried away with editing and made a composite image using some ceramic ornaments, my tablet and an old sunrise photo.

What did you get close to this week..?

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.

Cosmic Photo prompt.

On By dalecooper57In photographyLeave a comment

It’s finally Friday, which means it’s time for your weekend homework, courtesy of The Cosmic Photo Challenge.

Let’s have another go at capturing some images from; Close up.

That seems like it’s probably a weatherproof theme, just in case uncooperative climatic conditions get in the way of creativity.

Have a nice break and I’ll catch y’all again on Monday.

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: A cold start.

On By dalecooper57In photography9 Comments

A very chilly good morning to you, it’s time for the first edition of The Cosmic Photo Challenge for 2025.

This week’s prompt was chosen with the promise of frosty winter mornings and crisp, bright sunshine…but what we got was torrential freezing rain, high winds and flooding.

So there weren’t too many photogenic candidates to choose from yesterday and I had to resort to a soggy walk round the park; where the River Taw was a muddy, swollen torrent and the only consolation was a small temporary lake to provide some reflections.

What did you capture for us, did you do any better..?

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.

Cosmic Photo prompt.

On By dalecooper57In photography1 Comment

Hello, happy new year, welcome to the first Cosmic Photo Challenge of 2025.

Today I’m taking an obvious route for the first day back after the Christmas break; A cold start.

The temperature here has plummeted over the last couple of days and it seems like winter has got its claws out, so wrap up warm and capture the crispness for Monday’s post.

Have a great weekend, see you all soon.

*****

To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.