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: In the morning light.

On By dalecooper57In nature photography, photography18 Comments

The march of time brings another weekend to an end, but it also brings with it The Cosmic Photo Challenge, this week themed around the prompt; In the morning light.

The forecasters were spot on with the weather, predicting the scorching temperatures which baked the UK right the way through last week, so I was glad for the chance to grab my photos early, before retreating to find what shade I could in the garden.

I captured my images on the drive back from taking Rhonda to work on Saturday, stopping in the village of Swimbridge (birth place of the very first Jack Russell terrier) for a wander round the churchyard.

What did you find on your early start at 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 photography1 Comment

Whew, what a scorcher it’s going to be this weekend, the perfect weather to capture some images for The Cosmic Photo Challenge, inspired by today’s prompt; In the morning light.

So get up and out early to avoid the worst of the heat and provide us with some pictures of the day dawning for Monday’s post.

Have a fabulous weekend, stay cool and hydrated and I’ll catch y’all on the other side.

*****

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: North, South, East, West.

On By dalecooper57In editing and effects, nature photography13 Comments

Hi there, I hope you had a good weekend, we’re here to ease you into Monday with The Cosmic Photo Challenge. This week we take you on a whistle stop tour of all points of the compass, with the prompt; North, South, East, West.

This gave pretty free rein in subject matter selection, since we simply had to be shooting in roughly the right direction each time, so for added precision I have included screenshots of my compass app in all the images.

I gave a friend a lift to Braunton yesterday and I took a few pictures over there, including a couple of North/South and East/West panoramas, one vertical, one horizontal. I captured a handsome looking spider in the garden and also got some nice star trails with a long exposure on Saturday night.

North
East
South
West
North to South
East to West

What treasures did your 360° photographic quest reveal for us this week?

There’s plenty of time to join in, don’t be shy, we’re a friendly bunch. ;~}

*****

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 photography3 Comments

Good morning, it’s nearly the end of the week and time for an early prod towards creativity, as it’s theme setting day on The Cosmic Photo Challenge.

I know, I’m unusually prompt with your prompt this week, having been prompted by a flash of inspiration which suggested the idea of; North, South, East, West.

Yes, another multi viewpoint challenge, whereby you supply one picture for each of the four main points of the compass. They don’t have to be all taken from the same spot, or even on the same day, just as long as each time you click that shutter, you’re focusing in one of those four primary directions.

Have a fabulous weekend, I’ll see you 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: Summer collage.

On By dalecooper57In arts, editing and effects, nature photography, photography18 Comments

Hello again, I hope you all had a pleasant weekend, even if it was as grey and damp as mine. But even when skies are grey, The Cosmic Photo Challenge is here to brighten your Monday, whatever the weather.

Today our theme is Summer collage, because editing is just as much of an art form as photography in its way.

So, I took this panoramic shot on the road to Fremington Quay last week…

…and I added parts of 10 other photos to it, from places I’ve visited this summer, to create this landscape of the imagination.

What did you concoct for us 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

For this week’s prompt on The Cosmic Photo Challenge, we’re going to get artistic, with a twist on an old favourite; Summer collage.

So get creative this weekend and combine two or more images into more than a sum of their parts, to evoke a summery atmosphere for Monday’s post.

Have a great weekend fingers crossed for good weather.

*****

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 the ground, up.

On By dalecooper57In nature photography23 Comments

Where did the weekend go? It seems like Friday was only yesterday, when I gave you the prompt for The Cosmic Photo Challenge this week; From the ground, up.

I took the literal route, with most of my photos taken at ground level, some using a wide angle, one with a timer.

Now let’s see what you’ve all been looking up to…

*****

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

Hey, how’s it going? Time for your weekly creative nudge towards this coming Monday’s edition of The Cosmic Photo Challenge, which will feature images to illustrate the prompt; From the ground, up.

What does it mean? How should I know, they’re your pictures. As ever, it’s up to you how you interpret the prompt and I look forward to seeing the results next week.

Have a great 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.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Birds and bees and bugs and fleas.

On By dalecooper57In nature photography, photography14 Comments

Whew, that was a hot weekend and it’s due to get hotter, so I hope you’re staying safe and keeping hydrated.

What’s hot right now is The Cosmic Photo Challenge, which this week is concentrating its collective global lens on; Birds and bees and bugs and fleas.

Or, to put it another way, anything with more than four legs, and/or wings.

Even the bees seemed too tired to fly, although we did experience the joy of “flying-ant day” on Saturday, when hundreds of the little pests sprout wings and vacate the nest in search of more desirable accommodation.

At work, we’ve had the daily entertainment of watching herring gull chicks fledging from their nests on the roof; here’s one of the first to make the perilous drop, who has been named “Steve”…

…and here’s one of his parents, being unusually reticent at taking food from strangers, namely some of my coffee break muffin.

I should add that, five minutes after he’d graciously accepted my home cooked muffin, I turned my back for literally ten seconds and the little bastard stole my bagel.

Hence this photo of him and a friend, noisily registering their displeasure as I refused to part with any the following day.

They’re becoming so used to having us around, there was even one waiting at the door when I got to work the other day.

Yesterday I took a walk along the Tarka Trail at Wrafton to the wildfowl reserve, where there were 8 fluffy grey cygnets lazily paddling about in the stifling heat, along with some equally lacklustre ducks.

Now it’s time to see the fruits of your photographic labours of love, show us whatcha got…

*****

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 morning/afternoon/evening to you, I hope you’re having a good Saturday so far and are staying safe by finding plenty of shade from the extreme heat we’re allegedly expecting.

This week’s prompt on The Cosmic Photo Challenge requests that you capture images of; Birds and bees and bugs and fleas.

Ok, maybe not fleas, that’s just to explain the theme is broader than simply birds and bees and includes whatever miniature critters you like and anything that can fly is also fair game.

See you on Monday, be careful out there, have a great 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.