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  • POTD 1 Mar 2006: Shadows of Alderley Edge 1 March 2006


    Shadows at Alderly Edge

    Went to Alderley Edge this afternoon – to try to get a photograph of the Wizard carved into the rocks there for submission to Photographers Direct.  While I was there I snapped this shot of the shadows in the trees caused by the setting sun.

    See this location plotted on a map at wayfaring.com

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  • POTD 2 Mar 2006: The Wizard Carving, Alderly Edge 2 March 2006


    The Wizard’s Well Rock Carving

    This is about the clearest image I managed to get of the Wizard carving at Alderly Edge yesterday.  It is very heavily erroded (as you can see) and I guess that anyone who didn’t know what they were looking at would be hard pushed to work out what they were looking at.  I’ve posted it to Photographers Direct and I can but wait and see if I get a sale from it. 

    The writting under the carving reads:  “Drink of this and take thy fill, for the water falls by the Wizard’s will” 

    The local legend is that the Wizard of Alderly Edge guards the place where King Arthur lies asleep, waiting to be awoken when England faces it it’s greatest threat.  All I can say is his alarm clock must be faulty as we’ve already had to endure 6 seasons of Big Brother!

    See this location ploted on a map at wayfairing.com

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  • POTD 3 Mar 2006: On the Edge 3 March 2006


    Life on the Edge

    Another image from my trip to Alderley Edge.  This is me admiring the view… ok, the truth is… this is me thinking “It’s a long way down, and I don’t like heights”.

    See this location ploted on a map at wayfairing.com

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  • POTD 4 Mar 2006: Dinner 4 March 2006


    Dinner Table

    We had two friends round for dinner this evening.  Hadn’t seen them in a little while so it was nice to catch up and chat.  The food wasn’t bad either!

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  • POTD Sun, 5 Mar 2006: Close-up of an orange / pink rose 5 March 2006


    Close-up of an orange / pink rose

    Yesterday we had friends over to dinner. They arrived with a beautiful bunch of roses for Ann (they must be for Ann, as she did all the cooking – I did my bit by keeping out of her way).

    PLEASE NOTE: This is not a source of free photographs.
    This photograph is (c) Ian M Butterfield. All rights are reserved. No use Is permitted (including non-commercial use) without prior permission. If you wish to use any of my photographs please ask first.

    Image Reference: EY0305A-D00981

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  • POTD 6 Mar 2006: Trade Secret 6 March 2006


    Fake dew on a rose

    I’m going to let you into a little secret.  Not everything you see in a photograph is real.  For example when you see a photograph of a flower with a spattering of little dew dropplets on it – the chances are that ‘dew’ was water from one of those plant sprayers that produce a fine mist of water. 

    I learned that trick when I was doing a photography course a few years back.  Until yesterday I had never tried it out.  What you can see from today’s picture is that clearly no-one told me how to only get only a FEW dew drops.  Any plant and flower photographers out there care to let me into the secret?

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  • POTD 7 Mar 2006: LCD Pixels 7 March 2006


    Close up of LCD monitor pixels

    I’ve spent the day writing code.  There is a web design job that I’ve been working on for a long time.  It’s almost finished now.

    I was intending to show a page of PHP code as my picture of the day… but when I came to photograph it I spotted something a little more interesting.  With my macro lens it is possible to see what the human eye cannot.

    This is a close up of a text on a white background.  You can see how the white effect is created by individual red, blue and green – LCD pixels all in at full brightness.  The eye can’t tell them appart and just see it as white.

    Well I found it interesting any how!

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  • POTD 8 Mar 2006: Urbis – Latest Sale 8 March 2006

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  • POTD 9 Mar 2006: Dungeness B Nuclear Power Station 9 March 2006


    Dungeness B Nuclear Power Station

    No real reason for this picture today, other than the fact that I submitted it to PhotographersDirect yesterday in responce to a request for a picture of a neuclear power plant.

    The photo was taken during my tour of the south coast last year.  I wanted to see the place because in the early 1990’s I worked on a project to provide a training simular for this power station.  We installed the simulator near Bristol so I never saw the real power station.

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  • POTD 10 Mar 2006: Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester 10 March 2006


    Piccadilly Gardens

    Another sale today – an image of the fountains in Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester.

    Country: UK & Commonwealth
    Usage: Direct Mail/Brochures
    Media: Promotional Brochures/ Leaflets/Inserts
    Industry: Property
    Sub-Industry: Commercial property
    Print run: up to 1,000
    Placement: Back Cover
    Image Size: 1/8 page
    Start: 10 March 2006
    End: 10 June 2006

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  • POTD 11 Mar 2006: The Simonetti Staircase 11 March 2006


    The Simonetti Staircase, the Vatican Museum Rome.

    I’ve been short of inspiration for today’s image – so Ann suggested I just upload one of my favourites.

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  • POTD 12 Mar 2006: Dark Angel 12 March 2006


    Dark Angel

    Thursday 16th March:
    I’m running behind a little with the photo of the day.  The shots have all be chosen just not uploaded.  I’ll try and catch up with myself over the next day or so.

    This is the picture of the day for Sunday another ‘favourite’ from my Rome pictures.  The angel is one of a series of sculputres on The San’Angelo Bridge.  In the background you can see the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.

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  • POTD 13 Mar 2006: Latest Sale 13 March 2006

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  • POTD 14 Mar 2006: New Camera 14 March 2006


    Sybil – My first photo with my Canon 5D

    I took delivery of my new camera today!  Wey hey!  It’s a Canon 5D with a full frame sensor.  Wey hey!  I’m really looking forward to not having focal multipliers to contend with.  And best of all I get my wide-angles back!!  Wey hey!

    I appear to have something of a tradition of my first photographs with a new camera of  being of a family pet.  With my first Canon (film) camera it was Freeway my parent’s dog.  With my 10D it was our cat, Sam.  This time it was Sam’s sister, Sybil.

    More 5D images over the next few days as I start playing with it.

    16 March 2006:
    Entry posted a couple of days late – due to being busy playing with the aforementioned 5D!

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  • POTD 15 Mar 2006: The 5D and Me 15 March 2006


    5D and Me

    I’m continuing to enjoy playing with the new camera.  So far all the shots I’ve taken have been around the home.  I’m looking forward to the first chance to use it in the great outdoors.  The weather is cold and grey so not much incentive to outside at present.

    This shot was take at ISO 3200 and I’m pretty pleased at how little “noise” there is in it.  Of course part of that is due to Raw Shooter Pro and it’s noise reduction algorithams but some of the credit has to go to the 5D.

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  • POTD 16 Mar 2006: New Camera 16 March 2006


    The Carbine

    It being still too cold and grey to really make it worth while taking the new camera out, I continued my testing in the warmth.  Time to tryout the camera with a still life image.

    The picutre is of one of my slightly older cameras – “The Carbine” I know very little about it, except that it looks impressive.  The whole thing folds back into the box at the back.  Focusing is by that old fansioned method of adjusting the bellows by turning a screw.  The “viewfinder” in that little silver box mounted on the top.  It opens up and you can look down into it to see what the camera is pointing at.

    One day I ought to put a roll of film in it to see what it can do.

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  • POTD 17 Mar 2006: St Paticks Day 17 March 2006


    Beni at Mizen Head, Ireland

    In honour of the 17th March being St. Patrick’s day, I thought the most appropriate image I could show would be a picture from last years trip to Ireland.

    Additionally, I’ve also added some new pages to Beni’s web site (http://beni.2fields.co.uk).  For those who don’t know who Beni is, he is (one of) my travelling companion and he has been photographed in many of the places I’ve visited.

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  • POTD 18 Mar 2006: Return of the wide-angle 18 March 2006


    Merseyway, Stockport

    I had to go into two today, so I took the 5D with me.  It was bitterly cold and as a result I didn’t get to do the tests I wanted to do with the camera.  However I grab a couple of shots as I was heading back to the car park.

    The shots are nothing special but at least I got the chance to bolt on my wide-angle lens to see what a real wide angle looks like.  I’m pleased.  I can see I’m going to some fun with wide angles when I do my next major trip.

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  • POTD 19 Mar 2006: Trinity Frontal, Bath Abbey 19 March 2006


    The Trinity Frontal, covering the alter at Bath Abbey

    Todays image is the Trinity Frontal, covering the alter at Bath Abbey.  I have a program on my PC which randomly changes my desktop wallpaper.  Images are picked form a series of folders containing copies of my stock photography.  Earlier this weekend this image was selected.

    I remember being memorised by the detail in both the frontal (the alter covering) and in the screen behind the altar.  But as I’ve looked at this image over the weekend I’ve also been transfixed by the life and freshness that has been captured in the tapestry fountain.

    News about POTD

    Also over the weekend I’ve been finalising some new features for the Picture of the Day website.  Some of these I’ve been experimenting with for a while, some are new.  Here’s the round up of all of them.

    Diary Mirror
    You can view a duplicate of the POTD at http://spaces.msn.com/ianbutty/ this ‘mirror’ started out as simply an RSS feed for the site, but because of the notificaitons system built into MSN MySpaces it is now getting visitors in it’s own right.  Each time a new entry is posted here it is duplicated at http://spaces.msn.com/ianbutty/  If you are having problems viewing the wider images at http://potd.imb.biz you may find the MSN Spaces “mirror” an easier way to see the images are they are resized to a narrower format.

    Comments
    It is now possible to post comments about the images you have seen here.  You can not do it directly at http://potd.imb.biz, but if you want to comment on a photo diary entry you can do so at http://spaces.msn.com/ianbutty/

    Receive updates by email.
    It is now possible to receive the picture of the day by email. Each time a new entry is posted to the photo diary you will receive an email containing a link to the new image and the text of the entry.  To subscribe simply send a blank email mail to imb-potd-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

    Again the receive updates by email option may be of interest to anyone who has a problem with the recent wider images, because the version of the image that is sent out that way is a little narrower.

    If you have any problems with any of these items or want more information please let me know

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  • POTD 20 Mar 2006: Latest Sale : Statue of Khafron 20 March 2006

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  • POTD 21 Mar 2006: Selling Mermaids 21 March 2006

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  • POTD 22 Mar 2006: Vapour Trails 22 March 2006


    Sky

    I was struck with the excessive number of vapour over our house today.  What does surprise me is all the different directions in which they criss-cross over.  I have an image in my mind of a pilot saying: “Darn it, I’m sure there’s an airport round here somewhere!”

    (As ever with these things they never look as impressive on the screen as they do in real life).

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  • POTD 23 Mar 2006: Cat Nap and Camera Grip 23 March 2006


    Cat Nap

    I took delivery of my ‘battery grip’ for the Canon 5D today.  I’ve had a quick play with it – as you can see the cats were being their usual helpful selves and possed for a few shots while I tried it out.

    I think the jury is definately out on the battry grip.  My initial reaction to it is that I don’t like the extra weight it adds to the camera.  I feel as though I’ve had a work out and I’d only taken a dozen or so shots with it. (Yeah, yeah, I know… “Wimp!”)

    I like the grip for taking vertical shots it feels much more sturdy.  A recent analysis of my photo database tells me that I actually take more vertical shots than horizontal ones, so this was the main reason for getting the grip.  But when using the grip for vertical shots I can’t use the little ‘joystick’ for selecting the focus point.  The little joystick I consider to be a really cool feature and a very natural and quick way to select a focus point.  That will be missed.

    The fact that the grip makes the camera look much more ‘professional’ is both a blessing and a curse.  When doing commissions such as portraits or weddings having something that looks as professsional a possible is essential.  For travel photography work however this could be a problem – when traveling in the Middle East or other Arab countries it is essential to look like a tourist and not look like a pro.  (I suppose I could always invest in the odd hawiian shirt).

    An additional 5cm (2in) to the bottom of the camera effectively raises the tripod height by that amount.  Not a big deal with my main tripod as is goes higher than I can look anyhow.  But with my travel tripod which I use abroad an extra two inches would be a real help.

    I think I need to play with it a bit more to reach a final conclusion.

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  • POTD 24 Mar 2006: Screwed Up 24 March 2006


    Two broken screws

    Today’s picture is something of an experiment.  I wanted to see just how small an item I could photograph.  As a reference the graduations at the top of the image are mm markings on a ruler.

    The story behind the photo: I was repairing a  dining room chair today, and both of these screws broke as I was screwing them in, leaving the threaded part emedded in the wood of the chair.

    For the photographers a few technical bits about the shot.  105mm macro lens + every extension tube I own.  Appature F45 to get the depth of field.  Exposure time: 6 minutes (yes I do mean minutes).

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  • POTD 25 Mar 2006: Bethan 25 March 2006


    Portrait

    For today’s picture I’ve selected another shot of Bethan from the shoot I did last month.  No particular reason other than the fact that I’ve recently been finalising which shots will be sent off the the photo libraries.

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  • POTD Wed, 29 Mar 2006: Royal Beach Hotel 29 March 2006


    Royal Beach Hotel

    We touched down in Tunisia this afternoon and transferred to the Royal Beach hotel, just outside Sousse.  The hotel is ‘right on the beach’, we are fortunate enough to have one of the rooms with a sea view.  Bright blue skies and sunshine.  Just the welcome we wanted.

    This was the first view we got of our hotel in Sousse. Yes it does appear to be in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by beach. That’s the power of photography for you – I chose a wide angle lens to emphasie the foreground and very carefully framed the building to the right just out of shot. Also you can’t see all the buildings which are just behind the camera.

    2015 Update – Although I have not been back to Tunisia, friends who visited a couple of years after us, told us that the space in the foreground is now a new hotel.

    PLEASE NOTE: This is not a source of free photographs.
    This photograph is (c) Ian M Butterfield. All rights are reserved. No use Is permitted (including non-commercial use) without prior permission. If you wish to use any of my photographs please ask first.

    Image Reference: EY0329A-E00105

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  • POTD 30 Mar 2006: Painting the town white 30 March 2006


    Port el Kantaoui

    14 April 2006
    Please Note
    : Due to having no internet access while on visiting Tunisia, this photodiary is running late! I will be posting two or three times each day for the next week or so until the diary is running in ‘real time’ again.  Please be sure to use the ‘previous’ line to ensure that you don’t miss any entries.

    Thurday 30 March – Port el Kantaoui
    Today was our first full day in Tunisia.  To get our bearing we walked in to Sousse and visitied Port el Kantaoui.  Port el Kantaoui is the purpose built toursit resort just north of Sousse.  It is the start of the season so the Tunisians are still getting everything ready for visitors.  This includes painting the many white washed buildings.  I’m not very good with heights thus I am SO glad I didn’t have this person’s job!

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  • POTD 31 Mar 2006: Dougga 31 March 2006


    Dougga, Tunisia

    14 April 2006
    Please Note: Due to having no internet access while visiting Tunisia, this photodiary is running late! I will be posting two or three times each day for the next week or so until the diary is running in ‘real time’ again.  Please be sure to use the ‘previous’ link to ensure that you don’t miss any entries.

    31 March 2006 – Dougga

    Today was a coach trip out to three Roman sites in the north of Tunisa.  The largest of the sites was Dougga a roman city.  In the picture you can see the Capitol through the entrance to the slave market.  What is quite unusual about Dougga is that it is built on a hillside.  Most Roman cities are built on (relatively) flat land.

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