Bala (or working by the lake)

So last weekend we had planned to go to the Midland Country Fair as a family, but things changed and for various reasons we decided to head to Bala instead. Cassius is a water child, he loves being in or around or on-top-of water, and Gary and I had been meaning to take him to Bala in North Wales for quite some time. So early (ish) on Saturday morning we packed a picnic, ourselves and the dog into the car and headed off.

Now, I do not like the water. I am a terrible swimmer, and I don't like to get wet. I like looking at water, and have been known to paddle now and then. But I had no intention of getting in a Canoe. So I packed my laptop and some work, thinking that there are worse places in the world to work than by the side of the lake in Bala.

When we arrived it was warm but overcast and hazy. Since I'd also packed my camera I took some pictures of the lakeside.

 The boys headed off to sort out Canoe hire and life vests.....

 And then headed down to the water with their chosen vessel.....

 Meanwhile, I set up my outdoor "desk" with Luke to keep me company.....

I had a very productive hour or so, sat in the fresh air, with the sounds of people enjoying themselves. I know it probably makes me seem even more of a geek, but sitting there working on my "science stuff" I found my bliss. 

When I'd finished what I was working on, I managed to catch some pictures of the boys in their boat. 

Notice how Cassius is doing all of the "over-seeing" and none of the rowing! ;)

When the hour rental was up, Gary brought the Canoe back, I packed up my work stuff, and we set up the picnic blanket right by the lake. Considering this was a nice, if overcast day, and by that time it was early afternoon, the number of people by the lake wasn't too bad. There was plenty of space.

After rescuing Luke from Cassius almost drowning him (long story), Gary and I settled down on the blanket and Cas played in the water. First with some new friends.....

And then on his own.......

All of that must have tired him out, because for the first time in years, he fell asleep in the car on the way home!

All in all, it was a great day and I think we'll be spending more time by the lake in Bala soon.

C
xxx

The MCM Expo - Machester Comic-Con

Yesterday was a major geek-fest. After buying tickets last minute on Friday, Gary and I met up with our friend Matt early on Saturday morning, and headed off to Manchester Central to Manchester Comic-Con. I knew that there would be some Cosplay happening, so obviously took my camera. We all had a fantastic time, and I bought some cool artwork (though not sure where I'm going to put it). Anyway, there isn't much I can tell you, that isn't in the pictures......enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Lancashire Science Festival

Well, things have been manic here for the last week. My alter-ego has been taking up a LOT of my time! However, last weekend I did manage to make some time for a Mum and son day with Cas. We went to the Lancashire Science Festival at the University of Central Lancashire (my alter-ego's second home).

It was a great day, well organised and the presentations were interesting and entertaining. We learnt about tiny creatures that do horrible things to you, about the Mulitverse theory and Superstrings, about how magic and science can sometimes look like the same thing, and the plausibility of superpowers!!

The Science of Superheroes talk was definitely the highlight of the day. Matt presented well, and his obvious passion for both the comic book heroes and the science made his talk all the more engaging. Matt even had a replica Ironman helmet, with working face-recognition cameras!! The kids in audience (me included) were very impressed. As part of his talk, Matt had made some trophies, these were awarded to the child that asked the "best question". Over the three days, three children were presented with one of those trophies. Cas was one of them! He was so giddy! His question - "Would it ever be possible for humans to evolve invisibility, and if so how long would it take?" He surprised even me! I was (AM) very proud of my son.

Here he is with his now treasured "best question" trophy:

After the talks we headed on to the show floor to have a look at the exhibits. The festival was very popular, and the show floor was busy, but thanks to "good connections" Cas and his friend still managed to get to race the robots!

Cas also got to have a play with the Lego Mindstorms robots! ;)

We are both eagerly awaiting the next Lancashire Science Festival in 2014.

C
xxxx

Father's Day

I was rudely awakened by an over-excited 11 year just before 8am this morning. I'm not a morning person, and it took all my patience to remember that he just desperately wanted to give Gary his card and gift. Though not his biological father, Gary is an amazing Dad, and Cassius really values the opportunity to let him know how much he loves him on Father's Day. So I counted to 10 (LOTS) and made pancakes for breakfast.

We spent most of the day in-doors, playing Skylanders and chillin' as a family. We are all a little obsessed with this game. We don't play video games often, Gary and I are too busy, and Cas is more happy either outdoors or making stuff. But this one really has sucked us in.

Our original plan for today had been to head to a castle in North Wales. However, the weather the last few days has been pretty rubbish, so we canned the trip and decided to stay home. In typical, ironic style, once we made this decision the weather brightened up!

So, before we lost all the daylight, we took our dog Luke out for a walk. We went to  Abbey Village and had a wander around the reservoirs there. Luke is an ex-gundog, a fully trained retriever, and though we don't shoot we try to keep up with his training. Cas has been enthusiastically learning how to work Luke, and it was great to watch them together today.

I (obviously) took my camera with me, still with my new Sigma lens attached. Every time I use this lens, I fall more in love it. Today, it helped me capture some lovely shots of my family.

Climbing up to see the view. 

The boys. 

I hope you all had a great Father's day too!

C
xxx

Randomness - My ideal bike

I realise that it's been a while since I posted, well anything. Truth is my alter-ego - Claire the PhD student - has been taking up too much of my time, and shooting has been infrequent. I did however take some random pictures a couple of weeks ago in Manchester, which I thought I'd share.

Some explanation is needed though - I recently confessed to Gary that the reason I don't want to go on family bike rides is because I don't like my bike. This may not seem like a big deal, but my bike wasn't cheap. I did compromise somewhat on the style of bike to keep the cost down, but this has turned out to be false economy. I compromised too much, and now do not want to ride the bike I have. Gary took this better than I expected (since it's my money I wasted not his, he's not to fussed ;) ). And I am now in the market for a new bike, though this time I'm getting the one I want. (I know at this point some of you are imagining pinkness, and ribbons, and rainbows, and baskets.... and you wouldn't be far wrong).

So back to the Manchester pictures. Gary and I headed out into the sunshine a couple of weeks ago, and I took my camera. I'm so glad I did because look what I found!!!!!

I need a bike just like this, then my life will be complete. And we can go on bike rides all the time.

C
xxx

New Lens - Sigma 18-200mm - feeling the love!

So on Friday I was given THE MOST AMAZING LEAVING GIFT EVER!!! I rented a Sigma 18-200mm lens for the wedding back in February and fell head over heels in love. I vowed then that it would be my next camera purchase, and have just been waiting for the right time to "justify" buying it. So when I opened the wrapping on Friday and found the lens inside I just about BURST! I can't thank the Forest guys enough for this gift, it's amazing! I'm gonna miss them all loads, but with my new lens, there'll hopefully be lots of camera adventures in my future. 

So, while the weather was fine, we headed off to Manchester, and I HAD to give my new lens a "test". These are the random shots I took today, and I'm so IN LOVE with this lens! 

(I think this is the most capitals and exclamation marks I've used in a post - but this lens - it deserves them ALL).

So with one lens I went from this:

Through this:

To this:

No extra lenses, no faffing with changing, just twist and shoot! And the image quality from it is just sexy! (I know, I find weird things sexy). 

The extra zoom allowed some surreptitious (I love that word!) street photography:

And just because I thought "Exit? Only if you can quantum phase shift!"

And finally, some pretty flowers, because it's spring, or summer, or something.....

Happy Weekend!

C

xxxx