How To Become The Best Amateur Photographer of British Weather

The dream of every amateur photographer is to see his photos published in the most important magazines and to win photography competitions. The problem is that they rarely accept amateurs. Lloyds TSB decided to give us the possibility to participate in the photographer's competition. We can not only become the best amateur photographer and win a great price -we can send our favorite photos of the weather and nature to an important site and have it published there. If you have already tried this, you know that many sites for photographers do not accept photos of this subject. They have too many of them.

To become British weather photographer of the year you need only your best photo of the British weather. To enter, go to the site, click "Submit your photo now", write a short story about your photo -and win �10,000. In any case, if you are not British, it's worth to visit the site and to look at the submitted photos. You can vote those you like and help the best of them to win. I have voted for many photos - let the best one win! If they are better than mine, why not?

The competition will run until September 30^th 2010. So there is time to submit your photos, my friends. The only condition is you must be a UK resident in order to take part in this campaign. We claim the weather most parts of the year, but here it is the weather that donates to us the best impressions.





Sponsored Post

Condividi su Wikio

Mind-Blowing Video

This is a video that my brother recommended to me. It's amazing:

BIG BANG BIG BOOM - the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

If you don't have 10 minutes to watch it now, you should either make 10 minutes, or come back when you do. It's really that incredible.

Pictures of the Day, July 26 - August 3, 2010

Here are my Pictures of the Day from the last week or so. A few of them are repeats from the scavenger hunt, but I guess that's OK. As always, there are also leftovers, so feel free to check those out!

July 26th: Angela was "knitting" this evening while we watched the Planet Earth DVDs that Paul loaned us. I put "knitting" in quotes because she uses a board thingy instead of needles, but the result is the same.

July 27th: This is definitely a "typical" Costa Rican picture: stuck in traffic. Driving here, compared to the US and Europe, is exponentially slower and more frustrating.
In this case, a funeral procession was walking up a hill, blocking the road into Palmares. I understand this makes me seem like a cold-hearted bastard, but at the same time, it was creating a danger, since frustrated drivers were trying to pass the procession. Plus, there's obviously a sidewalk... why not use that for the procession?

July 28th: It's been a while since I got a machete picture, so a photo scavenger hunt was the perfect opportunity. The subject was "weapon."

July 29th: More pictures from the photo scavenger hunt. The theme for this one was "western."

July 30th: Our power went out for a few hours this day, so I used a new headlamp to go around the house. When I saw my reflection in the bathroom mirror, I knew I'd found my "red" picture for the scavenger hunt.

July 31st: I've seen this ad in a few places recently, and I'm glad I caught it in a picture. It says "Yo existo," or "I exist." Apparently, it's for a local census in Palmares.

August 1st: A Frisbee. I brought this Frisbee to Costa Rica with the intention of taking it to the beach, but in the couple dozen times we've gone since I brought it, I have not remembered it a single time.
And yes, it's on top of a map quiz, which I like to complete in my free time.

August 2nd: Mint Magic tea. One of my favorites, not so much based on taste, but based on wizardry.
Paul said that you can't see this tea in Colorado, which is strange since it's made there. One way or the other, it's surprising to see that Celestial Seasonings has made it into various Costa Rican supermarkets, and that the boxes of tea still only cost about 3 dollars, which is about the same as in Colorado. Someone's getting ripped off somewhere.

August 3rd: This is probably the most disgusting Picture of the Day I'll have. At least I hope so.
I really hate those nail files and emory boards that people sometimes use. They make me want to vomit, actually, and I think for me it's the same reaction as some people have with nails on a chalkboard. In any case, when I see or hear someone filing their nails, it makes me think of this.

So, we're caught up for now. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Apr�s-walk

We had a really good Monts d'Arr�e walk yesterday. The weather was perfect and everyone enjoyed the off-the-beaten-track route. The apr�s-walk in Brasparts was well-deserved!

Farm River State Park

I am reluctant to call these 62 acres in East Haven a state park. While it is certainly a park owned by the state, this is not another Sherwood Island or Hammonassett . There is no sprawling beach here, or ballfields, concession stands, or pavillions. Instead you will find a marshy piece of land that leads to a small marina and kayak launch.

I entered the park from Mansfield Grove Lane and followed a dirt and gravel road which winds  its way between a large meadow and pond. A few condiminiums overwhelm the horizon at first, but they give way to a more natural landscape as you continue east. In the 1980's, this area was under heavy development pressure as old cabins and cottages were replaced by gated communties and new housing. The state was fortunate to purchase this land when it did.

Upon reaching the marina (operated by Quinnipiac University), I walked south a few hundred feet to a small beach area with some picnic tables nearby. Across the river I could see Kelsey Island, with its pink granite shoreline very much like the Thimble Islands several miles east. Geologically, this is a unique stretch of  Long Island Sound. 

With large tracts of available land nearly nonexistant, and waterfront prices, excessively expensive, Farm River  may be the type of park we see more often in the future. There is not something for everyone here, and that is its best appeal.

CT Coastal Access Guide: Farm River

DEP: Trail Map

Map

Photo Scavenger Hunt

Lucy recently told me about a photo scavenger hunt that a person apparently named "Hareton" is putting on, so I decided to take part. I had to find 25 items in a week or so, and here are my results. It was just a fun little thing:

1 - Arrow: At the entrance to the school where we work. I just realized it, but this arrow is basically pointless (no pun intended), since it doesn't really direct to anything, and there's really only one way you can go when you enter the grounds.

2 - Crushed: A miniature pringles can in the gymnasium.

3 - Duct Tape: An old breaker box or something like that, held together by duct tape that has seen better days.

4 - Hole: The only problem with taking a picture of a pothole in Costa Rica is choosing which pothole. Once you think you've gotten a winner, you always come across an even bigger one, but since it's on the highway, you can't just stop to take a picture.

5 - My State: The Colorado flag I proudly have hanging in my office. I liked it ever since I noticed it's sort of like a candle. (Oh, and I technically live in the province of Alajuela now, but I wouldn't really consider myself an Alajuelense).

6 - Money: The Costa Rican 10,000 Colones bill --worth around 20 dollars-- featuring a cat suspiciously similar to Cucho.

7 - Contrast: A new bird of paradise flower on the left overshadows a dried out, dead one.

8 - Western: Well, it is a western-looking photograph, can't argue with that. The hard thing was getting the broken compass to work.

9 - Nothing: This was taken at noon the other day. Not much going on in our backyard.

10 - Vending Machine: I knew this picture was going to be a big challenge when I realized that Costa Rica doesn't have vending machines... anywhere! But then on that same foggy day as #9, this truck slowly rolled down the street blasting an advertising message over the barely-visible loudspeakers mounted on its hood. So, technically it's trying to sell something, so I reckon that's close enough to be a vending machine.

11 - Missing: This empty pole is where a stop sign should be (and probably once was) on a street in San Jose. Evidently there's a market for stolen stop signs. I had to go to San Jose on Thursday to teach a class.

12 - Four: Outside classroom number cuatro at the school where we teach.

13 - Old-Fashioned: An old-style hat that my friend Dustin gave me. I'm sure this style probably has a name, but I just call it "The type of hat where I should probably yell 'EXTRA! EXTRA!' while wearing it."

14 - Laundry: Angela and I really ought to get a supplementary laundry basket, or a different system. The one in our bathroom is always overflowing into the bathtub.

15 - Weapon: This was one of the easiest items to find, since I'm not the only person who keeps a couple of machetes in his office.

16 - The Letter "A": The letter A did me a solid (or a solido) by appearing on this fire extinguisher.

17 - Puff: I'm pretty sure that you can refer to a "puff of steam." At least I hope you can, since this picture is based on that premise.

18 - Red: The other evening the power went out for a few hours, and when I saw my reflection in the mirror, I knew I had my "red" picture.

19 - Palm: Palm trees at work.

20 - Water Tower: Most houses have these tanks on their roofs to have a backup when the water gets shut off.

21 - Game: Two, in fact. These are our knock-off versions of "Othello" and "Trivial Pursuit."

22 - Wrong: Actually, now I'm not so certain. I thought that "estrategia" was spelled with an "s," not an "x," but now according to an internet search, "extrategia" may also be a word. But, it's just wrong that I can often notice other people's spelling errors in Spanish (usually having to do with s/c/z, and v/b). Shouldn't happen.

23 - Ownership: And the owner says, "Stay the hell out!"

24 - Label: A label detailing the contents of a book of posters, which we use for our lessons.

25 - Toy: I brought this Frisbee to Costa Rica with the intention of taking it to the beach, but in the couple dozen times we've gone since I brought it, I have not remembered it a single time.

So, that's it for the Photo Scavenger Hunt, but if you check out Hareton's blog's comments, you can see links to other participants' pictures. It's pretty cool!

I'll also put up Pictures of the Day as soon as possible, but thanks for reading in the meantime!

Monts d'Arr�e Walk - Tuesday 3rd August

We have a walk on Tuesday starting promptly at 2.30 from the parking area at the Ferme des Artisans on the D785 near Mont St-Michel-de-Brasparts (7kms north of Brasparts). Walking boots are essential - rough, stony ground is the norm in the Monts d'Arr�e. PLEASE NOTE that this is quite a long walk (just over 9kms) and although there are no steep hills, the paths are very uneven and may be waterlogged in a few places. This particular walk involves some less well-known tracks with beautiful views. A section of quiet road walking in the middle joins up the circuit. All welcome, 3�.