Surf Photography

I've just spent my evening browsing various images of professional surf photographers work. From the iconic images by Clark Little that even those who aren't into surfing would recognize to Chris Burkard who also shoots in a similar style but perhaps involves slightly more of the scene surrounding the waves that Clark Little is so closely involved in.

Either way i am inspired more and more to try this style of photography and actually get in the water and get involved with the surfer and the wave to create an image rather than photographing surfers from the shoreline.

However i feel it will be a long way off before i can afford suitable casings for my camera's that i would trust taking out in the sea and perhaps will start off with a less expensive waterproof point and shoot's and just start getting out there.

Either way the beach and the sea are both calling me and my camera to them.

It feels like spring in Cornwall.

Well the sun has been shining pretty much all day, and on a quick drive into the newquay with the sun streaming through the car window it actually felt.... dare i say it warm! and in Newquay i spotted several people wandering round in flip flops, which must mean winter is over.

I have made full use of the spring like weather and been outside cleaning and hoovering my little car, as well as sweeping leaves from the decking. Any excuse to get out in the fresh air and enjoy the sunshine. With the nights drawing out too summer really feels like it isn't far off.

Cherry and Almond cake

 

Today i have had my little baking hat on creating some tasty goods for the weekend, and here is my cherry and almond cake. This cake is actually made with lemon juice so has a real crisp tang to it and is really soft and crumbly. It takes well over an hour to cook, giving me plenty of time to hoover the house whilst baking! I really must stop baking so much yummy cake and get back out and start surfing again. 

It's a tad foggy outside.

I would go out and take some photographs today but i fear they will all look like this...

It is very very very foggy out there today, anyone out driving be careful today!

Beef wellington

I've been cooking again and this time it's savory. Here's my first attempt at mince beef and apple Wellington with a dash of horseradish. And I'm pleased to say it went down very well and have plenty left for another night.

 

Very impressed with my pleated puff pastry, although i can't claim that i made that part of the meal.

Photo of the week in the Newquay Voice

My lovely image of the icicles taken at Watergate Bay a few weeks ago are again being appreciated and is seen here in the local newspaper The Newquay Voice, featuring as image of the week.

I quite liked the quite crisp atmosphere of the ice on the beach and the stunning icicles and although it is grey and damp in Cornwall today i am much preferring this mild weather and with all the daffodils and snow drops on their way out there is definitely a real sense that spring is only just around the corner.  Hopefully this will keep the sea temperature warm and by the time i am back in the water it won't be too cold.

Happy pancake day

Well that was a very successful pancake day, and it was most successful because i didn't have to cook a single pancake as i had them made for me. They always taste so much better when someone else cooks them for you.

With simple lemon and sugar... and ice cream and a few left over strawberry's... and a few shavings of white chocolate you really can't go wrong. Glad there's only one pancake day per year and think i should probably give up deserts for lent!

Photobrook Photography in the local Paper

Last week my images of the icicles taken at Watergate Bay made the pages of the Cornish Guardian, Good to see my images in print, The article can be read here although the pictures aren't included within the online copy.

Home made Raspberry crumble muffins

 

When i got up this morning and was told by my partner that the cake tin is in fact empty!  I knew what that was a hint for me to get baking, so i decided to settle down with a cup of tea and study the cook book....

Within two seconds it was decided that fruit muffins were the order of the day, and never having made muffins or even own a muffin tray a quick visit to the shops later the muffins are being made. 

The house now smells lovely and the second tray of six are in the oven, here's my first attempt at muffins, and my taste tester even thought i had bought them! Cheeky, but I'll take that as a positive that they are very very good.  Raspberry crumble muffins made with low fat yogurt mmm yummy.

Happy valentines day

Now that's what I call romance! I've been off sick with a broken jaw and it's most painful in the mornings and evenings. So this certainly cheered up my morning when I opened the bedroom door to find gifts! Feeling a very lucky lady this morning.
Thank you to my other half James x x x

It's so cold the beach has frozen!!!

 

I was lucky enough to get down to the beach today to see the amazing icicles that had formed at Watergate bay, However having only had major jaw surgery 4 weeks ago i couldn't stand the cold and didn't last very long. Even wearing two pairs of trousers, four jumpers, a ski coat and stupid fur hat which tied up under my chin i got very cold very quick and had to get home for duvet time.

I did however manage to get a few photographs, I can't believe the size and amount of icicles dripping off the cliffs, nor can i believe how the sand was coated in a thick layer of ice. Incredible sight to see.

Frozen icicles at Watergate Bay Cornwall Feb 2012

It's quiet around here with a broken jaw!

I just wanted to share with my readers a blog post to explain my recent absence to posts on my blog and why there have been no new photos shared in quite a while. At the start of January i went into Treliske hospital in Truro for orthognathic surgery. Simply put my teeth have not been very straight and no amount of brace treatment over the years was able to correct my teeth.

A lot of night braces and permanent braces later it was decided that surgery was my next option, And an operation to break my upper and lower jaw in a 5 hour operation to re set my jaw in it's new position was carried out.

It was a very upsetting and stressful time, and coming around after the op was extremely scary and painful. My face had swollen up to the point that my cheeks were as wide as the top of my head, my nose was so swollen that i couldn't breath through it for weeks. The first few nights in hospital were the worse, I was dosed up on so many drugs and not able to eat and barely sleeping due to the pain. but after 4 nights in hospital i was allowed home.

Once home i was really able to begin my recovery, the swelling started to go down after a week, and as the skin started to return to it's normal size most of the skin on my face was now peeling off. One of the problems with this kind of surgery is that where your face is stretched and pulled about during surgery the nerves get agitated and under the stress and swelling make the areas around the nose, lips, cheeks and chin go numb. Fortunately after a week or so a lot of feeling on the right side of my face came back. Unfortunately it is four weeks today since the op and i still have no feeling in my left cheek, the left side of my nose, the upper left side of my lip and the lower right side of my lip and my chin on the left. This i am finding more worrying than the op itself. It's like when you go to the dentist and have an injection and you get that tingly numbness in your lip and mouth for a few hours, Well that is what it feels like but for 4 weeks now!

Other than the numbness, the skin peeling off, the blocked up nose and the lack of food i am slowly getting there! I still can not eat food properly as i have a series of 5 elastic bands in different positions and patterns and strengths pulling my teeth to correctly line up with my newly positioned jaw as well as hold my jaw tightly shut in place. Unfortunately these elastic bands need changing each night so that they stay tight so with the loving support of my partner, a head torch, a spoon and some pliers supplied by the orthodontist my partner manages to get right into the back of my mouth to band me up.  I'm getting used to this now however i am not getting used to my lips splitting each time the bands are changed. Unfortunately where i am still quite swollen i am not able to open my mouth enough on my own, hence the handle of a spoon to prize my mouth open to then access the brackets at the back of my mouth.

I am starting to feel slightly more normal in the sence that the swelling is going down and i feel better in myself, however i have along way to go with weekly visits to hospital on going. I am really hoping to get to see my x-rays to see exactly how many screws and how much metal is now in my face holding me in my new position.

Drinking through a straw is now becoming normal and it is really surprising what you find yourself eating when everything has to be liquidized, I'm really hoping the numbness goes away soon, and that my bones will soon heal and I'll be un-banded and able to return to some sort of normal food and normal life soon. I'm desperate to get out with my camera and really desperate to get out in the sea, Unfortunately this cold weather is not doing me any favours and the minute i get cold the pain gets worse so for the moment i am tucked up warm and resting indoors.

Thanks for reading.

Mandi xx