'From the car window' by Me

Photo credit: PhotoPuddle on Flickr

Sadly it appears Flickr is disabling it's convenient sharing through Blogger facility. This means a bit of playing around with my blog is needed so I can carry on doing what I have been doing. Therefore this is a practice post so see what it will look like. I am so disappointed. I hate it when websites mess with the way things are done and take away things just because they don't make enough money. Don't get me started on how I felt when Google Reader was taken away.

Right moan over. I am going to hit publish now and see what happens! This is one of my photos by the way. It was taken this weekend after a lovely day out in Brighton. We were stuck in traffic trying to leave so I just snapped away at buildings through the car window. I love the contrast of the brilliant blue sky against the bright white building. Really lovely architecture too which I hadn't really noticed before.

'Top of the carousel' by Me

Top of the carousel, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

Hello all. I hope those of you who are in the middle of a long bank holiday weekend are having a great time. Personally I'm shattered. We had a busy day yesterday which mainly involved shopping and housework, then I was out with friends last night and today we went to visit friends in London. And the fun doesn't stop there as we are seeing more friends for a barbecue tomorrow. All worth being tired for though. I do like bank holidays.

I haven't taken any photos this weekend so here is another one I took in Brigton last weekend. I love that bright blue sky.

'View from the Brighton Wheel' by Me

View from the Brighton Wheel, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

In a previous post I showed you a photo I took of the Brighton Wheel which we went on at the weekend. Well today I thought I would show a view from the top. I have always loved aerial photos of beaches - especially ones with lots of coloured beach umbrellas - but I never thought I'd get the chance to actually take one of my own. I am really pleased with this one. I have enhanced the colour and contrast to make it a very bold and summery photo but to be honest in my eyes this was what the beach looked like. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the sea was green. We've not had a lot of days like that this summer so it's good to make the most of them when they happen!

'Brighton Wheel' by Me

Brighton Wheel, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

We went to Brighton for the day today and sure enough when we got there my mood instantly lifted. The weather was gorgeous and we had such a lovely time playing on the beach and wandering along the pier. The highlight of the day had to be our trip on the Brighton Wheel though. I have been wanting to go on it for ages so I'm pleased we finally got round to doing it. My daughter loved it too. In fact she now wants to go on the London Eye. Even my four month old baby quite enjoyed looking out of the window.

Here is an upward shot of the wheel. I love how I managed to capture the sparkle on one of the cars. And seriously, isn't that such a beautiful blue sky?

'Brighton Instagram' by Me

Brighton Instagram, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

I said yesterday that I felt a family day out was in order this weekend so today we decided to head down to Brighton for the day. We decided on this mainly because our daughter has been asking to go to the aquarium for ages. She had a fantastic time looking at all the sea creatures. Our baby boy wasn't quite so impressed and slept the whole way round before waking up starving hungry.

Brighton is definitely one of my favourite places to photograph so I'm always stopping to snap away when I'm there. Today I thought I'd try something different and focused on taking pictures with my phone now I have one I can use Instagram on. Here's a little mosaic of today's photos. I am really pleased with how they turned out.

'The sparkle of the sea' by Me

The sparkle of the sea, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

Whenever I'm at the beach on a sunny day I think the sun shining on the sea is so beautiful. Of course I always try and capture it in a photo but it never seems to come out as I hope it would. I had another go on Brighton beach the other weekend and you know what, for once I'm actually quite pleased with the results. What do you think? Have I captured the sparkle of the sea? If not, any good tips for getting it right?

'Brighton seagulls' by Me

Brighton seagulls, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

So how was your weekend? Mine was pretty good actually, especially yesterday when we went down to Brighton for the afternoon with a friend. After the week we'd been having weatherwise I was starting to wonder if we were making a bit of a mistake heading to the coast but it was a beautiful day. It was chilly of course but nowhere near as freezing as I thought it would be. In fact we sat on the beach for ages and only left because we were getting hungry and felt in need of pizza.

I wasn't actually planning on taking many photos really as I always take so many down in Brighton but as the weather was so beautiful I found it hard to resist. I love this one of the seagulls just hanging out with West Pier in the background. I made the colours look a little bit retro too and I think it works quite well.

'339/365' by soulman53

339/365, a photo by soulman53 on Flickr.

I know "It's my blog and I'll post if I want to" but I do feel a bit bad about not posting very regularly at the moment. You see for me this is meant to be a pretty much daily blog but that little thing called life has once again been inconsiderately getting in the way. I have been having a good week though which is included my 20 week baby scan and a rather fun Christmas party. Lots of other fun stuff coming up in the run up to Christmas too. In fact I can't believe Christmas is only a couple of weeks away now. This means I must try and find some beautiful festive photos to share with you, and try and take some of my own. This year's personal challenge is to try and get some lovely ones of fairy lights.

In the mean time though, here is a wonderful picture of one of my favourite places - Brighton. I just love the light of that beautiful morning sky. And even though it was taken this month it doesn't look that cold. In fact it makes me want to go an take a stroll on the pier right now. Perhaps with a an extra few layers on though. And a hat. And a scarf. And a few pairs of gloves!

Happy weekend everyone!

'Starlings Swarming over West Pier' by tommy martin

Starlings Swarming over West Pier, a photo by tommy martin on Flickr.

I remember West Pier in Brighton before the fire that pretty much destroyed it. I just don't have any great memories of it as it was just some place I took for granted in Brighton. Just something that was there. I wish I'd taken more time to admire it like I do now. I still think West Pier is beautiful. The remains are so fascinating.

I think this is a great picture of the pier before the fire. Gorgeous isn't it? I love the light but my favourite bit is the starlings. Watching them swarm like that is such a surreal and awesome sight. They used to continue to fly like that around the remains. I don't know if they still do. In fact one day I sat on the beach for about an hour just watching these birds. Totally spectacular.

Apologies to people who've never been to Brighton and don't know what I'm going on about. I hope you can still appreciate this lovely photo. If you ever get a chance to visit you really should.

'Ready for sunbathing' by Me

Ready for sunbathing, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

I'm not sure if the computer / internet is going to let me post this as I appear to be having problems posting photos on my blog tonight. That is a bit of a problem when you have a blog that's "all about the photos"! Therefore I won't say much about this other than to say I took it in Brighton last week. In amongst all the colourful deckchairs there were these two sun loungers. I really like this picture as it looks like it was taken on a foreign holiday when it was just an afternoon at the beach in England. I'm glad I managed to take this picture when I did as shortly afterwards two people came a long and decided to use them. Hooray for the British summer!

'Disco balls on the beach' by Me

Disco balls on the beach, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

I took this yesterday on Brighton beach. Isn't it just really cool? It looks like I've messed with the photo in some way but it was in fact two disco balls that where outside a bar on the sea front. When I saw them I knew I just had to photograph them. Trouble is it was just me and my two year old so I couldn't just wander off to take pictures. This was therefore taken with a really long zoom. I think it's still been captured well. I now want to go back again and take a picture from the other side as that would show a pixelated image of the pier which would also be very cool.

'Brighton brighton brighton' by trembly1

Brighton brighton brighton, a photo by trembly1 on Flickr.

It was sunny today so my little girl and I decided on a trip to Brighton. We had lunch, played on the beach, then did a spot of shopping. The highlight for me was probably having a look in a camera and photography shop which I've walked past so many times before but never actually gone in. It was fantastic and it's really made me think some more about getting an instant camera of some sort. It was nice to chat and get some advice from someone who obviously had a lot of knowledge on that type of camera.

If I did get a polaroid style camera then I could go down to Brighton and take photos like this. What I love about polaroids is the gritty realness you get. It also means you have to work to find beauty in every day things and look for places that are really interesting. I love this beach hut photo because it's so retro and "real". It's an interesting contrast to all the bright and pretty beach hut photos you see.

Right, better get researching. I've asked on here before but any more advice and opinions on the subject are most welcome.

'Blue skies' by Me

Blue skies, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

Once again we had a beautiful weather here today. In fact the it got so hot at one point that I started thinking it was too hot.... but I stopped myself halfway through that thought - don't want to start wishing the nice weather away!

Here is a picture I took on Brighton Pier back in March. I love the bright colours and the blue skies. Fingers crossed I'll be taking more photos like this over the next few months!

'Brighton beach' by Me

Brighton beach, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

I think I may have mentioned just a FEW times before how much I love Brighton and I never get bored of taking photos there - especially of the old West Pier. Here is one of my latest shots which I took on a beautiful day there a few weeks ago. I was trying to be a bit creative with the composition so I took some with a great expanse of beach and some with lots of sky. This is my favourite one.

It's also a good time of year to get photos of Brighton beach as come the summer there are always so many people on it spoiling my shots. Very annoying!

'Ice cream in Brighton' by Me

Ice cream in Brighton, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

We spent the day in Brighton yesterday and it was just perfect. The weather was beautiful, I was with my wonderful husband and daughter and I took lots of photos. I chose this one to share with you as it's definitely one of my favourites. It's a great combination of subjects. When you go to the beach on such a sunny day you have to have an ice cream and Brighton is instantly recognisable by the turquoise railings. More photos will follow shortly!

'Taking it all in' by Me

Taking it all in, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

I've just been looking through the archives and there are actually loads of my own photos I'd like to post here but just haven't yet. I shall therefore try and post a few more of my own in the coming weeks. I always mean to but there are just so many fantastic photos out there that I feel you really need to see!

I took this one in Hove back in October. I really looks like it's posed doesn't it but I can honestly say it wasn't. My daugher really does not pose for photos - which can be annoying! Nope we just got to the beach that day and she just stood there taking it all in. See, even toddlers can be amazed by the beauty of the sea.

'On the beach' by Me

On the beach, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

My and my little girl headed off to Brighton again today. It's funny how it's only a couple of weeks into September but the beach was empty and loads of stuff including the carousel are now closed. Didn't stop us though. We still ran around on the beach enjoying ourselves. I took quite a few photos of course and couldn't decide which one to post here tonight. I went with this one though as it sums up the day the best - just messing around on the pebbles but with our sweatshirts on as it's not summer any more.

'Nearly old enough for the carousel' by Me

Nearly old enough for the carousel, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

I took my little girl to Brighton on Monday and we had a fantastic time together, especially playing on the beach. She loved the carousel and really wanted to go on the horses but unfortunately for her I decided she wasn't old enough. Anyway, it was just the two of us and I've no idea how I'd get on myself and get her on with me! And I bet there's an age restriction on it too. I promised her we'd go on it soon though!

I like this photo I took of her on the beach as she was watching it go round. The clouds were so interesting that day as I think you can see here. And I love that the carousel is blurred in the background so the picture is still all about her!

'West Pier' by Me

West Pier, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

I'm posting this one of mine because I really quite like it. It's of West Pier in Brighton. This is the pier that was destroyed by fire and I must admit that even thought there is not much left of it now it is really fascinating and wonderful to photograph. I am particularly proud of this one as I like the simplicty and I like contrast of the dark pier against the soft blues of the sky and sea. As always, I hope you like it too.

'I am a mother...' by {life through the lens}

I am a mother..., originally uploaded by {life through the lens}.

The power of the blog is amazing. I wrote a post yesterday about how blissful it would be going to the beach with my daughter and after I posted I agreed with myself. It would be lovely to go to the seaside with my little girl so we went to Brighton for the day today and had a fabulous time!

I totally love being a mother and every day my little girl becomes more and more my little best friend. Only eighteen months old but she can be so kind and caring, and she has a brilliant sense of humour. She also shares my love of shoes! (Of course I am writing this post through rose-tinted glasses and completely ignoring any of the training she's currently undergoing for the terrible twos!)

Anyway, I thought this photo would be perfect to go with this post tonight. It's so simple but I think very powerful. Mother is in capital letters as it's so important and the flower lies next to it showing the beauty of motherhood. More excellent work from very a talented photographer.