Bluebell woods

There is nothing I like better than getting outside on a sunny day with my camera capturing some pretty flower pictures.  This bank holiday was no exception and seeing as the weather has been pretty shocking so far this year I jumped at the opportunity to join some friends at Harcourt Arboretum in Oxford for a picnic and a wander.

It was so peaceful there and was lovely to be greeted by a beautiful peacock.

I challenged myself to sticking to my 50mm lens, I don't use it very often so thought this was a perfect time for a challenge.  Obviously the only real challenge was that I couldn't zoom in and out so had to move myself rather than the lens but I am still very happy with my results.

Our visit was perfectly timed for the bluebells and most of the rhododendrons were out in full bloom, although I'm sure in a couple of weeks they would all be open.  

                                         I loved how this tree looked like it had a face :-)

         And you never know what you might find in little clearings if you look hard enough!

Thank you for visiting and hope you have enjoyed.
For more info about the arboretum

Cherry Pecan Om Nom Nom!

So I have pretty much decided that this is to be a photography/hobby based blog.  I need a focus and have decided to use this blog for that.  Food photography is something I would like to improve, I figure that I like eating, I like cooking, I don't have a lot of time but there is always a few minutes spare to photograph my food.  Currently I don't have any equipment other than my camera for this but hope to get some small lights which I hope will improve the look of the photos.  Any advise is welcome as long as it is items I can get on a budget.

Anyway enough of the rambling and onto what's important, I found this recipe in one of Stav's triathlon magazines and it looked yummy so gave it a go.

I present to you cherry pecan slices........

First I got all my ingredients ready:
110g butter
1 1/2 tbsp honey
3 tbsp golden syrup
150g glace cherries, quartered
60g pecans, roughly chopped
225g jumbo porridge oats
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Melt the butter, honey and golden syrup on a low heat.

When the butter has melted, stir in the cherries and pecans and stir to combine.
Then mix in the porridge oats and cinnamon and leave to stand for 10 mins.

Line a tin with greaseproof paper and brush with a little melted butter and then turn out the mixture onto it, decorating with extra pecan slices.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 20-25 mins until golden.
Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.  Whilst cooling mark into bars with a sharp knife and let cool completely before eating.

Then enjoy!

All photos were taken with natural light and on camera flash.  Any advise on how to improve the shots are greatly appreciated.  Also feel free to try the recipe which I found from 220 triathlon magazine.

Dannii xxx

Hello

Hello

Well I'm new to blogging, I tried LJ a few years ago and unfortunately that was more about somewhere for me to compile my gripes than anything useful.  I am also a member of photoblog but that isn't actually a blog so I thought I might use this site to kick me up the backside with my photography and maybe some tips I have learned along the way.

I hope to have some more interesting posts in the future,

Dannii
 

PS, if anyone is reading this, how safe are my photos on here.  If I upload them is anyone able to download them or use them as their own without my consent?