Amy's Dog - Sepia Saturday

The very first photo I posted on Sepia Saturday was of a young girl who was later to become my mother-in-law.

Amy

When I first met Amy she was looking after the dog of one of her daughters (not the one I was to marry).

Major

Major has long since gone to that great boneyard in the sky but, in life, he was never short of a bone or two as Amy's husband was a master butcher. In those days long before the advent of BSE all butchers would give a dog a bone, and some came rolling home.

However the only photo I have is

Whale jawbone, Whitby

Even Major would have struggled with this.

When the bone on the prompt went missing I saw that Alan had said on Facebook that the call this week was late going up  because Amy the Dog stole the bone. It certainly couldn't have been my Amy's Dog.

If you need some exercise this weekend you could always dance your way across to 

by doing the 

Skeleton Dance

sepia-saturday-139 

Shades of Grey - Thematic Photography

There are so many shades of grey that I thought I would call this post "Fifty Shades of Grey." However that title has been used already for a book of inferior quality and which, as far as I know, has no illustrations.

I have trouble judging whether something is grey or not, so you may find my photos vary in interpretation.

Barnacles on rocks at Padstow, Cornwall

However there is a definite bluish shade of grey in the feathers of this Wood Pigeon nesting in our garden hedge.

Wood Pigeon

How many shades of grey can you see in this picture taken in Oxford, Michigan.

Avenue of trees, Oxford

This wooden landing stage is definitely grey.

Landing stage

There is a bluish tinge to this grey gate. Does the cobweb qualify as light grey?

Cobweb

I've studied this picture on my daughter's lounge wall for years and still cannot decide what the colours are in it and on my photograph.

Detroit (I think)

Now there's just time for you to drive with me

Tractor mower

on a grey tractor to thematic-photographic-208-grey for more shades of grey.

Animals of Great Britain - Sunday Stamps

As soon as I saw the animal theme for this week I knew exactly what to post.

British Wildlife

These stamps were issued on 5 October 1977. From left to right they are:

• Hedgehog
• Hare
• Squirrel
• Otter
• Badger

I haven't seen an otter for years in the wild and unfortunately its only the grey squirrel and the hedgehog that visit our garden, Hares frequent the fields in the neighbourhood but you have to travel some way to find a badgers' sett.

For other animal issues check out those at Sunday-stamps-83

Great Danes - Sepia Saturday

When I saw that this week's prompt was showing cycling in Copenhagen I decided I had seen enough in the Olympics.

As I have spent a lot of time in Denmark and Copenhagen it seemed natural to show pictures taken in the city. But for reasons that will become apparent I changed my mind and took a different tack.

Great Dane (XI International Dog Show, Krakow 2007)

(By Lilly M - CC A-S A 3.0 unported license)

Alright, I know Krakow is not in Denmark but you must admire the dog.

At least you should agree that it would be good to start the day of with this:

Danish bacon being cooked 

(By The Legendary Sky Attacker - 2009)

Although if you have a sweet tooth this may be what you prefer.

A Pecan & Maple Danish by Cuisine de France

(Oct 2008 - by Yohan euan o4 - CC A 3.0 unported license)

I had intended to include my photos of Copenhagen but found that one I wanted to use was in danger of infringing an artists copyright. However I found this illustration  instead.

The Little Mermaid

Illustration by Vilhelm Pedersen for H.C. Andersen's fairy tale

So from a Great Dane to another in Hans Christian Andersen I decided to sign off with a video of another small maid introduced by the late Danny Kaye.

For other interpretations of cycling or Danish themes you need to check in at Sepia-saturday-138

IPhone Dogs - Thematic Photography

I thought that I would have to miss this week when I saw that Carmi was proposing for us to post photos taken with a mobile device. I am a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to such equipment; my mobile phone has no camera and a £10 top-up lasts me c6 months.

I have many photos of dogs, especially those owned by my daughter. Often you can't take 'posed' photos of dogs with a digital camera and I can see that impromptu shots can be snatched easier with a camera phone.

Lily and Scout (Iphone 3G)

This photo was set up. I was stroking Scout just after he had been clipped; Lily as usual wanted to be petted too not knowing that it was her turn next.

The next shot is one of Lily in disgrace caught on the IPhone just after she had been scolded.

A muddy Lily (IPhone 3G)

Here is Cody in an Elizabethan collar; I'm not sure whether he's asleep or whether he has is just fed up. He is easier to photograph as he will stay still when told - he's 14 now.

Cody's collar (IPhone 3G)

The next two shots are with an IPhone 4S; you would be very lucky to get the shot of the two dogs with anything other than a camera phone. The 4S phone gives exposure times for the photos where the 3G photo data only records the aperture as f/2.8

Gem and Scout (IPhone 4S f/2.4, exposure 0.67sec)

For comparison here's an outdoor shot with the same IPhone where you could take your time before taking it as the subject will not move.

Hanging basket (IPhone 4S; f/2.4, exposure 0.005sec)

Thanks to my daughter for sending me these shots.

Now I'll let you be the judge of the results. I confess that with my digital camera it's just a question of point and shoot and that I have no experience with IPhone photography.

For other different takes please check out Thematic-photographic-207

Taxing - Sunday Stamps (on Monday)

I must have had a taxing time at the weekend as I missed the window for the link to Viridian's Sunday Stamps.

The theme this week was "stamps that leave you wondering: what is this stamp trying to show? What does it commemorate? Or, who is this person on this stamp anyway?"

In my case the stamp is quite clearly a GB definitive of King George VI.

Stamp receipt 1951

Apparently it was the practice for cash receipts to carry a stamp depending on the value of the goods - in this case 2d for purchases up to £20.

This receipt was for a carpet bought by my future mother-in-law in 1951. Neither my wife nor I can remember this practice after we were married in 1958.

It may have been abolished in 1971 when decimal currency was introduced. So there's the mystery; can anyone tell me more?

All I've turned up is the Receipt Duty explanation in this link http://www.cosgb.org/cosgbv1n2.htm

Despite my lateness you can still check out other posts at Sunday-stamps-82

A Policeman's Lot - Sepia Saturday

With elections coming up in the UK for police commisioners Britains's chief constables have warned candidates about using policing images in their election material. You get the feeling that a policeman's lot is not a happy one.

Hopefully however this group of Victorian policemen were in a happier mood.

19th Century Policemen

Photo of framed Victorian photograph by Linda Spashett (CC A 3.0 unported licence)

This photo comes from the West Gate Towers and Museum, St Peter's Street, Canterbury.

Even during WWI a policeman's lot  was not always to be envied as shown in this picture from Bermondsey on 14 October 1915.

Damaged house, Chambers Street, Bermondsey 1915

(Photo - Imperial War Museum Collection)

The policemen are standing beside a crater caused by bombs dropped from the German airship L15.

But courtesy of the Bury St Edmunds Past and Present Society (Spanton Jarman Collection) we can see another group of policemen in what looks like a  more rural setting.

Group of policemen at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk - c1900

Perhaps they are getting ready to join in the chase - 

Buster Keaton running from a huge mob of policeman

(release date March 1922, Buster Keaton film Cops)

Which surely is a cue for

Hope you enjoyed the show as I could not find sporting policemen like those in this week's prompt.

For more police related stories check out SS-137