Guess who’s snap happy now?

I made a flying visit to the UK last week and as a certain online shopping site doesn’t send out electronic stuff to Portugal, the rotters, I thought I’d order my new camera and have it shipped to my brother’s house for me to collect.  I received a coded message from my lovely sister-in-law, gold medal for her for putting up with my brother, only joking, honest, that the new love of my life had arrived, a Panasonic Lumix Camera. I pleaded with them to open the package and check out the camera, well, what I really said was “Would you take a look at it for me” and of course my request was carried out at full speed by my brother who knows a thing or two about cameras.

Unbeknown to me he had also bought a new camera, an Olympus and on my arrival at his and of course my sister-in-law’s beautiful Victorian home, he announced by way of the following words, “My new camera has more bells and whistles than yours”. “Well, just how can you sneak up on a subject and photograph them, when you’re making so much noise?” said I, with a twinkle in my eye. He fixed me with a withering look, as only one sibling can give another, and tutted quite loudly before turning disgustedly away. I smiled inwardly with my guilty secret locked deep inside, oh, it is great to be able to tease my big brother as I once did, mercilessly, when we were children.

I was left alone, for a little while, with my parcel to unpack, (it have been repacked by my brother who knows how much I like unwapping things) there under layers of paper lay this bright shiny black thing, the object of my desire. Once unwrapped I lovingly gazed at it, my brother then returned and gave me a brief demonstration of the knobs, dials, how to attach the lens cap, the strap, the control for the zoom etc. but it was obvious that I didn’t have any bells and whistles as the demonstration was silent. He had to go out then and I sat with the new knowledge given to me and the instruction booklet. Right, now, I thought, I’m ready to take some photos.

Oh did I have some play time, walking around their garden in its autumn splendour, taking macro shots, zoom shots and several on the intelligent automatic feature. I haven’t as yet played with the manual exposure or the other advanced techniques, well you don’t want to get to know a new love all in one day do you?

We went off to the Cotswolds last Thursday, a picturesque place as I hope the following photo’s show.  I used what little knowledge I knew about this camera and I’m quiet pleased with some of the photos. Stow in the Wold and Broadway are just two of the little towns and villages that make up the area known as the Cotswolds and I hope I have captured the feel of old England.

Friday saw us in Gloucester, a place I haven’t visited before, my eyes as well as my camera were fresh to the new area and I clicked happily away. If the cloisters look familiar to those of the “Harry Potter” persuasion it’s because some to the films were shot there, it being part of “Hogwarts” School

For more information go to http://ganimede.transboys.info/hptour.html 

Saturday morning saw my sister-in-law and myself in Ledbury, my final English photo shoot with my new camera.

My visit to England may be over but I’m back in my beloved Portugal with my even more beloved husband and I have wonderful memories of my visit with photos to support them.