The first single I ever purchased was Grey Day by Madness. I bought it from the record stall in the market square in Cambridge (Andy's Records anyone?) and no doubt the rest of my money went on honeycomb from the nearby (complete with pink and white awning) sweet stall. I'd have taken the bus home, torn between wanting to chow down on crunchy sugar and the need to keep my single in its pristine condition. Once home, I'd probably have asked permission to use the "hi-fi" which was situated in the front room and generally off limits to oik-like children. Oh, the hours I spent listening to that record...endlessly, over and over, until I'd learned the words by heart. I missed meals in order to get them down pat.
We've had a lot of grey days here recently. January is never a good month for me. The post-Christmas slump, coupled with uninspiring weather, the heavy sense of having to start the whole year again, always leave me prone to depressive episodes. I can usually recognise the signs. When a desire to cosy-in becomes a dread of leaving the house; when the ringing of the telephone stops heralding the opportunity to chat and instead causes me to hide in the bathroom; when all I want to do is sleep, then it's time to take action.
Exercise is supposed to be good for depression. It releases endorphins and improves your mood. So with that in mind, I set out for a walk around the village hoping to stave off madness.
I found lots of pleasing things while out and about; some natural, some manmade. Even some of the litter could be pretty if you looked at it hard enough. I took the camera out with me and snapped away at the things I liked the look of, scaring away one local dog-walker who was obviously concerned for her safety. Not many sane people were out swooping on bits of blue debris to make patterns in the sand. She clipped her dog back on its lead and marched swiftly in the opposite direction, away from the local nutter.
Anyway, I showed a few of these pictures to friends. They all seemed to quite like the results of my beachcombing efforts. Someone suggested a few tweaks, and it's interesting to see what photoshop can do. Take your pick - which blue does it for you?
The original, undoctored photograph.
With the background saturation reduced to virtually nothing
And with a bit of orange to bring out the blue.
1 comment:
They are great photos.
My favourite is 'orange number 3'
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