British Gent

I thought my first $9 sales were the new low, but yesterday I discovered two sales from a recent trip to Milan sold to a Lithuanian website for $2 each. Going to have to seriously increase my submission rate.

St Fagans Museum of Welsh Life (again). Third attempt, this time with a tripod. It's a relief to be rid of the tap obsession.

Gulp!

Fascinating! My sister lived in Calgary a few years ago and would watch the locals ice skating on a lake from her kitchen window, while keeping her own kids on lock down for fear of them freezing to death if they stepped outside.

Much obliged!

Presumably there aren't many people in there because it's THE MIDDLE OF WINTER! (Sigh...)

Interior shot of the sawmill at St Fagans. Rich source of shots even on an overcast day.

The new BBC HQ in Cardiff. No sign of life yet, but I think the staff move in later this year.

1 sale. Which is average, unfortunately. Still, there's plenty of year left.

Local woodland. Apparently a favourite haunt of the area's perverts, probably a subject already well represented, but I might start hunting them and add a few of my own.

That is a beautiful image. Of something quite terrifying.

First sale just over a year after my first submission, notable mainly because I didn't notice for about eleven months. I'd given up checking. Hadn't been paid because I'd not got around to giving them any bank details. Probably had less than 100 images up at the time. The main lesson I've learned on this forum over the past few months is the need to greatly increase my submission rate.

Cliche alert! Just discovered a rich source of bluebell shots very close to home and the experience has given me a new-found respect for bluebell photographers. I've never spent so long in Lightroom in my life, trying to tame highlights and tease out shadow detail. The second shot came at the end of two hours traipsing around the beach and dunes near Porthcawl, waiting in vain for the mist to clear. Just as I was getting back to the car and rather despondent I came across a large group of jet-skiers preparing for a day on the water. That provided a nice crop of shots, but turning my back on them gave me my favourite of the day.

Ah yes. A personal favourite was always the 'background' update. You know the one - it takes 90% of the processing power, but being 'background' it doesn't tell you what it's doing. In fact, there's nothing on the screen to tell you the machine is doing anything; the only clue is the several long seconds of lag after each mouse click. Eventually, after much clicking around and attempts to shut the damn thing down, a box pops up to tell you Windows is performing updates and may be some time. This gives you the overwhelming impression that turning on the PC was for its benefit, not yours. Your requirements are secondary. You have to wait. I don't think I'm being difficult, but I object to being insulted by my electrical goods.

I was perfectly happy with Windows 7 back in two thousand and whatever and took a keen interest in the news and reviews of Windows 8 as it neared release. Less than an hour of actually using it though and I was ready to punch holes in the nearest wall. Switching to Apple was a foregone conclusion. How is it possible that the most powerful and pioneering software company in the world can release a product that leaves its users staring at a screen and unable to work out how to go forward or back? Surely the most epic fail in user interface design ever. Any time I find myself helping elderly friends with their PCs I'm reminded why my only mistake was leaving it so long.