Saturday 29 October 2016

Oscar's first Holiday (and Joe's Birthday)





We had a great week this half term. Instead of going away we stayed at home and Calam Livvy and Oscar came to stay. It was so nice to have my Grandson around. We also celebrated Joe's 10th Birthday. As always this included a bit of time on the concrete wave!!

Thursday 13 October 2016

Deck Building at Tyrley Wharf





Its been a while since I posted anything here. We had a great weekend messing about by the water!!

Thursday 7 April 2016

Clouds over the Mersey and a shaky camera!





Another sunny evening, another Timelapse!!!



Claire was working late, and the boys were staying with Jean and Ron, so rather than sitting in being unproductive, I decided to head down to the Ferry at Seacome and set up for a Timelapse.

The cloud formations were great, and when the sun started to set, the light shining on the buildings gave them a red hue and also made certain windows glow.

I stayed until dark, and tried for some long exposure shots. It was a little windy, and there was quite a lot of vibration in the pictures, so next time I must remember a weight for the Tripod and camera rig to try and reduce movement over long exposures.









Thursday 31 March 2016

Sunset at the Marine Lake at West Kirby





I couldn't resist going down to the Marine Lake to catch the sunset tonight.

I used my phone (sony Xperia2) with an add on lens (Aukey) to get a cropped shot for a change rather than a wide angle one. I think the result isn't too bad.

Sunday 20 March 2016

A Weekend away in the Camper Van





After succsessfuly passing the dreaded MOT we took the Camper out for it's first proper run this weekend. We had been invited to Claire's Aunts house for a weekend catchup with the family, so we decided to take the van and give it a shakedown test.

The journey to Market Drayton only took 20 minutes more than usual, and the van behaved well. I am a little concerned with the thermostat, but that shouldn't be too hard to sort out.

The only issue we had was the Hammock collapsing with the boys in it at 2.30 this morning! I think it was only designed for one child. A quick scan of the internet and a camping bed has been ordered, which will fit down the middle of the van nicely.

We had a great time catching up with Claire's Aunts cousins and their kids. Highlight of the weekend for me was having some lumberjack fun with the chainsaw!!

The trip home was also uneventful, and we are now looking further afield for our next trip.


Monday 14 March 2016

Bikes, Boards, BMX and Boats





It was the first warmish day of the year, and all my chores were done, so we decided to go for a skate at New Brighton. My planning wasn't that good though, as it was the Wirral Egg Run, and there were Thousands of motorbikes and people watching. Luckily it didn't hold us up too much.

We enjoyed a stop off at Starbucks (the kids new favourite cafe) and then we went to do a timelapse at Seacombe ferry. Timings were on my side as a massive ship sailed past us while the camera was rolling.

A quick stop off at Tesco on the way home, with a bit of fun on the travelators thrown in, and then into the garden for some Nerf action!



We are off on our first adventure in the van next week, so hopefully the weather will be just as nice!!

Tuesday 8 March 2016

New York Holiday 2016





Finally the holiday Video is done!!!

It has taken many attempts to get the GoPro studio to work properly, but eventually it has. I hope you think the effort was worth it.

Big thanks to Sue for making our dream come true, and to Jill Ju and the Kids for letting us stay with them, and for showing us round their fantastic city.

WE WILL BE BACK!

Tuesday 1 March 2016

Waiting outside Casey Neistat's office



One of the things the Kids, and I , wanted to do was try to see one of the new generation of film makers, the master YouTuber Casey Neistat. In his vlogs you see people hanging out infront of his office building, and when he shows up he always has time for the fans. Unfortunately for us, he was out of town.

However, our time was not misspent! While we were there, Marlon the UPS guy arrived. This may not sound that exciting, but Marlon has become a bit of an Icon because of Casey's vlogs. He was a great guy, he spent time talking to the kids and me, and even went into Caseys Beme headquarters (his social media app) and asked one of the guys to come out and see us. The boys were made up with the T'shirts and stickers they were given from the Beme Team.

To top it off, we treated ourselves to some Dollar Pizza!!!




To see what all the fuss is about, head over to YouTube to see Casey's work.

Friday 26 February 2016

Boats on the East River



It is what it is!!!

We were lucky enough to have this view of the Upper East side every day.

Thursday 25 February 2016

A day on the West Side





While the family were looking round the Lego Store I took advantage of the free time and set up the Gopro on this busy intersection for a Time Lapse. To the right is 5th Avenue, To the Left is Broadway, and intersecting both ahead is West 23rd Street.

In the background is the iconic Flatiron building.

This kind of shot is good for the GoPro!

On the way to see the Flatiron Building we walked aling the High Line. It is an old disused elevated railway track that has been turned into a walkway with gardens and lots of public art. There is a viewing gallery area looking down 10th Avenue, so I decided to set up for a quick time lapse.

Wednesday 24 February 2016

Staten Island ferry Trip to see the Statue of Liberty





We have just returned from an amazing trip to New York.

I have loads of Photo's and Videos to go through and organise, but here is the first Time-lapse of the holiday.

This is the first time I have been slightly disappointed by the GoPro, and to be honest, it isn't the GoPro's fault. It is more about what I wanted to film. When I set up the camera, I forgot about the ultra wide angle the camera has, and therefore, the horizon and city skyline would be lost in sea and sky!!! I have slightly cropped in to reduce the "blandness" of the scene, which has resulted in a slightly less defined picture. Oh well, never mind, I suppose I need to look at possibly buying a new video camera with more flexibility. ( does this sound familiar to the blogs of old about needing new bike equipment!!!)


Tuesday 9 February 2016

Timelapse of an Amaryllis opening





I haven't tried a long Time Lapse before. So it seemed a good idea to capture an Amaryllis opening. Claire was convinced that she could see the flower opening as we sat watching TV the other night, so I got out the GoPro and set it up on a tripod. I have just bought a frame case that allows charging whilst recording, so it was easy to let the GoPro record for 33 hours! It was tough waiting to see the final result.

I am quite happy with the end film, although I did make a rookie error with the lighting. When I set up the camera, I made sure the light was right, from behind and not over exposing the shot, I forgot to allow for daylight streaming in the window during the day!!!! Claire suggests next time we do a long Time Lapse we should keep the curtains closed. That will get the Neighbours talking!!!

Sunday 7 February 2016

Pirate Battle V Skateboarding



We didn't make it to Liverpool to see the Chinese New Year celebrations today. I forgot Joe (youngest son) had a party to go to!!!

While Joe was at the party we did take to opportunity to enjoy the rare sunshine and go for a walk.
We headed to West Kirby to walk round the Marine Lake, but a lack of planning to check the tide table put paid to that!!
He then went to Hoylake to walk along the prom, and go to the lifeboat station. While we were looking at the Pirate ship, Calam and Sam decided to have a battle with imaginary swords.
Seeing as the Skateboards were in the boot of the car, it seemed rude not to go to the Concrete Wave in New Brighton for a quick spin. I have definitely lost the new Globe longboard now. Calam likes it just as much as the other two boys.
Claire and Livvy opted for a more leisurely stroll. when we headed back to the car, riding into the wind, I wish I had made that decision too!!!
I decided to test the Samsung Camera to see if the video and photo quality was any good. Claire "Acquired" the camera after a builder left it at work a couple of years ago, but I haven't really used it. To be honest, I thing the GoPro gives better results (it is 1080 though and the Samsung is only 720) and the focus isn't quick enough to keep up with the skateboarding. I think I am going to look and see what cameras are available that shoot 1080 video (don't tell Claire!!)

Saturday 6 February 2016

Liverpool One and Liverpool City centre Timelapse





My Eldest Son Calam and his Girlfriend Livvy came to visit this weekend. I took them to Liverpool to see the sights (Liverpool One!!) and took the GoPro to keep me occupied!

I also managed to get the chance to catch up with Ken, my original cycling buddy from way back when!!

I was pleased that the Security team at Liverpool One were on the ball. They questioned why I was filming in the centre, and were happy with my reason. Good to see they are looking out for us.

China Town was looking festive and ready for the New Year celebrations tomorrow. We may head over if there is nothing else to do!!!


Wednesday 3 February 2016

An update on Palefish and where the blog goes from here.

Its about time I wrote something on here to explain what has happened, and to bring new readers up to speed!



I started this Blog a few years ago, when I was cycling with a new club, and fighting the ever increasing middle age spread!
Quite a lot has changed since then.
The Palefish story has expanded and then retracted in the space of  a couple of years.
The Cycle club grew so fast, as did the Facebook page, that before I knew it a monster had been created. The club became a little unwieldy and started to fracture. I took the decision to disband the club and save the Palefish name before the whole thing imploded. This was not a very popular decision with a lot of the members, but in hindsight, and looking at the many groups who still ride together, I think it was for the best.
Where did this leave me? I have reduced my cycling to a minimum, if I was being truthful it is almost non existent at the moment, but one thing hasn't changed, the middle age spread is doing what it always intended to do!

Anyway, I have decided to use this format to share updates on family adventures, and videos from my You Tube channels. Skateboarding has been reintroduced into my life by my boys, and we hope to have a go at surfing, stand up paddle boarding and snowboarding in the future.
As a family we have purchased an old 1983 Volkswagen LT31 Camper van. We (Claire) are currently restoring it and hope to have it up and running for the summer.


So, There will be less cycling, a bit more skateboarding, maybe some weight loss tracking (again) and some family trips in the van to report on.
I will leave the original "About" info below, as I think it shows where this all came from in the beginning.

Cheers.

Sainsburys £4 Pizza Time lapse



The £4 Pizza from Sainsburys is boss!! (this is not a paid blog or advert for Sainsburys)
I decided to time-lapse the cooking, cutting and eating just for fun!

Tuesday 2 February 2016

Garden force moves greenhouse quickly



A family day of work moving the greenhouse to protect it from the Football and Nerf wars that take place in our garden.

Monday 1 February 2016

A short Cloud time lapse from the Clarence Graving Docks in Liverpool



A quick stop on the way home from work. The sun was setting behind the hills and the clouds were a great colour.

Sunday 31 January 2016

Loch Fyne Time lapse October 2015



I placed the GoPro on a timer and put it in the loch. I think the results are quite good.

Saturday 23 January 2016

Saturday Morning fun on the Skateboards and with the Drone



Some fun on the Prom at New Brighton with the boys on the Skateboards. We saw the Lifeboat being launched, apparently on the way to save a stranded dog. We also flew our new Drone outside for the first time. We were quite impressed, especially as it was less than £40 from the range!