The Selfie Stick
Really? Yes. Selfies have become overwhelmingly popular today, and when you have a new trend, there will be clever people who come up with ideas to make the trend better or easier. This handy little tool, a selfie extender does the job. On a recent trip to Bouchard Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia, there were so many people using extenders it grew funny. I should have taken photos of them instead of the beautiful flowers. It...
Mobile Art is Worthless.
Photographer, artist and iPhoneography pioneer Andy Royston considers the wisdom of sharing his art online and the trials and tribulations of the mobile artist (those who create art and photography entirely on mobile and cellular devices). Today, I found a bricks-and-mortar business was using a familiar image to promote an art gallery exhibit. Three artists were featured in the show, yet there was something all too familiar about the...
City Girls
Think football (or soccer) and you think men: men shouting, waving, cheering, chanting, booing. But here in my home city, Bradford, West Yorkshire, many female fans of all ages attend both home and away matches. They come with their male partners or spouses, they come in female pairs, they come with their kids or grandchildren, and some come on their own. And they can be as passionate as the men about the game. In 2015 a local...
The Film Effect
The Film Effect. I love taking photographs, it’s addictive, and over the past few years I’ve become rather snap happy. Without a reasonable smartphone camera I decided to carry round my trusty compact digital and, while learning more through this, I found the common side effects of the curse and convenience of such handy photography still applied. As other digital camera or phone uses may identify, you can find yourself wanting...
The Advent of Autumn: Pic of the Week
The Advent of Autumn. What does autumn mean to you? With the autumn equinox occurring during late September, for some it means the end of summer and the gradual decline into the cold winter months, for others it means beautiful fall colours and temperatures dropping to acceptable levels. For the communities around me here in France, late summer and early autumn is the season of harvest. From cutting and bringing in the wheat,...
Why Do Cats Lie On Their Backs? Pic of the Week
Do you ever wonder about your cat and the things they do? I know I do since I’m still learning about having an indoor cat. My Cat Jazzy This photo you see of my Jazzy laying on her back is one of my favorites. She is so relaxed sunning herself by the deck door but she can be so funny when she lays on her back too. Every time I come down the steps in the mornings she runs down ahead of me and lays on her back all stretched out. Then...
Interview with Andy Royston: The Ft.Lauderdale Sun Project
When we first interviewed photographer, Andy Royston, about his iphoneography, he mentioned the Fort Lauderdale Sun Project. Since I was curious to know more about it, we thought you might be too. As luck would have it the day he chatted with us was the day he reached an amazing milestone, that of 20,000 Twitter followers. As you can see from the photographs included here, Mr. Royston has mastered the art of photography using a cell...
Pic of the Week: Hula Hoop
When it comes to family photos, are you more likely to pose people in the pictures or are you more likely to take some random shots and see what happens? Personally, I tend to like the less posed pictures. They in themselves tend to tell a story that you fill in the the looks on people’s faces. Sometimes it’s the surroundings that make it special, or the others in the picture that lend some weight to the whole story. This is one of my...
Pic of the Week – The Golden Hind
Photograph of the Week: The Golden Hind. Regular beachgoers along the coast of south Florida may have met one of these first hand. Our beaches lie just west of the Atlantic Gulf stream and after sustained easterly winds, the fleet sometimes comes ashore. I’m talking about an ancient creature from the deep – scourge of swimmers and beachgoers, with a fearsome reputation. I’m talking about the Portuguese Man...
Pic of the week: A Poem for Granddads Everywhere
A Poem for Granddads Everywhere. I’m four and know about an old woman who swallowed a cow – But I don’t know how she swallowed a cow. I know about Jameson whisky (it’s for his chest) And that Postman Pat and Maisie are the best. My Granddad told me that. My Granddad’s worked as a teacher, clerk, and railway cop, careers adviser, and in a camera shop. He danced once on a famous show; they called it ‘Ready, Steady, Go’ My Granddad told...
Pic of the Week: Jabba the Toad
Jabba the Toad. Meet Jabba, our friendly neighbourhood toad, which turned up in our yard one day. Living in rural France you come across quite a few creatures and wildlife that aren’t so common in the UK. Yes, I agree you do get toads roaming around the gardens and ponds of the British countryside, but to be honest we’d never come across a toad quite this big before. We’re incredibly lucky to be living in the French...
Pic of the Week: Clouds
Photograph of the Week: What the Clouds are Saying. Have you noticed that every morning on the homepage here at JAQUO there’s a new photograph taken from the beach? Here is one taken today. This image was captured on Fort Lauderdale beach just as the sun was beginning to rise. Isn’t it amazing how nature provides us with such fabulous artwork? Andy Royston has been taking photographs of the beach for six years – you...