It worked.....

Today on so many levels things worked. The new satnav excelled itself as I calmly drove my way to a new friends place in the countryside well beyond Brussels. Wendy has a wonderful house, the kind I dream of. A country house along a country road near a small village. A proper house with two stories and everything. I wanted to stay for the day and photograph the tiles on the floor, old tiles with amazing patterns and themes that were worn from generations of family feet. Just beautiful.

On the way to Wendy's I had a potential small mishap. I drove on the wrong side of the road for a small and forgivable moment. That was because of the abby right in front of me, unexpectedly through the narrow arches in the road. My mouth dropped open, I swerved accidentally. The oncoming car must have been a local and used to tourists doing just that. The abby is huge, I'm not quite sure of it's name as I, also accidentally, didn't go in via the usual entrance. Apparently you must pay, a side gate was open and I wandered in. I would have been happy to had I known.

I've had some really useful one on one and group tutoring with Di that included a workbook explaining the different features of my camera and how to use these to best effect. I really recommend her style of teaching; discussion on how to use the settings and practicing until using the settings becomes unconscious. Using your own way of seeing, knowing which settings to use automatically and not being afraid to experiment. Today I practiced, experimented. This evening I viewed the results. 

I was working on stopping water, making the water dance, making it the focus. I could fully engage with the fountain at the abby because there were so few people there, I could get engrossed and not worry about what was going on around me. I took photos from all angles with many different backgrounds, ISOs and focuses. Playing with what I had in iPhoto this evening resulted in the photo below, cropped from a larger one. I was delighted with the result. Thanks Di.

The other is of my new happy place, a small corner of a walled garden in which to contemplate. There were herbs along the wall adding fragrance to the soft air, another fountain with restful water and a lily pond. An ideal happy place.