Nothing like a leg of lamb

In all the universe and all the worlds there is nothing quite like a roast leg of lamb. The tenderness and juiciness of the meat, the flavour and texture. Roast leg of lamb will beat roast beef any day of the week in my humble opinion. This week we cooked arguably one of the best pieces of lamb I have ever had. This was a cut from the whole lamb we bought a couple of months back from a local farm here in Oregon.

You would not believe how tender this meat really is. It can make roast beef taste like an old shoemakers boot. We covered the roast in garlic and herbs before roasting to give it that extra flavour and it paid off.

I really enjoy photographing food, especially roasts, they have an ability to make you instantly hungry, to make your mouth water in anticipation of the coming meal.

Even though I've said it before I'm really stunned that lamb is not more popular here in the USA. It would seem to me that it is easier to produce than beef and probably less harmful to the environment.

Served with white scallop squash and garlic along with mashed potatoes. If I was back home I'd probably add some Bisto gravy to the mix, however, we are currently out. We will order more in the future though (can't do without a bit of Bisto).

As always, if you haven't tried lamb you should give it a go. Try getting it from a local producer if possible as it will always be better. If you can't get it from a local producer then I'd recommend New Zealand or Irish lamb as an alternative. Both countries produce fantastic lamb and you won't regret buying it. If you need recipes try Google or drop +Linda Dean a note.

Lamb shoulder roast

The roasting of the lamb continues, tonight we had a lamb shoulder roast and it was melt in your mouth good. We slow roasted it for four hours packed with onions, potatoes, garlic and broccoli. It's almost hard to believe how tasty and tender lamb is if you've never had it. It is a completely different eating experience to beef and pork. Beef is much tougher and can dry out while roasting if not done correctly, lamb on the other hand stays moist and tender.

The onions add a nice flavour to the meat and potatoes and the dripping makes a really delicious gravy for your meal. +Linda Dean is particularly good at making gravy.

Linda can best describe the cooking method of this meal though. My fun begins when the meal is cooked and I get to photograph it in the hopes that my images make your mouths water. That they stir the hunger in your bellies for decent home cooked meals and flavours that you might not have tried before.

I really do love photographing good food, it's not always easy to get the right image because you want your pictures to cause a reaction in the viewer, to inspire a desire in your audience.

I know several people back home that will be eating a roast this week because of this blog post. In fact they will probably be eating several over the coming weeks.

I'm still in shock at the lack of lamb in the USA, maybe these posts will stir more of a desire to try it and we'll start seeing it turn up in the shops. If possible try and get it from a local farmer though as it will be less processed and should be a superior cut of meat. We're lucky in Oregon that we have several very high quality farms willing to sell lamb at a good price.

The potatoes were cooked in with the meat and other veg and so soaked up all those flavours, we then mashed them with garlic and the onions and they turned out great.

The final meal was just fantastic and we have plenty of left overs for a snack later and tomorrow. For more information on the cooking method feel free to drop +Linda Dean a message.

All quiet on the western front

Its been a quiet few days here, we've been exercising away and enjoying the World Cup. I haven't really been active with the camera so I'll show you a few old ones to satiate your appetite, your hunger, your starvation, your....wait a sec, OK, back to reality. I have a pretty huge collection of images now but I'm not sure what to do with them, I'm still sorting through a lot of them.

Above a sunset from two years ago when we were on one of our nightly walks in the local park. During the late summer we get the most incredible sunsets here in Corvallis.

We have not yet had a trip out to Newport this year but we might just head out that direction in the not to distant future as we both love it out there. The beach can be a bit gusty but on a hot day it's fantastic.

Above another view of the beach out in Newport, if you haven't been out there you need to visit.

Autumn in Corvallis, the river walk is incredible when the warmth of the summer hasn't quite faded but the leaves are starting to turn to their autumn colours.

A couple of weeks later and the clean up work begins, a few weeks of endless gathering of leaves as they leave their trees for good to make room for a new generation in the following spring.

No where escapes, not even beneath a park bench. But not yet, not until the summer has passed and the evenings draw in. For now we have those balmy summer nights ahead of us. Craft beer, BBQ and summer walks through the woods. Of course all that is in between bouts of gaming and troll taming online, debating the ills of abandoning net freedom with...people and of course more beer, BBQ and beer.  

Playing with HDR and ageing pics

A buddy of mine from back home got involved with a WWII historical re-enactment group called "The Brandenburg Commandos". They're based in Ireland and have members from all over the country. Their main goal is to help teach history and have a bit of fun while doing it. They also celebrate and remember the veterans from all nations. As far as I'm concerned it's a fantastic hobby, it gets you out and about, teaches you history and at the same time gets you exercising while having a lot of fun. In a way it's like playing a part in a film without the camera's rolling.

My only connection with the group is through my friend +David Sinnott, I was delighted when he got involved with this because he has been a history buff pretty much as long as I've known him, which is nearly my whole life. For my part I love playing around with images and the guys have been capturing some pretty decent shots at the different events around the country. The most recent being last week when the "Irish Military War Museum" opened its doors for the first time to the general public.

As far as I know the Irish Military War Museum is a first of its kind in Ireland because it's a museum that celebrates history from all over the world and not just Ireland.

In my own opinion this is a remarkable achievement and one worth celebrating. The Ireland that I knew was far to inward looking for far to long and it's great to see that they are finally moving away from that old outlook. From a personal point of view, the guys celebrate and remember veterans like my grandfather "James (Jimmy) O'Donovan" who served in the South Staffordshire Regiment of the British army from 1939 - 1946.

Himself and his brother "John (Jack) O'Donovan" and his best friend "Edward (Eddie) Murphy" made it through the whole of WWII seeing action on multiple continents. It is fantastic to finally see these veterans being remembered in Ireland. For to long they were forgotten because of ridicules politics that should have been put to bed decades ago. So a massive thank you from me to both the "Irish Military War Museum" and the guys in "The Brandenburg Commandos" for all you do in celebrating our heroes.

So back to the fun part, ageing some of the photos the lads took over the past few months. This is not hard to do these days and I get a lot of enjoyment from it.

I've also been playing around with HDR to make the images look more like the covers of the boxes of Airfix models we had when we were kids.

David Sinnott and Tony Walsh (above) enjoying an ice cream in Listowel...they were not expecting the yanks that day.

They've been doing an incredible job in re-enacting and capturing moments from history.

Above, a captured Russian soldier wonders what his fate will be and where he'll be taken to see out the war. I can only imagine that the guys will get better and better at capturing these moments through the lens as time goes on.

For now though you can check them out at the links below. If you have an interest in history or are involved in historical re-enactment groups around the world why not get in touch with the lads, share experiences and stories. And who knows, maybe even meet up some day for a show at the Irish Military War Museum or similar around the world.

• The Brandenburg Commandos
• Irish Military War Museum

Playing around on the field

So I've been finding the last few days tough when it comes to keeping up with this blog. Some days are like that and others I feel like writing several posts at once. The exercise regime is going really well at the moment and even though my muscles feel tired and fatigued, I also feel really good. Seeing the weight dropping off day by day is definitely very rewarding. So to start off tonight's post I am going to show you a picture I took of +Linda Dean a bit earlier when we had just finished our kick around on the football pitch. She just realized that she could touch the ground again with her finger tips.

With the help of Snapseed I really liked how it turned out, I like the way the light was shining on her. Every time I play around with these images it amazes me how easy it has gotten. It is not all that long ago where you'd have to slog along for hours playing with software to get the image the way you wanted it to look.

I also absolutely love HDR, it truly is amazing to me what HDR can do to the right image. It's not just about capturing a moment in time with the camera but also almost turning it into a beautiful painting with the help of HDR.

We encountered this little fellow on our way to the park, he was just happily grazing away, waiting for us to move on so he could finish his lunch in peace. Nutria are not native to Oregon or even the USA, they originate in Brazil as far as I know. I'd love to know how they got up here in the first place, people bringing them up as pets I presume. I could be wrong with the Brazil part but I think it's definitely South America somewhere. I will have to get stuck in over the coming days with image editing, just been feeling tired the last few with all the exercise. 

Life's great passions

I have two...no...three great passions in life right now, Ubuntu, photography and beer. Yes, beer, not your everyday run of the mill churned out by the keg load beer but the finely brewed craft beers that are popping up all over the place right now. I could easily name one hundred that I have tried in the last two years. My favourite of course being the darker varieties, red ales, brown ales and of course stouts and porters. I to take picture of them, to try and show people how good they really are through images. And if possible to make you thirsty, thirsty enough to pry you away from your comfort zone and get you to try one of these wonderful brews for the first time.

Nothing worse than an empty bottle but in this case it makes for a good picture.

I took these when we were home brewing, we managed a few very good brews. They didn't last long around here though.

There is very little better than an afternoon lunch time brew. Maybe good food but I like to have both, savouring each.

Stouts and porters are definitely a must with me with reds and browns not to far behind. The image above is of a 6 AM stout, one of the very best I've tried. It goes down well with a good burger, mushrooms, onions and so on.

I could snap away pictures of beer all day, trying to get the right angle and get in focus before the head goes.

On an odd occasion I'll have a lighter variety, maybe even an IPA if the hops are not completely overpowering. I do like hops in beer but sometimes they'll take your breath away they're so strong. Coming from the Isles I tend to prefer malty ales over hoppy ales if that makes sense. I prefer the real hoppy beers around Xmas, for some reason they just feel right at this time of year.

A play on light and shadow

I've been playing around with shadows and silhouettes today, I love these types of images. I especially like the Noir style of photography and film, I probably get this from watching old gangster movies growing up, oh and that's Capone style gangster as opposed to a rapper style gangster. This first image I took a few weeks back but seeing it again today for the first time in weeks made me look twice at it.

It just hit a note with me, one of those ones you get lucky with when you are not trying for something special.

And this one is just one of those moments in time captured for our memories in years to come. I have never liked posed images and have always preferred action shots. The kind that look like you have just frozen people in time and space for future generations to see. I am very happy with the way this one turned out.

And another, in the background +Linda Dean and Talon can be seen in deep conversation as Linda explains the finer points of trigonometry to Talon. It is wonderful to watch Talon at times, he is so inquisitive. He questions everything around him in his quest for knowledge and doesn't blindly follow commands.

And to finish today's adventure here's one I just kind of liked, it's not fancy or artistic but I like the way the shadows fall. Once again, it was taken in our favourite park, well, the exit to our favourite park. I'm also very happy with the progress the old beard is making, kind of reminds me of my Dad in some ways. Looking forward to the day my brother decides to grow his out, we'll be like twins...at least we will be after I dye his grey and white, nothing a little chalk dust couldn't take care of! lol

Quick edit because I forgot to add the above image, I really like the way the beard is silhouetted in this shot and felt it had to be included in this post.



  

Stiff as a plank

We have really been pushing the exercise this last week and today was no exception. In fact I am sitting here writing this post with legs as stiff as planks of wood. We started today with a cycle to north town to cancel our T-Mobile account and do a bit of shopping. After that it was time for the fun stuff, a walk through the wooded part of Crystal Lake Playing Fields followed by a kick around on one of the many football (soccer) pitches. Again I decided not to bring the Nikon as I was really going for exercise and also because I am having a whole lot of fun with the Nexus 5 right now. You are however in luck in that I decided on a few colour shots today, mainly because we had an encounter on the way with the biggest fracken dragonfly I've ever seen. This guy was big, mean, armoured and busy looking for a place to rest when we stumbled along with our cameras.

We must have been a comical sight creeping forward one step at a time trying not to disturb it before we got a few shots.

I am really not surprised this one had to rest awhile, the armour on it was really impressive. I could not imagine another creature in the insect world (at least here in Corvallis) taking this one on.

Just look at that tail, if anyone knows what kind of dragonfly this is, please let me know in the comments. I'd be really interested in knowing and maybe doing a bit of research on them. This was the first time we'd seen this particular kind and I'm wondering if it's a rare type or if they are common in the Willamette Valley.

Now before you get to excited about the colour pictures I am still in a black n white sort of mood and I thought this was a good one from today's haul. I just kind of like the way it looks. And that's really it for now, I will be taking the Nikon out very soon and I am also currently editing a whole lot of pictures from awhile back.

Nexus at the park

I have to say that I have really been enjoying my Nexus 5 over the past few months. It was a good upgrade from my HTC Sensation which was a great phone in its day with a great camera. And even though it was a phone that was a couple of years old, the camera really held up well and was tough to leave behind. But everything changes and comes to an end and when the touch screen started selecting apps on its own I knew it was time to say good buy to my beloved HTC Sensation. I chose the Nexus 5 because of price and more importantly I wanted to have the stock Google experience. The fact that the Nexus series also receives fast regular updates, also helped as I have been burned in the past (damn Moto...where's my Xoom 2 JB upgrade???) helped in the decision. Well I haven't been disappointed, the Nexus 5 is a truely beautiful piece of technology that is well worth owning. Today though I won't bore you with a review but instead show off what the camera on the Nexus 5 can do.

I know, I know, more black n white but like I said in my last post, I am just in a black n white mood right now so you will have to bear with me until I work through it. If I don't work through it I may develop itchy eyeball syndrome and not be able to take more pictures ;-)

This one I really liked, it was just a random shot but I liked the way it turned out. It's amazing how some of your favourite shots will be random snaps.

I also really like this one of +Linda Dean and Talon chilling after we'd just finished a full 18 hole round of disc golf at Willamette Disc Golf Course here in Corvallis.

Disc golf in the sun can make you thirsty indeed and so refreshments were on hand or in my backpack as the case was. Bottles of watery goodness are an absolute must when doing the full course. And again I think this photo really shows off the quality of the camera on the Nexus 5.

I used Snapseed on Android to edit these shots and like I've been saying for some time, it is a fine little editor to have on hand and in your pocket. If you're in the market for a new phone I would definitely take a serious look at the Nexus 5, it's a serious piece of kit at an affordable price.