February... I used to be a girl guide and therefore know that "Thinking Day" is in February so I gave it some thought and remembered to open a new thread.

An ethereal early morning image from below Haytor in the Dartmoor National Park, just a (relative) stone's throw from where I live... I count myself really fortunate to live down here in the beautiful south western corner of England.

This what Haytor (at least the larger and less visited part) looks like when the photographer is not trying to be 'arty'.

Trees on a hill in the Maplewood Cemetery, Durham NC on a nice sunny summer's day.

Blocks of flats in Woodford

I waited a long time but finally got an old T junction sign which turned up in Worcestershire. It's also the pre-1950s type with pointed ends, which may be the last of its kind remaining.

A sailplane taking advantage of the updrafts around the Pic St Loup, near Montpellier, France, 1979/80

It doesn't look like much at the moment but in two weeks time this room, and three other smaller ones, will become the starting point for the next stage in the tapestry of my life.

There's much to do to get the 'Kimberlin Images' studio up and running for the 1st of March. My website is now under construction, I have registered with HMRC (for tax purposes and I have registered my logo with the Intellectual Property Office as a trade mark. So, a lick of paint, some soft floor covering, a music system, ceiling mounted backdrops, fixed lights and studio flash and Kimberlin Images can launch... Exciting times!

Woo Hoo! Best of luck, and may you have great success in the venture!

Thank you very much Ed!

I hope it does well for you Steve.

Excellent news! I hope it goes well - I loved being self-employed and I hope you do too.

Thanks everybody!!

Sleepy Sisters, who look much too innocent to be the ones causing all the trouble...

Good luck Steve, it sounds like your work is also your passion which is the best way. I think the no people rule can be waived for public advertisements- can it? The window in my local Specsavers.

'Bertie' the British Blue... All grown up.

Bertie looks a bit concerned (or maybe puzzled?) in this picture.

But oh so gorgeous!

Since all the other similar chains went bust this is where I have to go for all my electrical kit.



I'm sure Victor would give Bertie a run for his money. He has about a 50 yard radius where he chases passing cats and dogs.

Well, I think I'm just about there...

This is Kimberlin Studios located in Union Street, Torquay. I still have some final tweaking to do (mainly in reducing extraneous light) but I think I'm ready for launch on the 1st of March - The only downer so far was being notified by Torquay Council that my monthly business rate is around £140 - I was told that it would be zero as the premises was under a certain square footage. However, never mind, this is the first time I've ever started working for myself so I'm on some fairly steep learning curve...

Just marketing and publicity to get on top of now!

Good luck with the studio, I hope we see you in the papers sooner or later.

Another sign ticked off the list, Flatford Mill in Suffolk.

These new flats down the road for me were started and finished while my house was still being rebuilt (as were a number of large buildings locally).

I'd forgotten to turn my alarm off and this morning, at 04:30, the thing went off waking both me and (much to her annoyance) my partner... Oooops!

Anyway, wide awake, I decided to make good use of the time and popped out to Dartmoor with my camera. I've been meaning to visit this location known locally as Windy Post Cross for some time. The granite cross lies at the confluence of two ancient man-made leats about three miles to the west of the town of Princetown. It was pitch black when I arrived at the nearest car park to the cross, about a mile and a half distant, still, I decided to push on and get there before sunrise. Dartmoor is one of those strange places; featureless (pretty much) and bleak at the best of times and if you don't have any local knowledge you can quickly find yourself in life-threatening situations as some of the bogs, or 'mires' as they are known are hidden under layers of tussock grasses and moss and are deep enough to swallow you without trace.

The cross itself stands between seven and eight feet in height and is one of three on the moor erected in around 1400CE. At that time in the morning after a beautifully clear night, sunrise on the moor can be stunning and this morning was exceptional. I took this image with a Nikon D800 in manual mode (the only way to go TBH) with a Nikon 14-24mm ultra-wide angle lens with an enormous Fotodiox 'Wonderpana' 10 stop filter and the exposure time was 10 secs at f/2.8 ISO 100.

I hope you like it...

Oh, I do!

Here's one angry cat...



Mocha, our previous cat, had just been subjected to a haircut, and clearly was not happy about it.