autofantasia's photos with the keyword: golden

Not sure if this is what's meant by gold leaf!

Been wanting to try and get some shots of the oilseed rape that loads of farmers around here seem to be growing at the moment and finally got a chance yesterday. This was a field I came across on whilst exploring some of the small roads near to Kiplin Hall, North Yorkshire. I know many people hate it as a crop as it can play havoc with their hay fever, but is sure adds some colour to the landscape.

For this week's Sunday Challenge for which the topic was symbols of Easter . I took this shot on Good Friday whilst visiting RHS Garden Harlow Carr in Harrogate on what proved to be the first day of the Lindt Gold Bunny Hunt . The classic Lindt Gold Bunny is, according to the official Lindt website at least, one of the most iconic symbols of Easter and he first opened his eyes to the world of chocolate in 1952. The story goes that on a bright Spring morning in March that year, when the ground was still covered with a blanket of crisp white snow, one of the Lindt Maîtres Chocolatiers saw a little bunny in his garden. His young daughter was completely mesmerised when she herself saw the little bunny, but began to cry as soon as it disappeared into the bushes. Deeply touched by how upset his daughter was, the father suddenly had a great idea ... he would make a bunny like the one they saw together, but out of chocolate. So he did exactly that using the finest Lindt milk chocolate, then he wrapped it in golden foil and put a red ribbon with a bell around its neck, so it would not get lost. And so, the very first Gold Bunny was born. Nowadays the Lindt Gold Bunny is supposedly adored by people of all ages and all over the world and every year when the it appears again, they know that Easter is not far away. However, as nice as the Lindt Gold Bunny is many would argue that it's just another example of how over recent years traditional festivals like Easter have been exploited for commercial gain. Gone are the days it seems when all a child needed to enjoy their Easter was to hand paint a boiled egg and then roll it down the nearest hill. Oh, and in case you're wondering the Lindt Gold Bunny Hunt is an event aimed mainly at children. Each is given a leaflet with a map inside so that they can follow the Lindt Bunny's trail, answer a set of questions, hand in their answers at the Gift Shop and then take collection of their very own "delicious Lindt chocolate treat". Please view on black for best effect.

For this week's Sunday Challenge , for which the theme was anywhere you can receive or send mail . Royal Mail painted more than 100 of its iconic and much-loved red post boxes gold to celebrate each and every gold medal won during the London 2012 Olympic Games and subsequent Paralympic Games. The post boxes are to remain permanently gold to mark the achievements of the athletes and the historic Games. There's even a dedicated website which shows where the Gold Postboxes are to be found across the UK. This particular one located in Ingleby Barwick was painted to celebrate Katherine Copeland winning gold in the women's lightweight double sculls. Kat Copeland, as she's more commonly known, had only been in the senior GB Rowing Team squad for two seasons when she and Sophie Hosking won their historical medal, the first Olympic title ever for the GB lightweight women’s squad. The look of wide-eyed disbelief on Kat’s face at the end of the race has become one of the most memorable images of London 2012. And although after the Games Sophie Hosking retired and Kat herself took a break away from the sport she soon returned to competition and went on to win several major events with new partner Charlotte Taylor. Sadly though they did not do well at the recent Rio Games where they were knocked out at the repechage stage. However, the look of sheer joy and disbelief on her face after winning gold in 2012 has forever earned her a place in the heart of the nation. If you didn't see the race, or simply want to watch and enjoy Kat's reaction once again simply click here . As for Kat's gold post box I've included an overall shot of it in the Notes for those who may never have seen one of them before. Also, belatedly for Sight and Sound , what else but Spandau Ballet and Gold ... youtu.be/ntG50eXbBtc youtu.be/gSq8ZBdSxNU youtu.be/VQ4qrcHyYj4

Taking a little break today from the cars and the bikes to upload some slightly more abstract stuff. This colourful orb was actually created from another orb I did a while back - a square crop of which can be found in the Notes.

No, nothing to do with David Beckham, just me messing again with orbs and the possibilities they offer. Unlike some of my others, this is a 'proper' bona fide orb created using the recognised stages although it has been processed and placed over a new background I created to complement the colours of the orb. The original image was my "Bullets Of Gold" shot from which I took a square crop to 'orbify' ... there's a copy of it in the Notes.

The theme for The Sunday Challenge this week was middle of the day ... as simple as that, or not as the case may be. I did think about doing some arty farty macro style shots of a clock face or a watch, but I used an image of the clock tower at All Saints Church in Northallerton just a couple of weeks back so I rules those ideas out. Eventually, I just decided to go take the camera outside one day over lunch, starting from just before midday until just after 1.00pm and shoot whatever I saw that took my fancy ... yes, I was starting to get that feeling of desperation that being involved with TSC can produce. I took several shots around town, but the one I've opted to use was taken in my back garden. I noticed that the bright midday sun was striking a small pile of fallen leaves and creating some lovely shadows. It might not look like it was taken in the early afternoon, but believe me it was ... honest! www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7R7q1lSZfs

Those 'golden bullets' once again, but this time from a different angle and showing the crystal dish they were placed in. As with the main TSC shot this was done in low light with piece of black card acting as an infinity wall/curve. Little in the way of processing.

The theme for this week’s Sunday Challenge had me struggling somewhat for ideas right from the outset. We were asked to push the boundaries and go further than you normally would with the idea , but no matter how many times I thought about it I came up blank. In the end I decided to try for an extreme macro, but with only a basic macro lens to play with I was still finding it difficult to choose a subject: ballpoint pen nibs and the like were definitely out. Then from somewhere in the ether the idea of creating these golden bullets came to me. Obviously, they’re not really made of gold. In fact, they’re not even bullets, but instead are cod liver oil capsules. I put a pile of them into a crystal dish and took the shot in a darkened room last night with only a Mini Cyba-lite being used to illuminate them. Must admit I have done a little post processing to get the strong contrasts I had in mind when I first thought of the idea, but nothing that excessive. So there you go: bullets of gold … now I just need a golden gun to fire them with.