"TRAA DY LIOOAR" IS A TAXING MATTER

A small group of people on the Isle of Man have just dropped their coffee, croissant, bacon butty, or whatever their preferred choice of breakfast is, why? They are the ones who understand the title and have just realised there is something they haven't done yet. Don't worry that's what this gentle reminder of a post is for. I will explain to our non Manx readers.

"Traa dy liooar" means "time enough." It's one of the first Manx saying you learn when you arrive. The pace of life is slower here and this saying is a gentle reminder, an affirmation of that fact. Why tear around? It isn't city life! Things will get done. Pour yourself a coffee, take a break, rest a while then do what needs to be done. If it's Friday night and the business you need to contact is not open again until Monday, why worry. It takes a while to get used to, but it certainly is a lot more relaxing than the stressful breakneck speed of like in the UK.

Speaking of Monday, this Monday 6th October that's the cut off date for our tax forms to be in.
Hence the dropped bacon butties. Time enough, now becomes needs to be done. Really need to.
We complete our own tax returns yearly here. We've had months to get them in, but with "Traa dy liooar," over it's one of those chores that has a definite deadline. So there's you gentle reminder to those stragglers. You have the weekend to complete them and the Tax Office will be open at 8.am on Monday for those who will be working, you can drop your forms in before you start work, otherwise it's a £50 fine for late returns.

I hope that didn't scare you too much over your cornflakes. To balance the tone of the text we have Ramsey Beach. There will be time enough to walk the dog, play with the kids or just look across to the UK and be thankful you aren't rushing around. You may spot the odd passing seal,
practise your photography, or just sit and watch the waves lapping or crashing against the shore, but not until you've settled your tax affairs. I promise the beach will still be there.

Do you have to complete the dreaded tax returns in your part of the world and do you have a quaint saying like Traa dy Liooar?

HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH CRASHING WAVES

Ramsey Beach
Mooragh Promenade
Irish sea

For a change not a reflection shot on mirror like water. Don't cry they will be back. No they're just way to easy. If the water isn't moving you can get away with auto (if you don't mind a slightly bleached out look) as you don't have to alter the speed setting. For majestic crashing waves or for those silky ribbons of mist shots you need to switch to manual. Oh you knew I was going to say that didn't you. The shot might be abstract but the text is consistently mundane.

All you want to do if freeze the action. Now there are several ways to go about this, and one cheat. See if you have a sport mode on your camera. Usually a little man(not being sexist but it's always a little man) running or jumping. Try that mode first. It's a semi auto mode so it will set all your white balances for you. If it's gently crashing water, slow moving this is a great way to freeze the droplets as they are falling. Try it. If you still get a blur then tough luck, it's a manual you need as the sport mode is still to slow for the movement of the water. So no good for this image.

For this shot it was manual. As it was around noon on a sunny day the ISO was 100. The lower the ISO the sharper the image. To freeze the action of the droplets and keep the fluidity of incoming wave a speed of 800 was used A.3. Again fiddle around until you are happy with the setting as each wave will be a different speed. If I had wanted to have the droplets merge into one, those continuous silky water shots that have become fashionable(but not for me) then a tripod is recommended and a remote control. The speed would be altered the other way, ultra low into the minus section and possibly up the ISO to 200 just to have some extra light to counteract you merging the white with the green. Simple eh!

Lesson over. So many emails now that I think it's just simpler to do something like this once a week with an image on a frequently asked question. Actually I'm not the world's best photography teacher, I'm like er you just em' get the camera and er point it at the thingy you want to photograph. Now that's a bit crap really so I will do my best to be sensible, but honestly best advice practise, practise, practise and don't be frightened of your camera. You own it not the other way round.

Remember. You don't make mistakes then you aren't taking photos.

Go on then give me your best shot. I mean image not punch!