Sounding off topic

Nothing to do with photography, I've a new blog as a place for me to air stuff that I've been thinking about. Rantings and ramblings, stuff I might debate down the pub etc. saves it getting all pent up in my brain. But it would also be good if some conversation/debate/argument came of it. You won't agree with most stuff I write - I think in a different way to other people. And if you want to stick to photography, no need to go anywhere.

Finally back online

So the cable guy called this week and I'm back on the interweb. Woohoo. Interestingly, I've not been missing the TV, found a decent local radio station in the meantime, but I seem completely isolated from the world without an Internet connection at home. My how times change, I remember when etc etc etc.

Expect a bunch more posting, more pics and my photo a day will catch up, too.

Nothing to do with photography

A slightly belated Happy New Year to all. I'm just back after my Christmas break, lucky to have escaped the latest wave of wintery weather sweeping the UK, which might well have seen me snow bound if I'd left any later. Balmy 27degC on landing in Manila. I'm now feeling drunk with jet lag.

I've had a pretty relaxing time overall. Quiet time a home with he family, avoiding external excursions due to the poor weather (not having much in the way of winter clothing - it's still in a shipping container - didn't help) and generally relaxing. I only checked my email once in 2 weeks (the only time I went near a computer) and managed to read 6 books in 12 days.

Therin lies the heart of the post title - I didn't once get out my camera the whole time. Didn't even feel the need to do some of my usual playing around with close-ups of the Christmas decorations. Strange for a photoblog, maybe, but it felt somewhat liberating not to be driven by a desire/need to take photos.

Equipment choices

Just a musing on seeing a couple taking photos of each other in the restaurant this evening. Also trying out a new Gorrilapod. Long exposures, timer stuff etc etc. Besides the point.

I often wonder, seeing people snapping away, why did they pick that camera? What causes people to make the choices they do? (I suppose it's not just cameras, either.)

Always a step behind

Right now I always seem a step behind where I want to be - too much to do, too little time, too easily distracted.

At the same time, I've not had any time to pick up the camera. No new photos, which caused a problem for the photo a day. However, I've been rebuilding my computer and the archive catalogue so I thought I'd drag up a few of the older shots - a week's worth of pretty cheesy sunset stuff from Mongolia a few years ago.

Hopefully I get back in the groove. I'm away all next week, maybe that will help.

Life's what happens...

If anyone's been wondering what's been happening with the blog: crazy times over here at HQ. Finally got my computer back in action and learnt some useful things along the way. Expect a couple of posts on that, continuing my Windows computing series.

Still not been out taking photos for a while but I'll be fixing that soon. It's been a struggle to keep the photo a day blog fed, but I've just enough material to keep liming along.

Hopefully I can get a few posts completed that I have in preparation (mainly on technical matters) in the next couple of days. My life is about to get mad busy for a month or two, for reasons that'll be obvious in due course.

Some blog notes

My main computer is still down - I've resolved that the only way to dig myself out of the hole is to reinstall the operating system and recover from there. Fortunately I've been able to clone all the data and applications so I'm hoping that's a relatively straightforward job (famous last words). Trouble is, it always takes a load of time to do this kn id of thing and rarely can you stop the process half way through. It's really been hampering my photography (or at least the online part of it).

After a pretty thin summer for blogging material, I've got quite a lot of new subjects I'll be wanting to post. I've found a string of interesting ideas out in web-land that has sparked some thinking, so hopefully plenty of that. I've got a few more photos as I've started shooting some.

Now to find the time to get round to it all.

A little slow around here

My blogging has slowed quite a bit, as regular readers may have noticed. More of the same reasons: not taking any pictures at present, which means I'm a bit off the photography thinking loop and I've massacred my computer (again). the latter is proving to be a real drag. While the netbook is handy for a bit of surfing, I can't really post photos (and have no access to the archive) and viewing photography is tricky.

I just need a good run at any of this to get back on track - if only I could find the time right now. First priority: fix the computer, second priority: take some pictures.

Nothing to see here

Before yesterday, I'd not picked up a camera in about 6 weeks. Not really had the opportunity, I guess. Plus the afore mentioned lethargy. So I went out for a short walk yesterday afternoon to take a few pictures. And barely saw anything. I've maybe got 4 or 5 decent shots. I only managed 27 frames total.

Definitely need more practice.

Lethargy

Afternoon rest, Reeth, Yorkshire, June 2009

Posting has been slow (although I've a couple in the works), reflecting my general mood at present. It's hot, it's humid, I'm not sleeping well and I can't think straight half the time. Oh, the joys of summer. To top it all, I've not picked up a camera in at least 6 weeks.

I hope I can break this cycle some time soon, if only for my sanity.

A bit of a hiatus

It's not been a terribly good day, Murphy plaguing me all day. Worst of all I've broken my main computer (this come courtesy of my netbook) to the point it won't boot. That's what comes of trying fancy things with moving boot partitions. I reckon it'll take me a few days to recover that lot. Thank goodness for my rigorous back-up system.

The naked photographer

I'm just back from a couple of business trips. For the first time in many months I didn't have a camera with me, not even my pocket camera. And it felt odd. For sure there were limited opportunities for photography but I could have made time. Mainly it was just strange not even having the option.

A plethora of power

Why is it that my gear is never ready to go when it's most critical? Due to the various trips I've made recently and the variety of gear used, I find my stuff all over the house rather than in the storage box. Preparing to go away again tomorrow, I checked the batteries for various devices - virtually nothing charged. Cue 24h of mad charger activity. Of course, that means about 3 different chargers and about 4 different battery types.

Somehow, this has to be easier. Why can't there be some standardization? Why can't batteries keep charge longer? Why am i constantly unable to keep myself organized?

The dangerous lure of film

As regulars may have noticed, I shoot quite a bit of film - mainly black and white but also some colour (with a rangefinder - oh, the horror!). It seems like such an attractive option for shooting. I like using the Zeiss Ikon and it is also quite small - I can easily drop the full kit and a few rolls of film in my carry-on bag when going away for a few days. Lack of feedback limits the number of shots I take and can have me covering quite a lot of subjects. The attraction here is the simplicity at the picture taking end of the process. Or large format, movements & the attraction of large prints with fine detail. Much cheaper than the digital equivalent (I don't expose enough film this way to make any digital replacement viable, not even a full-frame 35mm DSLR).

Then there is the processing. I keep forgetting what a horrid job that is. Endless cleaning & scanning, then a pile of cropping, rotating, dust spotting (one day, in the far off distance, I'll actually get a clean scan). The whole post-process is even more stultifyingly boring than with digital and time consuming, even with a fair degree of automation. At least there are less images.

The hours I'm currently spending on film process are making me tired, not helped by the dull work I'm having to crank out during the day at present.

Just passing thru

Home for a few days after my trip to Cumbria for some walking and before heading off next week for a photography workshop. It's been a good week: some of the best weather I've had in the Lake District, good walking that's helped get my fitness up and photographically productive, too.

Plenty to post about in the coming days: some project related stuff, a few thoughts on gear that I used while I was away as well as general on-going nonsense.

Photo a day: 1 year on

Reclaimed, Happisburgh, Norfolk, May 2009

Today marks a whole year of posting a photograph a day. Actually I cheat a bit - the photos are usually uploaded in batches on scheduled posting. With my crazy travel schedule and quite long periods not taking photos, it can be a push to get stuff together for every day and there is no way I could post live every day. In some ways it's pushing me to take more photos, which can't be a bad thing.

It started as a bit of an experiment but I'm still enjoying it so on it goes.

Service resumes

Catching the action, London Marathon, April 2009

Posting has been a bit thin on the ground lately: lots of travel and patchy internet service. Hopefully I can rectify that over the next week or so.

I also note that SoFoBoMo has started - huge list of participants and some getting going on day one. I'll be starting next week, at least on part 1. I'm going to do at least 3 projects in the course of the period in the hope of finishing one. I'm not even sure if the main idea I had will get done at all.

This is the Matrix

Self portrait, London, March 2009
yes, the camera was upside down. And I'm sure i'm not as ugly as that.

How one appears in the Matrix is residual self-image: how, you'd like to be seen, your own view of yourself.

Writing in blogland is like that. I have no idea of the age, skill, education of bloggers. I'm constantly surprised when I read personal profiles. Inner character shines. The older but young at heart write like much younger people. Young and jaded reads old and tired.

How do I come across? No idea but I bet I'm starting to be old enough to match my cynicism (although I'm a less cynical photographer than I am engineer).

Sometimes things are as they should be

Anyone who regularly reads my more technical posts will realise I'm constantly frustrated/annoyed by rubbish user interfaces. I like software and hardware to be easy to use, yet powerful in function. I don't like the design getting between me and results.

On this thought but unrelated to photography, I bought a Sonos music system this weekend. A much needed addition to my music system since my multi-CD player packed up and my desire to listen to decent radio. That's not the point here.

The point is, this stuff works. Just like it should. No fuss. The design, interface and set-up is super easy. It is so well designed that it makes Apple products look fussy and complicated. There are always a few minor niggles but they are just that. As a music system it's great and it is also making me rethink the way I do my home WiFi network. 3 rooms & a pair of speakers took 20 minutes to set-up. Compare that to weeks of fiddling and twiddling with my simple point-to-point WiFi to get decent performance.

Simply put, I wish more products were like this. Taking out the hassles. Getting to a usable set-up quickly and easily. A design stemming from the simple notion of "what does a regular user want this thing to do?"

Photography is not a performance

Dedication, London, March 2009

OK, not quite a photography post, but there is also a point.

Caroline le Barbier, violinist,
March 2009

On Saturday night I attended a concert put on by the ELLSO - East London Late Starters Orchestra. A friend of mine, Caroline (right) is a member, and she invited me along to listen.
The ELLSO is an organisation that teaches music to adults check out all the details on their website.
There was a fairly broad spectrum of abilities, divided into ability sections, each section putting on a performance. Overall it was an excellent evening. Great performances all around. Clearly some nerves around but it was thoroughly enjoyable. People enjoying what they do, making music and entertaining a large audience of friends and families.
Quite frankly I'm amazed that people can get up and do this. I have no aptitude for making music and hate performing in front of crowds (giving technical presentations doesn't count). And yet here are dozens who do just that and enjoy it.

There is a slight link to photography, hinted at in the title. Performance anxiety isn't something that should bother us. All the worry and fear exhibited by prospective SoFoBoMoers is nothing compared to having to give a live performance. As photographers we have time to get things right. Once we have the images in the bag, we have opportunity to work on them. If we're putting together prints or books there is time to work on the finished product. Even when we have a product, we can always edit after production.

The musicians effectively have one chance to get things right, and missed notes can't get taken back. My admiration to them all. More than I could do.