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Feeling Photographically Challenged?
Saturday, January 16th, 2010Seasons Greetings
Thursday, December 24th, 2009This year will be the first time in 10 years that my partner Andy and I will have Christmas alone. Usually, we spend Christmas with family, but this year, we thought we would have a nice and quiet one. So Andy is certainly the best present for me this year!
Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.
Shot with GX-20 dSLR and a glass or two of Christmas cheer
Hope, just outside my window
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
I am certainly not a landscape photographer. But today, after a particularly dreary morning at work (isn’t it always?), I looked up and saw the most beautiful rainbow with my home city of Manchester behind it. Usually, I shy away from ‘nice’ things in my photography. But of late, I have not felt my best, and feel low in creativity. I think it’s that time of the year, when the nights grow dark earlier and you just want to stay indoors.
I am lucky that I am afforded such a great view from my office. I can see the entire city in one vista. The city is about ten miles from where I work. Sometimes, I will daydream and wish I was at home (I can actually see my flat from work).
“It’s Around Here Somewhere”
Sunday, August 23rd, 2009
I have just returned from the best holiday in my life. For the last two weeks, I have been in France, staying with my best friends Jérôme and his partner Damien.
I usually see them a few times a year, but this time, we decided to go to Paris for a few day before we went trekking in the Alps. I have never been to Paris before, and was really pleased and happy to be in this beautiful city with people who know it. A word of advice, if you want to see the city at it’s quietest, go in August like we did - most Parisians are on their holidays. With it being so quiet, we hired bicycles to explore the city - a much better way to see the landmarks and discover the city instead of the Metro.
After a few days there, we then returned to their home city of Grenoble - right at the foot of several varied and beautiful mountain ranges of the Alps. We walked in the Belledonne and Vanoise. Both are varied but equally spectacular.
On the day we decided to camp in the mountains (to escape the 40c temperature in the city) a storm arrived in the mountains. It came very quickly - it was a little frightening, yet incredibly beautiful. The thunder echoed around the mountains and was an amazing thing to see and hear.
Repetitions of War
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
Walking around the Imperial War Museum North in the neighbouring city of Salford, I was really struck with the design of the building (architect Daniel Libeskind 1997).
A truly awe inspiring building, both inside and out.
Initially, the building is a little overwhelming (emotionally, especially the exhibits). Overall, it does it’s job by the way it unsettles you. Closer inspection of the design and features show a repetition. Not always exactly, but a close impression of what has come before. Everywhere you look, you find a repeating pattern, a theme, a feeling. A meditation of what has happened will happen again? That history, like the features of the building, will repeat again?
Whatever you get from this impressive building and the contents and exhibitions within will be personal, and indeed emotive. I urge you to visit, even if it’s just to admire the building itself for photographic study.
Family Visit
Monday, July 20th, 2009
On Saturday, I visited my sister for the first time in many months. It’s always a pleasure to visit (something I really should do more often…). The weather, as usual for visiting, was terrible. From a break in the rain, there was a brief moment of beautiful, subdued light. I took the opportunity to take a portrait of my niece Sian - it’s hard to believe that she is 20 now.
I have no children of my own (as much as I like them, I wouldn’t want one full time…). It’s nice to mark the passing of time watching my nieces and nephews grow. Thankfully, I have many photos of them that I can share with my family.
New Arrivals
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
Well, the weekend seems like a long time ago now. But Saturday was a day of arrivals for me. My best friend arrived from France, to spend the weekend with me (and brought lots of cheese - hooray!) Also, I had a WB1000 arrive on my doorstep. It was like Christmas had come early!
Now, I have to say that my unboxing of it wasn’t anything as dramatic as the unboxing in this video but it was still quite exciting.
I am more used to using a dSLR (my Samsung GX20) and for that reason, I really do appreciate the manual functions on the WB1000. I prefer to set my own aperture etc, and not have the camera do this for me. On the WB1000, this is easily done. The screen is also very, very impressive. And unlike most cameras, what you see on the back of the WB1000 is what you will see on your computer screen.
On going to meet my friend (ironically, at the airport where I work), I saw the pram left under the arrivals sign. Quite a funny metaphor (for me anyhow). It must have been a quick departure too, as the owner of the pram wasn’t there! Thankfully, the baby wasn’t still in it.
I was quite pleased that I had my new WB1000 on me to snap this - lugging around my GX20 is not always the first thing on my mind, no matter how much I love it.
I have not had a chance to fully explore what this little beauty can do. But I am quite thrilled at the photos that it can take - just look at this set of photos here.
I wonder if the owners realised the pram was still on holiday….?
Buzz Off!
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009I have not used a video camera since I used to have an analogue Hi-8 camcorder, which was a long time ago. If I remember, it weighed about two kilos (and I swear that was just the battery) - and it was all made of wood (ok, I’m joking - I’m not that old!).
Noticing that my IT100 has a HD video function, I thought I would give it a whirl.
Because the camera is so small and light, I was able to maneuver in a way that would have been impossible with my old Hi-8. Unless I had the biceps of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
I don’t have a HDTV, but did watch the film on my neighbour’s from the camera. I was really pleased at the quality of it. Although, you can output to an old fashioned TV like mine or indeed watch it on your PC to see it in its HD glory.
It’s just a bit of fun, but it’s nice to know that if necessary, I have quite a capable video camera in my pocket. I just hope that I won’t end up in front of it (much).
I think for now, I will stick with photography instead of trying for an Oscar.
Medicine
Sunday, July 5th, 2009
I suppose that I did enjoy that wine a little too much last night. But, there again it’s the only way I could understand the film “Underground” - a strange European film. Enjoyable, but a little incoherent (rather like my head this morning).
So, wanting to wake up a little, I prepared myself an espresso. It might be that I was a little fragile this morning, but I was really struck by the beauty of the colours and the bubbles in the crema on top. Sometimes, I will just take a photo when I see something that I like. I work in communications, and photos like these come in really useful for simple posters or leaflets.
My main camera is a GX20 - perfectly fine (in fact, I love it!), but sometimes a little unwieldy to get out and snap a quick photo. A compact like the IT100 is perfect for times like this. Light in the hand (important, when you are feeling a little tired…), and the ISO goes down to 80. Perfect for capturing lifelike colours. I shot this handheld, and was really pleased at the crispness and detail in the bubbles that I got in the natural light from the kitchen.
This is straight from the camera too, with no fiddling about in a photo editing application.
And the espresso? Gulped down in one after the photo - a perfect one shot in both senses of the word!
The Visitor
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
I treat photography as a hobby; something to relieve stress and boredom, but mainly as fun. It gives me artistic freedom; rather like how oils and a fresh, stretched canvas or well loved guitar can give some people pleasure. I am tone deaf, and my paintings are terrible. Generally, I am happy with my photography, but I strive to be ‘better’ (whatever that is).
I suppose like most British people, the weather (and the sheer unpredictability of it) fascinates me. Currently, we are enjoying our summer. How long it will last, nobody knows. But, I hope it will be a better summer than the ones we have had the past three years.
Whilst sweltering in the sticky, humid, almost unbearable atmosphere in my flat in Manchester (which, as you know is satirically thought of a rain-soaked, grey place), I looked outside and thought that for once, I would really love a huge thunderstorm to freshen up the air.
Like most things in my photography, ideas just come to me. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. But, being impulsive I usually have to act on the idea straight away.
My preferred style of photography is portraiture. I like to try new things, and also be a little different. So, I thought of a taking a ‘portrait’ of my umbrella. I suppose you could think of this as a still life, but by putting it a very domestic setting, I tried to give some life and presence.
It looks like an easy shot, but even with the window blinds drawn; there was a lot of backlighting. I am pleased at the exposure metering of my GX20, taking into consideration the blackness of the umbrella and the extreme brightness of the windows, I think the metering handled this very well. I wanted the spokes of the inside of the umbrella to be visible, as this was an important part of my “sitter’s” features, but I didn’t want the windows to be completly blown out. I am certainly no expert when it comes to the technical side of photography, but I find the functions and options on my camera as easy or as complex as I need them to be. For the price, I have an exceptionally high-spec camera that will grow with my experience.
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