The Damned United

Michael Sheen as Brian Clough - The Damned United

This is an excellent film.   However, I spent much of the film trying to identify the faults with the  period dressing.   The one thing they did get right was the baseball ground.   It was a dump and that was well recreated in the film.   The stands were all wrong but you can forgive them that.   The pitch, if that is what you could ever call that mud bath, was spot on.  I have no idea why but I seem to remember that by October there was very little grass on the field.  I am sure this is not correct but it really was a disgrace.    There were other things, as usual the police men were all wrong, but this never really effected the film.   For me it was a trip down memory lane and much the better for it.

Colm Meaney as Don Revie - The Damned United

I know that much has been written about Michael Sheen' s portrayal of Brain Clough but this was nothing when compared to Colm Meaney's uncanny Don Revie.

I really liked the movie.  I know that they had to use BBC footage, it was part funded by the Beeb, but for me it would have been better if they had used footage from Star Soccer, the local football programme on ATV on Sunday afternoon.  Oh those were the days, listening to Hugh John's commentary, you can almost smell the High Karate

Bad Weather Update...

Just a quick note - since I published my desire for bad weather guess what has happened - we have had none.   Not quite sure what that means but the weather is set fair for the next few days.  Oh humm.

Strange way to buy bread.

Well this is a first.  I have been to the chemists and ordered some bread mix.  Usually you buy your groceries from the supermarket or local shop, in my case they are one of the same, but not from the chemists and on prescription.  However, when you suffer from coeliac disease the only place you can get certain bread mix is on prescription.  This still seems strange but there we are.

On the way back I indulged my current obsession with daffodils.   They are starting to go over so in a week or so's time they will be gone and I can put this obsession to bed for another year.  However, it will be replaced by the next great flower of spring - the blue bell.

Some of the strangest things...

You see some of the strangest things when you are out and about just minding your own business.   So I was shopping in town yesterday when I came across this bizarre line up.   A fashion shop had closed down and some one had decided to line up the clothes mannequins in this way.  I have no idea whether it was a deliberate ploy or what but it just looked so strange.   Another example of carrying a camera around with you at all times.  Thank you G9.

Hiss Boo to Costa Coffee

After having a pleasant surprise in Starbucks we had an equally unpleasant surprise in Costa Coffee.   Whilst Starbuck's is able to provide some nice gluten free cake Costa only have a rather unsatisfactory biscuit.  To make matters worse it was inedible.   The final insult was that at the particular Costa we went to the biscuit had passed its self by date.   VERY POOR Costa.   It doesn't matter that your coffee tastes better than Starbucks,  if you are unable to provide a good all round service then you are not going to get my trade.

Bad weather update

Well what a fool I was.  The weather was perfect yesterday afternoon, that is raining with a strong wind.   So I thought it would be ideal for the night shot I was thinking about.  Guess what, by the time the night came it had calmed down and there wasn't any wind at all.   The old saying is true - be careful for what you wish for!

Slicing Bread and Jenny Wren

What a beautiful morning.   I spent quite a lot of it down by the river.  I am on the look out for the first sign of the warblers return, now that would be a good name for a pub.  To date there has been no sign of the returning birds.  Still a bit early.  I did manage to grab a couple of shots of a little jenny Wren.   You always find these birds firtling around the river's edge.  This time of year they appear to be setting out their ranges and trying to attract a mate.  They are a wonderful little bird with such a load and memorable song.

As for slicing bread.  Well we have just bought ourselves an electrical carving knife.   One of the problems we have found with baking your own bread is that it can be difficult to slice, that is if you don't like door steps, I do but my wife doesn't.   The good news is that the carving knife really works and makes things so much easier.

We have now tested the gluten free bread from Asda and Sainsbury's.   Both are surprisingly good.  Not a patch on baking your own but ok for sandwiches if you are away from your bread maker, such as if you are on holiday.   Another small step along a step learning curve.   We had another surprise yesterday.  We found some gluten free chocolate cake at Starbucks - this was a real bonus.

Hoping for bad weather

I know this is going to guarantee a blazing hot summer but just at the moment I am hoping for bad weather.   The wetter and windier the better.  Fortunately living in England you can almost take it as read that we will get some rain - especially at this time of year, so my wishes will be fulfilled.  So why this bizarre wish?   Well I am interested in taking wet weather photographs at the moment - also 2nd curtain flash photographs of trees and plants swaying in the wind.   Oh as I write this the rain is coming down - somebody up there must have been listening.

Experimentation

As photographers we are used to failure.  Unless I am unusual, and in this particular area I don't think I am, we are more unsuccessful than successful.   We do a shoot and take a number of photographs, we look at the contact sheets/images on the screen and select only those that meet whatever criteria we have set,   the rest are discarded.  We define ourselves not by our successes but our failures.  Indeed it is what drives us on, to perfect our art, to make the next photograph better than the last.  But we know failure, we know its frustration, its stigma.   For every success we have a thousand failures.  Indeed recently it has been estimated that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become really competent in whatever field of endeavour we are working.

So why this dwelling on failure?   Well I have had one of those shoots.  I spent most of the morning in  Swithland Woods, a popular woodland area.  For the most part it was deserted and so I had time just to ponder and think about what I was taking.  In fact there really wasn't much to take.   I had continued the experiment with the tilt and shift lens.  I also continued to work with the G9 and tethered flash.  But nothing really worked.   So I changed my approach and started to use 2nd curtain flash on bushes as they swayed in the stiff breeze.  This was far more successful,  but not what I had thought about when I set out.   So this is why I started to think about failure.  Sometimes things go totally wrong.  Sometime they just don't gel but perhaps the worst is when they don't do anything at all.  When you get one of those days it is really frustrating.  Today was one those days.   Still there is always tomorrow.

Histograms and the Rain

So there I was trying to brace myself against the gale that was blowing trying to see the LED reading in the view finder.   The rain was driving and my back pack was flapping in the wind.   As usual I had not really thought through what I was going to do.  I had been inspired by some photographs taken by my friend Sarah Brooks to get out into the Charnwood forest.  She had taken some rather interesting photographs with a Lensbaby.  Now I have a tilt and shift lens I thought it would be fun to use this to try something similar.  

So off I went, camera bag packed to one of the highest points in Leicestershire to make some interesting photographs.  The wind was howling a gale and the rain was coming down but I was unperturbed.  It was only when I was standing out in the wind and rain that I remembered - the T/S lens is a manual exposure lens.   Not a problem if I had brought along my light meter.  Guess what - I hadn't.   Instead I had to try and read the meter on the camera - not easy in the conditions.  In the end I reverted to reading the histogram as my light meter.  I know this is putting the  cart before the horse but it worked.  I would take a photograph, look at the histogram to see what the exposure was like and change the setting accordingly.  Memo to myself - make sure you take the correct kit with you in future! Doh!

Daffodils a la Histogram - Beacon Hill

On a more positive note I did get some interesting photographs.    I really like the bizarre focus effect you get from using a T/S lens for other than correcting converging angles on buildings.  It gives you extra options when out in the field.  I know that much of what can be achieved with the T/S can be recreated in photoshop but that is not the point.   It is always a good idea to have as many options open at the capture stage as you can.  The T/S lens gives you that extra dimension.

As I got to Beacon Hill  the rain was beating against the windscreen.  However through the rain I could see this lone tree standing in the wind.   I decided to take photograph.  It worked out really well and was just what I was looking fought against the elements.   It just goes to show that you should always have a camera at hand.

Tree - Beacon Hill

As I explored the exposed hill I was surprised to some daffodils huddling against the wind.  This was another opportunity to indulge my daffodil fascination.  I am not sure what the passing walking group thought as I was lying prostrate on the ground trying to balance my G9 with a flash on a tether.  But if you can't take a joke you really shouldn't be a photographer.   Again if I had thought this through I probably wouldn't have lay on my 5D and dug the lens hood into the ground.    It was worth cleaning the lens afterwards though.  Using the G9 with a tethered flash was an interesting experiment.  Something I will have to work some more.

Daffodil - Beacon Hill

More Bread Making...

More mixed results from the bread making front.  We tried to make bread from a recipe that came with the bread maker.  Didn't seem to rise as much as it should so looking into that.   To date the best bread mix we have found is Mrs Crimmbles.

As for the move to a gluten free diet this is now in full swing.  We really are lucky as we have so many big stores in such a short distance from where we live that at times we seem spoilt for choice.  Yesterday we tried out some food from Waitrose,  again very good - my favourite item was the Mrs Crimmble's Jam and Coconut rings...yum yum.

The Coeliac charity's food and drink directory was a god send when trying to find food that could be used at Waitrose.  It is so easy to use, the only problem is to find the food on the shelf/freezer section etc.  However, the idea of the shopping expedition was to locate where the foods are on the shelf so this shouldn't be a problem in the future.  All in all a successful day.

Wonderful Photograph

Racing Afghans  - Chris Charnock ARPS

A friend of mine suggested I look at the Smethwick Photographic Centre's International Exhibition.  When I was browsing through the exceptional photographs on display I found this one.  I find this a stunning photograph and perhaps what is the most humbling thing about this photograph is that the person who took it obtained his ARPS at the age of 16 - he's only just into his 20's now.  Stunning, simply stunning.

Daffodils ... some examples of other photographers work

I have been searching the internet for other examples of daffodil photographs - now that is really sad!   Anyway, here are a couple of examples:

Flickr Search

Google Images Search

Most of them are not very rewarding - but like most things on the internet there are a few gems within the miles of....ordinary??

New Facility - Galleries

I am trying out a new idea - publishing my galleries not in the web site but through this blog.  I am not sure whether this will work or not but it certainly saves a lot of time for me as it is a lot easier and quicker to do this than publishing something in the web site.

To find the galleries all you have to do is click on the label Gallery.   This will show all the galleries in one place.  It will also provide much more information about the galleries as it will also provide links to notes I have written about the topics.   Lets see how this works.

Daffodils - Gallery

I have put together a new gallery of this years Daffodil photographs.   Click here to view

Daffodils Daffodils Daffodils...

The process continues.   My battle with the the Narcissus continues.   Had a wonderful time lying on a steep bank making photographs of Dafs. Got some strange look from the passing traffic but then I am used to this.  I think I am getting a bit better at making photographs of this accursed plant!

Tails from the river bank

It was a lovely spring morning, ratty was sunning himself on a mud bank when suddenly...Perhaps not. I have been walking down by the river again and watching out for new signs that spring is here.   The widgeon are still in the old gravel pit, they should be flying north soon.  No sign of any warblers yet - again too early.   But all around life is renewing itself.   The branches have new green buds, native birds are performing courtship rituals and stacking out territories for the summer ahead.

But perhaps the most encouraging sign I found today was more evidence of the otters.   In the mud at the edge of the river there were clear tracks that could not have been made by a dog.   Does this mean that it was an otter?   I can't say that for certain but it was in the same place that I saw the otter last month and they certainly looked like otter paw marks.   We'll have to keep an eye on this and hopefully come across more signs.

My lovely G9

Canon G9

What a wonderful camera this is.  I have now taken nearly 7500 photographs with the camera.  It is my constant companion and is a little dog eared at the edges asa a result of being thrust into all sorts of pockets etc.   There are downsides to the camera - one being the unusable image quality at anything over 400 ISO (just as an aside I still call this ASA - still thats my age I suppose!).  This is not really too much of a problem as I grew up living with Kodachrome 64.

Apart from this limitation the camera has never missed a beat.   It is made out of very solid metals, unlike many other compact cameras, another bonus as I am not exactly gentle with things - perhaps another way of saying heavy handed.

Canon now make the G10 which maybe a very wonderful replacement for the G9 but I just don't see the point in upgrading.  Perhaps the only thing that would encourage me to upgrade would be an improvement in chip size (not Mb size) as this, I believe, would improve the image quality.  However it will take a mighty good upgrade to part me with my wonderful G9.

W Eugene Smith

I have looked at this photograph over and over again for many years.  The mother's love is moving when compared to the stark background and expression of the young child.   Similar photographs have formed part of my formative photographic education.  What I didn't know, and I should have, was that it, and many others, was made by W Eugene Smith.

I grew up on a diet of Life magazine and this is where I first encountered Smith's work.   His bold photographs seemed almost impossible to take less replicate.   This is still so.  Only recently have I become aware of how much Smith's work has influenced my life.   The reason for this revelation is that I am now researching photography in much greater detail and Smith's imagery is becoming a recurring theme. 

There are many words that could be written about smith but I still feel this somewhat misses the point.   It is the power of photograph that is far more eloquent than any word can ever be.   It really is the case that a picture is worth a thousand words.  In Smith's case many times a thousand.

Daffodils...and the dentists

They defeat me...they just do.   There is something about these damn flowers that doesn't work out.  As I said yesterday I just can't get them.   So how to make the photograph?   The cliche is yellow on blue, well I think it is.   This year I have tried to go beyond this to examine the shape rather than form.  What the hell does this mean?   At moment what it means is that I am not concerned with sharpness but with the essence of the flower.   What is the essence of the flower?  At the moment I am trying to work that one out as well.   Oh you cursed flower!

Now for more positive news. The fillings went well and am now recovering from the dentists.  I have to say that my dentists is a real treat.  She is kind and considerate and we always end up having a laugh, this time about the clock changes that are coming.  She was right and I was wrong.   As she worked in my mouth I can watch a DVD, in this case about the wild Arctic.  Whilst this helped I still found myself clenching my hands tightly.  Are well this should be the last time I have some work done for a while.   Thank the lord for that!

Dentist Chair

Well wish me luck I am off to the dentist.  Lets hope it is not too painful.

6 months Old

I have just noticed that this blog is 6 months old - where did that time go?   It has been an eventful last 6 months and as I look through the entries I realise how things change quickly.  When I started I was still full of the joys of the MA course and the thought of having a photograph selected for an international exhibition was just a pipe dream.  If this is the way the next 6 months goes then I can't wait.  However, given my life nothing works out the way I think it might so, as they say, watch this space.

Creative Juices Start to Flow

Slowly I have started to make more photographs.  Over the past few weeks this has been in short supply. However this does appear to be changing and I feel a whole lot better for that.

This revelation, if that is what it is, may come as a bit of a shock to people who know me but it is true.  My output has shrunk to a trickle but now I am able to concentrate on making photographs that I want to - without having to try and produce some photographs for the course.  I suspect that this has been responsible for the release I am feeling - lets hope so as this should be a good sign.

Tomorrow promises to be a bit of an ordeal, only a bit.  I have to have some fillings replaced and so will feel numb after that.  I have a wonderful dentist but it always fills my with a little bit of apprehension walking into the surgery.   I'm sure it will be nothing as bad as I fear.

Daffodils

You know what it is like.  There are some subjects that you never can master.  There is always something wrong, the composition is just not right; perhaps the colours are off - something is never right.   So it is with me and daffodils.   Never can quite master them.   They are an elusive creature that is one step away.

I have decided to try a different approach this year.  I am not going to try and make photographs of the flowers with my SLR but rather use my trusty G9. Like other compacts it has a first rate macro facility.   Not as powerful as my macro lens but really quite useful.  So we will see how it works out.

Finding gluten free food

So the hunt is on - where is the gluten free food?   We are lucky in that we have three large supermarkets very close, two within walking distance, one only a 10 minutes drive away.   They each have their own brands and the task at the moment is to find the food that you like within the produce.  Not easy but it has to be done.

I am living a gluten free life vicariously.   I have to say you start to appreciate how much food we eat now a days is prepared for you.  I have been used to looking at the calorific values of food for sometime but now I am examining every box for the dreaded word gluten.

So what is the result so far?  What are the foods that actually are very tasteful.   As with all food this is a personal choice and so should not have any bearing on what you might like.   lets take bread.   yesterday we tried to make some bread from the ds white bread mix from Tescos.   The pack said that it could be used in a bread maker and so we followed the instructions on the pack to the letter.  Disaster!   After consulting their web site it became clear that the product can be used in a bread maker, but not with the recipe on the back!   You have to use a totally different recipe that is only available on their website.  Needless to say we will not be using that product again.   

Of all the breads we have tested so far the best is the mix Glutafin.  I really liked this, much to the annoyance of my wife as this was supposed to be for her!   Still the search continues and no doubt there will be further updates.

So where to go from here?

Bradgate Park - part of the Leicestershire Landmark series

Day one of the next phase of my life.  I had hoped that this day would not have arrived for another year or so but this was not to be.  So what to do with myself?   Get better is number one on the agenda.  Enjoy the summer is another.  But these are somewhat short term.  What about beyond that?   

The answer to this is a that I just don't know.   I have so many things I want to do but at the moment I am not sure I have the motivation to try and achieve them.   This, I hope, will pass.   I have decided that I want to try and document the life of the reed warbler in my local park.  Not sure how this will progress but this is a bird that has always fascinated me.   Such a small creature yet it manages to fly from africa and nest not 200 metres from where I am sitting to nest and bring up its young.   I have also become fascinated with the effect of neon lights on the the quality of light at night.  Then of course there is my long term project about the Leicestershire Landmarks.  I have so many ideas for this that sometimes I don't know where to start,  Then there is....and so on.  What to do, when to fit them into my life.  Perhaps there is life after the course after all.  Only time will tell.

Another Night Out...

Just got back in from another night shoot.   This sounds really grand but the reality is that I have just spent a couple of hours making photographs in empty fields and road verges - the exotic life of a photographer???  I think not.

As I write this I am uploading the files - in fact it has just finished.  Not sure what they will be like - this is the exciting bit.   The only nature I saw tonight was a rather flat hare which had had an argument with a lorry and lost.

iPhone Update

I was sitting the hospital waiting room yesterday wondering what to do.  I know, I thought, I will buy a game to keep me going.   No problem.  Even over the 3G network this downloaded  surprisingly quickly - only problem was I couldn't be bothered to learning the new instructions how to play the game.  What a clot.

So what else to do?   I know I'll write a blog entry.  No problem logging in.  Even managed to write the heading but that was it.  For reasons best know  to other people could I make the machine recognise that I could write in the main text part of the blogger interface.    Not a huge problem and it may well be another case of user error. 

Entering a new Gluten Free world

I have entered a new and strange world.  A world that is coloured yellow and free of all sorts of things.  The last time I had such an experience was when I entered the forbidden world of girls toys at Toys r Us, I have a son and this world was pink and fluffy.  No this world is much more serious.  I have started to buy gluten free food.

The first thing you notice is that all your favourite foods are out of bounds.  The second is that the brands that you have grown up have gone, to be replaced by products that are similar but not quite the same.  Cornflakes are now Cereal Flakes and so on.  However, this is a cross that I will bare as the alternative is not worth contemplating.

So it is into the special aisles and reading packaging labels in great detail, worrying about eating out and what you can and cannot eat and realising that it usually revolves around the fruit bowl!   And I'm not the one with coeliac's!

Bread making - a whole new ball game.

An interesting few days.   We have finally started to test the new bread maker and I have to say the results have been very encouraging.   It is really evocative the smell of bread cooking - very homely!

Anyway, we have only tried two gluten free mixes so far and both have been really quite nice - in fact very good indeed.  I had read some horror stories about the appalling taste of gluten free bread.  Well to date I have not found this.  In fact I quite like it - however I am not the one who has to have a gluten free diet so I have the choice

Update from the iPhone Front

When I was involved in IT support/development there was always one thing that you could almost always guarantee would be a contributory factor in any issue - human error.  So it was with the iPhone yesterday.   I decide to use the GPS and mapping to find my way through Derby to the Quad.   This function was very accurate and placed my position to within metres.  However, I ended up in the wrong place. Why?   Well human error.   I parked at the new Westfield Shopping Centre, I have to say that this was not a very uplifting place - but that is another story, and decided to walk through Derby City Centre.

Now it is a along time since I have been in Derby and much of the lay out I had forgotten.   The one thing I did know was that the Quad was in the Cathedral quarter and so if all else failed I would head towards the Cathedral and all would be well.  I then decide to use the map facility to guide me in.  This worked really well - I didn't.  I had my wrong glasses on and so could make out the directions clearly.  Also I was too convinced that the Quad was next to the Cathedral.   Anyway, to cut a long story short I ended up at the Cathedral and low and behold - no Quad.  Eventually, I found the Quad and was feeling quite smug about how the iPhone and GPS mapping had let me down.   I changed my glasses whilst having a coffee and examined what the iPhone was saying to me.  Needless to say I didn't feel too smug for long.  The machine was right and I was wrong! Dohh.

I  short the mapping system works really well, its just my eyes that don't.

Photocinema Photography Exhibition - Derby

What an interesting morning.   Both my wife and I had lots to talk about after visiting Photocinema.  It was thought provoking.  However, whether this is what the organizers wanted is another matter.   The exhibitions I viewed were:

Derby Museum and Art Gallery

Once - Wim Wanders

The exhibition is descibed as '...the director's photographic journey around the world part travel diary, photo album and photo essay...'.  The first thing to say is that I am aware of Wander's cinemagraphic work so I came cold to this series.   It is broken down into a number of different selections with a descriptive text that always started with Once...   I am not sure whether these were supposed to be poems but they left me cold.   As for the images they were really snapshots of his life.   So we saw him traveling around the world and with other well known movie directors.  For me the most interesting was the series through the Australian outback.  Although, the series of photographs from Soviet Russia were fascinating.   These recorded a refusnik protest next to the Kremlin.  I was not aware that such protests were tolerated in Russia at that time.

Locations - Steve Harries & Mel Bies

A road movie in every sense of the word.  This was a series of photographs that documented locations for famous movies of the 1970's.   One wall of the exhibition is taken over to a large map of the USA with their road trip route picked out.  There were then red tap indicating where each location was and a series stills from the respective movies.  The photographs themselves were quite ordinary.  However, taken as whole the exhibition worked as a documentary of the respective locations.  This is probably because I knew the movies and so had some reference to work from.   As individual photographs I found the Utah desert scene the most enjoyable.  This was from the film Plant of the Apes.  Here we see a large barren desert vista with a large lake in the foreground.  The image is barren apart from some large industrial complex in the fare distance that could almost be part of the movie.   This, of course, does raise the obvious question.  Why was this included as Plant of the Apes was made in the late 1960's.

Spaghetti Westerns - Aaron Schuman

This was a series of photographs that document the fading sets of the Spaghetti westerns of the 1960's.  I have to say this left me cold - much as the movies did.

Quad Gallery

Photocinema Exhibition.

This is an eclectic selection of photographs '...From film still to still film the theme for Photocinema...'  So the introduction for this exhibition starts and this is as good a description for the photographs and images on display.   There are too many artists featured in this exhibition so I will deal with those that I am aware of.  

Gregory Crewdson:

We have three large prints from Crewdson each following his usual style of ambiguity and narrative.   They do provoke a lot of  interest at initial viewing.  There just is so much information within each image.   Then you move beyond the initial impact and start to realise that the work is really just a documentation of many technicians skills that Crewdson has employed to produce the the photograph.   In the end the narrative within the image becomes meaningless.  Perhaps a better exponent of this type of image is making is Jeff Wall.

David Lynch

On the opposite wall to Crewdson is a series of photographs selected by David Lynch.  Whether this position is on purpose is deliberate or not is not made clear.   Lynch is well documented as a key influence on the work of Crewdson.  It is unclear what the photographs are trying to say - even the guide is somewhat unclear on this '...is it a homage to Alice in Wonderland?  Or a poisoned valentine to Hollywood?...'

Cindy Sherman

I always have problems with Sherman's work and this one image is no exception '..Her work examines archetypical images of women, by casting herself in the central tole of every picture...'  The reason why I mention this one image is because I am interested in self portraiture at the moment and it is fascinating to see how Sherman approaches this.  It is also worth noting that again she is an influences on Crewdson.

So what were my overall impression of the exhibitions?  In short confusing.  Many of the images were individually unimpressive but taken as a whole did have an impact.   They made me think as I walked away from the exhibitions.  So perhaps it wasn't as disappointing as I initially felt.  Indeed as we walked away from the exhibitions my wife and I spent a significant amount of time discussing the works on display.  So in that sense it was worthwhile.   This, however, does need to placed against ambiguity felt whilst viewing much of the work.

Success at last - my work is to be exhibited.

I am currently doing cart wheels.  I have actually had my work selected for the RPS International Print exhibition.   I have to say I am speechless.   This is something that I have always wondered how to do and now I have achieved it.  At the moment I am stunned and the news is still sinking.

I would like to thank all of my colleagues from the course who helped out with the selection.

Living with the iPhone

Well I have had the iPhone for over a week now and I am starting to learn lessons from living with it.   The first thing to say is that I have no idea what it is like to use as a phone.   This may seem strange as it is supposed to be a phone but I really didn't buy it for that.  I bought it so that I can have internet access wherever I might be.   I have used it as a phone but I don't find it any better or worse than any other - however, I am not a big phone person so my views on this are not really that important.

No what is really impressive is the internet access.   This has changed my life in so many small ways.   You watch a programme on TV and you want to know where you have seen an actor before - well the iPhone quickly gives you access to IMDB.  I know you can do this with a lap top, PC or Mac but I don't always have one of those at hand.  The iPhone is.   

The phone works its best on WiFi but the 3G is not too bad.   But this is not the point.  It is the ease of use that is the key - the ability just to pick it up and quickly use the thing.  This is definitely one of my best buys in a while.

I'm in overload - the BBC at its best

North Devon - James Ravilious

What a night of programmes...what a night.  Last night was photography night on BBC4 and we were treated to some first rate documentaries.   This was on top of the rerun of the excellent series of Genius of Photography.   This was so much information I was in overload.

• Jacques Henri Lartigue: The Boy who Never Grew Up - still available on iPlayer
  
• James Ravilious: A World in Photographs - still available on iPlayer
  
• The Photographer, his Wife, her Lover
  
• ROBERT CAPA: IN LOVE AND WAR
  
• The Lost Pictures of Eugene Smith
  

I have to say it was all too much for me to take in at one sitting so I have several hours to work through on the Sky+ box over the next week.  The favourite programme that I watched last night was the James Ravilious documentary.   His photographs were superb, I have already mentioned my appreciation of his father's paintings in previous blogs. I also found the characters reminiscent of people I knew when I was growing up.  It is a cliche but they really don't make them like that anymore.   This was the BBC at its best.

Why do a Photographic Course?

The editorial in this weeks British Journal of Photography raises the obvious question about photography courses - why do them?   Actually, it was taking about the numerous graduates that are produced with little hope of making a carrier in photography - especially in today's turbulent climate.

So why do a course that will not lead to any meaningful employment?   I am not sure I am the right person to answer that.  I have never set out to do any photography course with employment in mind.  In fact the only times I have done a 'paying gig' I found the whole process frustrating and very unrewarding.   So I make photographs for myself as a form of expression rather than a means of paying the mortgage.  This does give me freedom that professional photographers don't have.  It also means that I have no illusions about becoming a professional photographer, whatever that term means.   I don't want to.   

So what of the kids that are going through the undergraduate courses (even post graduate course like I am doing) what do they expect out of the course?   I have no idea but I would hope that their parents have been able to instill in them the grime realities of life outside.   One or two may well make it, and may make it big.  Some might become trend setters but the vast majority won't.   I have always assumed that trying to be a professional photographer today is very similar to being a professional actor.  There are one or two really big stars, a lot of also rans but the majority are still waiting table hoping for that big break.   Making a living from photography is more about business acumen than artistic talent, such as it is in any walk of life.

Interesting day or so

I have just spent an interesting day or so rewriting a utility to back up my files correctly.  I have purchased back up software but this proved to be disappointing.  Whether it was me or the software I just don't know but I was certain that the software had backed up the files I wanted.   As a result of this I decided to update an old piece of software that had been running on several of my other computers for a number of years.   It was quite enjoyable to use a different part of my brain than that I use to make photographs.

However, as I was doing this work it struck me that the version of Visual Basic I use is 12 years old.  I know that there are much more modern versions out there but this does fine for me.  I find I know how to use the software to write those little utilities that no commercial software can achieve.  They are as much about your own peculiarities as anything else.  The three main utilities I have created are to do with Metadata generation, Image backup and the one I have just completed.   I really would be lost without them.

This got me thinking about how modern software is developed and actually how useful they are.  This is particularly relevant to Photoshop CS4 and other megaliths of the modern world, such as the office suites.  How much of these programs do we use?  I suspect the answer is not a great deal.  I for one have my own way of working in CS4 that doesn't vary that much.  It certainly doesn't involve 3D modeling etc yet this comes with the software.  I know these are jack of all trade software bundles but there is also a point where you have to ask why?   We all know why because if didn't buy the latest version of the software then very quickly companies like Adobe would be in trouble.  Of course it is not just Adobe who does this.   The great?? Microsoft are devils for this.  I still maintain that the best version of Word was version 2.  I am still using Word 2000 and this is more than adequate for my needs.

I know this is not earth shattering stuff and has been commented on by many other people but I am happy with my twelve year old programing language and would probably be happy with a cut down version of Photoshop CS4 - not elements which is neither here nor there in my view.  Anyway, that's got that off my chest!

Some colourful birds

Domestic Goose

Tufted Duck

The other day I spent an hour or so walking around Watermead Country Park, a local country park.  It used to be an old gravel pit and has been converted into a nature reserve.   One part of the park is now populated by a large number of swans, geese and ducks that have become used to be feed by people.  As a result of this you can get really close to the birds.  This means that you can get some interesting portraits of these birds without going to too much difficulty.

Updating we will go.

I have spent the past day or so updating both Photoshop CS4 - now 11.0.1 & Adobe Lightroom - now 2.3.  It never ceases to amaze me how quickly some software gets out of date so quickly.   In the case of Lightroom this is in part due to the continue development of new cameras that mean that the Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) has to be continually updated.   However, both are also to fix known bugs/faults call it what you will.

One interesting aside about running 64 bit.  At the recent Focus on Imaging show at the NEC  I spoke to the onOne people about when the 64 bit version of Genuine Fractals was going to be available.   The advice was that this is unlikely to be available until well into the latter part of the year.  I was also informed that I should consider using the the 32 bit version of both Lighroom and Photoshop as there was 'no difference between 32 bit and 64 bit'.  This may be so but if you have built your workflow around the 64 bit products then moving back to 32 bit can be problematic.

John Myatt - Brush with fame

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson in Brush With Fame - Sky Arts

Brush with Fame - This is one of the best programmes on TV at the moment.   For the artistically challenged - such as myself - it is a revelation to watch such a skilled and talented artist as John Myatt produce wonderful paintings before your eye.  

For those of you who do not know Myatt was a art forger who served time for his forgery.  He know is building a carrier creating original works of art in the style of the other great artists.   

What an idiot

Well it is official.  I am an idiot.  Those of you who know won't find this too much of a revelation but it is true.   I have just reread the the two entries I made yesterday and they were almost identical - well at least when discussing making new photographs.  Sorry.  In mitigation I was so happy to be making photographs again that I guess this overcame my editing skills.

I love my iPhone

My god I am becoming an Apple convert!  Well actually I am not but I do love my new iPhone.   I have not been a great fan of smart phones in the past as I felt they didn't have any clear purpose; also their design seemed to be haphazard.   The iPhone has changed all that.  I just love it.  It is so easy to use and fulfills my needs.   I was looking for a compact unit that was able to provide easy internet usage on the move.  I have to say that the iPhone does just that.

There are things that are annoying, such as the keyboard which I find to be fiddly.  If only they would use graffiti from my old Palm it would be so much better.  I know that Apple got burnt badly with handwriting recognition with the Newton but things have moved on and I, for one, would much prefer to write something than use the keyboard.

This being said it is so bloody easy to use that i can forgive it these little niggles.  An example would be that happened to me this morning.  I went into town to buy a bread maker for my wife.  The shop didn't have it stock and so my wife and I went for some coffee.   Whilst I was waiting to be served I was able to find the product on line and order it - and it really wasn't a long queue!  Simple and superb.  

I am not sure what Apple can do to improve the machine - I suspect that they will try and improve the camera and give you more storage for the ipod - neither things I am interested in as I have far better products already.