Wednesday 23 July 2008

Some travel guidelines...


As someone who does not get into the Capital often it always amazes me when I do go there. I was down there this weekend on a job and had to travel from Kings Cross to Waterloo. This involved a couple of changes on the Underground to get me to where I needed to go, my timings dictated that it would be at the start of the rush hour that I would make my journey.
Maybe its because I do not go there often that I don't get numbed to the requirements of tube travel in London.
For those planning a trip there here are some guidelines to make you travel like a local:
1: Show no expression at any time.
2: Keep your gaze constantly averted to the floor.
3: Never hold any eye contact for more than 2 seconds.
4: Never attempt to engage in conversation with anyone.
5: Expect either an abrupt, dismissive answer or a flustered "I don't know!" answer if you do.
6: Make sure that as you approach an esculator anyone infringing on your chosen route is pushed out of the way.
7: Dont think about stopping to allow someone to go in front of you out of politness, someone else will barge through taking the opportunity.
8: Always wear headphones for your ipod or mp3 to ensure everyone can see you do not want to be engaged with in any way.
9: Display no manners or common courtesy to the elderley, women, homeless people, foreign travellers or pretty much anyone else really.
Follow these few simple rules and you to will be travelling on the London Underground like a true local.
Welcome to our Nations capital - Enjoy your visit!

A Question of Priority?

I read an article recently in Time magazine about Afghanistan and the ongoing issues affecting the country. Many subjects were looked at - security, education, public services, transport and industrial development, farming and agriculture etc etc, the list went on.
One of the key points from this report was that with more money invested into the country to develop all these different areas then the overall (security) situation would improve dramatically as the infrastructure improved and that it was not just a question of sending more troops into the country.
More investment and funding would provide the groundwork for the country to start to improve and get back on its feet, but that also, it was difficult to get the money to make these much needed changes.

I then read in another piece about how, as part of the preparation work for the Beijing Olympics, China has spent some $42 Billion Dollars (US) on infrastructure improvements, such as roads and subways.

Anyone else see the irony?

War and Pieces



My exhibition, entitiled 'War and Pieces', held at the Dorman Museum in Middlesbrough is now up and running. Many thanks to those who have provided comments on the exhibition so far and I look forward to any other comments and feedback.
The exhibition runs until the 31st of August.

Wednesday 16 July 2008

Flash Gels


I have just taken delivery of some flash gels from http://www.flashgels.co.uk/ . The gels, as you can see from the photo come pre-cut and with the velcro you can order are pretty much ready to go as soon as you get them.
For those not in the know, flash gels are used to 'counter' the effects of certain light sources and as a result reduce the effects that it has on the final image. An example would be Fluorescent lights. These tend to leave a horrible green cast over an image, by placing a 'window green gel' over the flash head and turning the white balance setting on your digital camera to Fluorescent this colour cast can be removed. A similiar result can be achieved by placing a Colour Temperature Orange (CTO) gel over the flash, turning the white balance on the camera to Tungsten or Incandescent, this will reduce the effects of this 'colour' of light coming from Fluorescent lights.
Further information and examples can be found on http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/ and explains this in further detail and opens up many more possibilities when using your flashes off camera.

Sunday 6 July 2008

Nice Bokeh!


Bokeh is a word derived from the Japanese word bokeaji or "blur". It is a photographic term referring to the appearance of out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera lens. Different lens bokeh produces different aesthetic qualities in out-of-focus backgrounds, which are often used to reduce distractions and emphasize the primary subject.

Weather protection saves the day





Heading to Richmond in Yorkshire on Saturday morning to photograph a parade of the Royal Irish Rangers Association, who have ties with this area since their formation here some 40 years ago I knew the weather was going to be bad - the local radio was saying scattered heavy showers, and a severe weather warning was given for some parts! Great.

So about four hours later it was all over - water from my soaking fleece was running down my arms and dripping heavily from the cuffs, my trousers were sticking to my legs, socks damp, my Domke pouches, full of my gear were dripping wet. My notebook, containing all my names and quotes and other information I would use to help me write up my piece to accompany the photos was soaked, pages stuck together. Generally, a bit of a nightmare.
My main concern was obviously going to be my camera gear - 2 Nikon D2x, 12-24, 24-70, 70-200 and 2 x SB800's. One of the speedlights and the 24-70 remained in my pouches, not worth changing the lens and risking water getting inside the camera, which it was bound to do, so they were left. But the rest was out and exposed for the duration. I've had my gear wet before but never to the same degree as this, the rain never eased really for the whole event.

It reached the point were you couldn't really see through the viewfinder to compose and if it wasn't for autofocus you would struggle to get anything.

Towards the end I gave up on wiping the lens of the 12-24 with my chamoix leather cloth, just couldn't get rid of the smears so I tucked the lens into my fleece pocket as the camera hung from my shoulder to try and protect it and worked with my other camera.

It has to be said that the weather protection now built into these cameras is incredibly effective and saved my gear from some serious damage.

Hopefully I came away with something useful and it was a challenge to try and keep concentration and get the pictures I wanted to get.