11 April - World Parkinson's Disease Day

Parkinson's is a progressive neurological condition.

Every hour, someone in the UK is told they have Parkinson's.

One person in every 500 has Parkinson's. That's about 120,000 people in the UK.

Most people who get Parkinson's are aged 50 or over but younger people can get it too. One in 20 is under the age of 40.

People with Parkinson's don't have enough of a chemical called dopamine because some nerve cells in their brain have died.

Without dopamine people can find that their movements become slower so it takes longer to do things.

The loss of nerve cells in the brain causes the symptoms of Parkinson's to appear.

There's currently no cure for Parkinson's and we don't yet know why people get the condition.

Parkinson's doesn't directly cause people to die, but symptoms do get worse over time.

Click on the link below to watch a Multimedia piece on Parkinson's...

'I Don't Want a Walking Stick'...

http://www.mediagatherers.com/projects/i-dont-want-a-walking-stick-2/

Parkinson's UK offers advice, support and raises awareness about Parkinson's disease...http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/

Surfers

A couple of portraits, one of Sam Davies (top) and Gary Rogers, local surfers from Saltburn and part of a project I've begun on the surfing culture in Saltburn. Surfing has been a big part of life in this NorthYorkshire coastal town for around forty years and the type of people who enjoy surfing are as varied and different as each of the swells that roll up against our shore.

I want to try and explore the reasons why people choose to surf and what they get out of it and why they put other parts of their life on hold to take part in an activity that eventually becomes their life. I'll see how it develops, but at the minute I am still planning on how to approach the project to try and get something different from the traditional images of this amazing sport and exploring it through Multimedia...

Just for the sake of it...

Out for a wander with the dog last weekend through the allotments that are close to where I live in Saltburn. As always, the camera was in hand and I shot a few pictures that caught my eye. No particular reason. Just for the sake of it. Sometimes it is good to shoot simply because you can.

The Great Ignored

Once again the uncomfortable circus comes to town as our political leaders try in vain to appear 'down' with 'The Great Ignored'....Don't forget to vote... 

Gone to the Dogs

They say never work with children and animals and at times you can see why! But the trick to good animal photography is accepting from the start that, as in this case, the dogs are in charge of the shoot and there is only so much you can do to influence their behaviour. The rest - well you have to make that up as you go along.

If like here your on the beach then expect to get wet, expect to get covered in sand and expect your gear to get a bit of a battering. As with children and some other subjects it is better to get down to their level for a stronger viewpoint. These pictures were taken over two occasions as we walked our dog, Tia, a chocolate lab, on the beach where we live and some friends had their dogs out and as we bumped into them and had a chat I shot some pictures as their dogs and ours ran around and had some fun.

All pictures were shot on an either 85mm 1.4 or a 20mm 2.8 with Nikon D3's, shot at around 800 ISO on RAW and high quality JPEG. It's a tricky gig trying to get some workable pictures of any animal but the same principles apply to dogs as they do to pictures of people - trying to get the eyes open and trying to get the peak of the action as well as trying to show a relationship between animals and owner or the animals themselves.

Keep your finger poised and ready to shoot, never take your eye from the viewfinder the pictures will come together very quickly and be gone just as fast so be ready. Constantly alter your exposure as required although you could meter for the sand but beware of any sky included in your shots as this will shift your exposure dramatically. Manual exposure is harder work but you retain full control, I much prefer shooting this way and in fact shoot everything in manual exposure. In time it becomes second nature to adjust it as you shoot but aperture or shutter priority is another tool you could use if you wanted.

Pick your moments and shoot a lot of pictures at first, soon though you will see when the shots are happening and be more selective. This saves you 'hosing' them down and taking loads of pictures, although it's all just ones and zeroes at the end of the day and they are free! So take as many pictures as you need to.

Don't forget to use different lenses for a different effect, stand off with a longer lens or get in closer with a wide - be cautious on the wide though and keep an eye on what else might be in the frame as you shoot. During this shoot I was using a mix of manual focus and continuous auto focus and was switching between the two as each shot dictated. For running or action type pictures my frame rate was continuous high to give me a good selection of pictures - However, still pick your shots and don't rely on simply rattling off loads of pictures in the hope of getting something this is bad skills and your photography will suffer.

You can have a laugh and get some decent pictures when shooting animals - especially dogs - as long as you remember that your reacting to what's happening and have very little control over events but looking at it like that this is what most photography is like and that is as it should be because if you can start to nail some good pictures at these times then your half way there.

This is your Religion???

I am not a religious man.

It doesn't sit right with me.

In over twenty years in the military I have been to many different countries where the root of the problems stem from religious beliefs and many of the problems facing other countries also arise from religious differences. So I have seen first hand the destructive power of religion.

I cannot bring myself to accept the beliefs that those that are religious hold close and I can't help but feel that there is a certain amount of arrogance and indeed ignorance amongst those that hold these beliefs that there is some higher being in control of everything or that there is some higher plan that directs everything.

The evidence for and of evolution is, in my opinion overwhelming and science provides the answers to these questions that people have been asking for many thousands of years.

Regardless of an individuals beliefs and however misguided they may be with religious points of view the following link takes you to one of the most disgusting and shocking stories surrounding the Catholic church ever made public. These last few words should be noted about this story..."...ever made public..".

How much else is there that hasn't been made public through the years?

If this is your religion then your welcome to it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scW90Q6Z_OM&feature=player_embedded


Further comment on Duckrabbit...
http://duckrabbit.info/blog/2010/04/duckrabbits-easter-message/

A bit of...

A bit of Contre-jour photography, early morning sunlight and some token daffodills - It must be Spring?

Digital Economy Bill

I mentioned before about the Digital Economy Bill and the problems and implications of this bill, see my previous post here...http://ianforsyth.blogspot.com/2010/02/copyright-digital-economy-bill.html and I subsequently wrote a letter to my MP highlighting my concerns.

My local MP then sent it to the House of Commons and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills to a chap called Stephen Timms. I have just received a reply from David Lammy, who replied as Minister for Higher Education and Intellectual Property.

In the letter he outlines his understanding of the concern held by some photographers that orphan works legislation will create a means for content users to appropriate content at an unfairly low cost or for free.

He went on and I quote directly from the remainder of the letter.....
"I would like to take this opportunity to reassure you that this is absolutely not the case. If any orphan works schemes are created that cover photographic works then any use of an orphan work under such a scheme can only take place after a properly diligent search has been carried out. The use will also require payment of a fair licence fee, and this fee will be held safely and kept available to be claimed by the rightful owner should they come forward.

The Government's intention is that there should be no financial advantage from mis-identifying a work as an orphan work and that deliberate or negligent mis-identification should carry an appropriate penalty.
As these concerns have been raised by a number of MP's and photographers, the Intellectual Property Office has published a web page which contains detailed information about the proposals. I believe that this we page addresses the issues raised by your constituent, and I would be grateful if you could pass on the following link":
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/pro-types/pro-copy/c-policy/c-policy-orphanworks/c-policy-orphanworks-photo.htm

Are some of the concerns understood and dealt with?
Will it add another level of confusion to the mix?

Have a read and see what you think?

Check this link for further informtion...http://www.stop43.org.uk/

Stop Commercial Orphan Works Exploitation in the UK Digital Economy Bill Clause 43

Up on the Roof

After a heads up from a friend I headed down to Grangetown near Middlebrough in Cleveland earlier this afternoon, the place is about a twenty minute drive from where I live, to try and shoot some photos of a young bloke who had, according to the reports, climbed onto a roof armed with a knife and was throwing slates and tiles at the surrounding onlookers

According to members of the public at the scene he had climbed onto the roof in protest against police harassment although this was unconfirmed. The police had cordoned off the scene for obvious reasons and were playing a waiting game, reluctant to try and force the man, known locally as 'Little Jack', from the roof in case he, or others were injured in the process.

The man eventually climbed down from the roof after three and a half hours and was arrested by police and charged with criminal damage.

A police officer looks on from the cordon

Armed police officers wait in the street

The youth, watched by a neighbour, raises his arms and shouts at onlookers

Shouting at onlookers from the roof with beer and phone in hand

The youth, known as 'Little Jack', throws a piece of tile from the roof

Knife in hand he gestures from the roof

He climbs onto the chinmey stack

A and E

Sara was taken into hospital again the other day after coming down with a bug that came on quickly through the night. It's been around a year since the last, unplanned, hospital visit which is surprising since her immune system is significantly reduced following the operations she has had with her Crohn's disease and the possibility of other illness is always there.
After around five hours in the accident and emergency room she was moved to the acute admissions ward where she spent a couple of days on various IV's to rehydrate her and other medication before being released.

Don't Forget...

Don't forget Mother's Day tomorrow and if you look around there are some bargains to be had...

Iraq

I was looking through my archive earlier today and ended up going through some of the photographs I took during a seven month stretch in Iraq during 2006/07........