I’ve been asked about how I’ve managed to take a particular picture with the equipment I have so many times. It’s not professional by any means - mearly amateur. In my photo kit you won’t find any Canon, Nikon or even Pentax cameras or lenses - I chose Samsung because of the price. Nothing else.
Unfortunately, you won’t find many of your photos to be of your liking to begin with. It’s more of a practice-makes-perfect kind of hobby. Chris Marquart once said in his podcast that it’s more of a 100-to-1 relationship for even himself of photos that he considers to be good.
If you think inspiration is stupid you won’t get very far. Every artist uses it and can offer a different perspective than you may see normally.
It’s not always about the camera. While it’s good to have a decent resolution (6+ is a must for dSLRS) I still love to use my LOMO LC-A when going around. Even a small portable digital camera is useful but of course normally doesn’t give the customisation a dSLR will provide.
It’s not bad to experiment either, I’ve found that out too often. I love to shoot wildlife but it’s always difficult (what wildlife except from pigeons can I find easily?) - I’ve even go so far as to say it’s my favourite subject to shoot whenever possible. Then it’s people (also pretty hard without looking posed), architecture and landscapes. But if you’ve not tried something, do it anyway. You’ll never know what you’ll like if you haven’t tried it. It also fills the holes until you get into things that you prefer to shoot.
I try not to get stuck on the same settings too often. I normally choose a wide angle lens, 18mm, taking shots at f3.4. If everything starts looking the same you won’t impress yourself or others. Experiment.
That’s mainly what it is. Experiment. You or I will get nowhere unless we do. It brings new ideas and offers new solutions when you’re down. See, give it a try.
I’m back in Edinburgh for the week and unfortunately don’t have the means or the time to go on a photowalk this weekend, so I’m sharing a photo that I took a month ago on a walk to Tayport.
I spent the last two days panickly trying to finish courswork. Mainly due to the fact I’ve been lazy the entire semester. Oh, and when I said finish - I meant start.
I had some great fun when I was finally able to shoot HD. This video was based on the theme of perspective and although I originally had a different idea for the video (I will shoot that sometime) I think it came out alright.
Click through on the link at the bottom of the video to see the High Definition video.
Nothing rears it’s ugly head more than the concept of work. I’ve had literally months to complete loads of simple but time consuming tasks but I’ve left them to the last minute. So, here’s a short post of my thoughts of the day.
Could Microsoft be closed down because they’re torturing millions of people for the sake of profit?
Photoshop is stupidly expensive. How come they don’t just lower the price? The less the price, the more affordable. The more affordable, the more people will purchase instead of pirate. It’s crazy.
Why hasn’t Taco Bell made it to the UK? I’m craving a burrito.
Should I make t-shirts?
Why the hell is it acceptable for women to bring their babies to meet with other mothers, join into a chain and only walk at 2 miles per hour?
How much better would the world be if web designers ruled the world? Just think - everything would be standards compliant and accessible.
Why isn’t there any HD food podcasts aimed at students? Don’t say I need to make it myself!
How come self checkout lines always seem to be used by the computer illiterate?
Wow. People are awesome. I should spend more time with them…
I’ll be back to normal operating procedures on Friday. Have a great day!
Have you heard of Dyslexia? If you’re not involved in teaching or have someone in your family who is Dyslexic then I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t even though a lot of people have it. Cher, Walt Disney, Edison, Richard Branson, Scott Addams and hell - even Steve Jobs has it.
So, you’re probably thinking, “Wow. Loads of successful people seem to have this Dyslexia thing. Must be great.” Nope.
Wikipedia says it best. “Dyslexia is most commonly characterised by difficulties with learning how to decode at the word level, to spell, and to read accurately and fluently… Many individuals with dyslexic symptoms involving reading, writing, and spelling also exhibit symptoms in other domains such as poor short-term memory skills, poor personal organizational skills and problems processing spoken language.” Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to the first of the many Photo Sundays to come. I spent last weekend at Dundee Harbour. It’s getting a lot or redevelopment, but that’s not where I like to go. A little to the side of the harbour is some excellent buildings and a nearby recyclying center. I spent an hour there and had a lot of fun. Here’s a few shots from that interesting time.
I just wish it stayed good. Before I tell you the story, if you’re a photographer or videographer - be aware of your rights!After I took some of these shots, I went towards the port and about 5o m from the entrance I was shooting some decay pictures. I was on a public road taking pictures of private property (legal). A security guard came up and told me that I couldn’t shoot as I was on Port property. Pointing at the sign, which wasn’t even visible from my distance - he took me towards it. It seemed to be after the security gate and the wire fencing (behind the fencing was port property) - but he pointed at it none the less. NO PHOTOGRAPHY.
Well sorry mate. Sorry for being on public property, shooting what I can and where I can. If only more people knew about the law, then it would be a lot easier to do what I love to do.
I was going to talk to you about something else today, but the fact that I heard that only 5% of Britons are giving blood freaked me out a little bit.
I spent Wednesday afternoon giving blood for the first time, something I’ve been meaning to do for a year and a half - ever since it was legal for me to do so. So I started thinking about why people might not want to do it.
Do you think pain will be a problem? Nope. The worst pain I suffered was 24 hours after I had my blood taken - taking off the plaster! There are two short pains during getting your blood taken - one while they test your haemoglobin testing, and another as the needle goes in.
Perhaps it’s the feeling afterward. You have lost a pint of blood. But apart from some lightheadedness and being a little tired the night after, I was fine.
I don’t have the time. It took me 45 minutes to get registered, tested and blood taken. The actual blood given process takes between 8-15 minutes and you’re required to rest for another 15 minutes afterwards just to make sure you’re ok.
They ask embarrassing questions. I wouldn’t call them embarrassing - but rather personal. But they have to as to ensure that the blood will be ok for the person requiring it.
I’m too young/old. Just as long as you’re over seventeen in the UK - you’re fine.
The BBC have a wonderful article describing the process - so go have a look, then start thinking of donating some blood.
If you do or don’t donate blood, why? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.
Winter can be a harsh time to be a photographer. It’s cold, windy and there aren’t enough daylight hours to do anything productive. I know how hard it can be to get yourself motivated to go outside and not feel like enjoying yourself is a hassle.
Here’s a few tips to get you started.
1. Don’t go outside.
If it’s cold - snowing, raining, windy - just stay inside. We’re all used to going outside to take photos and it’s easy to forget that there’s a wealth of subjects inside your own home. Take out your macro lens and have fun.
2. Cover up.
I don’t have many winter clothes, so maybe that’s why I didn’t take many photos recently. If you’re warm, you’ll be more relaxed and more capable of taking good pictures. Just make sure that you’ve got some good gloves, otherwise your hands won’t be able to control your camera too well, and ensure that the batteries are warm enough to work properly.
3. Look for inspiration.
The blues take a lot out of you, and that can include any ideas that you may have had. Search flickr for some interesting winter photos.
4. Become a Strobist.
A strobist you say? Just go outside at night with a good flash (not your in-camera flash - those are terrible) and if you have a cable to connect a flash to your camera and move it around - even better. You’ll learn how to use your flash better, as well as learning a new technique that can prove to be pretty interesting.
5. Take your camera wherever you go.
I’m pretty sure that you don’t stay in all of winter, do you? Going to work? Need to go to the shops? You’ll be annoyed if you see an awesome shot and don’t have anything to take it with. It won’t be too hard to carry a camera with you when you’re going out. It’s the simplest thing to do, and won’t hurt you too much to do it.
Hope some of these tips help to stop you to get out of the blues for Spring.
It’s been a long week of decision making, planning and all-round fiddling about on Call of Duty 4. It’s actually been really helpful, and I’m happy that some of my friends on twitter recognised what I’ve been going through. When the going gets though, we all need to take a break sometime.
I’m writing this on one of my more comfortable days, Saturday. The week is finally over and at 7.30am, after staying up all night aimlessly watching television and Resident Evil Acopalapse, I feel that I’ve come up with my decisions on how this blog will work from now on - and damn it, it will work.
With Spring seemingly showing it’s head to the world, I’m finding the idea of going on photowalks more and more attractive. It’s been a harsh winter, and I’ve become lazy since my move to Dundee. A little analytic bird also told me that photography is your favourite category. More of the good stuff is always better. So, photos will be finding it’s way to you each Sunday.
Now, I don’t want to give up the idea of making written posts. I’m even thinking of doing NaNOwRimO this year, so I want to get into writing more each day. I used to have a schedule of writing a post every three days - and I always found myself skipping days or delaying and always screwing myself up. More blog posts on a lot more interesting topics are coming to you on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I’m even thinking of trying to get a couple of people who’s work I enjoy to show a little insight into their work sometime - but I haven’t even began talking to people yet.
So there you have it. I’ll be posting from now on four days a week. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and an extra photo or two on Sunday. It’s going to be fun.
In this dark bedroom, I try to write something that some people on the internet would call ‘interesting’. Sometimes it’s short, sometimes it’s long - but it’s mostly every three days. You know what I call blogging every three days?
Exhausting.
It’s taken me away from things I would normally do, things that most people come to my website for. According to my sources, many users like to visit my photography category and see new posts - yet for the past few months I’ve posted nothing. All I’ve done is write little scraps of my life. Not exactly interesting.
Now, I could just blame it on winter blues - but I know better. Things have been hectic for the past month - mainly due to mother being in hospital and since I haven’t had a spare weekend for ages, I’ve done nothing either productive nor interesting. I’ve been sitting on my butt playing games and watching movies.
I am going to take a week long holiday from blogging. I think i’ve deserved it, and I know when I come back I’ll be revitalised and full of new ideas. Although I intentionally try not to include my life but rather my actions as a person through this blog, more recently I feel this has not been so. But most of all, my writing is getting boring. Look at this paragraph! It’s too long!
So don’t think of this hiatus as a bad thing. Think of it as a paid vacation that makes you work better when you come back from it.
Have you heard of Dyslexia? If you’re not involved in teaching or have someone in your family who is Dyslexic then I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t even though a lot of people have it. Cher, Walt Disney, Edison, Richard Branson, Scott Addams and hell - even Steve Jobs has it.
