So, I met Ian Sheddan on twitter almost two years ago. He’s a great guy and recently he’s been doing 5×5s with his Flip Video Ultra.
He’s been doing them for two months now, and in that time he has recorded close to two hours of footage documenting his daily life.
Not only do I think this video, which he basically mashes up all of his previous 5×5s, is awesome–but I’m amazed how much dedication he’s had for this project. Some may not find the subject particularly interesting, but I think that documenting 25 seconds of your life differently each day but keeping it interesting for everyone to see–is a fantastic effort.
I’ve been working a lot. Partly on actual work, and the rest of my time is going on current secret project #1–which isn’t so secret. Here’s something to fill the void.
I’ve been wearing a cap all day. Not because I’m annoyed about my new hairstyle but rather because I couldn’t be bothered explaining myself to the parents. Well, while in the hospital with them both today my dad asked the question… You didn’t do it did you?
Well, daddy, I did.
It’s not that I didn’t really want him to know, it was that I wanted him to understand why I did it. He has no concept of my beliefs or I doubt, even my personality. He hasn’t known me for over a year, and I’ve changed. I’m not afraid of taking risks anymore.
I do agree that my current hairstyle is a little short, and in future I’ll keep to a #1 or #2. That’s not important. What I find quite… disgusting… is that I don’t think he even cares why I did it.
He said I looked like an inmate, like a soldier or who knows what else. I simply told him I was doing it for good, and money was raised to further good.
I have knowledge, I have beleifs that far outweigh yours. I know about other religions from around the world and while I may not practice them entirely, I understand their significance and hold some meaning towards them.
Hair grows back, and while I don’t care what you think – I’d love if you actually thought about why I did it.
I’ve managed to stay completely away for coffee for five days, and while I miss the hot beverage as I would miss my left hand, I’ve just not been bothered to make a single espresso.
So, at 9pm – I’m starting to feel a little like this.
What happened to Avril? I used to have such a crush on her…
Meh. She’s just another creation of pop, and I’m just another creation of stella artois tonight. Also known as… drunk.. Yippee. Enjoy this while I’m gone.
There’s something wrong with the embedding of the video right now, so if you could make your way to this page to watch it, that’d be great…
I seem to get this notion into my head every two or so months after my hair starts getting a little long and I have to consider what the hell I want to do about it.
Yar! Hopefully this quadruple espresso will kick me out of the blogging downfall I’ve been in the past month or two. It’s been pretty hard to do anything let alone think, thanks to some family problems. I’ll get into it sometime or another… but not right now.
I did try to talk about it though…
Damn, I look crap in this video.
Now, let’s get onto something a lot more interesting.
19th Birthday
Yes! I’ve finally passed the terrible age of eighteen, and I’m able to see the future with crystal clarity. Ok, not exactly, but I had a great time.
I’ve been growing a little facial hair ever since my mother went into hospital a month ago. It was a symbol. I’d shave it off after I got my mother back and became herself again. But by my birthday it was getting too annoying, and with the need for a haircut too I treated myself to a ‘Groom’s Special’ at The Player’s Lounge, Edinburgh.
It was a shave and a haircut, something I’ve never spent this much on… but I’ve been trying to get a straight shave ever since I watched Sweeny Todd.
The Player’s Lounge was amazing. While you wait they include a complimentary beer and let you read magazines and their PSP. When they’re ready for you the treatment starts… The shave lasts 45 minutes. Since I had a full beard on at the time it took an entire hour, but I have to say it was the best shave I’ve ever had. Steaming hot towels to soften the hairs, about 5 different types of facial scrubs and moisterisers even before she started to shave with the straight razor.
The haircut was very good too! I’m normally used to getting a barber who, while he can cut hair, doesn’t truly know how ones hair works. I told my hairdresser (repeadly) about how thick my hair is. ‘Real’ hairdressers have noticed, and she definitely did. Thankfully, she did my hair perfectly… taking out all the extra volume and managing to make it really suit me!
Thanks player’s lounge!
The night was awesome too. I went out to Gulliano’s on the Shore and had some wonderful Italian food, followed by Wall-E (for the second time ). Everyone was super nice and got me everything I desired. Money, Coffee, Espresso machines and computer games. So, awesome. Thank you everyone. I’m still waiting for a super-awesome present from a super-awesome person (Corinne), but can’t wait to get it.
Survey
If you remember, about 2 weeks ago I asked you to take a survey so I can go forward. Thanks for all who took part and I hope to implement a few of the requests. Right now, I’m going to share them…
83% of you are happy with the blog as a whole.
Only 17% of you visit the blog via an RSS reader.
Everyone was either happy or not bothered that I made money off of this blog by displaying advertising.
People wanted to read more (by popularity)…
Things that happen in my life.
Photography
Stories and Ideas
Videos
Reviews
Tutorials
Documentaries on Socks
Podcasts
Some people want…
“Boobs?” [Although this was anonymous... I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!]
What are the things you like to do? What about your family life? [So, actually talk about what the title seems to suggest. Ok.]
Most people want new content 3+ times a week. I might freak out some of you when I say there’s going to be new content every single day next month thanks to the fact I’m participating in NaBloPoMo [National Blog Posting Month].
82.3% would purchase limited edition prints so I could afford a over-the-atlantic trip.
People want more…
“Boobs”. [Scott... seriously... [it's in the pipes ]]
Tutorials on web design, photography, etc.
More pictures… (of the blogger)
More topics that entertain a wider audience… e.g. “Try things out of our element and blog about them. What did you like or not about the experience?”.
More lists.
When asked if there was anything not discussed here that you’d like changed or discussed about… They said…
“Boobs?” [*headdesk*]
Talk about your friends more… aka…ME! (and you know who this is) [Yes, I do...]
So, back to normal from now on. You’ll see a lot of things change (more than you’d think) in the next week so I hope you’ll enjoy it.
Now, before I leave you… one last word for the wise. DON’T EAT YELLOW SNOW!
I have had another weekend that I wish that as a photographer I wouldn’t have to deal with. I’m hoping to complete a photo book for December titled ‘Age’ and in that, one thing I am looking for is decayed buildings. Bored and thinking of enjoying the nice weather that appeared yesterday, I took my camcorder and camera out for a long walk around Dundee.
Now, taking footage with my camcorder was easy. No problems whatsoever. I could even say I had a little fun. See:
Then, after walking a few miles I found a nice warehouse that had seen better days. It was boarded up and even had some bollards marking where they would prefer the general public not to stand. I didn’t. I took this picture from the pavement (a completely legal act, might I add) and was confronted by a man who demanded that I stopped shooting.
I had only taken one shot and I was hoping to get the bigger lens out of my bag – but this guy kept insisting that in no way I could shoot here. Here’s basically what I remember from the event:
Him: You can’t shoot here.
Me: What I am doing is completely legal.
Him: No it isn’t–this is private property.
Me: Well, I’m on a pavement and last time I checked that was public property.
Him: [quietened down a little, I think he was getting a little unsure of the whole situation]
Are you press?
Me: No, I’m just an amateur photographer. If anything has happened here I don’t know about it. I only walked by thinking that this was an attractive building and I thought I’d take a couple of shots.
Him: You can’t shoot here… unless you cross the road. If this is for a school project (what age am I?) or whatever, just cross the road. As long as you’re not going to see it to the press.
Me: I don’t see how that would be any more legal, I’m on the pavement. But I’ll do what you ask only due to courtesy. But I know my rights and I suggest you learn about them.
Him: [leaving slowly.]
How come so many people don’t seem to understand the rights of photographers in the UK? That is twice now (in a row) I have been asked not to shoot a specific building because it is private property. It’s not only me – many photographers I know have been stopped by complete strangers and sometimes even police(!) that don’t know the law. With the fear of terror in the UK and especially in London there’s a negative sigma placed on photographers and somehow I don’t think me taking a picture of an off load bay would constitute and act of terror or would aid in planning one – or in this case, give me extra money if I did sell it to the press.
From now on, I’m always going to carry a copy of Photographer’s Rights in the UK so that the people I meet and try to invade my right to take photos can leave with a better knowledge of the law and therefore not disturb a photographer or let others do it in their steed because it’s really getting annoying now.
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.
). Everyone was super nice and got me everything I desired. Money, Coffee, Espresso machines and computer games. So, awesome. Thank you everyone. I’m still waiting for a super-awesome present from a super-awesome person (Corinne), but can’t wait to get it. 
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