Blog
According to the Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge, the ancient Chinese encyclopædia, all animals can be described as belonging to one of the following 14 categories:
- Those that belong to the emperor
- Embalmed ones
- Those that are trained
- Suckling pigs
- Mermaids (or Sirens)
- Fabulous ones
- Stray dogs
- Those that are included in this classification
- Those that tremble as if they were mad
- Innumerable ones
- Those drawn with a very fine camel hair brush
- Et cetera
- Those that have just broken the flower vase
- Those that, at a distance, resemble flies
Fortunately, my categorisation of blog posts is equally as logical and elaborate. So to limit this list of posts to a single category, please hover your mouse over the word “blog” at the right-hand side of the menu above and wait for the drop-down menu with different categories to appear.
100 Megapixel London sunset panorama
The London skyline at sunset is too breathtaking and wide to capture in a single photograph. So I stitched 13 together for a 100 megapixel wide panorama of the city. Now I just need to find a 100″ frame and sufficient wall space…
Long distance fireworks
Every New Year's Eve there's a beautiful fireworks from the London Eye. And every year there's are hundred of thousands of people travelling into the city to view it (around 250,000 this year). Getting a good place with a decent view requires arriving hours in...
Fun day charity event 2011
Pictures from the fun-day fund raiser for Cancer Research, arranged by my good friend Jenni. A brilliant day where we raised £600 for the good cause.
London from above, part 1
During my first evening tour in The London Eye, I got a series of “nice but no cigar” pictures of London’s skyline seen from above. This post analyses exposure and records a number of lessons learnt for a future re-visit to this magnificient view of the City.
Horizontal and vertical lines
A walk around town, searching for vertical and horizontal lines resulted in solely man-made structures.
Assignment 1 Feedback
Feedback from my tutor for my TAOP Assignment 1.
The sunset that got away
Anglers do it. Hunters do it. But photographers often don’t talk so much about “the one that got away”. But sometimes it happens, and last night’s attempt of capturing a sunflower sunset was just one of those times. But even if I didn’t get what I aimed for, it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening with some interesting pictures.
Bovine beauties
An exercise about pictures where the subject is a single point or two individual points. A group of local cows kindly modelled for me.
It’s just a shadow of an illusion… from a dream
A good friend and former model, helped me understand the process behind a successful fashion shoot, and summed it up in a single, easy to remember sentence. This blog post elaborates on the the idea, and gives a few examples of emotions (hopefully) being communicated successfully.
TAOP Assignment 1: Contrasts
This is my learning log for TAOP Assignment 1, Contrasts. The assignment asked me to make 8 pairs of photos, with each pair illustrating a contrast chosen from a pre-defined list of 20 different contrasts, such as “large/small”, “high/low”, “light/dark”, and so on. Additionally I was to make an extra photo, illustrating one of the contrasts in a single picture.
Could you help me, please?
I have finally re-started the photography course I signed up to last year, and I’m getting ready to complete my first assignment. It would be great if you could spend 5 minutes giving me a helping hand.
Riots during car-free Sunday in Essex
After the court injunction preventing publication of pictures from the riot-causing car-free Sunday in Essex has finally been lifted, I hurry to bring you pictures of the the busiest road in the country, void of traffic. And of the armed forces ensuring that only emergency vehicles were allowed on the roads.
Strobists in Epping Forest
Outdoor photoshoot in Epping Forest arranged by the Essex Strobists. Despite fewer than expected models, it was a great learning experience.
Pretty, but fake
Should photographs be photo-realistic, or has the line between photography and digital design become so blurred that the message is more important than the method? This essay looks at some different points of view, and concludes that the fundamental discussion should be about honesty and expectations, rather than Photoshop.
Mountnessing Sunset
A chat over a cup of coffee led to a sunset trip to nearby Mountnessing windmill. The colours in the sky were pretty, and while editing and MAYBE going slightly overboard, I finally felt some of that old buzz again.
Touchdown
Pictures from a zen-like day in the park. I sat comfortably in a nice chair, enjoying the sun, and waited for the ducks and geese to come to me. Many did, and some of the many were even kind enough to make a big splash when they arrived.
A walk in the park
Cute goslings, a swan, and even a duck landing in water were the test subjects for my new tele converter.
Amoriste’s Royal Wedding
Pictures from Amoriste’s celebration of the royal wedding.
Forget-me-not
What started as a sad day, ended up with me walking around the churchyard by St Mary’s in Shenfield and thinking about how Denise would have loved to see the place.
The argument; live from London’s club scene
Essex Strobist went to town in Club Live in Vauxhall. The club was VERY dark, but handheld long exposures supported by flash (and a torch to help the auto focus system) turned the darkness into a feature of this visual short story of a young couple’s argument in a London night club.
