New Year's Resolutions

In amongst all the daily photo stuff I haven't really been posting my thoughts. Well, after the excesses of Xmas I am not functioning 100% and finding the actual process of engaging my brain and writing reports/recommendations to be quite taxing.

Anyway, in between trying to make my grey matter all functional I pottered around the subject of resolutions of the New Year variety and found that I have an inherent distaste for them so I thought of another way of making small changes without being all crabby and forced/coerced into them.

So, I present to you my bite size rules for the year:

A) Be nice. It costs nothing. Please and thank you go a long way, both with colleagues and people in shops.

B) Count to 5 before losing my temper with people - this includes the cats and Linda. Try and see the other side of the argument.

C) Speak my mind. If someone is messing me around or causing me unhappiness, tell them so (in a tactful way). (This may contradict the above but it's all about the balance).

D) Cut the dead wood out of my life, or at least limit my contact with it. I started this last year and cut negativity arriving from a certain part of my life. It caused some drama but it was worth it. It felt both liberating and meant I did not have to interact with toxic people for the sake of it.

E) Give compliments - boost the confidence and people around me by telling them if they have done something really wonderful or an action that has meant something to me. People cannot read your mind so tell them! I've started doing this and the feeling is so positive. I think positivity breeds positivity.

F) (Cribbed from Lynch and Frost). Give myself a gift everyday. Doesn't matter if it's a 5 minute break to stare out of the window, a cup of lemon tea or a DVD. It's still giving something back to myself to prove I'm worth it.

Now, these are pretty easy things to stick to and they work for me. I hope 2008 is a positive and inspiring one!

Daily Photo #30

There ain't any new Doctor Who for almost three months now. Bah. I've been a lifelong fan and love both the old and new versions of the show but one thing I didn't get my head around was the new cybermen. Brains in suits of armour are not scary but from an art deco perspective, they're a lovely piece of design.

For this shot Linda and I thought it would be fun to pay homage to the creaky sci-fi trappings of the old show but add in something of the new so this one was really inspired by the sleek silver lines of the original monsters but giving them a modern feminine twist with a touch of sci-fi styling with the layers added in using Photoshop.



This cyberlady is powered by red wine and chocolate though, not batteries or radiation I might add.

Daily Photo #29

I took this one in the Summer of 2006. I'd just finished a contract for a private company and wanted a change so spent a bit of the summer just spodding about, shooting whatever I saw fit. I was walking through a local cemetary and the lighting was just right for this one and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. The slightly hidden/obscured face on this one adds the right amount of mood/unknown factor to the shot and makes it appear a little sinister, even in broad daylight.



It's a real shame the left hand was missing on this statue as it detracts from it slightly.

Daily Photo #28

This is another from the archives and it's one taken at the Good Food and Home Show (2006). Reason I chose this is I am bloody hungry right now and could do with a nice cold glass of Chablis or somesuch.



I quite like this shot as in reality, Linda was three sheets to the wind after drinking lots of posh gin.

Daily Photo #27

I shot these during the summer as a homage to the Gerry Anderson series UFO. I quite like this one as Linda looks rather cheeky/playful. She said afterwards that she found the wig quite liberating and allowed her to play up to the camera little more. I think the silver pvc catsuit probably added to this. That lady does like her dress up/role play.



This set got quite a few hits and went down a storm and to be honest, fulfilled a few fantasies for me as the series really tapped into something for me during my childhood/formative years. I could never look at purple wigged/catsuited lady in quite the same light again. God bless Gabrielle Drake.

The rest of the set is here if you get bored and fancy a looksee.

Daily photo #26

A real blast from the past. I took this about 8 or so years ago while on my degree. I was really into my "abandoned places" sepia phase. Thank god I've moved on but I quite like this image as it really captures a melancholy I haven't felt in such a long time. It was shot on Fuji Neopan and printed on RC Art paper using lith chemicals. I quite like the grain and tones in this one.

Daily Photo #25

New Year's Day boasted sunlight and mildness of weather so we went for a walk. Naturally, I had to take my camera. I quite like the way Linda emotes (is that a word?) in these shots and they have a whiff of the goth about them but I think I can live with that.




Spent the last couple of days configuring new laptop who has been christened "Selina" as she's black and slinky. Also, the return to work is hurting my brain. Not good.

Daily Photo #24

Keeping in with yesterday's theme of cities, I shot this quite a while ago in Digbeth Birmingham. Historically speaking, Digbeth was a massive industrial centre of Birmingham boasting many factories and plating/production businesses. Now, it is mainly smaller production firms and the like with a high number of apartments and flats.



I spotted this little shrine under one of the bridges. I didn't manipulate or move an object in the shot. The colours have been amped up to give it a hyper real feel, almost lit by neon. I like the idea of a place where old technology and junk is offered to the gods, if your tyre, monitor or PC dies you make a sacrificial offering and the gods will smile upon you. Kind of like a techy tooth fairy, I guess.