Daily Photo #90

After a killer week, I know I will be indulging in a toxic beverage. Or two.



Gin and his cousins "red" and "white" will be my buddies tonight.

Slainte!

Daily Photo #89

Ooooh, I haven't posted a cat pic in what seems like a week so here's a funny one of Buffy taken a couple of years ago.



Gene Simmons Cat wants moar cheezburger.

Daily Photo #88

This one is a real blast from the past. Shot on Ilford 400ASA and printed on multi grade papers. Taken on a Pentax P30T.



I just liked the way Linda was looking off into the distance and you don't see her face. Adds a little mystery.

Daily Photo #87

Right hand of Doom...or the left hand of gentle persuasion



I think a full stop to shenanigans this week would be nice. Being able to get out and about and shoot something would be most nice this week but it looks like it ain't gonna happen.

Daily Photo #86

I just like the colours and form on this one.



I think my brain stopped working today. It didn't feel like a Monday either...

Daily Photo #85

I love Spring and what's even better is a Spring day in NYC. This shot came from Roosevelt Island, just by the hospital looking back towards Manhattan. We'd caught the cable car across and the sunlight was just amazing.



We didn't see any people, just birds. And it seems so far removed from the speed and pace of Manhattan, it was like looking across and just observing everything happen around you but you're cocooned in the distance, hardly hearing the noise of the traffic. Just the wind off the river.

Daily Photo #84

Today's pic was caught by chance, one of those balloon releasing charity wotsit thinagamies. I was shooting old faithful and lo and behold, they started releasing the 'loons so I caught it. It's slightly cropped as I was testing a grad filter gadget but still it wasn't bad for a literal point and shoot effort (I was shooting on aperture priority afterall).



I wonder how far they went?

Robert Downey Junior *is* Tony Stark

Okay, coming home to this certainly lifted my spirits. What with Iron Man, Diary of the Dead and The Dark Knight, 2008 is looking pretty hot on the cinema front.

RDJ looks spot on as Stark and a surprisingly attractive Paltrow as Pepper Potts is looking pretty spot on.

I think this one will piss all over the ever so slight disappointment that was Spider-Man 3.

Daily Photo #83

I think this sums up my attitude to the week. Glad to see the back of an overly long and difficult one.



The pic is of Linda messing around with a cyberwoman costume. Anyways, sci fi inspired obscene finger gestures are always good for a laugh. Not sure what the weekend will bring but B'ham is full of coppers and Labour Party big wigs. I spent the afternoon trying to spot police snipers as I walked down Broad Street.

Daily Photo #82

Is it Friday yet? Because if not, let me sleep. Let me sleep the sleep of the dead because I am uber knackered, like (as we say in B'ham, I would add "bosting" but I am feeling less than that superlative right now).

So, here's a picture of a tulip.



I like tulips.

Daily Photo #81

Today I have been having mostly the kind of thoughts you could sum up below:



Had to take some flextime due to feeling most knackered due to the demands of the last couple of days. This afternoon was spent catching up on lost sleep due to disturbed patterns of Monday and minor earth tremors last night.

Still, only 2 more wake ups and it's Le Saturday.

*hoorah*

Daily Photo #80

So so so tired. Visits are so exhausting so after spending a night in a guest house after an early start on Monday and arriving back home about 20 mins ago, all I want to do is sleep but I have work and write ups to do tomorrow so I need my wits about me and will try not to fall asleep before 8pm (I hope!). Met some lovely people and saw some wonderful country scenery around Devizes, Wiltshire and Bath.

Anyway, I chose this shot which I captured in Morocco. I'm not sure what all the wires are but they seem to be going somewhere.



The light and open spaces inspired me today to use this shot. It's been blue skies and nice weather. Maybe spring is on the way afterall. I wish it was as warm as Morrocco though ;)

Daily Photo #79

One from the Saturday shoot. Classic pub design, something you don't see very often in this climate of Weatherspoons and Gastro Pubs.



I enhanced the colours a touch to give it a gaudy 1970's feel.

Daily Photo #78

I know it's a change from my usual stuff but how could I resist posting this one?



Linda decided to take charge and made me shoot some pics of her in this outfit. She said that if she didn't end up a librarian, she wanted to join the police so this kind of fulfills that wish for her (well, not joining the police and I don't think they have quite bought into this kind of uniform as yet).

So, fun fun fun. Still getting used to the speedlight. I really need a softbox/set of lights.

Daily Photo #77

Well, light wasn't great but I got one shot I was happy with (near the old Science Museum).



Linda decided I needed cheering up so she persuaded me to shoot a few of her, they should be on FlickR later ;)

Last night's post was inspired by an utterly mediocre day. Coupled with a recurring dream where I'm trapped on a deserted ship in a fog that stretches for miles with a faulty radio that can only receive but not transmit.

Sooo, to counter my melancholia and I am going to get my arse into town and shoot something that vaguely resembles a halfway decent photo.

Not sure what it will be but I'll let you know when I get there.

I hate those moments of self doubt.

ack ack ack!

As the Martians in Mars Attacks say.

Sometime I feel like I am blogging into the void, if you're watching please say hello. I need a little TLC and validation right now.

I am human afterall....

Daily Photo #76

Hypno Cat wants to eat your braaaaiiiiiinnnnnn!



Seriously, took this one at Artsfest 2007, felt sorry for the poor bugger dressed as this cat. It was sweltering that day.

Daily Photo #75

Well, looks like I have my internet connection back for the moment but who knows if it will disappear again. I think it's a local thing but Virgin Media are, well shall we say a bit crap when it comes to telling anything that remotely resembles the truth. Anyway, I shall stop slagging off beardy media.

This one was taken on my birthday in Manchester last year.



I think this gargoyle probably has a virgin broadband connection ;)

Daily Photo #74

I'm gonna have to be quick because my broad band connection is intermittent at best today.

And I'm breaking a rule (again) with two cat pics in one week.



I don't think I have a future in pet photography, everytime I take a photo of Buffy she looks *evil*

Daily Photo #73

#73? Was that the title of some crap 80's kid's TV show with that curly haired bag of talent, Tommy Boyd?

Maybe? Maybe not?

Anyway, photo #73 was taken last April at the site of the WTC in Manhattan. Someone stuck this on the bars and it really got me thinking.



I've never seen any of these stickers elsewhere in NYC, I wonder if someone printed it out just to place on the walls surrounding the site or whether there are other ones out there. It could be a band or viral marketing thing, I don't know but it certainly stuck in my imagination.

Quite a positive message so I'm going to use this as my mission statement for the rest of the week.

Daily Photo #72

Well, finally back at work after annual leave and felt more shattered than ever although I have some good news as I get to travel down to Devizes next week to go see some projects! Woo-hoo! Out of the office and meeting people is good for the soul, and all.

So, anyway I'm trying to improve my snacking habits but still not reaching my "5-a-day" fruit/veg wise (more like 3.5) but trying. Maybe this will inspire me.



Braeburns rock!

Daily Photo #71

This was shot last week around the canal basin where we befriended "Canal Cat". We don't think he had an owner but he looked pretty well looked after, presumably from all the treats donated by passersby.



He is a fab cat and seems to live around the back of the ICC. I hope we can drop back and see him again.

Daily Photo #70

This one was shot at the rapidly decaying Swan Centre in Yardley. Its tagline is Swan into the Swan for a bargain. Sadly, all the bargains are now gone and all there is are boarded up shops and a bingo hall that's seen better days. It almost has a Phil Larkin or Graham Greene sadness about the whole thing. A shopping centre now left to rot.



I remember it pretty well as a kid, it used to be a thriving shopping centre until the likes of Safeway and Asda turned up. It's quite atmospheric when the wind whips through the place, it sounds like the moans of the undead.

Daily Photo #69

I took this one back in December but did some Photoshop CS3 voodoo with it to make the tones, colour and feel of the subject matter a little more off kilter.



The weather over the last 2 days has been less than great but fingers crossed for saturday morning, see what the day brings.

Still on annual leave and have a few errands to run. But this DVD dropped through my letterbox so I know what I shall be doing this afto.

Of antiquities, fedoras and crystal skulls

Could this be the movie that fans have been waiting 19 years for? Will Lucas and Spielberg deliver? Only 3 months 'til we find out.

From the trailer, it's looking a little more hokey and Indy is looking a bit creaky but the iconic and epic feel still remain.

I'm rather excited, aren't you?

Edit - better quality trailer in QT can be found here.

Daily Photo #68

Happy Valentine's Day!



I haz flowers for you but winter got in the way.

Sooo, that day invented by Hallmark to sell a few cards and some tacky ephemera. Well, I for one don't buy into that ideology but I will mark the occasion by cooking dinner for Linda (crispy slow roasted duck breast with plum sauce and pancakes) with a glass of ice cold Champagne (thank the lord for price offers at Tesco's as I couldn't justify spending £26 on a bottle of bubbly!).

It's a funny day, when you're single you dread it or if you're attached (we've just hit 17 years of being together), you get a little ambivalent.

I still don't like Valentine cards though...

Daily Photo #67

This was taken ages ago, 2004 (pre-DSLR) on a nasty little HP digital compact (it would only take 10 pics before the batteries died but we thought it was wonderful back in the day).

Anyway, my comics are long overdue for an audit/bagging and boarding session so I may call on Linda's skillz to rectify this.



I want to go out and shoot pics but not sure where as yet. I think a bath and shave are on the cards first then a little googling/AZ voodoo to make up my mind as to where to go. With the trains being compromised here, that may limit my options somewhat.

And some more nice words!

Podnosh saying some really nice things about my photography.

I could really get used to this, lol!

Thanks to everyone who is dropping by here and get going on your "one a day". It's addictive!

Daily Photo #66

So, escaped the shackles of the office until next week so hoping to get some more shooting in and around B'ham done along with kicking back and fitting in some work around the house, DVD watching and some Xbox if I am lucky.

So, I'm loving the quadtone at the moment and this is another one of the shots I took during the weekend.



I think the hue gives it a slightly aged/timeless look and doesn't really detract from the subject matter. Rather happy with the clouds in this one.

Daily Photo #65

Truly a blast from the past. This was shot during my Uni years on recording film and push processed to give a sense of a denser grain.



Recording film was the number one choice of the police back in the day when they did surveillance ops. Not the best scan in the world but you get the picture, pardon the pun.

Daily Photo #64

I cannot believe started this 64 days ago as it seems such a long time ago! Today has been spent spodding around the house with Xbox and consuming bacon sandwiches, oh so decadent. Didn't feel like leaving the house today and I have 3 days of leave coming up later this week to go shoot stuff so laziness is good.

Spent last night with the wonderfully good Steve and Lou. Good times with gin and conversation were had by all and felt wonderfully relaxed today. Although, Solihull afterdark on a Saturday night is a most unsettling place. I was shocked to see McDonalds had security/bouncers on the door and pale, vampire like chavs and emos, their faces tinted by the garish lights making them seem even more animalistic, walking the streets like they owned the place. Scantily clad 15 year olds swore at each other and there was an undercurrent of impending violence that I couldn't quite put my finger upon. Still, it was a great night and all the chavviness in the world could not detract from that.

So, anyway - the photo of the day was again shot yesterday on the canal basin. Fitting in with my mood and the riff on suburban (and urban) decay, we stumbled across an old pub Linda and I both loved. Sadly, it is no more having shuffled off its mortal coil.



In the light of day it looked sad and neglected but at night I bet it looks downright scary.

Daily Photo #63

Well, as I spent the day with Linda I thought I would dedicate this one to her ;)



We did the wandering around the canal thing and met a lovely cat who lives on the canal. Two cat pics is way more than enough so canal cat will be saved for another day but if you can't wait, the pics can be found on my flickr stream.

My Warholian 15 minutes have arrived!

Many thanks to Jon Bounds for interviewing me!

In the Big Picture

It's nice to get home and find kind words about you on the net. I promise you all that my ego won't explode as I have so much to learn about photography and to develop my style :)

*speechless*

And thanks to anyone dropping by for a looksee here. I'll try to keep things interesting :)

Edit: In the Big Picture still need your West Midlands pics, so get snapping and uploading here.

Daily Photo# 62

It's been a lonnnnng day. So thank god it's the weekend. Now, I'm not sure if everyone experiences this as a cat owner but sometimes I'm met at the door by one of our two pet cats. More often than not there's a meow or three demanding food/attention/something treat like from the fridge. Now, this whole meet and greet thing can often come in the form of some bizarre human/cat tango like dance as you negotiate the hallway with whatever stuff you're trying to carry.

Today, this did not happen. Buffy was just lying on the bed in a shard of sunlight being lazybones, the number one mode of being for cat.



Hence, no meet and greet for me today.

Daily Photo #61

Another sunset, I really detect a theme here. I'm weather obsessed right now and just long for the light nights and great weather, being able to sit in the garden with a decent glass of white wine and just watch the sunset. Instead, grey skies and ranty school children on the train, have I. As Yoda might say.



On a different note, anyone going to FOCUS at the NEC in a couple of sundays time?

Daily Photo #60

Blue skies are back and what do I do? I go shoot dead flowers in the garden. I guess that shows I am probably deep and poetic? Or maybe not, you decide.

We've had this plant/shrub thing in the garden since we moved in in 1996 but I personally think it looks more attractive/compelling and interesting when the flowers have shrivelled, the shapes and veins on the petals look more pronounced when it's on hiatus and waiting for the spring.



Anyway, it's been a hectic day and I need food. Stat. It was so busy I forgot to eat my lunch then forgot it was home time. I am so committed, in the good kind of way. Telly and some wine beckon now, and to feed 2 hungry cats and a wife some dinner.

Daily Photo #59

Oh lordy. Caught in a maelstrom of windy rain today, well maybe not exactly a maelstrom but I was bloody soaked.

So, thoughts again turning to clear blue skies and the time when I can potter around with a camera and not be soaked or whooshed away in a gust of wind.



Took this one in 2006 (3 days shy of being 2 years old, this shot). Anyway, different weather and some lovely shards of light in this one that caught my eye.

Please please please, let's have some nice weather!!

The Big Picture

This is mainly directed towards West Midlands UK and B'ham people.

The Big Picture is a chance to put Brum and the Midlands on the map as part of a record breaking attempt to get 100,000 images of the area, its people and customs together. Now, thanks to the energetic enthusiasm and expertise of the people behind including the talented Jon Bounds of the immortal Birmingham it's not sh*t site, we've got a chance to show the world we're not just about the black pudding and orange chips. We're a lot more than that, a talented folk of a rich and diverse history.

So, carpe diem and post your pics at http://www.inthebigpicture.co.uk

Seeing this made my day when I got home,




One of my pics was chosen for the front page and that can only improve the horrid mediocrity of a cold winter monday. And hopefully this will spur you snappers out there onto bigger and better things (apart from those who use the excuse of having corrupted memory cards, not having a latte in their paw or using bad hair days as to not posting their pics, lol). Be boisterous, be fantastic and above all, be photogenic people!

Daily Photo #58

I don't mind Mondays on the whole as Tuesday is the most evil day of the week. But, in the midst of cold and damp weather I find a friendly cat that greets you when you get home can put a smile on your face.



I wish my cat was friendly though, Buffy is the most moody thing in the world. Ever.

Still, she makes me smile and that's what you need on a Monday. That, and a big gin and tonic.

Daily Photo #57

Randomness today. Post Cloverfield, I thought best not to concentrate on buildings or anything that could have potential monsterefication (yes, I made the word up), so here's a gig picture I was asked to cover by a magazine editor last year. As per the norm, nothing really ended up happening with the images, they weren't too mediocre I think.



Still, nice to think of being in a sweaty audiotorium than the hellishly cold weather than suffering the cold winds we're having today.


*brrr*

Daily Photo #56

I took this one yesterday, tried to capture a more moody Selfridges Building and succeeded I think. Today was Cloverfield and I wonder what the giant monster in that movie would have made of B'ham? To be honest, Cloverfield reminded me of those old stop motion animated adverts from the 1980's of "Chewits", except they didn't have flesh rupturing parasites in those adverts. Just chewy fruit goodness.



Anyway, here's Selfridges. Try not to picture a 200ft monster smashing it up or rampaging brummies running around like headless chickens. I'd keep an eye on Edgbaston reservoir if I were you. I don't know what lurks underneath it...

Daily Photo #55

I lied about posting another of the shots from the previous set. Still finding my way with CS3 and experimenting with "Edges" this time.



I quite like the tones and hues of this quadtoned image and the style fits the subject matter quite well, I think?

Keeping my head above water

If for some unknown reason you'd like to support my work and photography, you can buy a print here. On the off chance (god knows why!) you'd want to, and cannot see the image you'd really want to see framed on your wall, drop me a line and I shall add it to my gallery.




Thanks for listening/reading :)

Daily Photo #54

You can't beat a bit of Science Fiction imagery on a cold but sunny Thursday afternoon?



Or can you?

Daily Photo #53

Another shot from the Jewellery Quarter set. I didn't previously upload this one as I felt it was a bit dull but thanks to a bit of CS3 goodness, it seems to have a bit of life and zing.



I quite like the way the trees look less than real. I shall post something other than statues soon, when I have got all of this out of my system ;)

Daily Photo #52

Different vibe from statues this time. I took this on our second visit to NYC. This image was shot at the site of where the WTC once stood. Our first trip to NYC took place in March 2001 andwe had the good fortune to see the towers in their glory but the second visit was a different story.

We've been back to Manhattan four times since and the financial district seems different every visit. I'm unsure why I'm posting this today but I'm a creature of nostalgia and memory. Maybe it's because 7 years ago we were planning and prepping for Linda's first visit to the US.



I think the sepia cast on this image really fits the subject matter, the sense of melancholy and loss for me is overpowering with the single flower as tribute being the focus of the shot. The image only has power when you know the location where this image was taken.

Daily Photo #51

The state of the nation.



I felt quite inspired shooting in the Jewellery Quarter, I guess shooting in different places does give me a little more creativity. Milking this set for as long as I can, at least until Vegas ;)

Daily Photo #50

I'm going to cheat and use another of the images I shot yesterday. This time in sepia tone for a little contrast from yesterday's blue skies.



Hopefully I will get to travel around the 'burbs of Brum a little more as we shall soon be car enabled which will make things a little easier. I also want to check out some of the Knights Templar haunts in the Midlands as they have this wonderfully dark history and I want to see if they have left any behind. Hopefully, that won't create any shenanigans in the vein of these movies.

Daily Photo #49

Linda and I caught the train to Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter and had a wander around. After finding a cemetary with its catacombs intact, I took a few shots.

Quite please with the effects, converted a few to sepia for the mood.

Daily Photo #48

Just one of the things lurking around my shelves, a fossil of a Trilobyte acquired in Morrocco. Possibly one of the oldest things I own.

Daily Photo #47

London street performer.

She was in the zone.

Daily Photo #46

This was taken in my back garden in 2006. I just love the warmth in this shot and the natural colour. It was shot on a EOS 350D with a really average Tamron zoom lens on macro setting. Quite pleased with the result.

Daily Photo #45

I took this one in March 2007. It was my homage to Debbie Harry and the punk era. Linda, as ever was an obliging model and this shot was accepted in the Tate's "How We Are Now" exhibition.



Again, it was pretty cold that day but I like the lighting/pose on the shot along with the contrast and bleached out skin tones. It was a secret dream of mine to be a photographer for NME back in the days of when it was cool to read the NME, circa The Pistols, Blondie and Siouxie and the Banshees. I guess it doesn't show at all...much.

Daily Photo #44

So, according to all sources it's Blue Monday today. So, what do I do to combat the blues, I post an autumnal overcast sky pic! Go me, I'm sure I was Morrissey in a past life.



Not trusting this puerile BBC advice nonsense on Blue Monday, I'm gonna go listen to some Laughin' Lenny Cohen now.

Changes in my blogging habits

I find I'm tending to post more here than in my live journal now as I'm slowly cutting down on the use of that aspect of my blogging life. Sometimes, I just don't feel like engaging with that aspect of online publishing as the temptation to post personal friend's only stuff is too easy sometimes.

Also, in the past I have felt that not everyone respects the details/personal information that is posted in there so the discipline of blogging here is quite a challenge.

I feel a lot more at ease here, not blogging to an "audience" and the need to be more discrete and moderate in my words/attitude I think is a good thing. The temptation to "clash" with people in the "sandbox" environment of Live Journal is much too easy to succumb to. Also, I feel that maintaining a blog such as this is less a projection of one's lifestyle but more a diary or record of memories that I can recall or want to hold onto.

The "Daily Photo" aspect of this journal is the main thrust but I do find that the nature of choosing a photo and publishing it to be quite satisfying in itself whereas the meanderings of Live Journal could often leave me feeling empty or often vulnerable.

This is a much more positive experience, methinks.

Daily Photo #43

How we spent some of my birthday weekend last September. Up a hill in Lancashire. The air, view and atmosphere were utterly amazing. Surrounded by flocks of wildstock and horses, the vistas were quite fantastic!