One Month To Go
Posted: Sun 5 October, 2008 Filed under: Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Resolutions, Thoughts Leave a comment »In one month’s time, my birthday will be here again, and this year (, Matthew,) I’m going to be 37. That means I need to write out the next progress document for that Five Year Plan, and how things are going.
Looking back over that category, and the plans for the last year (and I admit, I haven’t checked over that list on enough occasions) I look to have actually done OK.
I’ll have the full progress document ready for 5th November though.
Photography Course – Week One
Posted: Wed 24 September, 2008 Filed under: Five Year Plan (now Ten), Photography, Thoughts Leave a comment »So, the photography course was actually OK last night. Happily, the first ten weeks will be based around the technical side of things, so that’s me satisfied – and the course covers things like focus, depth of field, apertures and the like.
Following on from that, we’ll be doing more about photography, and then digital manipulation (or non-manipulation) of the images, and that’s cool too.
Of course, it would have helped if Norfolk Adult Education had actually sent out the workbooks that were meant to be being used for the entire course, but the course tutor will be chasing that up today, so hopefully by next week’s session, we’ll all have the books.
The other bit of weirdness is that the course was advertised online as being for only four people. However, there are actually ten people doing it. Admittedly, I’d thought that four was going to make for quite a small and intense class, but I didn’t have a problem with that.
All told, it looks like it should be interesting though. I’ll know more once the workbook comes through, of course, but yes, for the moment it looks promising.
Photography Course
Posted: Tue 23 September, 2008 Filed under: Five Year Plan (now Ten), Photography, Thoughts Leave a comment »Tonight’s the first night of the photography course I signed up for a while back. Quite honestly, I’ve no idea what to expect – I know what I’m kind of hoping for, but whether that’s what will actually happen or not, I don’t know.
What I’m hoping for is to get a better grounding in the basic terminology and techniques of photography – things like Depth of Field, Apertures, and the like. I use these techniques when I’m taking photos, and I suppose I’ve got a rudimentary understanding of apertures and f numbers – but I don’t understand how f-numbers work or why they are always f4.2 or whatever, rather than just f4 .
I’m also hoping to have to do at least one project or portfolio, to build up my motivation again on that score. I know that I haven’t taken anywhere near “enough” photos this year, it’s just somehow ended up being at the bottom of my list, supplanted by work, business, writing, D4D™ and many others.
So that’s what I’m hoping for. What the course will actually be like, I don’t yet know. I’ll start finding out at about 7.30 tonight. And I’ll write more about it once I know more.
Script One Completed
Posted: Tue 2 September, 2008 Filed under: Five Year Plan (now Ten), Resolutions, Writing Leave a comment »Happy, happy day. I’ve now completed the first full draft of the script I’m working on with Tom – definitely a cause for celebration.
If I’m honest, it’s the first piece of writing I’ve actually completed in far too long – but it most certainly won’t be the last.
In fact, there’s already two or three other ideas waiting in the wings, and getting ready to be added to the CeltX project centre.
Of course, I’m sure there’ll be some alterations come back from Tom, but for now well I’m just happy that the first phase of it is completed. It’s taken longer than expected by about a week, and it’s meant that the project isn’t likely to be done and ready in time, which is a bummer – although we’ll still be making it, and if it’s not ready for this one then we’ll have it ready and polished for next time.
Over to you, Dragon…
50D
Posted: Mon 1 September, 2008 Filed under: Five Year Plan (now Ten), Photography, Thoughts Leave a comment »Oh Canon, you evil evil bastards.
Since I bought the EOS20D, I’ve been really good and not even been tempted by the 30D and 40D. The upgrades they offered weren’t enough to make me think about it at all, really.
But now, they’ve launched the 50D, with double the pixels of the 20D, along with a new faster processor, bigger/better LCD screen with Live View, and a bundle of other features.
And oh Lord, am I tempted. Particularly when it can also count as a business expense…
Scripting
Posted: Thu 28 August, 2008 Filed under: Five Year Plan (now Ten), Resolutions, Thoughts, Writing Leave a comment »A couple of weeks ago, Dragon wrote about a challenge to get a short film written, filmed and edited in 30 days – which sounded interesting.
So I submitted a brief idea to him – one that wasn’t written, and actually wasn’t anywhere except in my head. Even the brief was only written down for the first time in the first email to him. Admittedly, the initial plan was to have a completed script that just needed something doing to it – which would certainly have been possible in that thirty day limit.
As it is, the script has been being written by me at any spare moment, and is now just about complete. I’m sure that we’re not going to make the submission deadline of the 15th Sept – and I know that a fair dollop of the responsibility for that falls on my shoulders, as even with the writing deadline (and perhaps even because of it) my mind blocked up solidly for the best part of a week on how the entire thing should progress.
It’s been an interesting challenge already though – and we’ve already decided that the short film will be made from it as well, it’s just that it won’t get in to this year’s submissions. It’ll be getting submitted for next year though, you can be sure. (Well, so long as it actually works as a story, anyway)
It’s also the first time I’ve actually written a screenplay/script – so that’s been a learning curve in and of itself. But it’s certainly got the old creative juices flowing – there’s already the thoughts and plans for at least three other pieces to be done once this one is finally completed and out the door. (Well, out of the email box, to be pedantic)
Once again, the biggest bit of the challenge has been to get myself motivated to do the writing – and on that score, Dragon’s challenge has been a complete winner.
Just have to see how long it continues now, I guess…
Photography Course
Posted: Wed 27 August, 2008 Filed under: Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Organised, Photography 3 Comments »In the last week, I’ve signed up for a Digital Photography course based in Attleborough. It’s a year-long course, and will lead to NCFE Level 1 and 2 qualifications in Digital Photography.
I’m actually aiming for the Level 2 more than the Level 1, as I’m pretty certain I don’t count as a “beginner” in photography at all. What I’m hoping is that the course will also include some grounding in some of the basic photography stuff that I still don’t fully ‘get’ – apertures, f numbers, and calculating the appropriate shutter speed for a particular aperture/Depth of Field.
Additionally, I’m hoping that just having the extra impetus of this course will add some motivation for getting out more and taking more photos. It’s something I’ve been struggling with all year, the entire thing of keeping on going out and taking photos, so I hope that having something to work on will help on that score.
The course starts on 23rd September, so I’ll know more at that point. Should be interesting, anyway.