Sunset

As Mike commented elsewhere, last night’s sunset was pretty spectacular. The photo below is a bit ropy (Cameraphones still don’t come anywhere close to proper cameras, but well, the sunset was going so fast that it would’ve been completely different by the time I’d gone back home and got a decent camera) but still shows the colours to some degree or other.

Sunset over the garden

Still, not bad.


Coastal

Yesterday, we went out on a trip to a piece of Norfolk we hadn’t seen before/yet/so far. While we’ve regularly been up to the North coast around Wells, Blakeney, Holkham and so on, we hadn’t yet been up around the Cromer area, or down some of the East coast.

So we ended up going around Necton, Bacton and Walcott (If this means sod-all to you, this link to Multimap might help) and taking Hound for a couple of plays on the beach at Walcott, which was thoroughly enjoyable.

At the same time, while touring around I managed to stop the car, and start a photography project I’ve been considering for the last nine months or so. I won’t go into loads of details just yet, but for now it’ll suffice to say that I’m pleased with how it’s gone so far, and that the start seems to have been successful. Now I just need to carry it on, of course. (*Ahem*)

All told though, it was a really pleasant and relaxing day. Much, much needed.


Making Room

One of the ongoing projects we’re working on at the moment is (as Gordon did a while back) ripping all our old CDs onto the PC.

It’s not a quick process – well, it’s not bad, but it’s not super-speedy either- but it’s something that needs to be done. Among other things, it’ll free up some space, mean we can store the CDs somewhere else, and still have access to the music.

However, it does also mean I need yet another new hard-drive. I never did get round to getting another internal hard-drive for the main PC, although I did get the big external one a while back which has been great for backups and the like.

As it is, I’m most likely going to end up getting something of around 750Gb in size. There’s a lot of music still to be ripped, but also it can be used for photography stuff, and all the other projects I invariably have on the go. Plus well, it makes sense to get something with more storage, rather than less.


Interior

And as well as finalising the room moves, we’ve also started the job of putting up various pictures and photos in the house, which has certainly contributed to making it feel more like “home” than “house”.

Hey, it’s only taken six months.

There’s still another fifteen or so photos to put up, but at least we’ve now put up all the ones we had specially framed earlier in the year (And yes, pedants, I do mean 2007) along with a couple of others in other rooms. A big job all told, but it’s started now, which is something at least.


Getting Out More

With the current workplace closed for business between December 21st and Jan 2nd, I’m probably going to make use of some of that time for going out and getting some photos – well, that’s the plan, anyway. I suspect we’ll also have a bundle of work on the house to do, and there’s also the private work to be done still, but I hope to get at least some time outside with the camera.

Then again, that’s also something I want to be doing more during 2008 anyway. I’ve got some very specific ideas and bits I want to do, but also just the random stuff I’ve been thinking about, and a couple of projects. If nothing else it’ll be a good way to take time out from the manic workload that’s looking like happening.

Among other things, I know we’re up in the Lake District in March/April, and over in Ireland in June, staying in a cottage on the Ring of Kerry. Both weeks should be opportunities for lots of photos, regardless of the weather.

As it is, I’ve recently uploaded my 100th photo to the portfolio site, and with a bit of luck I’ll be able to double that in 2008. Of course, one can sometimes wonder whether 200 or more photos on a portfolio site is a good thing – while it displays consistency, style, projects etc., is it too much content to wade through for a prospective client or agent? That’s what I don’t know – although I hope I’ll find out before long.


Away Again

This weekend I’m down seeing the parents, and also taking them to see Kew Gardens, and the Henry Moore sculptures that’ve been put there ’til March ’08. It’s quite a happy confluence (for my parents, anyway) as my dad loves sculpture, and mum loves gardens.

Because of buying the chickens last weekend, it means we’ve had to replan things a bit at home, so that it’s just me going down this time, and Herself will deal with The Girls, and I’ll be back on Sunday. In fairness, she was away earlier this week and I looked after all the animals, so it all works out fine in the end. It means I’m going to be leaving home at about my normal week-day time (i.e. around 6.15-6.30) to drive down to Oxfordshire, pick up the parents, and go to Kew. By the end of the day it’s fairly likely that I’m going to be knackered.

I’m actually quite looking forward to seeing the Henry Moore stuff – I’ve never been an epic fan of his work, but the combination of the work and the setting should be pretty impressive. And, of course, I’ll be taking the camera too – it’ll be good to be able to add some more stuff to the ‘Sculpture’ section of the online portfolio…

So anyway, posts are likely to be a bit thin on the ground this weekend, for the reasons above. There’ll still be a couple, I’m sure, but not loads.


Too much camera

One of my colleagues at work has just bought a Canon EOS40D. I’m not quite sure why – other than as a status symbol, really – because the photos I’ve seen of theirs taken with a Sony Cybershot compact camera are (to be blunt) bloody horrible.

Seeing them buy this Canon camera, while not knowing anything about what the lenses do, or even that this meant that the lenses detached from the camera body, well, it just saddens me really.

Now OK, I’m not a great photographer – I’d like to think I’m fairly good, but I’m in no way great – but I progressed through the various stages of compact camera, bridge camera, then made my way up to the SLR. And I’m pleased with how things have gone, and will keep on learning as I go on.

But to me that’s the way it’s supposed to be – that you learn, and progress. Not just jump in to buying a bloody great SLR with no understanding, and somehow expect it to “make” you take better pictures. Because the fact is, it won’t. I went from taking pretty good photos with the bridge camera to taking some truly bloody awful ones with the SLR. I’m still learning about it now, just over two years down the line, and still make fuck-ups on a regular basis.

So I wonder how long it’ll be before this EOS 40D is consigned to a cupboard somewhere “because it’s a crap camera”. And I think it’s a pity, because it’s a fantastic bit of kit, and I’d love one. Not as much as I’d love a 5D or a 1Ds Mk III, but that’s life. Maybe one day, when I either a) have made a decent level of money from photography, and can rationalise the purchase or b) when I’ve run up to the limitations of the 20D.