Missed Opportunities
Posted: Sun 11 February, 2007 Filed under: Getting Organised, Own Business, Photography 3 Comments »Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve missed the chance of taking some photos that would’ve been beautiful. Needless to say, this is invariably bloody annoying.
To me, there are two main problems – first is that I’m sat on the train, and the windows are invariably disgusting, which would probably add some gunk and nastiness to the final image. But the second problem is simply that the SLR isn’t the right tool for the job. As with Problem One, I’m sat on a train, and I don’t want to be sat there advertising the fact I’ve got £1,500 of gear with me – along with the corollary of ‘if he’s got that camera there, what else is in the bag?’.
I love the SLR, it’s a fantastic bit of kit, and I wouldn’t change it for anything. But I’m coming to the conclusion that I do need to have a small extra camera, one that I can carry everywhere, with a decent resolution, excellent zoom, but small and compact enough that it never leaves my bag/pocket – oh, and doesn’t look like I’m some well-off bastard.
It’s a pain in the arse – and I’d like to start earning some money from the photos in order to balance out some of the costs…
New Media
Posted: Fri 2 February, 2007 Filed under: Own Business, Photography 1 Comment »Had an interesting conversation today with a media company up in Manchester.
Following on from the photographs I did for a charity up there back in November ’04, they now want to use those photos in a TV advertisement. I’m not quite sure what they plan to do, but it’ll be interesting to see once they’re done.
Oh, and yes, I still retain copyright on the images, and I’ll get a copy of the TV ad as well to add to the portfolio.
I have to say, I’m really quite chuffed about the entire thing…
Reserved Words
Posted: Thu 25 January, 2007 Filed under: Geeky, Own Business, Sweary 5 Comments »On occasion, I really hate SQL. (This is a geeky post. Don’t bother reading on if you’ve no interest in databases or PHP/SQL)
Read the rest of this entry »
Self-Promotion
Posted: Thu 25 January, 2007 Filed under: Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Organised, Own Business Leave a comment »Over the last week or so, I’ve started working harder at doing a bit of self-promotion. This hasn’t been the easiest of things – for one thing I’m not a great self-publicist – but I’m getting there.
Not least among The Things Wot I Done was registering my business name/site with both the UKWDA (UK Web Designers Association) and GAWDS (Guild of Accessible Web Designers), which has been interesting, and brought about some interesting conversations (well, interesting in a geeky way, anyway) about markup and how websites ‘should’ be written.
In addition I’ve been getting myself more organised with regard to billing, and I sent out a couple more invoices this week – it’s one of those things that I know I should do, but I still sometimes forget. I really do need to get better on that one.
And at the same time I’ve also been working on gaining permission to get access to a couple of locations where I really want to take photos. I’m still waiting for the responses on those requests though. Still, see how it all goes.
But yes, it’s all coming together, and so far it’s all looking pretty promising…
Zeroed
Posted: Thu 28 December, 2006 Filed under: Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Organised, Own Business Leave a comment »On the credit card I got back in July, the interest-free period expires on 31st December.
And, I’m pleased to say – not that this will mean a sod to anyone else – I’ve paid off the lot. This has been the next step in what I wanted to do – having the credit card, using it (lots) for expenses, equipment and so on, and then having it completely paid off by the time the interest-free period expires.
I’ll use it now for a couple of small purchases per month, and pay it off. Maybe a slightly larger purchase every so often that gets paid off over two or three months, with a little bit of interest. That’ll keep everyone happy.
It’s all part of the plan, building up my credit score, generally making myself out to be a ‘responsible’ person. And so far, everything’s going to plan. Even my current account, having just got through the Festering Season, is in credit – and I’m still due for December’s pay, so that’s healthy too.
And I hae to say, all things considered, that’s a pretty good feeling.
Londinium
Posted: Sun 24 December, 2006 Filed under: Own Business, Reviews(ish), Thoughts, Travel Leave a comment »Well, we’re back home. Knackered, but it was worth it.
I’ll write more about the St Martins Lane Hotel on Where’s Good (and add a link here when I’ve got round to it – ooh look, there it is) but well, while it was OK, I can honestly say I wasn’t overly impressed. It’s OK – I’ve certainly stayed in far worse – but the overall impression is one that can be summarised as “Trying way too hard”.
Sound of Music, on the other hand, was bloody marvellous. I must be one of the very few people in the world who has never seen the film, so I didn’t really know what to expect – yes, I’ve seen clips, and know most of the songs, but I’d not seen the show in its entirety.
Anyway, it was absolutely great. On a techie front, the set is stunning – the way scenery changes and moves is brilliant. The rest of it, cast etc. is great too – well worth the price of the tickets, and definitely something worth seeing.