thoughts with those that die for us, and thinking of those that are bringing new life into the world.

started blogging, then the kids took over, back later......

I liked this, I shot it, I got the settings wrong on the G10, I didn't end up with a RAW file, I got a JPG, I didn't cry.... :-) I'll shoot it again next time... thanks for stopping by....CSJ

Here is a link to the original frame ...... .....original.jpg

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I love this video: think of me, for a few days......adios....

I have been loving getting my prints done over the last couple of weeks, the impetus for this has come from necessity as I've been completing prints requested for Prom photos this year. It's kept me busy. Albeit that Jessops crapped up the prints today and gave me a full refund, oh and they gave me the crapped up prints (bonus as there was 68 - 9x6's ;-).

Anyway some are usable, and I'll make sure that I get them correctly printed. All I wanted was for them to print them with my border so that I can see the images the way I meant them to be printed, I mean they got it right last weekend, and this weekend, no!!

This image is as a result of back tracking through the last couple of months of images, and there are lots of Bulgaria / Mako / Romania, that I'd like to post. Literally shots on the move, which capture the moment for me. I would have liked to have gotten a little more in touch with my subjects on that trip, but it was a rapid journey. This is @Chromasia (twitter) - David Nightingale, as we boarded the ferry for the first leg of our trip. In hindsight the images should have been in some sort of chronological order, but like Eggleston said "I don't particularly like to identify or date my photos its just not about photography " and I guess that his meaning was; that an image is an image, and should hold its own inside or outside of the context in which it was shot, not requiring a label to add meaning.

That said, I choose to title most of my images, and try to include the exif data to give them some more meaning, but don't always hold onto the premise that I should post everything at once or in sequential order, and sometimes 'untitled', for me it makes no sense, call it photographic dyslexia.

Another cause that came to my attention today is the 'not a crime campaign that aims to raise awareness about the heavy handed approach and somewhat illegal attempts at blocking what photographers can and can't photograph. If anyone is in doubt about being pulled up in public, you may want to carry a copy of this straight from the horses mouth, a page outlining what the possible reasons are for questioning you on the street, whilst you take photos, click HERE .........'Thanks for stopping by....... CSJ

Like it or lump it, my new camera has changed the way I see. And whilst I'm stil learning the ins and outs of the functions, and its pitfalls and foibles I am really enjoying a slightly more relaxed work flow. Working in a 4:3 ratio with a 3:2 overlay is interesting, and it means it feels more like a 35mm camera than my SLR does, wierdly?.

That said most of what I have shot so far lends itself to B&W with only a few exceptions that are worthy of colour. This image was very off the cuff, and whilst there are two frames, I liked the attention at the edges of the frame, and the similar stare from the statue. I am in G10 heaven at the moment. Reading the manual, has meant that I have been able to tweak my custom settings further and today's images are my sharpest yet as a result of modifying the FOCUS points, image stabilization and ISO in favour of the lighting, working RAW and using LIGHTROOM also helped in the conversion. My next few images will be from the G10 in a much looser fashion than a lot of my previous images. It reminds me a lot of working with film..... Good times...... Thanks for stopping by ...... CSJ

There aren't too many things these days that impress me, I guess we have become so used to the changing face of image making and our expectations are a lot higher than in the past.

What I have learnt this week though from a plethora of sources is that image making can happen long before you press the shutter, the idea of light and form can occur in your minds eye long before you make an exposure. How you make that exposure depends on technique, tenacity and knowledge and a seeing eye. I watched a fascinating documentary (here) on William Eggleston, probably best known for getting Colour Photography known as an art form, and for having a reputation for photographing the 'ordinary' often 'banal' scenes of South Eastern American towns. I have to say that to many his images are misunderstood, and misinterpreted, but to me they are total genius. I would love to be able to lay down a body of work like his before I die and to be known as a guy that photographed the downright ordinary.

It hammered home to me also that over the years I've gotten to know lots of photographers and their work, but never in my life have I engaged at such a level with so many as I do now. I'm honored to be a part of the current scene, and love looking at as many blogs as I can digest, its inspiring, so thank you to you all, you know who you are...... CSJ

Not much to say about this, other than I liked what I saw, so I photographed it. Is that ok? ...... CSJ

Today was all about not being beaten. OK admittedly I'd given into the pressure of going with the family to IKEA of all places, and whilst I'm not normally adverse to a portion of retail therapy, today for some reason (probably my cold, and the fact I missed the gaypride carnival in Bournemouth) I wasn't especially fussed about going. Anyway I did, and I rather got my hopes up that I'd be in time for an IKEA breakfast, a small but yet rewarding way to make up for the negative of actually being there.

But low and behold we were not served a delicious breakfast, albeit that they'd served the person in front of us, and that they had trays of breakfast fodder left lying there, no we were denied because we were 10mins after the 'deadline', so it was meatballs or meatballs, or bread.... and folks its got to be said that when your tummy craves a full english breakfast, I'm afraid bread wins over especially at 11.10am!!! grrrr.

Anyway we were in there for 3hrs, and it wasn't until i got home I realized I hadn't shot a single frame during the trip out. I was now on a mission to achieve at least one frame that I was happy with. G10 in hand, coffee shop on the horizon, and a willing Fin, we headed out. Glad really because in a raw 3x2 ratio (inspired by Werner Bishof) fashion I achieved a few loose frames that I could see an image in. I smiled and went home.

Thanks for stopping by ...... CSJ

DJN's loft, rafters and all. Bulgarian style. Not a lot to say about it other than that I liked the shape and texture. Sometimes its a lot simpler without meaning..... csj

This was a chance shot, we had driven to the border of Romania, and it was our last 'civilised' night before entering the 'Romanian' route South to Bulgaria. We had literally run out of road, and had no idea where to pull up for sleep, but a small sign, no larger than A4 with a pen'd on campsite symbol gave me a glimmer of hope, and saved the 40KM drive back to somewhere half decent. We trundled down an unlit underpass track, and drove under the arches of the road and railway above. Total darkness in the headlights, nothing to see apart from graffiti and still a sign to a campsite. It wasn't looking good in fact I nearly reversed out apart from a faint figure waving us in, and a welcoming glimmer of a camp fire. We took a punt, and it panned out ok, a campsite in amongst trees, in total darkness, £10 for the night, and it a shower block!, albeit cold water and this unusual advert for Rollei hanging above the showers, I took the opportunity to grab a shave and a cold water freshen up, and everything panned out ok.

Trying to make the most of the little time I had up NW, I decided to wrap up and head out on my own before meeting up with Dave later on. I literally walked the front, and found lots of shooting opportunities.

It's strange being in someone elses environment, I almost felt like I shouldn't be shooting some of the subjects I saw. It almost felt like theft. One thing that the NW coast is short of in winter is people, and whilst I'm sure there were plenty about, I certainly didn't come across too many. It was only just after 9am, and about -4 degrees when I shot this. Not something I'd fully recommend to everyone, but it was good fun being out with my camera again. I absolutely loved the time I had, I guess it was uninpinged (is that a word?), what I mean to say is that I didn't have to think about the kids (too much), as I'd been releived of that stress for a couple of days, something I'd like to return to my wife when i can afford to do it.

Anyway I did meet up with Dave an hour or so later and we ventured back upto the railway / powerstation, an image from which I will blog tommorow night.

This image is a 3 image HDR in 1Stop increments either side of the exposure below, created in Photomatix Pro, and I followed the tutorials written by my good friend at Chromasia which enabled me to give it a go. Like I've said before I'm not necessarily a major league fan of HDR I thought I'd give it a go. And quite enjoyed it.....csj

So it was a tricky 08 with regards to photography for me, and to be honest the start of 09 didn't yield much inspiration either. Except for a glimmer of light which was a Xmas card from my wife, that thoughtfully contained a few pounds and the promise of a weekend away to see a good friend of mine, someone who inspires my use of the camera, and has done so for several years now.

I was furnished with the opportunity to visit Dave from Chromasia, and whilst this was lovely I hadn't realised quite to what extent the "cloak and dagger" arranging had gone too. Mel (my wife) and Libby, Dave's wife, had concocted the whole plan, and this allowed for me to basically spend the entire weekend shooting with him on a new project, and to experiment in HDR whilst I was up there also.

What a brilliant present! and to be honest probably the best kick up the photographic backside that I needed to get my seeing eye going.

We had a brilliant time, and they welcomed me into their home, and to partake in fine wine and lovely food, for which I thank Libby and her many little helpers.

The photography was fun as well, and we visited a few old haunts (for Dave) and few new locations as well, and I am sure we have both gained some footage to see us through a few weeks blogging at least.

This shot aptly titled was one of my favourites from the bunch, and strictly was from day 2 of the trip. I will purposefully not chronologically order the shots taken, so that our Images don't overlap in subject matter TOO much.

This was a 9 Image HDR exposure, processed in Photomatix Pro. I am sure people that dislike HDR will voice themselves, but whilst I am on the fence regarding its overall merit, I can from first hand say that the technique requires a good sense of the subject matter to work well and to choose the right lighting to effect a good image, the same for taking any photo I guess. I think as a process it just sits there amongst other effects, and I personally don't find the results offensive I just realise that to do them well isn't as easy as it may first appear to those people who voice disapproval.

That said, its all about photography, and about getting out and about, pointing the camera in the direction of anything at -4 degrees in the wind in the early morning after a hike is a good effort in my book!

I know that publishing the EXIF for a multi image HDR is slightly misleading, publishing the metered exposure used as a my starting point 0EV is fair. I then used a combination of spot metering highlights and shadows to work out the bracket range required, and a few nudges in Daves ribs!. I chose a 9 shot image here with 1/2 stop increments. The histogram said everything was within bounds so I thought I'd give it a go.

We were shooting on an old disused Railway East of Fleetwood, and someway off the beaten track, we found the old trainstation, and amongst the undergrowth I spotted the old station steps, I couldn't resist.... ;-)

Did It work?

Cold, cold, cold, our house is so cold. Its been log fires, and massive gas bills.....not looking forward to a long winter......

And even with 3 layers, jimjams a vest, socks, and a water bottle, my little lad somehow manages to get a bit chilly and wakes up at about 3am.... need to rethink this heating of the house malarky!...... csj

13 years one day and 8hrs on, and each and everyday that has past passed, I have a had a little moment; a moment when I stop and remember Clare. Sometimes, I become complacent to my surroundings and it takes just a moments thought to realise that I pulled the other straw, and that I am the lucky one. She could have had my life.

Things happen day in day out, that I have to think, well that just doesnt matter in comparison, and sometimes I have to stop myself from saying something to someone.

And then I have to sit and tell myself off at times for doing the same thing, getting wound up by someone or something to the point of exhaustion, when I should just walk away and ignore it. Its difficult sometimes.

But its at this time each year, I have to reflect on how lucky I am to be here and to be able to have this opportunity to vent my feelings.

This shot was a pseudo HDR, but was really an awkward shot, not only in the shooting, but in the composition, and in the final edit. I think I like elements of the shot, but its not one I'm going to rave about. Lets just say whilst I enjoyed getting out with my camera at the weekend, it was slim pickings, before the light ran dry. And the sun was so low, every shot I tried to take, included myself in shadow form, it was that or shoot directly at the sun, damn that wide angle lens!!! ..... ho hum .... csj

My little lad on the pier, shortly after being told he couldn't have something he wanted (jelly tots).....now I just feel mean, but only a little.

They need to be reigned in I recon from a young age...... I'm a nasty parent eh! ;-)

I'm so out of sorts, I over dubbed the entry, and lost everything I typed, i can only apologise, but thanks anyway. That will teach me to watch TV and try to edit my photos, oh well.

It was along the lines of working ourselves to the bone, and never reaching an end, if anyone had a copy let me know......csj

FOUND IT on Google Cache pages....phew;

The end of another week, and not a bad week all in all. Got quite a lot acheived on the work front, and its taken a while but I realise that I will never reach the bottom of the joblist, not with the sheer amount of people to look after, and individual processes to manage. But hey thats life I guess, you never finish until the end right?, I mean we all strive to do the best we can in the time that we have, and mostly we achieve success, but I guess one or two jobs slip through the net.

What amazes me though, and I'm sure someone can explain this to me fully, but why is it that now I'm a little older time goes quicker. Fridays seem to come around so quickly now. I can't believe that my daughters first year at school is zipping by so quickly, and that it was a year ago since she sat her entrance exam...... I feel old..... csj

I was told of the changing view from the bedroom window, to be honest I haven't really had the time to study it, but when I left to go to work, I noticed the ton of bright leaves just falling from the Cherry Tree, I was informed that the light through them was lovely, and whilst I'd have loved to show you the perfect view of static leaves, there are too many phone wires and busy obstructions outside and I wasnt in the mood for leaning out of the upstairs window with my 200mm on the front. So here it is, my interpretation of the Autumn scene...... csj

Fin's still struggling to get off to sleep without his 'dummy' and to be honest being awake at 4am every night /morning for the last week or so, has taken its toll on my brain, I think there has only been one night where he didn't wake up at stupid o'clock, and my eyes are tired just thinking about it. For some reason once he's awake and out of bed theres no going back off to sleep with him. Such is life.

This image summed up how a lot of you must be feeling about the lack luster offerings on ID7 at the moment, for which I keep on making excuses (don't be too harsh). I'm sure the old see'ing eye will be back on form soon. I happened to pick up on Craigs' feed from his blogspot and he had a lovely image on there last night of a face cut in a tree, it was great...the carving and the photo, check out the image here.......

This shot of fallen trees on Lepe beach in Hampshire was taken after the last heavy storms. I will revisit the location sometime soon when I get a chance, to see how this place is changing, it appears to change quite dynamically in a short space of time. Anyway it has become a favourite on my list of places to visit.

On a different note, the Lab has made some good progress over the last week, the shop refit / clearance went well, and the floors are now clean and the walls painted, new surfaces are fitted and electrics have been done, so its all positive and heading in the right direction.

Hoping to get down there this weekend to do some more testing, re-organising in the studio, so that we can get it online as soon as possible, its quite a buzz getting it all sorted out...... csj

Shot a while back, but has stayed with me in the back of my mind, this image I finally found time to look at again this evening, ok, so its a shot of an old boot, but one thats been around long enough to have vegetation take root, and let me tell you it was a pretty bleak backdrop that day, and I'm sure it has a story or two to tell. I

Took a half day with Fin, was lovely except for the rain, i managed to get out for a walk with him tonight for a half hour along the quay.

Today was full of ordering, organizing, printing, and trying to understand why this brand new Apple Mac book Pro crashes whilst performing the most basic of functions..... I might slip back in to PC mode if it lets me down anymore..... grrrrr.

Oh and nice one Labour for not having the foresight to see that people can only be pushed too far before they revolt against your ridiculous taxation of fuel.....pah

Today was very positive, definitely a move in the right direction. We closed the lab finally, no public, for 3 weeks, whilst we complete the full shop / studio refit. We have to be patient for items to arrive, but most has been at least thought of / planned / ordered / or delivered. There is a way to go but finally, forward motion.

I also saw M today, she looked very distant, was with her husband and passed right by me before acknowledging me, its no wonder that with the news of Friday, her mind must be everywhere.....

Feel empty today with worry... about my dear friend, and colleague. In total frustration what can someone do to help?, not a lot I guess... She wants people around her to go on as normal, but Its very very difficult, I will try for her sake.

I don't have much to say about any of my images at the moment, I am in a quandary with my photography. I am sure I just need to get back out there, and start seeing again. It comes in waves.....and is truly a barometer of my being. But sometimes life gets in the way....

In light of the fact that I said I wouldn't ever just point my camera at seagulls and go, I was out feeding the ducks with Fin, and the hubbub of birds was just magical to watch, as they all battled for a slice of the action. It kind of reminded me of the way we all are in our day to day lives, knocking around ideas trying to find ways to get what we want, and striving to climb to the top of our game.

Sometimes something happens that just makes you sit back down and realise that nothing else in life matters. A dear friend of mine today found out that she has breast cancer, and whilst I was shocked, I was also left with a feeling of helplessness, and I've been here before. All in all a strange day that was off the back of a lovely day yesterday as I celebrated my wifes' 30th in the evening......

So I have a little explaining to do. I have left you all in the lurch without an explanation, and I guess thats very rude, seeing as you are all quite loyal, and looking at the server logs, you have been checking back regularly.

So its time I explained my frame of mind. I guess at the start of April i became wrapped up in the liquidation of a friends business, and its still not complete, but lots of decisions have been made, and they are somewhat further forward in their business plan now, and have made headway to re-align the business.

My head was full of that, and it was difficult to focus (literally). So I decided the only way to get through that was to put the camera down, not something I like doing but for my sanity and that of my family, something had to give. Anyway I feel I've turned the corner, and last weekend was a mile stone, as we had a meet up in London, something we affectionately call a print fling, and whilst only four of us were there it filled the day, with pictures, and inspiration.

And its always great to meet up with old photographic mates. Left to right in the shot is Moi, Craig Morton (of Craigs' Random Ramblings), Alun Bull (English Heritage) and Matt Taylor all of whom I have great respect for, both as friends and as photographers. We meet up at the Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank in London, and it really is a great day. So thanks again guys, we should not leave it as long for the next session.

I really shouldn't claim this shot, as I didn't press the shutter, but a friendly passerby was able to point and shoot with my 5D, what a trusting chap I am..... ;-)

A quiet day today, recovering from a lovely night out with my beautiful wife of 5yrs, we went to our favourite restaurant, and had a lovely meal and a few drinkies.

Haven't really thought about the lab today, but it has absorbed my head over the last 2 weeks, and to be honest has become an unhealthy obsession / project. I am still on it though, but this week I will pull back a little to let them make some firm decisions, after all its not my future at stake, its theirs.

This image was a chance moment, and it kind of just happened in front of me, however it is a crop and whilst I have brutally cropped this image, I think I'll post the un-cropped image tommorow as a comparison and let you decide which has more or less impact.....csj

UPDATE:

I have to apologise for not posting for nearly a week. But I simply havent had the time between work, and trying to to help re-brand the lab, and get them re-open with an internet cafe, and re-organising the layout of the retail space. That and my full-time job I just simply havent got out with my kit. Also i am migrating my workflow to Apple Mac from PC, purely from the fact that I fancied a change, and thought I'd see what all teh fuss is about, and to also comment on whether MAC truely is better than PC as a photo editing and workflow platform. After a week with the new MAC I have to say that I am enjoying it, the quality of the unit surpasses any laptop build that I have had in the last 5 years, but other than that I don't find it any different. The display is unique on this unit, and is probably the most outstanding feature, but generally I find the MAC experience slightly limiting in its platform and networking ability. For example I work on corporate networks, with firewalls in place, and as an engineer I sometimes need to hop the firewall rules by using a client on the WINDOWS platform which has been availalbe for a long time, but as yet have not found a simple way to use the same utility under the OSX operating system without serious firewall re-configuration. Anyway I'm sure I'll get it sorted but its out of the box things like video conferencing in MSN that arent available on the MAC unless you download another client like aMSN for exmaple, and small things like VPN configuration being hidden by default. Strange.

Anyway its about as far away from photography as I can be this week. Hopefully I will be back upto speed next week sometime, I apologise for the break in the normal flow on ID7, I am awaiting photoshop and lightroom for the MAC and once I have those in place I should be back up and running.... thanks....csj

Some progress today, but I think whilst there is light at the end of the tunnel, there is going to be a big old hill to climb first. For anyone reading this, its to do with a package to rescue a business, I'm just a bi-stander with an interest really, but I am desperate to help out where I can. Positive attitudes are required in this situation, but when someones' livelyhood, and income are on the back of these decisions, you really want people to make sure they are doing the right thing.

Anyway I'm going to sit back for a few days now, and wait to hear what their next move is before committing too much more of my time. It's over to them to make it right for now, it's ultimately their baby......

I know that the studio will work out, we just need the nod.....csj

Ouch.... I went into the lab today, the machines are all gone, its an open space with two people stood in the middle. I guess desperate times lead to desperate measures, and this week is definately the low point. Watching them turn away customers is difficult, I think the bubble has burst, and they rush purchased a coin op machine to tide them over... I am truely gutted, its hard to explain, but it's a little like having the sea being taken from my doorstep....

As a keen photographer I relied on being able to pop in and just chat to like minded people and get some enprints done. I was there for a while today working with an electrician friend, and as we were there people were coming into the lab who point blank refused to go elsewhere to get their work printed. Its a shame that these people no longer process 24 or 36 but instead selectively print 1 or 2 from a memory card instead.

I want there to be a future in it, I really do, but how do we encourage people back into the mindset of getting their snaps printed again. It seems like an impossibilty, but to be honest I still want to believe we can do it. Am I heading into oblivion with this idea? I dont' know, I'd welcome any thoughts on the matter. I don't want to lead my friends down the wrong route, the plan for the lab seemed like a good idea, and it still does. I love the idea of the studio upstairs, and I can't wait to get stuck into it, but there needs to be a lively and active business downstairs, not just off hte back of the studio.... csj

What can I say... the King lives on, and suffers pain after the gig is over, no more Las Vegas white leatherette and studs, no a simple shirt, and a can of Pepsi, thankyou maaam...Elvis has left the building..... csj

So my birthday was spent in the rain on the Thames, but it was great catching up with all my old photographer friends. It was a Canon and Nikon fest, but was a lot of fun, thanks to Big Nick and his gorgeous wife Susies; hospitality, OH and how could I forget, the music of Elvis (from the black country).... a good night was had by all. Lets not leave it 20 years again you guys..... csj

Happy Birthday Al, thought I'd better get that one out of the way before I forget. This way I won't have to feel too guilty about not sending you a card.... ;-)

Today, the eve before my Birthday, we as a family endulged in Chinese, and fine wine, and chocolate cake.... jeez what hogs!!, it was lovely, and we all sat up at the table like a good family and enjoyed our nosh. Fantastic.

Exciting weekend this weekend, up to London for a quick visit, and will catch up with several friends, before shooting back down again, but its always nice to catch up every now and then, so a big thanks to Big Nick for hosting the event, and allowing us to come on board the boat, and for serving us all with the finest Fish and Chippies.... another hog out!....(mental note: need more exercise). Then its around to the lab next week, a big week for them, decisions will be made that will affect their future livelyhood, and my access to a good lab, the machines are leaving the premises on Wednesday..... chin up Jane and Peter, we'll make it through this rocky patch....

This image was a grab, a single frame, a moment I wanted to capture, the interaction (or should I say lack of) of the subjects. The guy in the foreground looking straight through me as I stood there and framed up, almost wanting to say something, but unable to because he was on the phone and the Jewish couple off to the left of frame, out for a walk, and the guy at the top right in a panic / 'can't find something' mode on the telephone.

Some images don't have a reason to exist, they just do, because they are a record of a moment in time. I haven't done anything to this frame apart from crop and tweak the tonality....There are lots of things that bother me in this image, but I like it for a reason I can't fully articulate that said I like looking at it. I still feel the urge to crop every now and then..... csj

So another day, passes, as we await to hear what's going to happen in the case of insolvency in my friends' business. I am sure everything will come out in the wash, but in the background, we are all making plans to 'rebrand' the business and begin again from fresh. The machines go next week, and then its crunch time. The lab must close, and the retail area must be refitted, and then we can relaunch their business as the "www.i-printroom.co.uk" in a matter of weeks (hopefully). Its a case of people asking me, why am I so involved in this, well its simple. I know that if that was my business and I needed help, and if someone was prepared to give their time and advice, I'd happily take what I could get in my time of need. I guess between us, we have all the answers and we can turn it around.

People we need to print more, we need to 'go retro' and start printing again, the more I think about it the more I realise where I've gone wrong for the last few years.

I had a bunch of 12x18's printed last week, I laid them on the floor last weekend, and I loved every minute of it, digesting the images with my eyes, I will never tire of it. I feel like a preacher right here right now, and I don't mean to sound that way, but I am passionate about this. Nothing beats a good quality print, trust me, get one done, or two and tell me I'm wrong, be careful where you go though, please don't use a supermarket. Search out your Lab, the one with the closing down sign in the window, and give them a chance....

Oh and tonights' image, well the image was really a response to one of Daves' shots, and was my slightly crude attempt at this shot..... csj

I don't have a lot to say about this image, other than it was a perfect backdrop to use the dark looming clouds, and the Eagle stood out nicely against it, on previous occasions it did nothing for me. I've walked passed here 100 times before and its never looked right. csj

So a dark image tonight, shot at Lepe about 2 weeks ago, when the storms had passed, but the rain hadn't stopped, the winds had been blowing in from the west with gusts of about 75mph and it was no different on this day. I pulled up in the car park and I'll post an image of the view through the window as an addendum to this shot, but to be honest, with a mile left to go to get to where I wanted to shoot and to be honest not much inclination it was an effort to drag my sorry backside out of the warmth of the car, put down my coffee, put on waterproofs and on the Lowepro and head up the coastal path. But I'm glad I did. All be it that it was 'blowing a hoolie' (in the words of me old mate Al) I was able to get some of the shots I was after. This was a 1/2 exposure resting on a broken tree stump with a ND2 Grad (in the driving rain). The rain is lost by the length of the exposure.

Its a notorious coast line, and whilst alone on the beach, I felt something that I hadn't felt before, and that it was the sea was trying to reach me, I know this sounds strange, and It might have been my paranoia, but I definately felt something, and it wasn't until I returned to the carpark, and got chatting to another passerby that I was told of the recent death of a man swept away by the sea at high tide. Well in hindsight had I known that I might have not gone, I had gone a little beyond my reach and turned round to sea that the tide had crept in, I'd watched the tide and thought it was going out, but it wasn't. Anyway I made it back ok, just a little wet (very wet) and with a few more frames to work on. And a little more appreciation for mother natures' power.

As promised above the view from my car window .....archives/290308.php

What a day, lots of ideas been bouncing around today, and its all very exciting. I'll tell you more after the weekend, but I have a golden opportunity landed on plate, and its all a bit too good to be true. I hope.

This image is another from taking the kids out last weekend, and is in direct response to Daves' post tonight. Arghhhh those monkeys make you smile eh!.

Interesting day to day............had a good long email chat with John Washington about the ins and outs of image making and the situation we are in now, in the digital age. We debated conceptual art and what an image is all about.

We commented on the likes of Scott Shelby and the markets that they cater for, and realised that for all the ins and outs, photography is and always will be subjective and each to their own. Who am I to say what makes a photo. It's always been the case that I like what I like, sometimes I can explain why, sometimes it might be sentimental, sometimes esthetic, sometimes unexplainable. I love photography, I guess I always will, but I love all genres, and branches of image making, which is why its so interesting. Scoping the images we find around us today on flickR etc makes it all the more interesting to debate.

A quicky tonight from the snowy trip to the New Forest on my way back from picking up this new body. I was cream crackered after a 4.5hr journey, and to be honest would have pointed it at anything. I am as guilty as the next man for taking a snap!....

Sorry for the late post, but I've spent the evening helping other people out, and it left no time for me.

This is the question!

In fact it was last nights post on Chromasia that sprung an interesting thread, about where blogging has gone in the last 3 years. For me here on ID7 whilst having a busy home life with kids, and a full-time non-photographic job, I just want inspiration to get out there and use my kit.

I have been quoted as being a follower rather than any kind of leader in my image making, but to be honest I couldn't care less. For me photography has always been a part of life, since I was handed a 126 camera by my dad, since then some images have been better than others, some get comments , others don't get any, it really doesn't matter that much to be honest, lifes too short. I obviously enjoy the thought that people are looking, but for me its being inspired by the work of others, and to get out there and come back with something I am happy with.

And I guess at the end of the day, if I don't manage to finish a book, this will at least be a legacy for my youngest to enjoy, or laugh at! ;-)

Took the kids to Monkey world today, and looked at the marvelous work they do, rescueing primates from all around the world. Fin loved it he thought they were all Curious George.

This little fella sat and posed for me, as I looked at him through the view finder, I couldn't but wonder if he was trying to say something to me.

The summer season has truely begun, tonight was Bike Night on the Poole Quay, and in true style it was heaving with shiney metallic hardware, all of which you think would be highly photographic subject matter, but to be honest the bikes were all jammed together, and I wanted to isolate one or two of them, but struggled, so I did a few long exposures to blend away the people and background, but wasn't that happy with many of them. That said there is a couple there I quite like.

However I saw this on the way home, and tried a 3 frame HDR using Daves recently posted technique, this is an example using 1 stop increments, and the exif data posted is from the middle frame of the three just to give you an idea. I realise this is not that good a practise but it will give you an idea.

Went out last night with tripod in hand and figured I'd try to grab a few frames of the old grain silo. To be honest I havent been past in a few weeks, and I honestly thought that they would have removed it by now, so this was quite a surprise seeing it still standing. Guess its the structure from hell though, being made of concrete and re-inforced steel, and standing so close to residential homes. Here are the links to its slow decline..... .....archives/0711101900_clean.php and earlier here .......archives/0803201900_clean.php.

I recon it will soon be gone, and then the onslaught of another block of flats!!!.... great.

Another day for contemplation and to pop along to the lab to see how they are after making quite a brave business decision. I'm in a quandry for them, I want to help out, and make it work, but just don't know what to do. We have spun a few ideas and I hope they can be brave enough to grab the bull by the horns and go for it. In the light of digital change, businesses need to adapt to the way modern living and in this case modern image making happens. People print less, its as simple as that.

Amber was 12 a few days back... and to celebrate we had her favourite curry, and for pud we had 'CHOCOLATE CAAAAAAAAAAKE' according to Finlay. Funny little fella.

This was a shot of a reflective moi, taken a while back when the 20D was new(ish) and when we had the weekends free to wander. Shot in a Brighton backstreet.

Spending time with the family, doing DIY, and generally helping out has been nice over the last few days. But this afternoon I took a walk into town, partly to relieve Mel from Finlay who was being lets say 'boisterous' and also to get some fresh air and a cup of coffee..... I popped into my local lab, the place that over the last 6 years or so I have built up a trusting and open friendship with the owners, I help them out when they are desperate and I have come to trust Pete and Jane's' judgement over the finished print.

But today was a real blow, as they announced that the digital age has finally cut the balance sheet down to bare bones, and they are to shut the lab, because the machines just aren't making enough money. Its a real sad day for me. I now don't have a good local lab, they are all toot in comparison, and I guess will eventually go the same way as the public print less, and store more on hard drives. But this begs the question about what will happen to all the photos that get 'lost' and misplaced on peoples machines, there will be no hidden box of prints in the loft to rifle through and look at, as a lot of hardware will be lost to the technological tip in the sky as people forget to backup and archive their images. Such a shame for future generations not to have that 'paper' print to hold, feel, look at and digest, its just not the same looking at images on the screen as a finished medium. I really wish there was something I could do to help them, but I think it has now just gone too far to do anything. Shame..... a sad day for photography.

This image is a tone-mapped HDR from a single frame, with a curve adjustment layer and a vignette mask, and is of my granddads' old oil lamp which I've kept for the last 12 years or so, and allowed the weather to do its very best..... Nice and rusty, it still lights believe it or not!

I can only apologise for my lack of content on the site, but I feel there is pretty much no point posting just for the sake of it. I am off work for a couple of weeks now, and figure I'll get out and about with the camera during this time to build up some images. Its a bad time of year with plenty of rain, and no light (not good light) to shoot with, spring is around the corner, and to top it all we had snow over Easter, adding to the conundrum.....

I am still seeking that illusive extra camera body to give me the kick to get out and about more often, it might happen soon, hopefully.

This was shot a while back, and I reprocessed it, there was something in the pattern that I liked. Shot on Poole Quayside, on a busy harbour day....the oil just lay on the surface and the sun created pools of fantastic colour....

The last days of the the old grain silo in Poole, its nearly gone, and I am sure that if I went back this weekend it will now be down to the ground or close to it. Making way for yet more flats....just what Poole needs right now?.

I'm feeling sore tonight, I decided in my infinite wisdom to have a go at Wii Olympics, and had a go at the 100m Olympic record, it took me a few goes, and I did a 9.72, but today I can't hardly breath, and my arms feel like lead.... and I'm in agony down to my wrists. Is this all part of the fun?..... uhmmm

This shot was in response to See It Sundays - Flag theme a couple of weekends back, there isnt much else to say about it really, it was just something I saw.

How much of what we do is about the kit we carry or about the snobbery of purist images over those images that we tinker with. I'd love the best of the best in terms of cameras, I've always grown up with the understanding that you only get what you pay for, and that you shouldn't ever own that which you can't afford, but that quality comes with cost. And to be honest that adage has done me well in life. Up to the point where I had a family, and those items of prize possession that I crave to own then become less important than those people around me.

I'd love a new camera right now / today / this minute, and I'd happily spend either the fifteen hundred quid on the 5D or even the five grand on the 1Ds MKIII, but to what end. I'd only suffer the guilt and depression at owning such a nice piece of kit. And will it make a difference to my photography? Who knows... it might (it should), but will it? It’s a tricky and contentious decision to make, and to be honest I think my family deserve a holiday this year, rather than me having that trophy in my camera bag. That said if I find a way to earn the 5D I'd be a happy man, but even small amounts of cash seem hard to earn these days and what money we do earn is tucked up back into family life....it’s funny how life changes and priorities change....

This image shows a split decision for me, and that neither direction is right or wrong, it kinda summed up my frame of mind at the moment..... csj

A wet and windy day, revealed no more images than a wet windy day would, so tommorow, hangover permitting (not mine, my wifes), I'll endeavour to pop out with Finlay. And get some more shots around about town, although there are warnings of gale force winds, so we'll have to see.

I thought tonights' image was quite sinister, and forboding, also like the calm before the storm, apt me thinks!!!....... csj

In the previous 'hung out to dry' entry

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I saw the shoes hanging there and thought that it must have been a freak accident the first time round, or some kind of one off dustbin collection fopar, but when I walked down the same road this week and saw this, I now realise we have a serial shoe thrower on the prowl.

I actually had sympathy for the person that had lost their shoes the first time I saw it. These however are two more pairs of shoes flung and hung. I watched over the last few months the original pair slowly make their way down the cables to end up close to the back of someones house on the street, but now there are these two pairs, which I have no doubt will end up breaking the phone wires. I guess I shouldnt get too upset, it gave me something to point the camera at.... csj

The weekend didn't yield my usual mix of images to play with, instead, I am sifting through an eclectic mix of images that really feel dry and without any perception / juxtopostion, or irony. I miss my seeing eye, but I think it may have gone on holiday for a while. I will keep on trying, but at the moment, I'm struggling to see. If it has stopped working, I may need some inspiration, and I am open to offers and suggestions. If I stop posting images, I'll feel I'm letting myself down, yet if I continue, I may dilute my body of work with images I'm not always a 100% on.

I mean I like images for different reasons, sometimes its the light, sometimes its something that makes me chuckle, sometimes its a symmetry, or irony. Sometimes and I hope not that often its because of desperation to get an image posted. I'm not entirely sure that tonights' post falls into this 'harsh' category, but I cant help feeling like that after the crop of images I am currently looking at.

It might be that I have the images here, but tonight I can't see them, if that makes sense. Anyway as ever my photographic mind, and fingers are working beyond their means, I'll let you decide..... csj

To all the mums.

Who work so hard, and keep us men young and old,

and our children all on the straight and narrow.

But especially to my mum for being there, and bringing me into this world that I now see.

And to Amber and Finlays' mum for being solid and always making the right choices for them, even if they think differently.

Happy Mothers' Day...... csj

So like an un-assuming idiot, I hadn't really calculated the significance of todays' date, not least that it only occurs once every four years but that I just hadn't realised until about an hour ago, what an idiot, that kind of thing really gets me!!!!, I blame it on age......

So its fitting that an image from 'Lepe' (leap) makes the entry on ID7 tonight....

A little strange tho this image, but there was something in it I liked and it just caught my eye, not literally but....... oh you know what I mean (I hope)...... csj

And to quote a good friend at a camera show..... "its not camera gear that makes friendship, its coffee and good conversation"... nice one Alun but I still want a 1Ds MKIII!...til next year...

I am suffering from Camera withdrawal, a little known illness that occurs after you spend a day looking at the latest and greatest bits of kit on the Canon Stand. Its all a bit depressing picking up a 5 year old body, and listening to it clatter a way, when you've held the 1Ds MKIII and had a play, that and a handfull of 5D's and a whole array of lenses. Quite depressing indeed. When you're saving for a new body, it just seems to take forever to acrue the amount required....

Pah, I guess something good will happen soon, and that new body will be winging its way towards me....maybe an anonymous donor, or long lost uncle or something ;-).

This shot was from last weekend, and I couldn't help laugh when Fin was shown the Polar Bear I thought he'd have jumped a mile, but instead he just poked it in the eye.... good lad! ;-)

Off to the FOCUS exhibition in Birmingham tommorow, so that should be a good day, with lots of possible retail therapy items to purchase.... no money tho, so will have to be careful with the cheque book ;-)....

Shot this at the weekend along with several other animal pics, for Finlay, that boy loves animals....of course he thought there was only one Zigby the zebra, I had to let him down gently ;-)

Sorry for the late post, but its Birthday weekend for my little boy... he's 2, I can't believe where the time has gone, and he's all grown up... running around the zoo today like he owned the place.....happy times... csj

Feel kind sea sick tonight, can't describe the feeling any better than that really. Just want to shift this feeling and get better, its keeping me awake at night.

Its the eve of my little boys b-day, and he's a big 2.0 tommorow.... he's been a little bit of a test tonight, little scamp, I think he ate one to many crispy cakes.... a day at the zoo is required me thinks. Hopefully the fresh air will sort me and him out....

Just a little thankyou to my long suffering wife, for getting all his b-day organised (mental note: must do more towards them next year!!!).

Works kept me flat out aswell this week, back to the day to day demands on Monday!!!.... csj

Really struggling to keep eyes open tonight so please excuse my lack of text and dialogue. Didn't get too much shut eye with not feeling well, and I'm off up early tonight. Apologies....

This was a quick frame from last weekends jaunt. I figured one more high tide, and it would be gone from site. Fat lot of good that would be then!....

And they say Sandbanks isn't changing shape....uhmmm I beg to differ!... csj

Well they granted permission to demolish the old grain silo that I photographed here

...../archives/0711101900_clean.php

in a previous entry, it made the front of the local papers this week, and true to all developers plans, they started virtually immediately. There was quite a few people stood looking at the derelict site on Sunday when I went past. I stood and mingled and listened to what a few people had to say.

It's funny how whilst I'd heard that it was a listed building, and that it was haunted, and that it held the remains of some clubbers under a floor that had apparently collapsed, oh and had pigeons nailed to its internal walls, I guess these urban myths and legends will be swept away to become someone elses footings. Funny tho that I found this only minutes after hearing the bit about the pigeons.... I wonder if there was some truth in it after all....csj

So tonights' doesn't really need much text to say whats going on, and after listening to some advice, I decided to give this one ago as a straight black and white conversion, on the Red Channel again, and without much else, apart from four adjustment layers, layer 1 was a 18% blur 'duplicate layer' of the entire image, layer 2 was 'selective colour' layer, with 65% bias on RED / YELLOW / CYAN and BLUE, layer 3 was the Red 'Channel mix' layer for the B&W conversion and layers 4 and 5 were masked 'curves' to work the sky and foreground detail, the final layer was a slight vignette mask layer. And yes the original was THAT bad ;-)...

So I call it a 'straight' B&W conversion, but what I actually meant was I needed to work on a sows' ear and try and create a purse.(Mental Note: try harder next time!)......

I had also produced this version, and to be honest this was one click in Lightroom... would be interested to know which you prefer...

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I'm not sure now I've looked at them both.... csj

I couldn't post anything last night, as Virgin decided it would be a good idea to cut our broadband access for 12hrs? Without explanation... Anyway here is last nights' entry tonight which is another frame from the same day. I apologise for the delay in posting yet again, but thats life I guess.

I actually prefer this image, or at least see it in a different light to the previous shot, albeit of the same subject from a different angle, wierd thing about this image is that in my head I shot this after yesterdays shot, but EXIF tells me differently... wierd..... as always interested to hear your views on the picture.

Oh and after last weeks competition let down, I heard from 'Garden Photographer of the Year" today, they want to see one of my images for inclusion (possibly) in the final show.... so watch this space ;-)...... csj

So the last image caused some mild controversy over the discussion about 'pure' photography and what I enjoy doing which is playing with pictures and post production in photoshop. To those people who commented I thank you, and I always love a good debate about imagery and image making, no matter what the outcome.

But to be honest nothing will ever change my view that all photography from a simple snap to 'the best' Reuters commision, will ever detract from the plain fact that a good picture is in the eye of the beholder and will always remain completely 'subjective'.

So I support 'moonheads' view, and yes I'm not a perfect image maker (is there one?) and I make mistakes, nay I admit I rush things, but what's most important here on ID7 is that I'm having a go, and will never stop having a go at making pictures that people want to talk about or remember....its what makes me tick.

Anyway to tonights' entry and title. I was dragged to B&Q today of all places, and to be honest there was some cracking light at around 11.00am today and I wanted to be out with my camera, but duty calls. On the way back over Towngate Bridge in Poole I saw this guy just starting to setup, so I got home, dumped the pots, and other purchases in the garden (mental note: they are still in the garden) and headed back over town to see if I could catch him whilst he was in the middle of things. I got there and went over for a chat, both this chap (I didnt get first name terms) and his colleague thought I was an inspector, I spent 10mins convincing them otherwise, before he allowed me to photograph but in those 10mins I learnt a lot about the Postermans' underworld...and competition, and rediculous EU health and safety rules, and sackable offences.... it was an insight into their world at least. Also not a bad job, he retires next year, and reckons on paper he is a millionaire for his retirement.... I'm in the wrong job .... ho hum csj

Thanks to everyone that pops by commenting these days, it really does encourage you to get out more and keep on producing images.

I would like to let you all know that I do take time to reciprocate your messages, by my spending hours looking through everyone elses images, so keep on coming because I like looking at photos as much as taking them and blogging them... so thanks again .... csj

Not a lot of point saying much on this entry tonight, when you can go to Chromasia and see some proper photography..... what a shot Dave, fantastic mate....

Seriously tho, this was edited in Lightroom, and and then passed to Photoshop to mask three curve layers, and a 70% channel mixed layer affecting Blue, and a slight soften on a duplicate layer revealed to 22% to finish. And I'm all done..... csj

Another from last weekend ....... and after a 13 hour day today this is the best I can muster up tonight from those images. Apologies, but I wanted to post this one, as for me it showed the plight of this Southern coastline, as it falls into the channel, if you look just behind the battered defenses you can see an entire tree, fresh, thats just collapsed onto the beach, the whole row there has been undermined by the tide, and wont be long before they too meet the same fate..... ouch...... csj

Also Fin was having trouble getting off to sleep tonight, so I've been up with him.... something was upsetting him, I think it was an orange nightlight, banged that off and alls quiet now.....;-)

Oh and I didn't get a placing in the hidden gems competition, so try try again, better luck next time eh!....

Another from yesterdays Lepe beach walk....... Not sure about these now that I have them, it was worth the journey to see, but the more I look at the images the more I have to concur with Mel, that they are TOO obvious.....

Mental Note: Try harder next time, or leave them and come back later ...... csj

Finlay was in good spirits today, and so I didn't feel bad about taking a trip out for me on this one occasion.

Earlier in the week I had seen some images of tonights' location, and thought I would love to find it, and have a go there myself, well I'm glad I did, because I found a great spot, very quiet, but was quite shocked to see the extend of land erosion that I found.

Now whether thats due to exceptional tides, global warming, or the shear fact the channel is always on the move I dont know, but what I do know is that an awful lot of the mainland has collapsed into the sea as a result, and the 'sea defenses' dont look upto much at this particular point. I drove to Lepe, after dropping the kids, and dropping some kit around a friends, and picking up the exhibit prints, and dropping those at the Gallery, and then heading on my journey to a small inlet near Southampton water, and over looking the Isle of White. I shot what I saw as I walked for a mile and a half I'd guess, and the following few posts will be from todays' trip..... as always let me know what you think. csj

On a day that revealed no pictures, but some good ideas about pictures, I thought I'd pull back from shooting anything new, but plan some images instead. I am keen this year to showcase as many ID7 images as possible via competitions and publications to spread the good word, and to encourage more people to pick up a camera.

I'm off out tommorow, lat e morning to a place called Lepe, I'm not sure that the light will be right in the middle of the day, but I'll settle for whatever is available. I believe there are a few subjects there I'd like to photograph, so tomtom on and away I go....

There is going to be an interview with djn1 (David Nightingale) from Chromasia in MP3 on the site, hopefully within the next few weeks, we are just sorting a time to meet up, and we may have a couple of other joint ventures planned, including a portrait shoot for the second quarter of 08, which will be submitted alongside another image into the portrait awards for 08.

As a role model and inspiration Dave needs recording for posterity, and to earn his place in WEB history, in my eyes anyway. Everyone else is an immitator of his art (me included) and to be honest, you just have to read his accolades to realise the man and his images are genius. Other people are lucky, Dave is consistently brilliant. He has agreed to both of the above so its just about timing now..... wish me luck...... 'mental note' - remember to polish the lenses......csj

this ones for djn1 and Craig

This was from a batch that I had in Lightroom and which I shot during the middle of Jan, when I was just testing the DoF of the 50mm f1.8 on the camera. Whilst this was shot at 1.8, it was one of the more successful images. Not one of my most favourite images, but it has a little cliche something going on that I quite lik. I find the detail to the top right distracting, but it just doesnt work as a square and I figured thats a lot of picture to chop about, without it showing.

To be honest I'm still getting used to this quirky little lens, but I like it a lot. I just want it mounted on a body alongside the 17-40 or 70-200 so that I can quickly flick between the two to be honest (a poor excuse for a new body). I just found out that my best photographer buddy from way back when, has gone to Nikon finally, having had an order signed off on a D3, I wish him and his new camera well...... Traitor ;-)..... only joking Al, you know I used to be a Nikon man for all those years and wouldn't shut up about how good they are, so I'm not starting now.

From Saturdays quick trip out, I shot about three images on the best weekend weather wise that we had had since xmas, feel I let myself down a bit, but sometimes thats the way it goes, the eye is either working or its not, and for some reason this weekend it wasnt... never mind. Anyway I was quite pleased with this. On my blog route I came upon a guy working on 'Jo Jo' , it was amongst several boats in dry dock? (is that the term) and I asked him if he minded if I just worked around him whilst he was patching the old girl up, he didn't mind at all....he recond that she'd be sea worthy next week.....I hope so for his sake.

Also on not an un-entirely different note, I will be totalling the votes for book inclusion in 2 days and will create a menu item in the right side of this archive showing the entries that will be included. There will of course be artistic licence over new images between now and when the book goes to print, so some later images may be included. I'll keep you posted as to the books progress and when it becomes available....... csj

So today I had some great news, four of my images were selected by Andy Earl (photographer to the stars), to go through to the finalists show of HiddenGems, in a show of pictures at the Enterprise Pavilion at The Arts Institute at Bournemouth. To be honest although my images are chosen I am not sure what happens now, I think If I'd actually won something then I would have been told. But to have them in an exhibition is still good coverage and might reach ID7 out to a few more people. So I spent the whole of today in the LAB getting the prints finished, and they just cost me hundred and sixty quiderooos....gulp... there goes some of the savings for my next camera. Ho Hum......

The image tonight is a composite of the 4 images chosen to go through. If you want to read more, then click here for the Hidden Dorset webpage about the competition. Enjoy....csj

Update 20:31: Just found out from the organisers of the event that there are Three winners being announced Monday 4th Feb at the Private View in Bournemouth, so I don't know if I've achieved anything yet..... wish me luck! - csj

Sorry about the title, anyone with kids will know the story book the 'Gruffalo', and the title of tonights picture was taken from another book from the same author, called the 'Snail and the Whale'. It Finlays' absolute favourite (at the moment_, but after the 101st time of reading it, and the third time today.... it can .... lets say become .... not 'my favourite' ;-).... kids eh! you got to love em.... !..... csj

I liked this image for the sheer fact the sea was alight, and the swell was rolling in.... the dark sky just helped it along. Thats about all tho really.... enjoy

Just recieved a voip call from a mate in Paraguay on his way through Argentina, and catching some carnival action on the way!..... uhm slightly green with envy, I wonder what the colours of Poole will bring this weekend.

Nearly got blown over it was so windy today. Walked round Baiter and back up the quay, saw a few things worthy of a frame or two, not bad for a grey overcast day. Will try again tommorow...... sorry for the late post......

This image has 6 adjustment layers, and was mostly done in lightroom, apart from the final layering and a little bit of masking around the wheels and in the background detail. Anyone after specifics, drop me a line....... off to bed now (00:16am) ..... tired csj

This has just been Channel mixed to black and white, and to be honest I haven't done anything else apart from just dropping a little vignette on it. This actually happened and I don't read papers in general, it wasn't mine, I didn't put it on the rock. HONEST..... I can say that hand on heart its not contrived. It might be a horrible cliche, it might be a rubbish photo, but it was TOO ironic not to post.... ;-)

Apologies again, this week has been a bit busier than normal with work, a colleague is off sick and work soon lands, also went for a curry last night, and simply didn't have time to post, so apologies for no image yesterday.

Also the comment code in the site, is trapping every comment as spam and I'm having to release them all as they come in, so I'll look into making that a bit better over the next few days if I can. csj

An old one from before Christmas, again one that I've looked at and looked at, and I feel maybe I've 'touched' too much. Its was one of those maybe frames, that had a little moment in it, and I wanted to use, but fell short for one reason or another. Anyway after a tweak and a shove, I am happy (ish) with the result.

I dont think this would win any awards or anything, as it doesnt really say much about the guy, but it was the hat, the motion, and the drink that held me on this image. Sometimes I rant here trying to justify the image, sometimes I should just leave it upto you guys as the viewers to decide. csj

Tonights entry is about "the end" of things. I guess from my perspective (and age!) I've seen a lot of 'projects' start and stop. I too am guilty of trying things out, and giving opportunities a chance at succeeding. But with age comes wisdom, and most of those things that we want to have a go at we have already tried, or we are already doing and it 'just works'.

Don't panic I'm not quitting ID7, this definately works for me, but other areas of the net that I partake in, one favourite of which was Weekly Shot have just announced that it will end after this last project called "farewell". Shame really because it always had high quality shots on the site, and it was a good place for ideas and reference.

People forget about the hours of effort required to maintain these themed sites, and I would just like to say thanks to all those people who bother to comment, and post their own images on meme sites to allow us all to continue sharing our images.

On another note, similar in context but equally depressing, Pooles Historical Main Post Office (of which this is not a shot), has now just become an empty shell, likely to be a bar or club in the near future if R.Carr has his say. It has now become an outlet counter in the towns WHS. All good things come to an end I guess. Ooooo so gloomy tonight, its been raining for 2 days , and seems constantly dark here at the moment.

And to top it all a mates' Dad was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and gets his results today. I wish Mr Bull (one of the finest Ears / Nose and Throat Surgeons we have) the best over the next few months, and hope he can ride it out. csj

A huge thanks go out to Matt at Lightflows for the code required to complete the ID7 move to moveabletype 4.0x later this year cheers.

This weekend was wasted waiting in for Virgin to install a V+ to keep my family amused, by the time that saga was over with, it was too dark to go out on Saturday afternoon. I did manage to get out during the morning, and got a few shots down through the town of which this is one. Today was mad inshore wind, and it was SO HEAVY, the waves were right up and breaching the Evening Hill promenade walkway along Sandbanks. To be honest it was so bad with spray I daren't get the camera out, and thats not like me!!

These two were strummin for their lives in town, and the sound was fantastic, certainly lifted the January spirits of most if not all the shoppers that I saw walking by. I slipped em some change into their open guitar case, and started shooting a few snaperoos. csj

Just before New Year, I noticed that a place I walk past on a regular basis had had all of its 20 pane glass windows smashed overnight. Thats an expensive mess to get into, and to be honest I felt sorry for them, I just hope they caught whoever it was that did this. I really dont like mindless vandalism anywhere near where I live. Guess its just something we have to get used to.

Oh and I couldn't resist shooting her slightly mad hairdo!..... and boots.. ;-)

Just one more thing, I will be updating the core of ID7 over the next 24-48 hours, so apologies for any wierdness in CSS / Scripts etc....as I move from 3.33 to 4.01 Movabletype, so dependant on whther the code works or not will depend on whether I post tommorow or not.

It didn't work out to well, whilst the upgrade succeeded to some extend, having looked at the outcome of the templates that make up ID7, I would have had to recode all of them, and whilst I'm not giving up on the idea of upgrading, I have restored the database and instead upgraded to version 3.35, which has resolved one of my issues, and left me with one bug. But we are almost back up and running. Apologies again for any wierdness experienced today. csj

16:34 : Update all working 100% again.... csj

Sploosh, snap!, thats how this image happened, in that order - ;-)

There are huge bits of this image I have problems with, there are bits I like, there are moments of desperation in trying to keep up a one image a day blog!, but you have to keep on trying.

A shot taken whilst out looking for images, and to be honest it was a rotten afternoon, and the light was rubbish, and as much as I hate pointing the camera at a seagull, other than jumping in that water myself I had no choice on this day. I promise to refrain in the future!, honest

I don't have much to say about this, but at the time when I saw this object, it dawned on me that all tourist custom had finished for another 6 months for this trade, and it inspired me to look in more detail at the moored up ferries, along the coast, and wondered what these people do for the rest of the year?

This was a "maybe" shot that I had looked at and worked on but wasn't sure whether I was going to post.

But I did.

First day back at work today, and there was an air of energy, which is good to hear, but lets see if it lasts. I hope so.

Ok so this happened out of the blue, I wasn't even looking for a shot, but he made it possible and very easy for me, posing for at least 5 frames, before he got bored with Daddy pressing buttons and not paying him attention. One minute he's not able to walk or talk, next minute, he wants to play football in the kitchen and won't stop asking till you do!... they grow up like rockets.

Thanks to everyone who emailed me and wished me luck with the book, it means a lot, and I will be adding up the image votes at the end of this month. If you havent done so, click through the thumbnails (link above) and choose a few of your favourites for inclusion, this is your book. I have also decided to reduce the book back to 10"x8" to reduce the overall price, but let me know what you think, it was going to be 14"x11".

I have built the template, and started formatting the text, and am really looking forward to getting this done. So thanks again. csj

Just a quicky dont forget that its January, theres no light, your bored, and you need to brush up on Photoshop, then pop across to my friends at Chromasia click here - Photoshop tutorials by chromasia and get yourself a lesson in Photoshop you wont regret, I learnt more from them in 1/2hr of tutorials than I did in 10years of using the software.

It struck me as I was out looking for things to photograph that so much has changed in the last 12-18 months down here, that big parts of Poole arent recognisable from when I first came down here.

Plans afoot mean that further 'investment' in Poole is planned and bigger parts of the town will become pedestrianised to cater for the extra load on the town. We've already just lost our Sports Centre, for what I fear was an underhanded way of gaining retail space eventually. I noticed that the local Bus drivers went out on strike because they are being penalised for not making targets, when the town is now so much busier.

I love this place, but I wish someone would just step back a minute and think rather than worry about liining their pockets.... It doesnt weem wholly fair on the town or its people.

There is time for change in this New Year, I hope.

On another note if anyone would like to vote for ID7 in the 2008 Photoblog Awards, here is an unashamed link to the voting page ;-)

http://vote.photoblogawards.com/photoblog.php?title=-_id7-co-uk_-

Thanks a quick click means ever such a lot, cheers csj

News Years Day Sunset.... something awe inspiring. This day was fantastic, bracing cold, but fresh, definately time to get rid of the tree, and move on into the New Year. A lovely refreshing walk and some more shots to work on.

Finlay looked on as I chopped the tree into pieces ready for recycling, and I felt a little guilty, but it was time, he knew it really, face squished against the kitchen window.... The trusty 50mm still on the camera at the moment, I might venture back to the 17-40 next week tho for a change.

Just a very quick huge Thankyou to all of you who stopped by in 07, and I would like to wish you all a happy new year for 08. Thanks again all for all your support, it means more than you know - csj

Also in the name of encouraging others to take up photography, I have recently encouraged an old old friend of mine, who I used to spend time photographing with some 25 years ago to dust off his camera and set up a blog. So here are his images Craigs' Blog and yes we share the same name, good luck to him in this New Year.

I was going to leave up yesterdays post for another night, but figured that as I was out seeing the STEROEPHONICS! tonight, I wouldn't be lazy, and I'd post up yesterdays efforts.

This was a journey of discovery, having really never paid it much attention before I am still in two minds over this 'structure / sculpture', it really does look as tho it was made up as it went along, without offending too many people, it just doesnt flow for me, I cant figure it out. I think its one of those things you need to be away from to appreciate.

So before I slate it completely I will give it one more chance, and next week I intend to look at it from the other side of the estruary. It might even photograph well at night..... that said.... I'll let you decide for now.... ;-)

I'll let you guess who I'm shooting in the style of today. So the sun was out, the mood was positive, and a trip to the beach was in order.

I went out with a sole focus and intention to contrive one or two shots. I figure I lack an imagination, and plaguerism is the only solution ;-)

Never mind I got some nice shots and some that I am pleased with, so should be able to post most days this next week.

This one reminded me of this one here. This shot involved sticking my camera in a 6 inch hole in the sand, not a pleasant experience by all accounts, but I had fun trying to get the shot. As always a little comment or two never goes un-welcome. C

Oh and this one looks nice on the white background option.

This was my entry for yesterdays' Thursday photo challenge:

Thursday Photo Challenge

When I took this, albeit that it appears contrived, the leaf was on the beach, as was the stone, it was just its positioning that may have had a tiny bit of man handling.... OK OK so I moved the leaf....

This shot had a hue change and some softening to drop the background out, I wanted a cold autumnal / wintery feel to the shot, so the underlit beach made it so.

Apologies for yesterdays blog entry, ooooh I was as mad a mad thing. Anyway back to the image, todays' entry is another in the series from 'up north'..... Not much else to say, apart from that it applies a similar technique to the first in the series here:-

http://www.id7.co.uk/portfolio/archives/0709261900_clean........

Let me know if this image works aswell?, and if not, why not in your opinion, I was struggling but something kept making me go back to it. I like it now thats its finished.

So todays strange question came from 'Big Nick', a 46 year old, 6ft 6" friend of mine, who currently works, and lives, in the leafier suburbs of London.

Bearing in mind I havent spoken to him for several years, in fact the last time I saw him, was at a mutual photographer friends' wedding, with his (then) girlfriend.

We got onto the topic of this Blog, and Blogs in general, as he had logged in to take a look at ID7 and he just didn't understand the point.

He said and I quote "WHY?, just WHY would you bother to do this?, when you can go down the pub and meet people", which brings me back to my motivation and inspiration, and the whole point to this social photography.

I guess he answered his own question, when I asked him "When was the last time you took a photo?", to which he replied "I hate photography now, I can't stand photos!".

Thankyou THANKYOU THANKYOU I thought, I'm not going mad typing away into the ether, in the vain hope that someones looking. Having said that, if you sit back and think about this, are we leaving a legacy here?, taking part in something special?, or just wasting our time?, we aren't hurting anyone?, or imposing wreckless thoughts or opinions?.

I'm going to sit on the fence and let you think about that. For me personally, its an outlet, a way to express myself and to show a few people what makes 'me tick', what 'floats my boat', that which 'makes me smile', and creates a feeling of well being in me, that and my family of course!!!!.

The picture, Oh yes I nearly forgot ;-) it's an inshore, low angle, slightly cropped, black and white (Channel Mixed), blue channel pulled, vignetted, curved image, with a subtracted mask of a shot from Fleetwood that I quite like. Enjoy

Kefalonia, quite a dark time!, personally speaking, but I was on a much needed break away in the sun, and found an opportunity to get the old seeing eye active again.

Not many shots came from this time away, but none the less a few were worth keeping.

As always let me know what you think, and leave me some comments, it only takes a few seconds.

csj

I've always tried to live by the coast, for as long as I've been away from home I have tried at least.

Anyway 4 years were spent living in Cornwall / Devon and its only in a place like this that you find you have the opportunity to see skys like that.

Of course an element of post porduction was required to get the final image, and it was orignally shot on infrared film.

But the result is non the less pretty much what I saw.

I remember at the time needing to try a few different techniques and altho not overly creative shooting with a red filter at f8 - 1/60th always seemed to give a moderate result on IR Film. The bit that got me, was that you had to shift the focus by a degree or so to counter the fact that IR focusess at a different point. I still cant get my head round that.

The end results were always grainy and to that point were quite soft in their make-up.

There is definately a quality to them that I like.

I think it was in the darkroom, at the point when you went to process the print, you could literally see each grain in the emulsion.

I have never been a grain snob, and will happily push the grain to the max....Sorry Johno ha ha I know you won't approve. C

This image for the Thursday Photo theme GLASS, was Film scan from my early formative years with my camera, whilst living in digs in Plymouth, not an overly inspiring image, in a way its very immature in terms of technique and lighting, materials used, and compostition, but I still like it enough to bother scanning it, and editing it. Some images just do that to me.. I guess.