367-50 Week 2

Week two of my 367-50 project and so signs of slacking. Everything taken on the D90 this week.

I had to include a picture from the QFT, as Trish and I have been going there regularly on a Monday night since shortly after we met. It's something I look forward too and helps make Mondays a lot more bearable knowing I have that to look forward to. Over the last two and a bit years we've seen a rake of movies; some good, some terrible but it's the little gems that pop up unexpectedly that make all the difference. We saw the latest Woody Allen movie Midnight in Paris on Monday night. It was average.

21/11/11

Tuesday's picture came about after an early finish to a staff meeting in work. Early finish was due to the three team leaders who talk the arse off everyone being absent, therefore the agenda got worked through in a very effective way. We even managed to arrange our Xmas outing and still finish an hour early. We were meeting in the Antrim Board Centre and I fancied a quick jaunt down to the Loughshore car park. I just happened to have some of my wee men with me and tried out various shots with a tiny photographer while trying to prevent the ducks from eating him. Liked this one because of the nicely coloured autumnal leaf.

22/11/11

I was lacking in inspiration on Wednesday and also trying to balance being busy in work and feeling quite run down and tired. This was taken while playing about with my wee figures again. I'd got two old ladies and a bench in a recent box of figures and had decided to christen them Sadie and Agnes. I had the idea of trying to see what it would look like if they went to various famous places and sat in front of them. As I'm writing this, I'm reminded of my own grandmother who visited many famous and beautiful places but steadfastly refused to get out of the car. For her, the journey was more interesting than the destination. This is "Sadie and Agnes visit Pompeii" if you're interested.

23/11/11

The "feeling run down and tired" thing was obviously a warning. Thursday morning was not pleasant and I had apparently caught the same bug that had been kicking around the house for the last few weeks. High temperature, sore joints etc. Had to take to bed. Lying in bed hurt my back; being up and about hurt my knees. I shuttled back and forward, alternating between reading Anne-Celine Jaeger's excellent book Image Makers, Image Takers and working my way through Call of Duty MW3. Felt inspired enough to take a picture of my sick bed.

24/11/11

Friday was more of the same, although I was definitely on the mend. Got up and got some bits and pieces done around the house and then returned to another of my on-going ideas for wee men projects - the Little Bankers. I've been thinking about Bankers and particularly in terms of the Occupy protests and other slightly socialist stuff. This got me thinking about building a series of shots around the theme of Bankers destroying the ecomony, making their money but getting caught for it. Fairy tales, I know. This one came to me while thinking about them getting arrested, and is called "The Wee Bankers Get Lifted."

25/11/11

Saturday was a good day although I was still a little wiped. I had heard word that there was a roller derby in Belfast this evening and sent off an e-mail asking if I could get a photo pass. E-mail reply arrived at lunchtime and I was set to go. Had my little dark apprentice with me, which I hadn't planned on but it was great craic and she enjoyed it. I found this shoot technically difficult - I had to manually set my white balance for the first time due to the flourescent lighting. I ended up having to use very high ISO settings to get decent shutter speeds (1/250 - 1/300) for the action and therefore ended up with grainy prints. Again, aged photo settings in Lightroom hides a multitude of sins and some slight work using Topaz DeNoise on the worst of them seemed to help a little. This was a fun event to go to and shoot at. Wonder if the ladies would be up for some team portraits - maybe along the line of the aikido club shots I did earlier in the year? Hmmmmmm - I might make them an offer.

26/11/11

And finally, today. Lazy Sunday morning reading the virtual papers on my iPad followed by coffee and a big veggie fry. Processing/publishing the roller derby shots from last night. Walking the dog with Sarah. Shopping and cooking dinner for me, Trish, Maud, Hannah and Sarah. Quorn fillets in onion gravy, cauliflower cheese, spicy lemon sprouts and loads of mash. That's what I call a Sunday. These are my sprouts, before being drained and flash fried with lemon juice and curry spices.

27/11/11

Two weeks down, fifty to go. It's making me think more about photography.