2013 365-3

Welcome to week three of 2013. I have had an eye infection for most of this week and while it hasn't stopped me taking photos, it's made working on a computer a less pleasant experience than normal.

14/01/13

This is a rather excellent chap called Dave. Dave approached me about doing the photos for a powerlifting competition that he is organising at the end of the month. Naturally I jumped at the chance, in the suspicion that it would provide massive amounts of photo opportunities. Tonight I visited the gym to check out the set-up and lighting and took a few snaps. Hard to decide whether to use ambient light or the speedlights. This was a quick portrait of Dave, which unfortunately gathered some very unflattering comments on-line. Wrong choice of lighting for this shot completely, even if I'd fooled myself into thinking I knew what I was doing.

15/01/13

This was titled "Missing flag found safe and sound - Belfast rejoices." I wish. Protests continue, violence is ongoing and everything now seems to be planned in advance. At times like these a bit of humour goes a long way, if you can find the humour of course. Maybe there isn't actually any in this current situation.

16/01/13

Yet another report in the newspapers this week about a photographer being robbed of his cameras and gear while covering the current street protests - by my count that makes three since this this started. It's hard to tell if this was a couple of opportunist scumbags spotting some expensive looking gear and deciding to take advantage of the situation, or whether it was something more sinister and connected to people not wanting photographs of the disturbances to make it into print on on-line. The "little scumbags" theory is maybe more likely, but who in the name of hell are they going to flog pro-level photo gear to? Don't see them trying to teach themselves the basics of photojournalism with their ill-gotten gains. 

17/01/13

The biggest moral dilemma a photographer can ever face. You're in the middle of a riot (or peaceful street protest to defend your cultural heritage) and you come across a car being burned out. What do you do - shoot on aperture priority or shutter priority? It's an old and well worn joke in photography circles, but worth another outing.

18/01/13

So the snow arrived this afternoon and it was certainly cold. Fairly heavy snow all evening, although in Belfast it wasn't lying that much. In the hills outside Belfast I heard some stories about cars being stuck and snow drifts. By the following morning, it was all but gone but I got one quick snap outside in the front garden while it was still falling.

19/01/13

Just in case you ever wondered where soup mix comes from - it's mined by teams of wee men. It must be some built-in instinct on my part, but as soon as the weather gets really wintry, I make soup and in particular, I make the same vegetable soup that my grandmother and mother made. Quick, easy, tasty - there's half of it in the fridge to be eaten over the weekend and the other half is in the freezer for use later this week.

20/01/13

I was crawling around on the floor this morning with my camera (don't ask why) when my dog Muffin decided to join me. This was a quick point, click and hope for the best shot, and it turned out pretty well all things considered.

367-50 Week 15

The week that contains the 100th picture in this project - that's some sort of landmark. I have chosen to celebrate by having a glass of Jameson. What happens after that, the gods will decide. Anyhow, we're a contradictory and self-referential juggernaut on an express elevator to hell

20/02/12

This is my desk in my office in the gloriously titled Chalet beside County Hall, Ballymena. It's really just a big portacabin. Way too hot in the summer and an icebox in the winter. As you will note, I am not the tidiest or most organised person when it comes to work. I have added a few of my pictures to the wall above the desk but sadly you can't see my signed Robbie Fowler Liverpool shirt which hangs on the wall at the door.

21/02/12

Shrove Tuesday/Fat Tuesday/Pancake Tuesday - take your pick. I love making pancakes and the recipe is simple. 2 eggs, 200g plain flour and 400ml milk. Whisk until there are no lumps. Heat a knob of butter in a hot pan (about 75% on a normal gas ring) and then pour in enough pancake batter to cover the bottom of the pan. Swirl it about to get an nice even coating of batter on the bottom of the pan. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes then gently ease it away from the pan by shaking or using a spatula. Flip and cook for another 3 mins. Favourite topping is a little sprinkle of sugar and a dash of lemon juice. It's really a crepe.

22/02/12

There's the 100th shot. Practical night at City of Belfast Photographic Society with two really nice models Victoria and Alana. In hindsight, I'd probably have wanted something intensely personal and meaningful for my 100th shot, but hey - here's a pretty girl instead.

23/02/12

Update - managed to get the scales working this morning. Am now weighing in at 14 stone 10 lbs - three more pounds to lose to reach my target weight.

24/02/12

OK - didn't take this tonight but it won third place in the NIPA interclub competition tonight - a starred print for me! Only my second starred print in two years of competitions with NIPA, and I have to admit it was a picture I really loved. You won't see it on the screen resolution, but there's actually a really amazing treatment going on in this shot which you can only see in the big print. My shot of Billy Bragg got an honourable mention and my PDI's did feck all - as usual for my PDI's.

25/02/12

Saturday mornings means clean the dogs' run out - I love the smell of Jeyes fluid in the morning. Meanwhile, the dogs get a hour of running about the garden. The favourite game is "I've got the squeaky ball - chase me." Lasts for hours. That's the small but fast Muffin in front, with the larger and slower (in every sense) Harry bringing up the rear. Jess doesn't join in with this kind of thing - it's below her.

26/02/12

And finally, I loved this shot which I had worked on for the upcoming NIPA round on the subject of shadows. Then I made the mistake of showing it to my children after dinner this evening who soundly rubbished it in terms of not having too much fork and not enough shadow. Back to the drawing board I suspect. Should you be interested in artsy pictures of cutlery, can I recommend the following website:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/babymantis/beautiful-pictures-of-forks-1opu

Thanks as always for stopping by - If you get this far, why not leave me a comment (good, bad or indifferent) - then at least I know that someone is reading this nonsense. See y'all next week, when there's a weekend in Donegal with the gentlemen psychologists, the first training session for marathon team Barbour and the judging of the Shadows round in the Club.