Much ado about nothing

Well, golly gosh whats happened to me? I haven't posted for ages and I seem to be suffering from a severe dose of "blogger's block". I just haven't thought of anything worth writing about; just totally blank!

I have a request: will "Anonymous" please stop sending me spurious comments. They ain't gonna get published - no way.

So, what has been happening in my fun packed life of late? Not a lot. For the last couple of days I've been walking around like the "Elephant Man" with half my face swollen and bloated due to an abscess. It started as a slight pain in the gum above my right canine. It finished with me nearly climbing up the wall at 2.00 in the morning! Finally, I found myself in the dentist chair for root canal treatment, after a course of antibiotics. The injection to "numb me up a bit" was incredibly painful, I squirmed like I haven't squirmed before. It felt like a red hot needle going straight into my bone. The trouble was, that I couldn't detect any numbing effect and told the dentist so before he started drilling. Even so, drill he did, and did, and did.........

Everything seemed to be OK until he started poking and scraping around inside the drilled out cavity; he hit a nerve and I nearly jumped out of the chair. He decided this was a good time to stop digging it any deeper. I did not disagree. Even so, he had to get the poison out so he squeezed my gums - hard - and it hurt like hell. I knew the poison was coming out because I could smell and taste it! I asked if I could rinse my mouth out. What I swilled out into the bowl was not pretty, some of it black. Finally he filled up the cavity and made me another appointment to come back next week. I paid £60, a fraction of the final price for the treatment. Even so, its better than losing the tooth.

I have got the running bug again. I used to go running with a club but could not, in the end, find the free evenings to keep attending the week-night training sessions. Even so, I now train at the gym and out on the road with my eldest son who has also got the bug. We are a bit inspired by Eddie Izard's "Sports Relief" multi-marathon effort. We are not planning to match it though! Training at the moment is for the Cambridge Festival of Running 10k event in April. Last year I ran it in 52 minutes. This year I aim to finish it in less than 50 minutes. At the moment I am on track to do so.

At the weekend I did my annual pilgrimage to "Focus on Imaging", the annual photography trade show at the NEC. Years ago it was called "Photography at Work", then they changed the name and the venue. The NEC is now it's regular home. Anyway, this year I saw a demonstration of Panasonic's 3D TV. This employed the shutter glasses system and I have to say it was really impressive. Although they weren't saying when it was going to appear in the likes of "John Lewis", but my suspicion is it'll be sometime in June - watch this space! I don't suppose I'll buy one though, as I've already said in a previous posting that I am waiting for glasses - free 3D TV before I buy one. Anyway, I haven't had my current set for very long, and I'm certainly not putting it on the scrap heap yet.

One thing I did at the NEC which was different for me, was I bought myself a new camera. Of late, my photography exploits have pretty much gone into reverse, and I was also feeling that my current equipment is getting a bit long in the tooth. So, having given due consideration to buying a Lumix G2 - which was on show, but not on sale at the show, I opted to buy the Canon EOS 550D. It was on sale at a price which was too good to miss, so I just had to have it! Its got 18 Mega Pixels, live-view and 1080P HD video recording, including a socket for an external microphone. All I need now is to get out and take some masterpieces. I will, from time to time, publish some of the results on this blog.

Maldon and Blackwater

Here are a selection of photographs I took during our bowling weekend in October.

From time to time I will be publishing on this blog collections of my photographs.

Watch this space.

Minutes before opening

I carry a camera with me most places I go. 

This is a shot I took in the Galleria, Hatfield one Sunday morning a few minutes before the shops were due to open.

This shot, as far as I am concerned, is like Marmite - you either love it, or you hate it.

I love it.

I like the way the the eye is led to the main hall out of the car parking access hall. 

I like the contrast between the foreground artificial lighting, and the reflected daylight, helping to give the picture depth.

I like the feeling of movement with people moving across and away from the camera. 

I like the spontaneity of the shot - an everyday scene which hardly anyone would bother to photograph. It is, however, the everyday scenes which we need to record because although they might seem boring and trite to our eyes, in the future they will be a statement of the past.

Ordinarily, the access hall is buzzing with shoppers hustling and bustling. On this occasion, they are not there. The time is not yet right, the rush is not yet, the calm before the rush......

Atmospheres

If you have seen the film “2001: A Space Odyssey“, there is a piece of background music by the Hungarian composer Ligeti called “Atmospheres”. Stanley Kubrick, the film's director, found the music so eerie and haunting that he felt it was the perfect background to many of the scenes of loneliness and isolation in the depths of interplanetary space. As a point of interest, he did this without Ligeti's permission.

Well, just as “atmospheric” music sets a mood in the mind of the listener, photography too, can also be “atmospheric” and suggest a mood or feeling in the mind of the observer.

The atmosphere within which we live is perfectly clear - most of the time. However, there are times when it is distinctly misty or foggy. To the keen photographer, these are ideal times for taking atmospheric, moody photographs. The great thing about mist, is that it creates a surreal world where everyday scenes, like trees, buildings, etc. become dislocated from their surroundings giving an air of mystery to the resulting image. Landscapes which are otherwise familiar and unremarkable suddenly take on a different, more ethereal character. A field suddenly has layers of early morning mist hovering over it. Trees loom out of the mist with the background fading away to an indeterminate disappearing point. Leaves and twigs suddenly have diamond like droplets of water clinging to them, and cars appear and disappear by degrees in the all embracing vapour. The world has become Narnia.

A good time to take atmospheric photographs is around sunrise, and more often in the Winter, though that is not always the case. Early one morning, a couple of years ago, I was taking my wife to work when we felt compelled to stop and admire the view. It was a little misty, and the first glimmerings of sunlight were stretching over the horizon. We parked up off the road and waited, cameras at the ready. Our wait was rewarded by a beautiful sunrise with the sun's golden orb appearing over valleys and hills of mist giving depth and vibrancy to a scene which would otherwise be plain and uninspiring. On another occasion, we drove out down some country lanes bordered by an avenue of trees. In the mist, the trees became like phantoms, detached from normal reality. Close in the branches glistened with water droplets and spiders webs hung like a crystal lattice.

I am not going to suggest any particular technique for achieving this kind of atmospheric photography. I will only say that just because the sun isn't blazing or the hour is not social, the enthusiastic photographer will not be deterred. I can only encourage you to get out in the rain, the mist, the fog and the snow. I once watch a documentary of David Bailey going about and taking photographs for his own edification. He was questioned afterwards if anybody could do likewise. His reply was that yes, anybody could do it, so long as they were prepared to get up off their backsides, and get out there. I agree with the sentiment. Be bold, experiment - and you will be surprised by the results of your creative excursions. You might take a great many photographs and for the most part they may well be disappointing. But in the right conditions, and with the requisite determination and persistence, you may well turn up some gems to be proud of.

Change and feeling

I feel the urge to write, though I'm not sure what. I feel as if my life is taking a radical change in direction, and things will never be the same again. There are so many things I want to do with my life, and I am more and more conscious of how rapidly life is passing me by. My creative instincts are taking over, and I feel the need to create much because it is a part of what makes us human.

I have a great need of beauty. music, countryside, landscape. That's probably why I love photography so much. Its a chance to capture beauty, and preserve it to ponder over later, and for future generations. The power of music and wonderful images together can stir the soul, inspire, and even change lives. I feel my life being changed..irrevocably. I am changing, growing older, moving on, dying, transforming, loving........and feeling sadness.

I guess I'm feeling somewhat doleful, or even maudlin. I have a warm glow of anticipation, and yet a sadness that the things and people I love in life are changing and disappearing. Its important to hang onto the things and people who you love. Its important to use your creative talents to good effect,. Its important to be truthful and keep a sense of proportion and humour. Its also important to realise that no matter how bad life might seem at the moment, it will change - but not always for the better. Even so, I cope.

Photo Tips - Pets

Pets are a very common feature in most peoples family photos - "most people" in this case meaning people who own a camera and at least one pet! If you fall into this category, you are a kindred spirit, but don't let it worry you!

I'm a dog and cat person myself, or more precisely, a boxer and cat person. Now all dogs and cats are like people. They all exhibit different personalities and no one is the same. I know - I've had a number of each - (Dogs and cats that is - not personalities). It seems to me that trying to capture something of their personality in your photos can make the difference between a shot which is both interesting and entertaining - or just plain boring!

When I'm photographing my pets I like to get up close and personal. Getting down to their level can also make a big difference, adding impact to the resulting image. Sometimes, an eyeball to eyeball perspective can also hit the spot!

The two photographs here show Fred the cat and Sally our beloved boxer. I photographed Fred in Cyprus when I was stationed at Ayios Nikolaos with the Air Force. He loved to laze around in the dirt in the heat of the sun. I had intended to get a shot of him sleeping, but he suddenly sat up and let out a big yawn. Siezing the opportunity, I snapped the shot. I entered the photo in a local competition and won! No, I wasn't the only entrant. The other shot, this time of Sally; I took a few months ago for an on-line portrait gallery of rescued dogs run by the rescue association we got her from. When not bouncing excitedly around, she loves to just flop in her bed with her head lolling over the edge. This shot is very typical of the way we see her a lot of the time, and I believe gives a clue to her personality.

Ink me up, Spotty

As a digital photographer I have forsaken the messy world of chemicals and its attendant COSSH (Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health), and the expensive world of having to buy a film every time I've pressed the button 36 times. I used to be a purist, insisting that digital hadn't caught up with film. However, I'm sorry to disappoint you remaining shrinking band of purists out there, but the world has changed and digital, in my view has not only caught up with film, it has completely overtaken it. It's just a question of how much of your hard earned cash you want to spend to get the quality. I am quite prepared to spend a decent amount of money on a digital camera because I take an awful lot of photographs. Add all that film and film processing costs together and the FACT that I get better results than I did with film, it’s a real no-brainer to see why I have left the purist/traditionalist set.

Anyway, this is not really why I have decided to write anything this evening - it's just related. Because I am a digital photographer I occasionally print out my photographs as I do occasionally like to frame, or stick in a "do it yourself " calendar from "Paper Chase" a hard copy of the occasional masterpiece which either I or my wife produce with such indolent ease from time to time. Now, what I am rapidly trying to hone into here is the extortionate rip-off prices us hard pressed digital photographers are being charged for our inks. I needed some more ink for my Canon printer. I strode into good ole' Staples and bought for about £19 a pack of three - inks that is. The black I bought separately. Now, being a perfectionist snob and not wanting to cut corners or settle for second-best, I insist on using genuine Canon inks or nothing. I did try and do printing on the cheap, using third party ink cartridges, but the results were shit. Actually, the results were worse than shit. I preferred my own (not anyone else's) shit to the results I was getting with these third party inks. The main problem was the blacks just weren't really black, and the colours had no real vibrancy to them. However, I was walking to some town called Damascus one day, and I was suddenly blinded by a great light. I fell on my knees and I heard a voice inside my head saying "Steve, Steve, why are you such a cheapskate git? Get your arse this moment down to Staples and buy genuine Canon inks lest I smite you even unto the tenth generation thereof, with shitty prints."

"Yes Lord" (at this point I assumed the CEO of Canon had invaded my psyche) I said, "for it is hard to kick against the pricks" (or the shitty prints). And with that I wondered for forty days and forty nights looking for a shop of righteousness called Staples which would sell me a genuine Canon Ink cartridge at a reasonable price.

Now I mentioned earlier that one reason you might want to print out photographs is to put into a calendar. I did this very thing just before Christmas and produced a very nice personalised calendar which I gave, along with other things, as a present to my Mum. Having used up a lot of ink (all the prints were 10"x8") I needed some more ink. My local Staples had sold out. I went into town and visited some of our friendly local shops for local people and could hardly believe the outrageous prices I was being asked. In each case, I told the shop assistant I wasn't buying it and I felt they were ripping me off. Today, I decided to go into Staples and PC World in Peterborough. They had sales on. However, even if they hadn't had sales on the cost of the inks would still have been substantially cheaper than if I had bought from my friendly local High Street stores. Anyway, I ended up spending around £24 on ink cartridges which would have cost me the best part of £60 at my local rip-off stores. Now, I know the local independent stores or even small-chain stores are the first to complain about "out of town" shopping centres taking away their businesses. Well, I'm sorry, but shopping is not a charitable activity, and as far as I am concerned its about getting the best you can for the least you can pay for it and if the "local" shops don't like it, well tough, because that's business.

Creative stirrings

Back in 1970, I was living in Singapore. I was then, and still am a very keen photographer - in fact I can't stop doing it! It was here that I bought myself a Pentax Spotmatic, a through-the-lens-metering 35 mm single lens reflex camera. A friend of mine - Gary - had just bought himself an all black model. I tried to buy one but was unfortunate as they'd sold out, so I bought a standard chrome version. Shade aside, it performed the same, and Gary and I had many happy excursions looking for things upon which to exercise our creative photographic urgings.

One of the things I love about the medium is that it is very individual to the person doing it. This is because we are all different and see things in our own unique way. It’s a bit like modern art. I might see something in an avant-garde picture which fires me, but not you. How often have you looked at a picture or image of some sort and thought "that's a load of crap" while others have stood by, entranced by the very thing you find a complete turn off. Sometimes it helps a person's appreciation of an image to know something about it - how it came to be taken, its history, the photographer's intentions. Photographs are human creations. They come from the mind of the photographer. Yes, the subject has to be there in front of the camera to be photographed, but it is the way - the approach- the photographer takes in making the image which makes the final result so unique - so much a part of the photographer's psyche, which is often lost on the second-party beholder. I am being somewhat of a purist here, in that I am talking about photography as a creative, rather than a recording, or snapshot medium. When we go on holiday and take photographs of the kids on the beach, that’s what I mean by a recording medium - it's simply that - a record, snapshot, of the kids at that moment - or the hotel we stayed in - or the pub we drank in etc…. When a photographer is using a camera creatively, he (or she) is trying to view things in a more thoughtful way. He will look at the subject from different angles with a certain "feeling" in mind he is trying to capture. The photographer may spend, therefore, a seemingly large amount of time just peering through the viewfinder from many different angles and perspectives until he finds the framing which comes closest to what he is trying to capture. He might, and probably will, take several different shots from slightly differing views in order to compare the results later at leisure before making the final selection. I am both a creative and snapshot photographer. Both have value and neither is to be decried.

On a certain day in 1970, in Singapore, Gary and I were out looking for subjects to photograph. We made our way down a narrow road, crowded in and darkened by shading palm trees. The road was trying to be a track, and nearly succeeding. We didn't know where it was leading us. To us it was totally unexplored territory. Presently we came out into a very large, wide expanse of agricultural land. It was land in waiting for the farmer to decide what to do with it. It was in a kind of limbo. It wasn't sure what to do with itself or what it wanted to be. There was lots of grassy and pointy starburst like plants eking an existence in the heated landscape. Most of it, however, was lightly tilled, and stretching off from its edge to the far horizon, with just the odd far off hill peering over the distant enclosing fauna as if to remind us that there was more to this land than the flat expanse framing us. I was feeling quite entranced by the place. It was lonely. I like lonely places. There was only Gary and myself around. No one else existed. The place had a bit of a dream like quality about it. I knew I wanted to come away with a memorable photo which enshrined some of my feeling and innermost impression of the nature of the place. I spotted, lying in the soil, an old piece of iron-work, probably part of the sub frame of a long dead vehicle.

It lay like a rusting skeleton, with elements of stag beetle about it. It reared up out of the ground looking as if it had been there since the land was created. It was part of the landscape and belonged to it. Its functioning days were over - but not quite. It had found a new function in that it gave me a sense of focus to capture something of this silent, lonely landscape. I walked around it considering how I should - if I should - make use of it. Eventually I was drawn to a wide angle view looking along the structure into the surrounding countryside. I noticed that nearby there was an abandoned agricultural tilling wheel, or some such implement in the near distance. I felt it important to include this in the frame as an indicator of the past - and probable future use - of the land. I framed this within an aperture of the metal structure. It is small and does not immediately reveal itself, but lurks surreptitiously to reward the enquiring eye. The frame points out to a frozen timelessness which could go on into a distant future unchanging like lunar soil, defying the intuition which knows better.

I processed the film in Ilford ID -11 developer at a higher temperature than the standard 20 degrees centigrade, due to the fact that tap water flowed out of the faucet at a considerably higher temperature. The development time was adjusted downwards accordingly. I liked the final image, but felt it lacked impact as a small print. I blew it up to twenty inches by sixteen and printed it on Kodak Bromesco paper. Bromesco had a certain magical quality about it. I particularly delighted in the way when it was in the developer the image had a slightly lack-lustre appearance, but once the print was placed under the fix, a sort of "fog" seemed to clear from the surface of the image and the photograph sprang to life, like some life-giving force had suddenly been injected into it. I liked the final result and I displayed it on the wall above my bed, along with other images. I still like it, and it still speaks to me. I do sometimes wander if the land on the image has changed much. My suspicion is that it is now all built upon with high-rise flats which have been built since that day in 1970, to house the ever burgeoning population of Singapore which has multiplied itself many times over since the years I lived there. Everything changes, and surely must - but the spirit of the image lingers on.

Unholy Vicars

This is going to be a bit of a rant; I can't help it - I'm a bit of a ranter! What this rant is about is the attitude of Anglican vicars in general, to wedding photographers. You see, I did wedding photography for many years until I gave it up about five years ago. I knew it was time to give up, because when I asked the grandparents to come and join the family group, the grandmother tripped and fell, hitting her head on a gravestone! I had decided anyway, that this would be my final wedding, but that really put the cap on it! Fortunately, the dear old lady wasn't too badly shaken up, and was soon frollicking with everyone else in the general reverie. What has that got to do with vicars? - you may ask. Well actually, nothing at all except that the accident happened in an Anglican graveyard, so maybe the vicar did have something to do with it! Oh, I forgot to mention, I also reversed my car into a guest's car when I was trying to park in the obscenely cramped and poky church car park. That must have been the vicar's fault as well, I'm too perfect a driver. The ides of March (it wasn't March - but who cares) were definitely against me on that day. So was the loss of my no claims bonus!

Anyway, back to vicars. As a general rule I don't like them. As an even more general rule, when it comes to wedding photography I absolutely cannot stand them - they drive me mad!!! When it comes to wedding photography they lose all sense of proportion. If they were Christian before, they certainly ain't Christian when it comes to wedding photographers - oh yes, and sometimes videographers. You see, they just don't seem to understand that the bride and the groom are paying a large sum of their hard earned money to have their wedding photographed - ALL of their wedding photographed. Lets face it, if you don't photograph the actual ceremony, you haven't photographed the wedding - only the bits around the periphary! But vicars, just don't seem to get it! OK, I can understand being asked not to use flash - thats an obvious distraction - but no photographs at all - thats just plain barmy. Now, I am not saying that all vicars are like this. They fall along a sliding scale from fairly liberal to complete arseholes - and the scale in my experience is weighted heavily towards the latter. I had rows with two vicars who seemed to think that visibly doing your job and taking photographs during the service was committing the ultimate sin for which you would deservedly spend an eternity in hell. After all - how dare I even think of taking a photograph - the bride and groom didn't want it, no, they only sold their souls to the devil asking for it and saying its ok, the vicars all right and won't mind!! They just don't get it. You see, they get wedding photographers mixed up with the paparazzi - in their warped and blinkered minds, they ARE the paparazzi! One vicar told me he couldn't concentrate on the ceremony with the photographer taking photographs. Now, if that isn't pathetic, then I don't know what is. They spend years learning how to take services, preach sermons and EVEN take wedding ceremonies with crowds of people looking on - but when it comes to a man standing in the aisle with a camera on a tripod, not using a flash, and taking discreet shots at moments designed not to cause a distraction - they fall to bits and just can't handle it! One vicar told me that I was the most intrusive photographer he'd ever met. You see, I had dared to place myself in a good spot, not in anybodies way - but unfortunately not invisible as he would have liked me to have been. I had also dared to have the audacity to carry out the bride's request to photograph her walking up the aisle at the start of the service. The guy was a nutter! I noticed, at this particular wedding, that there was a lone video camera on a tripod up to one side of the alter, but no videographer behind it. Puzzled, I asked the videographer afterwards why this was the case, and was told the vicar would only allow the wedding to be videoed if the camera was operated by remote control. The idea of the guy actually standing with his camera was too much to bare! WHAT is WRONG with these people??? They don't come from this planet - they are all lizards in disguise! They are not Roman Catholics. What! - Did I say they are not Roman Catholics??? Dead right I did, and the reason is that I have photographed absolutely loads of Roman Catholic weddings and the priests were all wonderful and placed virtually no restrictions upon me whatsoever. Now, I am sure there is nothing in Roman Catholic doctrine which singles out wedding photographers as people to be nice to! But what is very noticeable, is that Roman Catholic priests seem to me to be much happier people with far fewer hang ups than Anglicans. Anglican vicars seem to be permanantly constipated, while Roman Catholic priests obviousely have good bowel movements! "Blessed are the unconstipated, for they shall inherit the respect of wedding photographers". Maybe thats a verse from the "Jerusalem Bible" (the extremely superior translation often used by Roman Catholics) - or maybe not! If I'm bound for hell for all the sinful shots I took as a wedding photographer, then its as sure as hell that I'll be meeting a lot of Anglican vicars when I get there. What I won't be doing, is taking their photograph!

Wow

Creative photographers are always on the look out for a visual factor which imbibes the "wow" factor in their images. I am no different in this respect. The photograph pictured is one I took recently at - yes, you've guessed it - Wells -Next- the -Sea in Norfolk (before the recent high tide and storm). To my mind, the dramatic sky and soft evening post sunset lighting does seem to embue it with something of the wow factor. I don't know; I like it anyway!

I am, in my own way, quite passionate about the pictures I take. I like to try and give each one that little extra something that makes it stand out from the crowd. There is a world of difference between taking a snap shot and taking a photograph. A snap shot is quite simply taking a quick look through the viewfinder at Mabel and Fred, saying "smile" and pressing the button with the camera set on full auto. Apologies to Mabel and Fred - no offence intended. I am not saying there is no value in snap shotting, before any offended snap shotter gets the wrong idea. The snap shots of today are bread and butter to the future historian trying to build up a picture in the 23rd century of what life was like for Mabel and Fred in the 21st. However, real photography for me, goes beyond the snapshot. You are constantly looking for images which make some kind of statement, have depth, make one ponder them for that bit longer, make you want to frame them, publish them in your Blog, see them published in a book - or whatever. I think by now, if I'm not boring you too much, what I am trying to say is that in real photography you are trying to capture something of the soul of the landscape, building, person......etc.

Photography is very subjective, and personal. While the technical side is objective the picturing side is not. The technical side is about focal length, shutter speed, hyperfocal distance, aperture, relative aperture, inverse square law, and a whole lot more besides. The picturing side is a different matter completely. Technical savvy in photography is a great help in getting a properly exposed and in-focus image. However, the actual picturing bit springs from the inner being of the photographer himself. It is an expression of that which is meaningful to him, never mind anyone else. It speaks to the inner being, suggestive of a depth of reality beyond the casual perception. It is a quest which never ends and is never truly satisfied. Occasionally, you might produce the odd shot which makes you go "wow", but the emotion is fickle. The truly dedicated photographer is never satisfied for long and very quickly back on the hunt.

Boring?

This evening my youngest son, having viewed my blog for the first time commented that there isn't really much to write about, in that everyday life isn't that interesting. That isn't a quote, of course, more my interpretation of what he said. I think there's a criticism in there somewhere - he was probably being tactful to be kind. I suppose he has a point. I could say - "got up, went to work, came home, watched telly and went to bed". I suppose, many people would identify with this rather generic description of a typical day. Some people seem to be living one long adventure, conquering new peaks every day. However, I think that in even the most exotic living locations and lifestyles people would still pretty much say the same thing. I have lived in many different locations in the world, and even though people would pay a lot of money to visit them, living there becomes routine once you've got over the initial surge of explorotary fascination. Where I live now, here in Cambridgeshire, it all seems very ordinary and, well, boring. The countryside is flat for as far as the eye can see, mainly devoid of trees. You can drive for miles without seeing anything of any particular interest. And yet, people come from all over to spend their holidays here. I have become blind to the positive aspects of my environment. Being a keen photographer helps me over this, because it forces me to look around me and see things differently. Since most of my photography takes place in this area, I've learn't to find pictures, inspiration and interest in all sorts of things which would otherwise have just passed me by. Without photography, I would probably have found very little interest around here and be contemplating moving away.

I am fortunate in that I have lived what many people would call an exciting life. Its all a matter of perspective. Things which excite me might be a complete turn off for someone else. I get excited when I think I've taken a really creative photograph, or hear beautiful music. As I write this I am listening to Pachelbel's Canon which is so beautiful, I am quite literally carried into another world when I hear it. The everyday things can be things of beauty, interest, and for some, even adventure.

Day one of the great adventure

Well, here we go! I've never written a blog before so this is now uncharted territory.

Today has been pretty busy. Work was steady and the day was bright. I got excited this evening to discover I'd sold my second photo through an on-line photo library. Photography is my passion. I would like , eventually, to make a lot of money out of it, but in the meantime the important thing is to build up as large and as varied a collection of good photographs as possible. The picture sale this time was quite surprising as I didn't rate the picture much at all. It was a straight forward street scene in Cambridge. I had even thought of deleting it from the library at one stage, but now, of course, I'm glad I didn't. Just shows, even what y0u think as naff stands a chance!

Today is my eldest son's birthday. He brought his girlfriend around to our house to have tea with us and receive his presents. His girlfriend brought him an unusual present of having a star named after him. She chose a star in his birthsign, Pisces which was apt. Unfortunately, it isn't actually visible at this time of the year, from this latitude at any rate, so we'll have to wait until August or so to view it properly.While he was here, he down loaded the latest version of NASA Worldwind for me. Astronomy is another passion I have, by the way. Not only did it have the Earth, but some of the other planets including Mars which is really fascinating - for me at least. I was able to zoom right in and "travel" along valleys and over mountains etc - magic!