Three Months Gone!

It's not what you think, it's just that I cannot believe that it has been three months since my last entry. I wish I knew what on earth I was doing in all that time. We'll I suppose I have been doing something and looking back I have probably exhausted my writing abilities by doing almost thirty articles in about three weeks, workshops for the pinhole kids, planning for exhibitions, entering competitions and digging for Britain on the allotment!

Currently I have the pleasure of telling you that I took part in the Goa-Cap exhibition, "Me Monarch" and I think I may have got over my 'thing' about doing self portraits as you can see from above!



I have also entered 'The Curious Camera' competition this year and I am very pleased to say that I got an 'Honourable Mention' for my image "Sharing the Moment II" Thank you very much for that, I can't wait to see any pictures from the event.

I have also been doing camera-less photographic workshops with the children and they have loved doing Lumen prints, so I had a mass of prints that I had also done and of course had seen the wonderful competition from Rayko, so of course I was going to enter... talk about last minute entry, sometimes you can be too busy to get around to things but I managed it, so fingers are crossed! here is one I sent in!



Busy day ahead and I am going to make sure I do not leave it for three months again!

Darkroom work!

I'm sitting very still at the moment as I have a new pinhole camera propped in front of me, I'm doing a long exposure with this one for the first time and so it's a bit of a test, illuminated by the computer screen and a wind up lantern ( which is fading fast as I write) i'm hoping to get some result tonight from my 'box of milk chocolate caramels' ten minutes and counting... thirteen feels like it might be good!

I spent the afternoon in a rapidly rigged up darkroom which was basically a cupboard with a sky light that was typically a full stretch on a table situation to get it blacked out. After the acrobatics and once the setting up of the trays was sorted some of the adults and children came in with their various pieces of exposed RC paper, in the little pots I had given them.

It was going to be one of the days, I decided to do a few of the test pieces that I had prepared, well I was a bit miffed and slightly bemused to watch them turn black so quickly, ok we all have those days and I can't understand what was up with them , maybe the paper got fogged or something?! anyway with fingers crossed we got through a load of tiny pieces of paper and thankfully some images were to be seen. These were all test prints and their first time in the darkroom so I think they seemed quite philosophical about any 'mistakes' they all took it in their stride as part of the learning curve and discovering what their homemade pinhole cams could do. These cams had been made last week from one single piece of black card, as a net which folded into a portable box, that would hold a paper neg about 5cm square. The pinholes probably aren't as regular as I would have liked but then they have to see what they can do with these first and i didn't want them getting all worried about measuring it etc.

Okay I'm going off to dev this exposure.....cross those fingers! back in ten.......Well I'm back after having a fight with the cat whilst trying to wash dev off it's paws, somehow it decided to create mayhem this evening by knocking a papier maché sculpture over then hurtling around like he had a rocket somewhere you shouldn't keep a rocket! only to finish up in the dev, with the print I'm not sure if that black mess that was produced was his doing or mine after that so I'm starting again. I shall give some results tomorrow hopefully!

No pictures to accompany this tonight then!

The 'Shed" is up

Early start this morning, well not that early really but it has been the winter hols and getting up has been an interesting task, especially before it starts going dark again! This morning we had to be ready to take delivery of The Shed, it was finally coming after much delay and expectation. The call came and we headed off down to the allotment to help get it off the lorry and take it to its awaiting base. The driver was keen to go and so had done the first part for us.

Despite the need for sunglasses while looking at the freshly irradiated looking wood we were excited and eager to get on with the job. It was cold and thankfully the rain was going to hold off, I had brought essential kit with me like a cup of tea and my new video camera, the Digital Harinezumi2++ to record aspects of the event.





It didn't take long and it was fun using the cam, I think it will have to be an acquired skill to get over doing a vlog like my daughter does, anyway all in all it went up really quickly and without any incidents. Now the reason I am looking forward to this so much is that it will not only serve me as a place to keep seeds, vegetables, tools and general allotment paraphernalia but secretly it is also going to be my Camera Obscura, my allotment recording device, I imagine it will end up being covered in cans for long exposures and solargraphs and I'm sure that many wonderful hours will be spent looking from it's two small plastic windows across to the plot and I'll be pondering the next picture as well as the next crop rotation!

So what did you get for Christmas?!

Well I would love to know what people got for Christmas especially if it was camera related but first I'm going to tell you what I got in my stocking! Christmas morning full of expectation and utter chaos with three kids around but I was most definitely surprised this year. Superheadz came to visit and left me a wonderful Digital Harinezumi2++, hehe I was in heaven! Now there was also a strange feeling acompanying this present as I haven't really had anything digital for some time and I have been dabbling in the world of plastic cams for a while now so it was quite a novelty to me to have instant image... once I had sussed the correct buttons and deciphered the extra instructions for the new functions that had been added to this model, I was away.

I'm not sure yet if it really can be closely associated with the same feel of Super 8 film, I used to love splicing my old Canon films and have promised myself that one day I shall get around to scanning them in and using imovie to edit them, well I have promised!

Back to the 'Zumi2++' it is already a permanent feature in my bag and for some reason it has also sat on my dashboard whilst I have driven, the quality of detail and light was amazing considering. The monochrome at night gave a lovely tone and I was surprised at how much it captured, you have two settings of 100ASA and 800ASA. Sound is also great, though so far it has crunched out when background was too loud, that's fair enough, I have also found it has a tendency to pick up your phone signal so if filming keep the phone out of range if you want a clear soundtrack, it is useful to have the option to disable any of the features and the functions will become second nature very quickly. The potential for this is fantastic and I have plans already! the few images added here are obviously just tests, lots of fun on the way as I believe there is another upgrade with the 2+++ will it ever end!

I shall add more pics as I download them.

Happy New Year and where the Hell did Toycamera.com go?!!

I just want to wish everyone that reads my blog a very Happy New Year, I hope 2011 brings to you what you want out of this world, be safe, be happy, be well and make pictures that will change your life!

To start the year I as going to wish everyone at Toycamera.com the same greetings but it would seem that Mike has done what he said he was thinking about doing, I am a little gobsmacked to say the least but then i suppose that is what happens when you are part of a site that you have no control over. At the moment I cannot even access what seems to be a very simple forum only site as I am not being recognised in any way, that is a great shame as I would like to have pulle doff some of the blog stuff I had written before it was lost but heh!

I am hoping I can get access or maybe I will have to register along with all my fellow toycam users. I hope I can get into contact with them all via some other means as I have just been cut off without getting contact details for some... big shame, maybe it is really now the final curtain, I thought the site could have been given a little more time to catch up with itself as it was so new and had so many different aspects to get to terms with. I hope this works for you Mike, best wishes!

Well I went out of 2010 in my usual fashion, with a manic last minute upload to LL19 and KK so fingers are crossed for the new year xxxx

The snow leaves, the post arrives!

Post has been fashionably late the last few days and I have been patiently waiting for the arrival of many prospective parcels with presents inside for family and friends, some are still missing in action but today there was one less to worry about. The arrival of my new book, I know it's hot on the heels of the last one but I felt the need and it was one that had been brewing in my head for some time.

Open Wide Plastic Panoramas is a collection of Holagaramas and Dianaramas made over a number of years and in various countries. The book contains loads of images which are double page spreads, 108 pages broken down into the loose themes of Land, Water, and Gatherings.

There is something fantastic about opening a package that you sort of have an idea of what is inside but then you really don't know quite what to expect. Nothing like the smell of new book!

Whatever you do this Christmas and whatever way you spend the season enjoy the time and if there is one thing I know I love it's seeing the look on other peoples faces when they open something they weren't expecting but really love.

The Snow Arrived

Trapped inside all day today but not due to the snow, I'm looking after my youngest who has finally succumbed to the seasonal yuck that is a virus. I look from the window with mixed emotions, desperate to be outside experiencing the cold and the fresh snow falling at a great pace, the hard edges of the road below softening each time I get to look out and check the depth.
The heat coming from her small body is in stark contrast to that which I can feel against the glistening glass of the window.
I only have my phone upstairs with me and it seems I can't get away long enough to find the pinhole I wanted, so todays pics will be from a low rez iphone app not something I normally do but heh I want to share the snow here!