Christmas Day!

Christmas day has come and gone already..it went by so quickly. I didnt take any pictures of the family over the day..i think because people expected me to i felt less like taking them. In truth,i missed my grandad and it didnt feel right without him. My grandad has been at our for christmas every year since my nan died..and probably every year before that..so for him to not be there..with his cracker hat on sleeping in the chair oppostite my sleeping dad..it just didnt feel right. I feel bad that i didnt take any because it was Lola's first christmas and it should of been a special one..but saying that,she was over stimulated and after being helped to open 2 presents she'd had enough. She didnt want any part of this christmas present game and proceeded to chew one of her new books in attempt to stop the agonising teething pain she is suffering from at the moment.
I did get up and go for a walk with my mum and the dog christmas morning though and took a couple of shots of nothing inparticular.

My mum still refuses to look at the camera thou...

But she expects me to when she wants to take my picture...i look dreadful thou...early morning,cold,no make up...need i say more!

After everyone had left and christmas was 'over' i took a few snaps of little things..a couple of the xmas decorations..the candle..our light sticks in the hall...nothing special or important..just little things!

Christmas is here...almost!!

Its christmas in the morning..its so exciting..i love christmas..ive been fairly unprepared this year though..left everything abit to the last minute. I should have been more prepared but right now im gonna put that down to the fact that ive been working 9-6 every day and have only managed to buy the odd thing on my lunchbreak..time goes alot quicker than it used to im sure.
Last week i managed to go an get my hair cut at long last though..just in time for my staff party..

I havent been taking as many pictures recently. Ive been working like everyday until 6 and by the time i get home its dark and usually wet and i dont as yet have a flash or any equipment for my camera other than my lenses so i find nighttime photography impossible...plus i dont have anyone to photograph really..it sucks!!
I did get to go take my dog for a nice long walk last week though when i had the day off work..i only took a couple of shots but this is by far my favourite. I made her sit still for about 10mins after she dropped the stick at my feet..i wouldnt throw the stick for her until she looked at me.
She looks so damn miserable...what a cruel owner i am!!

Im off to go finish wrapping presents now..just in time to put under the tree for the moring..Merry christmas to everyone..have a great day and enjoy the last of the year!!

Xmas

We finally got round to putting up the christmas tree the other night..it was alotta fun but i had to get up in our attic several times which wasnt fun. I hate attics because i hate spiders..that and we have no floor in our attic so you have to walk on the beams which can be difficult with all the crap up there. Anyway..i got up there several times as we discovered half our decorations werent in the boxes we thought they were an then the box we got down didnt have anything in
We set it all up and got the lights out and i snapped a shot of the final thing...all bokeh'd for ya'll..i jumped on the flickr bandwagon on that one.

Sunday,we headed up to visit my aunt & uncle in ludlow and stayed at their house for lunch. I took a quick shot of my Uncle while we were sat around the dinner table..the light was crappy as it was wet and miserable outside and starting to get dark but i still like it. Til i was about 15 my uncle had a beard..then one day it was gone..i remember i thought he looked so weird without a beard anymore but now,i cant imagine ever having a beard..though,i think he would look alittle like santa claus!

I think ive decided on a name for my 'business' as if it was that. Bovina Sancta! photography..its latin for Holy cow! I thought it was funny...unless you know latin its unlikely you'll know what it means so it still sounds sensible and stuff : )

Its back!!

Finally..after 2 wks of waiting my camera is back,repaired and ready to go. If only the weather in the uk was nice enough for my to be outside taking photos of beautiful colorful flowers and things but no..it was dark by 4.30 and everything is dead or dying now that winter is definately here. Still,i havent been able to put my camera down and have been taking pictures or anything.
My brothers dog,Meggy..still for a few moments,only the time it took to take this picture. She has a pink scar on her bottom lip now but dont know when that happened or how she did it. She is so cute when shes not running mad around the place.

I went out for a walk with my dog..and just played around trying to get the hand of this focusing thing still. The dog is fantastic with this lens..i love it! I cant wait to play more.

I worked til 9pm last night for a customer event at work..as i was walking through town to go get picked up and snapped a quick shot of the xmas lights down the street. The lights in the centre of town are rubbish,completely crap compared to what they usually are..but the side streets seem better than normal.

More from my new lens

My mum picked me up from work last week as i finished earlier and we popped down the river with the dog..i took a few pictures with my new lens..just messing around and practicing..i need to get used to a fixed focus and the fact its marco..a whole new way of photography for me.

I snapped this shot of my mum aswell which i was really pleased with..although she was being goofy and pulled this cheesy grin..

An she snapped this horrible one of me...i really do hate having my picture taken but i think you can really see how much me and my little brother perry look alike in this photo..its all in the cheeks and lips!

When we got home i just messed around with it and had go at shooting some close up (marco) stuff..just abit of fun.

I got a new lens and it WAS halloween!

A couple of weeks ago we finally sold my grandads old car splitting the money between me and my brother as my grandad wanted us too. I decided to buy a new lens for my camera with the money..something that i know i'll get plenty of use out of and something im sure my grandad would approve for me buying. I bought a crumpler bag for my camera,lens and accesories to go in aswell because ive been carrying my camera around in whatever bag i happen to have on me.

The day after i got the money i decided to pop into melgrays and pick up both things on my lunchbreak..i was so excited i spent the rest of my lunchbreak in the staffroom at work taking pics of my coke bottle and stacks of magazines...how sad!!

Anyway..by the time i got home the day i bought it..which just happened to be halloween..it was already dark,so i couldnt get outside and experiment. I snapped a couple of shots of everyone at the house..my bro,lucy and the kids came round for some trick or treating fun.

Ty enjoyed the apple bobbing that my mum set up..had to take his glasses off to do it..and get his head in the water :) but he loved it and did well..he had 2 goes!!
My mum and dad had a go aswell...

And i snapped a quick picture of Lola & Ty together in their halloween costumes.

A little walk

I havent been taking many photos recently..i started a new job last week which has kept me busy and the weather has changed here..winter has well and truely arrived. The nights are dark and it gets dark now around 5 which means by the time i get home from work i dont get the chance to go out and about and take photos of anything..especially as i hate flash photography and even if i didnt,i only had the built in flash on my camera right now which doesnt make for good results.
I got a quick chance last week while out with Holly to snap a few shots..before the light faded and my battery died.

I started writing this post over a week ago,but it wouldnt let me upload my pics at the time and then i got excited about buying new stuff for my camera only for my camera to break..so i completely forgot about it til now!

Wentnor Part 2

I thought i'd split this into 2 seperate posts...more random photos were taken.
The sun was setting beautifully while we were there but just as i was getting into the car the sky seemed very dark and moody..like rain was coming..but it never did!

Lastly..Nan & Grandad..i love you and miss you!!

Wentnor

A couple of days ago we took alittle trip upto Wentnor in Shropshire to visit the grave of my grandparents. I havent been up there since May i think so it was nice to visit although im really not a fan of graveyards in anyway. I took a few photos while we were there..the first couple of shots are off my dad and my dog Holly..im determined to get more photos of my dad..and my mum..although she is alittle unwilling.

The rest of the photos are just random shots that i took more for me practicing manual focus and pure curiosity i guess.

RAW

Ive done it,ive taken the leap,a milestone in my photography journey. Ive moved over to shooting in raw format. To some people..thats nothing to shout home about,but to me it feels like a big step.
Recently ive been having problems with some of my shots..pixels showing through and over sharpening..it turns out the problem was down to the jpeg compression settings on my camera so the best way to solve the problem was to change over from shooting in jpeg. Ive been practicing for the last couple of days..got some good shots so far. I cant believe how different it is processing in raw. I think the most obvious difference for me is the color. Even though i shot in jpeg before i editted in ACR using mostly presets with minor adjustments and although the results were good..its a whole different ball game when it comes to editting raw shots. Im having so much fun. My only problem is that im gonna need a much bigger memory card..my card is only 1gb so whereas it gave me nearly 400 shots in jpeg..it only gives me 50 in raw.
These are just a few shots i have taken over the last few days practicing.


I took these on a nice long walk with my dog...enjoying the signs of autumn..i love the colors of autumn..so warm!
And a couple of shots of my lovely Hollydog..miserable because its been raining all the time and she cant play outside.

I took a trip

Last friday i decided to go to redditch for a few days and stay at my birthfathers house..its always good to see him,his wife Debs and my brother and sisters. I had a really good time there,as i always do when i see them. On saturday we went to a 'roller disco' that the kids wanted to go to..i havent been rollerblading for years but i went round a couple of times with my bro PJ and a couple with my sister MJ but after that i gave up and took off the unbelievably uncomfortable rented skates. It was fun all the same and PJ & MJ got really good at it,they are both going again this weekend with their own new skates. I came back yesterday after a really good week with them. Sadly,PJ came down with a cold on monday having caught what his mum had...on monday though all of them,PJ.DJ & MJ had the day off school coz they were 'ill',i think DJ & MJ were skiving though..by the end of the day they were both perfectly fine..just didnt want to go to school obviously..I played far too much xbox with my brother while i was there..borrowed too many psp games to play either on PJ or MJ's and watched all of Lee Evans shows which PJ has on dvd...oh and made great friends with Jake the dog and Charlie the cat (who is apparently quite mean)..not to me though!!

I took my camera with me,as it goes everywhere with me,but i didnt take a single picture! Im abit disappointed that i didnt take any pictures although it was great to have a break from it..seeing as i dont have much imagination at the moment,and not have to worry about editting a bunch of shots..but i dont have many pictures of my brothers and sisters so every chance i have to spend time with them i really should record.
I spent time with them in August and we went to the safari park which was great..i got a couple of pictures of them then..so those will have to do for now.

PJ -13yrs old

DJ -11yrs old

MJ -8yrs old

Spent sometime with my niece Lola on friday and saturday..thought it would be fun to try and get some photos of her somewhere other than sat in her bouncy chair and a good excuse to continue that manual practice of mine.
I got a couple of good shots of her on the floor playing with her toys and attempting to crawl...(she didnt get far..she hasnt figured it out yet) but the shot i like the most came out rubbish. I was using my shitty kit lens and i swear to god it takes for ever to focus that one and even longer to change focus. Because she was moving around alot and im shit at manual focus my focus is off on what would of been the best shot..the focus is more on her top than her face and so it is not really usable. It sucks but i still like the shot so i went ahead and processed it anyway..im so disappointed though,i wish id nailed it because i didnt get a second chance.

I hate shooting in my livingroom because the light is so poor..despite having a big floor to celling window the same width as the room..there seems to be no light in there at all and the main light always gives that reddish glow.I was really suprised how well these came out today but i sat with my back to the window so Lola was facing the light and basically hoped for the best..the catch lights..if you can even call them that were rubbish but nevermind.

You get me

Exploitation for fun

I belong to a fantastic and massive photography community called flickr. Ive been apart of this community for just under a year..and what a year its been..the best ride of my life!!
But recently..what was a wonderful exciting experience has turned into a nightmare for some of my contacts and their friends.
There is a website owned by google called www.orkut.com,kinda like a myspace style site. Apparently its all the rage in Brazil to steal photos of children from flickr and other places and make 'fake' profiles on orkut with albums full of these childrens pictures.
What they are doing is theft...these photos are protected by copyright laws. No matter what they think. A little green box and the words 'this photo is public' does not mean it is free for your to take.

Click the photo for the original story

Now,photographers all over the world are having to take a stand against this blatant disregard for other peoples property..the stealing of photos is wrong..it is as much a crime as breaking into someones house and stealing their property.
Trying to make a bunch of brazilian teenagers who couldnt give a crap about it is another story entirely...some dont believe that the photos are yours or that you know the people whose photos they are and want proof...proof...why should we have to prove anything to them..they stole our photos..they are the ones in the wrong..not us!! Although,they would have you believe that you are. More than i once ive been faced with the responce "you put your photos there,if you didnt want to have them taken you shouldnt of put them on flickr. Its your fault for putting them there." Really? Well personally i dont see it like that. For some strange reason,i didnt foresee a bunch of stupid teenagers in brazil setting up hundreds of 'fake' profiles with images of little children stolen from flickr. Maybe thats just me...
Other people you ask to remove the photos merely say "no" and leave it at that but the best responce of all is surely "why? you should be proud of your children,they are famous in brazil"
Somehow..that really just doesnt make me feel any better!!

I must admit..me ranting and raving like i am is probably going to be the most annoying thing to some people..personally...i havent been affected by this terrible thing. I havent got any chidren so no photos can be stolen from me..i feel its unlikely that they would anyway..but that defeats the object. Maybe me and my high horse will annoy people who have been affected but at the end of the day...i feel sick to my stomach by what is happening. Flickr has been such an inspiration and joy for me..the positive feedback and wonderful people have given me a new
Now,that world is threatened and it makes me sad,angry,annoyed...maybe even slightly selfish..but surely that is my right...like its the right of mothers & fathers all over flickr to display images of their children and their work without fear it will be stolen and placed somewhere else illegally. We all need to take a stand and let google and these people know that we wont sit back any longer...visit the site...if you have a flickr account,leave a comment on the image..fave it..leave a note and support the cause. AND....dont gorget to sign the petition!! lease on life recently. Ive always enjoyed and loved photography but never took the leap into it until recently but since doing so..i have never been happier. Flickr is a constant inspiration and world of wonder with people from all over the world sharing their lives and knowledge with others.