To change a lightbulb…

health and safety madnessI was in the UK last week, in Horsham (West Sussex, England), and came upon what can only be described as the biggest fookin’ waste of money and manpower you could imagine.

A classic example of a brain-dead local council’s woefully wasteful practices, totally oblivious to the need for streamlining and efficiency, at a time when the government is making such swingeing cuts in the public sector.

What we had, basically, was a man servicing, or cleaning, or changing bulbs in the street lights. Something that should have entailed a cherry-picker, a couple of operatives and a line of cones.    Continue reading

Book review: Photoshop CS5 – Scott Kelby

photoshop cs5This is the third Photoshop book I have bought from the ‘guru’ himself, Scott Kelby. The first one was CS2, closely followed by CS3.

I didn’t bother to get his CS4 book because I also didn’t bother to upgrade to CS4, you have to draw the line somewhere.

However, when CS5 came out I knew I had to have it, and I knew I had to have a good book which explains, in practical words and pictures, how to use it. Enter Mr Kelby’s latest PS book, The Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter).

Now, if you’ve been around the photography and/or Photoshop scene for any length of time, you will, no doubt, have come across Scott Kelby already.    Continue reading

Thoughts on photo gear

canon 5dI’m a Canon man – through and through!

Nothing wrong with Nikon, or any other make for that matter, it’s just that I like Canon gear and have used it for years. It suits my needs and fits my hands perfectly.

My basic walkabout set up is a 5D with a 24-105 f4 on the front. For architecture and interiors I use the 16-35 f2.8 wide-angle a lot, and for portraits and people I use the 70-200 f2.8 tele. All lenses are L-series.    Continue reading

Celebrity charity-a-thons – who needs them?

comic reliefI was watching the UK’s annual Comic Relief extravaganza last night. So far they have raised £74.3m and I’m sure there is much more to come before the final total is confirmed. Very laudable and worthy, of course, but why do we need it?

I’m always amazed by the charity of the ‘ordinary man in the street’ but I just can’t seem to get my head around why Joe and Jane Bloggs have to be cajoled, brow-beaten and badgered, over a whole evening’s broadcasting, to put their hands in their none-to-deep pockets to try and make a difference to the abject poverty in Africa and other countries, not to mention closer to home in the UK.    Continue reading

Correcting Verticals with Photoshop’s Transform Tool

correcting verticals photoshopI do a lot of property/architecture photography so the two things that have to be right are verticals and horizontals.

By far the easiest way to get these right is in the camera when you’re taking the shot. Saves an awful lot of messing about later!

A good tall tripod with spirit levels is your best friend if you’re going to be doing this type of photography.

Sometimes though it’s not possible to get the right angle, maybe you’re too near, or you just can’t get the right viewpoint. Never fear, Photoshop’s Transform tool can get you out of all sorts of trouble – here’s how.    Continue reading

Fat kids. Whose fault is that, then?

obesity in childrenYet another report from the wise old sages at the top of the UK medical profession has said that obesity among children is growing at an alarming rate, and they are urging the government to do something about it before it’s too late. As if the words ‘government’ and ‘do something’ have any form of correlation.

At particular risk, it seems, are children aged two to four. Children? Aged two to four? How many of that age group are capable of making their own decisions on what is good for them? All they care about is how sweet it is and which cartoon character is on the packaging.    Continue reading

Content is king – or is it?

website contentThe ‘Internet Gurus’ are always telling us that content is king and that we must strive to keep churning out ever-changing original content for our websites if we are to gain brownie points from the search engines.

You can’t stand still for a minute, keep those words flowing, they say, or your site will plummet to the depths of obscurity.

“Here, let me help you, invest in this course, watch that video from ‘my buddy’ John Doe, buy now from my link and get all these useless re-hashed bonuses ($597 value) for FREE!” You know the sort of thing, I’m sure.    Continue reading

A Portrait from the Street

street portraitureI went walkabout into town at around midday a couple of weeks ago and came across this guy, Olly, who is from Germany and of no fixed abode.

He was sitting in the street with his faithful dog and despite his predicament he was bright, cheerful and easy to get along with.

I asked him if it would be ok to take a couple of pictures and he was fine with that so I set to work.    Continue reading