I was watching a fantastic bit of stop frame animation the other day on youtube, when I saw a cheesy camera trick exactly like I’d done about 12 months ago with my friend Will whilst on holiday in Wales.
Howgills, some Sedbergh reminiscing, and an overdue dose of snow
I had a great day out with some soon to be ex-colleagues (and a currently ex colleague) in the Howgills the other day, taking in a 9.5 mile walk in the beautiful Howgill Fells. It enabled me to (fairly) quietly reminisce about my two years living in Sedbergh as a teeneger, especially as we retraced the route of the Sedbergh Ten Mile race on our way back into the town (“Muddy Slide” – a steep gorge – the excitement came rushing back to me).
The snow finally came to the north west for me – our house has had the barest of coverings this winter, much to my disappointment, so to get out in the snow, albeit just a generous dusting, was great.
Piccies on Flickr. Here’s the walk as a google earth (.kmz) path if you’re interested.
When the cat’s away…
Katie went to stay for the night with her friend Lucy so I had a lovely 36 hours or so with Lily on my own (ish). We had a busy old weekend in many ways, including a trip into the Manchester Art Gallery and a stay with Matthew and Holly, but it was lovely fun from start to finish, and we’re allowed to eat stinky things like kippers when Katie’s not here.
Vignette: a mini photoshop tutorial
I’ve seen quite a few photos on Flickr lately that took my fancy for one reason or another, and one of the things that crops up from time to time is the Vignette that comes with some photos. It reminds me of older times and when I used to do a bit in the dark rooms (of Blackburn College, Sheffield Hallam University and the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal). It’s something that can make a bland low-light photo into something with more focal punch, but without the cheesiness of soft focus.
I should point out that it works effectively on landscape shots too, but you could go overkill, and it tends to have happened (with older cameras and darkrooms) naturally in lower light conditions. Whaddya reckon? (Here’s a link to the Photoshop tutorial I used – it’s very straightforward, but the ‘feather’ setting it refers to will need to be increased for higher resolution original photos)
Left Dave, Right Dave, and the normal twisted Dave
Lily took a photo of me on Sunday and it made me realise how uneven my face is! I made copies of my face in Photoshop – Left, Right, and the original are here….
Scarily enough (apart from the huge difference between my left side and right side), the ‘normal’ photo’s clearly the ugliest. Before anyone leaves any cheeky comments, have a go at it yourself (or better still, send me a photo and I’ll do the same for you!!)
A Jazz dispute acted out
Charlie Parker (sax) and Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet) battle it out… the video! This guy has spent a lot of time on this…!
The world’s tightest jeans
My lovely work mate Kim sent me through this image (goodness knows where or how she got it) of someone in some well tailored trousers. It’s such a great image, not least, the cheesy laugh of the woman ‘posing’ for the photo.
Sunday with the Rowlands’
A lovely trip to see Sally, Simon and Olly, on what appears to be the first weekend of spring.
Video below of Simon and I being creative with the little ones’ vehicles.
Come in, go away doormat
Simple but brilliant. Reversible doormat. (Found on neatorama)
Shutdown day 2007
He heee… I love this concept (though I naturally would recommend appropriate recycling of computer hardware after it’s had its useful life).
Peterborough. Something tells me ‘no’.
Over the last year or so, it’s been required of me to visit Peterborough. Of all places.
The most recent journey was yesterday. Journeys over the 113 (as the crow flies) miles between my home and Peterborough have been peppered with disaster or delay each and every time, including broken down trains (on hot summer days with no air conditioning and no breeze), gale force winds that cause overturned lorries and uprooted trees to block the roads (when I’ve simply given up on the idea of a train), and missed train connections.
Yesterday’s was another beauty.
OUT
Cycle to Rawtenstall,
bus to Burnley,
train to Leeds,
train to Peterborough.
Overall journey time, 3 hrs, 45 minutes.
RETURN: (Same in reverse, to Burnley, then)
Missed bus connection from train,
walked three miles in dark,
hitched the other four miles to Rawtenstall,
cycled home
Overall journey time: 4hrs, 15 minutes
That’s a total of eight hours’ travelling for a two hour meeting folks. If you live in the UK, your tax is paying for my time. I really should say “Thank you”, but I’m not sure that any of us should really be grateful for anything.
Some family wedding pics from the past.
We’ve recently been collecting wedding photos of our families (siblings, parents and grandparents) and have at last got a full set – I’m very proud of these for some reason. Click the image to see all nine happy couples….