Life Observed

Oh I say: My new laptop has a carbon fibre lid: No, that is wrong on both counts. It is a second hand refurbished laptop off ebay. It arrived with a nice brushed metal lid that was marred with scratches and light dents. I also discovered that the lid was slightly slippery and there was a risk of dropping the thing as I lifted it out of my back pack. So I bought some Carbon Wrap, much loved by the car customising community. The result is fairly convincing... the dents are disguised, the scratches are covered and it is easier to carry... I come from the generation that covered its kitchen doors in fake teak Fablon sticky backed plastic, so I remember just how awful that can look if done badly. It is all in the details, where the wrap meets the edges. If there is any hint of the vinyl fakery then the effect is lost.

Ten years ago no one had heard of the Meerkat. They went about their business and we went about ours.  Then someone did a wildlife program about them and they became stars. Now we have long running advert campaigns based entirely on Meerkats. They turn up on all sorts of programs, and you can apparently buy them for your garden instead of Gnomes. Aaaah... This, dear reader, is progress...

Outside your comfort zone, that is... Generally I photograph landscapes or buildings, and sometimes abstract shapes. I am not really a people photographer, and the few occasions I have photographed a wedding, it has been a very trying experience. So, what to do when asked if you can do a small fashion photo shoot for company that sells equestrian clothing. They can call on the services of Sienna, a local model. All I have to do is sort out the pictures. The first thing is to buy some second hand off camera flashes from e-bay. These are the sort that can be operated in manual mode. Next, I need to learn about lighting and the Strobist blog is the definitive pace to start. Now I need some light modifiers, in this case, those large springy circular diffusers.   Finally, its just a matter of going for it and adapting my methods according to the results on the camera rear screen. It was an awful rush in poor light against the clock, but I think I learnt a lot and...