PhotoBlog : Sunday with the Nifty Fifty – Part 1
I lugged the camera and too many lenses to the very top of the zoo on Saturday so when I was heading out on Sunday my back made a polite request for slightly less weight so I headed out to the National Museum of Scotland armed only with my beautifully light 50mm nifty...
Zoo Photography – How To Get Good Photos of Animals
It would be great to a wildlife photographer, it really would. Obviously I have a starry-eyed notion that doesn't involve sitting for hours bored, cold, tired, wet etc but still, I'd love to do it at at least once. Until such time I'll stick with doing what I can with...
The Ultimate Supergroup
There have been many so-called 'supergroups' in music over the years, I won't bore you any examples, I'll just point you at this Wikipedia page. They'll all listed there, even Electronic (!?). Thing is, I've never really been a fan of any of them, so, I'm going to...
PhotoBlog : Sunny Edinburgh Streets
Had the opportunity for a long stroll across Edinburgh in some very nice sun. Obviously it was also windy and freezing but I had a hat. And a snood. Here's a few of the images I took as I strolled. Princes Street isn't what it used to be. Lots of empty units, lots of...
Create Your Own Movie Soundtrack
I'm sure by now that all my reader(sic) will have read my book The Beatle Man. If not, what are you waiting for? It's only 85p! In the unlikely event that you haven't read it yet, stop reading this post now, spend 85p and come back when you're finished. This post...
Every Type of Tweet Ever (probably)
As you meander your way on Twitter you may have started to notice some repeating patterns. I may only follow a tiny percentage of Twitter's millions of registered users but I have a feeling that even the small sample of tweets I see is fairly representative. As I...
2012 – Photo Review of the Year
An odd thing happened when I started putting this post together. I approached it expecting to struggle to find pictures I liked to cover the whole year. It is has been a very busy, very work oriented year (not in a bad way, has been a lot of fun) so generally what I...
Merry Christmas 2012
Season greetings all. I'm not sending out Christmas cards this year (and most likely never again). But don't think I'm not thinking about you (apart from you, I'm not thinking about you). I am thinking about you but I'd rather give money to charity, so that's what...
PhotoBlog : Stories of the Street
Inspired by a re-reading of Thomas Leuthard's excellent free e-book Going Candid, ( go read it ) I took my camera into town with me one day when I had a meeting. Had a spare 30 minutes so had a go to see what I could get. Conclusion, it's quite hard, I need to get...
So You’ve Written A Book – Publishing Thoughts and Tips
This post was originally written for the Safe Space Write-A-Thon website. If you fancy having a go at writing and raising money for a good cause, have a look at the site and get going! I ain't no expert and have no great experience but this is just how I see things....
Writing Tips For Beginners from a Beginner
This post was originally written for the Safe Space Write-A-Thon website. If you fancy having a go at writing and raising money for a good cause, have a look at the site and get going! It's November. After a particularly tiresome drive home in the rain you get out the...
Sunday @EdinburghZoo with the New Camera
First time at zoo with the new camera. Still a few struggles with metering but I was able to get some photos I could never have managed before, so it was good first try. Was lucky to catch this shot. Was headed back down and grabbed this over the top of a small crowd...
A Question of Definition
A while back, someone came to the house, saw my strobes set up and asked "Are you a photographer?". I answered "well, I have a camera". In a similar way, when someone asks "Are you an author?" I'd say "well, I've written a book". This isn't necessarily being overly...
Trying to Convince Myself to Write Something
Inspired by my involvement with the Safe Space Writathon, I decided to see which of my piles of notes I might want to attack and turn into a book. I know Stu will say Capricornus but I find myself drawn back to Terra Exitus. I guess I could easily fail to do both at...
Coming Soon : Safe Space Write-A-Thon
I'm always amazed by the number of times I talk to people about having written a book and discover that they also have a very strong desire to do the same. So, it seems to me a fabulous idea to exploit this innate desire in so many people to raise many for a very good...
Book Review : The Information – James Gleick
Like most people I will occasionally get asked what I do for a living. For the sake of simplicity and brevity I will usually reply: I work in I.T. Which is a convenient shorthand to embrace the 21 years I've hung about computers trying to make them do things that...
PhotoBlog : Royal Caribbean International – Independence of The Seas
When you spend a fair amount of your leisure time watching Extreme Engineering on Discovery Big Stuff, it is a particular treat to be able to spend a couple of weeks inside a very large and impressive piece of engineering. Sure, there's food, entertainment and...
PhotoBlog : A Brief Stop in Culross
For reasons too dull to dwell on, I found myself with some free time in Fife last Friday so night down to Culross to enjoy the sun and take some pictures. It was a brief visit, nothing spectacular photo wise but if you ever want a shot on a railway line it's the place...
Sunny Saturday @EdinburghZoo
Hi-res versions of all the images in this post can be download for free from Morguefile here.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
Spent a couple of fun hours out of the grey and drizzle in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Being a Glasgow University graduate, it's always a little bit of a homecoming heading West. The Museum itself is looking great after it has be refurbished. The website...