Sunset over the Town Moor in Newcastle, around 17:30 yesterday (Sunday 27th).
Via A Different Eye: take a look at File Magazine, which has some really incredible photography - not just technically good, but intelligent and innovative.
20050228
20050227
Gradient
A quiet street in Gateshead, before it started snowing / raining continously and we could remember what the sun was like.
20050226
Ramshackle
A greenhouse (it used to be, anyway) - definitely needs a bit of care and attention to restore it to a useful function.
20050225
Jellyfish
Bioluminescent jellyfish, taken at the aquarium at Budapester Strasse in Berlin, 2003. Don't forget that you can see the Canon shots in much larger format by clicking on them and visiting Flickr.
One place I would have loved to have been able to take photos in Berlin was the Film Museum - in particular a display of original storyboards, props etc from Das Kabinet Des Dr Caligari, which is one of my favourite films.
So after I'd bought a ticket I asked a member of staff * if I could take photos provided I didn't use flash. The answer was no - not only that, but the camera would have to be left in a locker in the lobby.
For the next couple of hours, I was followed around the museum by a man who I think was French Swiss - and his large flash gun equipped SLR which he used at every opportunity.
This was especially true at the exhibit of Marlene Dietrich memorabilia (mostly dresses), where he actually squealed with delight. His wife looked bored.
* the problem wasn't my bad German - there were signs saying that photography was not allowed. But it's always worth asking, right? Or not...
One place I would have loved to have been able to take photos in Berlin was the Film Museum - in particular a display of original storyboards, props etc from Das Kabinet Des Dr Caligari, which is one of my favourite films.
So after I'd bought a ticket I asked a member of staff * if I could take photos provided I didn't use flash. The answer was no - not only that, but the camera would have to be left in a locker in the lobby.
For the next couple of hours, I was followed around the museum by a man who I think was French Swiss - and his large flash gun equipped SLR which he used at every opportunity.
This was especially true at the exhibit of Marlene Dietrich memorabilia (mostly dresses), where he actually squealed with delight. His wife looked bored.
* the problem wasn't my bad German - there were signs saying that photography was not allowed. But it's always worth asking, right? Or not...
20050224
Lost Glove
Someone's going to have one cold hand.
Although the L'espion has a 'high resolution' setting, it produces images at a maximum size of a mere 288 x 352 (the 'low resolution' setting is half that size).
When I blog any L'espion photos via Flickr, they are automatically resized to 196 x 240. If you want to see the images 47% or so bigger, you can click them, go to Flickr and then choose to see them in the original size.
If that's not enough magnification to warrant the trip to Flickr, all of the Canon A200 images (usually posted every Friday) are uploaded in 1200 x 1600 format.
This means that Blake, for example, can be seen a magnificent 567% larger than it appears on Espion Daily.
Although the L'espion has a 'high resolution' setting, it produces images at a maximum size of a mere 288 x 352 (the 'low resolution' setting is half that size).
When I blog any L'espion photos via Flickr, they are automatically resized to 196 x 240. If you want to see the images 47% or so bigger, you can click them, go to Flickr and then choose to see them in the original size.
If that's not enough magnification to warrant the trip to Flickr, all of the Canon A200 images (usually posted every Friday) are uploaded in 1200 x 1600 format.
This means that Blake, for example, can be seen a magnificent 567% larger than it appears on Espion Daily.
20050223
Gartenzwerg
Somewhere in the Lake District, in Wastwater lake, there is supposed to be an underwater 'gnome garden' more than fifty feet down. The total pointlessness of stashing gnomes in a lake is only emphasised by the fact that several divers have died looking for them.
20050222
Twisted Metal
Some photos I just take for the sake of it, not expecting them to be remotely worthwhile when I look at them later. This one came out well, at least much better than I thought it would at the time.
I'm still slightly stunned by the death of Hunter S. Thompson - perhaps I shouldn't be, given that wasn't renowned for being predictable or particularly stable either.
Can't remember who tipped me off about this, but one of the last things he wrote is at ESPN.com Page 2 - Shotgun Golf with Bill Murray.
I'm still slightly stunned by the death of Hunter S. Thompson - perhaps I shouldn't be, given that wasn't renowned for being predictable or particularly stable either.
Can't remember who tipped me off about this, but one of the last things he wrote is at ESPN.com Page 2 - Shotgun Golf with Bill Murray.
20050221
Windows
Cross House in Newcastle, near the abandoned Paramount Theatre.
I woke up this morning to hear the news that Hunter S. Thompson has killed himself. I first read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas about ten years ago and don't think I've laughed more reading a book before or since.
I woke up this morning to hear the news that Hunter S. Thompson has killed himself. I first read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas about ten years ago and don't think I've laughed more reading a book before or since.
20050220
From Gateshead To Jerusalem
The idea of going to Jerusalem would have great appeal to anyone on a cold February morning in Gateshead.
I took this yesterday when it was bitterly cold but bright. It's been snowing pretty hard this morning and there's a good three inches of snow settled.
But it looks like the weather in Jerusalem might not be all that different.
I took this yesterday when it was bitterly cold but bright. It's been snowing pretty hard this morning and there's a good three inches of snow settled.
But it looks like the weather in Jerusalem might not be all that different.
20050219
Chess
An African (Egyptian?) chess set - the pawns are men smoking pipes.
The fact that yesterday's attempt to add a automatically updated list of lomographs worked means that it exceeded my expectations. It's simple but it's given me a few ideas for variations on the theme.
Still, it'll be some time before I'll have even the faintest idea of how to go about creating something like the Flickr Colrpickr.
The fact that yesterday's attempt to add a automatically updated list of lomographs worked means that it exceeded my expectations. It's simple but it's given me a few ideas for variations on the theme.
Still, it'll be some time before I'll have even the faintest idea of how to go about creating something like the Flickr Colrpickr.
20050218
Basket Buggy
So, as with Flickrgraph, the reason that Flickr always seems to produce something new is its flexibility. I haven't worked out how the API works (yet), but the configurable feeds are very easy to set up. I have SAGE in Firefox set up to list every lomo photo posted, from This feed (RSS 2).
Then I can link to the ten most recent direct from here:
Then I can link to the ten most recent direct from here:
20050217
Go!
Owing to yesterday's post, there'll be another Espion photo tomorrow instead of one from the Canon.
20050216
Blake
I'm sure it's a perennial argument on many digital photography websites - where's the border line between photography and digital art?
This was debated on Flickr recently when the addition of a flag for digitally manipulated images was suggested. Jairus said that he felt 'cheated' by photographs that had been altered and wanted a way of separating them from honest-to-goodness, untweaked shots.
I doubt many would argue that cropping an image precludes it from being considered as a photograph, and Jairus went on to suggest that some adjustments are acceptable, giving the example of 'a basic hue/contrast adjustment'. Clearly, it's not a question of absolutes, but of degrees. Adjusting curves might seem reasonable, but what about selective sharpening, or masking an area of colour in a predominantly black and white photograph?
Jairus didn't find much agreement, but his point was essentially valid to the extent that the fidelity of the image is important. The perception of being cheated is only possible if the adjustments are noticeable; then the photograph no longer has verisimilitude.
The pleasure of the moment captured by the photographer is contaminated by its artificiality - it's not just the image being manipulated, but also the viewer.
Perhaps, then, the difference between digital photography and digital art is whether the authenticity of this moment is important; I can't think of any instance where a photographer would want to destroy it intentionally, or any instance in which it would be an overarching concern for a digital artist.
Nevertheless, taking a rigidly purist line with digital photography is absurd (a true purist would abjure it altogether in favour of film) and often seems motivated by a desire to stigmatise, regardless of considerations like talent or enthusiasm.
A poster further down the Flickr thread aptly satirises this tendency to favour methods over results by arguing for the stigmatisation of all photographs taken with auto focus. Yes, some of my favourite photographs were taken by technical masters with years of experience and very expensive cameras, but most weren't.
In Espion Daily, many of the images have been adjusted in Photoshop. The L'espion produces very flat, low contrast, desaturated photographs and I compensate for this by using a set process that maximises the potential of the image; sometimes add a colour filter. It's nothing that couldn't be done with a different camera and a filter attachment. The intention is to approach something like lomography, rather than digital art.
In keeping with the unusual length of this entry, today's image is different.
It's a William Blake inspired statue on the side of the Civic Centre in Newcastle. I took it with a Canon Powershot A200 and worked on it extensively in Photoshop. Around a year later, I revisited it while collating material for Espion Daily and my Flickr Photostream.
I don't think it's bad. But looking over it again, my eye caught one area in particular and I felt that sense of being cheated - where I knew that I'd spoiled that authenticity. I won't say where it is, but when you see it, you might feel it too.
This was debated on Flickr recently when the addition of a flag for digitally manipulated images was suggested. Jairus said that he felt 'cheated' by photographs that had been altered and wanted a way of separating them from honest-to-goodness, untweaked shots.
I doubt many would argue that cropping an image precludes it from being considered as a photograph, and Jairus went on to suggest that some adjustments are acceptable, giving the example of 'a basic hue/contrast adjustment'. Clearly, it's not a question of absolutes, but of degrees. Adjusting curves might seem reasonable, but what about selective sharpening, or masking an area of colour in a predominantly black and white photograph?
Jairus didn't find much agreement, but his point was essentially valid to the extent that the fidelity of the image is important. The perception of being cheated is only possible if the adjustments are noticeable; then the photograph no longer has verisimilitude.
The pleasure of the moment captured by the photographer is contaminated by its artificiality - it's not just the image being manipulated, but also the viewer.
Perhaps, then, the difference between digital photography and digital art is whether the authenticity of this moment is important; I can't think of any instance where a photographer would want to destroy it intentionally, or any instance in which it would be an overarching concern for a digital artist.
Nevertheless, taking a rigidly purist line with digital photography is absurd (a true purist would abjure it altogether in favour of film) and often seems motivated by a desire to stigmatise, regardless of considerations like talent or enthusiasm.
A poster further down the Flickr thread aptly satirises this tendency to favour methods over results by arguing for the stigmatisation of all photographs taken with auto focus. Yes, some of my favourite photographs were taken by technical masters with years of experience and very expensive cameras, but most weren't.
In Espion Daily, many of the images have been adjusted in Photoshop. The L'espion produces very flat, low contrast, desaturated photographs and I compensate for this by using a set process that maximises the potential of the image; sometimes add a colour filter. It's nothing that couldn't be done with a different camera and a filter attachment. The intention is to approach something like lomography, rather than digital art.
In keeping with the unusual length of this entry, today's image is different.
It's a William Blake inspired statue on the side of the Civic Centre in Newcastle. I took it with a Canon Powershot A200 and worked on it extensively in Photoshop. Around a year later, I revisited it while collating material for Espion Daily and my Flickr Photostream.
I don't think it's bad. But looking over it again, my eye caught one area in particular and I felt that sense of being cheated - where I knew that I'd spoiled that authenticity. I won't say where it is, but when you see it, you might feel it too.
20050215
20050214
Chinese Dragon
I’ve managed to resist the temptation to do something thematic, involving hearts, cherubs etc. I did consider going into a butchers to photograph a real heart but decided against it on the grounds of it not being sufficiently interesting or amusing to warrant the effort.
Chinese New Year was 9th February. The reason for posting this photo today, rather than then, is that there was a celebration here on Sunday 13th.
This year is the year of the Rooster, but I was born in the year of the Horse, something I have in common with Barbara Streisand and erm, Rolf Harris.
Chinese New Year was 9th February. The reason for posting this photo today, rather than then, is that there was a celebration here on Sunday 13th.
This year is the year of the Rooster, but I was born in the year of the Horse, something I have in common with Barbara Streisand and erm, Rolf Harris.
20050213
Hello Duckie
A wooden bookend - I'm guessing that it's supposed to appeal to children but there's something slightly sinister about it.
20050212
Signs
Via Edwinek: another reason why Flickr is so great... FlickrGraph. My Flickr icon doesn't seem to register, for some reason. The same site has a really clever Newsmap, a visual representation of the day's new stories according to subject and popularity.
20050211
Split Lip
This is an artefact from the Ethnography Museum in Berlin, taken without flash or tripod (flash wasn't allowed and I didn't have a tripod with me).
Unfortunately I didn't write down a description, but I'm pretty sure it's Maori.
Unfortunately I didn't write down a description, but I'm pretty sure it's Maori.
20050210
Grilles and Spills
So many things around us are designed solely to stop us doing something.
It's especially apparent with road traffic, where people are dehumanised inside their cars and become part of an anonymous 'flow' that needs to be managed.
Attitudes to this vary between countries; in some, people would wait weeks at a stop light just because it's what they're supposed to do. In others, everyone thinks the stop light is for someone else.
It's especially apparent with road traffic, where people are dehumanised inside their cars and become part of an anonymous 'flow' that needs to be managed.
Attitudes to this vary between countries; in some, people would wait weeks at a stop light just because it's what they're supposed to do. In others, everyone thinks the stop light is for someone else.
20050209
20050208
Avenue
Mixed boxes of photos at jumble sales or old rolls of film can tell you so much about the time the images were taken - at the moment I can't think of anywhere (apart from Ebay, which feels like cheating) to look.
There are good examples of the art of the found photo at Snapatorium Found Photos and Found Magazine.
There are good examples of the art of the found photo at Snapatorium Found Photos and Found Magazine.
20050207
This is Private
I went exploring yesterday and found some great places for inspiration. I'll be posting the photographs I took on Sunday over the next couple of weeks.
20050206
Wrapped in Plastic
Plastic wrap shelf flesh sale... kidneys and giblets hermetically sealed in neat packages...
20050205
L. B. W.
Some signs have an obvious purpose, like showing the speed limit. Unless I've missed the point entirely, this one is reminding us not to get run over when crossing the road. From the same series as the signs "Chew Before Swallowing" and "Breathe In, Breathe Out".
20050204
Lichen-X
It's Friday again, so time to give L'espion a rest and post an image taken with the Canon A200.
But what is it? It was discovered a couple of weeks ago in a wood. It may be a fruticose lichen, a minute alien civilisation, or simply a dangerous product of illegal toxic waste dumping.
But what is it? It was discovered a couple of weeks ago in a wood. It may be a fruticose lichen, a minute alien civilisation, or simply a dangerous product of illegal toxic waste dumping.
20050203
Old Car
I see this car quite often on my way here and there. It never seems to go anywhere, but it's obviously very well looked after.
A new monitor should arrive some time Thursday. In case it doesn't, I thought it would be best to post an entry while I can.
A new monitor should arrive some time Thursday. In case it doesn't, I thought it would be best to post an entry while I can.
20050202
Steps
This has nothing to do with photography. But the news of the week is that egomaniacal crackpot Robert Kilroy-Silk has annouced the formation of his new party, Veritas. It's already being nicknamed Vanitas - no surprise as the site contains dozens of articles written by Chief Crazy Tan himself.
On another note, the hardware issues are being sorted out and everything should be back to normal by Thursday.
On another note, the hardware issues are being sorted out and everything should be back to normal by Thursday.
20050201
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