This is from the original Espion, but I've been experimenting with the new one. Some differences:
Firstly there's a rudimentary white balance setting (not had a chance to explore this fully). Secondly, the images are much more saturated.
It may be the white balance setting, but the images from the new camera are very warm, with lots of oranges and browns.
20050331
20050330
20050329
No Children
Almost seems like an invitation - how many children can resist doing something they're told not to?
Quite what there is to do on a cold, rainy building site in March is another question.
Another sign to be filed under 'displayed for legal purposes only'.
Quite what there is to do on a cold, rainy building site in March is another question.
Another sign to be filed under 'displayed for legal purposes only'.
20050328
Roadworks
The sign claims that work is starting tomorrow, but as they started digging up the road over a year ago...
20050327
Egg
******** NOTE FOR ARCHIVE READERS ********
Dear reader, thank you for your interest and dedication in searching back though these archives.
For weeks* I have hated this photo more than any on Espion Daily and for weeks I have been putting off doing anything about it.
The reason it is no longer visible: I hated it and I deleted it because it was rubbish.
Not just the acceptable kind - the kind I post when I am having a bad day, or have a backlog of photos, or simply don't feel like sending one of my favourites out there.
The kind that, when I originally posted, required an apology in THE FIRST LINE.
* two months, to be precise (give or take a day, I suppose)
- 26th May 2005.
Original post follows:
******** ************************ ********
No comments on the quality of this photo, or rather the lack thereof, are required; there's another reason I posted this today aside from the obvious thematic link.
Yesterday I realised I'd run out of CD-Rs and stopped off to buy some on my way back from work.
Looking through the range of options, I opted for the cheapest no frills, bare bones drum. On picking it up, I realised there was a 'free gift' packaged with the CDs - none less than a rebranded L'espion mini digital camera.
Some of the menu settings are different, and the images look slightly different too - it's not exactly the same, but it's there in the event that my other (somewhat aged) L'espion packs in.
This is the first photo I've pulled off the new camera (which is, strangely, slightly bigger than the original L'espion). Rather than L'espion, the top right hand corner bears the logo 'Strand'.
Dear reader, thank you for your interest and dedication in searching back though these archives.
For weeks* I have hated this photo more than any on Espion Daily and for weeks I have been putting off doing anything about it.
The reason it is no longer visible: I hated it and I deleted it because it was rubbish.
Not just the acceptable kind - the kind I post when I am having a bad day, or have a backlog of photos, or simply don't feel like sending one of my favourites out there.
The kind that, when I originally posted, required an apology in THE FIRST LINE.
* two months, to be precise (give or take a day, I suppose)
- 26th May 2005.
Original post follows:
******** ************************ ********
No comments on the quality of this photo, or rather the lack thereof, are required; there's another reason I posted this today aside from the obvious thematic link.
Yesterday I realised I'd run out of CD-Rs and stopped off to buy some on my way back from work.
Looking through the range of options, I opted for the cheapest no frills, bare bones drum. On picking it up, I realised there was a 'free gift' packaged with the CDs - none less than a rebranded L'espion mini digital camera.
Some of the menu settings are different, and the images look slightly different too - it's not exactly the same, but it's there in the event that my other (somewhat aged) L'espion packs in.
This is the first photo I've pulled off the new camera (which is, strangely, slightly bigger than the original L'espion). Rather than L'espion, the top right hand corner bears the logo 'Strand'.
20050326
Departures
The departures board at Edinburgh Waverley station.
Some interesting Espion snaps from Edinburgh to follow, with one or two good photos from the Canon as well.
Some interesting Espion snaps from Edinburgh to follow, with one or two good photos from the Canon as well.
20050325
Buddha
A Buddhist statue in the Ethnography Museum in Berlin.
A strange coincidence: in yesterday's entry, I waxed about a segment of film directed by a certain director.
On Friday I was at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh and noted two paintings by one Fernand Léger and - being ignorant, rather than stupid - realised that he might not be unrelated to the director of The Girl With the Prefabricated Heart.
It turns out that they are one and the same, and that I owe Fernand (1881-1955) an apology.
A strange coincidence: in yesterday's entry, I waxed about a segment of film directed by a certain director.
On Friday I was at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh and noted two paintings by one Fernand Léger and - being ignorant, rather than stupid - realised that he might not be unrelated to the director of The Girl With the Prefabricated Heart.
It turns out that they are one and the same, and that I owe Fernand (1881-1955) an apology.
20050324
Mannequins
One of the most intriguing films I've ever seen is Dreams That Money Can Buy (Hans Richter, 1946). It's really a collection of loosely connected films, and includes works by Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst and Man Ray.
The relevance to the photo is that one segment in particular is so
wonderfully disconcerting that I haven't been able to look at a mannequin in
the same way since. It's called The Girl with the Prefabricated Heart,
directed by Fernand Léger *.
The British Film Institute is one of the few places that sells Dreams That Money Can Buy, but they only have VHS, which is a shame - and being an obscure film, it's expensive, especially for a tape.
Incidentally, I'm experimenting with sending in this entry automatically by email, using Flickr wizardry.
I wrote this around 7pm on Tuesday and timed it to be sent early on Thursday morning. If it appears before then, doesn't arrive, or turns into a mess, I'll fix it on Sunday.
* Monsieur L's name has been corrected in accordance with the respect due him as an artist (and the fact that LX Robotnik pointed out my error...)
The relevance to the photo is that one segment in particular is so
wonderfully disconcerting that I haven't been able to look at a mannequin in
the same way since. It's called The Girl with the Prefabricated Heart,
directed by Fernand Léger *.
The British Film Institute is one of the few places that sells Dreams That Money Can Buy, but they only have VHS, which is a shame - and being an obscure film, it's expensive, especially for a tape.
Incidentally, I'm experimenting with sending in this entry automatically by email, using Flickr wizardry.
I wrote this around 7pm on Tuesday and timed it to be sent early on Thursday morning. If it appears before then, doesn't arrive, or turns into a mess, I'll fix it on Sunday.
* Monsieur L's name has been corrected in accordance with the respect due him as an artist (and the fact that LX Robotnik pointed out my error...)
20050323
The Pipes
I have to confess to being unsure what this building is, other than to say that it's a recent addition to the campus of Newcastle University. At a guess, it might be called the Cassie building.
20050322
Civic Memorial
Taken a few weeks ago - you can still see some snow on the ground. This memorial is outside the civic centre and opposite Newcastle Univrsity, near the Haymarket metro stop.
20050321
Strip Lights
Taken at the Monument metro station in Newcastle, this is a shot of the flourescent lighting on the platform roof.
20050320
Wellies
I had intended to take this so the boots were more central, but as happens so often it's difficult to judge. I either overcompensate or undercompensate.
20050319
Dirty Pigeon
I like animals, but some I'd rather kept out of my way. Rats and cockroaches are unpleasant, but at least they'll never fly over you and defecate on your head.
Someone is feeding them. I suspect it's the old man I saw near the bus station scurrying away - he left a field of discarded crumbs and a horde of confused looking pigeons.
Someone is feeding them. I suspect it's the old man I saw near the bus station scurrying away - he left a field of discarded crumbs and a horde of confused looking pigeons.
20050318
Greenery
If I'm ever feeling a bit under the weather, looking at this plant often makes me feel better.
It's the epitome of health - a perfect shiny green, thriving in inhospitable conditions in a wall near Ouseburn.
It's the epitome of health - a perfect shiny green, thriving in inhospitable conditions in a wall near Ouseburn.
20050317
Hot Choc
I'm currently applying for jobs in the hope of finding something for September.
Naturally, the more I apply for, the more rejections that come back.
Usually the organisation is helpful and offers a bit of feedback, but occasionally I get the impression there is a whole army of people out there whose sole purpose in life is to waste everyone's time by devising increasingly ridiculous and inefficient recruitment methods.
A case in point - why send a candidate miles and miles away to an assessment centre, confirm that they've passed the various tests, but then reject the applcation on the basis of the original form? Wouldn't it save everyone's time (and money) to spend thirty seconds looking through the form first?
Naturally, the more I apply for, the more rejections that come back.
Usually the organisation is helpful and offers a bit of feedback, but occasionally I get the impression there is a whole army of people out there whose sole purpose in life is to waste everyone's time by devising increasingly ridiculous and inefficient recruitment methods.
A case in point - why send a candidate miles and miles away to an assessment centre, confirm that they've passed the various tests, but then reject the applcation on the basis of the original form? Wouldn't it save everyone's time (and money) to spend thirty seconds looking through the form first?
20050316
Moor View
This is a counterpart to the sunset shot I posted a while ago.
It was taken at the same time, but from the opposite direction.
It was taken at the same time, but from the opposite direction.
20050315
Apples
As well as the fact that the espion won't take a picture in anything other than bright, direct light, it's often difficult to eliminate blur.
A microscopic shake of the hand and it looks like the photo has been taken from the window of a bullet train.
So presenting this as an example is my excuse for posting something so obviously out of focus...
A microscopic shake of the hand and it looks like the photo has been taken from the window of a bullet train.
So presenting this as an example is my excuse for posting something so obviously out of focus...
20050314
20050313
Pampas
Pampas Grass in the botanical gardens, Durham.
A few years ago a vigilante group went around suburban areas of the UK slashing down Pampas grass in residential gardens.
I don't know what inspired them to that level of dislike, but a large patch of pampas does look daft in a small garden.
A few years ago a vigilante group went around suburban areas of the UK slashing down Pampas grass in residential gardens.
I don't know what inspired them to that level of dislike, but a large patch of pampas does look daft in a small garden.
20050312
20050311
Snowdrops
Timely, if not an original subject.
In Durham most of the snowdrops were still closed, with only a few beginning to open.
In Durham most of the snowdrops were still closed, with only a few beginning to open.
20050310
Brassica Napus
Last night, I clicked on a random blog in the list of updates in the blog directory Blogwise (it was Five Live Links, incidentally) and found a link back to a Flickr Central thread featuring the inimiatble and ubiquitous GustavoG.
This made me wonder exactly how many users Flickr has; the statistics are probably out there somewhere, but I think not knowing, and imagining a number instead, feels more meaningful at than a cold figure - that is, I would be disappointed if the figure seemed very low, and if it were very high I doubt it would seem very significant.
Tangent:
There's an anecdote in a 1919 Freud essay in which he describes wandering through an unfamiliar city. He finds himself in an area he characterises euphemistically, but which is obviously a 'red light' area. Uncomfortable, he follows winding streets away, tries different routes, but keeps ending up back in the same place.
In a wholly more positive way, the number of times I end up back at Flickr by an unpredictable and unexpected route is starting to catch my attention - it's a repetition compulsion.
Last night I noticed my Flickr photostream had received its 1,000th viewing. I thought I'd celebrate this meaningless statistic (how many PEOPLE is that?) in two ways. Firstly, by posting an interminable and barely comprehensible ramble, and secondly by posting two Canon photos in a row.
This photo was originally of a field in Oxfordshire, on a sunny summer's day in 2003. It looked rather routine on first viewing, and with it not being an original or innovative subject, I decided to torture it in Photoshop.
Even though there's now an unnatural feel to the photo, I like it that way. I feel strongly that it's more interesting than it was originally. It's how I want to remember that field looking on that day.
This made me wonder exactly how many users Flickr has; the statistics are probably out there somewhere, but I think not knowing, and imagining a number instead, feels more meaningful at than a cold figure - that is, I would be disappointed if the figure seemed very low, and if it were very high I doubt it would seem very significant.
Tangent:
There's an anecdote in a 1919 Freud essay in which he describes wandering through an unfamiliar city. He finds himself in an area he characterises euphemistically, but which is obviously a 'red light' area. Uncomfortable, he follows winding streets away, tries different routes, but keeps ending up back in the same place.
In a wholly more positive way, the number of times I end up back at Flickr by an unpredictable and unexpected route is starting to catch my attention - it's a repetition compulsion.
Last night I noticed my Flickr photostream had received its 1,000th viewing. I thought I'd celebrate this meaningless statistic (how many PEOPLE is that?) in two ways. Firstly, by posting an interminable and barely comprehensible ramble, and secondly by posting two Canon photos in a row.
This photo was originally of a field in Oxfordshire, on a sunny summer's day in 2003. It looked rather routine on first viewing, and with it not being an original or innovative subject, I decided to torture it in Photoshop.
Even though there's now an unnatural feel to the photo, I like it that way. I feel strongly that it's more interesting than it was originally. It's how I want to remember that field looking on that day.
20050309
Fish
From Durham Botanical Gardens - fish in a leafy pool in the tropical greenhouse.
It's very peaceful if you can get there on a day when there isn't a school trip!
It's very peaceful if you can get there on a day when there isn't a school trip!
20050308
Shrub
On Sunday I went back to the botanical gardens in Durham, near Collingwood and Grey colleges.
It's an amazing place, and no matter what time of year you go, there's always at least one part of it flourishing.
There are about ten photos from this trip that I'll post over the next few days.
I didn't note the name of this flowering bush despite making a mental note to remember some information for blog purposes.
It's an amazing place, and no matter what time of year you go, there's always at least one part of it flourishing.
There are about ten photos from this trip that I'll post over the next few days.
I didn't note the name of this flowering bush despite making a mental note to remember some information for blog purposes.
20050307
OBB1
Parked behind the circle of bars at the Civic Centre - the Mayor's Mercedes S-Class limousine, black of course.
20050306
Flags
Flags outside the Civic Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne.
To the left of the shot is the council building. Above the line of the flags is a bell tower.
There must be an experimental campanology group that uses the tower - I swear I've heard the bells ringing the theme tune to the A-Team.
To the left of the shot is the council building. Above the line of the flags is a bell tower.
There must be an experimental campanology group that uses the tower - I swear I've heard the bells ringing the theme tune to the A-Team.
20050305
20050304
Eyes
Friday rolls around again.
In a Christmas cracker last year, I found a little plastic thing like a faceted plastic lens - I thought it might be interesting to stick it in front of the Canon A200 and see what the results were like.
As I wasn't expecting the camera to be able to focus through the plastic, the result was a surprise.
In a Christmas cracker last year, I found a little plastic thing like a faceted plastic lens - I thought it might be interesting to stick it in front of the Canon A200 and see what the results were like.
As I wasn't expecting the camera to be able to focus through the plastic, the result was a surprise.
20050303
Spud
For no reason other than just because - a sprouty potato against a venetian blind. A perfectly logical combination.
Sadly the Espion failed to capture the full effect of the alien, gnarled and noduled tendrils, or the unpleasant purple stippling.
Sadly the Espion failed to capture the full effect of the alien, gnarled and noduled tendrils, or the unpleasant purple stippling.
20050302
Grey Street
This is Grey Street in Newcastle, which was voted Britain's favourite street by Radio 4 listeners. You can see a 360 degree view of the area here.
This shot was taken with my back to the monument (the large pillar). The dome is where the green netting is on the right hand side; opposite is the Theatre Royal.
This shot was taken with my back to the monument (the large pillar). The dome is where the green netting is on the right hand side; opposite is the Theatre Royal.
20050301
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