Why Am I Doing This?

"Because we do not know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustable well. Yet everything happens a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can't even concieve of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even that. How many times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless." (Paul Bowles - "The Sheltering Sky")

Sometimes you've just got to take photos for fun. If you ever lose sight of that, then it's no longer a passion. It just becomes another job...

Photography should be about capturing moments, stopping time and remembering that which is important. It should not be about earning money, or chasing fame and fortune. Sadly it's an easy trap to fall into in the world we live in where everybody wants to be somebody.

This might actually be working!

What a Friday I had - first I sold some stock photos - which means I currently have one WHOLE Dollar in my account - but - far more importantly - it means I am officially "professional" - i.e. I've been PAID for my photos! :)

Then I sold a photo on eBay, which I never expected to happen (albeit to a lovely friend of mine - but still - I sold one!)

And finally I got in touch with a local pub/restaurant owner, and offered him a look at my website, and consequently I am now looking at a month long exhibition! Which is just fantastic!!!

Slowly.... things might be starting to happen!

Security ramped up at local shopping Outlet

Popped into McArthurGlen Designer Outlet earlier, only to discover that they are really taking security seriously these days, with a very visible presence of armed guards...

See? This is why they tell you always carry your camera EVERYWHERE. You never know when a Stormtrooper might suddenly pop up!

There's one - set for flourescant....!!!

This is what I'm talking about

Today was good. Today I took photos, and spent time with my family. Today I felt inspired again. And today I got this shot of a kestrel (along with lots of other birds of prey, and some lovely shots of my kids having a great time!). That's what it's all about!

Feeling the loss...

Yesterday morning I was not at my best. I had had a fairly long sleepless night - my poor wife had been up and down with what we suspect to be food poisoning. As a result neither she or myself were at our best when the kids tumbled out of bed at 6.45 demanding food and attention.

Eventually I staggered to the computer and decided that as it was going to be a long day, looking after both the patient AND the kids, I'd do something useful - and set a backup of all my files running... I keyed in the cmd line (being an IT guy I feel clever and smug being able to use command line applications like Robocopy and in fact, there is no better backup program IMHO - as long as the user has a brain, and is WIDE AWAKE!)

After a good 10 mins (and a cup of coffee) I realised I'd been a very silly boy and mirrored my laptop's files over the hard disk in my backup drive, not usually a problem except I'd archived a bunch of 2008 photos to it (try several thousand...) and these were now deleted and partially written over. As you can imagine, I panicked...

Now before I get lots of posts suggesting ways to prevent this, or recover the files, bear in mind I was an IT guy for 15 years. I SHOULD know better. But - the bottom line is that we ALL make mistakes, and we ALL lose files sometimes. Backups are essential to minimise the risk of this, but sometimes, things just go wrong...

I accept this fully; I made a dumb, tired mistake - I should have wrote a little script that I clicked on each time -to avoid any dumb, tired mistakes... But I didn't.

As a result I lost some files. I managed to recover an awful lot using a wonderful free file recovery program called Undelete Plus, which I would have no hesitation in recommending, should you ever find yourself in the unfortunate position of having deleted/lost files.

But here's the thing. I realised that most of the files I lost were worthless - RAWs I'd never need to process, or look at ever again. And of the more "valuable" ones - well - it made me realise that I can't bask in past glories forever, constantly playing with old "great shots" I took at rock festivals or other memorable events. As a photographer, as an artist, as a creative creation, I am only as good as the last thing I did. If I don't keep taking photos I am no longer a photographer (good or bad!). I *was* a photographer.

So in a way I'm quite GLAD I had this upset - it's made me think ahead, and "archive" my past achievements. Bring on the jobs, the magazines the degree - I'm ready!

And this time I'll be backing up my photos properly too!

Snow Good, I Can't Do Winter Landscapes...

Just been trekking around in my 4x4 trying to take photos (emulating one of my heroes, Kieran Dodds on the DVD that came with the EOS cameras!). Snow everywhere - I drove, I walked, I climbed, I sat. No muse, no inspiration, no excitement...

I love portraits. I love rock music photography. I want intense, exciting moments. I just don't seem to be able to find the inspiration to photograph a lump of mud and clay and rock, covered in white stuff. I even took to turning the camera on myself and pulling faces...

Maybe I was just meant to shoot people?

My first blog

Am just finding my way in the world of Bloggerising. I am a 35 year old freelance photographer, based in the South East of the UK, and am trying to promote my photography work, using the power of the InterWeb...

Not getting to do a lot of photography at present - there's a LOT to consider when setting up a business!