Toytown UK

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve had a job shooting architectural details at a bunch of London locations. It’s been fun seeing some new places, looking at them in a way I wouldn’t normally do and after the work was done it was also an opportunity to play – making pictures like this one. I feel a new series coming on. [Pic]

Whenever You Can

According to this survey digital cameras are the most confusing gadget and 46% of us don’t read the manuals. I spend a fair amount of time teaching people how to use their DSLRs so don’t find any of this surprising. Compared to the simple, manual only, film cameras that I learnt on, the modern digital camera is incredibly complex with a horrible interface and for the novice, an indecipherable manual. [Pic]

The Films of Jacques Rivette

Usually long but always intriguing. We managed to see four that were new to me during the recent NFT season and have also been catching up by renting the few available DVDs. Tonight was Histoire de Marie et Julien which may well be his “greatest achievement” but although the cat was very good, of the more recent films, I preferred Va Savoir.

Time to Play

I’m sure there will be lots of photoblogs bulging with excitement about Adobe Lightroom but all I have to say is that I’m glad I wasn’t sucked into the Aperture hype – as much as I like Apple. Not wishing to get into arguments over which is better I can see these programs being quite appealing to a lot of photographers who don’t want to deal with the behemoth that is Photoshop, as well as those who need a better way to deal with editing, cataloguing, etc. This picture comes via my first, five minute play with Lightroom.

Newly Served

I moved my domain last Friday (16 Dec 05) so if you’ve emailed me in the last few days and haven’t had a reply please resend.

Jeff Wall

If like me, you’ve only seen one or two Jeff Wall pictures in group shows before, then the current show at the Tate Modern is well worth seeing. I’m still wondering how much of my admiration for the pictures is to do with being seduced by the format (huge lightboxes) but they certainly have more interest than say Gregory Crewdson’s huge (non-lightbox) pictures. Perhaps somebody will fund me to produce some of my own pictures as lightboxes and then I’ll have a better understanding (roughly sliced).

Three Bollards

I went to see William Eggleston in the Real World at the Barbican but the DVD skipped, eventually stalled and the show was abandoned. Michael Almereyda said it was “nobody’s fault”. The discussion between him, Martin Parr and Val Williams was pretty lame too. There should have been a riot or at least the offer of a refund. (Update: the Barbican organised a free re-screening)

Tree and Bollard

2005 and I was considering trying to post once a week but given that I’ve already fallen at the first hurdle I’ll try to think of a more exciting regime.

November, TCR

I’ve put together six pictures into a new gallery called November Landscapes (removed May ‘05).

John Peel

A big loss: John Peel died.

Crumpled

I’ve made a new gallery of recent pictures [link removed].

It Must Have Been the Sun

Sorry about all the flowers, seascapes and nudity – normal madness is resumed with a return to the city.