February, 2008......
I have decided to add this page as a update on what I am currently working on, recent images and locations that I have visited and uploaded. Also as a way off letting off some steam on what is happening out their just now, not only in the world of photography but the world in general...
Location update - for the last week or so I have been working through in the west coast of Scotland, shooting images on the Ayrshire coast, Prestwick and Troon in particular.
Some of the images shot can be viewed in the
WATER
category of the site. I have also recently added a couple of techniques folders
which are aimed at providing an insight on how some photographs are taken and
the technique involved and in some cases how an effect can be achieved by
changing the settings on the camera - taking it off auto for a start....
I had to take one of my camera's back to the shop this week......the auto focus has been giving me a bit of problems lately.....constantly hunting for the correct focus in low light....I may not use my cameras in Auto mode but I do use auto focus.
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COMMENT....
Away from photography I am also a supporter of the HD format. I purchased Toshibas first generation of HD DVD players when they were only a month or so on the market and costing a lot more than what they are now.....and what bugs me is the current format war and this obsession that their can only be one victor. I am talking about BLU RAY and how, if we are to believe everything you read, it is outselling HD by 2 to 1.
Apparently another of the major American studios have decided to release any future films exclusively in BLU-RAY stating that the American public are confused with the two formats......now if I were American I would sue for defamation of character....you don't go into the HD market not knowing what is what.
I think their is more to it than that though.....the fact BLU-RAY is region coded where HD is region free probably has a lot to do with it. American film studios don't like region free discs.....I wonder why.
When DVD came along critics said it would be the end of VHS - but it is still here - to a lesser extent perhaps, but this HD format war is different. Studios didn't pick one or the other like they are doing now. They say it is in the best interest of the consumer that their only be one format....so I might as well through my HD player in the bin then....
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Away from that topic isn't everyone in the UK getting fed up with this obsession by the media on MPs expenses and donations. My god their are UK solders dying everyday in countries abroad and we have front page headlines on some minister accepting a donation of £1000 or so which he didn't declare...the media in this country are a joke...
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I live in a concrete city, nothing but houses, shops, roads and more houses. I blame the ( not so ) local council. They are hell bent on turning every spare piece of land, field or anything that might resemble the country into another housing estate. It used to be different. The town I in live was designated a new town. Built surrounding the original village in the country with a development corporation with specific guidelines on the growth and development. Now replaced by a council situated out of the town, their attitude has made me more of an environmentalist than I ever was. I support and am a member of a number of organisations which help protect the environment and the wildlife/countryside that we live in today. I always loved the country and the highlands and now I wish I could move their - but unless you were part of the housing price boom in the nineties then you can forget it. Prices for country dwellings are a joke - 100,000 grand for a one bedroom flat. The south east of the UK have a lot to answer for. The first time buyer in today's world have it difficult for sure....
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I like Alec Salmond, as first minister of Scotland and the Scottish Parliament. Here we have a man who wants to make other countries more aware of who we are and what we have to offer. To make people aware that we are more than just a 'region of England' as the Americans believe we are. I wish the media would get off his back. This is 2008 - we can still be part of the UK but as our own bosses...
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more to follow....
Derek Dobbie.