Grasses at the estuary, Port Lonsdale.
On the 29th of this month, it will be the first anniversary of the wedding of the manbeast and I. It’s been an interesting year. Foregoing the honeymoon, we opted to use the rest of the cash left over from the wedding to put towards a new house. With a little help from Mrs E (my mum), we were able to purchase the wonderful castle we now live in. We’re still getting used to its quirks but it’s home. It’s ours. And the bank’s.
Full list of stock credits can be found on my deviantART page.
Another for my Dragon Worlds series. Been working on this one for a while. Still not entirely happy with it. I think it’s because it’s in portrait orientation rather than landscape. It’s not quite as epic as I was hoping it to look and I think the lack of background is the reason why. Feel free to leave your opinions. I really can’t fix this without starting from scratch and that’s something I’m not really inclined to do unless I’m particularly inspired to revisit Photoshop and battle the dragons again.
Full stock credits can be found on my deviantART page.
The Washer of the Ford
There is a lonely stream afar in a lone dim land:
It hath white dust for shire it has, white bones bestrew the strand:
The only thing that liveth there is a naked leaping sword;
But I, who are a seer am, have seen the whirling hand
Of the Washer of the Ford.
Read More
I absolutely adored London. It was big and dirty and scary. It has the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, the Churchill Museum (which I adored), the Brittish Museum (which was unfortunately filled to the brim with school kids). I loved the muffins and juice we got from the little cafe right nextdoor to the hostel we stayed in. I loved the fact that we were right across the road from Shepherds Bush station. I even adored how people got really narky when you didn’t stand to the right on the escalators but didn’t actually say anything to you until they managed to get past and then they’d only grumble and insult you under their breath. I loved being in the shadow of Big Ben. I loved walking through Regents Park even though Allison and I were trying to find London Zoo. I love how English people don’t know how to queue. London is fun.
This began life as a design for a friend’s photography business however it seemed to take on a life of it’s own and by the time I finished the logo, it was nothing like what we had discussed or where I had initially wanted the design to go. So, to that end, I created a “fake” business (my apologies to any real photography businesses called “Blue Lotus”, if you like this we can talk) and let the design speak for itself rather than trying to make it fit a completely different concept.
The above, of course, is the front of the business card. I achieved a sort of “cool zen” with the colours and the minimalist design.
Sorry Tam! Soooo not what I was thinking for Talisman Photography.
For the the first part of the assignment, we had to design a logo. The second part was designing stationary; A4 letterhead and and letterhead follower, compliment slip, business card and business envelope.
PS – Illustrator causes me no end of heartache!
Just getting back into the swing of things and practicing some new techniques in Photoshop. Almost got the painterly effect going (though that wasn’t the aim). Below you can see a picture of the after/before comparison. All the details as to the stock providers and a bigger version of this image can be found on my deviantART account, and the image “Nereid”.
Allison and I were busily taking pictures of York Minster (one of the biggest Gothic cathedrals this side of the Swedish Alps) when an older lady approached us. “Here we go,” thought I, thinking she might have had something to say about us and our cameras.
She did, but in a good way. She was an off-duty tourguide!
“Are you visitors?” She asks.
“Yes,” says we, the Australian and American accents giving it away immediately if the cameras and fevered snapping wasn’t already a big enough clue.
“Well, I don’t usually let people in on this but there is an excellent view of the Minster from the third floor window in Marks and Spencer!”
So, obediently, we found our way to Marks and Spencer and went to the third floor, which just happened to be the men’s clothing department. Surrounded by socks and undies, we peeked out of the little window to find an awesome view, just like the lady said.
Sitting stately amongst the rooftops of the township and bathed in warm afternoon light, there was the Minster in all it’s glory.
Last night the manbeast stopped and, while looking over at a few of my photographs, quietly said it was nice to be reminded that one doesn’t need top-notch photographic gear to get a great image. Yeah, that’s a compliment I’ll take. I happen to agree. Some of my favourite shots have been taken on a Pentax ist* DS or the manbeast’s Nikon D70s. Neither are fantastic cameras but they do the job. The above image was taken, if I remember correctly, on Steve’s Nikon D70s. I love this photograph. I love the smog, I love the dirty yellow sunset reflected off the glass, I love the flecks of light on the far-away buildings and the vibrant colours on the bridge. All caught and dealt with beautifully in appalling conditions from within a very dirty pod on the London Eye.
The old blog has gone kahpoot. This one will soon be an art/photoblog. Don’t worry, there will still be the occasional rant. Just want to get a bit of a presence out there.
