PhotoTopix Photography Forum - Blogs http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php Photographic community with unique features offering photographic news, forum, chat, gallery, articles and advice. en Sat, 17 May 2008 19:03:29 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.phototopix.co.uk/images/fun/misc/rss.jpg PhotoTopix Photography Forum - Blogs http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php withdrawals ........ http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=24 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:30:28 GMT Ohhhh - how frustrating - haven't been able to even pick up my camera for sooooo long, let alone take a photo ... and forget about any experimenting with Photoshop.

Oh well, such is life.

We'll be heading off for a well-earned month's holiday in Canada next week - visiting our daughter who has met a French Canadian whilst there on a working holiday visa (now why did I know this would happen as we said goodbye to her back in December 2006?).

So, maybe I'll come back armed with some lovely photos of the Canadian countryside to share!

Wanted to do my PP ... wanted to enter the Colour Red comp ... wanted to enter the Dark and Light comp .... but, alas, no time - must finish off our work before we travel - self-employment does have it's drawbacks from time to time LOL!

So ... 'see' you all in June!

Lenita :D ]]> Lenita http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=24 <![CDATA[Here Go's Me First Ever Blog!!!!!!]]> http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=23 Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:23:53 GMT Well, I've never done a blog before, so this should be fun.... appoligies if it goes B***ies* up, but will give it a try.

For a living, I deliver certain products to peoples home to keep them warm in the winter months etc, so I am constantly on the road. Rather that taking my camera along (you should see some of the places I have to travel through), I have started to ue my mobile phone for capturing images....

Intention is, if this works, is to post the images here (somehow) that have been taken from my moby....

Anyhoos, welcome to me blog, and hopes you enjoy

Mark ]]> Spooks http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=23 Sunday 10th Feb http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=22 Sun, 10 Feb 2008 15:00:10 GMT Well, today PhotoPhil has livened up the a sunny sunday afternoon by having a competition to see who has the best name for TCO...i think i'm overdoing it a little..
William had another coughing fit last night. wasn't good. turned red in the face, choking whilst trying to be sick, the little he brings up anyway.. eventually sttled down after lying on daddys immense muscle bound chest for a while *smile to myself*. had 3 shoots drop out today..the other 2 so far have been good though.. oh well..it is sunny so i suppose everyone is making the most of it.. ]]> Eos1nrs http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=22 First Ever Blog!! http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=21 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:31:28 GMT Well, lets see how this goes..firstly my hands are cold and i am getting serious typos!!
My name is Andrew and i am married to a most gorgeous woman called Kerry-Ann. We were married in Jan 2007 in winchester. Had a wonderful day in which we did not do anything ordinary..My stag night was the night before so i managed to get myself out of the usual pranks..The cermony took place in winchester's guildhall. small, only 26 or so of us. We then walked up the high st to Mr So's chinese restaurant! took the place over then back down to the guildhall for our evening festivities!
I have two boys, Aiden who is 4 and william is (on this date) 11 weeks old after coming 8 weeks early..These 3 people are the centre of my world. i feel so blessed to live and breathe in the same house as them..
Currently working as a studio based photographer shooting families..sort of V*nture style but not as arrogant nor pricey. we pride ourselves on having the best quality service we can give. Our comments book is overflowing. most amazing but some aren't as great but are left in, mainly for us to make sure mistakes dont get repeated!
Been in photography since my early twenties (more than hobby-wise). learnt my trade starting out in the 1 hour lab section of a prolab. worked my way upwards and was soon doing hand printing from passports to 6'x3'. my main area was printing from trannies but could do everything from bw h/p to col neg machine printing..maintainance, chemical testing, staff traing, done it all.
From there i went freelance doing assisting, mainly in town with fashion based togs. slowly moved into weddings which i did for 6 years or so..It built up slowly, prob too slowly really. wasnt quite ruthless enough i guess
I had to move to southampton to be with Kerry as she had the house and i lost my flat (to the ex) starting again from scratch didnt seem like much fun but my current job came very quickly out of the blue and it was waaaaay too good to turn down.
I see myself as very lucky as i shoot pretty much every day, i'm my own time keeper with my work and i get paid to do it!!:D:D
well enough prattle for now. not sure what a blog is meant to be but this is me and over next however long i'll add more prattle.. ]]> Eos1nrs http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=21 Photos of Ducks http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=20 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 02:56:18 GMT Wednesday of last week(one of my days off from work) I got up early to get photos of ducks. I needed to leave an hour before daylight to get to the wildlife management area. In putting my boots on I found a hole. Knowing I would wade through water and the temperture was a little below freezing; I found some freezer bags. Three pairs of socks and then the freezer bag worked just fine. Did I mention that the area is an hour north of where I live? It was a little colder there. I guess we will do anything for a photo. I ended up with photos of a dozen different ducks that I never had before. If it had just not been so windy and cold. Wednesday of last week(one of my days off from work) I got up early to get photos of ducks. I needed to leave an hour before daylight to get to the wildlife management area. In putting my boots on I found a hole. Knowing I would wade through water and the temperture was a little below freezing; I found some freezer bags. Three pairs of socks and then the freezer bag worked just fine. Did I mention that the area is an hour north of where I live? It was a little colder there. I guess we will do anything for a photo.
I ended up with photos of a dozen different ducks that I never had before. If it had just not been so windy and cold. ]]> FrankC http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=20 A Day Off From Work. http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=19 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 01:41:13 GMT Being off work today I got out of bed and switched on the pc hoping to catch some of you guys over there on chat. Everything seemed to be okay until I clicked on AOL. The hour glass only stayed on two seconds and disappeared. I waited. NOTHING. I right clicked and clicked on, "Open". Waited. Nothing. I restarted the computer and tried it all again. Nothing. Okay, I went to "one click fixes" and decided to restore the aol software rather than redownload. Not knowing how I would get online to download anyway. That was a bad mistake. Still no action so I started looking for backdoors. I found where I had aol internet browzer. I opened AOL on it but AOL said my password was wrong. So I tried every password I had ever used. They were all wrong.:confused: But; there was a place to download the newest AOL. I said why not, what could be worse. I found out what could be worse. I ended up with something that was alien, had no buddy list or address book and slower than a slug. But at least I was able to clear up the password thing. I used that to search for another version of AOL and finally found it. I think this was my third download of the day. Did I say that each time the downloads were going; I went out and raked and bagged leaves? I got a lot of leaves bagged. I finally got online about dark only to discover that my favorites toolbar is missing all the important places; including this one. Panicing I emailed Fay asking for the address. Phototopix.com was not the right address. Then I checked the old mail and found the whole name of the site. I finally got home. ]]> FrankC http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=19 New Years Eve http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=18 Mon, 31 Dec 2007 13:32:09 GMT Well here it comes my first big outing post op.......not by choice let me tell you, infact I have been going a bit "stir crazy" having been abandonded by my family who have been going to the beach.....all day, everyday!!!! Can't be mean and blame them really as there's not much I can do on the beach (not allowed to walk on sand yet), and it is their Summer Holiday too:p

Anyway I'm off to the Lifesaving Club to bring in the New Year, all I need is a comfy chair and one (or two) bottles of champagne and I'll be well set, who knows maybe I will be able to swing my crutch around on the dance floor......it would make a perfect tool if they play the "Hokey Kokey" lol I'd have 3 legs to put in!:eek:

I'm not making any major resolutions, I'm old enough now to know I probably won't keep them anyway.....

So, Happy Happy to all who read this....may 2008 be the best year yet!!!!:D:D: ]]> Hippy-Di http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=18 Forgotten white balance. http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=17 Sun, 30 Dec 2007 23:48:14 GMT I wonder if anyone has ever set their white balance for tungsten; then forgotten about it and gone outside to get pics. I did about a year ago at a wedding. I ended up with a lot of smurfs and a whopping amount of editing. Some people look rather interesting all blue. I wonder if anyone has ever set their white balance for tungsten; then forgotten about it and gone outside to get pics. I did about a year ago at a wedding. I ended up with a lot of smurfs and a whopping amount of editing. Some people look rather interesting all blue.
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]]> FrankC http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=17 A Wee Spot of Tea (installment #3) http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=16 Sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:35:32 GMT A Wee Spot of Tea (installment #3)

As soon as she left, I went straight back to my half finished task on my husband's computer. Going past my computer room, I stopped dead in my tracks--my flannel sheet was pristine clean!!!...no big brown stains!....OH MY!, that woman brought a spirit with her.! Slack-jawed, I slowly went to the window, softly touching the sheet, looking for any remains of the big brown stain. Peering ever so closely, I see nothing...not even a hint of a stain. As I impatiently gave the sheet a jab..Bam!! There was that stain, in all of it's flory, glowering at me. Shocked, I jumped back a few paces...looked again...NO STAIN...eeeeks

Then I came to the realization of what had happened. The sheet had been doubled over before it was hung and the heat, rising upwards from the electric heater had gone up into the fold, causing a billowing effect. It was the billowing effct that had caused the outside fold to touch the window and get a water stain. The water stain had gone completely unnoticed until the heat had been turned off and now both sides of the sheet were touching and the sun shining through, caused a stain glass effect, making the stain visible ]]> fayswon http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=16 A Wee Spot of Tea (installment #2) http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=15 Sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:18:47 GMT A Wee Spot of Tea (installment #2)

This morning, upon arising, I had noticed that the temperature had dropped abit over night and the computer room had a chill, so I turned the wall heater back on. After turning the heater on, I went into my husband's computer room, for my keyboard had just died.

My cat Charlie was in the next room growling, which is very unusual, so I went to see what it was about, and there is Charlie looking out the window and towards the road where I see my neighbor Katie, walking her 'cat-chasing' dog. Katie lives alone and finds the winters especially difficult for she suffers from the SAD syndrome, which is depression brought on by the lack of sun. The last few days have been difficult for her....getting close to Christmas and feeling neglected by her family. Even though morosely out of porportion, feeling bad is feeling bad.

I went out to get another stick for the stove and I hollered to Katie to come in for a wee spot of tea. The 'cat-chasing' dog accepted the invitation with glee and Charlie stood his ground, ears back and one paw lifted and poised. Katie slowly sautntered up the drive, "Well, if it's not too much bother", she said in a slow dragging voice.

Katie can really be quite funny and soon I got her talking about things other than herself. The more I laughed, the more talkative she got. Her conversation was more on the subjects of flying saucers, Jimmy Carter and things that go bump in the night. When she finally got up to leave, she hugged me and said, "Thanks", to which I replied, "Well, don't thank me for the tea." I had forgotten to serve tea (I'm not good at hostessing, either). ]]> fayswon http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=15 Lost the Title http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=14 Sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:02:22 GMT It appears that I still do not have a firm handle yet on this blogging. The title has gone missing. This was entitled A Wee Spot of Tea (installment #1) It appears that I still do not have a firm handle yet on this blogging. The title has gone missing.

This was entitled A Wee Spot of Tea (installment #1) ]]> fayswon http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=14 YEP, I have lost it. http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=13 Sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:11:20 GMT Working eleven to twelve hours a day seven days a week has taken it's toll. I seem to have lost a hundred years. And which day of the week is it? Is today Sunday or is that tomorrow? Maybe it was yesterday. I can not get Christmas music out of my head. When I try to go to sleep; I see blinking lights. And poinsetas? We must have gotten a million. Red, pink, white and glittered. They were stuck everywhere. I no longer count sheep. I count poinsetas. What idiot at the home office ordered three hundred trees but only fifty tree stands. BALLS??? We had tiny ones, little ones, average ones, big ones and huge ones. They were on shelves, hanging from shelves, hanging on trees and rolling across the floor. I really thought hard about resigning as the plantman. But then I thought about the roses coming soon and now everything is ok. ]]> FrankC http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=13 Family Day http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=12 Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:13:15 GMT Well this is a first......all these years trawling the net and I've never blogged:D

It's Boxing Day.....known in South Africa as "Family Day". I think it should become an international day "of un-doing the top button" or "thank goodness I don't have to eat turkey again for another year" day!

For those who know me....the good news is that I'm down to one crutch now and I'm looking forward to swinging it around quite a bit on New Years Eve.....hopefully I won't kill anyone with it lol. Should be a hoot to see.... if they play Y.M.C.A ;)

(Anybody out there use G-mail, if so please tell me that I wasn't the only one who didn't receive mail for the past 3 days.....what a pain, and loads of messages to catch up with now that I have managed to get them down....some good jokes and stuff to see!) ]]> Hippy-Di http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=12 Christmas eve http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=11 Mon, 24 Dec 2007 23:42:17 GMT I was looking through my photo files and saw I had only two files so far from December. Am I in danger of forgetting how to use my camera? I will get a few family shots tomorrow. Most likely with cluttered backgrounds and fake smiles. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone. I was looking through my photo files and saw I had only two files so far from December. Am I in danger of forgetting how to use my camera? I will get a few family shots tomorrow. Most likely with cluttered backgrounds and fake smiles. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone. ]]> FrankC http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=11 Busy Time of Year http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=10 Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:55:53 GMT It always seems there is little time for photography at this time of year. :mad: The daylight hours are so short. Then I work ten to twelve hours a day during the Christmas season. It is dark when I go to work and dark when I come home. I put out food in the dark for the birds to eat during the day. I look forward to some days off from work and more light to see what birds are here. As some of you know, I really like photographing the birds and squirrels.:) The winter brings birds that are not in the area the rest of the year. It always seems there is little time for photography at this time of year. :mad: The daylight hours are so short. Then I work ten to twelve hours a day during the Christmas season. It is dark when I go to work and dark when I come home. I put out food in the dark for the birds to eat during the day. I look forward to some days off from work and more light to see what birds are here. As some of you know, I really like photographing the birds and squirrels.:) The winter brings birds that are not in the area the rest of the year. ]]> FrankC http://www.phototopix.co.uk/blog.php?b=10