Photography
Posted on | June 29, 2008 | No Comments
It’s almost birthday time; so I’m thinking of treating myself photographically.
With the sun out and summer in bloom I’ve been playing a lot more and really getting back into it. Now to start my foray into spending spare money on photography I’m deciding if my Birthday present should be a shiney new 40D or if I should stick with the 350D and look for a good quality lens with the money instead?
I’m not really that interested in the MP difference. But the higher ISO, fps and general improvements of the 40D are very welcome – a majority of my shots are taken indoors and low-light. But that would also point me to getting a decent, fast, lens and/or flash?
A 40D (new) would be slightly over my budget, but I can offset that a little by selling the 350 on, whereas a fast lens would likely be just as much without me being able to recoup some cost by selling a body (unless it’s mine)
Otherwise I’m maybe looking at something like the Canon 23-135mm USM IS lens or the EF-S 17-85mm USM IS.
I hate spending money. And not knowing what to spend it on. Grr…
A Spam A Day…
Posted on | June 24, 2008 | No Comments
Just another quickie; I’m adding this to my bloglist on the right there.
http://aspamaday.blogspot.com/
Fantastic implementation of the ‘taking spam email titles and making a funny cartoon’. It’s a great style and has some impressive artwork. But overall, quite a funny site.
I’m sharing the love. Check out the site; there’s a few giggles in hiding.
Again…
Posted on | June 7, 2008 | 3 Comments
I don’t like this theme. I’m going to change it again.
Any suggestions are welcome.
(if you’re reading this in Facebook then it’ll mean nothing to you, please go about your life and ignore me)
If we were Apple
Posted on | April 28, 2008 | No Comments
Having a bit of a funny turn today, thinking about webdesign and layout. It’s almost that time where work dies down and I dedicate huge chunks of my own spare time to do work over summer for my employers, all gratis of course.
Summer is usually the time that the website gets an overhaul from the ground up, to cement in all the bric-a-brac that’s tacked on during the year and not had enough time dedicated to making it really work as such.
I had a quick look round at some of the big sites that I visit often, or daily. I have been known to ‘borrow’ some ideas from sites. Yes, yes, I know – bad me. But everything’s really been done before. The trick is in re-doing it in a way that’s equal or better and not just a carbon copy. That’s a plus with webdesign – an idea can be ‘borrowed’ and the code or implementation can be worlds apart. It’s only the interface that will parallel the original.
Lightbox JS, and many other ‘add ons’ are become more of the norm. With mild templating changes being all that’s needed to make a good idea one that can be used all over. Obviously GNU and more open source licensing has meant that copyright isn’t so much of an issue anymore.
Well, as I flaunted with the ideas of re-jigging the website to a more aesthetically pleasing work, I realised that the content of the site and the ‘way it works’ from an inside point of view (corporately) was the biggest limiting factor. A nice clean design would only work so far until someone uttered those fateful words ‘can we make it do this™’. Then, it would crumble to pieces. I can’t say no, and no one else realises the implications of working against a CMS system’s inherent structures.
So, for one screenshot only, I bring you what would happen if I was Apple and had control over my own website and it’s contents.
Meet the Spartans
Posted on | April 20, 2008 | No Comments
Ooh look; a review!
Not normally one for the spoof movie genre I did catch ‘Meet the Spartans’ the other day. And although not a ‘good’ film, it’s something I’d recommend to anyone who’s seen 300. Instantly forgettable, it’s still a film that will manage to hold your attention throughout and occasionally deliver real laughs. “let us talk by the giant pit of death” , “I look like Jabba the Hutt; that is hot to me!” and “whatever you do don’t kick him into the pit of deat… stop kicking people into the pit of death, really!” are lines that are delivered in ways that tap directly into the hilarity centre of your brain. Unfortunately it’s riddled with a lot of American pop culture sketches. American Idol, Deal or No deal etc. that don’t really hit home to a UK audience even though we do have English versions.
It starts well, but loses momentum around half way through and some of the scenes seem drawn out or simply don’t work (the Spiderman 3 bit for example) but there’s still enough to keep you watching if it’s your type of funny to start with. Though a large percentage are gay jokes, so be thus warned if you are PC or find homoerotic jokes tasteless.
Sean Maguire is an excellent choice for Leonidas, and he plays it with a straight faced dryness whilst capturing the enthusiasm and shoutyness perfectly to spoof Gerard Butler’s performance. I can honestly say a lot of the lines delivered wouldn’t be funny at all if not coming from his mouth. Whilst Kevin Sorbo is excellent as Captain – plus steals the show with his “I’m gonna go Hercules on your ass” line.
Don’t get me wrong; this is not a good film, but it is good entertainment and will deliver at least one or two real laughs that make it worth the watch themselves. Well worth a gander.
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Not being too Jack Sparrow about it; anyone got a Snow Leopard disk they don't want for a while?
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@DebbieGreenwood I used to at Uni - can't say I noticed a difference, probably was healthier. But that's likely age rather than vitamins.
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Fairtrade Fashion Show at the Uni tomorrow, tickets only £3. Support a good cause and see some funky clothes!
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My name is Ben; I'm a designer and photographer.