Posts from July 2008
Wedding trip part 2: Reims to the Channel Tunnel
Published in
After a good night’s sleep in Reims, we headed onward towards our appointment with the cross-Channel tunnel at a rate of knots, passing through the first toll booth of the day as we headed on through northern France towards Calais. We made pretty good time as the roads were exceptionally clear – by our experience,…
TFI Thursday
Published in
So this is what it feels like to be on a last day at work. Not much different from any day over the past few weeks, as I began winding down some time ago and I completed all the clearing out of desks, drawers and files last week. Today, it’s just finishing up bits and…
Storm Approaching
Published in
This is a rapidly conceived and executed shot, as a big storm headed in from the Simmen valley from western Switzerland. I saw the distant clouds being illuminated by lightning (which accounts for the varied colouring in the clouds) so I grabbed a tripod and framed my shot from our living room window, setting exposure…
“Good” photography
Published in
I had an interesting chat with a friend of Nick‘s on Saturday evening, which brewed into quite a heated discussion about the perennial photographic question of what makes a successful picture. Clive questioned my point of view that I am able to achieve perhaps five or more good photographic images out of every 100 taken…
Inexpensive still-life photography
Published in
This Lladró statue, designed by Francisco Català, was a gift from my parents and fits well with my photographic tendencies. It is also a great test piece for studio photography, so when I was looking to test flash technique this evening (in particular, soft lighting) it was immediately brought out. The statue is around 13″…
Learning a lot, a little at a time
Published in
This is a short (ten minute) outtake from David Hobby‘s workshop DVD set, which is on sale for US$139. The price seems steep for “just” a DVD, but reconsider: what you’re actually getting isn’t just a film, but an in-depth tutorial over eight DVDs (over ten hours of content) which has the potential to seriously…
Wedding trip part 1: Switzerland to Reims
Published in
I love travelling back and forth between Britain and Switzerland. Although it’s a long way, the journey is made pretty easy by the fact that most of the long haul is through France, where undulating countryside and unfamiliar landscape provides a level of interest and flat, straight, empty motorways make a journey with cruise control…
Back to the Future
Published in
I’ve decided to blog about our wedding and honeymoon trip from Switzerland to Scotland and back again and this is the first entry.
getURL and target “_self” not working?
Published in
If you’re a Flash or web developer, then you may come across a security-invoked problem whereby links inside your Flash movie don’t react, when you try and open a link within the current browser window. Crazy, I know, but bear with me. I have no idea why this should be so – I’m sure someone…
Strobism in the old city of Bern
Published in
I’ll be photographing a band in Bern at the end of next week with a couple of friends and so Jo and I headed to Bern last weekend to scout out some locations. We headed for the lower, older part of the city below Kornhausplatz and wandered down through Rathausgasse, stopping off at St. Peter…
St. Peter and Paul, Bern, Switzerland
Published in
This is the seat of the Swiss reformist catholic church in Switzerland, formed in 1871. The cathedral is comparatively modern, having been built next to the city hall between 1858 and 1864, and was the result of an international design competition, won by a group of architects including Frenchman Pierre Joseph Edouard Deperthes, the architect…
Life amongst death
Published in
A visit to the ruined city of Pompeii is primarily about history, destruction and death. But there is a great deal of life there too; not just the tourists in abundance, but also a wide range of gardens and plants which have flourished amongst the dusty courtyards and cobbled streets. Beautiful hedges, flowers and trees…
Into the end
Published in
In a day less than two weeks, I shall be leaving this office for the last time.
Long Days on the rails
Published in
I received a letter from my new employer today, detailing the first weeks of my employment and lots of interesting sessions they have planned, from “getting to know you” time in the office in Bern to “an hour with the CEO” at the Zürich office. Starting on my first day, I have meetings and sessions…
General Abonnement
Published in
By my reckoning, I have made the journey between Brienz and Spiez nearly three and a half thousand times in the past seven and a half years: a phenomenal number of trips backwards and forward for a person who used to long to abandon the car and travel in relaxing comfort on public transport. Back…
Dark Interior, Pompeii, Italy
Published in
Jo makes her way interestedly around one of the few semi-intact rooms in the ancient ruined city of Pompeii.
The editors are currently voting amongst the range of wonderful pictures you’ve submitted for issue 3 of Swiss Peeks, which will be entitled “Reflecting in Switzerland”. We’re pleased to be able to announce the theme for the following issue 4 as “Multicultural Switzerland“. The theme descriptions in English, German and French are now online.
Are you interested in and knowledgeable about Strobism? Do you write fluent French? Can you write well and are you interested in helping other photographers based in Switzerland to learn how to improve their technique and extend their knowledge? Can you spare a little free time each week to write for a new blog about…
