These really are fantastic pieces of art… you’ve seen those optical illusions where there is both a vase and two faces looking at each other? Well, Tom Beshara makes them in real life, using a profile of your own face.

Site: Turn Your Head!

Sometimes a job advert rubs me up the wrong way. Here’s an example:

Photographers Assistant

Description: Photographer specialising in location small flash work with high end family clients and corporate work. Looking for BERKSHIRE based (RG8 area preferably) assistant who is smart, keen and hardworking.

Ideally suited to someone after more of an education than a salary, but the work is paid. SEND to the email below: A CV, Recent photo of YOURSELF and in the email the relevant details – Drivers license? Car? Location? I DO NOT WANT TO SEE YOUR PORTFOLIO, I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW WHY YOU WANT TO BE AN ASSISTANT, I DO NOT WANT EXPERIENCED PHOTOGRAPHERS WHO HAVE FALLEN ON HARD TIMES APPLYING.

I am the photographers main assistant but am based too far away for his smaller jobs, any time wasters will be sent straight to the bin. Thanks!

Crumbs! I don’t know, it almost reeks of jealousy and/or paranoia that they’re going to be replaced.

Wow. I’m glad I studied pipelines when I was at university.

I now find myself with…

One set of shots on CD ready to be put in an envelope and sent.
One set of shots where the prints are here and I’m waiting for the back and glass for inserting into a client-supplied frame.
One set of shots where the prints are here and I’m waiting for a couple of frames and need to order a specific frame.
One set of shots in mid-edit where the frames are ordered but the prints are (obviously) not yet.
One large scan which I performed this morning ready for restoration and printing on a huge canvas.
One order which is in its infancy and requires invoicing and starting to edit.
Two shoots coming up on Sunday.
One further potential shoot coming up next week.

I’m also glad that I instigated a detailed order book before I got too busy, even though at the time it seemed like overkill.

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UPDATE: Oh yeah… and a viewing this evening.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of shooting Leicestershire Fire and Rescue’s Long Service and Good Conduct Medal Presentation. It was a most auspicious occasion, with the medals presented by Lady Gretton who is Her Majesty’s Lord-Leiutenant of Leicestershire (and also President of the Melton Mowbray and District Model Engineering Society).

The ceremony was small, with only the recipients, their families and a small number of dignitaries present. The mood was solemn but proud.

It gave me a real appreciation of the work our Fire and Rescue crews do and it was a pleasure to be present as official photographer and to capture their wonderful day.

On technicalities, I was rather out of my comfort zone with the main ceremony (but that’s never a bad thing – a bit of quick-thinking and brain exercise never did anyone any harm). I avoid, where possible, on-camera flash but there was no other option so in the end I plumped for a speedlite on a TTL extension cable, and bounced the output from the cream coloured wall at the back of the room. It took lots of power, but gave a nice warm glow to the recipients. Because the flash was popping close to full power, the recycle time prevented my planned two shots each. Thankfully, apart from one case, everyone came up great on the first try. One out-take was quickly fixed by giving a subtle signal whereby the proceedings were held up for about three seconds while the flash charged itself back up. It’s always worth having the eye open that isn’t looking through the viewfinder – while an SLR is taking a picture, the viewfinder goes black and you can’t see what you actually took unless you’re looking with the other eye. That’s part of the reason I never take studio portraits while looking through the viewfinder (another part is that fact that it’s rude to talk to people with a camera stuffed up against your face).

Next was the group shot, the planned location had to be abandoned due to there being a giant Christmas tree blocking the view of the beautiful Beaumanor Hall staircase. A seated/standing arrangement was set up in advance with studio flash (ahh… comfort… measurability). Approximately 24 people were brought in, arranged and three shots taken all in the space of five minutes. I think they appreciated the quick working, and I’d always rather spend 30 minutes setting up and measuring in advance than with the subjects in front of me, beginning to glaze over.

Then another quick rearrange of the kit while the participants indulged in the buffet, and each medal recipient was brought in to me with their family for a formal portrait. In this section I was truly in my element, and we made our way through them all in a nice short space of time before I was invited to indulge in the buffet myself. I could get used to these clients that feed me!

A great three hours of work in beautiful surroundings, and as I mentioned, a new-found appreciation of the service provided by our Fire and Rescue boys and girls.

Photographer Leicestershire

Genki Japan do some really catchy little songs to help you learn Japanese. I’ve been singing this to myself all day.

So, my essay I wrote yesterday was passed by a non-native speaker as pretty good.

I posted it on a forum for correction by Japanese speakers and the following came to light, which is just the sort of thing a Japanese learner is faced with…

Where I said “Yeah! That’s good!” to the idea of going to visit my brother, the Japanese speaker suggests that’s the perfect answer if I didn’t want to go and see him. I should have said “Yeah! That’s good isn’t it?” if I did want to go and see him.

GAH! Any hope of fluency just flew out of the mado.

Maybe my teacher meant that it wasn’t good when he said it was pretty good. He would have said it’s pretty good isn’t it? if that’s what he had meant.

I hope it’s the google translation rather than my Japanese that is flaky.

The Japanese…

The Translation…

My Saturday

Saturday Okimashita are slow to very busy week. 10:09 Samerimashita five minutes. I like reading a book until 10:10 and then five minutes, along with her talking I was drinking this tea.

10:10 we will every five minutes, we went to the bathroom. What you see out of the bathroom until the morning of every day I see my beautiful garden. We look to the garden of the Japanese garden. There is a large stone in the garden so far. There is a small tree beside the stone. I want raccoon on top of the stone. I think it is cute.

Was studying Japanese 12:10 minutes from half-past 10. Difficult and very interesting. She also studied Japanese to me. She can see the kanji from around 40 it is a good one? She has five minutes to 10:10 “Now the Japanese are tired of fun,” he said. “Let your brother-mon to better this afternoon.” I said, “Yeah [<-Good Translation, Google!] ~! Is good!” He said. Then my brother’s phone.

My brother lives in York. I love the city’s study from the University of York. Had to travel by car to eat breakfast. Travel is tender. Minutes before catching the 10:02 York. From there to the north of England there is a little cold. We went into the city, I struggle to the death mother wears Gitotebukurowo. My nose is too cold and windy but dry wore lots of clothes. My nose is still a little bit red!

I went to the pub to drink beer with her brother and me together. We could hear the music from a very loud talk or dance, and had a lot of rainbow. Was fun.

I’m procrastinating on the Japanese essay. I have the outline done in English, but Jonathan’s Light and Darkness challenge took my eye. I’ve been pondering on the ’styles of photography’ that I blogged about a while ago (now lost in the archives). One of the speakers at that event had a clear view of what he’d like to achieve, and built it step by step.

Well, that’s exactly what I did for the challenge. I had this picture in my head before I started and then built it using first the key light, then flagged that to reduce spill on to the background. Then the background light (ungelled) was added. Then the gel. A few minor adjustments, remembering that when the key light is moved, the flag must also be moved (for ’tis a small flag). And the result…

I’m pretty pleased with it. I might start moving in this direction for my portraiture. (For those who like the style, anyway – I’m not sure Grandma with her three grandchildren would suit this style entirely!). This was set up entirely in a small corner of the dining room, just showing that a studio isn’t actually necessary in some cases.

I’m thinking!

I have a 300-word essay to write. In Japanese for crying out loud!

Back soon!