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Studying again (365:258)
The second year of my EFM course starts tonight.
We’re working on the first lesson in advance. This week I had to listen to the text, which explains the earphones. I chose to read it too. I’m really looking forward to getting back to class again. Keeping up my tradition from last year, I realized I’d listened and read the wrong text – so I had to start over. In many ways it turned out quite helpful as it put the text I was supposed to be listening to into context.
Ginger had a meeting at church at the same time as my class, so we had a chance to see how the kids coped without us. Very well as it turned out.
Blue Kitteh will lay on anything. Whether it be a box, a book, a piece of paper or a laptop. I was dashing to get out when I saw her slumped on Ginger’s laptop on the bed. I only got a chance for a couple of quick pictures before some noise outside distracted her. Just as well, if I had spent a lot of time taking pictures we’d have been late getting to church.
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Day 257 (365:257)
Day 257 (365:257). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. It’s gone 1 am again.
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Working late (365:256)
Only 99 more days to go.
This documentary picture a day project doesn’t work very well when you never leave your desk. My day began at 7.20 am with the school run, then back home at my desk and I’m still here at 1 am.
Edit: I’m mildly dyslexic especially where numbers are concerned – I didn’t find it out until I started doing business accounts and couldn’t work out why they never balanced – I was typing in a lot of the numbers all jumbled up. The right digits, just not necessarily in the right order. The astute will have spotted that I have 109 days left to go…
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Staring into space (365:255)
Staring into space (365:255). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I do a lot of mental staring into space, not so much actually gazing into the distance though. I’m having a bit of a mope at the moment. No real reason, just a minor self-pity fest. I’ll shake it off quite quickly.
My EFM class starts again this Thursday. So that means I get to do a ‘Studying for EFM’ picture each week. Potentially more exciting than all the wall pictures I’ve been churning out. Part of this week’s studying is listening to a two and a half-hour reading. I’ve not yet thought out what photo opportunities that will present. Earbuds in my hand? Earbuds in my ears? Maybe I ought to pass on those.
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Today is my son’s birthday. It is at times like this that I miss being able to see my family.
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This evening I was momentarily stumped as to where to begin (365:254)
This evening I was momentarily stumped as to where to begin (365:254). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I soon got over it.
This Sunday was different. At church people were exchanging their “Where were you when..?” stories, and the services were extended to include additional prayers. At the 11 o’clock service the adult choir was supplemented by members of the Dury Singers for a performance of a piece specially written for the tenth anniversary of 9/11. To my generation this must be like the assassination of Kennedy was for our parents. One of those key moments in a lifetime.
Growing up with the IRA and their ever-present threat and the actuality of terrorism, and living in a city that 30 years on still hadn’t completed rebuilding after the second world war, my reaction to 9/11 is somewhat different from my American friends. No less saddened by the losses, but not as disbelieving or indignant.
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Today also marks my mother’s birthday. Were she still alive she’d have been 76 today. Oddly, for the first time in several years I miss her.
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No Wall (365:253)
No Wall (365:253). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. After yesterday’s escape into the garden I spent today at my desk.
That’s all folks.
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Gary in the backyard (365:252)
Yay! Out of the house and no sign of a wall (same basic pose though).
Out and about this morning, with a trip to church and WalMart. We spent a fair bit of the afternoon in the backyard where I fed the mosquitoes while we took pictures.
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Tedious (365:251)
Tedious This 365 days project is a bit tedious at the moment
Probably a reflection on my life, which involves not a lot more than sitting at a screen slogging away for 10-12 hours a day. Not a lot of room for photographic excellence there. Even worse I sit up late in the vain hope that some inspiration will strike, then dash off a half-hearted quickie like this just before bed.
I was so immersed in whatever research / writing / reading I was doing this afternoon I forgot to go to the Thursday service. But I did get to go out at eight pm for an hour or so with a friend. The bar we picked was too noisy inside to chat, so we sat outside – where there was a band. Oh well. It was also dark outside so I didn’t try for a picture.
Today’s picture involved a very lazy set-up – it was coming on for 12 O’clock, so I’ll cut myself a little slack. I didn’t bother to diffuse the fill light and it shows in the harsher shadows around my hand.
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Gary at the computer (365:250)
Gary at the computer (365:250). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. After too many hours spent working at the computer the law of diminishing returns starts to set in.
I broke away from the dreaded machine at least a couple of times. Once for a meeting at church and a second time to go pick up the girls from Youth Group. Originally the title was ‘Gary working at the computer’ but by 11pm I was way beyond working anymore.
This picture marks a departure for me. Normally I’d have used monitor light. Tonight I opted to place a large diffuser on the desk in front of me and tucked a wireless triggered speedlight behind it and used that instead.
Technology gone mad: you realize things have become too complex when your flash gun locks up due to a software error. Sad but true.
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365:249
365:249. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Lately it seems I’ve been running a lot just to stay in the same place.
Discuss: More often than not freeware and shareware reduces the quality of software products down to the lowest common denominator by removing the investment and incentive required to produce a good well tested and documented product.
That gives you some idea of how my day was spent – researching suitable software only to find a load of mediocre half-arsed products, 50% of which don’t work, and the remaining 50% don’t actually do exactly what you want them to. I’m not alone – I found pleas in the various fora for a product just simply did what was needed.
I love the catch lights in this picture – it looks like I’m wearing contacts, but it is actually the reflection of my glasses.
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Gary, Lanie and Ginger (hiding at the back) too (365:248)
For what seems like the first time in over three months the temperature dropped below 90°F.
So, we had a celebratory hike. A nice short 4 miles on the white trail and Busiek. We took along Lanie, Katie and Katie’s friend. My camera is far too heavy for an arm’s length self portrait, and it took me a few attempts to get the flash level right.
We should have tried for a better shot in which all of Ginger’s face was visible, but we wanted to get on our way as we had an appointment with some burgers at Tom and Rebbie’s to keep. Very nice they were too.
Tonight we’ve had to close up the house. Not because it’s too hot – but because it is too cold!
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I was going to use a picture of me facing right for a change. But I like this one more. (365:247)
Gary Allman. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I could have gotten a much better picture if I’d got the camera out earlier today. I didn’t.
Church this morning was at Camp Shawio followed by burgers and conversation. I enjoyed the informal service and had a great time catching up with people afterwards.
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Sitting at the kitchen table chatting with Ginger (365:246)
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More of the same (365:245)
At least this one is in colour.
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Just me – reprise (365:244)
Another busy day doing webby stuffs.
Just me – reprise (365:244). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Tonight’s picture is a reprise of a picture I took on my first 365. I wore more clothes this time and didn’t treat this one as harshly in post-processing as I did the original shot. I look a lot happier in today’s picture. However, the original remains one of my favorites.
For some reason that I still haven’t gotten to the bottom of, my flashes weren’t working properly tonight, resulting in partial exposures. That’s a synchronization issue. I’ve not met this particular problem before. I was able to work around it without difficulty, and at first, I thought I had the shutter speed set too fast, but it didn’t always sync at 1/60th either. Ginger ran off a few shots on her camera and had the same problem. I’ve obviously accidentally changed a setting on the flashes. I feel a bout of manual reading and Googling coming on.
Just Me 365:088 (re-edit). Copyright © 2007 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
August 2011
This month saw the return of black and white! Again we were hunkering down hiding from the +100°F temperatures. I spent lots of time at the computer working on a new project, and have been playing with some new photographic toys. I also prepped the kayaks ready for use. I shouldn’t have bothered, we didn’t use them. Finally, at the end of the month, I went off on a trip to St Louis to get my biometrics taken for my ten-year permanent resident card.
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At my desk (365:243)
At my desk (365:243) Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Another late-ish session.
I did try a bit harder for this shot though. I used my desk lamp and monitors as the light source, and put up a large reflector camera right to slightly lift the shadows. I could have tried a bit harder and used one of my Speedlights. But I didn’t.
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2 am (365:242)
2 am (365:242). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I was working late.
I wanted to finish the first draft of a website, and I just kept at it as the last stage was loading in the content which doesn’t require a lot of brain power. Of course I should have remembered and taken my daily picture earlier.
This picture will have to do. At 2am I wasn’t in the mood to try and set up a complex shot. Shame about having to wake up just after 6am the next day though.
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McDonald’s, I’m good ‘n cold and I have two egg McMuffins! (365:241)
McDonald’s, I’m good ‘n cold and I have two egg McMuffins! (365:241). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I love Egg McMuffins.
Sorry, but it is true. However, that’s jumping ahead a little bit. I was the first to arrive for Biometrics scanning – which was great because it was all over in ten to fifteen minutes. There is probably a joke to be made about an Englishman, a Jamaican and a Russian waiting in line for Biometrics, but it will have to wait for another day.
I guess I made somebody’s day, as the lady taking my fingerprints said “it is great to start the week with a laugh” this was after busting out laughing because I was nonplussed as to why my thumb print still matched, when it shouldn’t. Then it dawned on me… I’d injured the other hand.
You are not supposed to take cameras along for the biometrics appointment so I saw lots of pictures I couldn’t take while walking to my appointment, and by the time I walked back to the hotel the light had changed and the pictures weren’t there any more.
It was hot and rapidly getting hotter in St Louis so I decided to head on home. On the way back I stopped at Pacific, Missouri for an egg McMuffin, and I couldn’t believe my luck when I was told there was a two for one offer! My attempts to take this picture of one of my McMuffins attracted the attention of the staff, but fortunately I wasn’t asked to stop – probably because I’d deliberately hid myself away from everyone else which I guess was also rather suspicious!
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Chatting with Ginger (365:240)
Chatting with Ginger (365:240). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. We had a plan, but it didn’t work out.
Tomorrow at 8am I have an appointment to have my biometrics taken to extend my US visa by 10 years.
Originally Ginger and I had planned to spend the night in St. Louis and leave the grandparents in charge of the kids. It all unraveled starting with Ginger’s mother being ill. That was okay (well not, but you know what I mean), her dad could still come down. Then our friend’s aunt died, and she needed cat tending duties while they were away. So we re-planned, I’d spend the night at St Louis, and Ginger would stay behind to look after cats and kids.
So there I was in the hotel in St Louis and suddenly I found myself transported back 3 years, using Chat to keep in touch with Ginger. It wasn’t good to be apart, but it was very good to find out we could switch back to our old modes of communication.
