ON THE ROAD AGAIN

THE KNACK...


Yes, there is a knack on how to board a truck, the steps are straight, the first one high off the ground. So, you have two handlebars to pull yourself up, get your footing and climb up!
The first times it seems quite daunting, like most new skills, but, now I don’t even think about it, I just ‘swing’ in and out!
In the truck my son is finishing his paperwork, there’s lots of that, as everything is highly regulated.
I know that there are a number of ‘rogue’ elements, like in everything, who give the job a bad name, but most of them are quiet, normal guys, who like a joke, a smoke, a coffee, after work a beer… or two…or three…
They work hard for a living, but it’s a world within ours, almost a community.
Look around you, in your home, anywhere, think of your food…what, at some point in time was not on the road, being transported in a truck?

ON THE ROAD!

My youngest son, from when he was a little boy had a huge interest in trucks, when I came back from the States and Canada, I always knew what to bring him, magazines on those monster trucks, beautifully painted and maintained, the centrefolds all ended up on his bedroom walls.
He studied, had a very good job, when he called me to say he was taking all the exams that would fulfill his dream.
He quit the job and became a truck driver! For a number of years he drove International and mostly Arctic (temperature controlled).
One of his routes was the UK, he’d call me out of the blue, sometimes on his way back from Scotland, sometimes on his way to a ferry.
Since he'd have to 'rest' by law anyway, we'd often meet at one of the service stations along the motorway, I'd sit with him, we'd exchange all the latest news and enjoy each other's company.
Sometimes I’d pack and go with him!
Once we did 6 countries in one go, England/Belgium/Holland/Germany/Denmark / Sweden. Let’s not glamourise it, it’s not the scenic beauty of the countries that you take in, but motorway, not the most exciting, you fly past all the wonderful names, and if you’re lucky sometimes you’ll see a glimmer in the distance.
In the morning they are in the warmth of The South of France or Spain, next day in the cold of Scandinavia, through all weather conditions and traffic...
It’s tough, stressful, they are under constant time pressure.
The truck becomes their home for a week, many have TV, they have a fridge, music, radio for contact, heating and airco, curtains for 'privacy'.
To sleep, well, you have to get used to the incessant traffic noise, AND... the motor to cool or warm whatever product was being transported, every 15/20 minutes!
That is with the exception of the ferry crossings, on ferries they often have their own quarters, restaurants, relaxing areas and sleeping cabins with shower, you'd BETTER be QUIET in those passages!

We had some wonderful times and adventures, great memories, lots of stories, all written....
Now he is married, they have a little girl. He’s given up THE life…
He drives a huge Scania with a trailer=a deep loader to transport very heavy loads, like huge cranes and giant bulldozers.
This is the highest truck I was ever in, very comfortable, especially for the driver, a special hydraulic seat, great music and communication console.
All the mirrors are NOT luxury or bling! Pure necessity!

Here he is, in the days that you were still allowed to hold your cell phone.

They have to be in constant contact because things change often by the minute.
I'll always be grateful for our 'trips' together, they were great times, he is a very responsible driver and I am proud of him!.

I discovered a 'hidden' world, around service stations, ports, parkings, we fly past them, but they are there... waiting, eating, resting, sleeping, doing their paper-work, looking up routes and addresses, phoning home... Everything in our world at some point was hauled in one of those trucks by one of those people!



Have a great day and thanx for viewing, M, (*_*)

KIDS IN THE CITY

People are scared, parents worry, not without cause, the news is not good...
To see children play outside, in the city, is a rare sight now! The streets have gone silent.
Sometimes you get lucky, you'll hear the laughter or tears that come with the joys of having fun with your neighbours instead of just with your brothers and sisters.
Some are still not allowed out, so often they look out their window... so sad.
Sometimes you might as well help mum hang up the wash, if only that line was not so high, lol.


I've often observed these kids from the studio, they are well behaved, somehow they seem to have a preference for that ONE derelict backyard, I wonder what the attraction is?
It's not easy growing up these days, it's not easy growing up in the city these days...

And yet, it is so important for the social skills which people need to interact and communicate with others. Social rules and relations are created, communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways. The process of learning these skills is called socialisation.
To better develop socially, emotionally and cognitively, children need plenty of free, unstructured play- in other words, lots of old- fashioned free playtime!

Professor Tina Bruce has said that ‘Play cannot be pinned down, and turned into a product of measurable learning. This is because play is a process [which] enables a holistic kind of learning, rather than fragmented learning’ (in Ward, 1998: 22, 24; see House, 1999).
It is often said that play is, paradoxically, a very serious business indeed. One reason why this might be so is strikingly described by David Elkind: ‘Play' is young children’s only defense against the many real or imagined attacks and slights they encounter…

There should be more 'child-safe' areas in the cities, it would benefit the parents too, we are ALL become too solitary.
DO YOU KNOW YOUR neighbours?

I think, that we should live with care, but NOT WITH AND IN FEAR?

I decided to start yet another series, I find it interesting, it will be ongoing for some time I suspect, lol.

Thanx for your visit and comments, always appreciated, M, (*_*)

THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG?????????

I was in my kitchen, took out an egg and saw this tiny plume still attached to it... it begged the old enigma, what was first? The chicken or the egg? Because of the plume I smiled and thought, hhmmm, the chicken... did the research after I had photographed it.
I am pleased to present you the answer!

It is a question that has vexed philosophers since the Greeks.
But it seems we may now have the answer to the beguilingly simple question: "Which came first?" Well I’m happy to inform you: IT’S THE EGG!!!

Aristotle (384-322 BC) was puzzled by the idea that there could be a first bird or egg and concluded that both the bird and egg must have always existed:

"If there has been a first man he must have been born without father or mother – which is repugnant to nature. For there could not have been a first egg to give a beginning to birds, or there should have been a first bird which gave a beginning to eggs; for a bird comes from an egg."
The same he held good for all species, believing, with Plato, that everything before it appeared on earth had first its being in spirit.

"Whether chicken eggs preceded chickens hinges on the nature of chicken eggs," said panel member and philosopher of science David Papineau at King's College London.

"I would argue it's a chicken egg if it has a chicken in it. If a kangaroo laid an egg from which an ostrich hatched, that would surely be an ostrich egg, not a kangaroo egg. By this reasoning, the first chicken did indeed come from a chicken egg, even though that egg didn't come from chickens."

A panel think they may have solved that debate; they were unanimous on the correct chicken/egg pecking order. John Brookfield, an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Nottingham said the solution involves piecing together the specification event in which chickens first evolved.

He imagines two non-chicken parents getting together and giving rise to the first individual of a new species because of a genetic mutation.
"The first chicken must have differed from its parents by some genetic change, the first chicken must have started out as an embryo in an egg, with a very subtle one, but one which caused this bird to be the first ever to fulfil our criteria for truly being a chicken," said Prof Brookfield.
"Thus the living organism inside the eggshell would have had the same DNA as the chicken that it would develop into, and thus would itself be a member of the species of chicken," he added.
The experts looked at the evidence in the long-standing debate over which came first - the chicken or the egg - and opted for the egg.
He explained that the reason was due to the fact that genetic material does not change during an animal's life.
Professor Brookfield said: "The first living thing which we could say unequivocally was a member of the species would be this first egg, so I would conclude that the egg came first."

A joke that seems to support the argument that the chicken came before the egg follows thus,
"A chicken and an egg are in bed together when the chicken rolls over and starts to smoke. The egg then says, "Well that solves that argument then...”


LOL, hope you enjoy this? Thanx, M, (*_*)

ON EXIF DATA, A PERSONAL VIEW !

1. THE INDIGO REBEL



2. A CRISP VIEW

Lately, many ask about my exif data, now I am a very intuitive photographer! I have been photographing for so long, so many different cameras, I must admit I hardly look at data, I set my camera at what I want at that particular moment for that specific shot, I know what I want from an image, if I want much dof, a small aperture, if not a large one... (i.e. the basis of photography?)... and out it comes! Each image unique. I don't understand how knowing my info will help?

Circumstances, light, subject are EACH time completely different... unless you want to replicate the exact same image?

The 'technical' side of photography is really quite simple, there's so much literature on it. Take a course?

For uploads on photo-sites, I do not deliberately 'delete' my EXIF data. It gets stripped out when I use the save for web function in Photoshop, probably an automatic feature to decrease the file size.
Each image is really unique. I still do not understand how knowing a picture was taken at F6.3 helps anyone. All you have to know is the basic principles. A wide aperture gives you shallow depth of field (DOF). A small aperture eg F22 gives you the most DOF. A fast shutter speed eg (1/1000 sec) freezes motion. A slow shutter speed eg 1/2 second will give you motion blur. Aperture and shutter speed are in direct proportion. When you increase aperture for example by 1 stop (f8 to F5.6) you have to compensate by increasing the shutter speed by 1 stop (1/125 sec to 1/250) to ensure your exposure stays the same. It's as simple as that!
Practical examples:
You want to shoot a portrait. You want to keep the person's face sharp but blur the background - so shallow DOF (use any aperture between F1.8 and F4)
You want to shoot a landscape and have everything sharp from the foreground to the horizon - so lots of DOF (use any aperture from F16 to F22+)
You want a safe general aperture to work with for all sorts (the photojournalist's choice) - use F8. There was an old photojournalist's slogan "F8 and be there!". I am not sure who came up with it originally but it works.
You want to freeze sports action - use 1/500 + shutter speed
You want to blur a water fall - use 1/15 or less and put you camera on a tripod
There are a million books and billion articles with these same basic principles. You really do not need EXIF data if you understand them.
Photography is about light, subject and composition... creativity and practice, practice, practice! It was never 'easier' and cheaper?
In the days of film, I spent a fortune on Polaroids during pro shoots!

Many enthusiasts see photo-sites as learning and teaching sites!
A learning site? Are they ever?
Inspirational? Sometimes, yes!
To me it begs the question is a photo-site where you LEARN photography? Mmmmmmmmmmm.

I'm not saying you don't learn anything from each other, but that is more in the region of post processing?
They want to ‘learn’ from your crits.
On this matter I do have a lot of experience, have run workshops and tuitions.

We usually get 'paid' to crit.
Some people really do genuinely want to know why an image doesn't work, how they could 'better' it next time (especially when they pay).
In my experience, what happens time and time again is, if you tell someone (for free), in the kindest possible way, they get all defensive and say things like, yeah, well I only have a small camera, it is just a cheap camera, I've only just started, I was in a hurry and many more excuses... (Like it is the camera that takes the images? I always have my small Nikon P1 with me and have taken some of my best shots with it!)
Some get nasty, angry and plain hurtful. I’ve been bullied and slandered!

Not everybody can take it, our images are often very personal to us, creatives are sensitive people, lol!
There is yet another reason why I do not 'crit' in a negative way! Go do the research yourself, you'll find that most people are 'flock' people. If one person says something negative on a photo, a lot will follow, like become daring, that or they'll come, look and will not take part anymore, leave! Too often I've seen it 'kill' a good image.
That is why I often have written personal emails to people with whatever I could 'help' them with, sometimes it was the other way round, I was contacted with questions.
I like constructive criticism, can handle it perfectly if it is objective and correct, however, if subjective and written for the 'wrong' reasons, yes then I am 'hacked-off'!
Especially at those who will only ever write a negative, never a positive on a good image?
Also, too often I read a 'critique' that is absolute nonsense!
If all someone has to say: 'I like this', that's fine (it should be?), if someone writes simply: 'I don't like it', hurray, that's also fine! We don't all have the same taste, I'd hope we'd each have our own vision, creative and artistic view. Let's respect that?
If I go to a museum to view the MASTERS, do I like all of them? Of course not!
Can I say why? Yes!
In a constructive and considering way, never in anger, never viscous and personal.
All I try to bring with my images is beauty and pleasure; I upload on some sites because it is my ‘freedom’, my ‘relaxation’, the sharing with people from all over the world with the same interest/ passion.

This is how it is for me, keep enjoying photography for the pure joy it is.
Keep those batteries charged!

THANX, M, (*_*)

I'd be interested in your feed-back.

ANOTHER HOUR IN THE LIFE OF A PHOTOGRAPHER. THERE FOR THE ASKING...

1. THE BRIDGE, driving into the hull.

2. WE ARE SAILING.

3. On deck 7, the boat makes a U-turn in the harbour.

4. ON THE BRIDGE.

5. THE BUSIEST SEA LANE IN THE WORLD, view from the bridge.

6. THE MAGIC FLOOR-WINDOW, 9 high!

7. THE MAGIC FLOOR-WINDOW, 9 high!

8. THE MAGIC FLOOR-WINDOW, 9 high!

9. THE MAGIC FLOOR-WINDOW, 9 high!

10. THE CAPTAIN and PAUL.

11. DECK 9.

12. THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE.

13. NEARING THE WHITE CLIFFS of DOVER.

When I was a very young girl, my dad, one day, as a surprise, took me on a ferry from Ostend to Dover and back in one day. Over 8 hours at sea, wow!

Hundreds of times I saw the packet ships employed to carry Post office mail packets to and from Britain, glide in and out of the harbour, people running across the beach to see them closer and wave at the strangers on board, hello… or good-bye…

I was fascinated and hooked from that first time, always outside, on deck as high as possible, fortunate to be born with ‘sea-legs’, the North Sea can be so rough!

I often got frustrated as over the years I saw the areas more and more restricted on board. Good people, who know how to behave well and in a civil manner, too often paying the price for those who don’t.

I’d look up and wonder what it must be like to navigate a big ship like this!

As I mature and get wiser (lol?), I become more and more daring, realising at last that if you do not ask, it is a definite 100% NO, if you ask, you improve your chances by 50%!!!

The worst that can happen is that the answer is no, but then at least, you have the satisfaction of having asked!

The best feeling is when you get a yes, which is very often the case!

As we boarded the ferry home last Sunday, driving in I looked up at the bridge again, photographed it (1), parked the car, ran up, and I ASKED! Was it possible to please visit the bridge?

Obviously not a question they get asked every day, a bit taken aback, the captain was contacted, could we please wait? They took our name and we were told the announcement was going to be made over the tannoy.

Off we went,(2) the vibrant flag was flapping in the wind, the pale sun glistening on the churning water, outside deck, sunset, ship neatly turning in the port(3), we took our shots... when we heard our name.

Good news! The captain was about to have his meal (what????? We were not invited at his table??? LOL), after that, no problem, they’d call again!

Right we were also hungry and thirsty, walked to one of the restaurants, queues everywhere, the chips looked and smelled delicious, mmmmmmmmm, as we were close to our turn, and we heard our name again. This was it!

After a security check we were taken into a locked down area, through lots of coded doors, along a silent corridor.

The crew accommodations are located on a separate deck and include cabins, a day room, offices, laundry, stores and crew.

Then, at the top of the highest stairs, the supreme moment, we entered the bridge!(4)

The view was stunning, you could see 360°, France, England, the sea and one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world! (5)

(The Dover Strait (in French Pas de Calais, in Dutch: Nauw van Kales) is the narrowest part of the English Channel. The shortest distance across the strait is from the South-Foreland, some 6 km (4 mi) north-east of Dover in the county of Kent, England, to Cap Gris Nez, a cape near Calais in the département of Pas de Calais, France. Between these two points – the most popular route for cross-channel swimmers – the distance is just 33 km (20 mi)!

We were welcomed and given an interesting tour, explained the function of all the screens, radars, dials and levers. Another, exciting, world…

What caught my eye though, was a long window encased in metal frames, on both sides, in the floor.

Standing on it you saw the bow waves rushing way down, 9 decks, it was breath-taking, what a feature! I was mesmerised and kept photographing it from all angles. ( 6, 7, 8, 9)

They use them to ‘park’ the ship!

The captain arrived, holding his mug of coffee and after a brief check with the other officers, he came and introduced himself (10), he was easy going and we were told some more captivating facts, we learned a bit about what life is like for them, about the sea and about the traffic in The Channel. He was proud to tell us that if the lorries were end to end, they formed a 2 mile long queue.

The vessel is distinguished by an especially high service speed of 25 knots, a powerful maneuvering system.

Deck 3
Trailer loading space
Deck 4
Dangerous Cargo Aft &Trailer Deck
Deck 5
Private Cars
Deck 6
Buffet Restaurant, Atrium, Corporate Quarter, Children’s Playroom, Main Reception, Bar Lounge, Shop, P.C. Gaming, Open Deck, Atrium P.S, Fast Food, Children’s Playroom, Arcade Lounge, Cinema, Toilets, Elevators, Stairs
Deck 7
Truckers Restaurant, Truckers T.V. Lounge, Truckers I.T. Corner, Truckers Shower, Truckers Relax Lounge, Truckers Gaming, Gaming, Bistro, Business and VIP Reception, Business Lounge, VIP Lounge, Crew cabins, Toilets, Elevators, Stairs
Deck 8
Crew & Officer Cabins, Senior Officer Cabins, Crew Conference, Ship office, Officers Day room, Officers Mess, Crew Mess, Crew Day room
Deck 9
The wheelhouse, and Helicopter landing area. (11)

I made the observation that ferries had become so much more stable over the years thanks to the fin stabilisers which are used to provide roll reduction.

The captain gave me the title of my next image when he pointed at 'THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE'! (12)

He was also thrilled to tell us about the dolphins, who on a fine calm day, in a specific area of the Strait, would be surfing in the bow waves, fetching a free ride and visible through the magic floor-windows.

A lot of fine humour!

The sun was now lower and less playful with the clouds, Dover was very close and we you could feel the tension mount, more activity, so we felt it was time to take our leave.

A last image of the screens and info that our lives depend on, in the capable hands of these officers of the Merchant Navy.(13)

We were escorted back down; it was strange to come from this silent vast space into the crowded area of the vessel, where most passengers didn’t have a clue of the men and women above taking care of them, while they were enjoying themselves, drinking, eating, shopping or sleeping…travelling…

It was too late for us to get anything to eat or drink, we watched the docking on the outer deck and than made our way to the car, the journey was over!

THE BEST EVER! A dream come true.

We drove our 5 hours back through the night with an ear-to-ear smile!

The main lesson is, don’t be shy, ask politely, enjoy the experience of the yes, and accept the no gracefully!

THANX, M, (*_*)

A LABOUR OF LOVE. THE RESTORING of OLD IMAGES

1. The part of the old photo I scanned on high res.



2. The burst of laughter when I saw that I was left with too many legs!



3. The finished image, lovingly restored.


4. Another detail of a 'rescue' image, before...


5. AND AFTER!

A LABOUR OF LOVE.

All about ‘restoring’ old and damaged images.

So very often, they are all we have left, those all important images, to stimulate, conserve and trigger our memories.

You may have forgotten about an event but you see an old photo and it releases a whole string of lost emotions.

Also, they can be portraits of family, people you know stories of, but that you never met… long gone…

You may see resemblances with far relatives… either in yourself, in one of your sons or daughters, even in grandchildren!

Those photographs, in attics, drawers, old shoe boxes… yellow and brown, dirty and damaged, can become so precious… some people find a photographer willing and able to lovingly restore them!

Because it IS a Labour of Love.

I, with my nature, become emotionally involved! I scan the old small print on as high a resolution as possible, makes the ‘clean-up’ easier, that also means that I work on the person sometimes BIGGER than life-size! Each little speck in the eyes, on the nose, lips, I get to know each inch of that face intimately! It is a slow process and you have lots of time to let your thoughts wander…

It takes a lot of time if you really want to do a fantastic job, get rid of EVERY spot, crack, tear (held together with tape??? LOL). Hours and hours of cloning and cleaning, till your eyes water!

Nowadays though, we are so privileged with the ‘digital darkroom’; it makes it easier to clone out all things ‘unwanted’, like someone else in the photo.

That brings me to the uploaded images.

A fun anecdote.

I asked the client if she wanted the gent in the back gone, she was surprised I even considered that, but eagerly agreed.

So I started, thought at some point I’d finished the job and was quite satisfied! Till I brought it to the ‘normal’ size… I burst out laughing; I was left with tooooo many legs!

What an oversight, well it was with a big grin that I continued and eventually was satisfied, the job was DONE!!!

I told the client and sent her the ‘mistake’, she thought it was hilarious!

To come back to the subject, if you are going to do it, do it well! It means so much to the relatives.

They got large prints, nicely framed, yes, the photos were given a new lease of life!

CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO SEE HOW BAD THEY WERE, and they were NOT the worst I've ever had, and how good the were after I finished, lol!

Hope you've enjoyed this.

THANX, M, (*_*)

PASSION INDEED!

1. NO IMAGE LEAVES MY DIGITAL DARKROOM UNTIL IT IS OF THE HIGHEST STANDARD!


2. THERE IS A PROPER WAY TO HOLD YOUR CAMERA!

3. A FROSTY VIEW FROM OUR NEW STUDIO/OFFICE.

I just read the blog that my husband wrote yesterday see here
http://paulindigo.blogspot.com/2008/03/wheres-passion.html.
Although I fully agree with most of what he writes, I wonder how realistic it is in this day and age, where we are being bombarded with image after image, we're supersaturated!

With all the upload-sites where you see thousands of photos being ‘awarded’ and ‘more awarded’… images that are nothing but snapshots, badly and sadly ‘not composed’, where people do not even care to love their work enough to do a simple bit of ‘cosmetic’ repair, some retouching. Where is the PASSION? I regularly am dumbfounded, do people not SEE anymore?

Numbed by volume? Blinded by excess?

Many photographers have ‘dust-bunnies’ on the censor, do they bother to ‘clean’ the image (elementary)? NO!!!!

Often the horizon is skew, overall the photoshopping has been done BADLY, if you can’t do it properly (and we all started out at some point!), wait, study and ONLY upload your BEST and finished (read ‘polished’) product!

I see great photos that do not get the recognition, what has been lost, besides the PASSION?

Do we really live in this unreal ‘virtual’ world where law is… you scratch my back and I scratch yours? Clique society rather than individualistic and honest opinion?

Sometimes I despair, and I may not have lost my passion for beautiful photography, it is more difficult to remain optimistic.

Where does your passion ultimately take you, except for the self-satisfaction and a few true photography LOVERS.

I am passionate... are you?

1. NO IMAGE LEAVES MY DIGITAL DARKROOM UNTIL IT IS OF THE HIGHEST STANDARD!

Lilium longiflorum.
This plant is native to Japan and the Ryūkyū Islands. It is a stem rooting lily, growing up to 1 m high and bears a number of trumpet shaped, white, very fragrant, and outward facing flowers.
I saw the curves and they looked quite architectural in a close up, also with a sensuality of 'you're making my toes curl'?

2. THERE IS A PROPER WAY TO HOLD YOUR CAMERA!
Here's a pro at work! He knows how to hold his camera 'properly'...
Often that is a dead-give-away, just something to smile about...
One of the things I love is that whole intensity, the 'oneness' between the man and his camera.


3. A FROSTY VIEW FROM OUR NEW STUDIO/OFFICE.
We have moved into our new home!
Moving used to be an easier affair, now with all the electronics and the ZILLIONS of cables!
We started about a month ago! I remember having to move with three kids! Much easier, lol...
AAhh well, almost there now...
This was the lovely surprise one morning, not often to be seen in the city.
Well worth opening larger for the full impact and beauty!

As you see, no matter the 'category' of images... at least IMMACULATE! No excuses!

Thanx, M, (*_*)

PS: Just moved into our new house, hence the long silence.