octave mandolin

 am getting to the end of my music buying and i think this could be my last instrument 

*okay maybe a tr8s and some electronics but my last acoustic instrument. maybe! lol

commute

the first step is to get out.... 

chris watson

 it's true that i'm doing a fair bit of photography these days, which is great, and i especially love the analogue work, and being out and about outside, but it's not a patch on sound recording. sadly, these days, i just don't have the time. here's chris watson and why slowing down and listening is great

contact printing

 it's true i'm a bit too lazy to get round to contact printing, plus i like the magic of a direct positive, in contrast to many of my pinhole colleagues who, currently, are really getting into it. this ilford guide, as usual, is super useful. me, i'm going even more old school and have a fiddle with cliche verre! lol 

lee madgwick

 i love this image from lee madgwick. browse his portfolio here

raül refree

 some dialled technique from raül refree but, for me, i was mesmerized by núria andorrà's percussion 

shooting in flat light

i feel very fortunate these days, as i'm playing with my digital camera (every frame a saving! lol) that my initial education re shutter speed and aperture came with my fully analogue zenit that i inherited back in my teens (initially with a light meter but then, sadly, not). there's nothing new or surprising in this video other than what's in this video needs explained. i guess if you can take a thousand shots, rather than 12/24/36, and then sort it in photoshop, it doesn't really matter. me, i've never given up the notion, that the shot is what you take at that moment in time and no jiggerypokery after! but, each to their own! this  is handy if you're not familiar whether it and, if you are, maybe a motivator to get put when the light's less good and challenge your technique 

*i'm looking at getting an old zenit again, not for film but so i can make mini tintypes. watch this space!

millie mckee

 more of this sort of thing...

donwella

 my analog journal on fire of late 

getting the most out of that mixer

 nothing startling but useful 

draw a face

 i'm doing a thing just now where i need a drawing of a face that's broadly anatomically accurate and repeatable. while i've got all the stuff in the house, drawing isn't something i do much more than once a year so i needed a simple method that i could do quickly. this fits the bill. so much so i'm tempted to do more drawing! lol 

*i respect the lad's commitment to a heavier paper but, for practice, i'm going much lighter and cheaper!

long exposure

 as i do a fair bit of pinhole photography (anthotypes on hold due to a chronic lack of sunlight!) long exposures are nothing new. but, seeing as photographic paper is such an effective way of emptying my bank account, weirdly enough i've been gravitating back to digital. point and shoot, beyonf my phone, doesn't interest me much, but getting my cameras on full manual and having a play certainly does, and i've finally found a way of enjoying digital that feels something like play. this vid's a decent intro

plan b

 as the new doc about jumbo-visma's dominance last year is about to drop, here's the old one 

piero piccioni

 maybe you have to be in just the right mood for this but, right now, i'm in just the right mood for this. (and a big lebowski connection i didn't know about!) 

the divide

 more cycling doco - and equally lovely to look at. as with laurens ren dam, i've got loads of time for lachlan morton. plus, as some wag in the comments points out, for this sort of thing - mechanical is better! for me personally, gravel bikes, one by and electronic shifting have ruined my cycling this last couple of years and i'm struggling to refind my desire as a result of it. but a decent doco, with some great vistas and big, open sky, that'll help!