http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:mkmkmk&section=today deviantART RSS for by:mkmkmk en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Mon, 21 Dec 2009 04:09:42 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/28666675/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/28666675/ Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:11:55 PST

update:
sorry for spamming everyone with 20-odd upload pics from the Cosplay Ball.

Was quite busy:
manned a photo booth for a couple of hours, with very dodgy lights and a pretty yet slightly fragile set.
[interfit lights = caca / crap]
i rather wish i had tossed away those and used my own, but i was low on my strobe batteries
also a friend had borrowed some of my flash gear and i couldnt get it back in time.
i rather think that i was more successful away from the booth, the result of which i have uploaded here.
having said that, i did rather enjoy the whole experience.
[but i did get bloody knackered running up and down all those stairs in this multi-storey Victorian theatre!]

Many thanks to Jess and the Emily's and all their crew for putting on such a wonderful, and what seemed to be a very smoothly run event!
The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, just like last years, and so I think this event is every bit a success story for those involved!

updated:
Also updated photos of two Spanish cosplayers I saw at the signing and then bumped into outside.
Met them again at the Cosplay Ball as well.

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/27969868/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/27969868/ Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:57:13 PDT
]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/26135344/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/26135344/ Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:38:41 PDT
I highly recommend fans of old school sci-fi (Silent Running, Dark Star, Outland, etc) to go out and watch it.
It's out only on limited release (thanks Sony...) so watch it while you still can.

Stars Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey.

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/25941053/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/25941053/ Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:39:59 PDT
when i do go out, i do enjoy a bit of medium format every now and again...

lovely

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/24951638/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/24951638/ Mon, 25 May 2009 21:13:02 PDT
]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/23596613/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/23596613/ Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:18:38 PDT like the first, dislike the latter.

luggage allowance.
what a pain in the a***

i've had to leave lights, tripods, second camera, second laptop, and various other bits behind.
20kg just isnt enough...

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/23206951/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/23206951/ Sat, 14 Feb 2009 23:22:05 PST
need the money, need the work...


bleh

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/22458415/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/22458415/ Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:28:02 PST
yeah, took the plunge - last year actually - to get the full frame mini D3, the D700.

get them now - at least in places like the uk or australia - before the in-country stock depletes and the prices rocket up 25-50%...

paid more than i wanted to actually.. simply because it was there, in stock.

so far its been pretty good to shoot, but my hands keep wandering.. and wondering: "wheres the rest of the camera??!"

aye, i'm so used to the D2 bodies of Nikon's older pro range that my hands feel like theyre falling off this tiny camera.
i'm getting used to it, though i'm going for the grip anyway.

I, in fact, would prefer the D3 (dont do enough D3x type relevant work to juststify that one) - but, seeing as i hardly shoot pro any more (day job simply doesnt allow for it) i cannot justify the cost of that one either.

and the D300 didnt seem enough of a leap from the D2x i've thrown around (..and around the world) for years.

anyway, bodies aside, the d700 has some nifty features, is more concealable, and my full frame lenses appear to have a new lease of life that i have not seen since i used my old film Pentax 3.5 years ago when i first got a DSLR.

DX lenses however, i'm not sure about.
I still shoot the D2H and D2x, so i'm not dumping them, but they'll not really be used much on the new body.

so, D2x for the long lenses, +flash for night/low light, D700 for everything else.

did i mention d700 is a dream in low light?
it would have saved my not-so-inconsiderably-sized arse at events like the cosplay ball where my flash batts died and i had to shoot high iso, hand held, on a camera that doesnt like it, in horrible light...

yum.
and in a quick check, looks like i took 35,000 photos in the last year... (all from D2H, D2x, and two P&S's)

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/22403692/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/22403692/ Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:59:33 PST i cant even access the subscriptions page because it simply flails... and fails.

all this on the latest iteration of web browser blah blah.blah

along with the (imho, woefully) protracted uploading process...
makes dA somewhat useless...


oh, happy new year everyone btw...

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/21757088/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/21757088/ Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:09:19 PST
still, got distracted enough to go through a few pics...

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/20177984/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/20177984/ Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:14:54 PDT
back from barcelona....

two mugging attempts lol

will get around to posting pics someday...

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/19397495/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/19397495/ Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:35:23 PDT selected examples, such as drawings or photographs, that show an artist's recent work.
The materials collected in such a case, especially when representative of a person's work: a photographer's portfolio;

one must be diplomatic here...

this is a sounding off board.
in fact i'll take it somewhere else...

but for now i'll say i'm displeased.
with a friend.

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/18988968/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/18988968/ Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:01:17 PDT
surprisingly good weather - little harsh, and my flashes struggled to over power the sun, and then they failed completely when i needed them in the tunnel networks...
hmmmm

but good day...

but after 2 days and a night of no sleep, i should try and catch up a little before work in a few hours time...

missed the j-pop group playing the other night as they had cancelled: booo!

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/18937272/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/18937272/ Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:55:07 PDT
i've actually not had the use of the internet at home for several months...

been making do with work, and with the pay-as-you-go 3 mobile broadband internet, which is waaaaaaaay too slow... >.<


i'm still in the process of seeing what i can recover from a year and a half's worth of photos on a failing hard drive - some 500gb, all photos...

meanwhile, i have been out and about... but mostly its all work work work... but gonna see a japanese pop group friday night ( lol! ) and hopefully a military photoshoot is still on for the weekend...

[..just had a japanese magazine writer ask what part of japan i came from...]

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/18517152/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/18517152/ Mon, 26 May 2008 19:31:41 PDT but didnt feel i enjoyed it as much as i wanted to...

felt a bit ill on the sat, so that wasnt a good start..
got some free fast-track tickets in though, which was nice.

saturday was near claustrophobic - very hard - and very hot - to get around.
sort of wished i'd spent more time outside - especially on sat as the weather was good.

didnt take many shots, and the whole process for seeing the masquerade seemed to do its best to take you 'out' of the expo for the best of 2 or more hours, including some guest stars chat.

i wonder if she noticed that the organisation had filled out her talk with people, 99.9% of which werent interested in who she was but had been dumped there to fill out the space and await the next event.
after the talk, it looked like those who were there for her talk left - all 6 of them.

i think it was julie benz. i actually like her, and thought she was ok in rambo 4, but it all seemed a bit of a mess, and a huge waste of time [no reflection on her].

afterwards i lost contact with cat, and wound up blowing rather alot of cash on sushi later...

sunday was a little better - bit more relaxed, felt better, and it was less crowded.
i had to chase around for the fashion show tickets which i had hoped was going to be spectaular...

what did go well was sorting out a press position as a photographer with no problems. pretty much perfect.

what did go wrong was earlier in the day my flash fell off my camera and smashed on the floor (to gasps of horror - everyone else seemed louder than me - and comments of 'ooh, that cant be good..', my secondary strobe was miss firing except for when i was firing at it at point blank range, which was useless, and i managed to wipe a card full of pictures i'd taken at the expo just before the catwalk show.
so lost all my pictures of cat (fantastic cosplay) and others.

oh and i've lost, misplaced or someone inched my flash card....
so thats another load of pics gone.

the fashion show itself - the garments were not disappointing - but i was hoping to see more, and more from the models.

(interestingly, or perhaps not, marui one in shinjuku was my point of reference when getting back to my hotel in the wee hours)

the masquerade on both days was very good, and quite enjoyable, though theres a marked increase in haruhi comedy piss-take skits lol

cosplay overall was very good on both days, i really enjoyed seeing so many.

and not just cosplay - peoples individual styles and looks was very cool overall (always liked the gothic lolita style, but appreciation grew quite alot after being in japan).
i just wish i had a shot of every single person who dressed up there.
- wouldnt that be cool? a bit 'fruits'-ish (popular street 'fashion' mag), but...

instead i have a fraction of the number of photos that i usually take...


overall, had a better ending to the day on sun, but still lost cat again!





well, october is a long way away, so maybe i'll get better practice in before then...

and then theres november - can't wait for the cosplay ball. emily and jessie had spoken about it ages ago, and promotion has just launched, so its great to see the ball rolling!


...
note on masquerade: didnt think i'd ever hear both curve (toni, dean, monty and debbie were very cool people - found i had toni's old number the other day) and snake river conspiracy (playing a Cure cover) played for skits - very cool. made me smile

i think jo-jo had the curve track (men are from mars, women are from venus) for her GitS cosplay on sat, and can't recall who used the src cure track.

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/18271712/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/18271712/ Sun, 11 May 2008 10:50:22 PDT still here...

got may expo coming up...

did a bit of unit tog work,
other than that the camera is a little more unused these days.

dug out the old D2H and loved the immediacy of it again...
also love how it looks totally shagged...

can't believe my D2X would go for a lot lot less than i can buy a new D300 :/

shot a 70-200/2.8 VR and various nikkor's not long ago in a studio. Soooo nice...
and soo expensive... (i could name my price on it but i'd never be able to justify it...)

someone asked me to shoot a boarding party on a naval frigate... whooo... (theyre armed units that board ships)

still havent sorted my pics out from various events from last year >.<

all but quit the magazine tog work as i dont have time for it...

================================

*cough* ]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/17982268/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/17982268/ Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:29:00 PDT
i was photographing for a job in london, around buildings, on public property, in full view of everyone (and normal security who didnt mind us there), when some pcso's (support police officers) stopped us and questioned us.

our reason for photographing buildings for work reference wasnt good enough and they demanded to know where we'd been, where we were going and then wanted name and address details.

they decided my name was suspicious and called it through.
meanwhile an aru [armed police vehicle] decided to drive by very slowly].
i was asked 'is that a common name?'
they asked where i was born, where i was brought up, and when i told them (a very large town not far away), they hadnt heard of it...

they then took details of what i looked like, how i was dressed and informed me i was now on their database.

i asked if this would speed up the procedure if i was stopped next time.
they said no, i have to go through this everytime.

i asked if this was common and if there was a reason for this.
they said it was to prevent terrorism, there are 'lots of bad people about' and that this procedure was being carried out everywhere.
i said no it isnt, i've never been stopped before and have frequently photographed many buildings and places in full view.
i've even photographed various police units, military units, armed police and anti-terrorist units and personnel, both for work and for personal reasons.

meanwhile i had to wait while they decided that i was who i said i was and that everything was confirmed and that my background check was to their satisfaction.

i'm not particularly happy about this.

being british in britain doesnt count for very much.

carrying a camera makes you a terrorist suspect.

if your name is remotely different (perhaps not stereotypical for what they think you should be called...), you are a suspect.

if i wanted to know more or question them more about this i had to accompany them to the station.

i'm on a frigging job, running out of time.

the building i photographed? wasnt even a proper building, to look at - its under construction.

given all that i've taken pictures of (ie. note any of my work related pics), its a tad insulting to be brought into question over this.



other news:
been location shooting elsewhere (london incident has put me off there) with some substantial kit [specialised camera equipment thats worth a multiple 5 figured sum] which has been good fun.

================================

*cough* ]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/17230587/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/17230587/ Fri, 07 Mar 2008 19:52:38 PST .<

================================
Dont push too far your dreams are china in your hand
Dont wish too hard because they may come true
and you can't help them
You dont know what you might have set upon yourself
China in your hand...

*cough* ]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/15937059/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/15937059/ Fri, 14 Dec 2007 21:10:52 PST
hehe, japan pic dump in the wee hours of sat...

I am so darned eager to go back to Japan, though Hokkaido and Osaka would be the callings...
At a function my friend jokingly said i was a Japanophile, but the thing was, everyone Japanese there thought I was a local anyway ¬_¬

I'm not really though. I just liked it there. No idea if its any good for work though. My friends all say it is, and they come from different industries, with a few that do *not* include english language schools... ( the demise of Nova would have put a stop to some of that anyway... )

Lots of pics from Harajuku [mostly the bridge between the entrance to Yoyogi Park and Harajuku station] as they seem very popular - in fact probably too popular as my pics are no different from the 97billion other pics labelled as harajuku or yoyogi on dA.
I realised this when i took them - i just wanted those pics as my own anyway.

I was also shouted at and accused of being competition to the cameko (personal/official photographers to the cosplayers on Harajuku) - but I wasn't the one that was punched.. that was saved for an American tourist next to me...
>.<

I must say, I was hoping for a more pleasing photographic experience people wise (landscape is just fine...) but that didn't really happen and it was more an exercise in frustration as people run away, put things in their faces or scowl at me.
After watching other street photographers in action, I'm pretty certain that if I was *visually* a gaijin my experience might have been better...


sleep beckons...and more horrible dreams...

edit: ok, an hour later.. i'm going to bed...

================================
In my life theres been heartache and pain
I dont know if I can face it again
I cant stop now, Ive traveled so far
To change this lonely life

I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me...

*cough* ]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/15856511/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/15856511/ Sun, 09 Dec 2007 01:25:35 PST
life=arse
















(not serious, just being stupid about things)

Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick,
and think of you
caught up in circles confusion...
is nothing new
Flashback...warm nights...
almost left behind
suitcases of memories,
time after time... ]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/14467020/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/14467020/ Mon, 03 Sep 2007 07:13:02 PDT wouldnt have minded seeing hayden the cheerleader off heroes...

also desperately wanting to go back to japan and singapore... former cos theres so much more to do and see... and the latter as some of my best mates now live there.. boohoo...

lfcc was much fun.. jess' mum had a fantastic solution to the constantly dropping backdrop material... but i didnt get round to using it..
and then my constant treading on my camera cable meant i lost some shots without knowing it

i really need to buy some half decent lighting gear... well..cheap...ish...

pics to upload:
japanex
tokyo
kyoto
saitama
kanagawa
kyoto
hamamatsu
singapore
pulau ubin
notting hill carnival
london film comic con

er... by my estimate about 12-13,000 pics to sift through...

big thanks to ~ravenmocara, emily, jack, ~Jeni-Katsuya-chan, jessies mum, everyone else involved with the cosplay and a big hi to ~NekoFlameAlchemist, ~kiwiburd, ~bushyhaired and everyone else i met...

*bleh i'll link the names properly later..im at work innit

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/14106318/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/14106318/ Fri, 10 Aug 2007 13:39:42 PDT good fun.
on the face of it, i took 3 days to get to japan from uk...
hit tokyo, kyoto and hamamatsu city, saitama, kanagawa...
got pissed on greatly by tropical rain, partially from typhoon, couldnt swim because of typhoon, and managed to miss typhoon altogether when i went west.

cosplay related i did see harajuku/yoyogi a couple of times, cameko got angry with me as they saw me as competition [hawking a great big nikon tank with me possibly didnt help] though i wasnt the one at the receiving end of a violent blow by one on a hapless tourist beside me.

so watch who/what you photograph there i guess...

i avoided the cosplay/maid cafe in akiba, in fact they avoided me. i guess i just dont look rich enough.

being mistaken for japanese was pretty common, though when i open my gob i get treated like every other gaijin in a place i shouldnt be...
some girls thought i was pretty cool for speaking english so well...

lol

was made to don a jinbei by my japanese friends and headed out to saitama, mixing with locals to attend some of the matsuri and see the hanabi out there.
sadly missed out on the mikoshi as i was travelling around at those particular times.

wedding party was excellent fun, lots of hot guys n gals in jinbei, yukatas, and kimonos. day tripping around tokyo bay in a big cruising yacht, rusty theme bar thing in ebisu, and karaoke into the wee hours...

went on a walk to see one of the big buddhas out in kanagawa, greater tokyo, and it ended up being a 2.5km trek through a forest in the hills.
not a good idea in beach wear and flip flops...
did eventually hit the beach, one of three major ones i went to.
immensely fun, though i felt thoroughly outclassed by all these skinny people.
the last one, enoshima, was so badly packed we gave up and headed home before the hanabi started ...

saw alot, missed alot, rained on alot, slept alot, didnt sleep alot, train-travelled alot, spent alot, drank alot, erm... sweated alot, eye-popping-goggling alot, tanned a bit [well, alot on where i wasnt covered]...

on the whole, too damned hot and sweaty because of the humidity, but from what i saw, i like japan, and my local friends seem to think i'd fit in if i wanted to...

i'm now back in singapore though, and am working/chilling out for a while before i head back to blighty...

took about 7000 shots in japan, only a few hundred might ever see the light of day in some form though.


update: 13-aug-07
grrrr!! just found out i missed out on a major cosplay event here in sg.
and got pissed on in the thunderstorm.
grrrrr aarrgh nnngngngg hmmm

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/13554977/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/13554977/ Sat, 30 Jun 2007 18:07:00 PDT
sooo, what i want to know is:

Q. any good tips for phrases or phrase books etc for japanese...?
as i'm likely to be working right up until i go, so cant really concentrate on learning unfortunately.. ( still attending japan ex of course... i'm flying out 2nd day of the expo...so, if i go to the cosplay party i expect to take that 747 with a severe hangover )

Q. so, from 24th july to 8th august - any cosplay events (or other events) in tokyo for me to attend and take copious amounts of pics???
(i'm already familiar with harajuku/yoyogi on sundays..)

Q. so, from 8th august - 17th any cosplay events (or other events) in singapore for me to attend and take copious amounts of pics???

or any other events in these places to be aware of?

alas my friends in japan (and singapore) are not into cosplay or anything connected with it - not even anime or manga, so i'm after any other sources of info...

or any other hints n tips would be appreciated ta!

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/13111847/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/13111847/ Sun, 27 May 2007 10:19:22 PDT
busy week actually, as i also attended the Naruto Unleashed London launch at Virgin Megastore on Oxford St. on the Monday.

Expo was a good laugh, went with good friends as well as meeting up with Luke, Hiro's friend Anna, and Ling who masterminded The Meloncholy of Suzumiya dance, saw alot of great cosplay, the show had a good atmosphere, queuing time seemed short, and ended with a nice meal in chinatown.

been to Expo's before, but this seemed to be the better one - since my first one anyway - with a degree of space in the middle and there seemed to be less 'issues' going on.
managed to miss all the cosplay groups meet ups, and the one i did hang around for (meloncholy of suzumiya haruhi) eventually didnt happen or happened elsewhere at some other time.

cons: not enough time in the day to see everyone cosplay! it ended! i forgot about the party, mightve been nice to go! it started raining! it wasnt sunny enough! ..finally, its so slow and laborious to upload anything on dA!
- oh and i fluffed up many photos! sorry!

i think i took pics of several people on dA!

big wave to who actually remembered/recognised me and was very nice! hope there wasn't too much blood!

as a result the gallery/photo uploads are going to be a bit messed up with both Naruto Unleashed and MCM Expo May photos being uploaded at the same time.
In terms of both organisation, lighting and available positions, the smaller, more controllable Naruto launch was better for the masquerade/competition; and the MCM Expo was great for sheer numbers of great cosplayers!



wish i'd gone again today

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/12970867/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/12970867/ Tue, 15 May 2007 20:42:22 PDT
it feels like i've been away an eternity.

also managed to get caught up in flickr and facebook ( aargh )

and now i've managed a little update....
... it'll all be alright, so long as someone doesnt use the microwave downstairs and blowout the fuses in the house...

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/11729113/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/11729113/ Wed, 07 Feb 2007 22:51:00 PST but, as they say 'old but gold'
*cough*

snowy day today in london.

i havent been to bed yet, so i actually managed to catch the first fall, and then saw it build up over an hour or so in the wee hours.
i was on the bus in central london around 4am when it started (weather prediction was for snowfall about 7am) and piled on at about 5am.

snow pics currently being uploaded.

[link] - 4:00am
[link] - 5:45am
[link] - 6:40am



]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/11301662/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/11301662/ Wed, 03 Jan 2007 13:52:30 PST
well, happy new year...

i had a reasonably decent one last year, hope this one will be better. (not worse thankyouverymuch )

um....

i'll add more when i finished eating..

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10706993/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10706993/ Sun, 12 Nov 2006 23:46:27 PST .<
i totally forgot it would do that in my haste to dump everything i had before i went to bed



..was up all night processing these pics.
was doing it all day as well, apart from when the police were banging on my door that woke me up.. >.< and yeah, i fall asleep at my pc alot >.<

shot several hundred photos on sat, but because i'm awfully slow with manual focusing whilst moving, 90% of my shots are blurred (..so i've gone and bought a couple of AF lenses ^_^ )

i got perhaps about 180 shots out of it, and theyre hosted elsewhere. a select 80-90 from the night i just dumped here.

some have just gone into scraps as theyre even more spontaneous than my ..er..spontaneous shots..

now i have a thumping headache and should be getting up for work in about an hour or two.

scraps link: [link]

i used the tags : cosplay imaf london 2006 [and named numbers from 1-90 something?]
so they should be easily searchable if you dont want to click thru them one by one.

i dont know anyone in the shots but i gather a few of the are on dA

sorry i didnt say hi to anyone - i'm awfully shy, wet myself and ran away into the woods...

faves include:
[link]
[link] and [link] are very similar and i forgot to delete one.
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link] BR girl!
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
trinity was awesome - just like the real thing!
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
overall competition winner [link]

these two shots are cute: [link] and [link]

dunno why, but i liked this shot of the security guard - i did this as a test and then sat chimping about where i should get the best shot. [link]

this spontaneous shot turned out nice: [link]

i have crap humour, i know:
[link] and [link]

audience: [link]

grabbing an autograph: [link]

panel of judges: [link]

and of course, it was the 11th day of the 11th month, to commemorate the war dead, as well as having london's lord mayor show, which completely slipped my mind..
http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10679336/ Fri, 10 Nov 2006 12:12:53 PST
did some quick manip tests..
original photo is here: [link]
5 manips and 1 comparison screenshot:
[link] , [link] , [link] , [link] , [link] , and [link]

in the scraps: [link]

not much else going on...

wanna go imaf tomorrow but dont know yet...

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10641383/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10641383/ Mon, 06 Nov 2006 20:04:54 PST
basically i'll dump em there and might move one or two to the proper deviations gallery..

hmmmm...

[link]

Manga wall, from the London Graphics Centre Manga Day, with Sweatdrop Studios, TokyoToys, Tokyopop and Letraset.. [4th Nov 2006]
[link]

pic from a previous London MCM Expo party:
[link]

living legend: George Romero
[link]

in my best Arnie accent from 'Predator': "Run! Gao! Git to ze Choppa!!"
[link]

slate blurred for legal reasons:
[link]

man-train:
[link]

lol


yoohoo! to XaviorDarien and cat-cat who i met at the expo!


[edit: 07 11 2006 moved some already..]

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10543765/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10543765/ Sun, 29 Oct 2006 01:56:28 PST
i did go eventually though, but arrived quite late in the day, but just enough time to Simon Pegg and Nick Frost [Spaced, Shaun of the Dead] do autographs following their presentation of 'Hot Fuzz', which looks like alot of fun - the promo video behind the scenes was hilarious.

i wanted to take loads of photos but managed to stiff myself by forgetting my 2gb memory card, forgetting to test the iso, white balance and all other manual aspects in each area where the lighting was different, and making sure that what i was taking pictures of was in focus... and ... more 'chimping' is required.. >.<
consequently i had a few blown out pics, loads of out of focus pics, and loads of really under exposed pics [trade off between seeing anything, graininess and shutter speed..]
i'm really crap!

Two things struck me at the Expo, which ive been to once before [oct 05 i think]:
1. Hasnt cosplay come far in the UK now? its quite amazing to see such great levels of talent and enthusiasm for this hobby, and so many people looked so good! and some looked funny! but they all looked great for all the effort put into them! I was very impressed!

2. The Expo has become a little..anime/manga centric...ie. it appears to have totally lost focus on the aspects that made it grow in the first place: tv/film - sci-fi/horror/fantasy, collector stuff, and guests from those genres.
I'd say more than 1/2 of the Expo was around anime and manga though, and though i do love these as well, they did appear in danger of overshadowing everything else.
I gather that there is a Manga/Anime Expo spin-off convention at some point in the future so this might redress the inbalance found in the current Expo.

Which i think i'll go to again on sunday...

[i fell asleep when i typed this so please excuse the errors..]

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10501207/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10501207/ Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:29:07 PDT


]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10391944/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10391944/ Sat, 14 Oct 2006 15:14:28 PDT
]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10379900/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10379900/ Fri, 13 Oct 2006 12:44:41 PDT


]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10374462/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10374462/ Thu, 12 Oct 2006 21:40:51 PDT
still, better over worked than no work, eh?

got a photoshoot to do over the weekend. whoo!

replaced hard drive in lappy.
dont know how long it'll last as its some old second hand thing [not gonna fork out 100 quid for a new 80gb hard drive in a laptop i dont use for alot of stuff - 20quid for a 20gb seemed ok ]


hmmmmmm...

need to get: reflector, spare batteries, extra memory cards. too late to order online

need to stock up on: haribo

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10298103/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/10298103/ Thu, 05 Oct 2006 20:35:57 PDT Well, rather the hard drive did.
and i cant quite remember what i had on it.


it served as both portable storage and as my internet gateway [following loss of cable internet which frankly was ten times better and i could just leave the router plugged into the modem. no such luck this time]

and now the drive kicked the proverbial bucket, complete with the clicks of doom to tell us very audibly that it was buying a farm of its very own...

i think my sony lappy [circa '98] lasted longer, if it werent for the crappy hinges.

another 19+ hour working day today! yay!

think i fancy my project manager tho, shes quite..fanciable..

]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/9853628/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/9853628/ Fri, 25 Aug 2006 17:41:17 PDT
I think I'll just be posting snapshots and random shots. Not for anything really but for my own amusement.

I hope the people of whom I post dont mind. Most of them are long gone, perhaps on the other side of the world.

..and one of them I'm just kinda getting over. I have to. As she'll be someone elses bride soon...

*sniff*

*cries*

one month, six thousand miles and counting... ]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/9853624/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/9853624/ Fri, 25 Aug 2006 17:41:03 PDT
Pointing to the cover of a magazine each month and exclaimng 'I did that!' and flicking inside to see myself 'Thats me!' doesnt seem to help LOL ....
Anyway...

Theres a few that I liked to watch on here, but recently a couple have turned out to be..well..frauds.. in that they post someone elses [clearly commercial] work, someone elses model, and while they may not outright claim it is them [though one did..] or their own work, they seem happy enough to pass it off as theirs..and then they sit back and reap the kudos from unsuspecting peeps...

Anyway, theres so much *real* talent on DA its pretty awesome. ]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/6453704/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/6453704/ Thu, 08 Sep 2005 19:29:01 PDT
and this darned website keeps complaining about timing out or something.. grr ]]> *mkmkmk http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/5484288/ http://mkmkmk.deviantart.com/journal/5484288/ Sat, 28 May 2005 10:08:05 PDT first time i can sign up without getting some weird 'your ip address has been banned' error message.. ]]> *mkmkmk