deviantART: by:sparxphoto

deviantART: by:sparxphoto http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:sparxphoto&section=today deviantART RSS for by:sparxphoto en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Thu, 31 Dec 2009 04:50:15 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png Life is for the living to live so start living it! http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/28285911/ http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/28285911/ Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:21:43 PST
Then on Monday I get some news which I still can't get my head around.

[link]

I've known Kerry since I was 6 years old and it's safe to say she was the childhood sweetheart I never had. Since our teens contact has gotten more and more sporadic, a combination of distance and each of us maturing into our own lives. I was never too bothered by this because I always knew that some day I would get off my arse and go see her again.

That's a kick in the balls for apathy right there.

If there's one thing to focus your mind on getting lifes priorties right it's the senseless, violent loss of someone who had theirs spot-on. I am ashamed at myself for every time I let my head drop and hide myself away. I am ashamed that I would rather do nothing than something. But mostly I am ashamed about the number of people I have allowed to pass through my life and out the other side.

Rest In Peace Kerry, I hope I can be a better friend to others than I was to you.

]]> *sparxphoto Holiday http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/27448795/ http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/27448795/ Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:51:20 PDT

]]> *sparxphoto Bizzy Bee http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/26539429/ http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/26539429/ Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:04:43 PDT
Firstly I would like to thank the 200+ favourites I have sitting in my inbox. I know for some of you out there that's just a days work but for me that's quite a lot of love and it is appreciated. Unfortunately I don't really have the time at the moment to thank you all individually but please accept this as a huge TA VERY MUCH!

Secondly, what have I been doing? Well, work mostly but weekend before last saw me step well outside my comfort zone as second unit to a wedding photographer. It was my brother-in-laws wedding but I'm not a great portrait or social photographer and the weight of expectation was a bit nerve-wracking. I am still in the middle of processing all 500+ shots but I will probably put a few up here for general comment.

I have also sold my first prints! Two have already left my cousins shop which is a bit of an ego boost. Interestingly, the general feedback seems to be more trees and ruins please! People certainly like the coast shots i've started doing but this is Norfolk and every other photographer is taking the same pictures so I'm going to get back into my 'Hallowed' project and visit a few more ruins.

]]> *sparxphoto My first theft (i think) http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/26099364/ http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/26099364/ Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:50:26 PDT
Someone has decided my work is good enough to be passed off as their own. [link]

Not only has he nicked my image but he's even using my deviantID as his avatar, which obviously means i'm far more handsome than him as well as far more talented. How does the poor, untalented, unimaginative, ugly git sleep at night?

Alright, so i'm more angry than honoured. Time for a watermark I think!

A huge THANKYOU and shout out to

for being ever vigilant and letting me know what's going on.

]]> *sparxphoto Getting off my arse and doing something... http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/25161827/ http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/25161827/ Sat, 06 Jun 2009 12:57:36 PDT

]]> *sparxphoto How long? http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/23399407/ http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/23399407/ Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:44:36 PST
I'd like to think that my brief trip to Wells at the weekend will kickstart things but i'm still not there yet.

]]> *sparxphoto Work part 2 http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/21182414/ http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/21182414/ Mon, 27 Oct 2008 06:39:10 PDT
I do have some pics still to post going back over the last couple of weeks or so and I promise I will get them to you soon.

In the meantime, comments & favs etc: thanks and will answer soon, deviations: i'm sure they're all as stunning as always so assume you've got a

from me.

]]> *sparxphoto Depression, work, depression, work http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/19458554/ http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/19458554/ Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:12:36 PDT
=

no updates for a longggg time.

Still, thanks to all the visitors who have pushed me over the 3000 viewer mark. I'm going to attempt to plow through any comments and all deviations posted by you lot over the last couple of months whilst i've been away contemplating a Reggie Perrin type exit from this life.

On the plus side (see, thinking positive) I did go out this weekend for the first time in a while. Lots of happy, shiny pictures.

]]> *sparxphoto Been away http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/17441323/ http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/17441323/ Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:23:05 PDT
To everyone that has left a comment, picked a favourite or started watching my gallery then thanks very much, it is appreciated. I will try and return the favours over the next few days.

In the meantime the camera's been out again and some old haunts have been revisited. Enjoy!

]]> *sparxphoto Milestone http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/16491366/ http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/16491366/ Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:04:40 PST

]]> *sparxphoto This years plan http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/16412934/ http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/16412934/ Tue, 15 Jan 2008 05:19:57 PST
I shot graveyards for a City & Guilds module a while back but this time the focus will be on the churches themselves. Whether galleries consider the photos commercially viable or not we shall have to see, but I am really starting to think about putting on my own exhibition. Anyone local care to join me?

]]> *sparxphoto Going Digital http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/15927815/ http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/15927815/ Fri, 14 Dec 2007 07:50:52 PST
The Camera.
Is great! Olympus has really managed to capture the spirit of the old OMÂs beautifully. In my hands it feels just like my OM2sp. Similar size, weight and button position means a very familiar shooting experience. IÂve never owned a modern SLR so I donÂt know how controls compare to other cameras but they seem to be quite intuitive. Changing aperture and shutter speeds whilst looking through the viewfinder is easy, focusing is quick and metering appears to be accurate. The build quality belies the sub Â£400 price (from a French ebayer) and the two Zukio lenses supplied have received rave reviews from the industry press.

The Taking.
Well havenÂt I suddenly become prolific! Without the limit of 36 exposures and the costs involved in processing multiple rolls IÂve certainly been rattling off the shots. It would be true to say IÂve got more creative and imaginative now IÂm not counting frames and my learning curve has steepened considerably.

IÂm still trying to maintain a filmic discipline. I plan the shoot before I start, deciding on ISO, mono or colour, lens and filter requirements, exactly as I used to. That may sound silly when such things are now easy to change but IÂm always conscious of getting hung up on technical button pressing and forgetting what I want to achieve, finishing the day with no cohesion in the images. I have always been one to get as much done Âin-cameraÂ to avoid unnecessary darkroom work and want to continue in the same vein to prevent wasting hours in PS.

The Print.
This is where everything falls down. ItÂs just too damn easy! Press a couple of buttons, slide that bar up, tweak that curve and there you go. Want exactly the same again? No problem, just hit repeat.

Part of the joy of photography for me was watching that final print slowly appear in the dev tray. After going through test strips, deciding on grade, trying to remember exactly where you dodged last time, where you burned in, the final print had a very personal feel. Hand-crafted by you from start to finish. Now I push a mouse around, click a couple of buttons and an inkjet churns out the final print again and again with no fuss.

The stuff IÂve done in the last few weeks is probably as good as IÂve ever done, in many cases itÂs better. But the end product just does nothing for me. ItÂs a silly hang-up I know but, regardless of how the photo looks on paper IÂm just not happy with how it feels.

Conclusion.
ThereÂs no question that going digital has made me a better picture taker, even in the short time since I got the camera but the post-production has been a bit of a disappointment. I find the whole process a bit boring and easy and the final product doesnÂt seem to have a little bit of my soul in it the same way a halide print does. Irrational I know and for anyone else who has looked at the stuff IÂve produced lately, irrelevant. They seem to like what they see so who am I to argue?

]]> *sparxphoto The power of the Dark Side http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/15487627/ http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/15487627/ Tue, 13 Nov 2007 01:33:02 PST
My last temptation.

My descent into the abyss.

My journey to the Dark Side is complete.

My new Olympus E410 is here and god, do I feel dirty!

But, being the ever pragmatic, I realise that in order for me to continue with photography something had to give. And that something was my film only rule.
I still have my film cameras and I will still be shooting with them but there will be no more Silver Halide prints coming out of my darkroom. Next on the list of aquisitions is a decent neg scanner then we'll just see how it goes.

]]> *sparxphoto An internal battle rages http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/15284542/ http://sparxphoto.deviantart.com/journal/15284542/ Tue, 30 Oct 2007 09:13:52 PDT Love the stuff.
Love the feeling of a real print.
Love the whole process that gets me there.
Love the flexibility of different films in different cameras and the creative possibilities.
Love the fact that my past-time doesn't mean sitting in front of a computer screen.
Love the look I get from digiphiles as they clock my brick-sized Mamiya TLR and the stupid questions that follow like, 'Can you still buy film for that then?'.
Love the fact that, no matter how hard I try, I will NEVER produce the same image twice.

Hate that I have no darkroom, no access to a darkroom, no chance of getting any printing done in the forseeable future.
Hate that my Digicam, so handy for documenting nights out with the gang is no good at the creative stuff I WANT to be shooting right now.
Hate that i'm losing interest in the whole thing.
Hate that i'm seriously considering a DSLR kit and inkjet printer.
Hate that i'm so resigned to this outcome i've already upgraded to CS3.
Hate that i'm scouring ebay for a good deal on an Olympus E510.

Love the thought of photographing again.

]]> *sparxphoto