Never Again!

I was asked to be an unofficial, unpaid photographer at a family Christening - Never, never, never again.

I agreed because I was looking for a good excuse to buy a fast prime lens. I would need a fast lens if I was going to take flash-free photographs inside a church. ( A fast lens is a lens with a wide maximum aperture - ideal in low light) . I turned up one hour before the service and tried out my new lens. I was pleased with the results. I had taken a bean bag rather than my tripod because I reckoned there would be plenty of places to rest the camera. Think of all the pews.

The vicar asked us all to participate in the service rather than take photographs. We could do that at the end. Since I am not a Christian, I had no intention of participating but thought it was only right to go some way towards respecting his wishes . The service came to an end. Like bats out of hell and before they had finished saying 'Amen', the members of the congregation rushed forward with their compact cameras and indiscriminately fired flash - and they kept on firing. It was like something out of Star Wars. How could I meter the light and take photographs in this kind of set up? I had bought a prime lens so that I wouldn't spoil my photographs with harsh horrible pop-up flash! Call me naive but I hadn't expected this kind of behaviour in a church.

The people in my pictures have flat washed-out faces and there are multiple shadows criss-crossing the walls. I waited until everyone left and tried to get the parents, godparents and grandparents to pose but they were fed up of it all by then and could not keep still. One of the godparents has 3 see-through arms on one shoulder - she was waving to someone. Shakes head - I wasn't asking them to keep still for whole seconds at a time!

I thought I had got a good shot of the vicar but on close inspection I can see that he has four rows of teeth.

Next time ( but there won't be a next time ), I could take my big heavy tripod and use it to assert a false sense of superiority and authority.

Hello Blog!

Prompted by the cartoon on Nogbad’s page - feeling a little guilty about my half abandoned blog.

Although I haven’t been updating my blog on a regular basis, I have thought a lot about it in the last few months. I have also considered bringing it to a close but why should I? I can’t imagine being blogless and at least it is here if I want it. Also I don't want to lose touch with the people I have met through blogging.

There are a number of issues I would like to have discussed on my blog but for various reasons I have not done so.

This government seems hell-bent on destroying education as we know it and I could or, perhaps, should have blogged about this particular issue. Why haven’t I? For my own sanity. I feared that I would self-combust. The government want to prevent us from taking equivalent or lower qualifications - by refusing to fund them. How utterly stupid is this? The world is a changing place and people need to keep themselves up to date, widen their knowledge and re-skill. Additionally, a wider education is far more important than a one-track route to a single summit. Education is not just for employment purposes. It’s about personal achievement and social justice. People who have the chance to learn and widen their knowledge inevitably make better employees and more responsible citizens. They innovate and they help others. I am trying to remain calm in the knowledge that common sense will eventually prevail. It will. It will have to. If it doesn’t, the world will could come to a halt for some.

‘The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ’

Of course, those you really want to learn will do so despite the government. The policies do not, however, encourage those in need of a little direction or motivation, or help those who need new qualifications plus the necessary bit of paper.

I have been very busy of late and this is another reason why I have not regularly up-dated my blog. No time for self-indulgence. During the little available time, I have tried to work on my photography. I have taken to going out on my own with my equipment. This doesn’t mean being on my own - I meet plenty of interesting people along the way. Yesterday, I decided I wanted to get a photo of a tiger so I took myself off to the zoo. I got a picture but I think the tiger was very bored with it all. It was good to see young children taking photographs and sharing their knowledge. I had to look at a number of LCD screens. :-)

PS. I'm not sure that I am happy with wild animals being caged up but I wouldn't like the tiger to roam free in my part of town.