Happy New Year...

Another year done and dusted, a new year to look forward to, the work has already started to pile in, January is going to be very busy. I've got some new toys to play with, which I'll be testing and blogging about very soon. I hope you'll take a look in 2013, once again Happy New Year...

Re: Christmas is coming... All change.

On the 16th of December I wrote this:-

"Christmas is coming, I've wrapped up the last job of the year and I've wrapped most of the presents too, the decorations are up and so is my desire to get some personal work shot. I've got to get some shots done of the kids, another year passes and they are both shooting up, that needs to be captured and immortalised in pixels. I have other plans too, you'll hopefully see some of the results here in the next month or so. In the meantime a happy Christmas to you and a very happy and prosperous new year."

All change, I'm now looking at working half the holidays for a couple of good clients who've suddenly sprung a whole heap of product shots on me, I'm not phased by this, it's going to put my plans back a little, not a problem. I've also got some portraits of my niece and her best friend to do before she goes off to join the army in January, a job that I'm extremely honoured to do.

Plans change on the ring of a phone or the ping of the inbox, I go with the flow, and while the work flows in I work. Happy Christmas again... Oh and Happy New Year.

Instagram... That was fun while it lasted.

I'm going to pull my Instagram account, photographers are already being undermined by people on the internet  swiping their images, now Instagram/Facebook want to do it to, well sod that. Some of the images I've posted have been from shoots I've done, I'm sure clients would love to see the shot they've paid for on someone else's ad. So I'm going to pull all my images off and close the account. 

So now I'm looking for another way to share images, just downloaded the 'tadaa' app, I'll see what that's like and where it goes. Also downloaded 'Streamzoo' I'm liking that, for both apps my user name is 'akpimages', so if you want to follow, or not it's entirely up to you.

Oh yeah once again Merry Christmas. No that doesn't apply to you Instagram, may the yule log slip from your fire and burn your house down.

Christmas is coming...

Christmas is coming, I've wrapped up the last job of the year and I've wrapped most of the presents too, the decorations are up and so is my desire to get some personal work shot. I've got to get some shots done of the kids, another year passes and they are both shooting up, that needs to be captured and immortalised in pixels. I have other plans too, you'll hopefully see some of the results here in the next month or so. In the meantime a happy Christmas to you and a very happy and prosperous new year.

Half Apple Boxes DIY...

I've finally got around to producing the half apple boxes, got the plywood cut again at B&Q this morning. All cut to finished sizes (the cutting list is below), I set up a jig to route the 12 handles, though only 8 are need as real handles, the others become the centre bracing for the box.

Again every box is screwed and glued, as strength is very important. Over did it a bit with the glue on this first box, a little bit of glue goes a long way. All over my jumper and half way down my trouser leg in this case.

Cordless screwdrivers are a god send, in fact I bought another when I was having the wood cut up, well they were selling them off at £10, had been £30, bargain!

I've built all four boxes today, tomorrow I'll bevel the edges and sides with the radius tool on the router and get them sanded. I had enough wood to make a couple of quarter apple boxes too, but I'm not going to bore you with shots of the construction of those.

Cutting list:-

8 off 305 mm x 508 mm top and bottom panels

8 off 66 mm x 508 mm side panels

12 off 66 mm x 269 mm end and middle panels

All from one 2440 mm x 1440 mm x 18 mm (8' x 4' x 3/4") sheet of plywood, the off cuts were enough to construct the top and bottom panels for two quarter apple boxes, though I've used some 15 mm thick timber to get the thickness up to the 51 mm required for the quarter sized box. Instead of holes I've just run the router bit along the edge to create a rebate to help pick them up off the floor. 

10 Apple boxes for £56 in timber, just over the price of one box from Calumet, I'm pleased with that, and I've really enjoyed making them.

Photography Apple Boxes DIY... part 2

So the first step is to set up a jig for routing out the handles in what will be the end pieces of the boxes. As I want four 8" x 12" x 20" boxes, and as the ply is 18mm thick I've worked out that the end pieces need to be 167mm x 269mm, I decided on a single handle/hole in the ends, set near to what will be the top of the box, this way I can pick up a pair of boxes with  one hand.

Here is the jig set up, the blocks restrict the movement of the router, the block holding down the plywood takes on two jobs, holding down the plywood and also restricting the router. If I was building loads of boxes I'd have built a specific jig just for cutting the handles, it didn't seem worth it for the 12 holes I had to cut. I've marked my bench so that if, or rather when I make some Half size Apple Boxes I can use the same set up.

First cut, I did between three and four passes to finally break through the ply, it puts less strain on the router tool.

Once the hole is cut it just need a good sanding, on both sides just making sure there are no potential splinters to stab me when I go to use the handles.

The router runs along the ply gripping block edge first, then in a clockwise motion up to the top block.

I only had 12 holes to cut, I spent a bit of time setting up each one and clamping them down, though it isn't that critical to be off by a few millimetres.

Why is the middle support piece also cut, my guess is that a strap or cable could be passed through the box to securely stack a number of boxes together, so I cut mine like I'd seen others done.

Top lid on and the first box is now screwed and glued together, just need to do the final routing of the edges, plugging the screw holes and the sanding.

 Looks like there will be a part 3 to this job, till next time.

Photography Apple Boxes DIY... Part 1

I have a bee in my bonnet about Apple Boxes, I've wanted some for ages, but I've always made do with saw horses or milk crates, even peli cases. In America a Full size 8" x 12" x 20" Apple Box will cost you $30, that's about £18.50 at todays exchange rate, check out Calumet Photographic website here in the UK and that same box will set you back a glorious £54. It's no wonder then that the internet is littered with photographic and movie equipment sites with tips for building your own.

So that's exactly what I've been planning to do. I've read a good deal about the cutting and assembly of the boxes, I've listed the site I've found most useful below. I used too build skateboard decks and snowboards in my youth, I still build skateboard decks (labour of love) so I've got routers, core cutters, power drills, and enough G-clamps to sink a battleship. I've got everything I need for the job except a large chop saw/saw bench. This wasn't about to hold me back, with my roughly drawn out diagram illustrating just how I needed the 8' x 4' x 3/4" ply wood sheet cut to get 4 full size Apple Boxes, I popped down to the nearest B&Q DIY store and had a very nice chap cut everything to size for me, and they didn't charge me a penny more than the cost of the sheet of plywood, all of  £29.

This is the cutting list/drawing, it includes 8 off 305mm x 508mm (tops & bottom), 8 off 167mm x 508mm  (side pieces) and 12 off 167mm x 269mm (ends and middle pieces), this gave me enough bits from an 8' x 4' sheet, as long as it was cut up in the right order.

So here is the wood, cut to size, ready for construction to begin. This first box was built up without cutting the hand holds, I wanted to check that everything fitted together properly first, so this one hasn't been glued, just screwed together for now.

The drill bit I used for the No.8 size holes with countersink, the drill length can be altered by loosening a grub screw, the holes will be filled later with wooden cores cut using a core cutter.

The piece in the middle of the box gives the the top and bottom sheets extra support, it'll stop them sagging if a very heavy weight is placed in the middle of the completed box. Care was taken to make sure the ends were flush to the side pieces.

The edges will be sanded when the box is finish, I'll use a 1/2" Router with a radius cutter to round the edges first. Below you can see the sketch for where the handle hole will be cut, I'll need to set up a jig to cut these out so that every box has the holes in the same place, again a Router will be used to cut the holes out.

The bottom lid is now screwed to the rest of the frame, it's almost a perfect fit, a little sanding and it'll be stop on.

Here is a view of the top lid, pre-drilled and ready for assembly, 14 No.8 x 1 1/2" screws will attach it to the rest of the box.

Just prior to the top going on I ensured all the sides were level, which they were.

So an almost finished Apple Box, just needs taking apart and the handles cutting, reassembling and glueing, the edges running over with the Router to put a bevel on them, cores put in all the countersunk screw holes, sanding and then a coat or two of varnish to finish. I'll cover all that in Part 2

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?68314-DIY-High-Quality-Apple-Boxes

I took a long lunch today...

I decided I needed to get some air this lunchtime, lots of it, so I set off on my Mountain Bike. It's quite chilly today, skies are mostly blue, a good autumnal day, fresh. I find getting on the bike and pedalling helps me to think, I can churn any problems I might have over in my mind without the distraction of the phone, or the internet, it really works, I've got back into the office now and I know exactly what I want to do, how to achieve it, and I've even come up with some ideas for a new project. Note to self - I really need to bring the bike to work more often.

I've been watching the feeds from Photokina...

I've always fancied going to Cologne and taking in the wonders at Photokina, all that new kit on display, it must be like being a kid with the keys to the toy shop. Well so far it's not to be, work always seems to hold me back from booking that ticket. Still I can watch the feeds coming in on sites like Luminous Landscapes and dpreview which are always illuminating.

So what thus far has hooked my interest, the new Canon 6D, it's okay but no I still think the 5D MkIII will be my next purchase. Both the Fuji X-E1 and XF1 look very interesting and I'd like to have a play with them at Focus-on-imaging in March, but no. The Hasselblad H5D, I must say with improved weather seals and the new black and white colour-way looks lovely, but no. Mamiya/Phase Ones' new 645 DF+ with the new 28mm lens looks very capable, but no.

No, what has really hooked me is the HasselbladSonyStein creation, it looks funky, but beneath the italian designed, wood or carbon fibre exterior, the interior is all Sony NEX-7, a £900 camera, that becomes a £5000 camera with the Hasselblad body. Are we this bloody stupid? Are there people out there with more money than sense? Apparently these are the sort of thing your new rich Russian or Chinese industrialist and Despot Dictator are crying out for to set themselves above the rest of the photography enthusiasts. As a professional photographer I would consider them mugs, but following the logic I might pick up a Ford Focus, knock the body work about a little, maybe add some bit of wood and carbon fibre to the exterior, pop a Rolls Royce badge on it and get it listed on e-bay in Russian and Chinese.

I've not been blogging much...

... lately, I could blame my workload, but that wouldn't be fair. I could blame the kids school holidays, nearly seven weeks of 'can I go to, can I have, when are we, why haven't we' but that isn't it. I could blame me. 

Think I've hit that one on the nail, it's me, I just haven't had it in me to sit down and write anything. I've had ideas, but I've filed those away in the recesses of my brain for another time. I've been looking at what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, and instead of my usual certainty I've discovered doubt, uncertainty, and that's shocked me. I've always wanted to be a photographer, since I was a little kid playing with some old Kodak camera my Dad had, always. 

Am I a photographer? I feel I'm more of an administrator/telesales/marketing/guy these days, the actual photography doesn't take all my time, the processing on the computer takes a good chunk of time, though now I have let Lightroom 4 into my MacPro I seem to have speeded up my workflow, but it's all the other stuff, essential in the running of the business but it keeps me away from the camera.

It keeps me away from the camera... now that can't be a good thing.

Lightroom 4

Installed Lightroom 4 today, finally, I've been toying with the idea for a while now. A good friend is using Lightroom and raves about it, so now to learn yet another new program. I have to say the first hour of playing with Lightroom was an eye opener, it's very good, it was very easy to pull out the image I really wanted from the standard flat Canon raw image that my 1Ds MkII kicks out.

I think a few more hours and I'll be completely at home with the layout and I'll be experimenting with some older images to see just how much better this software can make the images look.

That Olympic spirit...

That Olympic spirit that gripped the nation also gripped my boys, we had a day of hurdles, running, cycling. Followed by a night of sleeping very well, always a plus when you have kids. Here's a few pictures of the event.

Right that's the silliness over, now I'm back to my nose to the grind stone, it's marketing time... Again.

So what's going on...

I've been invoicing this week, for May and June, got a bit busy and something had to give, invoicing had to wait. Still all done and dusted now. 

I've had time this week because I had surgery on Monday, I've been deaf in my right ear since I was two years old, a nasty virus ate away most of my inner ear. In November I decided to get my good working left ear tested, a trip to the Doctors and the request was dispatched to the local hospital. January, on my birthday ironically I went to hospital to get it tested, just thought I'd be having a test, nothing more. After sitting with a pair of cans on my ears for ten minutes I was ushered back into the waiting room and told to wait to see the consultant, a short wait and I was in his office and he was looking in my ears. Then he uttered 'So what would you like us to do about your right ear?' I laughed, for a good thirty years I've been told numerous times that there was nothing that could be done to bring back my hearing. He smiled and then told me the options, one of those options has been available for over twenty years, it's never been offer to me because most general practitioners have no idea it exists. He said it involves some surgery, I was fine with that, he said it wouldn't give me 100% hearing in my right ear, I was fine with that. So after some tests and an MRI scan it was all systems go, surgery went well, under local anaesthetic, having someone drilling into your skull whilst you're wide awake is a little surreal, then an abutment/bolt was screwed into my skull behind my ear. In about four to six weeks time, once I'm all healed up, I get a Cochlear Baha, a very small device that will clip onto the abutment and I will hear again in my right ear. You have no idea how wonderful that is going to feel, or how strange, I can't wait.

Sometimes you just need one bit of luck to come your way, I could have forgotten about getting myself tested, I'd have no idea that my hearing could have been given back to me, I could be walking around for another 30 years with no idea. Sometimes you have to set the ball rolling.

I met a guy a few weeks ago, he's in his seventies, he has some amazing vintage motorbikes, we chatted for awhile and I asked if I could photograph the bikes, he was very enthusiastic about the idea, so another project is on the cards. Another ball is set rolling, now if only this appalling wet weather would make way for some decent dry weather I can get a start on photographing these bike...


Oh yeah, tomorrow I'm shooting shoes, and doing a heap of photoshop work of radiators. Hole in the head and I'm still working!