Time to Get Up

I'm not particularly proud of this shot.

Part of the "Time" series that I have studied in evening class 'Time to get up' was conceived as a typical image that would depict early morning sunshine and getting up. I imagined a shaft of sunlight shining on my favourite drink - coffee. Do you ever have that feeling that you want something badly but you know in your heart of hearts that things are not working out when you try to execute the plan? 

And you keep going anyway?

This is one of those times.

Concept: cup of coffee with some coffee beans shaped in a heart i.e. One bread board turned oblique so that the diagonal lines give a sense of pace to the picture. Coffee beans purchased from Whittards (coffee shop franchise in the UK). I love coffee. I didn't ask for much.

Could I do a heart?

Could I light it so that everything was in focus?

Diagnosis Merger

Two hospitals will merge on the South-coast of England within the next twelve month time frame. Exciting for some, a headache for others, both hospitals must continue to focus on day to day care of people coming through its doors on a minute to minute basis. A small group of individuals put on a charity show from time to time on an annual basis raising money for the hospitals and their patients. Today I took this to help publicise the event which takes place in a few days time for its staff and their family & friends.

Global Drugs Survey

Founder of the Global Drug Survey Adam is a dual accredited psychiatrist and physician with specialist expertise in Drugs and Alcohol. But that's only the start. After several years as a consultant and area manager in his field in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and with a major track record in research both there and back here in the UK at the Maudesley Hospital, Adam has performed ground breaking work in research and education amongst drug users that is the envy of multiple drug agencies.

By designing a smart phone app that protects the users' anonymity he is able to reach out to hundreds of thousands of people which will benefit both individuals and also the research community on an international scale.

But the connection between my post and this important area of health education is...what exactly?

Time to Finish

Training to be a surgical doctor starts with school, A levels in England UK, 5-6 years in medical school +/- the odd additional science degree, and then a mere 15 or so years as a trainee in hospital medicine before you get to cut it as a consultant surgeon.  Then the real learning begins...

Play Time

Christmas night 2011. On a bridge over the Necker river in Waiblingen, the bridge being situated at the Hegnacher Mill, Waiblingen, Stuttgart, South West Germany.

Photographing molten metal is dangerous as an occupation.

Time To Die

There are two ways of getting this shot:

1) Walk in and take the photograph
2) Ask the pastor permission beforehand to come onto the land at a pre-arranged time

I shocked the pastor. I went for the second choice.

Time to Reflect

October 2011 early morning: a dawn shoot over stacks at sunrise. Parts of the Dorset coast are closed to the public for protection (they are used during the week as Ministry Of Defence rifle ranges), only opening at weekends. Mupe Bay is reached by a short 60-90 minute jaunt over headland east of Lulworth Cove.

Though I didn't enter this for the Photog Level II work around Time I would have named it:

Time to Reflect

Nikon D700 Carl Zeiss Lens 21mm f/2.8 @f/16 and 0.6secs
Lee filters: Pro Glass ND0.9; Hard Grad ND0.9.
Gitzo systematic tripod. Minor levelling of the horizon (cropping) in Lightroom 3.6

And the learning points for me here:

To chase good light means investing in an alarm clock, planning, preparation and sometimes a spot of fitness.

If some detail in the water is required then the shutter speed is going to have to be tight - once a few seconds have passed a milky smooth stillness develops instead.

Time Out

Mid January 2012 at the end of the day: picture opportunities with expressions like this don't come up often. India placed herself on the "naughty step" after a tiff with her siblings. Suddenly I had another picture for my Photog homework on a "Theme of Time".

Checking that no social worker was outside the front room window I grabbed the camera with a fast lens as I knew it was dark up on the landing and time was going to be very short indeed.

Time Out

Nikon D700 ISO800 Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lens @f/1.4 1/60sec
Minimal cropping in Lightroom 3.6

For me the legs to knees & elbows to wrists are the lead in lines to the only thing that needs to be in focus: the eyes - and the subtle catch lights from the stained glass window high up behind me that act like a large soft-box in the post sunset light. What is the learning point for me in this composition?

Keep it simple.

Show Time

Teaching has it that you should have the lowest ISO you can get your hands on when taking the picture. It stands to reason: you get detail, you get images without noise, you get....the picture.

But what if the ISO doesn't allow you to capture the moment? Then you try to compensate and you realise you might get that hand held picture only if your exposure is a few seconds under a minute. Even having super fast glass ain't going to cut it here: f stops of f/0.34 just don't exist on humble commercial lenses. Light Meter says no - or worse has a seizure.

Sometimes you have to make a judgement. Compromise and get the picture or lose everything.