New/Old Camera

Last week I treated myself to a secondhand Agfa Optima-Parat camera from Oxfam and just got my first roll of film back.


In many respects the camera should have been a complete nightmare: I had no idea whether the automatic light meter still worked and focusing is based entirely on distance which is a novelty to me. As it turned out these were precisely the reason it was so much fun to use. Not knowing if it worked meant I wasn't precious about the photos at all, and not having a tape measure (or any clue!) meant I had no idea if a shot would be in focus or not.


I've never been a great photographer, and this camera hasn't changed that by any means, but it has given me more enjoyment than I've had from using a digital camera for a while. The shots have that 60s/70s feel to them, with a certain warmth that is sometimes lacking from more polished digital shots. The only real downside was that it cost me twice as much to have them all processed as it did to buy the camera in the first place!


There's a rough selection of other shots on my Flickr page as well. If you're getting a bit jaded with your sexy, slimline 12 megapixel camera you could do a lot worse than popping down your local charity shop and taking a chance on some old kit instead....

Bath Half Marathon (Part 2)

Just a quick note to thank everyone who sponsored me for my half-marathon attempt. I managed to raise the grand total of £340 (so far!).

Unlike the 140 runners who succumbed to dehydration I managed to complete the 13.1 mile course in 2 hours and 6 minutes without the aid of the St John's ambulance. I had hoped to be a bit faster but I guess when it's your first time any result is a new personal best?! After a day's rest yesterday I can just about walk again which is handy.

Thanks once again for everyone's support, it means a huge amount to me and to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Bath Half Marathon

Despite spending my entire life scrupulously avoiding all forms of exercise, I'm laughably going to attempt the Bath Half Marathon – all 13 excruciating miles of it. I started running last October, winter obviously being the easiest season to start learning how to run. Since then I have dragged and hauled my aching, flabby body through enough muddy trails that I have finally got to the point where I can run a few miles without collapsing.

You may be forgiven for thinking that I probably shouldn't be encouraged in such delusional exploits, and I've certainly questioned my own sanity over the last few months. All I can say is that if I manage to survive this race I sincerely promise to think long and hard before entering another!

I would be extremely grateful if you'd be so kind as to sponsor me and help Macmillan Cancer Support to improve the lives of people affected by cancer. Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Macmillan Cancer Support gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

Many thanks, Tom.

Letterpress

Maybe it's something to do with the new year, but I've been thinking for a while that I need a hobby. I started running a few months back and although that occupies a fair bit of my spare time it doesn't really satisfy any creative urges. As much as I enjoy my day-to-day work, it's just not the same as creating something purely for yourself.

Over Christmas I bought one of these prints for my girlfriend (and sort of for myself!) as a present.

It's by a guy called Douglas Wilson and I got it from the Keep Calm Gallery. It's a beautifully simple and perfectly executed idea, Douglas buys up old maps and then prints over the top with hand letterpress. The nature of the work means that each piece is unique, and as a customer on the internet you never know quite what your print is going to look like. He also does a second variant which again is overprinted onto different maps.


All of this got me thinking that letterpress would be an interesting route to explore. I've always loved the aesthetic of letterpress as well as it's tangible, physical nature. It seems an ideal way to combine my love of typography and print with my (very vague) artistic urges. When you spend all day creating imagery on a computer, it's easy to lose sight of the craft aspect of the work. There are some great pieces of letterpress work out there, including this piece for The Economist by Craig Ward.


To cut a long story short I started looking into the logistics of printing at home (home being a tiny one-bed flat). I've done a bit of woodcarving, etching and screenprinting in the past but letterpress is completely new to me. After a bit of reading around (mainly on the hugely informative Briar Press site) the easiest route for a beginner in the UK seems to be getting hold of an Adana.


Sadly Adanas are no longer in production (although you can get spares and refurbished models from Caslon). This leaves options like eBay, Gumtree, car boot sales and blind luck. I'm a bit impatient though so I've started looking into another approach, DIY letterpress! Given that I have little to no aptitude for DIY (apart from a highly prestigious grade D for Design & Technology A level) this may be a little ambitious. I don't know whether it's just sheer bloody mindedness but the idea of doing your own printing seems so much more appealing when it's coupled with doing in on your own hand-bodged press.
I've looked around and it seems I'm not the only person delusional enough to have thought of this. Here are some examples of presses that other people have made using their own ingenuity.

Winking Cat Press

Winking Cat Press

ReadyMade

Instructables.com

And probably my favourite design, just for its unorthodox approach to the problem:

Grant Gehrke

I think I'm going to have a crack at building one based on the ReadyMade design above. I can get my head around the instructions and it looks like it might be within my limited means. Fingers crossed I'll post up some letterpress work soon(ish)...

Site Updated

Two years and two jobs later than it should have been, I've had some time off this week and finally got around to updating my website. It features some highlights of my design, artwork and photography over the last nine years or so.

Movember

I've never been a big fan of the razor so I've decided to put my laziness to good use and raise some money for charity.

Obamania (part 2)

A beautifully succinct way of summing up what a historic election it's been. Illustration by Patrick Moberg.

Guardian Photo Competition

I took this photo in India last year and I must have entered it into about 20 photo competitions so far. I don't take many good shots so when I get lucky I want to make the most of it! Finally the law of averages prevailed and I made it into the shortlist of The Guardian's monthly travel photo competition. Fame at last (well, sort of!).

Obamania

Is it wrong to be more interested and excited about an election in a foreign country than ones in your own? What better way to celebrate than with a great free mix. I can't quite picture artists being galvanised to promote Brown or Cameron in this way but you never know...

Image by Shepard Fairey

Tilt & Shift experiments

I did some quick experiments in trying to create an artificial 'tilt & shift' effect through using Photoshop. Some are definitely more successful than others.

Views of landscapes from above, with brightly coloured small areas of interest seem to work best. Even on the images which don't work so well it still creates an interesting feel, although they don't have that 'model village' look.

This was inspired by an article on Acejet170, together with a quick look around at some photoshop tutorials.