Times they are a changin’

Since the launch of Issue 1 of Self Indulged, the online mag has received over 28,000 ‘reads’ a figure which I am absolutely blown away by.  The mag stats are recorded differently from the website (the mag can also be read from other ‘external’ sites) which has received over 200,000 hits since the launch (by the way, there’s only 3 days left to go into the draw to win an ipad so subscribe HERE).  As a result a few things will be changing. This blog will move to the Selfindulged.com website and the blog and mag will all be hosted there.  At the moment I’m twittering, facebooking, blogging here, maintaining Self Indulged and then there’s my portfolio site…….

To prevent my brain having a complete melt down and to give me more time to actually shoot I have to sacrifice this site and merge it with Self Indulged, this will also be of benefit next year while I am travelling….Self Indulged in tow 🙂  I’ve moved most of the content and I’m still figuring out how to migrate the blogroll etc to wordpress.org.  For those of you who have a link to this site on your blog, it would be appreciated if you could change that when the other site goes live….which, fingers crossed, should be soon. 

In the meantime check out the images below and drool over this AWESOME Kata Bumblebee bag which is the prize for the “Where’s Dave?’ competition in Issue 2….due out 1st Dec 2010!

(And….before you ask….no, the prize doesn’t come with the camera gear!!)

New Canon and Nikon Lenses?

Images from www.canonmugs.com

While I’m posting ‘quirky’ I thought I’d post these fabulous Canon Lens coffee mugs. They look like great fun as long as you don’t pour your brew into your real 70-200m by mistake….that could be messy!  I reckon I’d have to go for the 70-200 ‘cos I’m a bit of a coffee fiend. Ha! I’m going to get one so that I can measure my coffee intake by lens size 😉

And, as always, Nikon are right there too….at the forefront of coffee technology. Come on Nikon…show us your 200-400m…now that would hold some coffee!!

Two ducks walk into a bar….

..the first duck orders two whiskeys, the second duck whispers “How are you going to pay?” “It’s all right,” says the first duck, “I’ll get him to put it on my bill.”

I’d forgotten all about this shot and stumbled upon it again by accident – I just love it!  Somewhere on our planet these two little ducks sit in their porthole watching the world go by. The shot was taken in Skagway, Alaska. According to the http://www.Skagway.com, Skagway made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for Most People Tossing Eggs: 1162….take from that what you will!!

I was there a few years ago (not to toss eggs) and these quirky little guys just caught my eye…hope they bring a smile to your face too.

The trouble with tripods.

My soapbox is in position and I’m about to get on it.

OK.

I’m on it.

I was out and about recently having a play with my camera, not a paid assignment, just having some fun when I made the mistake of positioning my camera (in broad daylight on a tripod) above the train station in the city.  Within seconds security had honed in on me asking what I was doing, telling me I needed permits and permissions and that I should move on. When I questioned the security guard as to what the reasons were he cited ‘security’ as the overriding factor.  So, what if I had of been taking photos (or video footage for that matter) with my 8mp mobile phone….would that be ‘not allowed’ or would I have to put my mobile on top of my tripod before I was moved along?

Now normally I brush these things off but this incident coupled with an incident a few months ago has started to make me wonder what the hell is wrong with our laws and by-laws and why we are moved along without a real reason or justification by ill informed security guards who are ‘just doing their jobs’.

While I was in our wonderful nation’s Capital I experienced the same issue. This time I was on assignment, standing in front of Parliament House waiting for some nice evening light. I could see the security guard over by the main entrance and sure enough he came over.  He asked me if I was a hobbyist or a professional photographer (I’m not really sure what difference this makes as I will explain shortly – see, now I’m on a roll I can’t stop) and I made the mistake of telling him I was on assignment (never been any good at lying….especially when under pressure) and that was it! I was promptly told to move on. When I asked why he couldn’t give me a real answer except to tell me that he’s been told that evil photographer types are not allowed to loiter outside parliament house (or words to that effect) and I would need written permission before being allowed to take any more photos.  Again, he muttered something about security. Never mind that earlier that day I had been up on the roof of parliament house shooting to my heart’s content without a second glance (and strangely enough without my tripod). I also shot Parliament House from the top of Mt Ainslie and from the banks of Lake Burley Griffin is that a security breach too or will these shots not affect their postcard sales? I should also mention that this particular guard informed me that I should have told him I was just shooting for fun and then he would have left me alone….. DULY NOTED for next time but a complete contradiction of what he’d just said….I’m either a security risk or I’m not…whether I’m an ameteaur or professional is completely irrelavant! Grrrr

And if your issue is security explain to me how people are allowed to drive campervans straight into the underground carpark which is actually under parliament house without a security guard or security check in sight.  If my campervan was laden with explosives and I parked it in the carpark under the building would my camera on a tripod still be an issue?

Now, back to the pro/amateur debate.  When I shoot on assignment I obviously shoot in a professional capacity. Is my Editor going to write to all the possible places I may travel to just in case I decide to take a photo while I’m there….of course not! But what if I was just a hobbyist and got some great shots on a trip and decided to then submit them to a magazine in the hope they’d get published and they were….the end result is the same so why am I disallowed to take this image when earlier in the day another bloke was standing in exactly the same spot, completely ignored by security? I can just imagine it, explaining to my Editor that I’m so sorry I wasn’t allowed to take the shot you wanted, “oh that’s OK” he’ll say, “we got a cracking shot from a hobbyist who was happy to sell us his image.”

The irony of this is that the photos were part of a travel feature promoting the A.C.T. and it’s ‘tourist attractions’, one of which is Parliament House!

On a more positive note I was allowed up the Q1 tower on the Gold Coast with my tripod a few months ago. Usually health and safety is cited as a rule for disallowing tripods during the evening at ‘lookout’ venues. Good onya Queensland for not giving a stuff!! Oh, that’s right you get fined there for swearing in public …dammit! I’m moving to Alaska!

EDITORIAL…Happy Birthday Pom!

A few people have recently emailed to ask about the magazine that I freelance for.  It’s called the Whingeing Pom and has just celebrated it’s 2nd birthday.  I usually do the covers and shoot & write the travel feature….spreading the joys of travelling this fabulous country to anyone who’ll listen.  See some examples HERE & HERE.

The mag is a great read for anyone and everyone, very tongue in cheek and lots of fun and is sold in newagents all across Australia.

Happy Birthday Pom….here’s hoping you get to a grand old age (cos there’s plenty of things left to see and do!)