The Wedding Song

For the past few months it has felt like I have been going to a lot of weddings. So much so, that I now feel a song running through my head. It is called the wedding song and is very closely related to the Doom Song that is sung by a schizophrenic robot in the cartoon Invader Zim.


Invader Zim - the doom song by G.I.R.



For all those people who did not know, Invader Zim was a cartoon which had a small run on Nickelodeon.

Weddings are over now until my own in April. Its sad but true. I will miss them. I am still trying to convince my fiancee to let me take some pictures at our wedding!

Vogue - strike the pose!

Baby Got back - always a firm favourate!


Jenny and Scott

Friedrich Nietzsche

When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.

This is one of Nietzsche's most famous quotes. It is lovingly brought out for more or less every superhero movie made. Peter Parker and Bruce Wayne both have had that troubling tendency that the more they fight crime, the more the criminal they become.

This past weekend I went to a lovely wedding in Sandusky, OH. Well known for it's roller coasters, less well known for its wedding venues, Sandusky is truly small town Ohio, along with all the towns we passed through to get there!

The wedding was delightful and as always I took my camera. So while most people enjoyed their time dancing. I enjoyed a good chunk of my time taking photographs. The Groom later said (quite drunkenly) that he already thought my photos would be better than the photographers he hired. This was of course followed by a Jagger Bomb. This we will have to see. One of the things I talked about earlier in my blog was that I didn't like taking photos of people, especially posed ones. I loved the candid photograph. Now a few weddings down the line I feel a lot more comfortable with the candid shot.

I am now standing at the edge, staring into the abyss. I think the abyss is staring back into me.

Another fine Nietzsche quote is this:
He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster.

My personal adaptation for this weekend would be:
He who emulates wedding photographers might take care lest he thereby become a wedding photographer.

Now the real question I have for you is this....

....is it really such a bad thing?

Ike comes to Columbus

Last night at around 4pm I was traveling back to Columbus from Cleveland. Unfortunately the drive was made all the harder by very gusty winds that were blowing us off the road.

Arriving back in Columbus, we came off the interstate highway and headed for my house. As I looked out my window I could see people moving about. As we neared my house I spotted a couple who were covering over their back windscreen with plastic. It just then occured to me that a branch had been blown off a tree and went straight through their window. My mind then went directly to my car which had been sitting below a tree as well. As I got closer to my house I held my breath. Luckily my car was undamaged. Branches had been blown off the tree but happily lay on the other side, my car was safe!

The very thing I did was to move it onto the street well away from any trees. After wishing my fiancee and her family goodbye I was left to my house, getting dark, with no electricity. This is was then the most interesting thing happened to me. I went outside and looked around. There were all my neighbours milling about and talking. It seems that having moved into a new neighbourhood, the best way to meet people is to have a storm come through.

Wandering back to my house after a few minutes of chatting I heard a giant crack and looking down the street I saw a large tree give it up and collapse about a block away. It fell on 3 houses and took out the power lines going to or from my house.

I, of course, took my camera down there. It seems that the power line that had been cut was in fact still live and with however many volts that coursed through it, it was setting on fire anything it touches.
The police came about an hour or so after it happened. Apparently all the 911 lines were jammed in Columbus. They closed off the area and for me my opportunity to see anything had come to an end. I returned to my house, opened a beer and learnt a new dice game called Farkle from a man called Fro. He is a musician who plays a 1977 Minimoog. By the end of the night, I felt like I was in an almost surreal world. Columbus was the same but different.

This morning rosey fingered dawn woke me in my bed, I got up and I assessed the damage the power line caused and I have to say I was suitably impressed.

Almost 24hrs on from when the storm hit, I would like to thank Ike for a fun Sunday night. Power is not expected to be returned to Wednesday or Thursday. We will have to see if I am enjoying myself at that point. With no electricity, I have no means to keep my freezer food cold, I have no way to cook and no traffic lights are working. This will be an interesting few days...

Glen Echo Park Revisited

I went back there this evening about 5pm with my tripod. Considering it is probably the least impressive stream I have seen this is not coming out of an overflow pipe I think I took a couple of corking snaps IMHO. The hard part now is finding a stream worthy of abilities.

I must say though, going in without Wellington Boots (Rain Boots for the Yanks) was a poor show. I will have to purchase a pair at some point. The most dissapointing thing is that Argyl boots are not easy to come by. Lets face it, Im not going to settle for Hunters!

Above photos are taken with a 50mm lens, F-22, ISO 200, 1-2s. Tripod, remote and wet shoes

Glen Echo Park

So tonight I ventured out to Glen Echo Park.

I approached the ravine from the most westerly side (on the left next to Tim Hortons!) Unfortunately I was greeted with a not too friendly "Trespassers will be prosecuted" sign and a lot of construction work.



Following the ravine up Arcadia, I looked for entrances. Unfortunately it looked all too steep and I could not see a single path into the ravine. It was not until I reached Indianola Ave that I found an entrance. Taking a flight of steps down from the road I entered a half light world hidden beneath the hustle and bustle of city life. Mighty trees towered out from the ravine floor only to be overshadowed by those up on city level that surround everyday housing. Unfortunately due to the lateness in the day. the light was poor and getting darker by the minute.



The nice thing about photography is that usually when the lighting for one subject is lousy, it is perfect for another. So it was that I found my way out a clearing in the most easterly part of the ravine and into the the stream that ran through it. With a high f-stop, a low ISO and an exposure time of around 1 to 2 seconds I started to take photos of the stream. now with a long exposure, the stream and flowing water takes on an ethereal quality. The biggest problem I faced was to get my camera close enough without a proper tripod (because I forgot it!) without dropping my camera in the water. Luckily in my bag I had a cheap grippy mini tripod which allowed me to sit the camera only inches above the rocks and snap away. I think I will have to come back in better light with some decent equipment next time. It was a lot of fun, even if it was a bit daunting

My Cameras

I have recently found out that I'm a bit of a hoarder. Firstly in the move from my old house to my new, I found that I had collected together a lot of stuff. Enough in fact to fill a 17ft truck almost to bursting. During the last week I have spent unpacking I found something from a long time ago. My first digital camera. Back in the day (which was a wednesday - FF) when digital cameras started to make their first appearance in the consumer marketplace I had very little money. My friend simon was lucky enough to buy a Canon IXUS, the predecessor to the very popular powershot, I however did not have 300 or 400 pounds to spend on a digital camera. I decieded to splurge on a 30 pound camera. It was very much the most basic camera that could be found, but it was mine and I loved it. At least for a year. The pictures could not be stored for very long before they corrupted. They also were 0.1 megapixel!

L'espiron Digital Dream - $60 equivalent - 0.1 megapixels -2001

Sam and Emily, York, 2001

A few years later I started my industrial masters with a company close to Middleborough (the industrial north east of England). When I was there my parents bought me a digital camera for my birthday. I really wanted a Canon IXUS, because after 3 years of being close to one I knew how good they were. Instead I got a n Olympus. This was certainly a step up. x3 optical zoom, 4.0 megapixels. I had lots of fun and I took it with me so much (and dropped it so much) I had to recently fix it with a steel reinforced epoxy resin (it was a bit excessive).

Olympus C460 - $300 equivalent - 4.0 megapixel - 2004

Moulton, County Durham, 2004

Then of course I got to grad school. For the first year I had no moneypits - no cable, no internet, no car! I could save money. As most people know, after saving money comes spending money. While in Target this bridge camera caught my eye. At last I could choose my ISO, choose my aperture and shutter speeds. I could even manually focus to a limited extent. These were the heady days of learning how to use my camera. I really enjoyed playing with this camera. It still has a firm place in my heart still.

Fujifilm S5200 - $420 - 5.1 megapixel - 2006

Pilot Mountain, North Carolina - 2007

In the last couple years my fujifilm served me well, however the more played with it, the more I found it had limitations that limited me! I wanted it to do something that it could not do. I bought several add on lenses that helped but nothing could fix a high f-stop, grainy high ISO's or a too short shutter speed. I got married and as a return engagement present my fiancee bought me a Nikon D40 (via my encouragement). I love this camera. I have yet to find its limitations. Even then I think these I could live with, until at least I start earning more money and can afford a nicer body. The future starts here...

Nikon D40 - $800 and growing - 6.1 megapixel - 2008

Old swing, Cincinnati, 2008

North Columbus Ravines

So recently I moved house. In the last 3 or so years I have lived in the USA I have found out something about myself. I dont like walking places.

Every time I travel back to the UK, I walk more than I ever used to. I love to explore & wander round. However in the USA the car is king. With so many streets and so many cars it has almost made me not want to venture out into the wide unknown.

One of the more exciting things about my new house is that I now live much closer to a group of ravines. These have remained almost completely undeveloped. I hardly knew about these until I read an article about them in a columbus buisness magasine. The closest is Glen Echo Park. The ravine extends from the Olentangy river across to Interstate 71, all in all the ravine is about a mile (1500m) in length.

In the next few weeks I hope to bring some digital photos of these ravines especially in fall. I will post up all the good ones.

Glen Echo Park


Iuka Park


Walhalla Rd Area


Overbrook Rd Area

You can thank google for the pics.

BBC In Pictures

Coming from Britain, I like British things.

Tea (in moderation), bland food (supposedly), ales and of course the BBC.

Now for those who don't know the Bitish Broadcasting Corperation is a publicly funded buisness that supplies to and answers tp the British people. Firstly they get money from a licencing system. To watch TV in the UK you must purchase a licence to watch it. This will set you back ~$250 a year. How do they enforce this? They have men in trucks drive around houses who dont own licences. If the detect the x-rays produced from the cathoray tubes in your TV, they will come in and have a look. Sounds like its straight out of 1984 right?

So what do you get for this draconian system? A news service second to none, 4 channels of commercial free tv, 8+ radio stations and quality programming such as The Office and Top Gear.

I did not realise how different it is from the USA. Its hardcore that you have to pay even if you want to watch only the free commercial channels not owned by the BBC! Now, Im pleased I dont have to sit through commercials every 7.5min but its a bit excessive. Plus on top of that they have to by law, publish a statement every year telling the British people how they spent their money. I would estimate it to be ~$2billion.

One of the many things I like about the BBC is the news. It has that British feel I have become so accustom to. Unlike MSNBC or CNN or any other of those american news programs (Except the Daily Show and the Colbert Report) it doesnt make me want to crawl into a hole cover my head in sand and shoot anything that approaches.

Their news website is very good, especially for those looking for a global view of what is going on.

Almost daily I visit the In Pictures website. It has the best pictures taken that day from around the world. Not really very much related to the news, but there are some corking photos that come up. I would advise anyone to log on and have a look. You might be inspired. The next time something is happening near you, take a camera and a few quick snaps. Luckily I live in Ohio. Nothing much happens here...

In Pictures

BBC News