Through The Eyes...

We Have Moved!

2006-10-23T21:22:00.000+01:00

I've moved the blog over to WordPress. From now on I'll be posting there, hopefully everyday (apart from maybe Sundays or something).

So yeah, go have a gander! This is will still be up if you wanna come have a look at the old stuff.

Here's the link: http://throughtheeyes.wordpress.com/

See ya!

The Tower

2006-09-28T16:43:00.000+01:00

The Tower

The Silver Lining

2006-09-26T23:41:00.000+01:00

The Silver Lining

"Every cloud has a silver lining"

Fog And The Bridge

2006-09-25T21:24:00.000+01:00

Fog And The Bridge

There was heavy fog on the motorway as we were coming back to Birmingham. It's been a while since I've seen fog, it was beautiful! This shot was taken from the car.

Giant Paper Boat

2006-09-23T01:23:00.000+01:00

Giant Paper Boat

Well I'm not quite sure if it is made out of paper but it's made in that style. It's advertizing Sláger Radio, you can listen to it in Budapest or possible online (not too sure here).

I don't think I realized what this was when I took a photo. This just caught my attention while I was searching for some photos. I must have just found it interesting or the colour must have grabbed my attention and I took a shot. I'm glad I did/.

Bridge

2006-09-23T01:14:00.000+01:00

Bridge

This was taken from a tram and it's thanks to the sun that there's no camera shake here.

Patterns

2006-09-21T01:03:00.000+01:00

Patterns

These are some beautiful patterns on a doorway, I think to a church. In this photo it looks like the arch is made of marble with intricate design.

Autopsy Lights

2006-09-21T00:57:00.000+01:00

Autopsy Lights

This image brings up thoughts of an alien autopsy, it's acutally just stage lights.

The Illusionary Forest

2006-09-19T14:10:00.000+01:00

The Illusionary Forest

One doesn't have illusions when one goes to this forest, but the forest itself is an illusion.

The Stare

2006-09-19T13:46:00.000+01:00

The Stare

This makes Bholu look like a skunk!

Dusty Old Photo

2006-09-17T23:20:00.000+01:00

Dusty Old Photo

I wanted to give this photo an old look, like just when people were getting REALLY bored of b&w and wanted to add some colour, any colour. That's when sepia came in and people got really excited about using a different tone. Of course these days people are going back to b&w!
This tone is just from memory, I haven't looked at any photos recently. But I wanted to give it a grainy effect too but the original was too sharp to show any significant grain.

I converted the image to sepia (you can just take one in that colour mode if you like - most digital cameras allow that setting), then I adjusted the saturation to desaturate it a little- this was to add some age to the photo. The final step was to apply the 'film grain' effect. If you use Photoshop you can use the 'gaussian blur' to get a better result (plus you have more control over the amount of grain).

Children & Mothers

2006-09-17T23:01:00.000+01:00

Children & Mothers

This was a beautiful statue. I wanted to go for a different angle and emphasise power so I shot this from a low angle. It was originally shot in colour but converted to B&W as you can see, this I think strengths the impact and helps to bring out the texture.
I also applied a 'soft focus' effect to blur out the background because it was distracting, a better effect could have achieved by actually choosing a larger aperture (smaller f-number) but there was too much light to permit that.

I'll be writing a short piece on simple but effective techniques for enhancing your photos and will also recommend some free software that'll help you.

Rainy Days

2006-09-16T21:00:00.000+01:00

This is an album cover I designed recently, details of the design process are on my other blog: Graphics & Illustrations.

Hopefully someone will use it as their album! If you're that someone please get my permission before doing so, thanks.

Levity II Series

2006-09-15T03:20:00.000+01:00

[#4]

It's so colourful and surreal, great source of inspiration. This is what art should be like.

Levity II Series

2006-09-15T03:17:00.000+01:00

[#3]

It has gentle relaxing music playing, everyone is chilled out. It's so peaceful and quiet.

Levity II Series

2006-09-15T03:05:00.000+01:00

[#3]

So what is it? Well essentially its an inflated dome like structure. It's designed by Architects of Air who were inspired by natural symmetry, Islamic architecture and the markets of Iran.

Platform 9¾

2006-09-15T02:01:00.000+01:00

Platform 9¾

Errm...here's one for the Harry Potter fans (something which I'm not!). Just to clarify the trolley is 'gone' half-way (or three-quarters of the way, probably) through the wall.
I was with a few friends who were fans of the books and fims, I tried to persuade one to run at the wall to see if she would go through but unfortunately she refused.

Stouts, Wines And Spirits

2006-09-15T01:53:00.000+01:00

Stouts, Wines And Spirits

I like this photo because of the composition, colours and architectural contrast. The lamp post in the middle is slightly annoying but the slightly askwed angle some what compensates for it.

The Bull Ring

2006-09-15T01:50:00.000+01:00

The Bull Ring

This is a snap really that I took about a year ago while passing the Bull Ring shopping centre in Birmingham, UK. I like the haze of colour and the slightly blurred effect.

Innocence Lost

2006-09-12T01:09:00.000+01:00

What a terrible time we live in!

On TV today there was this show on where they follow the UK police and stuff. The last clip of the show consisted of the police following a report of an attempted burglary. Quite disturbingly it's happening in Slough, my town of residence at the moment. When they get there they find it's a bunch of teens: four of them 13 and two of them 14. They confront and question them, apparently they were "trying to get their football back."
In fact, they have broken a few windows to try and gain entry into a factory/warehouse. One of them is carrying a pocket knife which is classified as an offensive weapon. The owner of the factory turns up and tells the police that he been experiencing vandalism for the past month or so and it has done about £100,000 worth of damage.

So what was their punishment? Something considerable one would think, no? No. 5 of them were let off with a caution in front of their parents and the one with the weapon was given some community service or something and fined £30. Just £30! For £100,000 worth of damage! And the others were let off!

I found this absolutely shocking and back the people who call for harsher laws against juvenile delinquents. Kids just aren't innocent anymore.

Ice In Ouzo

2006-09-11T20:55:00.000+01:00

Ice In Ouzo

If you put ice or water in a clear drink that has aniseed, such as ouzo or absinthe, then it goes milky.
Since these drink use lots of herbs and such there are bound to be oils. Adding ice seperates the organic and aqueous phases and they reflect or absorb light which leads to the milky colour. There is a bit of chemistry for you!

Bite

2006-09-11T20:29:00.000+01:00

Bite

This one is called Hufsie (which is slang for someone who eats a lot or is constantly eating) and thats exactly what he does does. Guinea-pigs apparently are greedy little creature and will keep on eating as long as there is food in front of them. This certainly holds true for this one but Bholu seems to have control over himself.

Posing

2006-09-11T20:25:00.000+01:00

Posing

This is one of our two guinea-pigs, one of his name bholu (which roughly translates to naïve or guileless); he is quite vicious however: it bit my mum and brother on seperate occasions and thier finger started bleeding.

The photo was taken while he was sitting on window sill which provided soft natural light.

Levity II Series

2006-09-11T03:13:00.000+01:00

[#1]

Levity II is the name of the project/art work that was the Lumanarium at Sziget '06 and I have to say it was a unique experience and one of coolest thing I've been in! More info about it as I post more photo. Good night for today!

Playing With Fire

2006-09-08T14:11:00.000+01:00

Playing With Fire #2

This, as a photo, isn't very good, its quite poor quality. But I love how the torches kinda come together and a phoenix emerges.

Playing With Fire

2006-09-08T14:05:00.000+01:00

Playing With Fire #1

This guy was juggling some torches near to where to camped. I don't mean to be harsh but he wasn't very good, it was disturbing/exciting to watch beacause he could have set himself on fire.

Ander's Bean

2006-09-07T12:56:00.000+01:00

I wrote this story last year while I was doing creative writing (short stories) for a term. We had to write a short story for the final piece. I had ideas and could see them played out in my head but I was finding it hard to convert them into stories. So to get me started writing I did this little thing, it was joke really, my friend suggested an idea: write about an insect and Mordor (he was our adopted plant who has now joined the dust from whence it came). I changed it a little and wrote this quickly. It hasn't been edited a lot (it's little more than a draft) and nor is it finished, but here it is anyway, its called Ander's Bean:

The world is a giant bean and upon this bean sits little Ander. Ander is quite happy munching on the world. As far as his daily routine goes he eats a bit of the world, flies around exploring the different parts of the world, drinks from the Great Red Ocean rests and munches some more.
So far he has discovered that the world is a smooth place with rounded edges and the ground is soft and wet. On a recent flying trip he discovered that there are lines on the ground and they carry on into the Red Ocean and Ander, being quite a clever insect, concluded that the world must have a bottom and there might be other lands below or past the Great Red. But that was all in a days work and he didn’t worry about that again, he was quite happy munching, flying, drinking and sleeping.

The only thing that did worry him though was the fact that the world was getting smaller and smaller by the day because he was eating most of it and there seemed to be very little he could do about it since he needed the food. This made him quite upset. But he decided not to worry about it just yet, let life go on and deal with it when the need arises.
Besides he was content, his abdomen was still shiny and green, all five different parts of his six legs were working, his lacewings were well and the lines on them were still nice and thick. His labrum and labium were still sucking up food as good as ever. His big beautiful eyes were still a cause for envy especially because all of his four thousand or so ommatidia were as sharp as ever. He had a place to live, the food was good and he was having a fine time – life was, in general, great.

However, one dark day as Ander was sound asleep a terrible thing happened – his world started to rock. He woke up with a jolt and found that the Great Red was disappearing. The next instant he saw a wall of blue and white approaching his home ready to wipe out its merry citizen without a second thought.
‘Eeeeeeeeeeek!’ he screamed, taking off and frantically orbiting his treasured bean in a vain attempt to somehow save it.
Enough! Calm down and think, let’s get through this. With that firm resolve he decided it was time for action.
He took a big bite out of the world and flew away from the approaching doom and swore he would avenge the annihilation of his beautiful world.

So Ander flew around for days, surviving on the only living memory of his beloved world: chewy bean mush.
After much flying he spotted a black sea and in its midst a white cratered land. Getting closer he saw that the rough craters are filled by small smooth pods and his brethren humming protectively over their piece of land.

[...to be continued?]

Child Reading A Book

2006-09-07T00:13:00.000+01:00

Child Reading A Book

I like this statue because it conveys a sense of epiphany, almost like when people found out that the world was round.

Baby On A Fish

2006-09-06T23:46:00.000+01:00

Baby On A Fish

Baby With Bugel

2006-09-06T23:45:00.000+01:00

Baby With Bugel

This photo is also from Budapest, they seem to have an obsession with babies too, among other thing. The next few posts will be showcasing this obession of theirs. This one and the next are outside a spa/thermal bath.

Stencil Work

2006-09-02T16:27:00.000+01:00

Stencil Work

This is some rather good stencil work that I came across while wondering the streets of Budapest. It's initialled C.B. The work is very well done and its simplicity is appealing plus the surface of the wall serves as good texture.

Cloud Full Of Oceans

2006-09-02T16:19:00.000+01:00

Cloud Full Of Oceans

This photo is from the aeroplane. The clouds look like waves to me, an angry ocean. The photo doesn't fullly convey the sight; suffice to say it was beautiful.

Waves

2006-09-02T16:15:00.000+01:00

Waves

Doppler Effect?

2006-09-02T16:13:00.000+01:00

Doppler Effect?

From what little I remember from A-level physics I think is analogous to the Doppler Effect.

The Tent

2006-09-02T16:03:00.000+01:00

Tent #2

The Tent

2006-09-02T16:02:00.000+01:00

Tent #1

This was taken from inside my tent while the sun blazed outside. It was like a greenhouse in their but at least it woke me up every morning. I put a towel on top offered minimal shielding.

St. Stephen

2006-09-02T15:59:00.000+01:00

St. Stephen

The Big Scary Clown

2006-08-30T20:04:00.000+01:00

The Big Scary Clown

I'm not scared of clowns and such (I know some people are) but I have to say this giant blow up one did have a particularly menacing look about him. But the colour came out well so I posted it anyway. This was outside the Budapest Amusement Park.

Cafe Terrace

2006-08-30T19:57:00.000+01:00

Cafe Terrace

This is the cafe whose reflection was featured in the previous post, from a closer look at the image it looks like the cafe is part of the Robinson Restaurant (if you're at all interested). And no, I can't comment of the services because we didn't go there :P

Reflections

2006-08-30T19:51:00.000+01:00

Reflection

This photo shows the reflection of an outdoor resturant which is by a lake. The resturant was had quite vibrant colours and the green of the plants and blue and white of the sky made for a good backdrop. I'll try and find a photo of the resturant itself.

Black & Silver

2006-08-29T19:47:00.000+01:00

Black & Silver

I converted the previous image into this and applied a colour filter to emphasise the guitarist. I think it was The Rasmus that were playing. As with the previous colour and B&W versions of the stage I much prefer this version, I especially like the way the blurring is more prominent and its easier to see the little details.

A Blur Of Pink

2006-08-29T19:46:00.000+01:00

A Blur Of Pink

This is the original image from a gig I was at. This is the original image, the one proceeding it is the same one in black and white.

The Anchor Shop

2006-08-29T19:23:00.000+01:00

The Anchor Shop

This shop was opposite the fruit shop where we stopped. Actually I'm not sure if it was a shop or pub or an office. If it was a shop I think it might sell books and such.

Peas & Broccoli

2006-08-29T19:07:00.000+01:00

Peas & Broccoli

This was in one of the caves in Budapest that we went to, it was very cool (literally and metaphorically). It has peastone and limestone. The peastone formations looked like peas and flowers of broccoli (urgh!). The broccoli things might not be that clear from this photo.

Preview Of The Bastion

2006-08-27T00:47:00.000+01:00

Preview Of The Bastion

Reflection of one of the towers of the Fishermen's Bastion in building opposite. It seem quite ironic that we have a 400 year old building of solid rock being reflected into the fragile glass panes of this quite modern building.

Histories reflection of the present/future or perhaps its a staring contest to see who can hold their ground the longest. Personally I think the Bastion will win, it generate more revenue.

P.S. This photo is also featured in my other blog: A Very Rough Guide To Budapest.

Ground View Of A Street In Budapest

2006-08-27T00:43:00.000+01:00

Ground View Of A Street In Budapest

Leaving the band photos behind (I shall return with more later) we come into daylight to look at quite a narrow street in Budapest (not very typical of the city I might add). This particular one leads to the Fishermen's Bastion whose photos I will also publish later.

Collin Greenwood

2006-08-27T00:35:00.000+01:00

Collin Greenwood (I Think)

I quite like Radiohead but I don't know the faces of the band members so I'm not sure if it is Collin Greenwood. But he is playing bass guitar so its most likely him.

Thom Yorke In Blue and Black

2006-08-27T00:31:00.000+01:00

Thom Yorke In Blue and Black

Thom Yorke

2006-08-27T00:18:00.000+01:00

Thom Yorke

Thom Yorke of Radiohead. The original image was taken at from a distance while zoom in optically. The resulting image was a little blurry and a loss of quality was seen because of shooting at high ISO speed. To improve the image I applied the 'filtered b&w' effect so that only his face and area close to it was in colour. Next I used soft focus to keep in head and hands in focus and blur out his body thus giving him a slightly angelic look.

P.S. Actually having just looked at the blogger image it doesn't seem to matter what I did, it all comes out in crap quality anyway. If you happen to be a radiohead fan and want a decent copy of this image then email me from my profile.

Stage Lighting In Mono

2006-08-27T00:08:00.000+01:00

Stage Lighting In Mono

I much prefer this one. For the effect I have added the 'fim grain' effect. Since it was taken with a digital camera at ISO 800 the resultant image had loss of quality and sharpness so adding the film grain compensates that, in a way.

Stage Lighting In Colour

2006-08-27T00:05:00.000+01:00

Stage Lighting In Colour

Main stage at the Sziget Festival, Budapest, Hungary. This was before Radiohead came on. Same photo but in black & white is next.

Stained Glass Window

2006-08-26T23:59:00.000+01:00

Stained Glass Window

Windows In A Church

2006-08-26T23:55:00.000+01:00

Windows In A Church

Reflection Of A Fishing Rod

2006-08-26T23:53:00.000+01:00

Reflection Of A Fishing Rod

Flight

2006-07-25T14:48:00.000+01:00

Flight

Paradise Lost

2006-07-25T14:44:00.000+01:00

Paradise Lost

Photo taken at the Lost Gardens of Heligan.

Chinese Teapot

2006-07-25T14:07:00.000+01:00

Chinese Teapot

Construction

2006-07-09T15:41:00.000+01:00

Construction (Complete)

Construction

2006-07-09T15:37:00.000+01:00

Construction (Stage 5)

Construction

2006-07-09T15:34:00.000+01:00

Construction (Stage 4)

Construction

2006-07-09T15:32:00.000+01:00

Construction (Stage 3)

Construction

2006-07-09T15:30:00.000+01:00

Construction (Stage 2)

Construction

2006-07-09T15:29:00.000+01:00

Construction (Stange 1)

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

2006-07-09T15:14:00.000+01:00

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

The Mailbox

2006-07-09T15:11:00.000+01:00

The Mailbox

Light

2006-07-09T15:05:00.000+01:00

Light

Playing With Composition

2006-07-09T15:00:00.000+01:00

Playing With Composition

The black wire is used a lead-in as well as the white plastic on the right hand side. This image is a good example of the rule of thirds.

Messing Around

2006-07-09T14:57:00.001+01:00

Messing Around #2

Messing Around

2006-07-09T14:57:00.000+01:00

Messing Around #1

A Different Approach

2006-07-09T14:55:00.001+01:00

A Different Approach #9

A Different Approach

2006-07-09T14:55:00.000+01:00

A Different Approach #8

A Different Approach

2006-07-09T14:54:00.000+01:00

A Different Approach #7

A Different Approach

2006-07-05T12:13:00.000+01:00

A Different Approach #6

A Different Approach

2006-07-05T12:12:00.000+01:00

A Different Approach #5

A Different Approach

2006-07-05T12:10:00.000+01:00

A Different Approach #4

A Different Approach

2006-07-05T11:58:00.000+01:00

I was just expertimenting with different methods of taking photos without using a conventional camera (digital or film). These are the results of that experiment and, if I may say so myself, the photos aren't half bad!

A Different Approach

2006-07-05T11:56:00.000+01:00

A Different Approach #3

A Different Approach

2006-07-05T11:54:00.000+01:00

A Different Approach #2

A Different Approach

2006-07-05T11:51:00.000+01:00

A Different Approach #1

Flora & Fauna Series

2006-06-06T18:37:00.000+01:00

Flora and Fauna #12

Flora & Fauna Series

2006-06-06T18:35:00.000+01:00

Flora and Fauna #11

Flora & Fauna Series

2006-06-06T18:34:00.000+01:00

Flora and Fauna #10

Flora & Fauna Series

2006-06-06T18:32:00.000+01:00

Flora and Fauna #9

Flora & Fauna Series

2006-06-06T18:29:00.000+01:00

Flora and Fauna #8

Shadow Play #3

2006-06-06T18:16:00.000+01:00

Shadow Play #2

2006-06-06T18:15:00.000+01:00

Shadow Play #1

2006-06-06T18:11:00.000+01:00

The photos in this group are shadow portraits of a friend standing over a stream.

Giants Series

2006-06-02T13:33:00.001+01:00

Giant's Head

The sculptures of the giants are from the Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall, UK. A place well worth visiting.
The head reminds me of a head of a lemming from the Lemmings game.

Giants Series

2006-06-02T13:33:00.000+01:00

Sleeping Giant

Flora & Fauna Series

2006-05-25T21:53:00.000+01:00

Flora and Fauna #8

Looking For The Sun

2006-05-25T21:48:00.000+01:00

Looking for the Sun (part ii)

Looking For The Sun

2006-05-25T21:44:00.000+01:00

Looking for the Sun (part i)

Driblets Series

2006-05-22T19:06:00.000+01:00

The rain is not all bad and you don't have to go far to find good photos (if I may say so myself). In fact for these photos I didn't leave my bedroom! :P

Hope you enjoy these, I certainly had a lot of fun taking them.

Driblets Series

2006-05-22T19:04:00.000+01:00

Driblets #5

Driblets Series

2006-05-22T19:03:00.000+01:00

Driblets #4

Driblets Series

2006-05-22T19:00:00.001+01:00

Driblets #3

Driblets Series

2006-05-22T19:00:00.000+01:00

Driblets #2

Driblets Series

2006-05-22T18:58:00.000+01:00

Driblets #1

Flora & Fauna Series

2006-05-21T15:08:00.000+01:00

Flora and Fauna #7

Patterns

2006-05-19T18:30:00.000+01:00

Patterns #4