Highbrow Flickr

I think most people are aware that President Obama is on Twitter, but also found off Joi Ito today that there is an official White House Flickr stream...!

Flickr: The Official White House Photostream's Photostream

Have to say that's pretty cool.

"Eeeeh it makes everyone look like miniture people!"

'Tilt Shift' photos are something that has fascinated me for a while now but they're something I'd never have the time to look into creating from scratch. It's a lot more technical than this, but in short it an effect which can make people / objects / landscapes etc in photos all look miniture, - like a little toy town if you like. Try Googling for examples or looking round Flickr.
Normally it's quite a lengthy process which also involves a decent spec camera for a start. However I came across a link to this site a few months ago; tiltshiftmaker.com/
Which allows you to have a go at it with your own photos in 3 easy steps.

Decided to try it with this photo I took a few years back at St James' Park when 'The Match' was being shown on Sky 1. Obviously the original is on the left, and the tilt shifted version on the right.

Click the photo to see the full original size.

This is example is no where near as effective as some of the ones kicking around the web but I was pleased for how long it took.
If you really want to be impressed check out this example of a Tilt Shift video;

Bathtub IV from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

You constantly have to remind yourself that the video isn't just a load of toy people!

Fame Again

I took the photo on the left in September 2006 whilst at the Robbie Williams concert at Hampden Park, Glasgow. It was uploaded to Flickr as with most of my photos and then gradually forgotten about, - or so I thought...


Got an e-mail completely out of the blue from someone at Schmap a few weeks back to say they'd like to use the Hampden Park pic. Schmap basically do online dynamic travel guides and this one was obviously intended for Glasgow. I gave them permission to use the photo as let's be honest by putting it on the web I was leaving it open to be used anyway, and I thought it was actually nice to be asked.


Then just before Christmas they e-mailed again to say thanks for the photo and provided details of where it could be seen online, - HERE. (The page takes a couple of seconds to fully display due to the amount of information on it).


(I chose to display the picture with the name of my flickr alias rather than my real name. Obviously not hard to link the two, but I just to prefer posting on the web that way).

Flawless

We've got a Laminate floor in our living room, which although is ideal when you've got pets and is great for keeping clean - it's not ideal for a growing baby who's trying to crawl and often takes a tumble! I spotted something which looked ideal in a friends flickr pages and then set about sourcing one on eBay.

There are 36 pieces (A-Z and 0-9) and each is 12" square and made of foam. Abigial loves it and we're now a lot more relaxed when she's chucking hereself around the floor! One day she'll even be able to jump around and spell her name on it....

6 Months old already

Can't believe Abigail is 6 months old already (well actually 27 weeks now!), but she is...and she seems to get more photogenic the more the camera is pointed at her. And that's quite a lot in our house!

Take That.....Again!

So we went to see Take That last Monday (26th) for the second time since they got back together. Needless to say Jen was ubelievably excited about it, and was nearly uncontrollable by the time we arrived at the Arena.
Our seats were a lot better this time - approx 15 rows from the main stage and 10 rows from the centre stage. This was without doubt the closest I've been to the performers at a concert and it does make a bid difference like. (I've only ever been to Arena and Stadium gigs though).
They did all the well known 'back in the day' songs plus quite a few from their most recent album. The stage show itself was something else, - you couldn't fail to be impressed.

We were also on the end of a row so when they walked back through the crowd from the centre stage to the front - Jen was in grabbing distance...which she obviously did as you can just about make out from their reactions in the video below..!

Also got a couple of other quite good videos; Patience and Only Takes A Minute.....And needless to say there's also a shed load of photos Here.

Bairns In The Baths

I went along to Abigail's 2nd Water Babies class on Monday armed with 2 cameras! (ours and Pinars).
The rest of the class are relaxed enough about photos been taken so I snapped away for 45 mins whilst getting my first insight to the world of baby swimming lessons!
Have to say I was really impressed with the techniques they use to get the little-uns confident with the water, and at the same time keeping them entertained.
Obviously the best part was watching them actually go under the water (see videos below and in the 'AbbieTube' bar), and not one of them came back up distressed.
We'll be taking Abigail abroad next year and I think I might have to seriously look at an underwater kit for my camera...!
As usual there's a flickr set of the photos, and don't forget the 'View as Slideshow' option at the top of the flickr page. (Note: Some of the pics will look a bit odd, as I thought it best to blur all the other babies faces out except for Abigail and Amber).

Picture Postcards

Jen recently went to Warkworth and Amble for the day with her parents. She took the camera for the obligatory Abigail shots, but also took a couple of scenery ones. I was particularly impressed with these two. The colours, the sharpness and the reflections give the appearance of shots from a far more expensive camera! Click on the photos to see the full size ones.

(Flickr'd the pics as usual)

5 Weeks

Abbie is now 5 weeks old and it feels like she's been here forever!


The photo's were getting out of control in the original Flickr set so I've set up a 'Collection', which is basically a collection a sets.

At this point we would like to thank everyone for all of the cards and gifts. People warned us about how much stuff you get but we were still blown away by how many outfits Abigail has ended up with! And as for cards, - all I can say is there must be a canny bit of money to be made from selling 'New Baby' cards!!

Abbie was weighed again yesterday and is now a bouncing 9lb9oz, which is a gain of 2lb since birth and 1lb1oz in 2 weeks. Good stuff in that milk by all accounts!


Finally here's another video. The previously mentioned swing only seems to serve to put her to sleep so we felt she needs something to keep her entertained when at her most active, - hence her first Baby Gym. She loves it, but our dog and cats really don't know what to make of her on it! (Video was taken 2 weeks ago).

"I'm a Diva, get me out of here"

We introduced Abigail to her automatic swing last week (to give my arms a break!), and she took to it instantly. However her attention span is somewhat limited, and as this video shows - when she wants out, you'll know about it....!!

Jen thinks it's hillarious the way her expression changes and the dummy goes flying. Check out the pose with the hand too!

Should also mention that Abbie's piling on the beef..! Health visitor weighed her on Tuesday (13 days old), and she was 8lb1oz, i.e. she's put on 8oz in 13 days which is a cracking start especially for a baby which is breast feeding.
I've uploaded another selection of photos of Abigail from the past week to flickr. As you can imagine there have literally been hundreds taken, so I'm trying to be selective!!

Button Flickr'd

I've created a new photo set on Flickr of Button's progress so far.....:o)