Go big

A few years ago I wrote a piece about the need to print pictures. Online is great, and better than the days of film when they most likely went in a draw never to be seen again. But you really can't beat having them hung on the wall.

And the bigger the better, size does matter.

It's great to visit someone who has one of my pictures hanging on their wall.

I have printed books and calendars, mostly just for me. Vanity printing I you could call it. Viewing on a screen just doesn't have the impact, or maybe it's that we are use to quickly flicking to the next image when we use a computer.

I looked at some options for big prints; posters is one format, but it's not the finish I was looking for. Printing big and framing is very expensive. I needed something in between.

Printing on canvas is affordable, but I hadn't been impressed with the quality, until I found The White Canvas Company

I ordered a 20 x 30 inch print, it was a very good price and the whole ordering process was easy.

When the print arrived it was with some trepidation that I opened it.

I shouldn't have worried it was so much better then my previous canvas prints. It went straight up on the wall of my office.

I have ordered many more for the office and other people.

If I had an unusual size requirement, or they thought a slightly different crop would suit the print we would discuss the options and agree on any changes.

I think if you get good service from a company you should say so. It's not a big outfit, the personal touch is another attraction. They think about the result; it's not a case of just printing as is, if it could be made better.

The reason I'm writing this now is because I have just taken delivery of my latest print. As you can see at the top of this page I have quite the collection.

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Easter weekend

The long Easter weekend could not have started better for cycling. Matt and I decided to meet a little later on Friday. But the weather was so good I left around the usual time and took a longer route to the green. I wanted to take the picture shown above.

The last time I cycled this way the pond was covered in snow and ice. 

Much nicer now.

Matt arrived at the green and it was off to the church yard the long way. It is harder going the long way, more hills. But it avoids the Clarks Lane and the Limpsfield Road. Both fast roads they are  where nearly all the close passses happen. They are recorded and reported, but I have yet to know of any action being taken. Or see the situation improving.

When it is sunny and dry the church yard is our default destination, you can hear the nearby road but it is muted. It is a peaceful place to have a morning cup of tea.

Saturday I had a long drive to do, which meant Sunday was off. I'm getting too old to drive 500 miles in a day and not feel it afterwards.

Monday was close to an abort. A very late night meant I intended to abort. But the weather was so good I wasn't tired. I met Matt at the green, and we headed off to the churchyard again. Peaceful and restful; we discussed staying for the day. Back home there is grass to cut, shopping to do and diner to cook. So after finishing the tea we headed off.

Only four days and we can do it again.

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Ten Thousand Hours

It's said that ten thousand hours is needed to become an expert. Or to put it another way, eight hours everyday for over three years. I'm not sure many will have the time to invest after they finish school or university.

The ten thousand hours and photography practice has to be focused to be effective. If it's not you'll see improvements at first, but I think it will tail off quickly.

I'm at a point where I want to specialise, I think I have a good understanding of the technical aspect, composition, planning and execution of a photoshoot. But what genre interests me the most? Then there is the business side, this is the last part of the puzzle and it worries me the most. Training for it is hard to find. There are plenty of what I call portfolio building courses, but I see very little benefit in them. I also think they can give potential clients a false sense of security. The client sees great pictures; but how much input did the photographer have during the shoot?
Many videos of workshops I see seem to be follow the leader. A queue of photographers waiting to take the same picture as everyone else.

For me learning about the camera is as important now as it was in the beginning. I don't need a workshop for that. Hiring experienced models was the next step. I leant much more and could confidently say the pictures were the result of my experience.

When I was ready I started working with less experienced models, I needed to plan ahead and keep the shoot moving. I also shot a wedding. Recently I did a shoot for designer; there was the studio, a model and a makeup artist to organise. I knew the model so it wasn't all on me which helped immensley. It was another learning experience and one that may lead to some of my work being published.

How do you know when you're an expert?

Photography has many genres and techniques. A lot of hardware and software. Then there are customer relations and business skills.

Are you an expert when you know them all? Can you know them all?

For me, I feel that I am always learning. If I add up all of the hours I have spent using my camera, planning shoots, talking to people, processing the pictures, experimenting; how many more hours until I am an expert?

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Just the dog walkers and me

Not a lot to say about today's ride. I was alone with my thoughts, except for a couple of dog walkers.

I don't normally mention my job in these blogs but this week was good. A little background to explain. The main office is in London, I work in a Croydon office, it's convenient for me and it's in a nice building so no complaints. But I am on my own, with an occasional visit if someone has to be at a local customer site. I'm used to it and it doesn't really bother me.

I do look forward to visitors though, and this week there were three.

On Tuesday Natalie and Paula arrived for lunch. It was really great to catch up, chat and have a laugh. My wife now says I'm a lady that lunches, which is nice I think. Hopefully it will be a regular event.

Then on Friday Henry worked at the second desk for the day. I caught up with company news and chatted over coffee. Again, I hope it will be a regular occurance.

They really helped the week flow quickly and meant my mood was good for the whole five days. And better than last weekend.

Back to the ride.

I covered nearly twenty five miles including the hill out of Oxted, a proper challenge with most of it twenty percent.

It was hard work as always but so satisfying, the hills are twisty so the top isn't in sight until you are very close.

If the weather doesn't intervene it will back to normal tomorrow with Matt in attendance.


For those interested in such things; here is a graph of the route showing the hills. No flat bits to speak of. The steepest section started at around sixteen miles.

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