C215

When we were in Venice recently we came across four brilliant pieces of graffiti with a mysterious logo attached to each one. I uploaded the images to Flickr in the following order: 1, 2, 3, 4. Almost as soon as I uploaded the last picture my Flickr contact Simon Crubellier from London recognised the pictures as the work of a stencil graffiti artist called C215. Simon added the tag c215 to the picture and within minutes C215 had asked me to add the pictures to his group on Flicker devoted to his art.

The video shows C215 giving London the same treatment: simply amazing!

Yet another example of how wonderful the Internet can be...

More Clever Stuff...

Here's another amazing animation from Vimeo. It's made up of 26,000 photos and took about a year to make:


Ten Thousand Pictures of You from Robin King on Vimeo.

Talking with your eyes shut

Grouchofied Version
Originally uploaded by Son of Groucho.

I recently came across this collection of freaky images so I thought I'd have a go myself. I'm afraid my Photoshop skills are not good enough to blend the skin colour around my mouth with the colour in the area of my eye sockets.

I don't think any of the transformations make the subject look more beautiful, but some are relatively inoffensive. I must admit, though, I didn't think any trick photography could make Hilary Clinton look more scary or Vladimir Putin more sinister!

Ready for my Close-up?

According to an article in the latest EOS Magazine (the mag devoted to Canon's EOS camera system), research has shown that 86% of Brits believe they are unphotogenic. The survey of 1,700 UK residents also showed that the increasing used of digital cameras and social networking sites often meant that these subjects were being reluctantly thrust into the public gaze and their images preserved on the Internet forever.

• Body weight was an issue, with 52% of people admitting to holding in their stomachs in photographs.
• Having a double chin was perceived to be a problem too, with 25% of people happier to look slightly odd by thrusting their heads back when pictures are taken.
• Apparently, 19% won't be photographed in direct sunlight and 3% insist on being lit from below.
• Twenty percent of people admit to digitally retouching pictures to make themselves look better.

I actually love photographing people, but I do find that many folk are unhappy about being photographed. Partly for this reason, many of my Flickr photographs are only visible to friends and family. I'm sure a lot of these problems result from media images of the "beautiful people" (enhanced in many cases by Photoshop, sophisticated make-up, or even cosmetic surgery) making the rest of us feel inadequate for some reason.

Why can't we just celebrate the variety of humanity, with all its many imperfections, and above all be happy?

It runs in the family...

Star Quality
Originally uploaded by Son of Groucho.

This is my great nephew Charlie who visited me at Christmas. You can see the family resemblance, can't you? Charlie has asked me to wish you/ you both/ you all a tremendously Happy 2008.

Off now to eat even more food...

Sex Still Sells

Teflon Girl 2
Originally uploaded by Son of Groucho.

A while ago I discussed the history of this fine image and compared its popularity on Flickr with an image accidentally showing this young lady in the background and holidaying Wosog, Gdog and Gsog in the foreground. Surprising as it may seem, this picture appeared to be the more popular of the two. I thought regular readers of the blog would be interested to hear how the two images have fared in terms of popularity in the intervening period of more than two years.

The family picture is my 9th most popular photograph in terms of views with 890. The "lonely girl" photograph is my most popular image with 4072 views.

I wonder why that should be?

Loch Lomond From Drumkinnon Tower

Loch Lomond From Drumkinnon Tower
Originally uploaded by Son of Groucho.

Sometimes it's good to remind myself what a lovely part of the World I live in!

[Click on the photo to see comments and where this picture was taken from.]

The Problem With Scotland

People often ask Wosog and I why we always go on holidays abroad when we live in such a beautiful country. Today's experience is a perfect example of why we behave in this way, irresponsibly expanding our carbon footprint in the process.

This being Summer (or so we had been led to believe), and having recently joined the National Trust for Scotland, we decided to set out in the car for Culzean Castle in Ayrshire. Wosog had been there before and we knew it was an interesting building set in a country park that had other attractions. The weather was slightly overcast as we left but Wosog, the eternal optimist, was confident that conditions would improve by the time we got to the other side of the River Clyde. In fact the sky got steadily more and more grey as we headed towards our destination, and (surprise! surprise!) the rain was bucketing down as we ate our lunch in a hotel just outside Ayr.

The rain continued all the time we were at the Castle. Unfortunately the National Trust, in its "wisdom", doesn't allow photography inside their buildings. Photographs of the exterior of the building were snatched at odd intervals where shelter allowed. Overall, it was hardly the enjoyable photographic experience that we had planned.

Scotland is a beautiful country, and I'm sure the coastal route to Culzean would have been stunning on a sunny day. The difficulty is that we seem to get so few sunny days----and I always seem to be at work during them. That is a problem, and until it's solved I'll continue to spend my hard-earned holidays in sunnier climes!

Sky Reflected

Sky Reflected
Originally uploaded by Son of Groucho.

Evening sky reflected in the River Clyde.

[Click on the photo to see comments and where it was taken].

I taught her all she knows....

Sail boat silhouette
Originally uploaded by Wosog.

Wosog and I have been married for 24 years this year ( yes, I am that old), and our anniversary is on the 10th of July. One of the things we did when we were in Santorini was to go on a cruise that was designed to let you view the sunset off Oia. I'd like to say it was deliberate, but by total coincidence the date of this trip fell on our anniversary. As you will imagine we both took lots of photographs of the sunset and this one taken by Wosog was her first picture to get into what is called Explore in Flickr.

Explore lists the 500 most interesting pictures uploaded to Flickr each day. Nobody knows how the Gods of Flickr measure interestingness, but there is no doubt that Explore contains some spectacular images. This photo not only got into explore but was listed very near the top. I think you'll agree it's a fabulous reminder of our 24 years together.

There I've said it: I'll go back to being a total cynic again!

What Would Albert Have Said?

My good Flickr friend in Canada, Cap'n Canuck, pointed me in the direction of this site where you can take this famous picture of Einstein and substitute the text of your choice.

I always thought Einstein was a lovely little guy, but if you look at some of the examples, he apparently wrote some really quite offensive things.

Bad Albert, Bad!

Happy Birthday Flickr

My favourite website bar none is two years old today. Many people were concerned that when Yahoo! took over the "magic" of Flickr would ebb away, but as far as I can see the site goes from strength to strength.

As well as providing a huge stimulus to my interest in photography, Flickr has allowed me to make contact with many interesting, like-minded people literally all over the planet. Even if you're not too interested in photography, it's well worth checking out.

Obscure Facts 1

Today Canon celebrates the production of its 30 millionth EF lens. It is less than 20 years since the launch of the EOS System, and it is a mark of the increasing popularity of SLR photography that 10 million of these lenses have been produced in the last 5 years.

Glad To See Your Back

I don't plan to provide evidence here, but I don't have too much body hair. I've never asked Wosog's opinion on the subject, but I suspect she's quite happy with the situation. As a people mechanic, I see quite a lot of exposed male (and female) torsos, so I think I've got a fair idea of the normal range, at least in Scotland. Believe me, this guy, who was snapped by fellow Flickrer RockyMountainHigh, is not within it!

The picture came to my attention when it was posted for discussion on Flickr Weirdies of the World. There was speculation that it wasn't a real photograph----that it had been "photoshopped". Sadly, I don't think this is the case. I harangued my fellow Weirdies for being superficial in criticising the young man on the basis of his appearance. I speculated that he might well be a caring, sensitive individual----or possibly a werewolf!

Anyway, assuming he is not a product of Adobe's excellent software, I today stumbled on the solution to his back hair problem: and still time for someone to buy it before Christmas too!

Neglecting My Duties....

I must admit to neglecting The Voice of Reason recently. Last weekend Wosog finally gave in and agreed to buy the digital single lens reflex camera that I wanted for my birthday in March next year now. She was fed up with the embarrassing spectacle of my drooling over it in various shop windows. We saw the beast in Jessops at what seemed like a good price, and before I knew it I was lovingly fondling my Canon EOS 350D. I later spotted it on Amazon £40-50 cheaper, but whatever!

Despite the dismal weather, and the irritating inconvenience of having to work for a living, I have managed to take a few shots with the camera, and I have been very impressed with it. This new boost to my interest in photography has distracted me from blogging, and of course there's the small matter of my addiction----but that's another story....

Sog Unmasked!