Saturday 27 December 2014

Well... at least that is behind me

and I can be comfortable in the knowledge that the worst Christmas that I have ever spent will not be topped for at least 12 months. At least I saw some kids smiling and enjoying themselves and I hope that others were as well.

Tune of the Day:  Butcher and Fast Eddy    by Rose Tattoo

Saturday 20 December 2014

It is still unseasonably warm here in the flat country

but a little trip into the hills earlier in the week left me with the impression that we may have a winter after all. It was lots of fun with Steve and Matt and hopefully we will get back there next year.

Happy Birthday to Fergo- it was great to catch up recently and I hope that your trip is going well.

Have you all finished your Christmas shopping?

Tune of the Day:  Boom Festival 2014 Set     by   Ace Ventura

Tuesday 9 December 2014

Well, some friends have officially opened

their International Bier Bar in Zürich today. If you need to contact me...


Tune of the Day: (what else?) Heavy New Beer    by  Klopfgeister

Sunday 30 November 2014

It has been a busy weekend

and I am looking forward to getting a good sleep before attacking the new week. I'm not yet sure what it will hold for me but I'm sure that there will be enough to keep me busy.
Ate turkey with some American friends on Friday evening, drank beer with Chef Steve on Saturday and I'm going to a concert with Dan tomorrow evening... plenty of variety in that lot,


Tune of the Day:  Orange Claw Hammer    by Captain Beefheart

Tuesday 25 November 2014

I really should keep up to date

and I need to apologise for being busy elsewhere. Not a lot to report, but I hope to keep the pictures coming from now on...


Tune of the Day:  Progwarts   by Klopfgeister

Monday 3 November 2014

Happy Birthday Gazza

I hope that you have had a great day and are not too jaded to enjoy the Melbourne Cup festivities on Tuesday. How was the wine?

Been busy digging boots and jackets out of the cupboards here- expecting maximum temperatures in the low single digits towards the end of the week. That combined with darkness around 5.30 in the evening tells me that Christmas is not too far away.

Tune of the Day:  Chord In The Act    by Klopfgeister

Sunday 26 October 2014

A tough couple of weeks for photography

with the Magnum great Rene Burri and the American Ray Metzker both passing away recently, the world has lost a couple of very talented individuals. We had dinner with some friends on Friday evening and I was lucky enough to come home with a couple of loaner books on Metzker's work- his black and white photography was just stunning.
Changing the clocks this morning made me think just how close to Christmas and the end of the year we are. I don't know if that is a good thing or not, but we will know more in another month  :-)

Just tossing a picture from our great visit to Piemont last year up on the blog. I don't believe that it has made an appearance before, but I was prompted to show it here after I had printed it and was very happy with the way it came out.

Tune Of The Day:  Gun Street Girl      by Tom Waits

Thursday 16 October 2014

It has been a frustrating week

but it was nice to speak with Mike and decide that we really need to sit down and have a proper drink. It has been far too long.

My Oktoberfest photography challenge is moving along nicely and I am reasonably happy with my work thus far. It is always difficult to produce a good shot each day and the pictures do look quite mismatched, but that is the nature of the beast.

Maybe we can get a few things sorted around the house in the next few weeks and start to enjoy the place.

Tune of the Day:  Lass die Sonne in dein Hertz   by Klopfgeister



Saturday 11 October 2014

I have been busy shooting my picture-a-day challenge and so far it seems to be coming along nicely. There has been a great variety of subject matter so I haven't bothered to limit myself to one particular theme but rather I have tried to capture what has been around me when I have had the camera in hand.

Going to dinner with friends this evening and I really should be going to a concert afterwards but I missed the pre-sale of tickets and I don't fancy standing in a line for a couple of hours at 11 o'clock to buy my way in. A shame. It would have been lots of fun.

Tomorrow morning is an early start to go and take some photos up on the Uetliberg- I'm keeping my fingers crossed for fog!


Tune of the Day:  Tree Of Life    by  Ace Ventura


Monday 29 September 2014

I needed a push

and what better excuse than the upcoming NikonCafe Oktoberfest? I have selected a 35mm lens as my weapon of choice for the month of October and hope to be able to make at least one worthwhile photo with it each day before sharing that with my fellow shooters.

There will be plenty of other stuff to do as well so I will be kept busy during the month and I'm thinking that the need to grab a photo under whatever circumstances present themselves will be good for my work.

Tune of the Day:  Heavy New Beer   by Klopfgeister  (do yourself a favour)


Thursday 18 September 2014

I am trying to get back into good habits

and one of them is posting here more regularly. I have had a few things on my plate but I am trying to take some photos and get them organised as soon as possible afterwards.

Developed some film yesterday and then scanned the negatives this morning- I like the results and I know that I should do more of it!


Tune of the Day:  Progwarts   by Klopfgeister

Wednesday 10 September 2014

A day of very mixed feelings

We wished Campbell and Angus both happy birthday and then Catherine received a phone call at lunchtime telling her that her father had passed away. It sounds cliched, but he had been in poor health for a while and the family had had time to prepare for the inevitable but that certainly doesn't make his passing any easier.

RIP Brian.

Sunday 7 September 2014

A beer or three and a burger

with Dan is always a good way to spend Saturday evening- last night was certainly no exception. It was also nice to be home at a reasonable hour  :-)

I'm in for another busy week- doing some running around and then heading off to the south on Friday for a couple of days of photography in a wonderful part of the world. Let's hope that the weather is a little more pleasant than it was when I was there last.

Strange that September is here and the weather is better than we had during most of the summer.


Tune of the Day:   Hold On   by Tom Waits

Thursday 4 September 2014

I developed a roll of film last evening

for the first time since we moved house. It was a great feeling and I hope that I am able to get on and do it more often now. Previously I was shooting and developing at least one roll per week- it would be nice to get back into that sort of rhythm.

We have been busy printing photos for tomorrow nights Africa Night at the Viewfinder Center- beautiful big pictures of all sorts of wild animals. Promises to be a lot of fun and it has definitely started me thinking about going along on a safari next year.

Tune of the Day: The Day After   by Klopfgeister

Sunday 17 August 2014

Off to the show

and with the nice weather today, it should be fun down at the lake. If I had to choose a movie to go and watch at an event like this, Pulp Fiction would be high on the list.

Let's hope that it is a little warmer than last evening in Luzern. Wet, windy and pretty chilly down there and not a lot of fun hanging about waiting for the sun to disappear... but at least it was worthwhile.

Tune of the Day: Pachuco Cadaver   by Captain Beefheart

Sunday 10 August 2014

The View From My Window

is somewhat different, but the world seems to be the same. We have moved house and are still trying to settle in (somehow I feel that it will take a while yet) but I am already enjoying the new place.
I will try to get back into the swing of things here and keep posting on a regular basis.


Tune of the Day:  Something For The Girls     by Klopfgeister

Tuesday 15 July 2014

It wasn't so long back

that the fact that the British Open starts this week would really have excited me. Yawn. I will be taking some photos, getting ready to move house and will probably hear the result some time next week.
The sun has come back out today after a brief hiatus and the world is a better place already. Tomorrow should be sunny again and summer proper is promising to return later in the week. I will be doing some more running around and finishing up some packing.

Tune of the Day: Romeo Is Bleeding   by Tom Waits

Sunday 13 July 2014

Sorry for the break in transmission

but with a new house on the horizon and plenty to do otherwise, I haven't made time to get something up here on the wall. I have been taking photos but not spending too much time with them. That certainly needs to be sorted out.


Tune of the Day:  Burning Down The House  by Talking Heads

Saturday 24 May 2014

Wow! Simply wow!

The Henri Cartier Bresson exhibition in Paris was fantastic. We had a couple of terrific days- great pictures, good food and plenty of laughs. I could gladly do it again.

Went along to the World Press Photo Exhibition in Zürich last evening- it was a fantastic show as well. Saw plenty of great images and caught up with a bunch of friends. Should do that sort of thing more often!

The usual Saturday running around today and then dinner at Chez Boesch- will be lots of fun.


Tune of the Day:  Smoke on the Water    by Deep Purple

Thursday 8 May 2014

There is some sort of irony

in the fact that I am working as a photographer and have no time to take photos ;-)

I have been busy teaching, writing lesson plans and organizing things but have spent far too little time with my cameras lately. Something must be done about that!

Planning something fun at the moment- more news to come shortly.


Tune of the Day:  On The Other Side  by Vetiver

Sunday 27 April 2014

A busy week coming up

with some photography stuff to do tomorrow, a meeting and then lunch on Tuesday, dinner on Wednesday evening, Thursday is the May 1st holiday so it might be a good time to shoot pictures of a riot and then maybe quieter on Friday.
Look out!

Tune of the Day:  Pretty Vacant   by The Sex Pistols


Saturday 19 April 2014

We went back to that dark place

and shot more photos yesterday. I'm looking forward to seeing results after I develop a couple of rolls of film.

Had a great dinner on Wednesday evening with some friends. Good Asian food, good discussion and a few beers. Can you ask for more?

Not too much more to report- I may even head out to shoot some more pictures today.

Tune of the Day: Walk On The Wild Side   by Lou Reed

Monday 7 April 2014

I know, I know

I have been a little scarce around these here parts... my apologies. This evening I went for a walk with a group of photographers in Zürich- it was most pleasant and we shot a variety of stuff before stopping into the pub for one quick drink.

Not a great lot else to report- Goodie provided the highlight of the day with his phone call and story of a flying visit to Perth. Lots of fun.


Tune of the Day: Higgs Boson Blues  by   Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Wednesday 26 March 2014

I have come to the conclusion that Zürich

is simply German for "still under construction". I'm not yet sure if it is because the place has too much money or just wants to keep the building trade fully employed but after plenty of years here I am well and truly sick of it. Zürich should be a very attractive city but with all of the rubbish and construction material lying around it is difficult to tell.

On a more positive note- tomorrow evening is Paul's Vernissage at Photobastei- I'm going along with a few other people for a look and it should be a fun evening. His work is very interesting and I can say that it looks great (after spending a few hours with him yesterday hanging pictures).

Enjoyed my Old Fashioned this evening as well.


Tune of the Day:  I'm Not Sorry   by Morrissey

Friday 21 March 2014

It's Friday and I'm headed out

to do a couple of things before heading to another Viewfinder Center Gallery Show this evening. The work is all analogue and should be really interesting.

Lots of running around to do tomorrow- and then Sunday is meant to be miserable again... maybe a movie? Not too much news otherwise- still keeping busy with the camera.


Tune of the Day:  Depth Charge Ethel   by Nick Cave



Sunday 16 March 2014

Welcome back to Cook Club

It was a lot of fun to get back to work with the guys yesterday and we all really enjoyed ourselves. I think that even the ladies would agree that dinner was good!

Having lunch with Sanchez, Sanchez tomorrow to celebrate Paddy's Day and then will be doing some scanning with Giorgio afterwards. I will need to take a camera along tomorrow to shoot for a One Day Photo Challenge- should be good fun and I hope to find something green.

Tune of the Day:   Gun Street Girl   by  Tom Waits

Saturday 8 March 2014

I'm off to bed

but before I go, I'll leave this here.

I haven't been taking many digital photos lately and spotted this today on the way home. I enjoyed it enough that I may try to do some more tomorrow.



Tune of the Day: Spinning Away  by Brian Eno and John Cale

Sunday 2 March 2014

In contrast to last Sunday,

today was a "couldn't even be bothered making it out of the front door" kind of day. I sorted some photography stuff, read a little and generally took it easy.

We were out for a lovely dinner and a very pleasant evening last night- not too late home but after Catherine's busy week in the office, it was time to take it easy today. Great pasta dinner and a bottle of wine to finish things off.

I have a few things on my plate this coming week- including a couple of meetings so I will hope to take plenty of photos as well.

Tune of the Day:  Big In Japan   by  Tom Waits

Sunday 23 February 2014

It was a mild, sunny Sunday

and I took advantage of it by getting out to shoot some photos. Put a roll of Ilford FP4+ in my Hasselblad and I'm very satisfied with the results. Zürich was pretty quiet but that is never a problem.

Had a nice dinner at home on Friday evening. I hosted some photography friends and we had a great round-table discussion which went on for several hours (and would have gone for many more if the guests didn't need to get on the train).

Tune of the Day:  Depth Charge Ethel   by Abby May

Sunday 16 February 2014

More photos

from a Meetup group get-together a couple of weeks ago. It was a fun walk about in the city taking some shots and getting to know some people.

Today was Jacqueline's birthday- she went rock climbing, out for lunch and then out to dinner as well. Lucky for some!


Tune of the Day:  Four Sticks   by Led Zeppelin

Tuesday 11 February 2014

It's time, it's time

and I'm back to share something else.

I have been busy shooting film, developing and scanning negatives. It is all very enjoyable and it is nice to see that the results are becoming more and more predictable and consistent. The current grey weather is perfect for black and white (although I really need to get a yellow filter) and it is fun to shoot my usual selection of stuff from the tripod.

Not a great lot else to report- feel free to let me know what you think of these photos!

Tune of the Day:  Soulmates   by Ben Webster

Thursday 6 February 2014

It's about time

that I came back and posted another photo. Went for a walk yesterday with a friend to take some photos and really enjoyed myself. I'm pretty happy with the way in which the photos turned out and I will be keen to see how the ones which are still in the camera look as well.

There seems to be lots of flak about the whole Winter Olympics in Sochi thing- I'm very glad that I am not in a position to go. Having to decide between your sporting career and something which you feel strongly about is a lot to ask from a young person.


Tune of the Day:  Love Shack   by The B52s



Monday 27 January 2014

It was a very festive weekend

with Burns Night and Australia Day on the calendar. I did pull my kilt out for Saturday and went to a great photography exhibition and had a couple of drinks with friends. About to head downstairs now and develop another roll of film- and I'm still really enjoying the process.

Doing some catching up with my old photos and a lot of catalogue work- there are more there than I realized.


Tune of the Day: A Good Day To Die    by William Elliott Whitmore

Wednesday 22 January 2014

The black and white developing course on the weekend

was a success with everyone being able to get their film done and take some images home. I had a lot of fun teaching it and they were a great group of students. What's next, guys?  :-)

There is a long-term photo exhibition in Zürich which has just opened and will remain open until August. At the moment I am considering getting some work together to hang a few pictures and see how they are received. It will probably be black and white stuff from around the city. Thoughts?


Running off into town shortly to go for a beer- and catch up with a few friends. Nice.


Tune of the Day:   Gun Street Girl   by  Tom Waits



Thursday 16 January 2014

Happy Birthday to Masi

even though she is out of town and we won't catch up today, having a birthday is something pretty special. I need to pack some gear and head out later to the second night of a three part course which I am looking forward to.

I've been working on some old colour scans which I was never happy with and the new software allows me to get a lot more out of them. Expect more colour work in the future!

It is very mild here again at the moment and hardly getting down to freezing overnight. Maybe this is the year that winter forgot?

Tune of the Day:  Psycho Killer   by Talking Heads

Sunday 12 January 2014

Heading out early in the morning

and hoping to come home with some very interesting photos. Busy charging batteries and getting things organized at the moment. Fingers crossed that all goes well!

Apart from that, I am in for another busy week- meetings, photo stuff and then courses on Thursday and Saturday. Should be fun!

Should really select some files and put together an exhibition at Photobastei as well. It will take some work, but should be very worthwhile.


Tune of the Day:  Suffocated Love    by Tricky


Thursday 9 January 2014

Photobastei opens tomorrow

and it should be a terrific rolling exhibit right in the middle of the city. I am considering printing up some photos and organizing to exhibit some of my own work. In any case, with both that and Photo14 on this week/weekend it promises to be a busy time.

I'm glad that I am not in the clothing business. Just noticed yesterday that another place on the Bahnhofstrasse is closing down- quite apart from the fact that we might not have a winter this year, that trade seems to get harder and harder with the only stores now on display being members of chains of luxury goods and cheap clothing retailers. Sadly, the Bahnhofstrasse is rapidly losing the last of its charm.


Tune of the Day:  Black Steel    by Tricky


Sunday 5 January 2014

A new Operating System for my Mac

meant that my scanning software needed updating. I have tried a Demo version of Silverfast (an older version of which I had been using) and today tested and bought VueScan. It seems simpler and faster and I like the results from my first roll. The big test will be when I put a roll of Medium Format film in the tray, but I'm sure that all will be well.

It is very mild here and has been damp. Reading about avalanches and related deaths in the mountains to our South is not good and I see that the USA and Canada have been hit by proper winter storms as well.

Went for an enjoyable photowalk yesterday with Mirco and Peter- I was very happy with the way in which my pics turned out.

Onward and upward.


Tune of the Day:  Hey You    by Pink Floyd

Friday 3 January 2014

I am going to see more movies this year

and started off the year with Nebraska today. It was most enjoyable and has put me in the mood to get into the cinema and keep up-to-date.

I'm heading out again tomorrow to take some more photos and looking forward to that. The weather should hold until we are finished which makes things much more pleasant. I've just been reading about the snow and ice storms racing across North America at the moment...... has me thinking about buying an even warmer jacket!

The duck for dinner was good. Thanks!

Tune of the Day: Set Me Free    by Los Lobos

Wednesday 1 January 2014

Happy New Year!

I'm not a great one for New Year's Resolutions, so there is no need to go into that  ;-)  We had an enjoyable dinner with friends last night, a relaxed day today and I am about to head out to a New Year's Day party for a few drinks. Catherine will be headed off to the office tomorrow and I will continue with my Lightroom learning and see if I can start to get things under control.


Tune of the Day:  Sara   by Bob Dylan