Eleven hours in front of the screen at work. You'd have think I'd had enough?

Just energy enough to raid the archive methinks.

I wasn't sure if I would get time to post tonight, (working late again!)

The photo (below) is from Tenerife. It is from the day I went walking across the desert and cliffs near the sea, just south of where we were staying; a good bus journey away.

I am posting it because I loved the building and the graffiti although I am not sure the photos I took do it justice. I could have spent an hour around the site but that wasn't why we were there. Anyway, see what you think.

I am trying out the new Capture One Pro (v4) – Thanks Ian! This was processed through it, though mainly using auto settings. It will take me a while to get used to this new version and its new interface.

The January poker game was a blast, the results of which are now in.

It was so strange to wake up to hear that Heath Ledger had died. I had seen him in a few different movies and really liked his performances, (even in such dross as the Sin Eater). What can you say when someone so young and talented dies?

What I dislike about this is the way the press don't really seem too concerned that the guy died, but rather they want to know how. All a bit vulgar really.

While I was fishing around in the archives I found this shot of Nik which I was sure I had processed but I can't find it anywhere. Maybe I had a go and was unhappy with it? I seem to remember correcting some of the distortions with the perspective, but this time I can't say I am overly bothered about them. I just quite like the shadow and Nik in relation to the window. Anyway, see what you think.

It was almost this time last year Nik and I went off to Paris. Wonderful! So to celebrate here is a snap from Paris (below).

As it whizzed down constantly this weekend I didn't get out to take any new photos so it was a case of raid the archive tonight, or nothing.

I did manage to get out on Saturday to do a bit of digging in the garden. Nik's dad and brother are building us a wall so it seemed only fair, after they dug most of the land to prepare for the wall, that I helped. I really enjoyed the exercise! This manual labour lark is a doddle! (Yeah, when you don't do it for hours on end).

I can't say I am enthused by my photography at the moment. Maybe it is because I haven't taken anything in a while or maybe none of my shots are really inspiring me at the moment, but it was a real effort to find something to post today. In the end I plumped for this abstract shot of the Catherine Wheel firework from New Years. I think I really need to get out and shoot something a bit different.

As I am not posting much tonight as I am enjoying watching the old spy series 'Tinker, Sailor, Soldier, Spy'.

Here is another wedding shot (above).

As I was posting tonight Apple has gone and released all its new gizmos for 2008. The 0.16 inch laptop is pretty impressive! Check it out.

Again, work has kept me pretty busy so I haven't posted as much as I would like nor looked over the redesign for the site.

I decided to go with another wedding photo tonight (above). This was partly to explore more colouring through LAB but mainly because I haven't done one for while. Ilike to process one now and again to send to the bride and groom. I think it's nice to keep sending little gifts of photos of the day to prolong that wonderful feeling.

Oh and the title of today's entry has nothing to do with the game. It's simply I am listening to Underworld as I post (Oblivion with Bells – rather good actually and worth a blog title entry).

Nik's not feeling so great so I am not posting much tonight.

I don't have anything new so I am posting an abstract photo of me I took on my D200 of the monitor screen for one of the infra-red cameras at the Space Centre last year. I am not so sure whether it is any good so I leave that judgment to you. I will see how I feel about it in the morning.

We are really busy at work at the moment and I have been doing some more designing tonight at home, so I am not going to write any essays to the blog tonight.

This image (above) is from holiday, taken the day we walked for miles along the cliff line. The idea was to colour it in LAB mode for practice but I wasn't really that happy with the results and ended up reverting to the more usual colouring I got in the shot. The doorways themselves are from part of whats left of an old, crumbling banana plantation that we walked through.

I really like this photo of Nik (below). A bit macabre, a bit vampiric with an altogether film-noir kinda look. So naturally Nik hates it, right?

Actually, (and it was a good job I was sitting down), she doesn't!? Yes, join me in a very special moment. Nik likes one of my photos of her (applause). Thank you, thank you, too kind (bow).

Typical! I work on making soft, feminine portraits for her, but no. She prefers strange, foreboding images. I really didn't see that coming.

Women!?

Today I was mucking around with Movable Type software that I am thinking of re-publishing imagi with. I did, however, manage to stop the whole thing working on a test space – some problem with publishing php pages as apposed to html. I really don't have the know-how to sort these tech problems out. I must ask James at work.

I decided to post a photo from holiday today (above), to have a break from the firework shots.

I do try and at least get a couple of sessions in the gym or pool to stay vaguely fit. What annoys me is the gym I belong to keeps changing the session times. Today I went to Loughborough to swim to find out they were still running the timetable from Christmas, so consequently I couldn't go in the pool because it was the kids 'fun with floats' hour, and they wouldn't let me play!?

Forgive the ranting but I am listening to Bill Hicks at the moment and it puts you in the mood for a rant.

I am quite tired tonight, yet still I find myself on the laptop posting photos at 11.30!?

As you can see (above) we had 3 fires going in the back garden for warmth on New Years Eve, but it really wasn't that cold. I forget what I had just put on the fire but it went up a treat.

Doesn't fire make the best colours?

More firework photees.

We have given up on snow.

So much for the weather forecast. No snow here today. 8(

After the New Years bash at mine I thought I would post this photo of me and the boyz. This is Malc (Nik's Dad), yours truly and Rik (Nik's brother) before all the fireworks and drink; to be fair none of us had that much. Honest!

Our poor neighbours must hate us; we have had fireworks twice this year.

I did photograph some of the display at ours this New Years. This Catherine Wheel (below) made a lovely scorch mark on the wooden partition it was secured to. It made a top picture though. Very abstract.

Truly we all saw the old year out in a blaze of glory, and a 'none-to-small' amount of booze. Hence my tender head today.

So did anyone make any resolutions? I think I will stick with the same old ones. Try to be happy, successful and appreciate life. To try to help people when I can and try not to be too much of a pain in the a&* to the everyone around me. And love my friends and family more and more each day. Especially my Noo!

You can't say fairer than that, eh?