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It is mid-summer yet I am sitting here freezing cold. Why you ask? Because I took a tumble into the Atlantic ocean (the cold one) while trying to get some wave photos as the sun set. My shorts are soaked, my t-shirt see-thru and my shoes and socks waterlogged.
Ahhh, I love photography.
There was this handy rock jutting out in line with another rock that had waves breaking over it. My rock seemed safe, I watched it for awhile and notice the waves avoided it most of the time. So it made a good hide from the sun (so I would not get sun-flare on the lens) and a good solid object to rest on to keep the camera steady. I scrambled down and began lining up shot after shot as the sun bathed the rock and spray in amazing colours. Suddenly I am pitching backwards, water all around and my only thought is "f***, camera! Hold it up! Hold it up!" Landing arse first in a rock pool is no fun when your hands are occupied with saving your camera.
Then I realised I had lost my lens cap... shite! 10 minutes later, as a nearby fisherman watches on in great glee, I find the damned thing wedged between some rocks.
Now the sun is touching the horizon, the waves are getting bigger, the wind and cold water is making me shiver and... you guessed it... I go back to the rock and carry on taking photos.
This time I kept a firm stance and every time the waves came, now strangley not avoiding my rock, I would wait for them to hit the other rock, shoot and then as fast as I could pull the camera back and behind me so the spray would not cover it.
In my mind it became a battle between me wanting to take photos of the rock, and the ocean trying to stop me. I should know who won next week...
So yeah, I am a nut.
For those who know the area it was on Noordhoek beach (Long beach to foreigners) on the Chapmans peak side. It was actually quite cool. I clambered up from the beach right up the cliff side to the actual Chapmans peak road. It was way beyond the cut-off point and the road is absolutely trashed. Big boulder sized holes in it and half the barricade walls are shot through. It was really quite nice strolling along Chapmans peak road, closed off for so long, all alone and the ocean far below.
Of course as any hiker will tell you getting up is easy, getting down with a camera, tripod and bag is not.
What a wonderful part of the world to live in though.
Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa
Macbeth muttered:
I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er
DavidW wrote:
You are totally mad. Nice.
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Thanks Nish, I think
So is this like the mile high club, just without the sex and sheilas?
Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa
Macbeth muttered:
I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er
DavidW wrote:
You are totally mad. Nice.
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Nishant S wrote:
You just joined CG and me in the list of people who have no life.
So basically what you are saying is there are different levels on having no life?
-Nick Parker
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Ok so photography is a sickness. Worse than drugs and the love of small hedgehogs*.
Yesterday I went out and bought a piece of round glass that fits on the end of my lens and makes the sky bluer. They call it a polariser. Thing is that piece of round glass cost R345! I can get almost two tanks of petrol with that much money. It is three times more than my weekly grocery bill. Just for a piece of frikin glass.
But oh, oh how sweet it is. Yes, it rocks. Polarisers rock. Spent two hours on my back staring at the sky twirling the polariser around and around, watching the pale blue sky turn to a deep blue. Basically it polarises the incoming light. The effect is to cut out haze, saturate colours and provide more contrast in the sky. My Golden Lion photo is pretty cool IMO, but the sky is totally burnt out and has no colour, detracting from the photo as a whole. However with a polariser I can get in the golden colours of the landscape AND saturate the sky rendering a nice deep blue. Can't wait for the results.
The cool thing about a polariser also is that you can see the change right through your lens. The strongest effect of the polariser comes when it is 90degrees to the sun. As you turn the circular glass you can actually see the sky going from pale blue to deep blue and then back again. Kiff!
Oh and the other madness was buying four rolls of film (Fuji Sensia 100 and 200) and the total coming to R295. Holy crap.
* Are hedgehogs ever not small? I mean, is there a Giant Lesser Spotted Hedgehog of New Thumberland or something?
Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa
Macbeth muttered:
I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er
Want a job?
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Want more pics... want more pics.. want more pics...
Regards,
Brian Dela
Run naked in the snow until you're sweating like a stuck pig and can't seem to catch your breath. When the flu becomes pneumonia, they can cure that with a shot. - Roger Wright
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Brian Delahunty wrote:
Want more pics... want more pics.. want more pics...
Awwwww, my one and only fan. Thanks Brian
Getting them developed today, should be ready this friday or so.
Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa
Macbeth muttered:
I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er
Want a job?
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Paul Watson wrote:
Getting them developed today, should be ready this friday or so.
Cool. Let me know when you get them online
Regards,
Brian Dela
Run naked in the snow until you're sweating like a stuck pig and can't seem to catch your breath. When the flu becomes pneumonia, they can cure that with a shot. - Roger Wright
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Paul Watson wrote:
my one and only fan.
Not at all!
I can't wait to get a polarizer for my Nikon - I had one years ago for my film cameras and the effects are magnificent. Around here I think a UV filter is probably a must, but I believe I can stack it with a polarizing filter without losing too much sensitivity.
BTW - What did you think of the latest tune download?
"Please don't put cigarette butts in the urinal. It makes them soggy and hard to light" - Sign in a Bullhead City, AZ Restroom
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Roger Wright wrote:
BTW - What did you think of the latest tune download?
Going to download it this evening, it is a bit big for me to hog our pipe with during the day
Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa
Macbeth muttered:
I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er
Shog9:
Paul "The human happy pill" Watson
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Paul Watson wrote:
Yesterday I went out and bought a piece of round glass that fits on the end of my lens and makes the sky bluer.
Congrats! A fantastic piece of kit. But Paul, please, shop on EBay (mine was £11,50). That way you will be able to buy 3 (yes, they sell brand new there) for the price of one (makes more sense if you consider my UV filter - 0 Haze cost me only £6,95)
Nice caterpillar shot BTW.
But I am fantastic in bed! And there are gorgeous women in all the houses I pass. And it would be wrong to leave them unsatisfied! So spam is the only way... - Paul Watson
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Megan Forbes wrote:
Nice caterpillar shot BTW.
LOL thanks but one of my worst shots. I was just seeing what photoSIGers would think. They did not like it hehe. If it is not a sunset, a nude women or an art shot then it is never well recieved.
Went into the lab today to pick what slides I want saved to CD from my latest batch. Some awesome shots! Can't wait to get them up. In and around Hout bay. Slide film rocks, it is such a nice feeling to be leaning over the white-screen with a loupe peering into these amazingly luminescent photographs. Though I think some of the other customers in the lab thought I was a bit nuts
Megan Forbes wrote:
But Paul, please, shop on EBay (mine was £11,50). That way you will be able to buy 3 (yes, they sell brand new there) for the price of one (makes more sense if you consider my UV filter - 0 Haze cost me only £6,95)
Ouch. Just saw a Hoya 58mm polariser for $48. Only a R100 more than what I bought and of a lot better quality.
Thanks and I promise, I will give eBay a bash next time. I just really am a bit weary of being burnt on eBay.
Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa
Macbeth muttered:
I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er
DavidW wrote:
You are totally mad. Nice.
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Paul Watson wrote:
If it is not a sunset, a nude women or an art shot then it is never well recieved.
Tell me about it. Wildlife shots should be on a site of their own. An American actually suggested I should have taken a couple of steps to the left on my leopard shot - to do that would have meant getting out of the car under the tree he was in (and turning myself into something on the menu). I think they believe all SA's live in a permanent zoo or something! Speaking of new sites, my SQL tables are currently under design for my "easy photo site" (ok, I need a name!) ASP.Net web application. Wish me luck - starting from the Admin angle to make sure all the functions I want will integrate nicely.
Paul Watson wrote:
Some awesome shots! Can't wait to get them up.
I'll check out PhotoSig tonight (off into London to look for subjects now - damn, hope it doesn't rain!). BTW - could you please put a link here to your portfolio? Searching for your name each time to get to you is something I feel lazier about each time
Paul Watson wrote:
58mm
Didn't know you also had 58mm thread. Man, I love filters
Paul Watson wrote:
I just really am a bit weary of being burnt on eBay
That sucks. Fortunately it's hasn't happened to me yet. I think their rating system is invaluable. If someone ever screws me around I will definitly flood them with negative feedback!
But I am fantastic in bed! And there are gorgeous women in all the houses I pass. And it would be wrong to leave them unsatisfied! So spam is the only way... - Paul Watson
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Megan Forbes wrote:
"easy photo site" (ok, I need a name!)
PhotoFast... oh wait, that's a name of a company already. Hmmm...
Photo Gallery Producer... oh wait that becomes PGP, doh...
If I think of anything I will tell you. Don't use photoProject though, that is my name for a website I am putting together Original huh? Can't hide my developer roots.
If you want any help on the app then just ask.
Megan Forbes wrote:
I'll check out PhotoSig tonight (off into London to look for subjects now - damn, hope it doesn't rain!). BTW - could you please put a link here to your portfolio?
Sometimes rain can be a good thing, but only if it clears up before sunset. Normally then you can get some dramatic cloud shots and also look out for good puddles with good light on them. Can get some nice reflection shots. Picadilly Circus lights seen through a puddle reflection would be pretty cool IMO. Though the cops might just lock you up in the loony bin if they see this young lady taking photographs of puddles... hehe
My portfolio on photoSIG I will put it in my bio here too, thanks for the idea.
Megan Forbes wrote:
An American actually suggested I should have taken a couple of steps to the left on my leopard shot - to do that would have meant getting out of the car under the tree he was in (and turning myself into something on the menu). I think they believe all SA's live in a permanent zoo or something!
LOL! Typical. One shot I took I was also advised to take it more to the right. Thing was I was already hanging onto a rock on Chapmans peak when I took it. Anymore to the right and I would be one with the rocks, 100 feet below! hehe.
But any advise is good IMO. I have also said to some photos on photoSIG to move to a different angle. If it is a wild animal shot or somewhere dangerous then I do acknowledge that it might have been impossible though.
Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa
Macbeth muttered:
I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er
DavidW wrote:
You are totally mad. Nice.
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Paul Watson wrote:
Anymore to the right and I would be one with the rocks, 100 feet below!
Reminds me of a shot I took at Boy Scout camp. Rather, I set it up and had a slave Tenderfoot in my patrol (Troop 447 - Beaver Patrol, naturally) take the shot. My best friend, Scott, and me lying contorted on the rocks in the surf off Catalina Island, were featured in the shot from a cliff 120' above. We wanted to send it to our mothers with a note from the camp nurse informing them that we were having a great time, and were expected to recover completely. We were greatly disappointed to learn that developing services were not available at camp, so the prank never came off.
My all-time favorite, though, was a B&W shot I staged in my garage. In '73/74 the comet Kohoutek was the media darling of the year, touted to be the brightest display in the heavens in decades. Naturally, the celestial party pooper was a no show, and at its peak was barely visible. Not to be deterred, I set up my camera in the garage, piled magnesium turnings high on an upside down coffee can then ignited them. I switched on a fan adjacent to the actinic pyre but out of the frame, and snapped a series of shots of my "comet" using Tri-X and no flash. They turned out spectacular, but the newspaper declined to publish my exclusive report.
"Please don't put cigarette butts in the urinal. It makes them soggy and hard to light" - Sign in a Bullhead City, AZ Restroom
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About three years ago a man was killed by a rock that crushed his car on the drive. Another woman was crippled by a rock. There have been plenty of incidents like that before those two, but these two (or rather the family of the dead man) tried to sue the city of Cape Town.
So the drive was closed and they have now spent millions of Rand and many years fixing it. The road was fine, but the cliffs above it needed to be stabilised.
They are re-opening in in February 2004 actually
Unfortuanatley to pay for the repairs and ongoing maintenance it will be a toll road now.
Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa
Crikey! ain't life grand?
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My website is finally up, and of course it revolves around photography. Image files are really big, but then it is all about the images init?
About page is naff, but best I can do for now. Want to write it for me?
Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa
Marshall wrote: (on Jap to Engrish)
The web translator said:
"For success one must aquire one's self"
My translation based on the code:
"If the copy of the this pointer is valid, return true.
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Paul Watson wrote:
About page is naff
I quite liked it, it had a light side to it that kept me reading.
David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk
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David Wulff wrote:
I quite liked it, it had a light side to it that kept me reading.
Thanks
And the rest of the site? I know you cannot talk to me directly anymore but just relay to Mini David wether you thought the site in general was good. Navigation? Content? Load times? Usability? Was the dark grey heading text on the dark grey background too hard too read? It is a minimalist site because after all it is about the photographs not how much cool HTML sh*t I can thrown in
ta
Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa
Macbeth muttered:
I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er
Want a job?
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Imagine that - nearly a year now since the website went active. Are you planning a major refit for the anniversary? Something with a I'm # 1! theme, in honor of passing Nish as the top poster? Only a couple hundred posts to go!
Heard in Bullhead City - "You haven't lost your girl - you've just lost your turn..." [sigh] So true...
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Great slide film, and cheaper than Fuji Velvia. Processed my first slide film the other day and it looks fab. It is excellent for colours, very rich and saturated. Not good for people though, skin tone comes out reddish, especially when using a Flash.
Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa
Roger Wright wrote:
Using a feather is kinky; using the whole chicken is perverted!
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I took the plunge and bought a Canon EOS 300v with a Canon 28-90mm II lens. For the first few weeks I have been using Fuji Superia 200 film, consumer grade film while I learn the ropes. I have just bought some Fuji Sensia 100 slide film, which I am a bit nervous to actually use
As I take roll after roll I will upload the best ones, mainly for my sake but if you like them, then wonderful.
Currently I have 11 photos on Photo.net, but I have recently found PhotoSIG.com which IMO is a better site with a better community. The only problem is they only let you upload one photo ever 3 days (for good reason) so it will take some time before I get all my photos up on that site.
Photo.net portfolio.
Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa
Photographs
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