A Laser-Like Focus?

I suspect we all have something which can attract our attention, like a missile locking onto a homing beacon, even against significant background noise. With Frances, it’s shoes. With me, it’s bread! There was a scene in the excellent, but Continue reading

Sunday, August 16, 2015 in Morocco Travel Blog, Thoughts on the World, Travel

More Multishot Techniques, and Going 3D

I have been using multiple shot techniques almost as long as I have been interested in photography. My earliest stitched panoramas were in the days when you got a spare set of prints and took out the razor blade and Continue reading

Saturday, August 15, 2015 in Photography

It’s Not Just What You Do With It, Size IS Important

On paper, the Panasonic GM5 should be an ideal "carry around" camera for me. The same sensor and processor as the excellent GX7 and GH4 in a neat pocket-sized packaged. A proper electronic viewfinder. Access to all the Micro Four Continue reading

Thursday, July 23, 2015 in Photography, Thoughts on the World

Crash, Bang, Wallop, What a Picture

I was literally just about to get into bed in my hotel in Liverpool last night, when the air was rent with loud explosions. Fortunately nothing sinister – just fireworks giving a cruise ship a good send-off on her voyage. Continue reading

Tuesday, July 14, 2015 in Photography, Thoughts on the World

Dark Shadows

I’m finally getting around to processing the remaining shots from my Morocco trip in 2013! I had parked a number of shots from the Dades Gorge, because we were shooting almost into the setting sun, and they were either hazy, Continue reading

Tuesday, June 30, 2015 in Morocco Travel Blog, Photography, Travel

It’s Not the Camera, It’s the Photographer… Well, Sort Of…

There’s a frequently made assertion in photography books and blogs that the choice of kit doesn’t really matter, and a good photographer will make great images regardless. I don’t altogether agree. While I think it’s laudable to encourage photographers to Continue reading

Wednesday, June 24, 2015 in Photography

Into the (Infra)Red

Last Summer I purchased a Panasonic GF3 which had been converted to infrared photography. Like with many gadgets, there’s a period where you play with the funky effects, and I quite like the way you can get a really deep Continue reading

Tuesday, June 16, 2015 in Barbados, Photography, Travel

Can No-One Write A Good Book About Oracle SOA?

I’m frustrated. I’ve just read a couple of good, if somewhat repetitive, design pattern books: one on SOA design with a resolutely platform-neutral stance, and another on architecting for the cloud, with a Microsoft Azure bent but which struck an Continue reading

Saturday, June 13, 2015 in Agile & Architecture, Reviews, Thoughts on the World

Cloud Design Patterns

This is a very useful introduction to key cloud concepts and how common challenges can be met. It’s also a good overview of how Microsoft technologies may fit into these solutions, but avoids becoming so Microsoft-centric that it becomes useless Continue reading

Things Which Really Bug Me About the Kindle

I  read a lot using the Kindle applications for Android and PC. While there’s a lot which is good about that process there are a number of things which really bug me. Some of these look incredibly simple to resolve, Continue reading

Tuesday, June 9, 2015 in Agile & Architecture, Thoughts on the World

Service Design Patterns

One of the most influential architecture books of the early 00s was Enterprise Integration Patterns by Gregor Hohpe and Bobby Woolf. That book not only provided far and away the best set of patterns and supporting explanations for designers of Continue reading

Friday, June 5, 2015 in Agile & Architecture, Reviews