Bailey the cat

The office resembles a giant fur ball today thanks to the arrival of Bailey the cat, a "big boned" ginger fluff cushion, who has taken up residence under the desk. He's about to attend feline boot camp, to help him shed those pounds and get into shape for summer!!!

Captured in all his furry glory with the Sigma DP1.

Design icons for hire from the Hiring Company

It's not every day you get to shoot some of the world's most iconic design classics. But I was recently commissioned by the Hiring Company to photograph its amazing collection of high-end furniture, including classic Eames, Bertoia and Panton, mixed with more modern designs by the likes of Ron Arad and Ross Lovegrove.

The images will be used for marketing and web, helping to communicate the company's goal of offering modern furniture icons for short term loan to corporate events, exhibitions, conferences and more besides.

Exploring Arundel and the Arun valley

(i) Reed beds on the Arun. 

(ii) Arun mooring  - DIY style.

(iii) Arundel's lofty Roman Catholic Cathedral - French Gothic, the Victorian remix.

(iv) Don't steal the cross in Arundel's parish church - the only church in the country which is part CofE and part Roman Catholic.

(v) Something tells me this entrance to Arundel Castle is off-limits.

(vi) Come to Arundel and get your photo taken!

Great food, shopping, architecture and landscape: Arundel is a great place for a weekend break. I visited with the Knit Nurse, and we had a terrific time, even with freezing temperatures and the misery of a replacement bus "service" on our return journey.

Even beautiful Arundel isn't immune from the curse of forbidden signs. There's no end of notices telling you what you can't do. Our favourite was the sign outside a rather classy antiques shop on the High Street. They will be asking for fingerprint samples and a full CRB check for any new customers next...

Saturday was spent on a glorious walk through Arundel Castle's vast parkland and back along the river Arun, with its reed beds and big skies. 

As usual, I didn't leave home without my Sigma DP1. 

A walk on the wild side at Ventnor, Isle of Wight

(i) Newly-planted flower border

(ii) Sheep drop

(iii) No public access; Access required at all times

(iv) Dog faeces spread diseases

(v) No thoroughfare

(vi) Slow humps

(vii) No trespassing

(viii) Private porthole

(ix) Do not allow children to climb the railings

(x) No cycling etc

(xi) Slippery ramp

(xii) Keep off the huts

(xiii) Keep off Rosemary

Something from the archive for students of semiotics. It begs the question "Is it too dangerous to visit the Isle of Wight?". Slippery ramps, paths strewn with dog grumpies, slow humping everywhere you turn, collapsing roofs: It's all available to the most demanding thrill seeker, and just a short ferry ride from Portsmouth.

I particularly like the presence of pampas grass in "Slow Humps". Nudge, wink.

Images were taken in Ventnor back in 2007 (most were captured on the same walk, which gives an idea of the sheer density of signs and warnings in this part of the country).

Futurescape conference report for the Architecture Centre Network

I was recently commissioned to compile the report (and take a few photos) of the Architecture Centre Network's Futurescape 08 conference. Held last October, the conference provided the opportunity to look at built environment education, as well as the integration of emerging technologies in learning.

The report has now been added to the ACN's website, and can be viewed here>

Future Systems on Oxford Street, London

Revealed towards the end of last year, this is the crystalline facade of 187 Oxford Street, the result of a collaboration between Future Systems, Arcademy Architects, MNP consulting engineers and specialist facade contractor GIG Fassadenbau (information taken from the MNP website). Despite facing north, it really seems to glitter in the winter light, with disjointed reflections of the buildings on the opposite side of the road.

It caught my eye when heading towards the tube station today, and luckily I had my Sigma DP1 to hand (in fact, it's barely never upon my person). Perspective was tweaked in Photoshop and I quite liked giving it a panoramic crop.

Eiffel Tower: Revisited

I'm constantly surprised at how new developments in software mean that you can take an old image taken with a digital camera and create something much better with it. But it's not just digital imaging that can benefit from such a revisit. The same also applies to old-fashioned film.

I recently had a dig around the back of our enormous under-eaves storage cupboard and came across the original prints that I exhibited at the end of my photography studies. Not only had they faded really badly (a product of being printed on non-archival paper with non-archival ink) but I was appalled and embarrassed by the quality of the scans. 

I resolved to re-use the frames (rather lovely oak mounts from Habitat, I recall), and make a fresh scan and print of one of the images, to give to my parents at Christmas.

Thanks to my Minolta Multi Pro scanner, which I bought last year on ebay, the new scan is miles clearer, with a better range of tones and greater depth. I made a print using my wonderful Epson 3800 A2 printer and archival Premium Semigloss paper and the results were amazing - especially when compared with the fuzzy original!

The original photograph was taken during a weekend in Paris about six years ago, and shot with a late-lamented Yaschica 124G medium format camera.