Endangered species?

Choosing presents to buy is getting harder as our world shifts inexorably into the digital realm. Old stalwarts such as books, CDs and DVDs are no longer safe bets. If the person you are buying for has “gone digital”, the physical product is now a poor substitute for its digital equivalent. But for the giver, the insubstantial and generic nature of an iTunes or Amazon gift certificate is a problem, barely one step removed from the “I couldn’t think of what to get you” subliminal message of a cheque. For children, physical toys have now been displaced by computer and video games and here too, the preferred distribution model is shifting to digital downloads and away from boxes that can be wrapped up and put under the tree.

The social side of Christmas is also dematerialising, as Facebook and other online means of socialising take over from the old fashioned physical way of doing things. But at least nobody has yet managed to digitise that other great feature of Christmas time, food and booze. Perhaps in future, we’ll all have to concentrate less on the giving and receiving and more on the eating and drinking.

Somehow, I don’t think that is what the people who have long bemoaned the materialism of Christmas had in mind.

Iguana relaxing

Chilling out in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. Trying to emulate the local iguanas, who can bask on a rock motionless for hours, it seems. Myself, I need regular infusions of Corona and Sol to keep me going. Pass the lime.

Hyde Park

I’ve been having fun taking and sharing photos with Instagram. You can only post photos using the dedicated iPhone app. The low resolution and the creative filters it prompts you to apply really encourage you to concentrate on composition, creativity and interesting subjects. Sharing the results on twitter or facebook is a breeze. Highly recommended.

Hover fly

A beautiful sunny morning enticed me out on safari in my garden, armed with my Canon 5D Mk II and 100mm macro lens. This hover fly was particularly cooperative, staying calmly in position whilst I tested how close I could get.

It is incredible the amazing and beautiful things you can find so close to home if you take the time to look closely.

Spring flowers in Cambridge

After what certainly felt like one of the harshest winters for a while, Spring finally arrived in the UK this weekend. I couldn’t have chosen a better time to visit my old University town, Cambridge.

As nostalgic trips go, it’s hard to beat clear blue skies, spring flowers and a pint of Green King IPA at a riverside pub.

Blue Tit Landing

I’ve been reading Syl Arena’s recently released book “Speedliter’s Handbook”. This wonderful tome covers everything you could ever want to know about flash photography in general, and about the Canon system in particular.

Full of information about both gear and technique, it is also a great source of inspiration for what can be done with flash. If you don’t know what you are doing and use the flash in the traditional “on camera” position, flash can make photographs which are lifeless and flat. With the improvement in low light performance of cameras today, flash had seemed to me to be something best avoided. I now know better.

I had a great time experimenting with using a remotely triggered flash to photograph birds in the garden. The ambient light was awful, a typical grey February day in England. Not conditions that I would normally think about shooting in. But with a flash, a radio trigger and a little patience, I got some great shots of blue tits and other birds feeding in the garden. This was my favourite shot, which could never have been achieved without flash. A highly recommended book.

IAG Merger

Shares in International Airlines Group (IAG) commenced trading today. IAG has been created as the new holding company for British Airways and Iberia, following the merger of the two companies.

The final legal steps were completed over the weekend, the end of a long and complex transaction process.

The IAG team also moved into our new accommodation on Friday, just along the road from Waterside, the BA headquarters building near Heathrow.

Congratulations to everyone who has worked so hard to bring IAG finally to life. Its been a long road but we got there in the end. In the words of Louis L’Amour, “There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.”

Squirrel in our garden

On the plus side, it looks like we’re going to get a white Christmas and everything looks very pretty. The downside of course is that the travel plans of millions have been disrupted and families who planned to be together this Christmas may instead spend it apart.

Whether or not the increased incidence of snow and cold temperatures in the UK in recent years is down to climate change is hard to know. But if it is, I want to know who coined the term “Global Warming”.

I would like to have a stern word.

Water drop

I thought I’d try my hand at a little macro photography and decided to have a go at capturing water drops. An initially frustrating but ultimately rewarding afternoon followed.

The recipe which worked for me was using a Canon 5D MkII DSLR with 100mm macro lens attached, set at ISO 100, f/13 and 1/200s. Illumination was a Speedlite 580EX flash set on 1/4 power and bounced off a reflector behind the dish of water. Water drops came from a plastic bag filled with water in which I’d made a small hole. Camera triggered manually using a cable release.

An invaluable aid was Lightroom 3′s new ‘tethered shooting’ mode, which allows you to see your shots in close to real time on an attached laptop’s full size screen. Much easier to judge whether the focus is off than peering at the back of the camera.

I also created some more colourful shots, covering the white reflector with different coloured plastic A4 sleeves. A selection of the best images I managed to produce can be found here at my Flickr account.

Boarding pass

Went on my first flight with OpenSkies last month. Being based in London, there hadn’t been much occasion to use the service before. But heading out to New York for a Board meeting, I decided to take the time to make a quick detour via Paris.

The service was excellent in every way. Great seats, food and wine and good service on the ground too. Of particular note was the friendliness and professionalism of crew. Overall, superb.

For more information pop over to the OpenSkies website on https://www.flyopenskies.com/splash