Hello everyone,

I hope things are ticking over nicely for you all.

First off, thanks to those who've added me to their and/or 'd my work; as always, it's very appreciated.

You may or may not have noticed, dear reader, that I've pretty much been absent from DA for a good couple of months. There have been a variety of reasons for this. I've been upgrading my computer, so it's now a pretty high spec machine; I've been thoroughly enjoying the phenomenom that is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2; I haven't picked up a camera for ages for a number of reasons (though that just recently changed); and last, but by no means least, I decided it was time for a break from DA.

I came back just under a week ago to 1200+ deviations and 500+ messages waiting for me, so I've slowly worked my way through that all. Having had this time away from here I've realised just how much time of a drain on your time this site can be. I'm still going to use the site, and I immensely enjoy sharing my photography and viewing the artwork of others, but I've decided to stop doing one or two things that take up a lot of my time on here. Principal amongst those things is visiting the pages of those who my work to thank them. I've always, always tried to make a point of doing this, but it is very time consuming indeed, particularly if you're lucky enough to have a piece of artwork that a good number of people like. So, with this is mind, from now I'm just going to me thanking everyone in advance via the image comments section. That might annoy some people, but it's my choice to make.

At some point in the future, I may also start selling prints through my site, and if I do this, most of my prints here will be coming down. The print quality from DA is great, but they take far too big a cut, leaving the artist with way too little in the way of profit. The model might work well for the popular artists who are real money spinners for this site, but for those of us who don't sell masses of prints, it's a pretty shitty model, IMO. I guess selling through my site means that more of the money will see my pockets, and I really need it. Calendars will still go up here, and on that note, a big thank you to those of you who have purchased from me recently.

Last, but by no means the least, let me take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy spending time with those that you love, and to anyone out there who may be spending Christmas alone, a special big hug from me to you.

Enjoy the thumbs, and take care of yourselves.

Peace, Love & Happiness,
Michael.



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Hi everyone,

I hope you are all well.

As per usual, a big thank you for the recent 's, comments, and to anyone who has added me to their . My message centre has got a bit full, and I'm a bit behind in replying. I'll try and catch up ASAP.

Been out shooting a fair amount with my Mamiya, recently. I'm really getting into the swing of using the camera, and I'm getting much more confident in using the Sekonic handheld meter I got a while back. I still sometimes use my digital camera's histogram to confirm a reading if I'm unsure and I really want the pic to work, but I'm doing my best to stop that habit. I've produced some work that I'm really quite happy with, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get it up here any time soon, as my scanner just doesn't want to capture the slides in their full contrast range, which is annoying. Ideally, I'm wanting to upgrade both my scanner and printer at the moment, as I'm wanting to sell my images through my website, and perhaps in local resteraunts etc. The print quality from DA is great, but I'm not exactly raking it in from print sales here, and when I do sell something, the highwaymen that run this place take most of the profit.

Ideally, I'm wanting to upgrade my scanner to something like an Epson V750, and to get a pigment ink printer, like a Canon 9500. If anyone knows of any bodies in the UK that can help with equipment costs towards starting a small business, I'd be greatly obliged if you could hit me up with details.

Otherwise, I'm just keeping myself busy. Been flying my kite that I got for my birthday at any given opportunity. There have been some strong winds here over the last few weeks (though this week is remarkably calm... which is no bad thing), so I'm getting loads of practise. I've been truly bitten by the kite flying bug, as though I'm very happy with the 1.2m kite that I have, I'd love to get a bigger one at some point.

My sister also got married in the middle of September. I was on ushering duties alongside my brother, and an immensely good time was had by all. It's actually the first wedding I've ever been to, and even if I do say so myself, it was mervellous; it really set the bar for any future events I attend. I only took one or two photos as I just wanted to enjoy myself, rather than running around taking pictures all the time.

Anyhoo, enough blethering. If anyone can help with the request above, that would be awesome. And although I get tuppence for it, if you've ever fancied buying a print of mine, I wouldn't be offended if you bought one just now...I need all of the money I can get!

Enjoy the thumbs, and take care of yourselves.

Peace, Love & Happiness,
Michael.



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Hell everybody!

I hope this journal entry finds you well.

Many thanks to all of those who've 'd, and/or commented, and who have added me to their .

It was my birthday yesterday. I turned the grand old age of 28. The day was pretty quiet on the whole, but that was of my own choosing, and I had a good time with the people that I spent it with. For a present, I'm getting a Kite. I recently went on an ad-hoc roadtrip down to Cardiff with my sister to help her move, and her soon-to-be husband is a kite flyer, and he let me have ago. It was immensely good fun, so with a birthday looming, I just told everyone who asked what I would like to pool their money to put towards a kite. I'll try and get pics of it up once it's arrived.

On the return from the aforementioned roadtrip, I passed through an area of Scotland that I'd never been before, South Lanarkshire. I knew the countryside would be nice seeing as it's on the West and near(ish) the borders, but I was quite gobsmacked as to how beautiful it really was. If I get the chance, I'd like to visit and explore with the old picturebox. Speaking of photography, I'll try and post new stuff soon.

And just before I go, I'd like to recommend the music of Kona Triangle: [link] It's absolutely gorgeous, and I can't wait for the forthcoming release. Hopefully some of you like it too.

Take care, and enjoy the thumbs.

Peace, Love & Happiness,
Michael.



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Hello there!

Congratualations for making it all of the way down here.

First off, as always, a great many thanks to everyone who's 'd, commented, or added me to the old . It is, as ever, very much appreciated.

Very soon, I might be having a play around with a Nikon D300, a camera that I've had my eye on for quite some while. My sister is getting married around mid-September, and though I'm not the official photographer (yet to venture in to Weddings - a lot of pressure, and I'm scared of messing things up), my sister has asked me to be the 'unoffcial' 'tog., a role I'm more than happy with. My D70 is fine, but it's old, so I'm looking to hire out a camera and lens for the day, plus it'll give me a chance to play with a camera I might purchase at some point.

Image-wise, I've a few idea's for shots, but it's just finding the time, and right conditions, for shooting; hopefully I'll have new work up soon. I'm also thinking of cleaning up my gallery a bit, as it's getting rather full.

Anyway, enough prattling on. Take care of yourselves, and hopefully you've enjoyed the thumbs.

Peace, Love & Happiness,
Michael.



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Hello everyone,

I hope is well with you wherever you happen to be.

Big thanks to everyone who's recently 'd, commented or added me to their . It's all very much appreciated.

As some of you may have noticed, I've had a submission spurt. I've been getting out and about with the lightbox again and it's felt good. Hopefully I can keep the boll rolling when it comes to inspiration/motivation.

Otherwise I've just been keeping busy, seeing friends, watching films, seeking out new music. The Edinburgh International Film Festival starts today and I've got a ticket for the opening night movie. It's called Away We Go, and Sam Mendes and Maggie Gyllenhaal will both be present. Should be a good evening, and I've got over a weeks worth of movies to come, so plenty to look forward to.

On the musical front, I highly recommend checking out Bibio's new album, Ambivalence Avenue when it comes out on the 22nd of June. Also worth checking out are:

Soundpool, who's new album which you can sample at the following link which sounds ace! - [link]

Nurthice, who's tracks Moon Fox and Banana Republic are seriously funky stuff - [link]

That's about it for now. Enjoy the thumbs.

Peace, Love & Happiness,
Michael.



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