bikes and things

Part 3 has been the focus of my weekends and evenings (sorry Emma) for sometime now. Finally the end is drawing near. On the 31st of July I hand in all my PEDR (log sheets) showing 6 and a half years professional experience and a 10,000 word career appraisal / case study.

Looking forward to handing it all in and getting some time off to hang out with Emma and do things that people should do in London in the summer, you know, eat, drink, be merry, swim in the Lido, go to the Aquarium! I might even dust off the mountainbike and go for a ride with my retired friend the real gent.

Anyway, the countdown has begun… Then there’s only the interview to pass in September! Fingers crossed.

After using my Timbuk2 messenger bag for commuting to and from work since I guess 2001 my back has finally decided that this type of bag isn’t such a great idea. The combination of laptop, papers and notebook for work, d-lock as well as camera stuff is pretty heavy and the single strap doesn’t really distribute it very well.

So, I spent a while hunting down a nice rucksack. I bought one from Snow and Rock last week but it really was horrid for cycling. Great for walking or looking like a German tourist but not so hot for the daily commute. So I’ve gone with this one, the Hemlock from Timbuk2. I had to order it from the US and of course pay duty and VAT but so glad I did. It’s huge, waterproof and looks pretty bombproof. Just the job I reckon. Shame there’s no reflective tags like the courier bags but never mind. Been using it for the last few days and I love it. Much easier on my back!

Hopefully this one will last just as long as the last one!

Updated: Actually it’s not properly waterproof as I found out last night. Need to keep a plastic bag inside it for those torrential downpours. The lack of reflective bits is actually really annoying!

Updated 2: Long term use isn’t great. The right hand strap has just gone so sending it back.

I’ve been looking at the new Olympus EP-1 for a few weeks and it seems to have been getting some good press. One day I’d like to own a Leica rangefinder but this looks it’s getting close in terms of quality. Some people have a few concerns in terms of speed of focus and shutter lag but it still looks like a very interesting digital rangefinder type of camera.

Anyway, they’ve got a great little marketing video.

Sometimes there’s nothing cooler than a robot, especially when it’s a 6 storey high one in Tokyo! Few more images on the Flickr blog.

IMG_7132, originally uploaded by hunyaga.

I recently found a little web service that generates, and updates, a ‘most interesting’ set on Flickr. It’s always interesting to see how it’s changed each morning depending on who’s added what as a favourite or commented on them. Quite pleased with the fact that it is populated with a lot of very recent photos, hopefully that means I’m getting better!

Stumbled over this set of images on Flickr earlier. A brilliant idea and all shot with film too. Some of the colours are cracking. The portraits are just great. Must have taken a long time and a lot of confidence to go out and get all these! A summary of the project from the Flickr stream below…

Our project is a true portrait of Britain created by photographing 1,000 people.
We stopped everyone who crossed our path on the streets of London, excluding nobody, asking the same question more than fifteen hundred times.
In a moment where recession is the main subject of every discussion, it was striking to come across such positive attitude.
This is the true face of Britain.

, originally uploaded by Fabulous Muscles.