Everyone is a photographer now / Diffusion Festival Platform 1

Each week throughout the Diffusion festival, there are informal presentations and discussion events providing a space to explore issues facing photography today. The first of the platform evenings was looking at the idea that ‘Everyone is a photographer now’.

The main focus was around the work and a presentation by photojournalist Matt Dunham, who works for Associated Press. Due to the nature of his work, this question and discussion naturally revolved around photojournalism and news imagery rather than photography in a fine art sense for instance.

Focus Wales

I'm writing this on a train traveling backwards from Wrexham where I've spent the last thirty hours seeing a couple of gigs, providing projections for a couple of bands and catching up with people all due to focus Wales, a new annual international music gathering across the city.
No doubt spurred on by other city festivals like sonar, SXSW and Cardiff's swn , focus Wales provides a showcase for up and coming new music and ideas with a cymgraeg focus but international awareness.

Dr sketchy's miss out of the world beauty pageant.

After going up to the north Wales and Chester's Dr Sketchy's Cream Tease last year, I was very excited to be asked back up for their fist ever miss out of this world beauty pageant life drawing event. Inn the weeks running up to the evening, the Facebook page was awash with anticipation and ideas for outfits - as this sketchy would coincide with madame ex's birthday, so an after hours space disco was planned with a pretty much compulsory fancy dress code. So after the three hour train to Chester, I made it just in time to Don a lick of silver face paint and take my seat amongst my fellow intergalactic sketchers.

Alan Dix - Walking Wales

Alan Dix is an author, professor, and it seems, a keen walker. His primary interest at large is how people interact with computers at large. Initially, his research has been around the physical input methods and user interfaces of the devices we use and the ways in which we engage and work with others through them. He is increasingly interested in how people might need to use technology in remote and isolated environments.

Tools of the Trade

Web publishing tools for 'creatives'

First of all, let me define the term a 'creative' in the context of this post. In different circles a creative person can be quite a different beast to the other.  I'm mainly referring to those who would like an online space to show their work but who might not have the tools or inclination to write a website by hand. In a fairly loose way - painters, photographers, sculptors, illustrators and fine artists. Indeed, anyone that feels they need a portfolio website but doesn't want to build one from scratch.

2012

It's January 2013 and today is my 35th birthday. There's nothing inherently peculiar about that - a year has ended and another begun. It's that mid-point through the first month of a new year and the Idea of a new date is settling as it does every year: cheques have been signed with an incremental change (yes I still write the occasional cheque) and future dates noted in calendars. The thing that makes it feel extra strange this year is that for the past 15 years or so, my sense of the future stopped at 2012. I had set up my mental vision of the world to end at the solstice to send this civilisation into disarray and uncharted territory.

Twitter in wordpress Woes

Just a quick note to anyone experiencing twitter feed difficulties in Wordpress - specifically 'twitter for Wordpress' or old jquery.twitter plugins.

It seems as though a twitter api agreement has changed (probably set in motion a while back, but only the last few days has made the switch)

Thrifty times

It was an early start to the day with a rude awakening from one of the other house guests, Maya the bengal cat. She and mariska are staying with my parents for a few weeks while a friend moves house from Porthcawl back to her home country. They are magnificent beasts, with very individual temperaments and very cute and chatty.

Carying

Richmond in heat

After arriving in virginia late Saturday and a lazy Sunday, aside from a spot of gardening in the morning, today was labour day in the U S of A. Commemorating the signing of labour laws, but now a good excuse for a Monday off work and traditionally a big BBQ day.
My parents aren't really the outside grill sort unfortunately, but we did pay a visit to the virginia museum of fine art. I always enjoy dropping in - it's housed in a fantastic building in the heart of what's known as the historic district of town, full of colonial style houses, adorned with ornate iron work on each veranda.