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(Last updated 2003 July)
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A simple close up of some cut flowers on a cafe table. Love the bright
yellow and the soft shadows.
Didn't plan it or anything. Snapped it at a cafe. Now this is why I always have my camera with me. I took three pictures. The other two were taken when the sun was shining strongly. I prefer this one, with diffuse but directional light, taken when the sun was behind the clouds. Water drops were originally there. I didn't add them. |
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Time Machine - The Forgotten Magical Device
(Updated 1997 Oct 31)
An article that I wrote for my office newsletter. About why I take photographs and why everyone should too.
Time Machine - Choosing Your First SLR
(Updated 1998 Jun 14)
More stuff for the office newsletter. I've been wanting to write this from the start but was wary because this is an emotive topic and people have strong feelings about their particular brand of choice.
I finally got round to writing this after I overheard a colleague of mine ask for advice. Of course, I said FM2 but she didn't seem convinced. So in true INTJ style, I wrote this to sort of present my thoughts more clearly and completely. Not just about the FM2 but also about the importance of trying before buying, of knowing your own shooting style.
Time Machine - Digital Cameras and the End of the 35mm SLR
(Updated 1999 Jul 27)
More stuff for the office newsletter. I didn't expect to switch over to digital cameras so quickly, but when the Sony FD-91 came out in December 1998, I fell in love. After that I couldn't in good conscience recommend any 35mm SLR when anyone asked me for advice. So I wrote this.
(Updated 1997 Nov 3)
Some stuff that I wrote to the Nikon Digest (>>> To External Site) mailing list.
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This is why I like to take photographs, and photographs of people
and children in particular. People automatically make a photo come alive.
I saw this kid outside the Burger King along Orchard Road, chasing pigeons with her younger sister, feeding them fries. She was happily running around for a few minutes until she started throwing fries to pigeons that were on top of the big umbrellas over the Burger King outdoor tables. That was when her mother ran up and pulled her away. Kindly scanned in from the negative, by my colleague. The print from the minilab was yellower and chopped off the pigeon's feet. |
A big part of my self identity is being an SF person. Even though I don't read that much SF nowadays, more non fiction. Anyway I am in the middle of writing two SF novels. But I have been since the late 1980's. Sigh.
The Poet Hiccups - a Review of William Gibson's Idoru
(Updated 1997 Oct 31)
A book review that I wrote for a science fiction newsletter. I'm a big Gibson fan, but he really bombed with this one.
Toying Around - The Reality Behind Disney's Toy Story
(Updated 1997 Nov 4)
Here, I assume that the premise of Disney's Toy Story movie is real and try to imagine some of the hidden workings of the world.
I have weird ideas regarding SF and am of the opinion that Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Toy Story are "real" SF because they create an alternate world and explore the world's characteristics and constraints. They don't just transfer existing human social structures into the world, but modify them to suit the world. Unlike much movie SF which is just Monster in Space or something.
Speculations on the "Eraser" rail-gun rifle
(Updated 1997 Nov 4)
I try to analyse the super weapon in Schwarzenegger's Eraser movie and deduce its operational characteristics. Really.
Coral Sea in Space: the failure of the aircraft carrier model in space warfare
(Updated 1998 Apr 18)
I've been doing research on space warfare for the SF novel I've been working on and dreamt up this essay. It is difficult to find information on space warfare tactics. Most of the literature is concerned with Star Wars (the American Strategic Defence Initiative) - ballistic missile defence, satellite killers, orbital stuff. No one seriously considers inter-planetary warfare yet. So I started reading World War II naval books, trying to find equivalents between that and space warfare. Got quite interested in battleships, more so than the aircraft carriers. I think you can tell from the article that I do miss these monsters and mourn their passing.
Godzilla: US Army Secret Weapon
(Updated 1999 Jul 27)
I take the Columbia Pictures Godzilla movie seriously, probing into Gozilla's actual origins as revealed by the movie. You'll be surprised at how convincing I can be
(Updated 2003 July)
Loved Terminator 3. Loved it. They integrated it so well with the first two movies, the characters, even technical bits about the Terminator. I couldn't help thinking about how the different designs were linked and wrote this in the style of a military technical history.
(updated 2002 May)
My deep, dark, secret - I write bad, depressing poetry. Started in college, then years later an old college friend wanted to start a small creative writing newsletter (nothing major, just put it up on the web for people to find), like the way we fooled around with the hall of residence newsletter in college.
So I started writing again for a while - having a venue to display your words is good motivation. But things didn't work out in the end so I'm now out of the whole venture.
Or why there are so few graphics on this page.
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