“the concrete world is starting to get ya.”
It’s a week after Rachel bought me a Nikon 105mm macro lens, so I thought I’d post some more shots I’ve taken with it. I’m really impressed with the sharpness and the focal distance. Very impressive!
Almost all of the photos i’ve taken are hand-held, and most are quite sharp, showing the VR really does work. I’ve just bought a Manfrotto 679 monopod, which should make taking macro shots easier. Ebay has a number of these for less than £30.
HOORAY!
I’m very happy to say that the epic Bow Street Runner game we made for Channel 4 has just won a Flashforward award at Flashforward San Francisco 2008 
Thanks to everyone involved!
Edit: This is our second Flashforward award
Rachel’s given me an early birthday present. The incredible Nikon 105mm VR Macro lens! I’ve been after this lens for over a year, as it’s pretty much the best macro lens you can get. I’ve tried using my 50mm and 18-200mm lenses for close-up shots, but they’re no substitute for a dedicated macro lens.
I’ve been using it for a few days now, and I can honestly say it’s absolutely incredible! Not only are the optics excellent and the images incredibly crisp, but it can give a whole new insight into the world around you.
One of the first photos I took was of dew on an unopened orchid bud. When I viewed this later, I saw there were a number of ants underneath the bud. Me and my dad went back to take a few more photos, and saw they were ‘farming’ a number of aphids on the bud:
Later on, walking on the ridgeway, Rachel spotted an absolutely enormous bumblebee:
It was seriously the biggest i’ve ever seen. However, it was dead. And.. it looked a little odd. After taking a shot I zoomed in – to see a number of white mites sticking out of its fur. Eww.
Lichen were next. Through a macro lens they portay quite an alien landscape:
In the house, a rusty bar revealed delicate crytalline patterns:
A cauliflower up-close looks rather spikey:
The workmanship on this pocket watch is superb:
…and the minute spattering of dust and grease on my great-uncle’s pocket watch tells its own story:
Check out the rest of my 105mm shots on Flickr!
I heard Be Kind Rewind was a genuinely funny, heart-warming film. It’s not. It’s really really tedious.
Jack Black: you can do better than this. I hope.
3/10
Someone at work said The Cottage was funny. They were lying, perhaps setting up some kind elaborate joke whereby they could laugh at my misfortune. They succeeded. It’s absolute rubbish. There’s a few funny bits, involving a spade and a foot, but that’s about it.
Don’t bother watching it unless you really can’t think of anything better to do, like stapling your face to the wall.
4/10
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kevin Spacey, legally fleecing casinos – these are all good things. 21 had a good start, an OK ending, but halfway through I found myself reading a photography magazine, so it can’t have been too gripping.
A slightly dull 6/10
Although Pixar’s work is excellent, I’m not a huge fan of this style of animated films (I make an exception for some Anime) . However, I am a great fan of robots, be they large, small, retro or, well, anything (although that’s a different story).
In short, WALL-E rocked! Amazing animation, a great storyline, and, well, loads of robots. Which is always a good thing.
The animated short before the feature was also excellent, and did seem to be inspired by the awesome game Portal.
A very happy 9/10
I saw The Dark Knight recently. I was a great fan of the previous film, so I hoped this would be at least as good.
Sadly, I thought it was overhyped rubbish. A shame, as I quite like action flicks like this.
Heath Ledger was OK, but nothing special. I found it very difficult to hear what was going on in the film, and people behind me kept talking, which did nothing to improve my opinion.
I see Charlie Brooker agrees..
A dissapointing 6/10
Sunday evening, we decide to watch Threads. It’s simultaneously the best and the worst film I’ve ever seen. It’s based around global thermonuclear war, from the point of view of survivors in Sheffield.
Chilling, harrowing, yet compulsive. It’ll make you view what’s going on in Georgia in a different light.
Everyone should see this film.
An extremely rare 10/10.
Update: you can watch the whole thing on Google Video
For a while i’ve been thinking of writing a paragraph or two about things i’ve experienced recently, be it films, things i’ve bought, games i’ve played and so on.
First on my list is the 1984 docudramafilm Threads.
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