Oh Snap

Christmas used to be the hub of many expectations as a child. Since I rarely asked for things and was always surprised with whatever I was given (and pretty much always overjoyed). But as I grew older, like most, I became herder to shop for, and as my tastes grew more specific, it led to me being questioned on what I would like, and eventually I found myself asking for specific things. When your tastes and desires become so specific that anything else is likely to disappoint, you present problems for your potential gift buyers. Last Christmas, I only had one thing in mind, and unfortunately, it was far too expensive for me to ask for.

A Digital SLR camera is an expensive piece of kit, even if you settle for an entry level model. And I cannot stand settling for entry level (eg, my car, my phone, my computer). I don't mind old, but I do mind getting the basic model. So I set out trying to find a second hand mid range DSLR camera. Every time I found one on ebay it would sell for more than I was willing to pay, and I'd end up with only hopes but no photography. But after a couple of months of trying, I came across an underrated gem, and just over a week ago I become the owner of a Canon EOS 20D. It cost nearly £300, but that's a fraction of the price new, and you cannot tell it's second hand (apart from a touch of wear on the hot shoe).

I haven't had a camera since I was nine or so, and the closest I got was borrowing my father's old Pentax SLR. And learning to use that got me interested in photography, but I always held out to buy a really nice camera. And now I have. With that in mind, this blog will be far more illustrated than before.

To christen it, Rachel and I traveled to Wales to take some cool photos. Since court was adjourned for a Friday, we drove out to Carmarthen on a Friday morning, and checked into a hostel in the afternoon. We walked all around the local beach and saw the castle, observed a shipwreck, saw horses; and I quickly realised that I hadn't taken a scarf. Which, in Wales, is a mistake.



We ate at the hostel and chatted with the owner, and went to bed early in anticipation of the task of fostering love for my new hobby: I was going to voluntarily get up before sunrise to take photographs. And we woke at 6:00AM, and we drove out to the castle, and it was a good thing we did, because we both took some amazing photographs of the castle being hit by sun.



After tiring ourselves out, but refusing to sleep when we returned, we took a drive to Rhossili, and I aimed to recreate my family holiday at Worm's Head. The weather wasn't as sunny as the morning, but there was enough light to take some wonderful photographs of us both sitting on cliff edges and wobbling as we both were blown about by the wind above huge drops straight into the ocean. It was very scary, although not quite as scary as going into the attic. Worm's Head itself wasn't really accessible as planned, due to high tide lasting longer than we were told. We did have the opportunity to fly my kite on Rhossili beach though, and it hadn't been flown in a while.

We drove to Swansea for dinner, and admired the uniform yellow lamps that illuminated the ridges in the background. Going on dates with Rachel had long eliminated my vegetarianism, and Swansea offered me a mixed grill of tasty meats. While the drive there had been dotted with roaming sheep and cows, with twisty roads and not much traffic, the drive back was very peaceful, and we listened to Death Cab for Cutie. I did teach Rachel to change gear though, which was fun.

The owner of the hostel had a Ford Scorpio, which he was looking to sell. I was very tempted, especially as he was looking to buy a BMW 3-series. We drove home the next day, and made it back to continue watching the new series of Lost. My camera had pretended to be low on batteries, but it was just trying to scare me, it lasted a few hundred more pictures after the warning.

Julia and her new boyfriend Raven came to London for his birthday, and I was lucky enough to score a dinner date with them. Both of them and Rachel and I all went to eat at an Indian restaurant, and I was tempted enough to brave my first Chicken Vindaloo, which wasn't as painful as I was expecting. We all chatted about serious and trivial things, but Julia looked very happy.



It was wonderful to see her again, and something must be arranged before it gets too late again. She's always fun to laugh with and an endless outlet for my mundane and predictable problems.

Nighthawks, the club I set up to alleviate my boredom after work, has dwindled in numbers since the trial, and now mainly happens when nothing else happens, and only happens with three of us. Lisa and Alyssa and I are either playing guitar or swinging glow sticks or watching a film in the evenings, often all falling asleep on someone's tiny bed and being plagued by neck pains and stiff shoulders for days afterwards.

We attempted to go to the Bop last Friday, and with my suit and red tie, and the girls both going all out on costumes, it was due to be a memorable one. However, the organisers felt that tickets were precious, and we arrived too late to get any. We did, however, stand outside and dance all the same, before going back to swing glow sticks and listen to music and collapse.



It was a shame, but we had an excellent evening all the same.



The next day I was invited to celebrate Sarah Booker's birthday in London, and it was wonderful to catch up with old friends, and try out black and white photographs. There's also an all you can eat Chinese Buffet, where we filled ourselves. The sushi wasn't great, but there wasn't any extra charge for it, so that was a plus.

I had arranged a Lost party sleepover, but since most of my regular guests were away or ill, it was just me and the Hawaiians, and we watched 300 and slept on the floor. The point was that sleepovers are something you do when you're 12, and you stop doing them when you're older. And that's a shame, because they're a lot of fun, and as far as I can tell, it was really enjoyed all around.

After driving back to University, Lisa went to write and record her election speech, while Alyssa and I went to do photography homework in Richmond Park. It involved being cold, muddy and slippery, while having a huge amount of fun being angry at inconsistent focus, unreliable ducks and intriguing shapes in wood. It made me wish I did more photography.



Today involved me returning to court, followed by an old Computing Reunion. Natasha, Dan, Helgi, Kelly and Lynsey all appeared and made me wish I was back a couple of years. We had a fun time, and laughed while we made fools of ourselves in the Pub Quiz (our team name was 'The Blue Screens of Death'). We came fourth or fifth overall, not a great result, but it was fun despite that.

I have taken well over a thousand photographs since my camera arrived, and this blog will have more photos than before. I hope people appreciate this new direction. And maybe a long awaited redesign.