Flickr have just introduced an impressive new feature which allows you to tag your photos to the location you took them on an interactive world map – pretty cool if you ask me, now if only I had the time to tag all my 500+ photos! Good review of the new geotagging feature here. Update (30/8): Apparently over 1.2 million photos were geotagged in the first 24 hours since its launch!
The visual effects in Photo Booth may be a bit gimmicky but i think they’re kinda cool!
We got our first proper day of nice weather in London today so with nothing much else going on I decided to take the D70s for a stroll around the Docklands area where I live. Whilst the docks remain the industries behind them are long gone, mostly replaced by expensive apartments. However, there are still a few lingering relics remaining like these huge lifting cranes and it’s quite an interesting place to wander around. Unfortunately among these rotting hulks you could also included the impressive multi-million pound Millennium Dome which has sat empty since the end of 2000 – hopefully with the further regeneration of this area for the 2012 Olympics it will get a new life!
This year there were some fairly substantial celebrations organised for Chinese New Year in London so today I headed of to Trafalgar Square to join a good few thousand people to enjoy traditional dragon dances and the “best of Chinese arts and entertainments“. I’m not sure if the latter statement was necessarily true but it was pretty good all the same! The heart of China Town itself was teeming with various activity, firecrackers, tempting smells and of course the beautiful overhead lanterns. I wish I had stayed to see these at night, I’m sure they are even more beautiful. Read more about China in London 2006. Happy Year of the Dog!
So another week passes and a new one is just beginning, at least it’s not Monday yet! In an act that must almost equate to masochism we got the bikes out first thing this morning and went for a cycle ride down in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace. Even though it was on the freezing side of cold it turned out to actually be pretty nice. There was plenty to see along the route and I took my camera to capture some of it! Of note were the deer which roam the grounds of the palace making menacing noises at visitors and each other Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Rome was a bit of a mixed bag of things – the ancient Roman architecture was grand and amazing but the city itself was a bit of a mess (i.e. dirt & graffiti everywhere) even though it contains some of the most expensive designer shops in the world. As always the best photos are saved for Photo.Wire. Trevi Fountain The Colosseum St Peter’s Notes on Rome: Rome Termini railway station crawls with unsavory characters (both old and young) looking to take advantage of unsuspecting tourists – take care of anything you might be carrying and empty your pockets before arrival (or someone might empty them for you!). If you visit the Vatican Museum students get in half-price just don’t forget ID. The Colosseum also…
I got some of my best photos in Venice (which you can see on Photo.Wire) – unfortunately this was partially restricted due to the hoards of tourists who were around every corner. Of course some of the best places are to be found when you’re lost and in Venice you’re likely to do this a lot! Santa Maria della Salute Piazza San Marco Canal Grande Burano Notes on Venice: During the summer its busy, very busy, so be warned if you don’t like that – of course there is plenty to see away from the main attractions. Take a map or buy one when you get there, you’ll need it! Get a 24 hour pass for the vaporetto (water bus) and you’ll save yourself…
Here’s the first batch of photos from my holiday. These are the more ‘touristy‘ type ones – I’ll be posting the more ‘arty‘ ones on Photo.Wire, my photoblog, so be sure to take a look at these also! Eiffel Tower Sacre Coeur Hotel Des Invalides Notes on Paris: I’ve been up the Eiffel Tower during the daytime but at night it’s even better, go right to the top and enjoy the spectacular views! Owing to a French idiosyncrasy the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays so plan accordingly. Walking around Paris is undoubtedly the best way to see it but when you want to get somewhere far-away fast use the Metro. For a taste of real French food which won’t break the bank and a…
Someone pointed out this news article to me earlier today and I just had to pass comment on it. Now that the fuss has almost died down around school “inclusion” and the idiotic idea that children should no longer be allowed to participate in competitions where there were winners and losers some idiot has now pronounced than no-one should ‘fail’. Instead they should be given the grade of “deferred success”!! If it wasn’t for that fact that someone actually believes this then it would be hilarious but unfortunately this is not the case. Luckily the UK education secretary has rejected the idea outright. Today I’ve been working on a new photo-blog website as an extension to this one. Basically I want somewhere better to…
I was testing out a new camera today and had a play around with the fast ‘sport’ mode to capture my brother having a kick about with a football! I was quite pleased with how the camera performed (more on this another day) even though lighting wasn’t ideal. So here for your edification is Russell (a pseudonym!): Check out the mid-air action!