Measuring light

It's Friday so after last weeks post and a meal out we are going back a little to the origins of this blog.

The start point of this blog was Photography to which other things got folded in over time but one thing that is really useful is a seperate light meter because ever since the early 1980's intergated metering in the camera has moved on from traditional centre weighted systems to more advanced multi-zone matrix metering, spot  metering systems systems the thing that gets overlooked in camera PR material is they're all set to assume what is reading represents a  18 % mid grey and often what it sees is lighter or darker than that.

What that means is that if you were to rely on your own cameras metering it's likely to produce a picture that's too dark or too light and while print films are more tolerant of errors, slide film can only tolerate at best about a half an f stop and the sort errors we can get can be 2 f stops  and that's fatal.

By using a basic seperate light meter, set to match the film speed setting you take a reading of what light is falling on your subject or place say a 10 x 8 gray card (Kodak made a lot of them) in front of it and after turning the dial set a matched shutter speed and aperature on your camera knowing that will be right.

This Russian one uses a selenium cell so needs no batteries (Yay!)  and fits in a pocket where  it'll get you out of a hole.

She's super bad now...

At one level as far as UK music fans are concerned the Jackson Five dissapeared in late 1972 with the Lookin' Through The Windows albums and reappeared in mid 1976 in reformed The Jackson form with Show You The Way To Go.

On the other this has lead to an underappreciation of just how good they were in their last Motown days as put simply few gave them a chance as as they ditched "The Corporation" the group of Motown songwriters and arrangers, they were up with the best Funkster of the day.

Thus when this was issued in 1977 sales were low and the UK edition dropped the odd track to make what had been concieved as a three lp set to a double which basically means you need the American edition.

Unfortunately my copy got damaged in the post looking like a heavy pointed intem pressed into and broke a portion of the first disc so we'll waiting on a replacement copy but as I only have cd's of the studio albums this would of been a great vinyl option removing some of the filler of the first four albums leaving us with the hits and greatest musical achievements.

Publishing

In a week where the image loading tool here seem to be broken - too much needless tinkering for mobile users who tend not make old school blogs it must be said  - you might be forgiven for thinking using paper and cutting out images to stick on to with those opaque squeezy glue containers might be a better idea.

You know, how we used to do our scrap books with all our cuttings ready and a stack of marker pens for adding the text.

I did have a great time away and thankfully those pictures did take on the other blog although the welcoming did feature "boys and girls" which was appreciated without drawning too much attention to just why.

Travel on proper touring coach with air conditioning and comfy seats really does help even if I tend to go stiff after an hour or so especially having had issues with my knees recently.

550 posts and a March

It's been rather a damp week getting a bit soaked Wednesday after removing some excess water from around the drain which came with Sunday and Monday's massive downpour, not that it compares with what we've seen in Tibet and Nepal was and is tragic.

Then and somewhat unexpectedly an anniversary crept up and that some five hundred and fifty posts ago, this blog started entirely from scratch althose the base of was and still retains a photographic element because me photographs are a link to the past.

The most unassuming picture of a street that might today produce a meh response in time carries forward a record of what it was like at the time such as changes in shop fronts, alterations to houses, road layouts and so on. Even street furniture such as bins do change.

This blog tends to look at pasts and the present day as sadly some of things we are going through such as world political tensions, discrimination against groups be they connected to religion, gender and the like for me at least have some parallels with how things were with baseless tales against whole groups spread just as much in the playground in those post "Rivers of blood" days as much as we heard the grown ups around us doing the same.

People are individuals no matter what groups, heritages and so on we have and are not personally responsible for what others who may share any with us and we all should be prepared to call out wrong doing that's to make it plain what's not acceptable.

We personally aren't to blame for what others do.

This is also a week most children either start or return school with all the concerns that can bring, a change of routine, new teachers and pupils, perhaps making your own way into town.

Around here free school buses have been removed rather later in the day - after parents set out their school preferences! - so many of hours face having to walk just under three miles each way along very busy and poorly lit roads in all weathers unless parents can take them by car.

Rather late in the day a bus company has offered to put a bus on with a charge of some £22.50 per child per week or £800 per child per school year which I know a good number simply cannot afford .

It's not as if you have many options: all high schools are within three to five miles away as in the sixties and seventies education authorities rather than building smaller secondary schools serving clear areas went for larger numbers (over 1,200 "numbers on roll") , and big class sizes instead.

Then regular buses are very limited on the estate requiring a walk of a mile to pick one up.

We all know of instances where children are taken any where by car where they could walk themselves - the average Primary aged child could walk a half mile or less - but is bundled in the car which just adds to congestion but there are limits.

Threats and panics

Thundery shower ridden week with a few losses in the world of entertainment such as the great country singer Dolly Parton and actor  Tim Curry who gave us Frank 'N' Furter from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

There has been more serious in differing ways news concerning our national security following Monday's vist to Kiev by our Prime Minister Andy Burnham who in conjuction with President Macron of France the blue print for long range missles was agreed that rather got the ire of President Putin of Russia who saw it and our involvement in long range drone supplies as unwarrented interference in its conflict with Ukraine.

They've threatened unattributable damage to drone making plants, manufacturing capabilities and infrastructure via third paries so the finger prints aren't Russian but clearly carried out to order for them

Thus we see headlines like these which will mean discussion in government of the risks and what measures can be taken to mitigate such actions but don't believe the stuff you may see on social media about imminent attack and stocking up with food in case of war - you'll be given plenty of time IF that's likely.

Catching up

A thankfully damp cool week after the crazy weather even if I haven't been too good across the week.

Living in a more internet connected world is a double edge sword when I'm like that because screen as especially scrolling can make the symptoms worse and yet people are likely to enquire or otherwise note your absence and social media today is less threads just incredabily long streams that require much scrolling to find what you need.

Fortunately the Chromebook just boots up with little more than the odd update is available indicated but you can leave that to later on.

A number of things are due whuch we'll mention such as a vinyl copy of No Jacket Required his 1985 solo lp with a clutch of major singles such as Sussudio and One More Night which originally I had on tape and next week the latest seventies tastic Now Yearbook 1971 which we only have one year based compilation and that's on compact disc only.

Then there's Now Yearbook Vault 1986 in September looking at American hits and lesser UK hits as oddly enough it was some of them I really enjoyed in the age where I taped singles that weren't on the UK Now and Hits albums and I listened to things like the US Chart Show in the afternoon on Radio One which influenced some of those choices as we don't hear everything that's out regardless of merit.

Roadtesting the camera

Week was as forecast really rather hot when I had to get some shopping done having decided it needed be first thing and as it was by early afternoon temperatures had gone to some thirty three degrees celcius (bring back Centigrade!).

Recently I had been testing the Sony DCS-RX 100 compact camera more of which is on the other blog because there are occassions when you don't want something the size of a Dslr and at least on extra lens with you but you do want some creative input into your photography while out.

The general drift with compact camera that after a slump in the last ten years due to people using smartphones more as cameras had been to ever extend the range of the zoom lenses included and add lots of program modes that might take things how it thinks a sports or landscape picture should be.

This camera while having program modes does have settings you can set to take pictures how you want to and given we're talking digital rather than film, you can see how it turned out immediately.

This is The Cobbles in Sandbach, Cheshire, at the old hub of the town which much is from the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century with the celebrated Saxon Crosses thankfully restored from the actions of Puritan extremists who smashed them to pieces can be seen on the right hand side.

It aquited itself well with the Zeiss lens quality being quite apparent.