Monday 22 October 2007

Introibo ad Altare Dei

Today was an overcast day. It threatened to clear up a couple of times, and then started drizzling again. As my old lecturer said: we have intelligent rain in Scotland.

After lunch at the Cala hotel (superb carvery for Gael-size appetites, even the starter was all the sushi, prawn cocktail and smoked salmon a hungry highlander could fill his plate with) I went off to fulfil my commission from FJ "Boats in the harbour. Fishermen working, stuff like that." Map link.

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Earlier that day I had been catching up with podcasts on my new iPod arrangement, and caught up with some more of Michael Kickingbear's "Indigenous Peoples' Music" show (link). I shouldn't have been surprised then to see the crew of the Banff-boat, Ulysses, grinning and waving, looking like they'd just stepped out of a Kickingbear production!

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Because of the inclement nature of the day, I decided to keep using RAW, and then used PixMantic RawShooter (free from Download.com, but just noticed they have been bought out by Adobe). After fiddling with controls, I seemed to hit on a system that worked for most shots (I think). Use White Balance pipette on an area of white in photo. Set exposure compensation to -0.5, Shadow Contrast +50, Highlight contrast -50 (or vice versa). Saturation 50. If that didn't work, try something else.

Considering the day was fluich, fuar, dreich and dismal, the balance isn't all that bad. Not good, as I need to work on it, but not bad. Oh, don't even think about correcting the pronunciation of a spoken language or two - I don't care. ' '

4 comments:

Fiona-Jane Brown said...

The Gaelic was fine, Aktoman! These fishers seem to have either seen Trawlermen or Deadliest Catch! Very good, I like! Client brief fulfilled well I think! I also think this lot are nae native Banffies!!!

Fiona-Jane Brown said...

Me again.
I will go to the Altar of God - from the Mass, but also a Joycean device as used in Ulysses. How long did you think it would take an english Lit graduate to get that reference?? I alternately loved and hated that book. Bloggers who dinna ken fit am on aboot can go here

Read at your peril!

AktoMan said...

Huh, what? Why would people working in a fishing boat have had to watch tv progs about people working on a fishing boat?

AktoMan said...

How long? Copy/paste/google - 3 seconds? What I expect people to wonder about for a few seconds is WHY?