Paul Hobbs Photography

Steve

2011-10-09T08:09:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to write something about Steve, and why I am so bummed out about it.

I haven't been an Apple user for that long in the grand scheme of things. Had my first iPod in 2003 (a third generation brought back from LA before the UK release. That made me awesome.). In 2007 I had my first Hackintosh after being forced to use a Quad Core MacPro with 30” cinema display at work, only to come home to my POS Dell Inspiron laptop. The install on to te Dell was ropey as hell, but still an order of magnitude more satisfying than XP. I was given an old Mac Mini by my Brother shortly after the Inspiron inevitably fell to bits, and as soon as I was able in 2008 I picked up a MacBook Pro which I am still typing on today.

I have a background in design, I have a degree in Computer Aided Product Design and a Masters in Rapid Product Development. This is where my inevitable hero worship of Steve and Jonathan Ive comes from. Somewhere along the lines I got disillusioned with design and it became a spectators sport for me (I found Photography and Video much more satisfying creatively). Whilst studying design I watched as many Stevenotes and read as many articles as I could about what Apple were doing, as from a process standpoint they were doing EVERYTHING that was being taught in my Masters, and it was a hell of a lot more fun to read about than my course material. So I started watching the Stevenotes quite religiously.

Somewhere along the line my buddy Ben got just as hooked as I did, on Apple announcement days we would go to the pub and ignore the internet so we could watch the Stevenote spoiler free (an email with a direct link from MacRumors usually around 11pm would tell us it was safe to peak). We would be sat beer in hand, hoping steve would drop a ‘Boom’ or an ‘Insanely Great’.

It got me thinking though, and you will have to bear with me on this one. We spend our entire adult lives making decisions. Its what defines the difference between adult hood and childhood. Decisions on what we are going to eat, where to live, how to earn money. There is no spectacle. If I need something, It shows up in the post the day after . Definitely no ‘Boom’.

When was the last time you felt excited about something? (don’t say childbirth, yawn...) Not excited about seeing a new woman or going somewhere new, but a genuine surprise? Something completely out of your control?

I’ve heard many say why are so many people this attached to a Tech CEO? Sure he has achieved an impossible amount, this doesn't explain the emotional attachment so many felt to a guy they had never met. I think its because a Stevenote gives me back that sense of childlike wonder, like a kid on Christmas morning. It isn't a materialistic thing, its an opportunistic thing. I get genuinely excited as Steve is going to enable me to do something I couldn't do before, and Ive got no idea what so ever what its going to be, but but just as a child has faith in Christmas, I knew it was going to incredible.

I will dearly miss the tech Pantomime that is a Stevenote. Steve on stage, just as excited as we are, waiting for the big reveal.

My Veiw!

2010-02-11T16:21:00.000-08:00

This is the view from the studio I'm building on broad quay. How awesome is that! This is about 10 images stitched together in photoshop.

Want to view moderately large?

clicky for big

Want to view obnoxiously huge? In all its 36 megapixel 9200 pixel wide glory? of course you do...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4050/4349405183_7fc827a57e_o.jpg

Watch this space in the next few weeks for fun studio shots:)

www.paulhobbsphotography.com

Fact O' the year...

2009-12-21T15:21:00.000-08:00

Apparently, the first bomb dropped by the allied forces during second world war over Berlin killed the city's only Elephant...

View from my Office

2009-12-21T15:16:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick panorama from my office window, over snowy Bedminster. Four images stitched together, taking a whopping 4 minutes from shooting to stitched final image:)

Diy Bokeh

2009-12-13T13:05:00.000-08:00

Who would have thunk that you could make a card board aperture for the front of your lens and change the shape of your Bokeh?

Random Facts, Part 2

2009-12-13T12:58:00.000-08:00

All Polar Bears are left handed.

A jiffy is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second. Thus the saying, I will be there in a jiffy. I will from now on refer to shutter speed in units of jiffy.

At a glance, the Celsius scale makes more sense than the Fahrenheit scale for temperature measuring. But its creator, Anders Celsius, was an oddball scientist. When he first developed his scale, he made freezing 100 degrees and boiling 0 degrees, or upside down. No one dared point this out to him, so fellow scientists waited until Celsius died to change the scale.

In 1980, Namco released PAC-MAN, the most popular video game (or arcade game) of all time. The original name was going to be PUCK MAN, but executives saw the potential for vandals to scratch out part of the P in the games marquee and labeling.

The planet Saturn has a density lower than water. If there was a bathtub large enough to hold it, Saturn would float.

Since 1313, it is illegal for an MP to enter the House of Commons wearing a full suit of armour.

1/3 of Taiwanese funeral processions include a stripper.

“LEGO is the world’s No. 1 tire manufacturer.” They produce 306 million tiny tires a year

In Dutch vader means father, so star wars is a little predictable.

The IKEA Catalog is the 3rd most printed publication in the world after the Bible and Harry Potter

Semi Airbrushing

2009-12-13T12:43:00.000-08:00

I've always had a bit of a problem with airbrushing, not just because it looks naff, but I hate the impossible body images burned in to the minds of women by excessive photo shoping used in the media.

But... I've found a happy medium... Semi Airbrushing

Semi Airbrushing is the act of removing just enough information to improve a subject, but no so much the skin tone becomes unbelievable. I don't like to go beyond what a normal individuals skin is capable off. So, what you do, is clean up the pores etc, but leave in key texture areas to keep the photo realistic. Like so...

Non Airbrushed

Semi Airbrushed

Neglected Frankie

2009-12-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

Frankie helped me out with my Exhibition six months or so ago, titled 'The Origins of Flow'. When struggling to plug a gap in the show, I was asking for ideas, at which point she revealed she was a ballet dancer. ?. Id known her a year and she never felt the need to mention...

Anyhoo, In my two week long internet blackout, unable to fill my free time with learning new techniques and looking at funny videos of surprised kittens on youtube, I've been re-processing old stock. I was in such a rush with the exhibition, I only focused on THE shot, ignore the rest. Deep in the bowels of my MacBook I discovered some real Gems. Avoiding the original cutesy Julie Andrews colouring, I reprocessed with some muted toning amongst other things. A great improvement, I've thrown in some behind the scenes goodies as well.

In Bruges!

2009-12-13T12:17:00.000-08:00

Bruges thankfully was much nicer than Antwerp. Lots of Beer and Chocolate. We went up the bell tower whilst it was ringing (My iPhone app 'Decibel' confirmed in excess of 105 decibels, ouch...) did lots of history and culture type stuff. But I'm not going to lie to you. Bruges to me was all about the excellent beers, especially Westmale Trappist Double. Its thick like pie, but if you get a chance, its a beautiful beer. Heres a picture of the bell tower, because I had to take a picture of something...

This chappy was the only cat in all of Bruges, and was absolutely huge. Immense. About twice the size he should have been. The only logical solution was that he had ferociously devoured all the other cats, and was therefor the King of Bruges.

Some Random Facts: Part 1

2009-12-13T12:12:00.000-08:00

Certain Chinese and American Alligators can survive the winter by freezing their heads in ice, leaving their nose poking out the top so they can breath

The female Pigeon cannot lay eggs if she is alone. In order for her Ovaries to function, she must be able to see anther Pigeon.

In Alaska, it is legal to shoot Bears. However, waking a sleeping bear for the purpose of taking a photo is prohibited.

In Antwerp!

2009-12-13T11:58:00.000-08:00

Havent posted much in quite a while because of holiday and moving house, heres a breif few shots taken in Antwerp zoo. A mixed bag really, made me realise just how lucky Bristolians are with their amazing zoo. Half the animals were, to be frank, quite mental. Lots of pacing and repetitive activity, all signs of depresion in animals. Which was odd, because half of the zoo was cutting edge, and the other half was quite literaly victorian. Hollie is writing reports to various agencies, so hopefully they will get some moderate hastle.

Here are a couple of shots with some character about them, as usual cant get enough of red pandas...

It was my 5D's lack of performance tracking the beastie in poor light which prompted my recent 7D purchase. Will put a 7D review up as soon as Apple can be bothered to write 7D drivers for Aperture.

The shot bellow was actually taken with a macro lens, at a distance of about 10cm. A very well behaved little chappy.

This last little guy lost his eye in a fight. Hardcore. Don't ask him for cheaper car insurance, he hates that ad. He does however like Hakuna Matata.

Black and white is the new black and white

2009-12-13T11:54:00.000-08:00

Reworked a colour photo with a new black and white preset I've made, looks pretty striking I think.

The Lesser Spotted Paul

2009-12-13T11:49:00.000-08:00

The Lesser spotted Paul. Lit and processed by myself, taken by a fleshy person shaped tripod. Possibly pete or Thandi.

Degu Party!

2009-12-13T11:46:00.000-08:00

Havent done many photoshop montages in a while, which is a shame cos its great fun. Introducing one of my two Degus named Mr Chops, in a rather dapper party hat. Unfortunately, he only has three legs now.

Paul gets Lucky with dark field lighting

2009-10-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

Dark Field Lighting is something I've been tinkering with, but didn't want to show off until I was close enough to the Grolsch ads. It involves lighting a glass subject at such an angle that the front and rear of the glass do not flare up, but the thickest sections at the sides (which refract at a slightly different angle, and involves creating a rim light with an accuracy of 1 degree) does illuminate. This gives you an incredible uniform rim light as well, which really defines the surfaces and contours of the glass.

I am exceptionally chuffed with these pics to say the least :)

P.s, my friend Claire brought these funky Lucky beer bottles all the way back from Australia, even paying excess baggage instead of chucking them... Much Appreciated, will find out what they taste like when they've cooled down again!

He's Alive!!!!

2009-10-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

Saw this little guy get mauled on the shoulder by a dog six months ago, was well gory. Thought he was done for, but he ran off and we couldnt help him. Was exceedingly chuffed today to see him whith a fetching fur/scar thing going on, still alive. The best bit was, all the other squirils thought he was hardcore, and trembled in fear in his mighty wake!

Shot on my little Canon G10, so not up to my normal squirrely goodness. So here is a better one from the 5D:)

Yet more reasons to get out of the studio...

2009-10-27T13:27:00.001-07:00

Its Autumn, so why not get out there and get some head shots in the beautiful foliage? Im just sayin...

Mmmm, Kitties!

2009-10-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

Was asked by a friend to take some snaps of their kittens. I cant get enough of these little guys, they are young enough to still be terrified of everything, which made life a little awkward, but they were ok with the flash.

Renthal RIng

2009-10-19T14:50:00.000-07:00

Been rather busy of late, but heres a cheeky bike porn macro for you...

What a gift!

2009-10-13T13:26:00.000-07:00

I get so many commissions where I'm fighting the space, or fighting the lighting, there is always a sinister little element trying to make my photos crap. Obviously I gallantly battle on and to this date, I've never been beaten by, lets call him Hue. Hue can be the manifestation of everything that goes wrong in photography, named after a particularly awful Jessops store manager. Anyhoo, Hue didn't rear his ugly head at all today, and what a gift! I had this golden low sun breaking through a dense fox, acting as a giant diffuser. So Pretty, I think I was owed this one. I hate it when Hue shows up...

Having a bike nicked really sucks

2009-10-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

Yep, yes it really does. Nothing other than death and divorce is worse than having a bike stolen. Id honestly rather get punched in the face, really really hard. If your like me and you put the hours in fetling, perfecting, tailoring a bike to your needs (you probably have several bikes to meet your needs:) then the loss is frankly sickening. Thats why if you live in Bristol, and you love bikes, you should favourite this blog and keep an eye out...

http://www.stolenbristolbikes.com/

here are my two babies past, one was stolen, the other stripped. The photos were taken before I got 'the skills that pay the bills', so forgive their crappyness :)

Me in 97, I was 15! My Marin Pine Mountain was a steel hard tale with Manitou Mach 5 SX forks and full XT groupset. She was stripped down to the frame and wheels, and eventually came back as the first iteration of 'road bitch'

This was my Gemini, stolen from my place of work. A Canondale Gemini 900, Manitou Sherman forks, sucky hays 9's, buy wow she carried speed like a rolling stone down a hill. It was Bittersweet, gutting that was she was taken, but as I bought her second hand I made a pile off of the insurance claim and bought my first Santacruz :)

Nom nom nom nom

2009-10-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

One exceedingly well lit burger. An afternoon well spent.

Gadgets with faces!!!

2009-10-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

I've always loved wildlife photography, especially wildlife photography that you can anthropomorphise. Aww, that racoon thinks he's people.... Every now and then I will get a product photography gig which has the same effect, and none better than this! Ill leave you to imagine what the product is, but how much does it look like Birdo from mario cart?

Aliens version:

And some exceptionally cute form of mechanical livestock:

Studios, Gahh...

2009-10-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

Studios have got to be seeing the end of their hustle. Sure, get a free shoot, and then we can charge you £800 for £60 worth of framing, and if you don't pay we will scrape off the layers of makeup we liberally slapped on your face. Secondly, why would anyone want a white background when there is infinite awesome locations around Bristol?

Mmmmm, Cake

2009-10-11T09:33:00.000-07:00

After an Exhaustive scientific testing procedure, I've decided the finest cakes in Bristol are in the Boston tea party on park street. Get the party cake, its awesome, and they give money to charity for every cupcake :)

M is for macro

2009-10-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

Finally when and stumped up for a dedicated macro lens, and fought the Canon "L" lust and bought a Sigma EX instead, saving a cool £700. Its a really nice piece of glass, and I'm looking forward to finding lots of weird applications for it. No bumble bees on flowers for me, I've always thought those shots were a bit of a cop out to be honest. If your taking a beautiful colourful subject, placing it on a beautiful coloured background, you haven't really created anything you?

Oh, and here's and Emo eye portrait taken on my lil' G10

Otters

2009-10-05T05:53:00.001-07:00

Otters are one of the few tool bearing animals, and are related to those super cunning weasels. They use rocks to smash open shelfish, and may or may not have an NVQ in woodwork. Otters have been around for 30 million years, long enough to learn to fly and forget how to before humans noticed. Their hands are like mittens, super thick from handeling sharp rocks and splintered wood, not so hot when it comes to handling food. A bit clumsy really. They still manage to palm down a third of their body weight every day.

Santa Cruz rocks

2009-10-05T05:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my sinister past as a product design monkey, I've always been drawn to Art Deco design, it pretty much dominated the styles of most of my work at Uni. I loved Raymond Loewy's work, especially the Grey Hound bus.

I've always felt Santa Cruz bikes had a very air stream feel to them too, very Art Deco. Bellow is a product shot I've taken of my beloved Santa Cruz Nomad, I think one of the best modern examples of Art Deco design. The Hydroformed top tube swoops in a very organic, aerodynamic way, pointlessly extravagant for its purpose. It polarises opinion though, one reviewer described it as a "Sh**ing Dog" (bloody heathen).

Santa Cruz have never (that I know of) talked openly about their design philosophies, but then I came across this shot of their tour bus, how cool is that! A beautiful slab of americana, kinda sums up their design in my opinion.