This morning, whilst reading the paper, I came across a story about Helen Mirren winning some award for a ply she starred in. I can’t remember the details but I suddenly got the urge to create a digital painting portrait of the Dame. I also decided to experiment with a different painting approach. So far it looks really promising.
Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk
Yesterday is another world. Yesterday I couldn’t see the point of all this historical research…what was the pint? Well today I’ve spent the day…well doing historical research.
The problem I’m trying to find a solution for is where a salt road runs from when it leaves Burton Lazars. I have a salt place name for it leaving to the east which then leads to Leicester Ford, which suggests a road to Leicester cross the River Eye and then nothing. As the crow flies it is only 25 Km to the pre historic salt producing areas of Lincolnshire. However trying to find evidence for a salt route through this area is proving a nightmare.
At the moment my best bet is that the route passed through Corby Glen for a number of reasons, none of which are more than hunches. So I’m slowly building up a map of the known Roman and pre historic activity in the area to see what, if any clues they might give me. It is long and a labourious but does allow me to really start to understand how things might have worked.
Now I’ve been working on this on and off since around 6:00hrs this morning, it is now 23:40 and I think I’ve done enough for one day. Still will give me lots to think about and hopefully not dream about. Fat chance of that!
Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk
Two days into my reopening of the historical research project and I’m starting to wonder “… what am I doing here?…” It isn’t as if the project has suddenly got boring, well for me at least, I guess it is because I haven’t got the motivation to really do it justice. Also I love creating images and this is hours upon hours of checking and rechecking facts, which you have to do if you want to produce a serious research paper, but I really am not sure I want to.
So will I continue my research or will I scale things back? I haven’t got a clue, another recurring theme throughout this blog – perhaps I should rename it that?? Anyway, as a means to cheer me up and release some of the frustration I made these images on my iPhone from photographs I captured over the past few weeks. It pleased me – I hope it pleases you.
Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk
Another day another set of images for the Deep Time project. I’m still not sure whether I know where this project is going yet but when I find out I may let you know. These images were captured at Buddon Woods and again we are looking at Pre Cambian geology.
Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk
With apologies to JK Rolling but I think I’ve discovered the real whomping willow at Kedleston Hall. Perhaps Kedleston Hall is the true Hogwarts! I must admit there were some strange looking people there today, not least of course being me and yes I cannot lie I am Haggrid, perhaps they were elderly wizards and witches but then if I’m Hagrid I would have known that. I think I’ve taken this as far as I could.
This second set were taken with the G1x and the more I use this camera the better it gets. However, as I recently discovered, I really am the worlds worst person to say how a camera works because I only use a small set of functions they have to offer. So if you want to know how the Canon G1x works when the file format is RAW, using aperture priority, on single shot and sometime using Macro settings then I’m your man. Otherwise I haven’t got a clue as I never use any other facilities.
Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk
Just had a great time with my good friend David Manley at Kedleston Hall, just outside Derby. Many things were discussed but at the end I think we both agreed that whilst we felt a whole lot better by discussing them we didn’t change the world one little bit. However, life is far too short to worry about such things.
Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk
| I’ve just skipped through this review of popular smartphone cameras and I have to ask what is the point? Treating a smartphone camera as anything other than a stepping stone to getting images into a photo app before the real fun can begin is only going end in failure. I know all these phone manufactures like to pretend they make really great cameras but they don’t and trying to pretend that they do is missing the point. For me a smartphone image is about creative exploration rather than absolute image quality.
Anyway, I feel better for that…not sure it will make the slightest bit of a difference! Simon Marchini |
| As I get older I realise that, from time to time, I wake up at 5am and just can’t get back to sleep. You turn and turn and just try to go back off but some how sleep has left the building.
So what to do? Perhaps you could just lie there and pretend to be asleep or perhaps you give up to the invertible, get up and do something constructive. But what to do without waking the rest of the house? Well for me it’s sitting down with a pencil and sketch book and make a drawing. Simon Marchini |
Well it has been coming, I’ve felt a dull acre in my bones – some far way light I just have to move towards. After a 6 months break I’ve started my historical research again.. For those of you who are not aware I researching the routes of pre historic salt ways (in England that is usually seen as pre 43 AD or CE)
I’m currently looking at a small village in the north east of Leicestershire called Saltby. The reason for my interest is the name which would indicate that there was some sort of connection with Salt but that is unknown. The village has a mineral spring which some have taken to be the source of the Salt element in the name. However, when you examine this you very quickly realise that whilst the spring has a ‘salt’ element it has nothing to do with Sodium Chloride so this is unlikely to be the source of the name.
Instead I believe it sits on an undiscovered salt route from the Lincolnshire fens and I have been trying to prove this. To do this I’ve been trying to rebuild the prehistoric landscape by looking at geographical and topological features, examing the archaeological record and then plotting them on a map.
I also look at the available air photography, which we are now blessed with a unrivalled supply. This image is from Bing because it really shows the crop marks up that run village towards the village of Wyville. The archaeological records mention these features but doesn’t really give any explanation as to what they are. However, from examining the information I suspect that this are drove tracks for animals to be taken off of the heath, which being on top of porous rocks is very dry.
Once you’ve done all this you then have to look at the bigger picture and then try to work out how this fits into the hypothesis you are working on at the moment. It takes time and, in truth, you’ll never have the full answer because we talking about over 2000 years ago and no matter how much you think you know you know very little. However, it can be really absorbing and hours just seem to disappear.
| Just as I’ve really got stuck into the KitCam app for my iPhone along comes another great freeby, for a short time I believe, FX PhotoStudio. Now I’ve no idea how good/bad this is compared to other image manipulation apps available but I must say it looks interesting. We’ll have to see how I make more interesting images with my iPhone. I will still use KitCam but then scrub the results through FX PhotoStudio. Well that’s the plan but who knows what will really happen.
Whilst I’m on about great new free apps for the iPhone/iPad world I must mention the new Yahoo mail app. Again, this is not some form of balanced assessment of the app but just to say I find a whole lot better than the rather staid and difficult to use iPad standard email client. The killer feature for me is that I’m now able to upload multiple attachments with my email. Now I’ve not found a way to do this with the iPad default email client which, if it actually does this, means that it is so difficult to achieve that I’ve not found it. I have no idea whether this works if you don’t have a Yahoo email account but I find it a whole lot better than the iPad standard app. Simon Marchini |
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