tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329494952012-02-16T21:01:57.835ZAndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.comBlogger521100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-17493621014556421222011-08-30T15:23:00.002+01:002011-08-30T15:25:22.678+01:00

I've now arranged for all my Alamy images to be viewable in a Google friendly set of pages, here. I'm hoping for an improvement in the visibility of my Alamy images on Google Images.

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-50207772311176066022011-08-13T12:50:00.003+01:002011-09-02T16:34:04.066+01:00

Another set spilling out from the Swanage weekend. Around Old Harry Rocks (National Trust) there are guided sea kayak tours, great spot to look out on them.

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-16823467761131745002011-08-13T12:10:00.004+01:002011-09-02T16:38:32.809+01:00

A set from the Aviva Grand Prix indoors athletics at the NIA Birmingham came up in my backlog this week. BBC Presenters aplenty since the meet was broadcast live, that's Iwan Thomas roaming the floor. Always interesting to see it from the other side of the camera, here's the starter's gun(s)! It's actually much smaller than you'd think from the TV coverage which makes for great viewing, and

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-67401083664057544642011-08-12T19:23:00.006+01:002011-09-02T16:39:40.560+01:00

This week I processed some stock of Swanage Bay in Dorset. Probably one of the most photographed stretches of coast in the UK, but nevertheless worthwhile. Highlights are Old Harry Rocks, and a the arch and stacks of the Pinnacles, returning to the bay at Swanage itself. The rest of the set's here

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-73095357757811100142011-08-11T10:28:00.006+01:002011-09-03T11:52:18.447+01:00

My latest shoot from my own back yard, after discovering that a hoard of wasps have made a nest in the debris from when I cut in the vegetable patch, is now available for licensing or print ordering. You can see the whole set at my Stock Image Galleries Remember that customers from the UK and Europe get discounted shipping on my prints and canvasses at Fine Art America - Andy Smy, and you can

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-15219367019713882502011-05-31T13:24:00.002+01:002011-05-31T13:32:29.904+01:00

Time passes and the blog sits waiting...I have now started selling limited editions of a number of pieces on UK sites as well as the open editions (above) still selling well through Fine Art America. The first outlet is ArtGallery.co.uk where I have a small number of prints from Japan and Vegas. The second outlet is worldwide but supports Europe and has a sample of the limited editions Etsy

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-38428208423426156452010-11-01T12:40:00.007Z2011-09-03T11:58:36.093+01:00

I spent some time on Saturday working on an illustration of a guitar and was inspired to create some digital art from it, and here's the results, so far: The latter two are combinations of my photos with the illustration. I'm thinking I might do more of these as they are very satisfying for a little creativity. Visit Fine Art America for these images and more guitars art, guitars digital art,

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-687198918915217772010-10-04T14:45:00.022+01:002011-09-03T13:31:52.667+01:00

Softboxes for the win!Good quality food shots take a real attention to detail but the basic set-up is deceptively simple. You need a large soft light source and a smaller soft light source for fill, but otherwise you need complete darkness. The props you typically use in food are glazed - porcelain, china, metals will all reflect the light sources and so you have to control the shape and size of

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-80732490935658824392010-09-17T08:39:00.006+01:002011-09-03T13:33:00.508+01:00

It's been a long while since I posted an update on Alamy, but yesterday there was cause for celebration - I've passed the $1,000 mark for images sold. I'm sure there's many contributors who hit it far more quickly - after all it took me the best part of three years - but nevertheless I feel that it is an achievement given the low production quality of my images.Of course, the image that tipped me

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-37756909384842824662010-08-27T11:55:00.010+01:002011-08-13T12:04:35.130+01:00

Good looking food! Getting rid of fingerprints Half the battle with food photos is getting rid of dust, dirt, drips, condensation or fingerprints. Here the picture of the strawberries was a test shot for a dessert shoot and the lesson learnt was not to hold the spoon handle with your fingers but to hold it with a cloth. More to come... Discount licence If you want to license the images

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-57752857861203240172010-07-28T15:32:00.004+01:002011-09-03T13:34:54.164+01:00

More common than you'd think! Fake British 2004 Scottish one pound £1 coin with Forth Bridge showing poor quality strike Looks OK on the face of it Fake coins often look normal from a quick glance but on closer inspection you often find that the pattern is "soapy" Stamped like on plasticine The kind of flaws you spot are to do with the press that they use. The edges of the coin are often

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-715904480363085932010-07-28T14:55:00.003+01:002011-09-03T13:36:00.145+01:00

Costa Del Sol during the World CupSpanish flag depicting the silhouette of a bullFlags everywhere!The small town of Nerja was awash with flags when we were there during the World Cup. Little did we know that Spain would go on to win!BBQ at the beachOne of the things the Spanish do so well, along with siestas, is beach-front restaurants, and this little gem is down on the Torrecillia beach, one of

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-61734613355530405662010-07-28T14:27:00.003+01:002011-09-03T13:36:29.141+01:00

Weather perfect..Bob Dylan a disaster! Laura Marling entertaining the audience at The Hop Farm Festival 2010, Kent, UK Laura Marling and Ray Davies This summer's highlight was undoubtably the Hop Farm Festival. We spent a chilled out day in the blazing hot sun listening to the cool vibes of Laura Marling and later Ray Davies. The latter was new to me but I was surprised to find I knew a few of

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-29597853495060052352010-06-08T14:58:00.016+01:002011-09-03T13:39:44.458+01:00

Kansai International Airport with Skygate bridge from Rinku junction, Osaka Bay, JapanWhen I visit an airport now I spend very little time in the terminal. We have our arrival time down to a fine art and usually barely pause from check-in to passport to boarding...just enough to buy the obligatory bottle of water that got confiscated on the way. But our journey through Kansai International

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-36806448850342458232009-02-03T09:34:00.002Z2011-09-03T13:40:37.494+01:00

It's been a quiet month punctuated by a snowboarding holiday where I shot a few Facebook pictures for my friends, and promptly received news of my work situation changing...for the worse. The credit crunch has bitten and I am now looking for my next contract. You'd think that this would give me an opportunity to go out and shoot some pictures but actually I'd rather practice the guitar in the

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-63797505046724048202009-01-30T08:56:00.009Z2009-01-30T15:53:53.871Z

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-7775593168043528842009-01-14T13:07:00.007Z2011-09-03T13:42:41.275+01:00

I've finished the photobook and it has arrived. I am a little dissappointed with the finish but not so much as to complain to Cewe-Photoworld who produced it. Some pages show faint magenta and green banding across the whole page and the amount of sharpening they have used is more than I would have liked (my images are unsharpened for Alamy and Cewe don't give you control over it - rightly, as you

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-35658828715554045422009-01-05T12:49:00.003Z2011-09-03T13:43:22.506+01:00

So I'm *still* keywording those damned Japan pictures on Alamy but at least I've finished a photo book of the best 404 pictures that I brought back. I'm off on my next assignment soon so there'll be some new pictures to show you of winter scenes! This last month was still lacking in sales but my CTR has bounced back nicely.Here is my view of Alamy for the month of December:Proportion of searches

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-45175178112036656302008-12-15T14:56:00.006Z2011-09-03T13:44:42.340+01:00

Knife salesman behind display of knives at the Tsukiji fish market, Tokyo, Japan" />Knife salesman behind display of knives at the Tsukiji fish market, Tokyo, Japan...Japan, that is!!! I've finished editing my Japan pictures and so I shortly will have 250 images of Japan online with Alamy. I reckon 1 in 10 pictures I shot have been made it onto Alamy which means that I shot about 2,500 pictures

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-70610219489306567732008-12-05T09:42:00.004Z2011-09-03T13:45:10.840+01:00

*Sigh* The most depressing part of struggling on Alamy is actually that they make your stats so available and detailed. I am clearly not succeeding on Alamy and I don't wish to go into denial and blame the credit crunch. I have found some enthusiasm to start shooting some stock over winter at least but the following stats represent my worst month so far.Here is my view of Alamy for the month of

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-41895201413110685452008-11-25T08:49:00.003Z2011-09-03T13:45:36.543+01:00

Japanese coins in a bottleI've titled this as All of Alamy Theories since that should avoid any abuse, but also because this analysis is based on only a week of Alamy Measures data and I'm supposing that this can give enough information to suggest a trend!People searching for everyday subjects have the least patience for searchingThis theory is based on the top searches on Alamy. This week the

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-56198102949491558112008-11-24T13:08:00.005Z2011-09-03T13:46:15.994+01:00

The wooden Kintai Bridge (Kintai-kyo) spanning the Nishiki river, Iwakuni, Japan 1/5" />The wooden Kintai Bridge (Kintai-kyo) spanning the Nishiki river, Iwakuni, Japan 1/5I am slowly coming to the end of editing Japan. I've managed to edit some 1,500 pictures with another 1,000 to go. A lot of the best pictures were taken in low light and so won't make it onto Alamy, particularly there are loads

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-33949712607384138672008-11-03T13:30:00.004Z2011-09-03T13:46:36.173+01:00

I think I am losing enthusiasm for Alamy. Whilst it provides a meaningful outlet for my photography, it is rather soulless as far as photography goes. It does not reward artistic merit but rather rewards those who can "produce" photos, something I have not scratched the surface of. November in England is not an inspiring place for the artistically shallow!Here is my view of Alamy for the month of

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-1473493778259842762008-10-20T13:09:00.006+01:002011-09-03T13:47:53.851+01:00

Himeji-jo (Himeji Castle), Himeji, Japan (deleted)I have started editing the next batch of our Japan trip and so another 50-odd images are Awaiting Processing with Alamy. In the meantime I have come to a difficult decision, I am going to remove some of my images from Alamy. This is based on some consideration of AlamyRank. The pictures illustrating this post are of Himeji Castle, probably the

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-88981147668137414672008-10-15T16:33:00.010+01:002011-09-03T13:48:37.103+01:00

Ferrari supercar on display on the Best of the Best stand at Heathrow Terminal 1, London, UK 2/2It's taking me a long time to face more editing of Japan. I think that this is the problem with digital photography. It used to be that you paid someone else to process your pictures, but now you are expected to do it - and know how to do it - yourself.It may also be that I overdosed on photography

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-86263663966785961452008-10-03T16:09:00.005+01:002011-09-03T13:49:29.849+01:00

September was a quiet month for me, with two weeks away from work, shooting in Japan (also known as a holiday to my fiancée). So I have loads to upload, my first 66 pictures from Japan go live tonight, I have to admit I may have taken too many pictures this time!Here is my view of Alamy for the month of September:Proportion of searches for:1 word = 15% , average of 14.52 pages viewed2 words =

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-12632607366079222112008-09-26T14:06:00.002+01:002008-09-26T14:19:30.254+01:00

A quick note to say that I am back from Japan. In two weeks I managed to run out of space on my laptop hard drive and returned home with my three 4Gb cards full in addition. I averaged about 300 photos per day for two weeks so I have an enormous amount of work to do to edit for Alamy. I think I need some more storage!Watch this space and I will try to upload some views of Japan, both picturesque

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-91578335449347837802008-09-03T09:07:00.012+01:002011-09-03T13:50:30.944+01:00

Well, yet another busy month for Alamy as they have upgraded Measures with some teething troubles but with masses of new data to crunch. Alamy have opened up their database to the contributors so that we can see what's hot and what's not. The result is probably too much information but I'll see what I can beef up from it anyway.Here is my view of Alamy for the month of August:Proportion of

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-71130796870404090932008-08-27T16:55:00.005+01:002011-09-03T13:53:21.076+01:00

Reading Festival carrying luggage, Reading, UK 2/2" />Festival goers arriving at the main entrance to the Reading Festival carrying luggage, Reading, UK 2/2Well, what a contrast. I've been away for a bank holiday weekend in Herefordshire, uploaded some stock from the Reading Festival and I'm only a week and a half away from Japan. Last week saw a welcome break from bad weather on Thursday night,

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-64482420096152103482008-08-21T10:02:00.005+01:002011-09-03T13:54:08.719+01:00

Blue pyramid glass bulidings against a blue skyHo hum, this week has been spent at work and the weather has not been stock-friendly in the evenings. I've had another two batches of images go through QC and one or two images, though perfect technically, probably won't sell. They've been plonked in my "Creative" pseudonym as I don't expect them to sell and I don't want them to affect my main

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-24771490008371731312008-08-15T16:10:00.009+01:002011-09-03T13:55:04.592+01:00

with a single female, using HSBC bank cash machines in Kingston, UK" />A family with prams, children and a baby, holding balloons,with a single female, using HSBC bank cash machines in Kingston, UKSometimes pictures are just there in front of you, put on a plate (above). This is definitely my kind of photography, cheap, editorial, useful. I'm not sure I could have orchestrated this one better, a

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-12195556626333810772008-08-14T09:59:00.005+01:002011-09-03T13:55:26.410+01:00

Tayberry plant isolated on white showing leaves and fruitIt has been an eventful week, with some harsh criticism of my images on the Alamy forum. I don't wish to dwell on it, but since this is my own soapbox I will just say this; If you are not interested in the QC Tests, don't post a comment.Back to new photography, and this little gem has made it through. It is quite nice that this image could

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-46735371406031141772008-08-08T14:15:00.007+01:002011-09-03T13:57:55.062+01:00

Sadly the summer has already finished here, the rain has set in and this last week has been miserable. Just time to post up a couple of my last D100 submissions to Alamy. Stormy clouds over Thirlmere, Lake DistrictOne of the failings of the 6MP camera is the absolute detail you need to shoot landscapes. These examples are acceptable as prints and will be fine at small sizes but I don't think they

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-87630469829564585682008-08-06T13:11:00.005+01:002011-09-03T13:58:26.230+01:00

This year has been a year of blackouts in our street. This isn't normal, this isn't expected, I'm a little embarrassed to say that we take power for granted in the UK. This month has been a month of blackouts in our street. We've woken up to my alarm going off, and realised that Anna's won't be. Typically we've lost 5-10 hours of power once a week.Yesterday it finally broke. I got home in a state

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-37097825344113412472008-08-04T14:02:00.011+01:002011-09-03T13:59:16.231+01:00

Last month was both my best and my worst. Alamy took the opportunity to re-rank their contributors and because of my lack of zooms and sales in the preceding period they have downgraded both my pseudonyms. That is quite a blow as my CTR was rising and I reached the 200 picture mark. At the same time, last month I made my first sales! I sold two pictures, the first picture twice (once for a

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-61935022735893131012008-08-04T12:15:00.013+01:002011-09-03T14:00:03.395+01:00

Last week flew by and so I don't have much to report. My efforts to Shoot! the Day came to nothing, the weekend before last, as I managed to contract a stomach bug which left me in northern France but totally incapable of doing anything, I spent the whole of Friday trying to sleep it off in the front seats of my car while the sun beat down overhead. Saturday, I recovered, but struggled to take

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-7935135780790795532008-07-22T16:10:00.009+01:002011-09-03T14:01:01.626+01:00

Once again I have to quote my post on Alamy's soft or lacking definition because once again my blogging has been held up by my QC failures. This time I have managed to add Interpolation Artifacts and now Over-manipulated to my troubles!!! I am now shopping for a better camera body as 6MP just takes too much effort to get past QC (and for good reason, as announced here).Festive blue bead garland 3

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-34257158008558553172008-07-21T19:46:00.006+01:002008-07-23T12:03:23.872+01:00

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-50635316449277870842008-07-09T15:42:00.006+01:002011-09-03T14:02:22.038+01:00

My post about Alamy's soft or lacking definition, which went down so well with you all, reflects the reason for my lack of posts, they kept saying no to my photos until I was running with a backlog of nearly 40 pictures, grrrrr! Finally, yesterday, they relented and my more careful editing (see, I'm not in denial!) has seen me through. If they had said no again I would have been ready to join the

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-6027109308628772552008-07-03T08:59:00.014+01:002011-09-03T14:04:18.355+01:00

I was saddened to see that there is a glut of wind turbines in stock photography in the PhotoShelter Buyer Survey 2008. We recently visited Holland where wind turbines are 'de rigueur' and we both find them quite fascinating, and on top of that, I have a great opportunity living in Reading where there is an 'urban' wind turbine which towers over the M4 - I was hoping that it would be useful as an

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-52895269943087924032008-07-02T08:31:00.009+01:002008-07-16T15:54:22.270+01:00

Third full month on Alamy and these are some stats from my measures view of Alamy. Views were down this month, but that was expected as I tightened up my keywords and removed some images which were sub-standardProportion of searches for: 1 word = 13% , average of 21.45 pages viewed2 words = 30% , average of 14.09 pages viewed3 words = 33% , average of 16.21 pages viewed4 words = 19% ,

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-52728777020622046682008-06-27T19:30:00.021+01:002011-09-03T13:57:12.442+01:00

Whatever you might think about Alamy QC failing images for "soft or lacking definition", as explained here, so far those of us who frequent the forum have yet to see a picture that the photographer can show at 100% to be free of some kind of flaw. Since I seem to be capable of creating pictures that are soft and lacking definition on demand I thought I would put up some more examples for those

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-47126564223233622462008-06-27T08:57:00.004+01:002011-09-03T14:05:51.947+01:00

This time last year we made a small error...we booked a summer trip to South Africa, to Cape Town and the Garden Route. Some of the more perceptive amongst you will realise the error, it was winter down there! This year we've done better, we're off to Japan in September.But, you gotta hand it to them, the weather was fantastic. The highlight for me, certainly photographically, was a tour in a

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-16726648828231445052008-06-23T14:47:00.003+01:002011-09-03T14:08:54.451+01:00

Continuing my running theme of places under a gloomy sky, I finally got round to editing the Holland pictures and got them up online.Houses on the Damrak canal, Amsterdam, The Netherlands with window box of geraniums" />Houses on the Damrak canal, Amsterdam, The Netherlandswith window box of geraniumsThere's no doubt that the weekend round the Netherlands was a dissappointment. We arrived under

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-57345068905885870922008-06-23T14:27:00.008+01:002008-07-16T15:53:42.275+01:00

The view from my small window into the world of Alamy buyers. These are the first two months on Alamy so a very very small sample was involved. I'll be interested to see how these numbers progress over time...April 2008Proportion of searches for: 1 word 15% average of 14.00 pages viewed2 words 45% average of 7.47 pages viewed3 words 35% average of 3.31 pages viewed4 words 5% average of

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-8918545519299320992008-06-19T22:06:00.009+01:002008-06-23T14:45:31.244+01:00

Been reading this today, the PhotoShelter Buyer Survey 2008, in fact it has made its way back home with me to mull over. There are a few inconsistencies that I've noticed in it too, mainly around the availability/quality/diversity graph. So in an effort to get some gems out of it, I've taken the data (as best I can from the graphs they provide) and rehashed it, first a different take on the

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-86746033092506810302008-06-09T13:16:00.002+01:002011-09-03T14:10:03.820+01:00

Unfortunately, every time I've been somewhere special in the last month the sky has clouded over. First the Lake District, then Loch Lomond, then Edinburgh, and now Holland...and the tulips had all gone too. So what do you do when the weather is shocking, watch the traffic!Cars on a bend in the road on a wet day with spray, showing headlights" />Cars on a bend in the road on a wet day with spray,

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-34730133684026006962008-06-06T15:14:00.007+01:002011-09-03T14:11:11.608+01:00

Well, look at how time flies. One minute I'm sat in M&S thinking about corporate social responsibility, the next I am two contracts later back in mortgages and sat in sunny Watford.In the meantime, I have finally found an outlet for my photography, and this blog will be tracking my progress. After years of hobby photography, the odd wedding and lots of kit buying, I am now submitting to Alamy and

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-1164896735685956542006-11-30T14:07:00.001Z2008-06-06T15:32:14.263+01:00

The buyers of our house have instructed Hammonds Direct to act on their behalf. Hammonds Direct are a volume conveyancing firm and it is now clear three months into the sale that they are overworked and/or incompetant.As I write we are waiting to exchange contracts but our solicitors cannot get through to Hammonds as their lines are busy because it is the last day of the month.This is the latest

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-1164889520714183352006-11-30T12:23:00.001Z2008-06-06T15:32:55.857+01:00

B&Q have put up a billboard near where I work at Jct 4 of the M4 (the Heathrow junction) with a domestic wind turbine on top. The tag line goes something like "the world's first energy efficient billboard".Then they added a 300W halogen lamp to illuminate the wind turbine at night

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-1162805876185476522006-11-06T09:36:00.001Z2008-06-06T15:33:11.181+01:00

In my quest for new ideas I've stumbled across one that's been thought of before.Reduce the margins in Word documents and save money (and the planet) http://www.bio.psu.edu/greendestiny/publications/1.pdfI tested this on a 36 page document where I am working at a leading high street retailer. By reducing the left and right margins by 1cm each it saved one page (2.8%)Reduce the font size by one

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32949495.post-1162295091871012842006-10-31T11:39:00.001Z2008-06-06T15:33:49.525+01:00

Why are mobile phone key locks so rubbish. Every phone I've had has had a problem with the key lock not actually locking the keys.My latest one (Vodafone V1240) unlocks the keys when the phone rings, when a reminder pops up or when you get a text. I now regularly answer the phone by accident in my pocket.My last phone (O2 XDA IIs) didn't lock the phone buttons for the camera and things on the

AndySmeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07151821085159413493noreply@blogger.com0