Matt J.L~'s photostream  

A prime example of how middle-distance staring should be done.

Glasgow 2012

Sometimes snapshots are okay.

I like the Pony, you see.

Editing in Lightroom on the new rig is an absolute dream. My processor just eats up those adjustments and my graphics cards poop all over the rending requirements. It's ever so lovely.

Aside, photography allows you to take unremarkable things and make them pretty. I like this.

Ikea, when full, is a complete pain in the arse.

My brother and I spent a good few hours walking around, buying things we don't really need, putting some of those things back, planning future furniture shopping trips, eating Swedish chocolate, hot dogs, drinking strange juice, complaining about delivery charges.

I needed a new desk and chair to accommodate the new computer I've just bought. Oh God, the new computer is amazing and I can't wait to build it.

I've also bought a new lens - a Sigma 30mm f/1.4 for my D90. After a lot of research and weighing up the pros and cons between that and the NIkkor 35mm f/1.8 I decided to go with the Sigma. I prefer the build quality of the Sigma, it seems to be a fair amount sharper at equivalent apertures than the Nikkor, the out-of-focus elements look to be a lot nicer and, most importantly, it's wider and stops down to f/1.4. Hell yes.

Thanks to Alan for giving me a review of his 35mm f/1.8 lens. I don't think I'd have been able to make a decision without his input. It was a fairly tough decision but I'm excited to stop down and get wider!

In sum, I'm shopped out. I don't think I'll be able to step foot in another shop for the rest of the year without shaking, feeling nauseous and throwing up.

Bleh.

This was taken while speeding through one of Hamburg's many tunnels last year. I particularly enjoy the pattern created by the lights on the walls and the sense of speed I got while staring at this image in Lightroom.

Recently, I've lost my drive to take photographs. This makes me rather upset. The end of year lull has taken its toll on me and I'm still to drag myself out of the rut of eating, drinking, reading, sitting about doing nothing, and playing video games.

I haven't written anything on my blog, I haven't composed any new music, I haven't captured any field recordings with my new microphone and I haven't taken any photographs. While most of those activities are things I naturally slip in and out of anyway, I feel particularly guilty when I think of how few photographs I've taken and uploaded in the past few months (it's even gotten to the stage where people are messaging me asking if I'm alright, concerned with lack of recent activity (you beautiful human beings)).

I won't say "I'll take more photographs" because it's not something that can be turned on at will. For me, I either see things and take photographs, or I don't and I take nothing. It's annoying to think that I've been blind pretty much all winter.

Here's hoping I remove the blindfold sooner rather than later.