Activities

Since my last blog, I've spent much of my time catching up with a backlog of desk and computer work, looking after the needs of several clients, and managed a couple of short trips away. The first was to the Cumbrian Lake District, which became a bit of a reccé, really, because neither the weather nor the light were too kind. But I made a few images I think I can work on, and the break was good, too. Soon afterwards, I was in Paris, and was fortunate enough to stay in an apartment belonging to a very successful artist in the Montmarte district. Paradoxically, this trip was meant to be a break, but I was fairly busy, and managed to capture a good slice of Parisan street life - I'll get those pics onto my website as soon as I can. It was great to be there, and really enjoyable. Last week, in Newcastle, I attended the official opening, and preview evening, of the Great North Museum: Hancock. Previously well known as the Hancock Museum, it closed its doors to the public on 23 April 2006, and has now been transformed into a world-class visitor attraction as part of the £26 million Great North Museum project. I was commissioned last year to provide landscape images for display there, and they form a backdrop, as huge panoramas, depicting various ages in the 'Ice Age to Iron Age Gallery'. The museum is very much up to date, with lots of interactive displays, video, and high tech visual media, as well as animal life, so both adults and kids can have a great time there. It's great to be part of it. I've done quite a few panoramic images for clients recently, and some very large ones, too. I've found that Photoshop CS3, and Windows Vista, don't seem to get along too well, and in the course of producing my panoramas, caused me several headaches! I've now invested in CS4, so hope things will get a bit easier behind the scenes. Let you know in my next blog!