the answers

Pictures from today:
1. He also wrote Planet of the Apes and Bridge Over the River Kwai
2. Looking up
3. Peeking through a fence at a building site
4. Looking up again

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Thank you for the questions! I will integrate them over in the ‘about’ page this week. It feels pretty weird to write a post that is all me me me! Some of the questions overlapped so I have put them together.

For the first time I am going to put a break in this page because it is so long. If you are viewing this on the site you may need to click through to read more…

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

I am not sure of the correct definition of what’s an introvert and extrovert but I think probably on balance I would be an extrovert. I am generally not shy and I like being around people and being social. To some an extrovert might mean someone loud and pushy, I don’t think I am that (I hope!) but I am not shy about giving my opinions or putting myself up for doing potentially embarrassing things.

How do you keep track of all these ideas you get? Do you walk around with a notepad?

It is not as romantic as a notebook full of ideas but I email notes and reminders to myself a lot with my iPhone. I like to maintain inbox-to-zero every few days so having ideas come into my inbox motivates me to get them done so I can get rid of the email. Generally anyway I like to act on ideas quickly while the idea is fresh and before the motivation is gone.

Did you grow up in Oxford? How long you have lived here? Did you grow up here or when did you move here?

I moved here I think when I was about 8 years old so have lived here for most of my life. I would consider that I grew up here as I was here for the really formative years that I can remember.

Do you and Simon work at the same place, and how did you meet?

We don’t work together although we work in a similar-ish field. We met through music, gigs, and bands.

What is your favorite movie?

I have been thinking hard about this and I don’t think I have one single favourite film. I love to see films I haven’t seen before both new and old. As a kid I loved My Neighbour Totoro and Nausicaa is one of my favourites. I am much more polarised in what I will watch on TV, my favourite TV show is Seinfeld and I watch old episodes over and over.

How did you stumble across my blog?

This question was from Mr Sekimachihato, I clicked through from ai’s comments section and left a comment as he has just had a baby. Generally I find blogs either through comments on mine or from links pages on sites I like (which reminds me I need to re-do my links page at some point, it is out-of-date).

My question is, what is your favorite part of Japan?

This is a hard one. If I could only go to one place in Japan it would have to be Tokyo as that is where my relatives are and Tokyo has so many interesting things going on. However that said there is so much great countryside in Japan. From my last trip the place that really won me over was Naoshima, the art island. Click here for my post on it. I would say if anyone is near they MUST visit and if possible pay a bit more like we did and stay in the museum.

What cameras do you use, what post-processing do you do?

The camera I use most and carry on me at all times is a Canon 450D and an EFS 15-85mm 3.5-5.6 IS USM lens. I’d love a 7D. I also sometimes use a Lomo LC-A, a Yashica TL-Electro, and a Digital Harinezumi.

As I take a lot of pictures and like to turn them around the same day my post-processing is quite minimal because there isn‚Äôt time. I try to get the picture that comes out of the camera to be as I would like it rather than doing many changes after. I have actions set up in Photoshop CS4 so I can batch re-size and batch ‘save for web and devices’. I then batch re-name the files with Adobe Bridge CS4. Occasionally I will play around with post processing but mostly I don’t have time. I am not a purist at all but it suits my current style and way of working to do very little post-processing.

How do you take your DSLR out and about every day? Especially when you cycle?

My bags are always on the large side! This is my main bag. I just keep the camera in there in a Lowepro top-loading case (from which I have removed the strap). Actually I now need a bigger one of those as the current one doesn’t quite close over the bigger lens I use at the moment. My daily camera set-up is heavy, I think about 700g/800g so I tend to use bags (like my main bag) that have a long strap that I can wear across me rather than hang on one shoulder. I usually wear my bag like this when I am on my bike too as I know people who have had their bag snatched from their basket.

What’s your favourite song EVER?

Hmm I think it would have to be ‘Sing’ by Blur, it’s from their first album Leisure. It reminds me very much of becoming a teenager. For the full effect put on good headphones and turn it up loud. I‚Äôm not a big dweller on the past but that song is a nice souvenir of old times.

Do you have a place/space you go to when you want to just relax or hang out?

By myself? Then that would be cycling and walking around Oxford. I absolutely love cycling. Port Meadow is a place I return to often for a breath of fresh air in the day. If you mean with others then there are many excellent pubs in Oxford.

Do you have a gig lined up in Oxford soon?

Not at the moment :)

What would describe you better? Have you got a favourite possession?

It is hard to know what would describe me better, I try to be a positive person and I love adventures :) Favourite possession, if they count as possessions (?) the cats!

What do you do for a living? Is your photography an extension of a creative work day or is it a response to a non-creative job?

I work in New Media creating and managing the creation of language learning software and websites, so mainly project managing with occasional hands-on html work. Generally I would put the photography as something that I would do anyway regardless of the day job.

What is your favourite book and who is your favourite author?

So hard to choose! For a long time I kept To Kill A Mockingbird on my bedside table and I would re-read bits of it whenever I was between books, I love that book. I grew up without a TV and so read an enormous amount as a kid. I read very fast and easily could read a novel in a few hours. At the moment I am re-reading the entire Sherlock Holmes back catalogue and recently finished re-reading all the Agatha Christies which I own all of. It’s not high-brow but I find it enjoyable. I have enjoyed every Persephone book that I have read.

How old are you?

30 :) My last Japan trip was for my birthday.

Isn’t alice the best name ever?

YEAH! Well, I think there are loads of other great names too :)

Why Beep and Ira?

We spent so long looking for kittens to adopt and we kept getting asked what we would call them and after some long conversations somehow it was decided that the name ‘Beep’ and the name ‘Ira’ would be good names for cats. So then for a year or so people would ask ‘When are you getting Beep and Ira?’ ‘Have you found Beep and Ira yet?’ so when we finally found two kittens we HAD to call them Beep and Ira. Funny names but I think they suit them now ;)

Desert island: Favourite book, favourite film, favourite snack food, favourite item, favourite item of clothing and one thing you can’t live without.

Book and film we kind of covered ( i.e. I am not quite sure) however if I was on a desert island and could only take one book with me it would have to be Forgotten Skills of Cooking by Darina Allen as then I could be making goats cheese from the island goat and gutting fish etc. If I could only watch one film for the rest of my days I haven’t got an idea, it would have to be something entertaining with good eye candy that would age well and bear repeated viewing perhaps a Hitchcock, perhaps North By Northwest? Favourite snack = daifuku mochi. Favourite item and one thing you can’t live without = (we are not counting humans or animals right?) well, I like to use my bike, my camera, my iPhone, and my MacBook Pro but it isn’t the object in itself that I am attached to but the function. So if I could have only one of those on the Island I would have my iPhone so I could make some calls to my family to come and rescue me from the Island… and if there was no reception at least I could play Sudoku :)

If there was a cuisine, other than Japanese, that you would like to master, what would it be?

I think it would be Mexican food. When I was a kid I used to cook a lot of Mexican food, I think I was influenced by the time we spent living in Santa Monica in LA.

Which 3 photos you have taken mean the most to you and would you choose to keep out of all the rest, and why?

I take so many but having a look around now I like this and this and this as they sum up really great experiences. Maybe I’ll be back in a few pictures in the future :) I am usually the one with the camera and I find it really hard to do natural self-portraits.

The end. Phew! Does that answer all the questions? :)