cloudsoup

Another pic from Helen

Robin in the garden, from Helen’s Flickr stream

This is just a snippet – bottom right-hand corner – of a painting I saw in Cologne. I thought it was fantastic when i saw the thing. I can’t remember who painted it – medieval-ish (see the gold around St Antony’s head) but so oddly anachronisitc with the attacking demons – they might be straight out of a Ralph Steadman drawing

We don’t get snow here in the UK often enough for my cat to be as nonchalent with it as she is with most other things. The recent snowfall in the UK was pretty heavy – for us, anyway – and she mostly stayed in, grumpily, for the best part of three days. When she did venture out through the catflap she was not best pleased with the stuff.

Helen has an old photo from Jess’s younger days, again in the snow, this time balancing precariously on a field fence, looking just a little thinner but I think these photosare the best she’s taken of the cat

Dear Old Skool Account-Holding Flickr Member,

On March 15th we’ll be discontinuing the old email-based Flickr sign in system. From that point on, everyone will have to use a Yahoo! ID to sign in to Flickr.

email received from Yahoo today

Flickr is taking a beating in two key forums right now over their decision today to force “old skool” flickr users to merge with Yahoo accounts and new limits on both number of contacts and tags allowed on Flickr. Check out some of the quotes here

Flickr Users Are Mad as Hell About Today’s Yahoo News, Digg

There’s Some Mighty Pissed Off Flickr Members Right Now, Thomas Hawk’s Digital Connection

Now, I didn’t want a Yahoo Id just to carry on using a service in the way I was using it when I decided to pay money for it. Let’s see what Flickr says:

In our ongoing efforts to Make Flickr Better^TM, we’re introducing two additional limits: the new maximum number of contacts is 3,000 contacts (good luck with that), and each photo on Flickr can have a maximum of 75 tags.

Flickr News

But wait a bit, let’s take another look at that email Yahoo sent me today:

Nothing else on your account or experience of Flickr
changes:

Er: we’re introducing two additional limits says Yahoo and Nothing else on your account or experience of Flickr changes says Yahoo. On the same day.

I don’t have photos with 75 tags. I don’t have 3,000 contacts. But I didn’t pay my money to Yahoo and I don’t want to have to have a Yahoo ID to use my Flickr account. Just don’t.

Just in case you weren’t pissed-off enough,

I’m going to delete my Yahoo! account. What happens to my Flickr photos?

If you associated your Flickr account with your Yahoo! ID and you delete your Yahoo! account, you won’t be able to sign in to your Flickr account. And all your photos will be deleted.

sign-in FAQs

Prize for the most disingenuous comment I’ve read so far goes to Flickr’s daddy:

As Flickr grows and becomes more complex, maintaining both systems becomes more complex as well.

Stewart Bloody Butterfield

Fine, Stewart, let’s have one log-in then. Tell me again, why must it be a Yahoo ID?

The highest praise for Walters Photo Video. Helen bought a Nikon camera ‘system’ bag from them via their website. Order placed late Thursday night, goods received Saturday morning. All that and very good value too.

So Helen has her paws on the new Nikon D80 and is experimenting

The colours are quite good on her shot of Bridgenorth…

The UK retailer Dixons/Currys has a rather mixed reputation. Some say the sales staff aren’t as well-trained as they might be, or that they push extra warrantees for the commission, and there are stories of poor after-sales service all over the web.

But, but, but. I’ve just bought a Nikon D80 from their website with no trouble at all. It was very competitively priced and delivered on time. So, tentatively, thumbs up for Dixons. I’d buy from them again.

Helen’s keen on rust, dirt, decay, broken windows – you know the sort of thing:

Padlock, on one of Helen’s Flickr accounts

And then there’s this, looking like, ooh, a couple of Millet^* peasants, if I were to be a bit pretentious about it:

Jumblers

Her pro account is here.

I’m reluctant to admit it but I think her eye for composition is better than mine. Sometimes I’ll take the odd Ok photo but it usually happens by pointing the camera at a spectacular vista that couldn’t be messed up. For instance:

Yosemite with Fat Guy

And even then I’m not sure of the fat guy. Is he wistful, does his lone presence enhance the scene? Or does he remind you of a little escapee from a cartoon?

I’m looking forward to seeing what Helen will do with this

Nikon D80

being delivered shortly, for her birthday.

She’s currently using a Canon Powershot A620 for digital snaps, and it’s fine for what it is, but she has previously used a film SLR and she’s been humming and haahing over making the move to SLR digital for several years now. The D80′s halfway between an entry-level digital SLR and a semi-professional model like the Nikon D200 so it should serve her well while she’s relearning real photography (hyperfocal distance and circle of confusion, anyone?)

Then of course we’ll have to travel to some spectacular photographic location. We’ve been in the habit of taking a short break abroad a few months into the year and I’m wondering if Iceland or Norway would do.