The ‘Points of View: Capturing the 19th Century in Photographs’ exhibition is one solely about photography. It is amazing that photography is a required function of different occasions today. You take photographs of the events because you want to because you want to retain those moments in your memory forever.

You can now see a photo catching device in everyone’s hand but photography was not so common centuries back. The invention of photography took place 170 years ago. At that time photography was very expensive and was limited only to rich families who could afford the expenses. Nowadays you could take photographs in thousands of colors but in earlier days producing a photo in so many colors was not possible.

The exhibition at the British Library takes us back to a time long past when photography was a matter of skill and bulky equipment. Visitors will be able to see 250 or more rarely seen images that were captured mainly in the 19^th century. These images show how technology has advanced to make photography a better art. This is the library’s first photographic exhibition of this magnitude.

Some of the highlights of the exhibition includes William Henry Fox Talbot’s piece ‘An oak tree in winter’ from 1942-43 and Eduard Valenta and Josef Maria Eder piece ‘X-ray Photograph of Frogs’ from 1896. Each photograph presented is done in terms of subject matter and also the cultural context. Thus the viewer can’t help but wonder the reason behind the taking each picture. Some of the century’s key themes are explored in the exhibition which makes it interesting to see.

The programme also includes family events, talks, and a few performances. Visitors will be able to participate in an event where the immediate areas of the library itself will be photographed.

This exhibition is one everyone should see and go back again and again.

By the way, I have finally been paid for that last photography job that I did, you all know what that implies, it’s about time to hit the mall and pick up that new outfit of gore running wear that I have been waiting to get. Carvell, are you up for a trip to the high streets this week?

Still life painting: one of the staples of art. It doesn’t matter what level you are at, anyone can find hours of enjoyment and satisfaction from this simple pleasure. But some artists get put off from doing still life work, and there is certainly a perception in the public eye that sitting down and painting a load of oranges is nowhere near as exciting as painting a landscape masterpiece. In truth, still life is as exciting as you can make it. Here are some tips to make sure that you make the most of this fantastic subject:

1) Always paint objects which have features; if your painting has a lot of colour in it or something unique, it’ll be much more fun to paint. A dull, brown themed piece of work might look elegant in real life, made from shining wood, but in paint may just look muddy.

2) Lighting: don’t confuse your painting with lots of shadows all over the place. Use one source of light—usually from the side is best.

3) Don’t concentrate on the fine details to begin with: paint in the major parts of the picture. Still life often looks better when the small details are left out anyway.

4) The internet: many sites have video tutorials on how to paint still life and other such things.

5) Make sure you step away from your work; sitting there all day, things which are obvious to other people won’t seem obvious to you. Often, coming back the next day can reveal what needs to be done or changed.

6) Fed up with painting oranges? Well, why not go up in the loft and have a look at all the stuff from the 80s which has been completely ignored. Old telephones and designer bathroom accessories (don’t laugh) make great still life subject matter, as do a number of other things like old toys, artifacts etc.

Art can be an expensive thing to do, or maybe that just depends on your outlook? After all, you can make pretty much anything yourself, and if you can’t then you can find it for a reasonable price, providing you know the right places to look. From paper to paint, equipment to framing, you have to get pretty savvy if you actually want to make any profit on your work—what with most galleries today taking as much as 40%.

Below are a number of ways to cut the cost of making art; but remember, be careful not to pass them around too much!

1) Mount-board: if you’re doing oils, fine, you probably won’t need much of this, but if you’re a waterolourist then watch out; mount board can be very expensive, especially when one simple mistake means you have to buy a brand new sheet.

Get around this buy asking people who have plenty of it if they have any spare. Most galleries which do picture framing chuck out tons of the stuff every week, simply because it is too small to use. But if you are doing lots of small paintings then it’s perfect. The best part? Most of them won’t even charge you.

2) You’ve done your painting and now you want to put it in an exhibition, but how to price it? This is a tricky subject. But remember this: most people will be happy to spend between one and two hundred pounds for a painting, anything more and they will need to think about it, which could mean that they’ll be put off.

3) Frame it well for a good cost: so many artists pay a gallery crazy money for something that you can do just as well yourself; why not ask the gallery to make the frame and then wax it / paint it / stain it yourself? It’ll cut many pounds off the bill and you’ll also learn some valuable experience for future endeavors.

Right before I go there are some amazing new things on the enigin design website that you should all check out. Especially if any of you are interested in internet design!

Whenever you hear about Vincent van Gogh, the infamous sluicing of his own ear is always remarked upon, as is his syphilis and fragile mental health. Oh, and what a wonderfully original painter he was. Having visited the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, I was disappointed by the uninspiring nature of his artwork and slightly bemused what all the fuss was about. It seemed to me that the deadened still life and holiday snap portraits he slapped on to a canvas in thick, vile and outlandish colours had been misrepresented.

My first formal introduction to van Gogh however was almost a decade ago now, before I was schooled in the quintessential aspects of fine art - and indeed van Gogh himself. I don’t imagine many people would share my initial views of one of the world’s most famous artist’s and the van Gogh exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts would suggest they’d be right not to.

A lesser known fact about van Gogh is he had an overwhelming appetite for writing letters in which he liked nothing more than to express his opinions about art and literature for which he had an undying interest and utmost respect for anybody to master their craft. As we know, he was particularly taken by the French post-impressionist painter, Paul Gauguin, whom he became infatuated with. Indeed it was his lover for whom he painted one of his most famous paintings. ’Sunflowers’ was given to Gauguin to brighten up his room.

It is clear from reading van Gogh’s thoughts on the page that he was nothing short of a genius, though as proven time and again, a genius can be flawed. For the Dutchman it was his flagging mental health. In another of his most famous pieces, ’The Starry Night,’ the venomous swirling skies reflect van Gogh’s delusions and deepening distress. That it was painted a year before planting a bullet in his chest with handheld shot gun in a French field demonstrates just how deeply depressed the painter was. His letters in the latter phase of his life also underline his worsening frenzy.

That van Gogh’s two most famous paintings are absent from the exhibition is perhaps a poignant gesture by the Royal Academy, allowing visitors to understand the man behind the paintings rather than the artwork itself.

As a complete sidebar I have finally applied for a couple of Secondary education jobs in the arts sector. Wish me luck, I will keep you up to date when the interview date grews nearer!

Great Britain! Do you remember when we used to be known as that? Now we are commonly referred to us UK - with the era of text speak upon us that might as well stand for ’U Kowards!’ We live in a country that is scared of absolutely everything!

The Home Secretary looked both shaken and stirred (perhaps he was afraid of cameras?) this week as he announced to the nation that the terrorism risk alert had been raised from ’substantial’ to ’severe’! Yeah, thanks a lot for that Alan - that won’t get our nation of mollycoddled wimps running around in a panic will it? What’s the level above that called: ’leave the country now, run!’

We used to have a resilience about us, a stiff upper lip and a bulldog spirit, now we have a quivering bottom lip and poodle haircuts. Thank goodness we don’t have The Blitz going on anymore, people wouldn’t even get into the air raid shelters because they would be afraid of the dark and it might be a bit cold for them!

It is right for the public to be vigilant, we do live in uncertain times, but I fully expect to see people out on the streets wearing masks and looking nervously over their shoulders every five seconds. People who get on buses carrying a bag or rucksack must be prepared to be treated as a social outcast and my Asian friends can expect to be subjected to another month of suspicious looks and general hatred.

I have honestly heard people say that they can’t go shopping because they are worried that the shopping centre might be attacked by terrorists! Yes, that’s right at the top of ther targets I’m sure - a Netto in a dingy northern town. Get real, Britain!

It’s not just terrorists that we are afraid of, of course: when the snow hit, it was as if the country had been covered by a layer of nuclear fallout. Regular news bulletins, every single hour of every single day, told us how to behave in the snow! Shelves were stripped bare by those who had dared to venture out as the selfish amongst us snapped up the 20 loaves that had just arrive at the supermarket. It was the same last Summer - we had official advice from the government on how to behave when the predicted heatwave arrived! (My advice would be to grab a cool beer, get the shirt off and smile but the official line seemed a little less fun) It never got above twenty degrees! People still had their central heating on full blast throughout August, that was the heatwave for you!

I hear full grown men complain that they don’t like the cold and they shriek when they see a spider! What is wrong with us all! We need to stop worrying about bombs, stop worrying about using butter on our crumpets and how much salt is in our low fat tofu burger, stop worrying about how hot the summer may or may not be in 2020, stop being scared of the slightest noise that we hear in the night - houses creak, get over it!

We are all going to die one day (that’s a bummer for all those who are scared of dying I suppose, and a dilemma for those who are either scared of enclosed spaces or scared of fire) and none of us know when that day will arrive. Until then, let’s live our life worry-free! Being scared, and changing our lives because a government minister has changed some arbitrary rating is wrong - that is the way to let those who hate our way of life win. In all honesty, you have much more chance of being killed crossing the road today than you have of being harmed by terrorists. ’Yes, but we have to do that as well’ I hear your double-scared self say!

I have to go now, but the next person that I see acting in a frightened manner will get a verbal broadside from me! Unless they are bigger than me of course, and then I’d be too scared!

Sidebar, as I am sure I have told you when I am not engaged writing, I am fixing up my digs and on that note, I have just procured the most exciting new set of shutters! They were rather expensive but completely worth it.

I would absolutely love to own a time machine. To be honest, I don’t know where I would travel to first but if I could go back in time then there are a few places I would definitely go. And one of these would be London in 1851.

The Great Exhibition must have be one of the most amazing things to have ever happened. There had never been anything like it before; it was the first event to bring together, the crafts and products of many different countries and put them on display in one place.

When the Crystal Palace was built for the event there were a lot of horror stories going round. People were convinced that a structure that contained so much glass just could not be safe. There were so many rumours going round of falling glass, that a group of men were hired to prove that the building was safe. Planks of wood were attached to the walls of the structure which the men then climbed onto and jumped up and down; if glass was to fall then it would! This then proved that it was indeed safe, and so the rumours died down and the preparations for the grand opening continued.

It must have been wonderful to have walked around The Great Exhibition. It was estimated that a third of Britain’s population visited the Crystal Palace and it was all a huge success. I have been lucky enough to see one or two items that were actually on display at the mammoth event and they were stunning. But to have actually been able to have looked around at everything that was there must have been very exciting.

I suppose there is always the chance that a time machine will be invented; I just hope that it happens in my lifetime!

By the way, I have just updated the copy on the site for biodiesel storage tanks, I know that it might surprise you that I am working for an oil company; but I don’t think they are as environmentally negligent as I once concluded. Plus, I’ve sold out, I need the compensation!

Politicians are a constant source of amusement. They seem to live in a totally different world to ordinary people.

When I saw a post yesturday about them claiming expenses for moats and duck houses I thought it was absolutely hilarious… but then I remembered it is OUR money that paid for it all.

It isn’t so long ago that people like this would have been dragged from their golden beds into the street and flogged.

Something needs to happen about these people, and fast. The whole situation is completely disgusting. Perhaps they should all be sacked; that would certainly be a good start.

Vacation update: The plans to take a camping caravan along the south coast are in the works! Although we do need to look into getting some Caravan insurance, I am handing this to Brett because I don’t want to deal with it…

That’s an interesting snippet of info to come across! I just found out from, ‘Where the Wild Cards Are’ that there is a new movie due out based on Maurice Sendak’s book. I can’t wait to go and see it; when I was a kid it was one of my absolute favourite stories.

I don’t suppose that it would really have been possible to make a movie of it until now. The Wild Things are going to need some very good special effects to make them look as good as in the pictures. With today’s technology it should be very good.

When did the Goth image first begin? It was certainly a long time ago. There have been Gothic looking characters in films and television programmes for as long as I can remember. There was the beautiful Yvonne De Carlo in ‘The Munsters’. She played many different parts throughout her career but she will always be remembered best for her role as Lily. Her clothes and jewellery are still a major influence on the style of many a Goth-Girl today. Then there was Vampira. She was played by Maila Nurmi in the cult classic, ‘Plan 9 from Outer Space’. She was probably the first actress to add sex appeal to the Goth image.

The sexy Goth/bloodsucker image was also to feature in the world of comics. The cult figure of Vampirella was created and has appeared in many stories right up to the present day. There was even a film made about her adventures. Many years later, Neil Gaiman published two graphic novels starring his quirky Goth-Girl called ‘Death’.

These characters have all had a major influence on the image of Goth bands, with singers dressing in very similar styles. The whole Goth ‘look’ has got a timeless feel about it.

I found a way to spend the rebate! I’ve brought garmin forerunner 305 for the run this weekend. Hell yer, doing it in style.

That’s right. After a few years in a relationship, I have finally broken free and am now living the single life. It feels kind of odd, but I could get totally use to this. I decided to walk down to our local pub and have myself a drink. I sat at the bar and ordered my pint and looked to my left. There I caught the eye of a fabulous looking guy who sent me a wink. I giggled to myself as I know that If I really wanted to, I could totally leave with him. But, I have decided to enjoy being by myself for just a while anyway. I do have to say though that I love having the ability to flirt again without all that guilt.

Only two of us are going to Barcelona at the moment, me and Adam. But we would be more than happy to let any of you guys could come along. The best holidays are the one where loads of your mates come. Just choose a hostel and come along any time that month. We are staying in Hostel Ramos.