Hello Two Thousand and Fourteen

Well, another year has been left behind and here we are, back in the same spot at 1:13am, cup of tea on my desk, London Grammar playing in the background - softly so as not to wake my just stirred boys - Seb, he's 4, just woke up, told me he was too hot and asked if he could read me a book.. Fin, he's just had his second expressed bottle for the eve as M is out with friends. He sloshed down this bottle, did a freakishly loud burp, had a little chat to me, smiled a lot and then went straight back to sleep. 

This is our new boy, Finley...

Finley likes to sleep...

I've been home tonight with the boys, I wanted M to have a half decent rest / night out, they're few and far between right now - and I like being home with a cup of tea and some good music anyways, so that worked well. 

Anyways... Here's Seb, he's on day two of riding a bike with pedals and, as you can see, he's enjoying it... 

It was at this point that Seb realised he may just be able to run me down...

I hope you've all had a great 2013, for those of you 'in the industry' see you at Photokina 2014 and for anyone else, if you find yourself in Melbourne, pop in for a cup of tea. 

Happy New Year

Sime

A giveaway for you to play with...

One of my clients, #3LeggedThing are having an epic giveaway! 

You can enter via the form below...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here's what you could have won.... [or, will win if you're lucky!]

Day One Bundle Drawn 16th December

3LT Dave with Blue Airhed
EnlightPhoto Set of Phridge Phun magnets
Capture Pro Camera clip (Arca)
Cuff wrist strap
Elemental 5in1 Reflector
1 year SmugMug Power Account $60 value

Day Two Bundle Drawn 18th December

3LT Eddie with Black Airhed
EnlightPhoto Set of Phridge Phun magnets
Pro USB 3.0 card Reader
16GB 600X SDHC card
Elemental 5in1 Reflector
1 year SmugMug Portfolio Account $150 Value

Day Three Bundle Drawn 20th December

3LT Frank with Blue Airhed
EnlightPhoto Set of Phridge Phun magnets
1 year SmugMug Business Account $300 value
Capture Pro Camera clip (Arca)
PROpad for camera clip
Leash camera strap
ThinkTank Retro 30
Elemental Cryro LED 600
Elemental 5in1 Reflector
Tiffen Filter Bundle

Take a camera everywhere - Sony QX100

You all know I like to take photographs, I guess that may even be why you're here, on my blog... I'm not "cameraist" and I don't care how I capture - obviously if I'm shooting for someone, I need to meet that client's needs, but if it's just for me - hand me something convenient and easy to wrangle... 

Sony DSC-QX100 for under Five Hundred big ones..

Sony Australia sent me the QX100 to use and abuse, I've had it for just over a month now and, despite initial "will this fit my lifestyle / workflow" I've come to love it enough to take it everywhere with me. 

I tend to pop it into a thinkTank "Little Stuff It" and slip that into whatever bag I'm taking on the day - I always take a bag. That's just me. 

It's a funny size in that, if you're not taking a bag it can be a bit annoying unless you have something like the Peak Design Cuff, which is mostly permanently attached to mine, means you can just have it on your wrist, or with a Leash, you can sling it / whatever. Use 'pollock' at checkout for 10% off... (Or don't, that's cool too) .....but when do you ever leave the house with some kind of bag?  

One thing I see a LOT of on the www is people posting photographs of people with larger, pro cameras, but taking a photo with their phone... There's a reason for that folks - it's because we all want to share - immediately - if we're inspired by something or want someone to see something right away... The QX100 bridges that gap effortlessly...

Do you need to use it with a phone? No, and that's one of the things that "ups the game" for me, with the QX100... I can turn it on and use it as a camera without the phone - I can control zoom and shutter and that's it... There's a little window to check the battery level, too. Sorta refreshing, actually... Like my old Pentax but without any viewfinder at all - just what your eye and hand think, and you add that 'anticipation' back in - what shots did I nail, what did I muff... You won't know until you get home!

You stick the QX on a tripod / boom / light stand via the standard tripod mount and you can stick it wherever you like... Including above the trampoline...

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Seb and his toys on the trampoline - birds eye via Sony QX100

The QX has really upped the quality of images I can use instantly on my iPhone, too... I can ask the QX to import a 2mb file into my phone as it shoots, leaving the full res (20mp) on the camera's babySd card. 

It has a great movie mode, too, though this is reduced to 720p from the 1080 resolution possible in camera.

The Sony QX has turned into something I use daily and happily suggest people add one to their digital arsenal.. What I'd like to see in future updates - RAW image processing and a little more control over manual modes (or, the addition of a manual mode) though, the auto modes included are pretty good. 

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You can WIN your own Sony QX 100 HERE - Closes in TWO DAYS!

Win a Sony QX100 in a thinkTank Citywalker bag

The awesome team at Sony Australia have supplied a Sony Cyber-shot QX 100 for me to give away to one lucky winner. The little camera that turns your phone into a very functional camera, will come with its own thinkTank Photo camera bag. 

Massive thanks to Sony Australia for their continued support!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Head over and find out more about the QX series camera HERE

Click the photograph below for more... 

Phase two...

The second chapter? I don't know... All I know is that now, I have a four year old (sans 14 days) and a 2 day old... Many people have commented that my life is about to change - again.  

Finley Sinclair Pollock  | November 3rd, 2013 

He may cry, he might wake me up a few times - I'm not the one with boobs, so I just have to keep Seb asleep and we're all happy. 

Pollock : Baby of...

Seb is quite taken with his little brother, he wants to hold him and carry him and kiss him all the time - instead, he just wakes him up and stresses us out trying to keep him semi-quiet. Not possible, I know.
 

Seb holding his little bro...

It will be interesting to see how the next couple of weeks go, I'm sure they'll go just fine... I can't see beyond today right now. Still, that's fine...  

Mr. Eyelashes giving his little bro a kiss...