Assignment report - swords and fists

Just over a year after I decided to consider going into photography professionally, I've reached the milestone of getting my first paying client. Granted, it was someone I already knew, but you need to start somewhere, right? My client was my Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) instructor Martin "Oz" Austwick, who needed portraits to use on his websites and on social media. Here's how it went.

Story of my gear: Velbon UT43D tripod

Welcome to the first in a series of posts where I tell you what I think about gear that I either already own, or which I've recently rented. Hopefully, the confirmation bias shouldn't kick in, but just in case, don't expect impartial shopping advice nor a thorough review. The reviews are based almost exclusively on the way I use the gear, even though I'll try my best to extrapolate.

At the end of the review, rather than giving the item a score, I'll answer some questions: if it's a rental item, I'll tell you how badly I want to buy the item (if at all). If it's a piece of gear I already own, I'll tell you if a) I'd buy an extra copy of the item and b) I'd replace it with the same model should I lose/break it. Now onto the review.

Shutter released

I've been thinking about doing this for a while, and after having received a bit of encouragement, here it is, a blog about my photographic adventures.

About the name of this blog

I know it sounds a bit dramatic, but it simply makes reference to the parts of an image that are so dark that you can't see the details any more, which can be seen either as a photographer's mistake or a deliberate artistic decision. It alludes to the balance between technical considerations and a creator's vision, which is what has drawn me to photography.

Who is this blog for?

Mostly fellow photographers, or anyone who is interested in my work and wants to see how I achieve my images.

What you will find here

I aim to write reports of my most interesting shoots, deconstructing the photos, explaining the story and challenges behind each of them, share the findings of photographic experiments, maybe review new equipment I just bought.

There you have it, welcome to this place, I hope you'll enjoy reading me. If you're more interested in pictures than words, you can follow me on Flickr, and if you want to get updates on what I'm up to, please follow me on Twitter.