Timothy Armes' blog

Photography as I experience it…

Timezone Conversion

July 28th, 2010

The Internet’s ability to make the world smaller is astounding.  With a minimum of pain I can arrange on-line meetings with clients and then share my screen to discuss work in progress.   Amazing.

And yet every time I need to do this I end up tearing my hair out.  Why?  Timezones.

I’m based in France and when dealing with clients abroad I need to find a time that suits both parties.  That should be easy, but typically it’s a frustrating and time-wasting experience. Just yesterday I needed to organise a meeting with an American client who informed me that he was available from 9am to 12am CDT. Converting that to Paris time should be simple.  Right?

Wrong.   On-line world-time converters typically just list a bunch of cities – I haven’t a clue which of the American cities in the list happen to to fall within the timezone that I wish to convert from.  If I want to specify a timezone such as “CT”, or an offset such as GMT+2, or even a whole country (if it isn’t split into different time zones), I can’t.

I got so fed up with the situation that I finally took some time out to search the web for a better solution, and I eventually discovered the best online timezone converter I’ve ever seen. Simple, elegant, ad-free.  The author’s accompanying blog article is an excellent read and epitomises my experiences with alternative solutions.

I realized immediately that this would make a great Mac OS Widget, so with the authors blessing I spent a couple of hours making one.  Feel free to download it and simplify your lives too.


Workflow and Backup for Photo – on a smaller scale….

July 9th, 2010

Chase Jarvis recently produced a great video detailing his team’s approach to “Workflow and Backup for Photo + Video1.

Chase produces very high end – and high budget – photography, and this shows with the gear that the team are using. For example, the two field drives are G-Tech 256GB SSDs, and at $1200 each they’re worth significantly more that the MacBook Pro itself!

Chase knows this though, and he makes a very important statement at the end of the video when he says “everything I say here is scalable, and you need to design your backup solutions for your needs”. Storage and Backup are vital, but the workflow can be scaled up or down based on requirements and budget. There’s no single “right” solution for that’ll work for everyone, but there’ll certainly be a solution that’s right for you.

I thought it might be interesting to describe – with far less grace and without the cool little graphic doodles – the workflow that I use. I hope it’ll prove interesting for other photographers who have comparable budgets to myself. I’ll compare my workflow to Chase’s so that you can see how the key ideas are the same, even if the gear isn’t.

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  1. Chase – how did you do those cool little graphic animations? []


Is commercial photography for you?

May 26th, 2010

Fact 1: One of the great things about photography is that there are so many types of photography to explore.

Fact 2: One of the frustrating things about photography is that that there are so many types of photography to explore.  It can be quite overwhelming for those coming into our world.

For those contemplating professional photography as a career then the good news is that somewhere in this gargantuan gulf of photographic endeavours there’ll certainly be something that’s right for you.  Whether you’re introvert or extrovert, a recluse or a team player, an image taker or an image maker, an artist or a technician, there’ll be a branch of photography which will suit your personality.

For example, as a professional fine-art wildlife photographer you’ll be spending hours waiting patiently for that perfect moment and then selling your images as pieces of art, whereas a traditional wedding photographer may need to deal with difficult mother-in-laws and control crowds of slightly merry people while managing the technicalities of his or her flash.

The vital thing is that you choose a form of photography that’s right for you.

I’m commercial/advertising photographer specialising in active lifestyle images, very often sports or outdoor oriented imagery, and I love my work. Commercial photography imposes its own requirements on the type of personality that’s best suited to this career, so  I thought I’d present my own reasons for choosing this path – it may well help some of you to go in either the same direction, or else strike it off your list and look at the many other options available to you.

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Anatomy of a shoot: the skateboarder

May 25th, 2010

wpid1178-20100521_170016_5D-Edit.jpgI recently had great fun photographing a local skate boarder who was up for a bit of a challenge – to skate in the middle of Valence town center wearing a suit!  Here’s a quick run down of the whole creative process.

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Find me on Facebook

April 22nd, 2010

You can now also find me on Facebook where I’ll be posting all sorts of interesting snippets.


A fun lifestyle shoot in the Alps

April 9th, 2010

wpid1128-IMG_3066-Edit.jpgHad a great shoot this week so I thought I’d share some images and insights.

I organised the shoot with a fairly local professional model; there were no hard and fast plans, we simply headed for the Alps with the intention of getting some mountain lifestyle shots.

Although there were no specific requirements I never undertake a shoot without having quite a few planned shots, so I’d spent the previous week sketching image ideas as they came to me.  For an easy-going shoot like this I’m not obsessional about actually getting all the shots that I’ve noted, but they do give me a starting point once on location, and from there I allow the shoot to evolve.

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The “Tilopa” back pack from F-Stop gear

April 8th, 2010

It’s not often that I put gear reviews on this blog – but from time to time I make an exception. This is one of those times.

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Fun with panoramics – an unusual family portrait

January 22nd, 2010
A fun and unusual family portrait....

A fun and unusual family portrait....
(click for larger size)

The snow we had here just after Christmas was impressive – It measured 60cm on the garden table. It’s the first time we’ve had that much here since we moved to France nearly 10 years ago.

Having the family blocked in the house was a good opportunity for a fun family portrait. I decided to play with interior paranoramics.

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Partnership with Kolor – makers of Autopano

January 5th, 2010

Following on from my announcement of the tailor-made photographic workshops that I’m offering for 2010, I’m proud to announce that I’m now an official partner with Kolor, makers of Autopano, the class-leading panoramic software.

Participants of the Panoramics Workshop will receive Kolor’s demonstration DVD and a discount code for their Autopano software.


Workshops for 2010

December 15th, 2009

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed sharing my passion with you through this blog and I’ve had some great feedback. For 2010 I’ve decided to go even further and offer tailor made workshops.

Many photographic workshops are aimed at newcomers who seek basic guidance and support, covering entry-level subjects such as exposure, composition “rules” and simple post-processing techniques. My objective is different — to address the needs of intermediate and advanced shooters who wish to push themselves further and overcome any hurdles that are preventing their progression.

With this in mind I have chosen not to offer a rigid menu of predefined workshops. Instead, I will discuss your requirements with you in advance so that each workshop will be a unique experience designed to meet the specific needs of its participants. Nothing is fixed — the dates, course content, duration and even the location are all open to discussion (and guidance).

You can browse the list subject areas that I’m currently proposing on my workshops site. If you have other needs then please feel free to contact me.

To get the ball rolling I’ve decided to offer a 20% discount on the first five bookings for 2010.