Finale

Finale

Possibly the nerdiest photo I will ever post – at my players urging, I took a photo of the final do-or-die dice roll of our long running Mage RPG. The roll was a success, the world was saved, and here it is, captured for posterity.

I actually quite like this as a photo – post-processing it for colour was a bit of a bastard, as the yellow backdrop was made even yellower by the tone of the light in my living room, and anything that toned that down often did weird things to the colour of the dice, but I like the backdrop and the effect I eventually decided on.

2007

I was trying to do one of those year-in-review memes that’re traditional at this time of year, but it turns out that really nothing interesting happened to me this year. I took up, and gave up, rollerblading. Work was busy, and is going to get busier in the first few months of next year. My friends and loved ones were ace, as always. I met some cool new people. I didn’t do enough photography. Nothing momentous really feels like it happened.

Looking ahead to 2008, well, I’m about to be very busy with work, which is kind of obscuring everything else – until that settles down to whatever it’s new level turns out to be (I hope around May) I’m not really thinking of much else. I’ll be single again in April, which is depressing, but I’ve had plenty of time to come to terms with that. I’d like to keep up the gym going I’ve managed to re-establish. My Dad’s 60th is coming up. A number of friends and family have recently spawned/are due to spawn in the next few months which is nice for them.

I guess it’s kind of indicative of the general flatness of 2007 and the start of 2008 that I can see that I really don’t feel like marking the new year terribly much, which is unusual for me. Now, the last time I asked for exciting surprises around this time of year, everything went tits up on me over the course of the next year, so I shall refrain from doing that, but it’d be nice if 2008 brought a few significant and ace things to remember for me personally, because I don’t think 2007 did.

Belfast Eye

Belfast Eye

Belfast has a large wheel set up for the next little while, and it looks terribly festive. I took a ride on it with my brother and cousin on Boxing Day. I’m not sure if I like any of the views I got from it enough to post them, but I do like this shot of the thing itself.

It’s Over!

So, as most of you know, I’m an RPG nerd. Not, y’know, as much as I was a teenager, but still – I’m an RPG nerd. I had a few years break a while back, but then, on a whim, I got a group of friends together, and started running a game of White Wolf’s old game, Mage. I came up with a plot that I thought would take about a year or so to play, assuming a three to four hour session every other weekend – a game based on a gnostic murder mystery and a series of conspiracies and mad bastards as old as the human race. As it turns out, I was a little off in my estimation.

Tonight, three and half years later, playing more or less every other weekend, we finally finished that game, and it went exactly as I might have wished. The players saved the world against impossible odds, and in the end it all came down to one final roll of the dice – either they would triumph, or they would perish, and triumph they did.

It seemed appropriate to mark it. Three and a half years. I’ve had important relationships that didn’t last that long. :)

So, thank you to everyone who has ever taken part in it – marysiak, Danni, wmute, tintintin, cairmen, tyrell and most especially to burge, stu_n, chrisisiddall and anw.

And in two weeks time, we start something new. Thanks, guys.

It’s Over!

So, as most of you know, I’m an RPG nerd. Not, y’know, as much as I was a teenager, but still – I’m an RPG nerd. I had a few years break a while back, but then, on a whim, I got a group of friends together, and started running a game of White Wolf’s old game, Mage. I came up with a plot that I thought would take about a year or so to play, assuming a three to four hour session every other weekend – a game based on a gnostic murder mystery and a series of conspiracies and mad bastards as old as the human race. As it turns out, I was a little off in my estimation.

Tonight, three and half years later, playing more or less every other weekend, we finally finished that game, and it went exactly as I might have wished. The players saved the world against impossible odds, and in the end it all came down to one final roll of the dice – either they would triumph, or they would perish, and triumph they did.

It seemed appropriate to mark it. Three and a half years. I’ve had important relationships that didn’t last that long. :)

So, thank you to everyone who has ever taken part in it – [info]marysiak, Danni, [info]wmute, [info]tintintin, [info]cairmen, [info]tyrell and most especially to [info]burge, [info]stu_n, [info]chrisisiddall and [info]anw.

And in two weeks time, we start something new. Thanks, guys.

Seasons bleatings

Nothing terribly exciting to report – fog related delays caused brief trauma, but we arrived only a day later than planned. Food, drink, family all very nice. Hope everyone is having as much fun as I am. Back in London in a few days, assuming fog doesn’t get in the way. Try not to break anything while I’m gone.

Rendered Light

Rendered Light

I saw these all-wax candelabras in a Chelsea shop window, and thought they looked like 3D rendered objects somehow given physical existence, and the post-processing on this shot is my attempt to bring that out, while leaving just enough detail in to make it clear that they are, in fact, real.

Character workspace

Character workspace

I saw this on a sign in Chelsea the other day, and all I could think is that this was where someone assembled strangely dressed eccentrics, mad tramps, and funny uncles.

If only…

Secrets Of The Red Lodge

Secrets Of The Red Lodge

Snapped at my company Xmas party. This one’s a bit of an unusual crop for me, but I only saw the photo op (including the most obvious bit of the post processing – this is one of those shots that I knew *exactly* what I wanted to do to it before I took it) as we were leaving, so snapped it very quickly, resolving to fix the composition a bit in Lightroom.

To me, the obscuring pillar on the right is an integral part of the shot, but I’m curious to know if it works for you.