namke communications is a name under which I produce both photography and music.
Music is currently taking rather a back-seat to the photography at the moment, but if you're interested in what my music sounds like, check out the review of my 2003 single at Boomkat, or download some here
Photography is currently based around black-and-white film (35mm and medium format), developed and printed 'in house'.
Please get in touch if you have any commissions...
Just seen an advert on the TV saying that 'A Matter of Life and Death' is going to be available free with a UK newspaper tomorrow.
It's one of my favourite films...
... but the paper is the Daily Mail.
Like the title says. A dilemma.
Phew. Last night I loaded up half-a-dozen film holders and (weather permitting) I will get out this evening to use the large format camera again.
I haven't used it 'in anger' for over a month now, what with travelling for work (no more of that at least) and other things. The tripod kit (Manfrotto 055XProB and 808RC4) I got at the end of February has not really been used at all.
I've been taking various pictures of freakin over the past years, here's a link to a flickr slideshow of my uploaded pictures...
It's getting closer... photography will soon be a de-facto illegal act: in this account of police (Ok, PCSO) intimidation coupled with ignorance of the law. Get your MP to sign up to EDM 1155 before you discover that you have no rights at all.
Submitted by namcom on Wed, 19/03/2008 - 16:29.Wow. There's an awful lot of people seemingly upset by The Polaroid Corporation's recent decision to stop making their eponymous film.
Check out www.savepolaroid.com.
Of course, the current Polaroid Corp. has pretty much nothing to do with the original corporation; the current company being much more interested in slapping their coloured squares onto any number of consumer electronic devices than their traditional analogue imaging processes.
Ironically, Polaroid could well be making the biggest mistake ever. Recent reports seem to indicate that the rush to digital imaging is being stemmed, and consumers are returning to film, whether for
The latest Metropolitan Police Force advertising campaign encouraging us all to spy on each other is further evidence that the UK is losing its nerve entirely and will, before long, welcome Stasi-like secret police, constant observation, and further restrictions in our movements.
In the old days, there was a very real terrorist threat within the UK, what with the IRA and all that. During that time business as usual was preached - once you respond to the terrorists, you have already lost. Now, there were plenty of attacks, lots of people died but, ultimately, it is now history. Who was funding the terrorists here? Well, there were rumours of collections being held in certain Boston bars to support the brave freedom fighters across the Atlantic but I'm not saying anything...
Is society to blame for its own incarceration? Is accountability the true evil here? When everyone has to be seen to be doing something, the only responses are kneejerk - there is no plan, there is just a panicked herd mentality.
Until one day, you wake up in East Germany in the 1980's
A quote from New York Times' 'Stasi' book
Submitted by namcom on Mon, 17/03/2008 - 16:25."To ensure that the people would become and remain submissive, East German communist leaders saturated their realm with more spies than had any other totalitarian government in recent history. The Soviet Union's KGB employed about 480,000 full-time agents to oversee a nation of 280 million, which means there was one agent per 5,830 citizens. Using Wiesenthal's figures for the Nazi Gestapo, there was one officer for 2,000 people. The ratio for the Stasi was one secret policeman per 166 East Germans. When the regular informers are added, these ratios become much higher: In the Stasi's case, there would have been at least one spy watching every 66 citizens! When one adds in the estimated numbers of part-time snoops, the result is nothing short of monstrous: one informer per 6.5 citizens. It would not have been unreasonable to assume that at least one Stasi informer was present in any party of ten or twelve dinner guests."
Nutrillium.
Need I say more?
No, but I'm going to... This tendency to make-up-scientific-sounding-words has been going on for ages, but I think that it's also adding to the general dumbing-down of society, where people may think that NUTRILLIUM is a proper-scientific-fact-like, rather than a made-up-marketing-word.
Unfortunately, it would seem that this stuff works (marketing, not the shampoo), otherwise the adverts would stop.
!!STOP PRESS!!
[Also see Amateur Photographer article]
Austin Mitchell has an 'Early Day Motion' (EDM) currently running in the houses of Parliament regarding the clarification of the laws of photography in public places:
Submitted by namcom on Mon, 17/03/2008 - 12:14."Head and shoulders will leave your hair up to 100% free of flakes".
Up to 100%? Up to 100%??
So even if it doesn't work at all, it does exactly what the advert says.
I had a birthday party (of sorts) last weekend* and invited friends etc. over to our house for drinks/food/chat. In light of the recent announcement by Polaroid that the production of instant film was to stop, I decided that this would be a good time to have a go with Polaroid... I picked up a camera from freecycle, bought a twin-pack of 600 film from Boots, and I was good to go.
