Review of a new Magnum book in the Independent, featuring well-known Magnum photographers on other well-known Magnum photographers (Trent Parke is in there!).... »

Should have blogged this long ago; a classic photo.net post from 2003, Evolving into a photographer.... »

Interesting URLs from the last day or two: qtpfsgui is a graphical frontend to various UNIXey HDR tools, if you want to experiment with the techniques suggested in this TOP post. Early findings: it's tricky to get right without a lot of experimentation, and what's wrong with blocked shadows... »

Preparing for an upcoming family holiday in the Lakes, I looked to update my aging copy of The Good Guide To The Lakes by Hunter Davies with the latest edition. Except the "latest edition" came out in 2003 and now appears to be somewhat rare and increasingly pricey on... »

According to AllergyUK, 2%-3% of us suffer from a food allergy, while a fifth of the population believe they have food intolerance. - Food fighters, The Guardian 2005-01-08 An article I was trying to track down - you are not as ill as you (are being led to) think.... »

"Imperfect sound forever" is a wide ranging article that discusses the problem with over-compressed music on modern CDs which has garnered a fair amount of attention lately, but also covers how we now consume music and everything else in our lives.... »

Over at Babylon Wales, Anthony Brockway has been observing Maciej Dakowicz at work as he photographs another night out at the Glamorgan County Council staff club. Maciej's work will be well-known to anyone who follows the Wales And The Welsh Flickr group pool. This is an evocative written portrait... »

Following the Welsh theme of the last post, here are a couple of good blogs spotted at the Welsh Blogs aggregator recently: Chris Cope is an American columnist who learnt Welsh solely online using the BBC's website and has now brought his "child bride" to Cardiff to take a... »

I keep meaning to post a moan about the generic landscape pictures that clutter up photo gallery sites, not to mention yards of shelf with glossy colour hardbacks in tourist shops, but it probably wouldn't amount to much more than "GAH, if I have to look at one more... »

In our sideline as corporate drone, BB recently received a global email from a HR person. The contents needn't concern us - you may rest assured they were as intriguing and exciting as any such missive can be - but the sender had chosen to colour the entire text... »

We're back, with a momentous announcement. It's the news that the world, or at least parents of the world, or at least some parents of the world, has been crying out for. News that will put an end to fruitless Googling and phonecalls that no one returns, settle debates... »

I dunno, this seems relevant somehow. (Scored 89, since you ask.)... »

"Which braying, wide-eyed simpletons watch this stuff ... ?" - Rock star's crazy, crazy nights at Christ's BB has very little to add other than that we tremendously enjoyed this news story, though more for what it says about "reality" TV than the ridiculous, posturing loon that is Gene... »

A C Grayling suggests that you can be too tolerant in this comment on the play Behzti and it's alleged offence to Sikhs, but goes equally for the BBC's grand inquisitors: you have the right to practise your faith, but the responsibility to accept free speech about it. Unless... »

Julian Baggini pleads for some degree of civility, advice which would make Manchester at least the tiniest bit more bearable (e.g. on the tram). (Also worth reading his books, or checking out his other pieces. Alternatively, you could just go to the source.)... »

Some concise tips for successful bidding on eBay, to help you avoid winning a secondhand broken toilet brush that cost £500 and wasn't even shipped before the seller disappeared with your money.... »

This Slashdot posting neatly summarises one of the main shortcomings of "CSI: Miami", although it fails to mention the David Caruso school of acting (remove shades; look around and narrow eyes as 500 megawatts of Florida sunshine burns through your retinas; replace shades; repeat in every scene), the overly-solicitous... »

BB's goal of abandoning the high street, and indeed never going outside again, in favour of online shopping has almost come to fruition with the ability to buy socks online at Blueshire - for all your HJ Hall Diamond Argyll needs. We recommend the cotton intarsia style (HJ 7406).... »

You've stopped believing in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy so isn't it time you gave up on the Quick Fix too? Especially at that price.... »

Read James C. Liu's blog entry on the difficulties of tech management. And if you don't understand it, BB has some coloured sticky notes here that might help.... »

They do their best to hide it away, but here it is: HP Planet Partners printing supplies return and recycling programme for the UK. Home users can order up to 10 free pre-paid envelopes for the return of used ink cartridges. BB has just put an order in (after... »

Having endured Matrix Reloaded, I'm strongly less inclined to watch Matrix Revolutions. The fact that it features the Meringue-ian again, the comedy foreigner apparently modelled on Herr Flick ("of the Gestapo"), is already one strike against it. That it features Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, is directed by the... »

Petteri Sulonen offers the cluestick to camera shops: it's about the service, dummy.... »

BB has long been bemused by the attempts of hifi buffs - aided and abetted by a whole shelf of magazines, as usual - to turn the passive experience (we won't say "activity") of listening to music into an active hobby. Put media in, press play, relax and enjoy.... »

The most concise statement I've ever seen on taking great photos with a film camera. Manually.... »

Here's a great Photoshop action that reproduces the look of "Amelie" (one of my all-time favourite movies, and I say that as a dyed-in-the-wool, lifelong, lifesucks cynic) on your images. Regardless of whether one judges it to be an effective reproduction (you probably have to pick the right chocolate-box... »

...Said an alleged Sisters fan to BB once. Which, if you're not a Sisters fan, amounts to liking two early singles and not the three albums and numerous EPs that followed. This NotBBC post nicely points up the problems in being a fan of one specific period of a... »

Here's an interesting thread on Nikonians about the merits of fast lenses against all-in-one zooms. The latter are usually targetted at the "consumer" market, because consumers want the convenience and will accept - or are unaware of - the limitations and compromises imposed by these designs. Chief among these... »

BB doesn't normally post links to other sites because: It's boring, particularly when there's barely any relevant or stimulating commentary alongside. (Look at this. This is interesting. Hey, cool. Which pointless meat product are you?) Having ensnared your browser, we've no motivation to redirect it elsewhere. We actually have... »