No submissions, no comments, no brief hellos - what's happening Hoodi, you mince off to Cardiff telling me that you're going with this Photography lark, and then you go all quiet! The time when you should surely be knocking me agog with more images than ever before, and you go all mute!

Indeed.

Things are good in Cardiff. The course is steadily amusing, the people relentlessly surprising, the work suitably frequent - and the stresses, too. Life, really.

The thing is I just don't love you anymore, Devian. You're still my favourite Tart - make no mistake about it. But lets be honest, that's all you really are - a floosy. Good fun to dip into on occasion, but not what I really want in so many ways. But don't despair - I still want to be friends, if you can handle that - I'll try to pop round for tea as often as it takes my fancy, but I really can't make any promises.

We'll just see how it goes, eh?

Just a quick update - I've moved to Cardiff, land of all things Welsh.
I've also enrolled on a HND course in photography, a bit of fun!

So - if you're in the area & want someone to shoot with, or just drink coffee & count sheep, give me a whistle!
Uhhh... That's about it!

Holiday Work

Listening to: Jean Michel Jarre ~ Chants Magnetiques III
Watching: Shawshank

I'm still lurking, honest
My submissions have been coming in ebbs and flows - not because I've been taking fewer photos, but because I've been being more selective with what I put here.
That's for a few reasons, but isn't hugely relevant. Suffice to say, work will keep coming
I've also only been replying to other peoples comments, and commenting on others deviations, in fits and bursts. I love all your work, so please don't be offended if it takes me a little while to get around to checking it out - cos' I will eventually, I promise

I'd just like to remind people that all of my work you see here is available for sale
Just not through dA's prints system. Put simply, I'm not comfortable with them taking a 50% cut of profits! But no matter where you are in the world, I can arrange for prints to be delivered to you. Just drop me a line, and we can work something out

As the above thumbnails show, I spent some time in W. Wales a few weeks back. It was an enjoyable trip (Wales never ceases to impress me) - however, it was cut somewhat short by catastrophic vehicle failure. The car is, unfortunately, still very unwell and still very much in W. Wales - living where I do this is something of a pain, as to get anywhere is something of a trek.
Nevermind, eh - all that walking will get // keep me fit for lugging about all my photography gear!
I was also in Cambridge last week. A nice part of the world, particularly so at this time of the year - there are tons of blossoming trees doing their.. Blossoming.. thang
Didn't get any photos unfortunately, as I was simply too busy with other things - you'll just have to pop over there yourself

It would appear that I have been tagged by ToVinge [link] (thanks, Tove ). Be sure to check out her gallery. It's mostly nature photography, but there's some damn interesting stuff there - a great insight into Sweden and other parts of the world, and most definitely worth some of your time for a visit!
So what's this tagging business all about then. seems I have to write about six odd facts and/or habits about yourself in your journal. Six odd facts // habits. Hmm
Well, my habits, whilst they may seem thoroughly bizarre to you, are nothing more than normal to me. So without the help of a third party (far too much like hard work) I can't offer you any habitual information.
I think I can manage oddities though.
1 Contrary to popular beleif, my name really is Hoodi. Hoodi Ansari, infact. Yes, the award for most unimaginative dA username does go to me.

2 Due to a bizzare (but apparently not all that rare) birth defect, I have a cavity in my chest where (apparently) two of my ribs are inverted.

3 I sleep on my sofa - I find mine (and most) beds to be uncomforable.

4 In amongst the growth that is my eyebrows, there is a scar where a horse kicked me. My family insists this scar did not originate from a horses hoof, but rather a barbed wire fence. But they weren't there, so what would they know? Incase you were wondering, I was there.
While we're on the topic of scars, I'll give you a double whammy of oddness by telling you I have a long scar on one of my knuckles, I've had it for years, but it is sill painful. I am not, however, going to tell you how I got that one.

5 I will eat just about anything the once. No really, just about anything.

6 The pronounciation of my name seems to be a mystery to most - even when they have to say it on a daily basis, and I correct them on a daily basis.

So there you have it. 6 oddities, all Hoodi related.
Oh, here's a bonus one :
I challenge you to find another Hoodi. Anywhere. In the world. I am unique!

So now I guess I have to choose another six people for the dubious honour of taggification. Be sure to stop by the galleries of these folks, too - they all receive the Hoodi seal of approval, an honour indeed.

ashun [link]
charlieh [link]
didjerama [link]
Isquiesque [link] (if for no other reason than as a vain attempt to raise her from what appears to be an eternal slumber.. And lack of submission)
looby [link]
pigeonpyro [link]

That's all for now folks, take care, and keep up the great work :>

Recent Photos

Mood: Questioning
Listening to: Lemon Jelly (Quack!)
Watching: The Island

For the first time in ages the birds are chirping away outside. Owls a hootin', too - a good half dozen of them. Nice.

Lots has been happening, but first off, and perhaps most importantly :

Left School
This was going nowhere for me. I'll still be sitting some of my exams as an external candidate, but it got to the point where I really just couldn't stand my average day anymore. So I left. This leaves me in a position to pursue my photography. In quite what direction I'm going to go with that I'm still unsure - but regardless, it's something i'm looking into. A more immediately pressing matter though is money - I need a job, and fast. Again, something which needs attention.

Prints
I've been selling quite a few prints recently, which is nice. Not through dA mind you - that doesn't seem to be going anywhere. But rather through people directly contacting me. I prefer it this way. I can make a print "to spec", and check to see that people are happy. There's also no middle man taking a more-than-healthy cut, so I actually get a decent amount of money for my efforts. Therefore, if you want a print of any of my work, drop me a line. I'm sure we can work something out.

Fantastic Photographers
I've been meeting up with quite a few people in the area recently, going out and just shooting this and that - which is fantastic. It's great fun in a very different way to going out and spending the afternoon by myself. All being well I should be off to the Elan Valley [link] with Noah [link] in the next couple of weeks. Really looking forward to that
Also trying to arrange something with the fantastic Hamish [link] - an inspiration if ever there was one.

My own Photos
Some may have noticed that there hasn't really been a great volume of shots coming from me lately - that's for two reasons, first I've been really busy, and second the weather has been really, really naff. Really naff. I'm eagerly awaiting spring, but it's not looking like it's gonna come any time soon. Somewhat frustrated by my lack of shooting, I'm gonna be going back over recent shoots, seeing if there's something I've missed that I want to put up here

Blog
I think I briefly mentioned it in my last journal update, but I have a Blog up and running now [link] <-- still very much a work in progress, but it's looking half decent now. It should end up being updated with far more regularity than my journal here.

And that's about it, for now.
Cheers to everyone, both for your helpful comments and your continually outstanding work - Inspirational.

Recent Photos

Mood: Unplugged
Listening to: Tiffany Anders
Watching: Silence of the Lambs

So, whats been happening since my last addition to my journal?

Well, as per the title, I'm fast approaching the end of a week off, which I've spent in Cardiff. I managed to get some shooting in, although not as much as I'd have liked - mostly due to the weather, which has been damn cold, and generally miserable. We've even had a touch of snow!
I met up with Noah [link] Tuesday evening and we had a gander around the bay. Was good fun, although I ballsed up half my shots by leaving my cam set to ISO 1600
I should be meeting up with a friend of my sisters, Rhys [link] tommorow afternoon, so that should be good, too

I've also wrangled some free (\o/) webspace from a rather nice chap called Howard. I'm in the process of setting up a nice lil' Blog there, although it still needs a lot of work (read, more than the hour that I've put in thus far) before I start dishing out linkage. Watch this space.

Hmmm. That seems a little lacking. Surely something else has happened in... A fortnight?
Hmmm. Perhaps something else will spring to mind. Till then, that's me all done

Edit : Ahahahah! I knew there was something else of mild interest I wanted to flag up here >: D
Clicky here [link] for a nifty lil' panoramic of Cardiff bay.
You can see the brick red assembly building which features in a couple of my recent shots. If you look right at it, there's someone stood right up close next to one of the towers - that's where I was when I was taking Gargoyles [link] - although I was right down on the floor

As ever, cheers to all the most fantastic artisty types here. Your feedback is greatly appreciated