Part 2 of my transition to Apple - my new 24" iMac

Following the iPhone I bought last week, part two of my switch to Apple is now complete after I finally purchased a 24" iMac.

Although it is not online yet (just waiting for O2 to take over my broadband) I have already been extremely impressed with the iMac. The huge screen is amazing and will make sorting and editing my photographs far easier and faster. I have already installed Adobe Lightroom (albeit only version 1.1 until I'm online) and it absolutely flies compared to my PC version.

Once I'm online I'll be able to sync up the calendar and contacts on my phone with the iMac, and vice versa. This will make appointment making far more efficient and straightforward. I also bought a package called "mobile me" which means that my email, calendar, contacts and photos will also be stored in an online "cloud" (Apple's words not mine!) so even when I don't have access to my Mac or phone, providing I'm near a computer, I'll be able to refer to all this information.

Despite the fact I've only had it for a few days, I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending the iMac. As well as the fact it's clearly going to make my workflow so much faster and efficient I don't have to worry about viruses, trojans, spyware, malware and all the other nasty things PCs tend to attract, to anywhere near the same extent as I have been up to now. One of the reasons my current PC runs quite slowly is because of all the ant-virus software I have installed. Macs are not infallible but they are much more secure than PCs.

Will let you know how I get on when I'm online and using the Mac as my first choice computer!

Neil

Mobile number working again!

Hi everyone,

Following my post yesterday I'm pleased to confirm my mobile number is now working again.

Apologies if you tried to contact me during the time the number was inactive.

Thanks,

Neil

Mobile number down for 24 hours

Hi,

Just to let you know, as part of my transfer from my existing mobile phone provider to O2, my usual mobile number is not currently working. I hope that the transfer will be completed no later than tomorrow (Thursday 24th July) at which point my number will work again.

As I mentioned in an earlier post I had to change providers in order to get the new iPhone 3G. I absolutely love the iPhone though so the transfer (and the hassle I had to go through to keep my existing number... less said the better) should be worth it.

In the meantime should you wish to contact me please do so either by email or by calling my landline number (listed on my www.neilredfern.com).

Many thanks

Neil

Client feedback

I received some lovely feedback yesterday (see below) from a couple whose wedding I covered in May. As always it's great to receive such lovely comments and makes all the hard work worth it!

Many thanks for taking the time to send me the feedback Eva. It was lovely to work you with yourself and Martyn and I wish you both the very best for your future together.

"We would like to thank you for making us feel relaxed and comfortable on the day. We were both dreading having our pictures taken but we hardly noticed you were taking them most of the time. We love our album, it's really special and we couldn't have hoped for anything better! Thank you again, you were brilliant!"

Part 1 of my transition to Apple - my new iPhone 3G

I am now the proud owner of a new iPhone!

I haven't owned an iPhone before but had obviously heard of their great reputation. My first impressions are... it's amazing!

As with most Apple products the iPhone looks stunning and certainly has the wow factor. However for me the best thing about it is the way it will allow me to sync up with other applications such as my email, calendar, photos, contacts etc all without me having to do anything.

For example if I add a new appointment to the calendar on my iPhone, it will automatically be added to the calendar on my computer, and vice-versa. I can also check my emails wherever I am (to be fair I could do this before but the interface of the iPhone will make replying to emails 'on the go' so much easier - no more writing on a tiny screen). Internet browsing is also fast and, thanks to the huge screen, quite enjoyable (not the case with some of my older phones)

My ability to do these things however depends on stage two of my transition, moving from PC to Mac, which will start happening this Friday when I buy a new 24" iMac - more to follow on this when it happens!

The only potential stumbling block, or rather delay in all this, is how easily I am able to get a PAC code for my phone (allowing me to keep my existing number - which is invaluable to me) and a MAC code for my broadband connection so I can change providers.

This shouldn't be a problem but without naming names the existing provider of both my phone and broadband (same provider) are notoriously poor at allowing people to leave their clutches - even when their customers are no longer within contracts....

Fingers crossed my change over won't be too painful or frustrating...!

SWPP Awards - June 2008

Each month the SWPP (one of the UK's largest photographic organisations) holds a competition for it's members, whereby photographers are invited to submit their images for marking.

There are 22 categories in total and each member is able to submit one image per category. Due to the relevance of the categories, I tend to submit photos in 5 or 6 categories each month.

Each photograph is then individually judged and awarded one of four classifications; unclassified (not good!), bronze, silver or gold.

I do not know the official statistics, and obviously the figures change each month, but I would estimate that around half the images get bronze, a quarter get unclassified and the remaining quarter receive either silver or gold (although gold is probably awarded to only 5% or so of the submitted images).

I have only been entering the competition for the past three months. The first month I submitted two photographs which both received bronze, the second month I received one silver and 5 bronzes and last month I received 3 silvers and 3 bronzes.

I was obviously very pleased with June's results and it is encouraging to see that my results have been improving month on month so far.

The images for which I received silver in last month's competition are below:

Photographs on Walkden Gardens website

Hidden away off the junction of Marsland Road and Derbyshire Road in Sale, the beautiful Walkden Gardens seems to be one of the area's best kept secrets.

Despite the fact the gardens are located in a residential area, not many people (even locals) seem to be aware of their existance. I live in Sale but hadn't heard of them until I was introduced by a couple whose wedding I was covering last year. The couple were getting married nearby and thought the gardens would make a lovely setting for their family group shots and photographs of the two of them together. They were right!

Assuming the weather is good (not always a given in Sale!) the gardens are perfect for bride and groom photographs as they are relatively private, have lots of different sections (good for variety) and, most of all, are extremely photogenic!!

Walkden Gardens has it's own website (www.walkdengardens.co.uk) which is maintained by "The Friends of Walkden Gardens", a voluntary group who help manage the gardens and ensure it's upkeep and long term future. After becoming a fan of the gardens (I've now since been back with another bride and groom) I recently got in to touch with them to offer my assistance should they require any photography for their website etc. They were very appreciative of my offer and I recently spent and evening in the gardens taking photographs for them.

These images are now online and you can view some of the photographs I took by clicking on the following link (my photographs appear at the bottom of the page): http://www.walkdengardens.co.uk/seat.html

Alternatively I have uploaded a few of my recent pics below.

For those reading this who live nearby I would certainly recommend visiting the gardens. If you do perhaps you could drop the Friends of Walkden Gardens a quick email (contact details on their website) to tell them how you heard about the gardens and to congratulate them on their hard work!