Farewell 2018

The end of another year spawns yet another wrap up post, so in no particular order.

Photography
I focussed a lot more on my photography this year. Always a keen snapper but was lazy when it came to actual editing and publishing online. It took me a while but towards the end of April I started a new Instagram account and in the middle of the year sorted out a website (still unfinished) and domain for my photography.

You’ll find my photographs at one of the following locations:

Instagram – iandick_photography
Website – https://www.iandickphotography.com
Flickr – ian_d

My biggest challenge is still getting out and about with the camera although I’ve done a better job of that since October. The shorter days certainly help with the sunrise/sunsets which seem to be popular for some reason 😉

My top nine liked images from 2018 on Instagram

Instagram has been interesting. I’ve been growing who I follow slowly and finding lots of inspiration from fellow photographers. However the constant nagging from Instagram/Facebook around boosting posts, the variation in engagement and the smell of shit in general from that company is making me question the investment in time. I’ve had a Flickr Pro account for years and amazingly, despite everyone saying it’s dead, I’ve found that to be the more rewarding place to visit. Images look so much better and you aren’t constantly being socially engineered when you use their platform. They also have an iPad app and I’ve a bit more confidence in their future since their tie up with SmugMug.

2019 will see me stretching my legs a bit more out and about around Scotland. Still focussing on landscape photography although I’d love to mix in a bit of street and astro.

Health
Health has been slowly getting better. Still have really bad days with the viral chest thing I’ve got and still couldn’t go for a run yet but it feels like the running could be back in 2019. Really miss those frosty winter runs.

I have kept the rings streak going though. Today I closed my Apple Watch rings so thats a calendar year crossed off and day 657 of the streak. It’s still too easy for me to sit on my arse and do nothing so I find the rings a helpful nudge to stay active.

Finally my weight has stayed pretty consistent…but the trend is a slow increase. 1kg heavier than this time last year so need to keep an eye on things over 2019.

Tech
A pretty quiet tech year for me…kind off. The photography kit saw some upgrades starting off with a new drone – the DJI Mavic Air. Loved the size and portability of it. Also invested in Lee filters to help with long exposures. This meant the camera bag I had was just too small so bought the Lowepro ProTactic 450 AW which has been fantastic in the last six months of usage. Everything fits well, it’s really comfy over long distances and I can carry just one bag and hold all my photography kit. Version 2 of the bag has now been released and it comes highly recommended.

The Lowepro even coped with another drone. DJI brought out the Mavic 2 Pro and although I called Shak mad for selling his Mavic Air and upgrading, I did the same a week later and have no regrets. Still portable it is faster, quieter and takes better images than the Air and my old Phantom. The extra battery life also allows you to do far more with one battery. The Mavic 2 Pro is my favourite purchase of 2018.

Dawn over Loch Ard from the Mavic 2 Pro

Two other upgrades were the Apple Watch and the iPad. The Apple Watch has been great. Much better battery life, bigger screen and general speed of operation are my favourite features. The iPad is also impressive. Went for the 12.9″ screen and I love it in every day use. Design is great, speed is fantastic but it is held back by iOS. Hopefully 2019 will see some much needed improvements to iOS and across the Apple software platform in general.

Final tech mention of 2018 is web hosts. Through the summer I moved over to Linode and it’s been a great move. Host all my sites with them and despite it being more work to setup this is outweighed by the power and flexibility they offer.

All good things…
One thing that is coming to an end is my “Weekly Digest” posts. I’ve been running a weekly “what I’ve read/watched” post since March 2015 but they’ve run their course and so last week’s was the final digest on the site. Although that was the final post here’s the final final what I’ve read/enjoyed this week:

If you want to keep up to date with things I read or store for future reference then Pinboard is the best bet or the associated RSS feed. Warning – there’s a lot of stuff I throw into Pinboard. I’ve also started to make more use of Letterboxd for my movie watching.

The End
2018 for me has been fine but in general has felt a pretty dark year. So much negativity with politics, brexit and around social networks and technology. 2019 promises more of the same…if anything worse. On that cheery note, all the best for 2019 and chin up – it is always darkest just before the day dawneth.

Weekly Digest

Life
It really is Christmas Eve and this is the last update for the year. Hopefully this post finds you well and I wish you all the best for the rest of the holidays and into 2019.

This is a bumper update too…and may be the last for a while so enjoy.

Media
Red Dead Redemption 2 – Single player completed. Chris described it as a Tour de Force and I can’t disagree. A truly believable world that is so rich both graphically and due to the characters and their stories. The game isn’t without it’s issues including some predictable missions and also some repeating gameplay elements…and some not very intelligent enemies in some missions but these are minor niggles. This is the first single player game I’ve completed in years and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Cobra Kai – cheesy as hell, terrible acting, bad writing but some funny moments

The Predator – not the best, just watch the original instead.

Links

Weekly Digest

Life
Tree’s up – Christmas is here. Almost. Is it only me thats looking forward to a crazy week in politics?

Media
Venom – Load of shite. What a waste of a great cast. Better off just being an animated movie.

Red Dead 2 – 68% through story mode…closing in on the finish and still loving it.

Links

Weekly Digest

Life
It’s December. Christmas is coming…can finally have a mince pie. If only this Brexit nonsense wasn’t still an issue.

Media
Rewatched Dunkirk in 4k. Stunning. Visuals are strong but it’s the audio – so impacting.

Red Dead Online – mmm. Not convinced by this so far. Feels a bit sluggish to play. Still ploughing through single player and loving it.

Links

Weekly Digest

Life
Whats worse – Brexit or Black Friday? Both topics dominating the news and my inbox. Enough already.

Media
Battlefield V – more of the same in many ways but the tweaks to how your squad works makes it for me. Stunning to look at too.

Red Dead – Still ploughing through it…still loving it.

Sicario: Day of the Soldado – Not as good as the original though I loved the sound and visuals.

Links

Weekly Digest

Life
Turned 45 last week. I have no words.

Early morning trip to Loch Ard today. Didn’t get the pictures I was looking for but did get some nice drone footage. Must make an effort with the video side of things – I’ve got a fair bit of good video now but can’t be arsed editing.

Media
They Shall Not Grow Old – powerful documentary from Peter Jackson. Brought home the hardships faced during WW1. The transition from B&W to colour was astounding.

Links