Charitable Change?

I've just watched Dispatches on Channel 4, which was about the London Marathon and allegedly where it's money does and doesn't go.. Just before the program, the London Marathon put out a press release - which you can read, the link is on this page. In a nutshell they claim the London Marathon (LM) company is making a lot of money from the LM every year and not giving it to charity.
I'd like to take a view on this but remove if I can the thoughts from this program and take my own personal view on this hugely popular event..
Every year they tell us it is over subscribed by 3 or 4 times... that's approximately 120,000 people trying to get in and only 30,000 actually do.. The cheapest entry is a ballot place - which this year would have cost £32.00. We know that LM is also a charity giving to local schemes up and down the country although this is never made very clear to us. We also know for a fact that charities pay LM £300 - yes.. three hundred pounds for every gold bold place they hand out...

Now - admittedly the LM has to make money to pay for staff, race costs, advertising, and blahdy blah... BUT they must make a lot!.. I mean - WHY charge charities at all?? please someone answer me this very simple question... as here is my addition to that last statement - it cost £32 for a ballot place... thirty two pounds... charge everyone the same!? Charities too if you have to - but £300?? come on?
In the pre race magazine we have also been told that future ballot places will also get phased out... only people that tried for ballot in 2009 AND 2010 are able to apply. So what will happen then? I'm annoyed to think that in this day and age we can still not put on a large event without stinging a charity.... think about it for a minute - what would YOU do?.. Let me give you a push, I'm thinking - those in rightfully are people that are good for age and elite.. the rest - give ALL the places to charity.. yes ALL of them.. and then get the charities to find runners.. charge the charities the entrance fee (£32) and they can ask the runner for this... now... the good part.. the charity will no longer need to ask you to raise £1500 or so.. and the good thing is every charity would get in on the act now.. that seems fair to me..Plus - why not have more runners?? Is that asking too much?
I'm sure (putting the program aside) that the LM earns plenty of money through sponsorship deals, £32 *30,000 = just short of £1m, and also the aid it is given by helpers who don't get paid (ie water station staff).

That to me is logic - that to me is a charitable change.. it might take programs like Dispatches the fear to do this but should it...?

On a footnote the program does include an interview with the London 10k organiser.. I again find this race very over priced at £29.50 - and I have to say very un-organised. The BUPA London 10k is about £25 too - and this begs the question are these events themselves getting over priced and forgetting what the real aim is - to keep fit and have fun.

Links:

Dispatches web page:
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/articles/tracing-the-marathons-millions-producer-feature

London Marathon press release:
http://www.virginlondonmarathon.com/news-and-media/news-and-media/dispatches/

Backpack Training

Well I have been running with a backpack now on longer runs for nearly a year and a half.. Basically since I knew I was taking part in the Marathon de Sables.. Up till now the most I'd put in it was around 6-7 kg but today I used 10kg...


after running - my video diary

I needed to test equipment to use on the Sahara run and make some notes about running with a heavy load.. In the desert my pack will start off anything between 12-15 kg - so it's important to test these things now rather than later.
Points:

1) Pack felt heavy at first but got used to this very quickly. Happy that back felt fine and shoulders too..
2) Although shoulders felt good - the straps on the OMM Backpack tended to cut in a little.. this could get painful with use in hot conditions.
3) Turning round while running - do this very slowly or when you turn back to face forward, the pack can roll round and knock you off balance.
4) Breathing: straps NEED to be pretty tight and therefore restrict breathing.. this needs to be done in long slow breaths rather than short little ones.

That was the OMM Backpack and next time i'll test the Raidlight one to see how that fairs.. The other thing to remember is that the weight will be better distributed throughout the pack - for testing I put two dumbbells in a towel which tended to stay at the bottom of the pack in one area... Maybe I will have to try out better weight distribution too.

Ice Bath

(contains offence language)

Went for a run today.. that was 21.5 miles and I thought after.. let's do this Ice Bath thing.. it's suppose to be good for you, so why not... well.. as you can see I was in a lot of pain! However, even though I only lasted 2 minutes, I did feel better for it.. When I got out of the bath I felt my legs warm up very quickly - the blood was being pumped in so fast.. amazing! I think I will probably do it again but try and stay in a little longer - I got out because my toes felt extremely painful.. they actually felt like someone was cutting them off!! lol! Well, you get the picture, if not, watch the video.. warning - there is some swearing in the video!
The run rounds off another long week of runs - this time totalling 52 miles.. I've spaced them nicely and not run too hard and that's why I feel good now.. next week more of the same and soon I will start to 'taper' before the London Marathon.
As I write the total on my charity page is now £1,170 so I am very pleased with the donations I am getting.. At the moment I am running a bet with EVERYONE for £50.. basically it goes like this - you pay £5 into my charity then let me know what time (down to the second) my official London Marathon time will be... you could win £50.. maybe give it a go? I'm hoping to arrive between 3.30 and maybe 3.20 if i can... up to you.. page is here: http://www.justgiving.com/mds2011
Ray ...x

51 miles..

So this week i managed to rack up 51 miles in total.. that's running. On top you think - that's a lot.. then consider the Sahara Marathon is 150 miles in 6 days (not 7) and it brings you down with a THUMP. However, moving from 40 to 50 miles was easy.. I now feel moving greater distances from week to week is easier than when i was running less miles.. ie 15-20. When I was running 20 miles per week, an increase of just 5 miles was very noticable... Now, that has changed drastically.

I'm not sure exactly what this is down to but i'm glad that it has come to light.. It means my goal of the MdS seems so much nearer - just add the heat and weight (on my back) as extra factors - but I am sure I'm nearly there now. I'd like to moderate my training through summer, regulating it from say 35 miles up to 60 miles per week.. but not always the same mileage.. terrain must change often too - like trail or mountain running for instance.

I'm planning on running the marathon distance maybe twice before the actual London Marathon in late April - this will prepare me even more for the distance. I'm happy to have passed the 50 mile mark - its a milestone if you will pardon the pun. ;)

Infrared

abandoned boat
Originally uploaded by Ray Wise
Without an infrared camera or film for my old 35mm its near impossible to make an image which resembles one. However, using an infrared effect in Photoshop helps... This is an example. Taken in New Zealand on the South Island its a basic shot of an old abandoned boat. The image was first edited using Tonal Contrast to bring out the details and then the Infrared mask was applied. This difference between it and using black and white (desaturation) techniques are quite astounding - bare in mind this doesn't work with all scenes and should be taken lightly. Lastly I applied some contrast and sharpening.
Tools used are all from Color Efex Pro 3 by Nik Software - details here: http://www.niksoftware.com/colorefexpro/en/entry.php

Ray
http://raywise.co.uk/

Post Processing

Most photos really need a little post processing on a PC or Mac when you upload them from your camera. This shot is a prime example - I've opened it for you in Photoshop CS2 to show you the original version:

(click on photos for larger view)

You can see lots of light from behind the tree but the tree itself and other details are too dark - ie sheep and wall. Now, if you wanted silhouettes you could increase the contrast and be done with it but I'm going to attempt to show you how I bring these shadows up a little.
On the next screenshot I am changing the colour scale in Colour Balance - you can use Auto Colour but this doesn't always give the result you are looking for.. Remember this is NOT the same for every photo and you have to use your eye to gauge when it is at its best.


Shadow/Highlight is next - again this can be easily overdone so be careful.. my settings below should be ok for most processing however, watch out for added gainyness or halos.. Halos form between highlight and shadow - if it is pushed too much a white glow will occur around a dark object which looks surreal and unpleasant.



So without pushing the shot too much I still need more exposure on the dark objects - even after the above trick. Below I am going to create a new layer. Layers are found in the windows list but are usually out already on the right hand side of the screen. Right click and duplicate layer. You will be asked what to call the layer - I have left it as is.. "Background Copy"

Once you chave named your new layer it will appear in the layers box above the 'original image'. Make sure the top (copy) layer is selected.

Next I went to Exposure and made the exposure +1.00... Click on ok and you see a big change straight away - however the lighter areas will lose their colour somewhat.

Getting the colour back could not be easier.. Select the Eraser tool and set it up as you see below.. Opacity about 28% and Flow about 31%... You can now erase the areas you lost the colour on.. and the layer underneath (original) will come through.. I erased the sky and the grass areas.

Afterwards right click on the layer and Flatten Image.

The only thing missing next was a little colour in the tree.. again a little trick for getting this back is a follows: Make a new layer with nothing on it - select this layer.. and then select the gradient tool. I selected the already made grey to clear brush and changed the grey to yellow.. I then dragged the mouse from the top middle of the image to the bottom middle..
If you have done this correctly the gradient will be on the top layer (new layer) and the original image underneath still intact. Looking like below...

As you can see that look is unatural - but if you go to layers again and change the style from Normal to Soft Light, it will only appear on the dark area.. (the tree)

Finally I'm happy with the shot - sometimes at this point you can add some sharpening but I don't feel it's necessary here. Below is a split with the Edited version on the left and the original on the right:

New Shoes!!

New trainer time for me - Asics Kayano 16 - which is a step up from the 15 I was wearing.. these are a bit lighter and have more shock absorption in the heal.. which you can really feel if you walk in them - however, this is not entirely comfortable.. These are out and out road running shoes - built for the over pronator, which is me :)
Trainers need to be replaced anything from 300-400 miles - or if the drastically start to wear - however this might mean a wrong fit. Trainers need to be worn in - that means no more than 30 minutes running per day in them for the first 2 weeks. This will mould them into your foot better and reduce the risk of heal blisters. This is a pain for me as I'd increased my runs to at least 7-8 miles at a time - about 50-60 minutes.. So I've had to cut this down - however on Sunday when I ran 13 miles I took my new shoes in a rucksack and changed into them 30 minutes from the end :))
It's a good thing to slow down for a couple of weeks anyway and give my muscles a rest to recouperate. Next race for me is the Fleet Half Marathon in March so i have plenty of time for these to bed in before then,.

Photography Meetups winter theme competition

Well I have some good news to share.. one of my shots just one a competition :)
I belong to a Photo Meetup group, as you may know. They had a winter themed competition and my above image came in first place.! I'm stunned and happy at the same time as we have a lot of very talented photographers in the group... The other good news is that my shot is that it will be on show, with some other images from the group at Putney Library from 14 Feb - 6 Mar. the address is 5/7 Disraeli Road, London, SW15 2DR > more details are here.
Details about the shot. I have to say it's not one of my favourites but from a shoot I did in Jan 2009 at Richmond Park in Surrey (not far from Putney). The temperature was about -6C and everything was covered in frost - including me by the end of the morning. More examples from that and other days to Richmond Park can be seen at my Flickr Account.
If you live in or around London and are interested in joining the group, here is the Photography Meetup website:
http://www.photographymeetups.com

Ray..

http://raywise.co.uk/

Your chauffeur awaits m'lady

Your chauffeur awaits m'lady
Originally uploaded by Ray Wise

Last summer I went with my sister and family to Hever Castle in Kent.. there was a wedding on there and I was lucky with this shot when the Rolls Royce arrived it parked plumb in front of me. Luckily there was nobody around to erase from the shot and I got a clean image.. The castle frankly dominates the shot for me and the car just an interesting feature. I used a sepia tone to bring out the contrast better however, the colour version works well too.

Movies seen lately

For full reviews go to my Flixter page.. However, all the films i've seen lately tend to be on a par with each other as ratings go.. My opinion may not count for much but i like to let you know what i think and who knows, it may save you some money :)
My favourite of the bunch was It's Complicated - a romantic comedy with a twist - or two... or three. Meryl Streep stars along side some great acting from co star Alec Balwin. Steve Martin also plays an important role however, i did find his work a little dull and doesn't really add to the comedy value.

(Matt Damon)

The Informant was a great suprise - starring Matt Damon this is a true story about a business man who turns informer on his company.. Damon plays a great part and really shows us his true acting colours which is nice to see... I hear also he is making another Bourne film - could this be a step in the wrong direction? We'll have to wait and see..
The other two are fairly run of the mill action thrillers which are a good ride but nothing much to write home about.. Watching out for Fish Tank and 44 Inch Chest - two British films which are receiving some great reviews - hope to bring you these real soon...x

Photo Mettups - Battersea

Every month or so I attend a photo group meetup organised through Facebook. They also have their own site : http://www.photographymeetups.com/ . We go to various places al over London - this time we went to Battersea Park and surrounding areas. Its always a nice day out and a great chance to meet other people interested in photography also.

Well the weather was very grey and cold - it wasn't long before the gloves came out. But the worse thing was that the light was poor. Grey cloud covered the sky for most of the time we were out and this made getting some good shots difficult. I had to bump up my ISO to get as much light in as possible.. Still, there were plenty of people out and children on scooters - all making great subjects :)


Top shot is from a rose garden which had some interesting features including this item.. I used bleaching techniques to get the effect. Above a shot across one of the small lakes - the building is a pump station which looked nice in the frame.. Processed in HDR. Below, is a simple effect gained from opening up the aperture and using the curve of the fence to take you to the people - a bit of abstract fun.


All the photos from the day are in my Facebook Album if you have access.

http://raywise.co.uk/

New Website - Ray Wise Photography

I've finally gone ahead and bought my own domain and set up a photography portfolio. Here's the link http://raywise.co.uk . The site is broken down into a few categories and will show my style of photography across these ranges. Users can add comments without logging in and add links to their own sites or others.
I have to say thanks to my many Flickr friends who have given me the encouragement to pursue this idea. Their comments have given me belief in myself to go forward and take a chance in the professional world. Thanks also to Getty Images for giving me the chance to share my work in their database - some of which have been licensed already.
Have a look at the new site - please let me know what you think of the design and any problems you might find.. cheers.

a little love goes a long way....x

a little love goes a long way....x
Originally uploaded by Ray Wise

I've been looking at this image for a while wondering weather to upload it or not.. However, blending it with the Haiti disaster made a lot of sense because a picture paints a thousand words and what I had to say went with the photo..
I think too many of us take our lives for granted - going about our daily habits, regardless of others less fortunate. Even walking down the road for others is either impossible or fearful. There's a well know saying that goes - there is always someone worse off than you.. this is true to a point - but someone is always on the bottom of that list.. think for a minute about that..
#
#
#
brings it home doesn't it? I find that bringing myself back down to earth is a good thing and I try to do this often. Events like the Haiti Earthquake hits everyone in such a shocking way that we all feel this. However, if we all remembered this at least once a day throughout our lives, I'm sure that the world would be a happier and peaceful place. x

40 mile week

Another Sunday gone and this is the stage I tot up my weeks running miles... So this week, I ran every other day starting Monday -11 miles, Wednesday - 8 miles, Friday - 7 miles and today - 15 miles. This makes this week a 41 mile week.. great news as I thought it was going to be tough to achieve this through the winter - without the use of a dreadmill... but lets face it, anything longer than 30 minutes on one of those things and you are just sooo bored.
It's always nicer to get out on the street and run there. So I have been increasing the length of my runs from 7 miles and over. The shortest used to be 5 miles which I'm glad to put behind me. This coming week I may cut back to around 30 miles again but I will see how it goes.
The best news is I am feeling very fit without many aches and pains (there are always a few). I've probably put the mockers on it by saying that but hey ho.. The only thing I think will happen soon is me buying new trainers... the present ones are still ok - but the mileage is up and heels are starting to wear down.. must buy some new ones at the end of the month..
Happy Travels..x

in the deep mid winter

in the deep mid winter
Originally uploaded by Ray Wise
When I arrived at this point it was actually quite dark although the snow helped reflect the light. Processing a shot that is a little under exposed is tough, so over exposing a little can be a good thing.. I shot a single exposure which came out very well - however had to use adjustments in Photoshop to bring out the best in the photo.
I changed the colour balance away from blue to yellow slightly and used exposure and gamma to enhance the light patches. I've added a fog gradient layer and erased nearer details like the bush and trees on the right and close trees on the left.. Sometimes photos don't need sharpened but i find shots with branches and twigs usually benifit so i added this also.. hope you like.

http://raywise.co.uk/

Winter running

Some people might say that running round London in the winter is beyond crazy.. However, if you think that running in temperatures of around -4C is bad... think again, the competitors running the North Pole Marathon face temperatures of around -30C... Think again?
However, it's still bloody cold out there and above is the kit I where when I go out and its below 2C. It's all about layers and avoiding spongy materials like wool, cotton should also be avoided.. Clothing has to breath but still stop wind and stretch when you run. Material to look out for is Gortex ,Lycra and many other similar longer names of fabric.
Base layers should be tight fitting and that which wick sweat from your body.. I use Nike Pro Fit compression shorts and top - these also help prevent chaffing. Amazingly enough your legs - once warmed up - stay very warm in cold conditions - you'll get used to what you can bare, for me, anything lower than 2 degrees C and the tights come out - but i will still where the compression pants under them ;0)
Again with tops - avoid cotton and try to keep layers lightweight and wickable material. Gortex jackets can be heavy and uncomfortable but are very good keeping out the wind. The days are shorter in the winter and weekday runs are usually in the dark.. I bought a cheap (£10) fluorescent bib to wear so that traffic and pedestrians can spot me a little easier.. this is well worth the money!
On top I wear a lightweight hat which is good up to about -4C... Anything more and you might find this uncomfortable on longer runs. Bio-ear is like plasticine and moulds into your ear nicely - they stop the cold draft from getting in completely. Moisturiser for face and lots of Vaseline for lips and we are ready to go.
Getting too warm whilst running? On longer runs I personally thing you should keep clothing on all the time... I seem to go through a warm stage after a few miles but this passes and if i have removed clothing it needs to go back on - this throws my body temperature again and i'm in a constant battle.. best to keep clothing on unless you are running under 5 miles or so.. again, you will know what is or is not best for you... Remember, these points are from my own experience so they may not work for you at all. Thanks for reading.

ice cream sky

ice cream sky
Originally uploaded by Ray Wise
I think that with landscape photography you have to allow an element of luck when it comes to the nature side of things.. take this shot for instance - in a different time and space it may not look as effective.. The snow on the ground and the soft ripples in the sky work really well together.. Very helpful :)
I also moved the camera to the right of the gate to make the angle go with the cloud formation... Its a funny thingbut something as simple as moving the camera placement can change the outcome of a photo dramatically.

http://raywise.co.uk/

the country lane

the country lane
Originally uploaded by Ray Wise
I am jealous of anyone who lives in a rural area.. I love these old country lanes and the stone walls that surround them. This shot was taken first thing in the morning and had to be a fairly long exposure.. however, i think , in fact almost regret not going back in the middle of the day to get a brighter shot.. C'est le vie as they say.. still, you can see what i was trying to produce here and the dark edge gives it a twilight feel- and with the purple tone of the early morning light - almost surreal.

http://raywise.co.uk/

Oxford - Thames photo walk

Map details

So last week it snowed a lot! Even in the centre of London we had a few inches last a couple of days.. however, outside the capital was hit really bad and I thought it was an opportunity not to be missed with the camera. Travel surprisingly was not a problem and I actually got to Oxford earlier than I planned.. so I started walking from the train station in the dark at 07.22 .. the sun was due up at 08.10...
There was a LOT of snow, even the main roads had tracks of a few inches.. not good for cars - great for me.. it was still dark but by the time I'd got to my starting point the light was picking up and the sky was changing colour... It was really cold - I'd say about -5 or so and as there wasn't much wind, this was bearable.
Taking shots in such conditions is hard going - tip is to leave the lens cap off or it will keep misting up. I'd got so many layers of clothes on I felt warm anyway - and two pairs of gloves was a good idea.. under pair were my thin running gloves so I could still operate the camera with them on.
Soon the sun came up though and things felt a bit warmer.. Its was handy I was walking towards it as it was a nice feeling on my face.. and still no wind.. nice! A little indecision at the Abingdon bypass roundabout (where i took the next shot) and then I got on the Thames Path from the A4074.

Once on the Thames Path I followed it down towards Lower Radley.. trust me, if you ever want a beautiful river walk - this one is well worth a visit. Of coarse, it looked even better in the snow so the camera was snapping away like there was no tomorrow.. These shots are from my smaller point and shoot Lumix - the Canon 50D shots will be uploaded to my Flickr account.


After a bit of walking I realised that it was going to take longer to get to my target, which was Appleford. However, when I got to Culham bridge I made a stupid mistake a carried on rather than crossing over the river .. lol.. well, I thought the river walk was so pretty I didn't want to break off to early and go by road... There were NO river crossings until i got to Clifton Hamden - and then I had to walk back - this put another 6 miles onto the hike.. phew! Big mistake! Lucky thing is when I got to the train station I only had to wait 20 minutes.. it turns out the trains are about every 2 hours on a Saturday.. so phew again!


Last shot about reminds me of walking down the final couple of miles and a few cars not giving way to me - making me leap in to the bushes.. it seems funny now but this is the reason you wear bright coloured clothing and walk toward oncoming vehicles.. maybe some people who driving need to take a long walk sometimes ;0)

http://raywise.co.uk/

we begin here..

START: Well thanks to a few friends I am now blogging again.. So I thought I'd start fresh one. So what's it all about - basically an online diary of my events etc - mainly this will cover my training for the Marathon De Sables 2011, plus my general fitness activities, it'll also cover my photography - how that's going, the place I visit etc...and the odd movie review.