Sunhera comes to an end
I squeezed her into spandex. I stood precariously on ladders and shot her from upon high. But now it comes to an end.
The photographs featuring Sunhera, the diminutive Bangladeshi model, are all done now. So farewell to her from the update stream. Although you can see all seven images in their own set on Flickr.
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Bikers in London
Spotted in Trafalgar Square. I can only guess there was a "buy 2 get 1 free" sale on at a local bike shop.
BTW, if you're coming to London and want to cycle around the capital, check out the TFL Bicycle Hire Scheme.
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The curious case of Martin Lewis, Tesco and the job seekers allowance
At what point does a tweet go from being a harmless opinion to being something more substantial? At what point should those who wish to offer an opinion progress from "saying what they think" to "thinking before they tweet"?
A tweet from Martin Lewis set me thinking about the responsibilities that regular and influential tweeters have. If you don't know, Mr Lewis is the UK's "money saving expert", an individual who has spent the past few years on a campaign to help the British people save money. Sometimes he hits the nail on the head, sometimes he's a little over confident for my taste. The tweet in question went:
Martin Lewis @MartinSLewis
In case anyone hasn't seen this Tesco outrage - one of our richest companies should pay better for a nightshit [link]
I've removed the bit.ly link as it no doubt will vanish over time. What it linked to was a job promoted on a website from Jobcentre plus that included the statement: wage: JSA + EXPENSES. By the way, JSA is Job Seeker's Allowance, a benefit paid to people who are unemployed and looking for a job.
This didn't seem right to me. JSA is a state benefit, so why would an employer be offering to pay this? My initial reaction was "this is an error in the posting." My question (unanswered) was whether anyone had checked to see if this was the case before being outraged.
It wasn't the end of the story. It transpired this vacancy was being offered as part of one of the Government's schemes to get the unemployed back into work. There are variations on the scheme, although most work on the principle you can try a real job whilst receiving your full benefits, giving you a chance to ease yourself back into work, making it more attractive for the employer to take you on and lessening the impact when wages start to replace benefits. At the end of the "trial" period the employer will then determine whether or not to take you on. Key to this is that there has to be a real vacancy to be filled, so there is a job at the end of it to aim for and not just an opportunity for a company to get some short-term cheap labour.
This, however, was not good enough for Mr Lewis who fired off two more tweets:
PS Im fine with govt subsidy help employment (its cheaper than dole) but surely Tesco could cough up more for hard night work
Should be noted this is a 'back to work scheme' that's all good & happy with govt helping (cheaper than dole) BUTnightshift shld pay more
Again, just a couple of minutes on the web would have shown this is not how the scheme is intended to work. Paying additional wages has an impact on the individual's benefits and, ironically, being paid more might make them ineligible for the scheme.
Had this been a tweet by someone like me with just a few hundred followers and little influence then the matter might not have been worthy of comment. That it was made by a journalist with a large following and significant influence makes the matter more serious. Basic fact checking does not appear to have taken place and surely those who hold sway over public opinion have a duty to ensure their facts are correct before making inflammatory statements.
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Hanna - from behind
Another shot from my all-too-brief photo shoot with Hanna.
This appears in my Models and Portraits gallery.
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The awkward moment: when a photographer is asked to do a glamour shoot
I was chatting to a recruitment consultant about a project management role. Conversation turned to my hobby in photography, at which point the penny dropped for the person on the other end of the phone.
"Oh yes, I've seen your work. Very good."
Nice compliment. Acknowledged.
"Do you think you could do something with me? I'd love to be a glamour model."
Awkward!
A polite decline. Sorry, but I don't mix business and pleasure. When I'm hoping you have a role that might be suitable for me that's business.
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Sometimes all you need is a hat
It was cold. A wind was whipping along the Thames in London. It made the ears sting.
Perhaps the old defence was a hat.
This image also appears in my candid street work.
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The Institute of Actuaries has a sense of humour
Those annoying disclaimers at the end of eMails are generally not worth bothering with. Yet every now and then one of them becomes a true work of art.
Whilst listening to one of my old podcasts of Radio 4's New Quiz I was reminded of this (alleged) signature appended to the bottom of some eMails coming out of the Institute of Actuaries. It needs to be read all the way through...
"Any opinions contained within are not necessarily those of nor a wholly owned subsidiary thereof nor authorised or regulated by the Financial Services Authority and are intended as general guidance only and do not constitute advice or a contract in law. Help! I'm being held prisoner by the Institute of Actuaries. They keep me in a windowless office and make me stuff envelopes all day. If I don't stuff enough they beat me. Please help."
If only all Actuaries had such a sense of humour.
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Sunhera - light and shade in a spandex catsuit
I fell in love with the way this particular catsuit worked with the light. It created accents and shadows that added texture to her figure, drawing out details here and there that might otherwise be hidden.
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Hanna - from behind
The awkward moment: when a photographer is asked to do a glamour shoot
Sometimes all you need is a hat
The Institute of Actuaries has a sense of humour
Sunhera - light and shade in a spandex catsuit
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