Out of the blue...

Today 27th September, marks one year to the day of me coming across one of the most horrific accident scenes I have seen in years. It was already an hour or more after the accident, but the scene was still pretty chaotic. Those involved in the accident itself had been transported away, but the scene was very fresh, and the investigation in its very early stages.

Heading to the doctors that morning, I had seen on social media that there were reports of an accident right by the surgery, so I decided to walk. On arriving at the junction of Kirkdale and Wells Park Road, I couldn't believe my eyes. The completely mangled remains of a motorcycle, and a damaged van, mid way into the side road. The collision had clearly been a heavy one.

Standing around while I was waiting for the doctors appointment time to come around, I saw the officers trying to get an ID on the motorcyclist, and then make contact with their place of work, and with friends or family. A naturally hard time for all.

Being my usual self, I took a number of pictures of the scene, trying to avoid anything which would cause alarm or distress to anyone, and not wishing to be gorish. Posting one on social media, and stating where the accident was, the image was soon picked up by local media. Used as part of their story, I followed the updates on the situation to see if there was any news about the motorcyclist.

Early reports suggested very serious injuries, broken legs and arms and all sorts of speciation. A media report a little later stated a serious condition but nothing much more.

As with most things, the media soon dropped the story, nothing more was said.

So, a year later and its today, Friday 27th September 2019. Late last night (actually now but by the time I publish this will be the 27th) I received a Facebook message request. Anyone using social media will know, getting a random request is nothing unusual. Usually you just read it, block and delete, but this one seemed genuine. Reading the message, it was from a lady by the name of Alessandra. Complete with a link to a media story about an accident. At first glance I wasn't sure I remembered it, but reading on, it was one of the stories written using my image.

Now I know some will be thinking, "you people who take pictures of accidents sicken me", and to a degree I agree, it can be a horrible thing to do, but bear with me on this...

Alessandra was asking if it was me who took the picture and if I witnessed it or had any more information on the matter. Obviously I had not witnessed it but had more pictures, thanks to cloud back-up on Google Photos. Scrolling back through my history, there they were.

It turns out Alessandra was the lady riding the motorcycle that day, and was trying to piece together what had happened that day. Having spent ten days in a coma after the accident, she has very little recollection of that day at all, let alone any idea what happened or what the scene looked like. So was trying to get more images and info to piece things together a little better.

My first reaction was to be embarrassed and apologetic about taking pictures of the scene. However I soon realised she was happy to see them, so that was a relief. On speaking a little more, it appears she has had one heck of a year. Spending months in hospital, having a number of surgeries, and healing from multiple broken bones. I can't imagine for a second what that must be like.

It is one of those strange moments in my life where I feel my actions actually had a purpose that day, and I really hope that they have helped her in even the smallest possible way.

I wish you a great recovery Alessandra, and thank you for not being mad at me for taking the pictures. Thank you for reaching out to me.

If anyone else has any images or memories of that accident that they wish to share with Alessandra, please get in touch and I will be sure to pass them on to her, or put you in touch.

The world is a weird and wonderful place at times, and today I am feeling so happy to have heard from her, and know that she made it through.

The images below are some of the images shared with Alessandra. I have her permission to post this information and these images. Please be aware one of the images shows the wreckage of the bike. I hope this doesn't cause anyone any upset.

Out in the wild, a proper test for the Blackberry Q10 camera

So after yesterdays quick test of the camera on the Q10, I thought it was time to get out and about an give it a bit of a better run through its paces. HDR vs normal, architecture, nature, people and motion (burst mode)

All pictures were taken in 16:9 aspect ratio, and with the mixed HDR and normal mode switched on.
I am not posting ALL the images taken in both HDR and normal for the sake of people reading. So will instead post a few examples of both, then the rest of the shots will be MY preferred picture of the 2.

So here is what became of the test. First up we have some simple landscape shots, across the open expanse of Blackheath towards the village. HDR and normal.

Next up, a walk through the entrance to Greenwich Park offered some lovely perspective shots, and some tree images which always appeal to me. One in particular is the picture I snapped of a single tree back in the winter. Sadly without the original image as reference I was unable to recreate the shot, but got a summer shot of it with the Q10 all the same.

Just for good measure, here is the winter shot too.

Next up, from the lookout point over Greenwich, and the historic buildings, right out to the Thames, it was time to get some landscape shots with far focal points, and varying subject matters. From long grassy fields, surrounded by the buildings, to close up shots of the architecture. The aim, to see how the camera can capture lighting differences, depth of field and colour reproduction. Again, I think it faired pretty well here. So a selection of my favourites.

Of the shots of the architecture, this following shot has to be my favourite. The normal mode of the camera capturing just the right balance between light and shade, and really pulling out the character in the buildings. All while working well with the bright skies above it.

From here, it was time for the obligatory columns and stair shots, so lets get them out of the way. Not my favourites by far, but thought it only fair to share the weak along with the strong shots.

Again of all the shots from this sequence, the following was my favourite, purely because of the way the image pops so well. Credit to HDR there.

Moving onto the world famous Cutty Sark, restored to all her glory, a perfect chance to see how much detail the camera can capture, while working with the lighting conditions. Again all shots were taken in both modes, but I have picked the ones I feel came out the best. The balance between a pleasing image, and decent level of detail. The rigging of the boat is the real test for the lense.

The second image I have posted in both normal and HDR, you can be the judge of what YOU like and dont like. I know which I prefer.

Onto the final sections now, thanks for hanging in there.
The walk back to the car took us through the local market, and I grabbed a few shots to really see what colour reproduction was like. I think its fair to say the colours really pop out of the pictures nicely here, and show what the camera can do as a simple point and shoot.

Right, last selection here, and its a few images taken on the road through the park. Some perspective shots using the yellow lines on the road as a subject, and the point closest to the camera as the point of focus, producing a pretty pleasing shallow depth of field, and the nice blurred back ground.
Finishing off with a couple of images of skateboarders racing down the hill, using the burst mode on the camera. I think it fair to point out that by this time I was getting a little tired and hungry, so rather than waiting for the right scene, I just did a few bursts and chose the best. Maybe burst is something I need to re-visit at some point soon.

So let me summarise now.
First up, this is the Blackberry Q10, the work horse of the family, and not the media loving Z10. Both are very capable units, and the Q currently benefits from having the newer OS 10.1 over the !0.0 of the Z. Which means it has slightly tweeked camera settings and the advantage of HDR (for now)
For such a handy little phone which already packs a huge punch with its physical QWERTY keyboard, its great social integration into its Hub, and its powerful web and messaging presence, to have a camera this capable on it is a true delight and bonus.
Coming from the abomination that was the 9900's camera this is chalk and cheese, night and day... you get the picture (no pun intended)
Its no DSLR, its not a crazy spec'ed Galaxy S4 with masses of settings and options.
Its a simple camera with the following choices
3 aspect ratios 1:1 4:3 and 16:9 (as used today)
4 modes, normal, stabilisation, burst and HDR (the handset also allows capture in a combo of HDR and normal at the same time, producing 2 images to choose from)
Flash, on, off or auto
And 5 scenes, Auto, Action, Whiteboard, Night and Beach or Snow

Compared to even the settings on my S2, the Blackberry Q10 is VERY simple to say the least, but images on the BB are more than acceptable.

Over all, I have to say I am impressed. I am sure that if the conditions were controllable, like indoor environment, and it was put up against some of the bigger dogs out there, there would be some surprises and maybe even some upsets here and there.

If anyone wants full size versions, or both HDR and normals of a specific shot, just let me know via comments or email.

But for now, thats the Blackberry Q10 camera out in the wild, and now back home safe and resting from its adventure.

Also, if you want to see the video camera being testing out in the wild today, the full HD test is right here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZv6d4cjWpE

A quick Q10 camera test

After a couple of days of messing about with the phone, I thought with the arrival of some sunshine, maybe it was time to give the camera a field test.

So without further discussion, here goes.

First up some simple shots.

The pairs of pictures are examples of HDR vs standard camera pictures. I am torn between them. Sometimes the HDR over corrects the image to almost make it too even. See what you think.

More detailed blog to follow about the camera soon. But for now, enjoy the first of the bunch.

Time for a phone/ camera test (again) Part 1

I took this week off work as its my 40th birthday, or was yesterday anyway. So I thought I would have some time away from work, get some bits done around the house and in general avoid people wishing me happy birthday... I cant stand birthdays.

Anyway, its the end of the week, and its been a long week with builders in, workmen at the house, and has drained me just sitting around. So with the weather a little warmer I thought it was time to get out there and stretch my legs and get some fresh air.

Topping my Oyster Card, I headed for town (Central London / Westminster) First stop, my favourite, The Shard.

Before we get to the pictures though, I thought I would make this little observation. Both phones were 90% when I left home this morning. The Z10 was used for music (downloaded not streaming) for my journey to the station, into town and back again, while the S2 was used primarily for taking pictures, with a few chat and social apps on the go at the same time.
I wont mess around with the results, its as simple as this, with the above functions going on, and the pics being taken for comparison shots, they both lasted approx 4 hours. Make of that what you will.
Needless to say this is way short of what I have previously achieved with my 9900. But they did both take one heck of a beating, with the Z10 getting used for more photos, and Facebook. Neither did great, but both  had steady battery usage, no sudden drops, so control was maintained. The Z10 packed in yards from home, managing the last 45 mins of music while heading home.

So back to the pictures. I was somewhat surprised by the results actually, and they seemed to take it in turns to struggle with lighting conditions. Similar conditions for different shots, one would do well, then stumble on the next shot.
I shall post the pictures below, but must make the following points first:

All shots are taken from a hand held position.
I have tried to frame each shot as closely to the one from the other camera as possible.
Lighting conditions have NOT changed between any comparison shot.
Lenses were wiped clean before each shot.
Focus point on all shots is matched, and differences are in how the phone coped.
Any shot that zoom was used on, it was used on equally on both devices. x2 for example.
The file names have been changed, and images posted in mixed up order.
Both were set to auto scene, and NO flash
Both shots were taken within 1 minute of each other maximum. Usually less.

I realise that we all have different preferences in photos, some prefer depth, colour, focus, clarity etc. So im sure noone will have the exact same opinions as anyone else.

What I will say is, of all the tests I have done, this is without a doubt THE most comprehensive to date, and tried to get as many difference scenes, lighting situations, and objects as possible.

So here we go, let the pics begin. UPDATED, to show which device took which pic.
 Z  -Z10 - S - Galaxy S2

Starting with The Shard From 2 angles.

S

Z

Z

S

The last image having a large lense flare there. Both doing quite well to get the detail of the building, but some pics fairing better than others with the blue of the sky.

Next it was off to Trafalgar Square and some famous landmarks in challenging lighting conditions.

The fountain shot is on 2X zoom on both devices, while the focus points for the other shots are the sculpture at the top of the column, and the centre of the arch.

S

Z

S

Z

Z

S

Some obvious differences there, sorry for not getting Nelsons Column quite square in both shots.

Time for a wander over to St James's Park for some other pictures. Flowers, water, full zoom for the fountain, and a cute signpost shot, focused on the 'subject' in the picture.

Z

S

S

Z

Z

S

Z

S

Well, thats it for part one, as thats all the images that will go onto one blog entry, so you can view part 2 here. Part 2