Avoiding the Cliche

I think if I see another picture of Buachaille Etive Mor I think I am just going to scream. The same goes with The old Man of Storr, the Quirang, the Angel of the North and other places that we see time and time again in the magazines. I mean, I am not criticising the quality of the images or the photographer, they are brilliantly executed, brilliant pictures, but, these places have been done to bloody death. How many more times! HUH! It drives me nuts. Right from the beginning I was determined not to fall into that particular cliche. I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to produce photos that everybody and his dog has done before. Why go over old territory? (it’s all for cash me thinks)!

I mean, have a look at there sites here…

http://www.davidnoton.com/
http://www.adamburtonphotography.com/
http://www.davidmorganphotography.co.uk/index.html
http://johnparminter.1x.com/
http://garymcparland.com/pages/home.asp

just to name a few. Their respective works are sheer brilliance. But, I wonder if you printed a selection of their work, mixed it, would you be able to identify whose work is whose? Now, the reason why I have avoided making similar images is everybody is doing the same. With the advent of easily accessible digital technology (damn that!) the field becomes even more competitive. Sometimes I have had an inner struggle not to pursue the imagery already mentioned. Sometimes it’s hard to resist. Economically it has been detrimental, but, I really want to create a distinct style of my own. Sometimes I just wrack my brains thinking ‘what can I do here’. I don’t know! I feel like I am working towards something that I know is there, something I can’t quite visualise and that someday I’ll achieve my destination. Until then, I will avoid the cliche, the easy money lucrative cliche.

…and now some completely cliched shots. Wintery fun snapshots, nothing more.

The Roman Harbour, Wyntour's Leap, Chepstow.

Sunset, The Park, Tiddenham.

Wyntour's again.

Wyntours' Leap in Winter.

Blur and Brrr!

photography is all Swings and Roundabouts.

Fallen

A seat in a local child's play area.

Don’t believe it!

Perhaps some of you watched the recent Channel 5 programme ‘How to take stunning photographs’. You may have notice one of the show’s catch phrases ‘your gear doesn’t matter’ or words to that effect. You may have read on other web sites similar statement such as at www.kenrockwell.com especially on THIS page. The question you may ask yourselves is, ‘is it true?’.

Well, the answer is both ’yes’ and ‘no’. As I am naturally not that communicable I’m just going to come to the points in my usual laconic style. Let’s take the ‘yes’ first. Yes! You can take great photos with totally crap cameras, for example look at this site here all taken on the iPhone. No doubt you have all seen great photos taken with pre-war Leica IIs, Holgas, Dianas, FEDs, Zorkis etc. The camera is not the problem, it’s the person behind the camera, now, that IS the problem. And don’t I know that. Beyond doubt, you can take great photos with, what is considered, a crap camera. No doubt at all! Your camera is not the problem. You don’t need to upgrade it. Buying the latest kit is not going to make a blind bit of difference if the person behind the camera is a crap photographer. FULL STOP.

Now, lets deal with the ‘no’ answer. In the aforementioned programme, when it was discussing wedding photography, one of the guests, I am sure, was using a Panasonic Lumix G1. A great camera. No doubt you can come away from a wedding with some great shots. But, no professional in his right mind would want to shoot a complete wedding with one. Why? Well…

1) Mainly because the camera is just too slow, way too slow. Not just in auto-focus speed, but also in frames-per-second and in lens ‘speed’. You’ll miss no end of shots. For a wedding shoot you’ll need a camera with a real fast autofocus, like my EOS 1Ds for example.

2) Then, the small sensor on APS-C and four-thirds cameras have such large depth-of-field that it does often preclude those wonderful pictures with soft out-of-focus backgrounds.

3) Image quality. By this I mean the basic off-the-camera files qualities such as sharpness, resolution, tonality, smoothness and colour rendition. When I compare my 11 megapixel EOS 1Ds with my 10 megapixel EOS 40D, I find the 1Ds is much sharper, with superior resolution and superior colour rendition. Even when I trial the latest semi-pro cameras I find the same thing. I would rather buy a second hand EOS 1Ds for £600 than a brand new EOS 60D for £800. At some point I’ll do a side-by-side comparison, a 60D versus my 1Ds to show you what I mean. 2010 semi-pro cameras are not as good as 2002 professional cameras in terms of sharpness, resolution and, especially colour. No non-professional (I don’t like using the term ‘amateur’) needs more than 10 megapixels. Generally, not much beyond this point your camera will exceed the resolution capacity of your lenses anyway. It’s the colour, tonality and smoothness which does it for me, I think this is the most important factor. The Professional cameras are a big step up in this regard. Don’t believe anything else!

4) The kit lenses are generally rubbish! For serious work they are rubbish! Too slow! They are just plastic low-grade rubbish. Throw it away now! Buy some decent glass! Quality stuff. You know at least Sigma EX grade or Canon L if you can afford it. It WILL make a difference. At least you’ll end up with high quality crap photos, if you see what I mean.

5) Don’t read amateur magazines. These just get you obsessing about megapixels and resolution and all those features that detract from shooting. Amateur magazines just ‘train’ your thinking to think like an amateur. At least buy a few issues of Professional Photographer, this will show you how many professionals think. 

6) Buying second hand is probably best. NO! You don’t need 16 bloody megapixels. NO! YOU DON’T! In fact most casual shooters will do with 6. Yes! I said SIX! Six good quality megapixels will do brilliant A3 prints (when viewed at normal viewing distance). Buy a professional 6 – 11 megapixel body such as the EOS 1Ds or the Nikon 1Dx. See, I’ve saved you hundreds of pounds already. 

Professionals don’t want you, the non-professional masses to use, or have access to, professional quality kit. Because it will mean more competition for them as it is their living at stake.  Why do you think most professionals (including me) use the kit they do? Simple. It delivers the quality and the ‘am’ cams don’t. It’s not just the kit. It’s also the experience, the mind-set, the technique, the tricks etc. Do you think the great Charlie Waite uses an EOS D1000? This does not mean you can’t get professional/quality results from amateur cameras. You can! In many situations your camera doesn’t matter. In certain applications it’s critical.

If you are thinking of upgrading your gear. DON’T! Consider the most important upgrade. YOU! Work at improving your skill and ability, develop your own style, look at things in different ways. If you are unhappy with the body of your work now, upgrading your camera isn’t going to change anything except improve the profits of PenOlymNikCanon.

I have to add a few pics just for fun.

Waterfall at Ystradfellte

  

A fun shot of my cat Rusty, here plotting to take over the world.

A shot to get you in the Winter mood

Taken with a 1952 Leica M2 on Kodak Plus-X

Taken at the Hoggin-the-Bridge event in Chepstow, October 2010.

FED UP! Film vs Digital.

Sometimes I go through moods. Film mood then a digital mood and then back again. It just comes and goes. Recently I have been in a film mood, more specifically a FED mood. I decided to dust off my 1960′s FED 3 and together with its Industar 61 52mm f2,8 lens a shooting we went. Now this mood coincided with the release of Lightroom 3 and I wanted to test the new grain feature of LR3 with the real thing (that’s film and not a fizzy drink) I loaded the FED with AGFA APX-400 which I later developed in very dilute Rodinal using my usual stand develop process. The digital camera I used for this trip was the Fuji Finepix S5 Pro with one of Sigma’s pro lenses. Both cameras of course were using the same focal length. The shoot in question was a friend’s pre-wedding shoot at a local castle. Instead of me blabbing examine the pictures below. What are your conclusion?

FED 3, Industar 61, 52mm f2.8.

Fujifilm Finepix S5 Pro with grain added in Lightroom 3.2, 100% crop.

FED 3, Industar 61 100% crop. Scanned at 4800 then down-sampled to match the S5 pixel dimensions.

As you can see Lightroom does a pretty good job of simulating film grain. Much better than the software I previously owned, that being NIK Software’s Silver EFEX Pro, but that is a matter of opinion.  Upon examination of the whole file, my preference is still with real film and as good as Lightroom actually is, it is still a simulation of the reality. Give it a go! Next week (I hope) is my review of the Canon Powershot S90.

When is a Landscape not a Landscape?

As a rule I do not enter competitions. Let me tell you why.

1) I don’t need to have my work validated by anyone. If people like it, well, that’s fantastic, in fact, it’s a privilege. If they don’t, Oh well! That’s just too bad. I have a particular vision in mind, and selfish as it may seem, I want to pursue that vision, I photograph for me. It’s a deeply personal affair. Intimate even. It’s something in-built. I just have to do it. I need to express myself creatively. Always have done, always will. (Perhaps this paragraph should say ‘I’m not really good enough’).

2) For me, photography finishes as soon as the shutter button is pressed. It seems, for many, that’s where it begins. I would like to class myself as a photographer and not a photoshopper (please forgive the invented word). Now coming back to competitions, I was looking at the results of the Landscape Photographer of the Year competition. What struck me was the amount of winning entries that are obviously photoshopped beyond the real. It seems more time is spent working on an image than was actually spent taking the bloody photo. The hours spent making these pseudo faux images is not photography. Now I have no objection to people producing imagery and calling it digital art (or whatever), I do object it being passed off as ‘photography’. Have a look at www.1x.com and see what I mean. It’s a land of make-believe and pseudo intellectualism.

Perhaps you don’t care!

Perhaps you don’t give a toss at seeing images that really don’t belong on this planet because they are so fake they could not possibly be taken on this planet. Perhaps you don’t care at seeing virtual, unreal images that really beggar belief (I’m still talking landscapes here).

I think that this is totally destructive to photography in the long term. I think this computer and gadget driven fetish will wear off one day. I think people will become sick of pretend imagery and sick being sold new gimmicks such as blink detection, smile detection etc. How about having a gimmick on your shiny new 20 mega pixel camera called ‘crap photo detection’. Now THAT will be worth having!

I just wonder what Photoshop CS 7 will offer YOU! and how Adobe will flog it to you. Instead of the ‘magic removal tool’ how about a ‘crap photo detection’ filter. Now THAT will be worth having! Cameras and Photoshop can only be developed to a finite degree. They must, at some time come to a point where they can not be developed further. This must give the R&D teams at Adobe and the camera companies sheer NIGHTMARES.

Do I photoshop my images. Yes I do. But I do so with restraint. Levels, contrast, sharpening, toning, exposure, de-spotting, dodging, burning and that is it. I am only prepared to spend 20 minutes on a picture. A bad picture is a bad picture is a bad picture regardless of relentless photoshopping. I would like to see an end to photography competitions that are also photoshop competitions. I would like to see an image judged on the basis of the RAW file as well as the finished picture. That way the photographer’s photoshop skills can be judged independently from his/her photography skills. The finished result should still look realistic – and that’s the point.

Now coming back to the original start point, one of the judges of the Landscape Photographer of the Year competition (UK) is Charlie Waite. I admire Mr. Waite’s work. I have a couple of his books. He is the standard to which I aspire. A man who shoots largely on film using 6×6 Hasselblads (I believe). I am quite shocked that he accepts the degree of photoshopped entries to the competition. Brilliant images they are, without doubt. Photographs they are not.

When is a Landscape not a Landscape? -When its not photoshopped into being unreal. It’s the extent to which Photoshop is used.

Dark Pool. Leica M2, Kodak 125PX in Moersch Tanol. Exposed using 'Sunny 16' near Betws Y Coed, North Wales.

Canon Powershot G11 review

A couple of years ago I was approaching the summit of Crib Goch, one of the Snowdon sub-peaks. The asthma was kicking-in and I had a well packed rucksack that included a DSLR, a 24-70mm f2.8 lens and a 70-200mm f2.8 lens. By the time I had reached the summit, I was fighting for breath and every step a battle of will. Well, that’s what it felt like. I looked at my colleagues who disappearing into the distance on the ridge. I thought to myself “sod this for a laugh”. Upon my return home I started to think about the possibility of a small light weight solution that could deliver superb results when printed at A3.

Research lead me to the Ricoh GX100, a ten megapixel camera with a 24-70mm lens. As I have a rather tight budget I took the risk and purchased one second-hand. The GX100 ticked many boxes, light, small, superb lens, live histogram, easy exposure compensation, good battery life, great handling and more important, RAW shooting. High ISO performance isn’t an issue for landscape photography which is usually the crippling feature of the small compact cameras and for quite understandable technical and commercial reasons.

It was last September that the GX100 saw real action when I took it and my DSLR gear for another jaunt up Snowdon via Crib Goch. The rucksack still weighed a tonne and the DSLR gear stayed out of sight. I took the DSLR gear mainly out of paranoia. The weather was just fantastic and the GX100 performed excellently with only a few caveats. This being the RAW files had a distinct red cast to them. OK, that can be easily rectified by Photoshopping. More importantly the RAW write-to-card speed was pedestrian to say the least. A good 20 seconds or so. OK, you may say, that isn’t too bad. Well, when you take a few hundred pictures you find yourself falling behind your climbing buddies. I found this rather frustrating, or rather you frustrate your mates because they end up saying “Where’s Chris – Oh! There he is, taking another blummin photo”. I do stop and take quite often. Besides that, the performance of the GX100 is quite superb. Really excellent sharpness and resolution from the RAW files. And having a 24mm lens is a real boon for some excellent panoramas. If you can live with the slow RAW write speeds and shoot low ISO stationery subjects, the GX100 may be for you. The Second hand price is good too.

On to the Canon Powershot G11.
A few weeks before that particular Snowdon trip I was at an education trade show and there to my surprise was a Canon stand packed with all sorts of goodies. I could not resist having a play with all sorts of nice things. A Canon EOS 5D, a G10 and a few HD camcorders. It was the G10 that caught my attention and I managed to give it a good go. I was impressed by the design, handling, speed, live histogram, those milled metal knobs (so reminiscent if my Leica IIIc), the exposure compensation dial. As I did happen to have an SD card and took a number of RAW pictures at various ISO with the intent of processing these when I returned home. Upon doing so I was really impressed with the resolution of the G10 and put off by the apparent lack of dynamic range and noise, which was present even at the base ISO. So, understandably, I lost interest in the G10.

Forward to early 2010.
With the GX100 sold on eBay it was time to purchase the replacement. The only real choice was the Canon Powershot G11 and the Panasonic LX3 With the latter having a better review on dpreview.com I decided to go for the G11. What swung it was the aesthetics actually. Fickle, I know! I just loved the strong and powerful design. Also, there is some compatibility with my EOS 40D in terms of colour rendition and accessories.

The Canon Powershot G11 in use.
OK, no anal resolution charts or 100% crops for those rather sad ‘pixel peepers’. Just a ‘normal’ users use. If there is such thing as one. Although I have had the G11 for a few months I bought the thing as a hiking and mountaineering camera. So, when I went to Snowdonia (again) in April, it was the ideal opportunity to put the G11 through it’s paces. Then it was Snowdonia again in July. In fact, on this trip, I was going to take my DSLR gear as well as my Leica M2. As it happens, the weather forecast was, essentially, inclement so say the least. Baptism by Welsh weather then. See below pictures.

Conclusion.
I really enjoyed using the G11. I love its design and handling. I really love those rather tactile knobs. The speed is excellent for a compact. It focusses well and the exposure is good. This is what I love about these kinds of camera – the live view histogram. This means you can quickly adjust and maximise exposure BEFORE you take the shot, instead of taking a shot, previewing, adjusting compensation, then taking ‘the’ shot, and so on. Back home on the computer an analysis of the colour, dynamic range and sharpness was very pleasing for a compact. No complaints in that area either. About half of one stop can be recovered from the highlights when shooting in RAW. More data can be recovered from the shadows than from the top end. I did a day’s shooting on one battery, almost 300 RAW files. In comparison with my EOS 40D I would say that ISO800 on the G11 is equivalent to ISO2000 on the EOS 40D. Colour rendition is the same and dynamic range quite close. The G11 does have the advantage of having corner to corner sharpness at f4, and you won’t achieve that with any DSLR. So for landscape photogs it’s ideal. I found the menu system intuitive and easy to use with all the important major functions accessible from the various buttons. Briefly I would like to mention the three features I did not like, the view finder, the rear dial and the size. The view finder really needs to be 100%. I don’t care if it’s small, but, 100% it MUST be (come on Canon, you can do it, you know you really want too). The rear dial is a little too small and plasticy, even for my small fingers. My third slight complaint is that the camera is just about pocketable. I can live with that. But for a camera that I can easily slip into my pocket and go anywhere the G11 is a little clumsy, that is why I have just bought the Canon Powershot S90. All in all, I love my G11 and I would recommend it to anyone who prefers static or slow moving subjects.

The G12!
My wish list for the G12 would be a 100% view finder. I’m one of these old types who like to have the camera to my face instead of at arms length. I feel more engaged with my subject when the camera is at my eye, whereas I feel removed from my subject when holding the camera at arms length. Of course I would like to see a greater dynamic range and lower noise. A full metal and weather sealed body would be nice and so would a faster auto-focus system. We’ll see. Thanks for reading.

Tryfan at dawn – Canon Powershot G11

Tryfan from the summit of Pen Yr Ole Wen – Canon Powershot G11

Y Garn from Tryfan – Canon Powershot G11

Y Gribin from Y Garn – Canon Powershot G11

Y Gribin and Beyond Bristly Ridge - Canon Powershot G11

Second Severn Crossing

Well, its 11pm Sunday evening and time for a quick update. I was hoping to have finished my review of the Canon Powershot G11, but words and samples failed me. I’ve never been one to express myself verbally. So, I was thinking ‘what shall I do for this weekends article?’. Then, when reviewing some pictures I took a few weeks back and that had laid quite dormant on my Mac, I decided to process a few. I recalled the journey down to the Second Severn Crossing, it was a Sunday afternoon and the Sun had actually decided to show its face. I just jumped into the car and bidding my wife farewell with the words ‘I won’t be long’ I was off to the first place that came into my mind. I really should plan locations in advance. Twenty minutes later I was wandering on a path that takes you under the bridge. I had mixed feelings about being here, but, after a few sterile months of shooting, creative frustration was making me a little stir crazy. Like the first crossing I find both bridges quite bland, lacking texture and contrast with that expanse of mud that is often on ugly display. I had with me my EOS 40D and my Tokina 20-35mm lens. Now, this is quite a nice lens, twenty years old (probably more) full metal body, nice rubber grips, internal focussing of sorts and real glass. None of that polycarbonate rubbish. I took about ten frames and selected the below three. I’m not too sure about the finished result though. I never am. Never satisfied with my own work. Even when I shoot a wedding and the clients squeal with delight when browsing their album for the first time. Still not satisfied, always restless, always thinking ‘how could I do that better’. OK, there are some with which I am happy, but, generally, not. I guess that what drives me on perhaps, the drive to improve.

I think I'm quite happy with this one!

Down low and wide. Well, as wide as you can with a 20-35mm Tokina.

The Second Severn Crossing.

Return from Tryfan

Time for another update as I attempt to do this every week AND make it interesting. After looking at the Met Office forecast on the Thursday I decided to take my Canon Powershot G11 only. It was going to be bad, and I wasn’t disappointed. My usual Snowdonia routine is travel up Friday, climb Saturday, return Sunday, or climb Sunday as well and return home on Monday. From where I live in South Wales, Snowdonia is a 5hr (or so) drive. Stopping at BK in Builth Wells, coffee (and a bite) in Dolgeddlau (DON’T use the Public Convenience – it’s awful), coffee in Betws Y Coed (the Alpine Coffeee shop – the best coffee in Betws). Yes, there is a lot of coffee involved. And after a climb it’s a stop at Cafe Gwynnant (the best coffee in Snowdonia). After a lot of coffee and pee breaks, we arrive at Ogwen Bank Holiday Park. Unload, and into the pub for a bevvy and food (it’s very good as well). So the plan was Tryfan North ridge on Saturday followed by Y Garn and Elidir Fawr on Sunday. The plan went swimmingly. Drizzle and light rain above 600m or so with a steady 20mph wind increasing to 30mph on Sunday. Visibility above 600m was about 100m on average for the Saturday decreasing to 20 – 50m on Sunday. Rubbish for photography excellent walk/climb. 15hrs of it over the two days. Not bad for a fat, unfit, forties chap like myself (OK. I exaggerate that bit, I’m not that fat, not that unfit, but definitely 40′s). I love it, I love Tryfan. Try it! here’s a few snap shots of the day.

Y Garn and the Mushroom Garden from Milestone Buttress.

Tryfan summits from just below the Cannon.

At the Cannon.

Tryfan main summit viewed from the south summit.

The path to Y Garn.

A lone walker descends the Devil's Kitchen path.

Yr Aran across Llyn Gwynnant.

Snowdon – Again!

I’m drawn to Snowdonia like the provebial moth to light. I don’t quite know what it is about these lumps of rock, there certainly is something very special about them. Snowdon and especially Tryfan have an alluring character and views of which I will never tire. So, off I am again this weekend. This time to climb Tryfan with a few friends on Saturday followed by Y Garn and Elidir Fawr on the Sunday. I’ll be taking my EOS 40D with it’s Sigma 15-30mm and Sigma 50mm f1.4, my Canon G11 and my Leica M2. That’s some load. I’ll make the final decision on the day and maybe take just one. I’ll be trying out my new Lowepro Slingshot 302AW and see how this is suited to lugging gear up mountains.

Most mountain photography, as you know, is taken from a nice safe position at the bottom, looking up. The view looking down affords you a different perspective, especially if the weather is good. At least, I’ll come back with the typical tourist photos. I’m happy with that! Part of the satisfaction is making it to the top, fear of heights and all. Making a few good exposures is icing on the cake. Part of my motive is inspired by Mr. Poucher’s book ‘Welsh Peaks’, of which I would like to emulate and produce a more up-to-date version in colour. Part of my mission is to photograph the route up the mountain and to produce a guide of safe Snowdonia walking. Too many people are needlessly killed or injured because of ignorance and sheer stupidity.

Here’s to a good weekend!  Yours as well as mine.

The view from Tryfan summit.

Morris

This year, so far, has been a little thin on the ground when it comes to work output. My output can not be described as prolific anyway. I have to be in the right mood, the light has to be right and the subject right. Everything has to be right. Right! That can be frustrating waiting for those factors to come together. Often I just find myself wandering in the hopes of something interesting appearing in the front of the lens. On one of those wanderings I just happen to be wandering around the Morris Dance event in Chepstow on Saturday the 3rd of July. I had this event in mind for a couple of weeks. Now photographing people is not my favourite past time, that’s something to do with my highly aspergic persona. It’s the face thing. Facial expressions and Human interaction. I avoid it like the plague. One of the reasons I love photography is that it affords me the salubrious solace that is solitude. So I had to approach the dancers from a different perspective.

Now before I move on to some actual photos, perhaps a little history may be of interest. Morris is often viewed as one of those quintessential British occupations. Dressed in white, bells, sticks (or kerchiefs), music of sorts and with the the occasional ululation. Often it is viewed as quaint, queer and with pagan over tones. In fact, the origins are Spanish and the dance originated from when the Spanish kicked the Moors from out of the Iberian peninsula. The original was called the Moresco and still survives in some parts of Spain. The dance was exported to France, Italy and, of course, to Britain where, in the late 15th century, it was known as the Moorish. Moorish became Morris. It’s a war dance where swords were used in stead of today’s sticks and kerchiefs. Over time it has developed into a small number of distinct styles and perhaps the blackened faces of some dancers represents the dark skin of those very cultured Moors.

So, here’s the pix, and if you’re interested I used my EOS 40D with the Sigma 50mm f1.4 in aperture priority at f1.8 or f2.8.

Update: The 18th of May, 2010.

WOW! where has the year gone. Its almost half done. You may have noticed that I have not added much to the site over recent months. I think this is a combination of weather, work commitments and illness. I have never been able to get out when the weather actually has been suitable. Mucho frustration there. What I have done is added some relaxing music to the slide show. So, go HERE, select a slideshow, dim the lights, use a decent sound system on your PC/Mac and relax with a glass of wine.

In the background I have been quite busy, what with the work commitments work as well. I have trundled over the Carneddau (Snowdonia, North Wales) taking in four of the fourteen Welsh 3000 peaks. The legs hated me. I am still processing the pix, the light was good for scrambling/hiking, not good for photography. It was very diffuse and hazy, there is also a strange reflectance from the rock. Its hard to explain, but it does effect the quality of light. On the Snowdon massif itself there’s no problem, that’s a different sort of rock. On the Glyders and the Carneddau which share the same kind of glaciation erosion the light can have this certain quality. I don’t like it myself. Anyway, I’ll process a few and see what happens. Incidentally, on the 13hr hike (yes! That’s a long story) I took my Canon G11 and EOS 40D.

I am still working on the wedding and portrait gallery, I hope to have that completed in the next few months. And finally, cyanotypes. Yes, I have been producing some of these quite fascinating easy-to-do prints. This is part of my long term plan to bring ‘everything’ in-house, just in case film goes the way of the Dodo, or becomes more expensive than I think is economically viable.

Right, my finger aches (I’m a one fingered touch typist, with an amazing rate of ten words per minute), it needs a rest and a coffee.

All the best and ciao for now.