This journal records my actual mastery of art photography through ten thousand hours of deliberate practice.
Hours 9,441 to 9,511
28th February 2025
Hours 9,510 to 9,511
(1h) editing and processing images from the Tate Modern’s Anthony McCall exhibition, including creating the “Anthony McCall Triptych” below
(1h) editing and processing the images shot (mainly on my iPhone) at the Phillips exhibition yesterday
Left, Georg Baselitz’s 2002 “Ein Unvergessener Tag”, characteristically hung upside down
 |  |  |
| Sean Scully, 2015, “Landline Inward” | Harland Miller, 2004, “Too Cool to Die” | George Condo, 2009, Untitled |
27th February 2025
Hours 9,506 to 9,509
(½h) working on the “Surrealism 100 Years on” post
(½h) at the Anthony McCall exhibition at the Tate Modern – shooting lots of abstract images
(1h) at the Phillips Gallery
Right, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1982, Untitled
Below, Thomas Schütte, 2021, “Old Friend Revisited”
(2h) Amersham Mono Group – by Zoom
26th February 2025
Hours 9,503 to 9,505
(½h) updating this journal
(1h) Amersham Coffee Club – general opinion about my recent work:
- in my version of “Time Transfixed”, (“Magritte’s Fireplace”, left), the train needs some sort of shadow
- “Decalcomania” created yesterday is stronger than “Decalcomania at Cliveden” created on the 21st
- The new “Mysteries of the Horizon”, created on the 23rd needs to be much brighter – barely visible as a print
(1½h) Amersham Colour Group
25th February 2025
Hours 9,498 to 9,502
(½h) updating this journal
(2h) creating the “Decalcomania” image below, which is closer to Magritte’s original concept, where the image from behind the man is directly replicated to his left on the curtain
(2h) at the Stoke Poges Photographic Club – friendly battle against Gerrards Cross, which we won, observed by Croxley Camera Club, all great fun
(½h) preparing images for the Tri-Nations competition
24th February 2025
Hours 9,496 to 9,497
(2h) working on the “Surrealism 100 Years on” post
Amersham Photographic Society – PDI Competition – could not attend in person
| Image | ….. | Comment |
 | “Hassan and Oryx” 15 Failed to impress | |
 | “Decalcomania at Cliveden” 18 Apparently the judge acknowledged the reference to Magritte |
23rd February 2025
Hours 9,493 to 9,495
“Mysteries of the Horizon Hayes”, reworking and updating of Magritte’s 1955 “The Mysteries of the Horizon”
“Self-Portrait IX” is a variation on the Son of Man theme
(½h) email exchange with Mark Phillips, member of the Amersham PiC Group and chairman of the RPS Documentary distinctions panel
(½h) updating this journal
22nd February 2025
Hour 9,492
(1h) YouTube:
- The Garish Grackle “Rene Magritte – The Human Condition (1933)” – existentialist view of man’s self-perception and search for truth
- The Art of Photography:
21th February 2025
Hours 9,490 to 9,491
(½h) updating this journal and Flickr site
(1h) creating a revised version of “Decalcomania at Cliveden” following suggestions by Yin Wong, and entering this into Monday’s PDI competition at Amersham
(½h) preparing PDIs for next Monday’s competition
20th February 2025
Hours 9,484 to 9489
Remembering tricks learnt at the Virtual Photoshop Summit on 27th December 2024:
- Option Backspace to fill with Foreground colour
- Command Backspace to fill with Background colour
(4h) processing the “Human Condition” images including the “Human Condition Landscape”, left
The “Human Condition Modern”, right is intended to balance the image above in my candidate Fellowship Panel
(2h) Amersham Pic Group including
- Dave Manning’s found abstracts, shot on the Grand Union Canal using an iPhone 12 (in RAW and light processing in Photoshop)
- Wendy Taylor’s high key mono animal shots – prospective Associateship panel in Visual Arts
19th February 2025
Hours 9,482 to 9,483
(1h) Amersham Coffee club
(1h) creating the first draft of the “Human Condition” image, right
18th February 2025
Hours 9,475 to 9,481
(½h) shooting in the memorial gardens
(2h) shooting versions of Magritte’s “Human Condition” and “Decalcomania” paintings including “Decalcomania at Cliveden”, left
(2h) editing and processing the day’s images
(2h) Stoke Poges Photographic Club – print competition, set subject “Industry/ Industrial” my images below:
| Image | ….. | Comment |
 | “Want Roads Need Tarmac” 17 | |
 | “Love Mondays” 17 interesting but doesn’t really fit in an Industrial set subject | |
 | “Desert Elephant at Palmwag Lodge” 15 Poorly processed, background should be darker and subject more contrasty [I agree – see Revised Version] |
(½h) updating this journal and associated Flickr site
17th February 2025
Hours 9,473 to 9,474
(2h) Amersham Photographic Club – presentation by Vivienne Blewett on the work of her late husband
Ray Higginbottom BA ( HONS) ARPS-‘Eclectic Image Making’ – fabulous, creative and eclectic
16th February 2025
Hours 9,470 to 9,472
(½h) shooting in Hayes first thing in the morning, trying to get some further dystopian shots for my F panel
(1h) editing and processing the morning’s images
(1h) creating the very rough “iPhone Son of Man”, right
(½h) updating this journal
15th February 2025
Hours 9,469
(1h) rewriting the Statement of Intent for my potential Fellowship submission to the Royal Photographic Society
14th February 2025
Hour 9,468
(½h) creating the “Dystopian Background” image below, for use in a Magritte-style composite, from an image shot on the 11th
(½h) updating this journal, the associated Flickr site, and links back and forth
13th February 2025
Hours 9,464 to 9,467
(1h) working on the Dystopian Hayes images including the “New Blue Building Hayes”, right
Using some of the techniques presented by Les Forrester on Monday
(1½h) selecting, preparing and ordering prints for next week’s competition at the Stoke Poges Photographic Club, and preparing and sending corresponding PDI
(1½h) Amersham Mono meeting – no skin in the game
12th February 2025
Hours 9,461 to 9,463
(2h) Amersham Coffee Club
- fabulous street images by Jeremy Schrire, discussed with Laurie Turner and Mark Seymore
- discussion of my Statement of Intent and concern that I’m currently using words that are not directly reflected in my panel of images
(1h) creating the new version of “Time Transfixed” with the train shot yesterday
(½h) revising my Statement of Intent on the basis of the discussions in Amersham
(½h) updating this journal
11th February 2025
Hours 9,457 to 9,460
(1h) shooting dystopian landscapes from The Parkway, Hayes, West London
(1h) editing and processing the above images
(2h) Rosebowl round 3 at ImageZ in Weston Turville
10th February 2025
Hours 9,453 to 9,456
(½h) planning tomorrow’s dystopian urban shoot in Hayes, and arranging to borrow an easel for the “Human Condition” picture
(1½h) “Surrealism 100 Years on” post – images and texts for the 5 different styles of surrealism
(2h) Amersham Photographic Society – lecture by Les Forrester “Contemporary Architecture” – fabulous, minimalist images, which tend to only show the top of the building for simplicity. Generally, all the clutter is at ground level
9th February 2025
Hours 9,451 to 9,452
(1h) moving the images shot in the last week in Andorra from my laptop to main PC, editing, processing and transferring the keepers to Lightroom – “Church de Sant Pere I”, below
(1h) updating this journal with the week’s images and creating a Flickr folder
8th February 2025
Hour 9,450
(1h) completely restructuring the “Surrealism 100 Years on” post
7th February 2025
Hours 9,448 to 9,449
(½h) morning street photography: “Morning Street Scene El Tartar”
(½h) editing the morning’s images
(1h) updating this journal and the “Surrealism 100 Years on” post – position of New York as home to the surrealist movement during and following the second world war
6th February 2025
Hours 9,447
(½h) street photography – morning and evening, including “Going to Town El Tartar” right
(½h) editing the morning’s images
5th February 2025
Hour 9,446
(½h) morning street photography
(½h) editing and processing the morning’s images, including “Pedra de Sant Pere”, right and “Snowmen de Sant Pere”, below
4th February 2025
Hour 9,445
(½h) street photography, including “Catalan Graffiti”, left
(½h) processing images from the last couple of days
3rd February 2025
Hour 9,444
(½h) “Surrealism 100 Years on” post – the social and economic background to the creation of Surrealism in 1924
(½h) street photography, including “El Mercat de Sant Pere”, left
2nd February 2025
Hour 9,443
(1h) “Surrealism 100 Years on” post – the political and art world background to the first Surrealist Manifesto, published by André Breton, 15th October 1924
1st February 2025
Hours 9,441 to 9,442
(1h) updating this journal, including links to Flickr and the new month admin
(1h) creating “Primary Op Art II” following discussions at last week’s coffee meeting