I suffer from bouts of insomnia that can be quite severe at times, and they can become rather debilitative during the day with a massive drop in my concentration levels and a general lack of energy. It hasn't yet deteriorated to the extent I am pleading with my GP for sleep medication considering the horror stories about the dependency they could cause.  However, some of my bouts could be deemed self-inflicted. Take a few nights ago last week for instance, I planned on polishing off a book I was reading and wanted to stay up a bit late to ensure it was finished. So shortly after 6:30pm I took a 500ml bottle of Lucozade Energy drink to give me that little bit of zing to tide me over till around midnight/1am - at least that was the plan. Major error! I remained bug-eyed wide awake in bed and buzzing through the night. I could still feel the drink coursing through my veins after 8am the following morning when I finally decided to give in and just get up. Tell you what, that drink should come with a health warning!

I finally setup my Lastolite Hilite background system - all 5' x 7' of it; as well as my Elinchrom studio lighting set just to get a feel for the whole setup and run a series of test shots. I got quite a number of decent shots although both my daughters who I thought would be excited at doing a bit of modelling work for me in front of "proper" studio lights actually needed a bit of persuasion (read "bribery") to get them to sit in front of the camera at all. I ended up doing self-portraits the most, thanks to a handy remote-release cable I attach to my camera and running loads of trial shots. One of my faves is the lead photo for this blog and you can probably catch a couple others in my Showcase 100 gallery.

All went well until it was time to pack up the Lastolite Hilite. I was aware beforehand that there is a specialist art to packing this beast up, only I'd never attempted it myself before. The whole 5' x 7' background system is meant to be flat-packed into a circle shaped holder just over 3 ft in diameter which was where I unpacked it from. Despite consulting a number of how-to YouTube videos that all made it seem an incredibly easy task, this thing seemed to have a life of its own and absolutely refused to cooperate despite my desperate attempts to contort it back into its packaged shape. After some 2 hrs of trying (trust me, no exaggeration!) and time coming up to 2am, I eventually gave up in exasperation. The humongous thing now occupies domineering pride of place in my living room waiting for the next time I summon up the courage to give it another go.

I had a minor but costly mishap that has taught me having your meal when you have your studio gear setup all around you in a cramped space is a definite no-no. I backed my swivel chair up a bit to pick up something from the floor and a moment later I heard an almighty thud on the carpeted floor. I froze for a few seconds to take in the enormity of what had just happened - Yes, my Nikon D3s pride and joy, still mounted on its tripod had just toppled over after I backed my chair into it! I dreaded the worst as I retrieved it and noticed pieces of black broken bits on the floor. After careful examination, it seems it was only the wireless remote trigger for the studio lights I'd attached to the flash mount  that was terminally damaged, and that after just one session of use! Unfortunately, without that teeny bit of kit, the whole set is virtually unusable unless I resort to cabling up a complex set of wires, so had no choice but to order another one. (Expensive) lesson learned!

I've recently experienced a few early life failures with some other kit as well: My Walimex Ring Light that went up in a series of electric sparks accompanied by a puff of smoke and a burning smell after I casually switched it on. It was just approaching its first year purchase anniversary but has not had much use; and my heavy duty Manfrotto tripod head that just mysteriously totally locked up while in use. It looked like a very robust and reliable piece of equipment when I got it just over a month ago. I've referred both back to the original sellers and still waiting to hear back on what my options will be.

I keep making references to different gear that I own. Perhaps at some future date, without appearing too conceited, I will dedicate a write-up that details out all the gear in my photography armoury; or maybe even create a web page solely for that purpose. Just a thought for now.

Cheerio...