Welcome to my blog, Whats this about then?

This is a place where I will be posting all sorts of things not just things relating to Derby and Derbyshire. On here you will find details of any videos I’ve made of things in Derby and also Time-lapse, stop motion animation, Tutorials etc. If I find some useful software for PC or iPhone then I will feature it here.I’m sure that there will be something of interest to someone on my many posts.Please leave comments on any posts if you like them.
Don’t forget if you are new to my blog and would like to read through the previous posts then see the Blog Archive section on the left side of this page.
Also there is a Search box at the top left of the page if you are looking for something but cant remember where it was. I am a trustee member of "Friends of Friar Gate bridge", aiming to get this bridge restored.

Friday 30 August 2013

Darley Park Concert 2013, the UK's biggest free outdoor classical concert. Sunday 1st September 2013


My complete guide to this years free Darley Park Concert. As you may remember last year this event took place in July to coincide with the Olympic torch relay. Now in 2013 its back in its usual late summer slot.

This weekend on Sunday 1st September 2013 is the Annual FREE outdoor classical concert and fireworks display at Darley Park, Derby.
This event normally attracts crowds of around 30,000 This years show will be hosted by Classic FM weekday drivetime presenter John Brunning.

X-Factor finalist Marcus Collins and EastEnders' Cheryl Fergison - who you may seen flexing her vocal chords recently on ITV'sYour Face Sounds Familiar - will perform towards the end of the evening, just before the fireworks finale. Cheryl will perform Rock Around the Clock, with Marcus singing Don’t Stop Me Now. 

It ends with a spectacular firework finale.


The photograph here is one I took during the amazing firework finale at the 2004 concert.
Some more of my photographs in 2002.

If you are traveling in to Derby from afar then its best to get here early as this event is always very popular.
If you are unfamiliar with the layout of Darley Park then then have a good look around using my virtual tour

The Darley Park Virtual Tour Map.
Click the map image below to access the draggable interactive map. This has marker icons on it.
Simple click on an icon and click the link in the pop up that appears to view the 360 degree panorama from that location. Some panoramas have "jump links" within them allowing you to jump to the next panorama.

Click here to view my Darley Park Vrtual Tour map.

Or click - Darley Park 360 degree Virtual Reality Tour.




Map
Here is a detailed map showing the exact location of the Darley Park Concert and where you can park.
Click the link below the map to get a larger version you can print out.

View Darley Park Concert, Derby. in a larger map

Smartphone mapping pins.
If you have a smartphone (iPhone, HTC etc) then you can use my push pins below to get accurate GPS locations to this venue. Just view this blog on your phone and tap the link below to launch your mapping app, a push pin will appear on it and you can use this to get walking/driving directions from your current position.

The audience sitting area. <---- Tap this link to locate the area where you will sit and watch the concert.

Entrance to concert car parking. <--- Tap this link to located the entrance to the concert car parking.

There are several entrances into Darley Park. Choose the best one for you. Here are the entrances to the park with Google Streetviews. These are all "by foot" !
1) Bottom of Mile Ash Lane.
2) End of Darley Street.
3) Down Darley Park Drive.
4) Off Duffield Road (A6).
5) Bottom of South Drive.
6) End of North Parade.
7) Over Handyside bridge from City Road.

The Darley Park Concert is sponsored by Rolls Royce and in partnership with Classic FM.
Remember to take a torch as some of the paths into Darley Park are unlit and covered with trees so its helps if you have a torch to see where you are walking.

Here is the lineup for Sunday's concert.

6pm
Entertainment from The Big Sing

7pm
R Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra
Grieg: Morning from Peer Gynt Suite                 
Glazunov: Spring
Porter: I Love Paris
Gershwin: Summertime
Adams/Vallance: Summer of '69
Work: Grandfather's Clock
Suppe: Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna
Ponchielli: Dance of the Hours
Anderson: Syncopated Clock
Williams: The Old Clockmaker
J Strauss: Tik Tak Polka
Interval - entertainment from The Big Sing
Rossini: Gallop from William Tell Overture
Dukes: Autumn in New York
Weill: September Song
Hupfeld: As Time Goes By
Orth: In a Clock Store
Vivaldi: Winter from The Four Seasons
Mendelssohn: Nocturne
Lennon/McCartney: Hard Day's Night
Freedman/Myers: Rock Around the Clock
Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries*

This year the grand firework finale will be set to Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walküre.

Parking: £5 at St Benedicts College and Derby Rugby Club

Here is a great video someone took at the 2011 concert:

Video by ditcher41a2

Thanks

Andy

Thursday 29 August 2013

Product review - Super thin Kingston 32GB USB Flash memory stick (SE9 DTSE9H32GB), Bargain price of £14.45. 45p per Gigabyte!

I recently bought three of these new super skinny USB memory sticks by Kingston.
They are 32GB capacity, Which is a massive amount of storage space, that's only 45p per Gigabyte !



The best thing about this model is the case is only as wide as the USB connector its self so if you don't have a lot of space around your USB sockets on your PC or laptop then this is the perfect solution.
Also there is no cap or loose bits that can be lost or snapped off in use or transit.
It has a large hole at the other end so you can put it on your keyring.
The case is made from a single extruded bit of robust aluminum not plastic like most USB sticks.

Here is a photograph of it so you can see how nice and compact this 32GB stick is compared with my previous USB stick (a 16GB Kingston model) . As you can see the 32GB one is super thin and no cap to loose or bits to break off.
Here is the new 32GB Kingston USB memory Stick and my old 16GB above it for size comparison.
4GB file limit - How to solve this common issue.
I suggest formatting it in NTFS so you can put large files on it. If you format it at FAT32 then remember you can't copy large files onto it. If you copy a file which is over 4GB it will show the rather misleading message "There is not enough free space on the drive". If you get this warning even though you have lots of free space then this is the reason. Reformat it as NTFS to solve the problem.

Product Description
Kingston’s DataTraveler SE9 USB Flash drive has a stylish metal casing with a large ring so it will attach easily. The small form factor makes it a great accessory for notebooks like Intel’s new Ultrabook as well as tablets that offer USB ports. Its durable casing lets users securely carry this drive everywhere they go with their new devices.
DataTraveler SE9 is covered by a five-year warranty, free technical support and legendary Kingston reliability.



Product Description
Kingston 32GB USB 20 DataTraveler SE9 DTSE9H32GB Storage Flash USB Memory

Worth getting one at this bargain price.

Thanks
Andy

Video - Burton Road (Derby City centre) to Sinfin. Derby streets by car in HD. July 2013

Here is my latest "Derby Streets by car" video. This is a real-time car journey from Burton Road (Derby city centre) to Sinfin, Derby.

The drive starts on Burton Road near its junction with Lara Croft Way. The first road we pass on the left is Mount Street.


Andy's Driving videos around Derby, Derbyshire, UK :
Are you an ex-pat of Derby, feeling homesick? Or perhaps you just want a clear way of giving someone directions to a location in Derby or just want to show people your Derby Street. Well in this video and the many others I have made, you will be able to take a virtual drive around the city of Derby's streets as though you were in the driving seat. I use a dash-mounted camera, Traffic lights and heavy traffic have been edited out.

Best watched at 720p/1080p fullscreen (if your system/net connection is up to it).


Why not start with the original video and watch them all one by one...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIMdVNMVc4U

Follow me on Twitter : https://twitter.com/AndySavage1969

Thanks
Andy

Friday 23 August 2013

Book - The Illustrated History of Derby by Maxwell Craven. I provided the cover photograph for this book!

Back in 2007 I was asked by Breedon Books if I would supply a photograph suitable for the front cover of a new Derby book that had been written by local historian Maxwell Craven. I was so chuffed that they asked me to do this. Even today I still see my photograph adorning this book in local stores and it makes me smile.



Here is a photograph I took of the window display at Waterstones bookshop on St Peters Street, Derby when it had lots of these books on display.

My photograph on the cover of books in Waterstones bookshop, St Peters Street, Derby.
The Illustrated History of Derby is availalable from Amazon and also local shops.



The image you can see on the cover is one I took on 7th July 2004 of the Cathedral reflected in the Derwent very early one morning. I would like to thank Breedon Books.


Thanks
Andy

Wednesday 21 August 2013

The Flower Pot Pub, Derby "Pot fest" Beer and Cider Festival. August 22nd to 25th. 40 Real Ales and ciders. London Calling


There is a Beer and Cider festival this weekend (The August Bank Holiday weekend) at The Flower Pot pub in Derby. It runs from Thursday 22nd to Sunday 25th August 2013. Having been to this beer festival a few times I can recommend it for the live entertainment alone!

There will be Live music and 40 Real Ales and Ciders from the London area to try and lots of live music and entertainment  :

Thursday 22nd :
9pm - The Heron Brothers. More Details here

Friday 23rd :
9pm - Mojosa (Paul Miro and Paul Evans) featuring L’ll Jim. More details here

Saturday 24th :
Morris Men
4pm - Black Pig Border. More details here
9pm - Crazy Heart (Johnny cash with a blues twist)

Sunday 25th :
4pm - Swamptrash. More details here
9pm - Radio Clash. More details here


BBQ Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Here is a flyer for The Flower Pot Beer Festival 2013 :

Potfest 2013 at the Flower Pot Pub in Derby.




If you are coming into Derby to try this Beer Festival then why not stop at the Jurys Inn Hotel as its just across the road from the Flower Pot pub.

The Flower Pot is located on King Street (A6) very near the Jurys Inn Hotel.
You can see The flower pot in this Google Streetview.

If you have a smartphone then you can use my drop pin below to find your way to the pub using the mapping application.
Smartphone mapping drop pin. <-- Tap this link on your smartphone to get accurate directions.

Hope you found this of interest.
Andy

Tuesday 13 August 2013

How to swap Left and Right audio channels on your PC if they are swapped with each other. My simple solution to this problem.

Last year I made a video to help you diagnose faults with your wiring, speakers or headphones.
My video "Speaker Test Video (Left and Right Audio), Ensure that your left and right speakers are connected correctly." is very popular with nearly 154,000 views so far.

A problem that is often asked is "how can I swap the Left and Right audio channels"
Some older soundcards used to have a tick box which said "Swap LR" but not seen that for a long time.

I have the easy solution to your problem here, you need to buy the two following leads from Amazon.
These leads are adapters, The one on the left converts a 3.5mm Jack Plug into left and right audio on RCA sockets where as the lead on the right converts 3.5mm Jack Socket into left and right RCA plugs.
By connecting these two leads together you have the ability to SWAP the audio channels.

Buy these two separate items :



Once you have taken delivery of these two leads do the following :
1) Unplug your existing headphones/Speakers from your PC (thats the 3.5mm jack plug that goes into the GREEN socket on your soundcard).
2) Plug in the 3.5mm jack plug from the left lead above into that GREEN socket on your PC.
3) Now get the other lead which has the red and black RCA plugs on it and insert the RED RCA plug into the BLACK RCA socket of the other lead and insert the BLACK RCA plug into the RED RCA socket of the other lead.
4) Now plug in your headphones/Speakers plug into the 3.5mm jack socket on the adapter lead.
5) Problem solved. Left channel is now going to be routed through to the Right ear and Right channel to the left.

Hope someone finds my solution to this problem of use. if so please leave a comment or promote my solution.

My Left/Right Speaker Test video

The idea of this video is simple, it allows you to confirm that you have wired up your audio system the right way round. You may not think its important but imagine playing a fighting game and you hear the enemy to your right so you turn right to fire only to get shot because they were actually on your left side !
I discovered that my L & R cables were mixed up at the back of my computer desk and have been for months.

My speaker test video :

It may help if you play this video in Full screen mode.

When Left shows on screen there should be a voice in the LEFT speaker ONLY.
If you can hear "Left channel" in the right speaker only then this means your L & R cables are swapped over.
If you can hear "Left channel" in BOTH speakers then this means you have a short circuit OR you are using a MONO sound system.

If your system IS correct then no point in watching all 4 minutes of the video.

It will then play a voice in the left and right speakers alternating every 2 seconds from left to right, this will play for 4 minutes giving you plenty of time to fiddle around with cables etc.


The time-lapse clouds I have used as a background were filmed using my modified Canon Ixus 430 camera.

On my system the "line output" from the back of the PC soundcard was connected via a switchbox (A/B Input Source Switch Box TC-12 (Part #: 50-6220) that allows me to either send the sound to my Creative Labs speakers OR to my Hi-Fi.
The Red RCA female was connecting through to the white RCA Male that was on the end of this switch box in other words Right and Left audio were being swapped !

Hope this test video is of use to someone out there.

Thanks
Andy
www.derbyphotos.co.uk

Sunday 11 August 2013

Sunrise Evolver video - time-lapse sunrise over Derby.

Best enjoyed over ice at 720/1080p in full screen mode in order to appreciate those glorious pastels !

 This glorious sunrise was filmed at Half Five on an August morning out of my bedroom window looking over Derby, Derbyshire, UK.
 The time-lapse sequence is made from 1491 photographs taken on my modified Canon Ixus 430.

My video "Sunrise Evolver"

Thanks
Andy


Wednesday 7 August 2013

The Golden Eagle Pub, Agard Street, Derby. Owned by Titan Brewery, Opens 9th August 2013.

The Golden Eagle Pub on Agard Street, Derby opens its doors on Friday 9th August 2013.

The Golden Eagle pub, Agard Street, Derby. August 2013
Here is a little video I made showing where the Golden Eagle pub is located and also some close ups of the amazing Derby-themed mural that covers this pub which show a series of artworks, illustrating famous people, events and scenes from the city's lifetime.

The mural was painted by Urban Canvas Ltd.

My little car journey starts on Friar Gate near its junction with Ford Street. We then drive under Friar Gate bridge, right at Bridge Street and then follow the road around into Agard Street. I park up next to the Golden Eagle Pub and then show you some of the Derby Murals on this pub.



The Golden Eagle Pub, Agard Street, Derby. is owned by Titan Brewery Ltd.

History of this pub :
This pub dates back to before 1853 when it was originally called The Golden Eagle.
In 1980 it was sold by Bass and renamed Pizza and Pasta. In 1983 it was renamed Knight Fall, then in 1994 renamed Golden Eagle again until 1997 when it changed to Captain Blake. In August 2003 the pub changed its name again to Union Blue. Then The Graduate and now back to the Golden Eagle in August 2013.

360 Degree Photographs
Have a look at my full-screen 360 degree virtual reality photographs here.

Download Adobe Flash to display this panorama.

Simply click a link, wait for it to load in then use your mouse to drag the view around (like you do with Google Street view). I took these on July 4th 2013 :

As seen from Searl Street :
http://www.absolutelyandy.com/derbyphotoscouk/360panoramas/the_golden_eagle/1685-1691.htm

As seen from Searl Street (closer view) :
http://www.absolutelyandy.com/derbyphotoscouk/360panoramas/the_golden_eagle/1692-1698.htm

As seen from the other side of Agard Street :
http://www.absolutelyandy.com/derbyphotoscouk/360panoramas/the_golden_eagle/1699-1705.htm

The footbridge at the end of Searl Street, the Golden Eagle pub is at the far end :
http://www.absolutelyandy.com/derbyphotoscouk/360panoramas/the_golden_eagle/1708-1714.htm

-----------------------

This pub can be found at 55 Agard Street, Derby, Derbyshire, DE1 1DZ
Their Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Titan-Brewery-Ltd/205076326310054

Thanks
Andy
My Twitter : https://twitter.com/AndySavage1969
My Derby website : http://www.derbyphotos.co.uk