Mr & Mrs Gosney

July 11, 2023July 11, 2025

Microsoft: Empowering the Digital World

Microsoft is a global technology company known for shaping the modern digital experience. From its iconic Windows operating system to the versatile Microsoft Office suite, the company has provided tools that support both personal productivity and enterprise innovation. Visit the official website at microsoft.com to explore its offerings.

Microsoft has also become a major player in cloud computing through Azure, and in business collaboration with Microsoft Teams. Its investments in artificial intelligence, gaming (via Xbox), and hardware (like Surface devices) reflect a broad vision for the future of tech.

Key Innovations by Microsoft

Windows OS and Microsoft Office — foundational software for millions worldwide
Azure cloud services — empowering digital transformation for businesses
Xbox gaming platform — connecting entertainment and technology
Surface devices — combining performance with sleek design
AI integration and responsible innovation — shaping the future responsibly

With decades of experience and a continued focus on progress, Microsoft remains a leader in the global tech landscape.

This is a test article created for demonstration purposes in WordPress.

June 18, 2023June 18, 2025

Microsoft: Empowering the Digital World

Key Innovations by Microsoft

Windows OS and Microsoft Office — foundational software for millions worldwide
Azure cloud services — empowering digital transformation for businesses
Xbox gaming platform — connecting entertainment and technology
Surface devices — combining performance with sleek design
AI integration and responsible innovation — shaping the future responsibly

With decades of experience and a continued focus on progress, Microsoft remains a leader in the global tech landscape.

This is a test article created for demonstration purposes in WordPress.

May 22, 2023May 22, 2025

Microsoft: Empowering the Digital World

Key Innovations by Microsoft

Windows OS and Microsoft Office — foundational software for millions worldwide
Azure cloud services — empowering digital transformation for businesses
Xbox gaming platform — connecting entertainment and technology
Surface devices — combining performance with sleek design
AI integration and responsible innovation — shaping the future responsibly

With decades of experience and a continued focus on progress, Microsoft remains a leader in the global tech landscape.

This is a test article created for demonstration purposes in WordPress.

February 19, 2020March 24, 2025

Microsoft Innovations: Empowering the Mobile Experience

Microsoft is a global technology leader, constantly driving innovation and transforming the digital landscape. With cutting-edge mobile applications and cloud solutions, the company enables users to work, learn, and enjoy entertainment wherever they are.

Innovative Solutions for Business and Personal Use

Products such as Office 365 and the Azure platform have revolutionized the way both businesses and individuals operate. Microsoft’s mobile solutions provide seamless access to essential tools, ensuring productivity and connectivity on the go.

Security and Reliability

Security remains a top priority for Microsoft. Regular updates and advanced protection technologies guarantee that users’ data stays secure, whether they’re managing business tasks or accessing personal information.

Discover More

Committed to making technology accessible for everyone, Microsoft continues to innovate and grow. To explore the latest developments and learn more about their diverse range of products, visit the official website at Microsoft.

January 6, 2017January 6, 2017

2017: photography reboot

Happy New Year!

The proposed 365v2 idea was abandoned, in hindsight a sensible decision given the volume of “real” work that it was necessary to get through in the last quarter of 2016.

However, still feel the urge to resurrect my interest in photography, and have the need of a driver to move me forward with that, so a “52 weeks” project for 2017 seems to be perfect. There’s a lovely Flickr group (here) that focusses on exactly this, and it well stocked with enthusiastic, supportive members. Week number one (“The Letter O”) is done (entry here), looking forward to moving on to “Broken” in week two, and “Zippers” in week three.

Alongside the weekly challenges, I’m looking at expanding my portraiture skills this year, and given the time of year am starting that off by investigating night portraits. Looking forward to putting these ideas into practice over the next couple of weeks.

There needs to be a better work-life balance established this year, and I’m looking forward to using photography as a means to drive that forward.

September 21, 2016

365 v2 : Time to start again?

it is almost two years since I started my 365 project: a snap decision inspired by a stay at a beautiful country house hotel.

We return to Swinton Park in the next few days. My photography has stalled over the last year, with work consuming increasing amounts of time. My love of photography, and beautiful, engaging photographs, remains undimmed, which made me wonder whether to user the coinciding anniversary and hotel return to restart.

My inclination is yes, but to work towards some goals for the year:

people skills: develop my portrait skills, including lighting, posing and engagement with my subject
develop my understanding of shaping light, and what lighting techniques to use in different circumstances
take myself to some new places (physically, in the main anyway)
engage with new people via photography
document a big year
End up with some images that I’m proud of

There’ll undoubtedly be frustrating, awkward days where inspiration and opportunity are minimal, but also times when new experiences are driven by the desire to find that day’s image.

Having thought about this further, excited about getting started again.

July 7, 2015

Great blog post for the Kaiser Film Leader Retriever

It’s been some time since my last post, and this isn’t going to be a long one.

However, it could be useful for anyone who, like me, shoots 35mm film to develop at home and who isn’t great at judging when to stop rewinding the film back on to the spool in the camera.

I’ve had a number of frustrating experiences where I’ve shot a roll of film, been all ready to develop it… and couldn’t retrieve the leader from the cassette. I eventually found the following blog post, which clarifies the way that the Kaiser Film Retriever is best used: How to use the Kaiser Film Retriever

The key elements seem to be:

winding the film anticlockwise after the retriever’s been inserted so that the leader flicks over the retriever, and then…
winding the film clockwise until resistance is encountered to push the leader between the two pieces of flexible plastic

The retriever’s smaller second tongue can then be inserted, catching the sprockets of the leader, and then retracted to extract the film. I find that it can sometimes help to gently turn the spool clockwise whilst sliding the lever to retract the smaller tongue.

Hope this link and the additional information’s of assistance to a frustrated film extractor at some point.

December 31, 2014January 17, 2015

2014: what did we do?

It’s the final day of 2014, and several weeks since my last post. It’s a beautiful crisp frosty day, with weak winter sun that’s slowly turning the grass from a steely grey-white to a glistening green. The Christmas tree lights are still twinkling, the radio’s on, and we’re both enjoying the seventh work-free day of the festive period.

What’s been achieved in 2014? Some quickly brainstormed bullets include:

January – surviving the rewiring of the entire house in January
Feb – <er, doesn’t appear that much was achieved in February!>
March – meeting Andrew Scriven for a photography workshop in St James Park, London, along with a visit to the Bailey’s Stardust exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery (also, for Mr G, being part of a very small audience at The Globe, London, watching a concert by John Williams and friends).
April – photographed my first strongman competition, and climbed Buckden Pike for the first time in over twenty years
May – photographed a powerlifting workshop presented by Andy Boulton
June – attended a production of War Horse at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford, and Newark Antiques Fair
July – first Gosney family gathering at our new home
August – my photographs of local flooding make the front page of our local paper, and we photograph the Pontefract Cycle Grand Prix event
September – I make a snap decision to embark on a 365 photo project, and we have the honour of beginning to look after Portia
October – attended a RPS Distinction Advisory Day, and have the pleasure of listening to the assessment of prospective panels by RPS assessors including Joe Cornish, and attended a RSC performance of Henry IV Part II at The Lowry Theatre, Salford.
November – finally collected two photography books from The Little Black Gallery, South Kensington, London, after up to 18 months of storage. Captured the image of a robin at Fairburn Ings that would be used for our first non-commercial Christmas cards
December – distilled 5 images on a theme of flowers from the year’s photography and used them to create cards for Christmas presents

This is a relatively satisfying list, especially when viewed in the context of being secondary to our extensive professional commitments, but some targets to aim for in 2015 may be:

develop my understanding and use of film, including a focus on street photography starting in local cities
increasing the quality and frequency of people photography (phrased in a deliberately-loose sense)
enhance knowledge of lighting techniques
complete my 365 project

I guess that a final bullet should be

post regular, interesting, insightful blog entries. That may be one bullet too far, but one can only aim high!

Happy New Year’s Eve, and Happy New Year when it dawns tomorrow. Let’s hope that it is productive and peaceful.

November 23, 2014

Better late than never

It’s rather later in the week than usual for the blog post, but having returned from a weekend in London there’s now time to sit down and make sure that the weekly updates continue.

For some of the week 365-related inspiration was rather lacking, I even descended to the car keys featuring on Monday, but both Portia and London provided more fertile photographic ground later in the week, indeed Portia became popular once again:

In London, a visit to The Little Black Gallery to pick up some long-stored books was followed by a walk through Hyde Park to our hotel:

It’s a shame we didn’t have longer to wander around London, although that downside was tempered by finding a very nice pub to eat, drink and be merry in before going on to the Royal Albert Hall for the evening.

A busy week, and a tiring week (exacerbated by a burglar alarm failure at 0130 on Saturday morning). A day’s holiday tomorrow, one we’re very much looking forward to.

November 15, 2014

Running behind….

Well, I’m not sure “running behind” is an appropriate phrase: there’s not been any running, although this week has seen me returning to the gym in an attempt to balance increased carb intake with resistance work. We shall see how that pans out and impacts blood sugar levels.

However, the “running behind” more relates to it now being Saturday, one or two days behind my nominal posting days.

I’ve been continuing my reading of Syl Arena’s “Lighting for Digital Photography”, and decided to press Mrs G into having her portrait taken last Saturday evening after we’d returned from York. Moderate success, but I think what it most taught me was not to try to put new techniques into practice whilst tired and on an empty stomach. More thought is also required with regards to the aim of the photography, rather than “take your portrait whilst trying out these new techniques”, otherwise problems that could be thought through in advance cause annoyance and demotivation.

Portia had a big adventure in our bedroom on Thursday morning, which lead to my first diptych upload to Flickr:

Unfortunately when she clambered too far off the ground the camera had to go down to ensure she didn’t have a sudden, dramatic landing.

It’s the one year anniversary of us moving house today. Time to celebrate.

Happy weekend, and happy photographing.