Izdihar - Magic Kingdom Escapology

I am mildly embarrassed to report that once more, I have won TPF Fight Club Round #5. I am not accustomed to winning anything, much less something that needs what might be loosely described as "my own skills". Now obviously, the first rule of 'Fight Club is that you don't talk about it, but as they never said "don't write about it", I think I may be covered. Participation only requires a digital camera some form of editing software and an internet host to load the images up to, or at least that's the theory. The sequence actually runs like this:

1. T -10: Get the camera out of the bag, put the flash gun on it's little stand, mount the IR trigger for the flash onto the camera.
2. T -5: Launch Photoshop Elements 5.0 on the PC, start the Flickr Uploader and launch it into the correct account (I have 2), and plug in the USB cable
3. T -4: Sense of tingling anticipation
4. T -3: Nerves beginning to jangle
5. T -2: Visit loo
6. T -1: Start to repeatedly refresh the Fight Club thread for the day waiting the topics to materialise
7. Start time: Read topics and begin to crap myself, thinks "What lunatic from the black latrine came up with these?"
8. 1st 30 minutes: Run round house like an idiot with various bits of photographic equipment trying to come up with some sort of shot that might just capture a flavour of the topics listed. This variously includes turfing out the content of cupboards (cold remedies were a good one this week), lying on the floor in search of the elusive 'artistic angle', finding new uses for AM's handbag and creating impromptu still life sets on the dining table.
9. Next 25 minutes: Download photos from camera (very frustrating waiting whilst this happens), start picking through images in PSE only to find that the perfect composition that you only made one attempt at is slightly out of focus, edit like fury (levels, shadows & highlights, saturation, save as jpg, resize to 800px, unsharp mask, add border, save as smaller jpg, repeat 4 more time).
10. Last 5 minutes: Next comes the uploading, again takes a frustrating amount of time to get the images into 'the other' flickr account. Dive into each image and pick up a link for the full size image and start creating a post in the correct thread at TPF. Click submit...
11. 60 minutes: Realise what everyone else has posted and panic that this was the best you could do.
12. Next 48 hours: Sit and wait whilst everyone apparently votes for everyone else
13. 48+ hours: Takes winners spot on the podium

When I put it like that, it sounds simple doesn't it. The amount of head scratching as I'm going is nothing normal though. There are always at least 2 topics that just evade me, as I have never considered myself to have much of an imagination. I rely on AM for most of the ideas, I just need to work out how to shoot them, but as she's in the UK at the moment, that approach wasn't an option

I'll give it a go next Sunday, but that will be post two flights and a 3,500 mile journey back to the UK - I never feel good after that, though at least I'm slumming it in business class this time.

As a bit of an addendum, here's a couple of the better candidates from Round #5.

For the Ladies:

Disconnected:

I've not blogged today and it's too late to start now, I've added a couple of links to the site though. Been trying to get my head round some Ubuntu server admin - no wonder I'm fried. Here's a photo from earlier today though, from my "Petrol Pump Attendants" series.

This is weird and I can't believe it will last, but all of a sudden my internet connection is running at warp speed. This has to be the fastest I've ever seen a connection run in in Saudi Arabia - maybe I'm the only one in the whole country on line at the moment. Maybe Zajil are not so bad after all. I should go and play the Trivia now and see if helps me at all.

Actually, that approach worked really well and the end result was worth the wait. Much better than the microwave, which whilst quick, tends to deliver rather watery results. Same goes much the same for the chilli, the flavour and texture is improved by warming in a pan and not done in the nuke.

Forget the 1 hour bit. Just re-set the timer for another 15 minutes - damned foreign potatoes! At least the chilli looks good to go...

Link: http://food.ivillage.com/mainingredient/fruitvegetables/0,,gz7h,00.html

...is apparently done at 400F for an hour, turning half way through. As the oven has just beeped to say it's now up to temp, I shall pop a raw one in there and go for a quick cycle round the compound. It's cold out there - Brrrrr....