thefreckles

Thanks, Jason! Your (fantastically quick) answer to all my concerns is very much appreciated! And thank you also for all the detail you went into. Again, it is appreciated. Good to see the cocktail party has been moved into another room (I already knew about now having 'ushers', thanks) and if the stage has been lifted and the lighting improved then yay! That will make a BIG difference. I'm only just 5' 2" so that will help enormously (especially if other people don't hold their cameras up in front of you all the bally time ), one of the reasons why I was concerned at the extra row as being that small, that means potentially even more taller people in front of you. I think we should have seating done by height I know things get hectic for you so can understand that this must have slipped through. Hopefully, if anything like this happens again, information can be given out a bit sooner rather than us putting 2 + 2 together and speculating and then getting a little nervous about things... I did actually speak to someone at Eclipse about some of my concerns. Got some great advice from one of the stewards but wasn't that happy with the response from one of the staff members I spoke to (especially as it conflicted with previous information given by another staff bod). I rather think that was probably just because you were all super-busy at the time and it got a little hectic in places... I didn't mean to say I did NOT have a good time, if I didn't I wouldn't be going to The Hub! Sorry if it came across that way. Rather that there were quite a few teething problems and, from speaking to others who been to events since, I was a little concerned that very few had been taking seriously or addressed in any way. It does look as if most of those (if not all) may well now have been sorted out though and that has done much to reassure me. Information being shared to us really does help an awful lot I promise I was most definitely not looking for issues before the con and am a little upset you thought that. I'm also rather surprised at the (very generous) offer of a refund, which I will decline thank you, as I tried to make sure I wasn't sounding hyper-critical and didn't think I was. Sorry if it came across that way I was just worried that, given my previous concerns, the increase in numbers would have a potentially big impact and that nothing had been said to us about it beforehand. I can assure you I do want to come to this and have a good time and even persuaded 4 of my friends to come along with me (only one other Gold though). It will be their first Massive Events event ::grins:: and I know we are looking forward to it. All the best!

I honestly do hate to sound like a moaning minnie here, but could someone please let us know how many gold tickets were actually sold? It seems to be 150 but only 100 was stated on the site and that is what I expected when I bought my ticket. Whilst an extra 50 may not seem that much, given the small space and limited time available for the cocktail party, that extra 50 could have quite a considerable impact! The same goes for queues for photoshoots (although if the schedule remains more or less the same, that won't have any impact on missing any talks so is less than negligible (for me)). Also that could mean an extra row being made available for gold ticket holders and that puts you potentially even further back from the stage! I had gold for Eclipse and found that the dreadful lighting and low, low stage meant I could i) see very little and ii) could not take any decent photos even from the second row one or two seats in from the aisle chair with a 300mm zoom lens. Having easy access to all of the above is one of the reasons I splurged out the extra to get a gold ticket but I will be a little ticked off if an extra 50 tickets have been sold as I think that was i) false advertising with no apology or statement being given and ii) a little rude that we were not told in advance that numbers had changed. If more were sold they have known for ages now and nothing has been imparted to us. Even with 100 bods at the gold coktail party at Eclipse, I still did not get to meet a SINGLE guest, which was extremely disappointing to say the least. I know things have changed since then, with assistants being available to encourage them to mingle but a third extra attendees at this is not inconsiderable... A little information, even to say sorry we made a boo-boo, would go a long way to i) reassure us and ii) let us know what we can expect. I think that should have been done straight away. Personally speaking, Showmasters/Massive Events are on trial here with me for The Hub given the problems encountered at Eclipse and I'm hoping that this weekend will redeem them in my eyes or at least show the potential for it being as good, if not better, than other weekend conventions I attend! If they've oversold by 50 without telling us, that does NOT bode well and certainly doesn't leave me filled with confidence Hopefully I'm just confused and an easy and simple explanation is on its way Thanks in advance for any extra information posted!

Unfortunately Josette had to cancel too. That notice was posted yesterday.

Thanks, everyone! That's very reassuring / useful :)

Just looked at train times etc. and it appears as if there will be a replacement rail bus service to Milton Keynes for the pick-up train back into London. Has anyone had prior experience of these? Do they tend to run to their timetable or...? Many thanks!

True Thanks for the reply and further clarification! It's appreciated. Not what I've experienced elsewhere but then have only stayed at a Park once before so I bow to your superior knowledge

I have to agree here and think that is rather unfair. The lower rate does actually seem to be the 'Standard' rate for the hotel, not a cheaper, limited rate. It seems as if we are being charged a premium price for this. All other conventions that I have been to have usually managed to organise a reduced price for convention attendees rather than an inflated price! I'm kicking myself for not booking a room directly now when I first visited. I could have always cancelled if no guests appealed and saved myself some (much needed at that time of year) money. Oh well... If 'The Hub' proves a success and I decide to give Showmasters my approval for these type of events (still very, very much up in the air after Eclipse), I'll be far more careful with booking a room in the future. I saved quite a bit booking the Park through their website for The Hub rather than phoning them and stating I wanted to book for the con directly! Breakfast is nice but not £21 per brek per night nicer!!!!

I had a quick look last night and, IIRC, the lower rate was room only and the £66 (not £65) rate was breakfast staying in an executive room. This does make me rather unhappy too, I must admit!

I'm here! Yes, please!

The ONLY thing that will make me come to this (as I have NO money whatsoever at the moment) is Bill Oddie to finish off my Goodies photo at a previous GMEX and the prospect of a joint photo would be the final push! Please, please, please. I'd even try and get a Patrick Stewart talk ticket (despite being at the back), if that happened!

Shame I couldn't be there but couldn't miss Father's Day! Great to see that a DJ more au fait with convention music will be used in future. I hope s/he will be there for The Hub! That was one thing that was seriously lacking at Eclipse and I rather suspected the Stargate crowd would find it equally a big miss at Chevron 7. Also great to see that not only will next year's be in March (hope that's not the Mother's Day weekend!) and that Atlantis guests will be invited too. Yay! As long as The Hub has made improvements on the (quite a few) areas I was unhappy with at Eclipse, I'll be there :) Any chance, though, that the stage might be raised a little? Looking at the few photos I've seen, it looks as if everything is still very low down I'm quite tiny but even with a Gold ticket, it was still difficult to see everything.

1. DavidB 2. mousybrown 3. Zarina 4. Wyn 5. Keladryie 6. Adeline 7. Alexius 8. KarenRoss 9. Bonniesrg 10. JennJenn 11. Sabine 12. Katiieee_x 13. leana 14. Lizzy 15. Krypto 16. such_jaunt 17. CosmicAvatar (please!) 18. PhoenixWillRise 19. Lenatalia 20. angiepie 21. jael001 22. Leanne Thorpe (leanneofthedsc) 23. pez 24. Rivaan ("My name is Jack Bauer.." =P) 25. Miss_Bennet 26. Paul 27. Emmeh 28. Sarah 29. Christy 30. Alison 31. Saxby (Lesley Saxby) 32. Oregon-Snowglobe 33. Miss_G 34. Keiralouise 35. Nomi-noo 36. Pandora's Box 37. Lena 38. Pure. Evil. 39. Agent Bristow 40. yvonne80 41. Smart :-) 42. Tiggsy 43. Bernice xxx 44. Selby woopwoop 45. Super_Hiro 46. Bobby 47. the masterq8 48. BLACKKNIGHTS 49. Roxy 50. Catmoo 51. River :) (dvd please!) 52. Cptalbertwesker 53. Kenny 54. Becky (Shirefruit) 55. Matze 3:16 56. Sarkasm 57. Niall826 58. EmmaT 59. k-cat 60. crazyfangirl 61. Seska1 62. Quinny83 63. be_found 64. gem-sanders 65. fray101 66. Jaina 67. Deap 68. fallenwiccan 69. Max S (68s OH who was at eclipse) 70. kiddynakamura (dan) 71. Gandalfia (Tara) 72. mrsclairecarter 73. theoneringtorulethemall 74. Bregi 75. Hayden Is My Hero 76. SciFiMAD 77. elwebb 78. chuckie 79. Nellie (bride of chuckie!) 80. Sa�l (spanish guy who�s too lazy to post but went to Eclipse) 81. Mirella (same as above but female version, lol, both my friends) 82. DecadentDream 83. Blocpartycam 84. Rain (Kayla) 85. Grimster 86. Slayer2004C 87. LeeScrivens 88. domino 89. Whordy 90. Ian F 91. Kylie Kensei!! 92. Hayden's Hero! 93. Natalie (natfrog5) 94. Carmen (tweety_be) 95. Paul (Snot182) 96. Rodders (the polar bear ) 97. Ra Ra Rhade 98.Jean-Marc 99.Patrice 100. Nikstar1989 [depending on price :)] 101. Richie Rich 102. Swan 103. Elullatook 104. HRG 105. Sazzzy 106. Evie_Nitram (got 2 of us that'd like it, but obv. we'd only buy 1 DVD!) 107. Bethyboo (Beth) 108. thefreckles (plus at least 1 more that I know would love to buy a copy for herself too but she's not on here)

Well, I was seriously thinking about it but have just found it is on Father's Day Boo! Bad timing! And stupid me for not working it out beforehand ::thwaps self on head hard:: Unless they annouce a decent (not necessarily A but a decent B or maybe even C list) Atlantis guest (and still have Gold Pass tickets left by then), I won't be going ::sighs::

Thanks so much for letting me know! Hope you are having a great time there!

If someone has time, would they mind letting me know how long flash photography was allowed for during the Q&As today? Was it the 15 minutes as stated on the website? 5 minutes as at their signing events? Or was it the 1-2 minutes as it was at Eclipse? Many thanks! Am thinking about going to Chevron 7 and answers to this will help me make up my mind! Hope you are all having great fun! Smaller cons tend to be fabulous

There is an Eclipse 1 t-shirt (Size M) up for grabs in a charity auction I am running for Medecins Sans Frontieres. Payment to be made through Justgiving (don't forget to click Gift Aid, if you are a UK tax payer!). Starting bid is £2 with postage & packaging included! Don't miss out on this (or any other bargain)! Eclipse 1 t-shirt

Thank you! I hope you find something you like

Have also put this under 'General Chat'. Hope that's okay! Thought some of you might be interested in a charity auction I'm running online (for David Hewlett's birthday) with many different fandom-related items from all kinds of shows such as Heroes, Stargate: SG1, Star Trek (TOS), Star Trek Voyager, Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica, Blakes 7, Lost etc. There are a few goodies from Eclipse 1 up for grabs including the special t-shirt, the large Masi & Hayden FHM poster and the evacuation notice & some badges. Of course there are also many Stargate: Atlantis items up for bidding too! Items available range from a signed script to posters to photos to DVDs to books, as well as non-fandom related items such as jewellery. All payments for any items won are made directly to the charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres, via Justgiving. Last year we raised just over £1000 (including Gift Aid) and we're hoping to try and reach that much again. The actual auction site. For more information about it all, please see the general site.

Thought some of you might be interested in a charity auction I'm running online (for David Hewlett's birthday) with many different fandom-related items from all kinds of shows other than Stargate Atlantis such as Heroes, Star Trek (TOS), Star Trek Voyager, Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica, Blakes 7, Lost etc. All payments for any items won are made directly to the charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres, via Justgiving. Last year we raised just over £1000 (including Gift Aid) and we're hoping to try and reach that much again. The actual auction site. For more information about it all, please see the general site.

I was going to copy my tutor's explanations about colours etc. but it has been touched on briefly here. For a much more detailed (but not too techy) explanation, visit www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/u-raw-files.shtml The numbers should explain themselves, especially if you ever want to print anything!

One thing that would tempt me into buying a ticket before I hear back from Showmasters/Massive Events about their policy on flash photography would be a joint SG1/Atlantis con! :)

Do try RAW! I'm a total convert It seriously makes life so much better! I usually do a teeny bit to my photos whilst converting them before I stick them up on my website and any promising ones I will then work on later when I've time, but these tend to be for myself. Unfortunately those tend not to make my website as I'm usually too lazy Much as I'd like to tweak them a little more before I put them up, it takes me too long to do most of the time as I take rather a lot as a rule (many without flash so they need cleaning up) and take an absolute age to upload to my site and RL eats into time in a big way plus most people just like to see pics quickly after the event regardless of quality at times. If you're planning on going to Chevron 7 and I do decide to go myself, I'd be happy to take you through Lightroom and how to process RAW files. I'll have a laptop with Lightroom on it if I do go. It's a lot simpler when someone talks you through it! I'm by no means an expert photographer and am still learning practically everyday (including all the functions of software such as Lightroom etc.). I live just outside of London but took a fantastic course in Brixton with Photofusion that I can heartily recommend to anyone thinking about doing a course. It's well worth i) the money and ii) the journey as they were absolutely fantastic. I'm thinking about doing their Photoshop course (when I win the lottery ).

Done!

To start things off, I'm moving a topic from Chevron 7 to here as suggested (about a slight yellowish tint to photos): Thanks for the ideas, I appreciate it. Yes, the White Balance is the first thing I tried. Unfortunately that wasn't it. The tint is usually very easy to remove, but depending on how many pictures I took it can be a lot of work. I tried shooting RAW once but didn't like the results. I have to admit, I'm blanking at the moment on what file type the camera is saving the pictures as now. Maybe we should make a photography topic in General Chat. When I first tried RAW I lasted 5 or 10 minutes and gave up with it. I then took a photography course and became a quick convert (our teacher wouldn't let us shoot in anything else after the first 4 weeks). I think a lot of it can depend on what software you use to convert the files. I don't know what came with your Canon and, if you didn't like that, why not try something like Bibble or Adobe Lightroom. You do have to pay for both of these and Bibble is the slightly cheaper option (and gives excellent results). I tend to use Lightroom now as I used that in my course and am far more familiar with it. I keep hearing it said that Bibble gives better results with my Oly so I may end up giving it another try. Both offer free trials (Lightroom for 30 days and Bibble for 14 days, I think). Both offer, IIRC, free tutorials (including video) help, which are excellent and give you a decent head start on what to do. With WB, have you tried tweaking it manually rather than using the presets? If the cast is very slight and yellow, it is possible it is an exposure problem. Can you take three different shots varying exposure with your camera? I think most can do this. It will under and over exposure a shot by x amount depending on what you key into it. That also might help with what is going on. Lightroom (and I think Bibble), will allow you to choose what settings work with one photo and, as long as all the others are more or less the same, copy and paste these into all the rest. For simple work, you can do this in the 'Library' general settings and then when you send your selected photos through to 'Develop', it will do everything itself to all of them for you. It's a doddle and saves a lot of time if you do need to make any adjustments. If you can't afford (or don't want to spend money) on either of those, then try them anyway and go back to whatever software came with your Canon and you might find it much easier to get on with. I could never got back to shooting anything other than RAW now as it is very kind to you if you make a mistake and is really very easy to work with and gives you lots of options.

Now you scare me about the lights at Eclipse. I got a Canon EOS 350D and all I sometimes have to fight with ISO 1600 is a bit of a yellowish tint if I use it inside. Re the yellowish tint. Probably a really stupid question but have you tried adjusting your White Balance? That can usually get rid of such colour casts. Can be done in camera or post processing for the most part. I tend to use 'Daylight' or 'Neutral' with flash or outdoors for the most part (5300 - 5500 / custom white balance) or, if in manual without flash, Tungsten or whatever is appropriate if indoors. That gets rid of the worst of any casts/tints, if not all of them, and can be tweaked manually post processing to get a pleasing result anyway. Failing that, do you shoot RAW? It's so much easier to correct WB, remove colour cast, correct exposure etc. with that whilst processing the RAW files. This can make an enormous difference and doesn't take much time to do at all (presuming you haven't constantly changed your settings whilst shooting).