Learner Bikes - Should I Stick to 250cc or LAMS approved 660cc Bike?

On October 1st 2012 the restriction on the engine size for learner/restricted licenced motorcyclists is moving from 250cc to an approved list of bikes of up to 660cc. There were 2 key reasons for this change. The first was that some 250cc bikes were deemed by many to be too dangerous for amateur riders. These 250cc bikes are now off limits to learner riders. The second reason was that many bikes with larger capacity engines weren't necessarily more powerful than the bikes that learner bikers were able to ride. Many argued for a shift away from engine size restrictions towards a power-to-weight-ratio restriction. This lead to the LAMS list of approved bikes for learner and restricted riders. This shift leads to an obvious question for new learner riders: Should I start with a bike that would have been approved before the 1st of October or should I go with a larger bike from the LAMS approved list?

Points in Favour of bikes over 250cc

1) Avoid the small bike stigma
If you thought you wanted a bigger bike before reading this post this was probably a big part of that. If you think that there is something that is inherently uncool about smaller bikes then buying a bigger bike will allow you to keep yourself safe from the small bike stigma.

2) Lower revs, deeper engine sounds
Smaller bikes often get mocked for sounding like sewing machines. They rev high and have a high pitched engine sound. Larger bikes tend to rev lower and sound throatier.

3) Power-to-weight ratio is likely to be higher (although this may not be the case)
It is rare for bike manufacturers to make a bike with a bigger engine that has a lower power to weight ratio than other bikes in their line-up. As a general rule bikes of the same age from the same company in the same line will have a power to weight ratio that increases with engine size. Take note that this will not necessarily hold for bikes from different companies, years, and/or lines.

4) Weight
A larger, more powerful engine means that the bike itself should also be heavier to fit the fixed power to weight ratio. Heavier bikes hold the road better and don't get pushed around by the wind quite as much.

Points in Favour of bikes less then 250cc

1) Fuel Efficiency

Generally speaking smaller engines use less fuel. Bigger engines use more fuel. For many the appeal of moving to a bike or scooter is the potential to save money on petrol. If this sounds like you a 250cc (or less) bike or scooter is likely to be the best fit for you although a 660cc bike should still use much less fuel than your car.

2) Light Weight
Light Bikes are easy for you and your engine to push around. This helps to contribute to fuel efficiency and also makes bikes easier to manoeuvre while parking. Finally if you ever drop your bike a lighter bike is much easier to pick-up.

3) A glut in the market
As 250cc bikes have been a necessary stepping stone for a number of years there are plenty of them around.  After October 1st it is possible that there will be a shift in the supply and demand equation. Specifically the demand will drop as the learner buyers will no longer be restricted to 250cc bikes. This could lead to an over supply of 250cc bikes in the market which could lead to a drop in sale prices in the months and years ahead.

Red Herrings to watch out for

Bigger bikes are more powerful than smaller bikes

Remember that the LAMS approved bikes are in line with a power-to-weight ratio that some 250cc bikes exceeded. The power to weight ratio is restricted to 150kw per tonne regardless of engine size. While bikes with bigger engines are typically more powerful than bikes with smaller engines they are often also heavier. Heavier bikes are harder to get moving. While bigger engined bikes may have a higher top speed you are unlikely to notice differences in acceleration between bikes where the only difference is the power to weight ratio.

Avoiding the small bike stigma

Odds are this stigma will shift from a small bike stigma to a learner bike stigma. In fact the current small bike stigma really is learner bike stigma by another name.

An important consideration for those over 25

Along with the change in permissable bikes October 1st will bring a change to the licencing system. While those over 25 were required to spend less time on their restricted than younger riders before October 1st 2012 this distinction will disappear on the 1st of October 2012. This means you will be spending longer on your learner bike.

Suzuki GN250 vs GZ250

Learner motorcyclists often tend toward Suzuki's GN250 as a starter bike however if you would prefer something that looks more like a cruiser than a commuter the GZ250 may come to your attention.

While the GN250 has 2 gauges (a speedometer and a tachometer) and a gear indicator the GZ250 keeps things simple by providing a speedometer centred between the handlebars.

While the GN250 and GZ250 share the same heart the official power output of the GZ250 is lower than that of the GN250 - coming in at 20.2hp comapred to 22hp. Additionally the GZ250 carries an additional 8kg on its body coming in at 137kg compared to 129kg.

Nikon CoolPix S800c - An Android but not a phone

In all likelihood the age of the independent compact camera is coming to an end. With cellphones getting smarter, cheaper, and  more multifunctional it seems as though they come to fill the needs of low end users of various forms of technology. While they're probably a while away from replacing laptops/desktops/tablets for simple cloud based interaction the leap to point-and-shoot camera replacement doesn't seem too far away.

In many ways this makes sense; cellphones and cameras are about the same size already and, for many people, the resolution of the cameras are approaching an acceptable level. Perhaps more importantly though cellphone cameras allow people to skip a step in the photo sharing process. No longer are you required to plug your little camera machine into a larger internet machine to share/print/view your images. Now you can do it on the same device that you used to take the photo.

The S800c is Nikon's first camera to incorporate this sharing element into the point and shoot - it is their first camera machine that doesn't need a separate internet machine to get your photos onto facebook, e-mail, or similar. While this might be considered a good move the Nikon Coolpix S800c seems to be an attempt to prolong the demise of the point and shoot rather than rescue them from oblivion.

The first point to notice is that the idea of a share ready camera is not an original one. It has been done already by a number of less camera-centric companies so in some ways this move is less innovation, more conformation. While this isn't a good look it's one that few consumers are likely to notice or care about. The danger comes in the second point, the operating system that they have elected to use: Google's Android. 

While Android is great for phones it may be somewhat of a dangerous prospect when it comes to selling a camera. There is a simple reason for this. Android is a great, and popular, phone operating system. In fact, odds are, when you read Android you immediately thought phone not camera, computer, tablet, or any of the other things it has been used for. This is dangerous because the first question people will ask about the camera will be "Can I make calls?" The answer will be no.

This answer is the key reason that the S800c will prolong the death of the point and shoot rather than ensure its survival. By failing to include the technology that the camera will need to compete with phones Nikon have failed to give the camera what it needs to survive the initial comparison. Given the choice between a phone that can take good photos and a camera that takes better photos but can't make calls despite having an Android on the box the camera is likely to come off second best.

However the comparison above may be the thing that saves the camera in this round. For now at least many people still consider cameras and phones to be separate pieces of technology. Odds are they still buy them in different stores. This means the comparison above is unlikely to happen in many cases. Hopefully, by the time it does start to happen, the S800c's successor will arrive with a slot for your sim card and a passable mic and speaker.

Suzuki GN125 vs GN250

If you're looking for a learner motorcycle odds are you will end up considering a Suzuki GN125 or GN250 at some point. These bikes have been a common recommendation over the years due to their linear power delivery and learner friendly gear display. They have also gained a bad reputation among some members of the bike community as "Go Nowheres" due to the fact that they are not performance or sports bikes. This brings us to the first decision you have to make about what kind of rider you want to be. If you want to use your bike for reliable and cheap transport then a GN is a good choice. If you want to treat your bike as a toy and the road as a race track then either GN will leave you wanting (you may also like to consider treating the road as the road and the race track as the race track). GNs are commuter/learner bikes, not sports bikes.

 While both GNs are great learner/commuter motorcycles their physical similarity begs one obvious question:

What's the difference?

While the obvious answer is 125ccs that's not a helpful answer. The difference is best considered by breaking it down into power, price, resale value, and fuel economy.

Power

Horse power wise, on paper at least, the GN250 is twice as powerful as the GN125 with 22hp for the 250 compared to 11hp for the 125. There is a trade-off with weight though. The GN250 weighs an extra 22kg coming in at 129kg compared to the 125s 107kg. Again, on paper at least, that translates to a more favourable power to weight ratio for the 250 (127kw/tonne ignoring the rider) compared to the 125 (~ 77kw/tonne ignoring the rider) although it won't actually double the power to weight ratio of the 125. In fact the GN250 is actually about 1.66 times as powerful as the GN125. In fact the difference isn't particularly obvious in most situations and neither bike is particularly quick. While they'll beat your standard economy car off the mark quicker drivers in bigger cars can still leave you for dead. The key difference between them becomes apparent when you travel up a steep hill at 100km/h. The 250 will keep pulling while the 125 is likely to struggle. Similarly if you're ever planning on carrying a pillion passenger grab the 250. Realistically though you should upgrade before carrying a passenger anywhere other than around town. (Horsepower and weights obtained from http://www.suzukicycles.org)

Motorway Speed Capability

Originally if you wanted to hit the motorway safely(ish) the GN250 was your only option here. With an on-paper top speed of 115km/h compared to the GN125's on-paper top speed of 90km/h the choice was a no brainer. However lately some dealers have allegedly been selling GN125s with a larger front sprocket. This leads to a change in gearing that allows the bike to travel at motorway speeds at the cost of some low range pulling power. While this does mean that both bikes can travel at motorway speeds, and neither should be exlcuded on this basis, it does not change the fact that the GN250 is the more powerful bike. In fact similar adjustments can be made to the 250 if you want to gear it more towards motorway riding.

Price

In terms of purchase price generally speaking they're fairly similar. The key difference is that (at the time of writing) you can still buy 125s new from Suzuki dealers while GN250s have now been superceeded by the GZ250 (a nice bike with a speedo but no tachometer) which is itself a rare sight on a showroom floor. At the time of writing this 125s are available new from dealers for around $2000 while 250s can be picked up from TradeMe from $900+ (currently the asking price for a late model GN250 with a bit of learner damage (drops from stationary rather than drops at speed) seems to be sitting between $1700-$1900). While a second hand 250 will have more kilometres on the clock than a new 125 GN250s (and 125s) are notoriously reliable and, owing to their ubiquitousness, relatively cheap to repair and maintain.

Resale Value

Resale value is also worth keeping in mind. For 2 key reasons the 250 wins here hands down. First off for many people the 125 is a harder sell than the 250 because they look identical. This implies that the 125 is relatively underpowered. While this isn't exactly true, when it comes time to sell your bike perception, rather than reality, is what matters. Second if you buy a 125 odds are you will be buying it new. If you buy a 250 you will probably buy it second hand. When it comes time to sell the 250 has already dropped the showroom floor premium whereas the 125's price still has a way to fall. Odds are you will lose less on a 250 than a 125.

There is an additional point to consider with resale value though. The GN250 used to represent the upper limit of allowable engine size in a learner/restricted bike. This may have caused them to hold some extra value as they may have been perceived as a powerful learner bike. While this was never factually correct this is where the difference between perception and reality in the market becomes important again. With the incoming changes on the 1st of October 2012 this may no longer be the case and, in the years ahead the value of a GN250, and other 250cc bikes, may drop more steeply than in the past.

Fuel Efficiency

However the point where these and other small engine bikes shine, and will continue to have in their favour after October 1st 2012, is fuel economy. This is also the point where people may favour the 125 over the 250 if buying on gut instinct. However the difference in fuel economy isn't overly pronounced or even particularly convincing. In fact according to registerd users of fuelly.com the difference ranges from ~10% to 0 difference with the sole GN125 rider clocking in at 71 miles per gallon (31 km per litre) with the GN250 riders coming in between 73 and 66 miles per gallon (31 or 28 km per litre). As a comparison other popular 250cc learners, the Honda CBR250 and the Yamaha Scorpio, seem to fall in about the same range while a LAMS aproved Yamaha XT660 660cc bike seems to hover around 20km/L.

Conclusion

Taking all of this into account I would generally advise most people to buy the GN250 rather than the GN125. The only reasons to favour the GN125 over the GN250 are potential savings on fuel and the ability to buy a GN125 new. As we have seen the fuel savings are negligible and, odds are, if you're buying a learner bike you're going to damage your bike. If you're going to damage your bike it's better to add minor damage to a used bike that may be a little rough on the outside than a shiny new one with no prior damage.

The exception to the above recommendations are cases where you will need to pay considerably more for a used GN250 than a new GN125. Currently it is not uncommon to see GN250s being listed on trademe for $2200 or more. Often these listings are for bikes with little or no WOF or Rego and plenty of Ks on the clock. Bikes like these aren't worth that sort of money unless they are in immaculate condition and/or thoroughly and convincingly customised. Realisitically a GN250 with little or no WOF/Rego time remaining can currently be obtained for around $1500 with a bit of patience.

If you move beyond the 125 vs 250 comparison many in the biker community will encourage you to avoid either GN (they are both often referred to as 'Go Nowhere's) or refer to them as good learner bikes. Essentially they are the equivalent of a mid 90s Toyota Corrolla; reliable, economical, and unexciting. If you're looking for a run about the 125 and 250 are ideal candidates. If you're looking for something that will blow your socks off then you are best to look elsewhere.

 

Bonus - The GN400

While the GN125 and GN250 are a common site on the roads there used to be a third bike in the GN line-up: the GN400. The GN400 was produced for 4 years and had a 400c engine producing 27hp. The bike weighed 140kg. This made it more powerful than the GN250... but not by much. The 150cc increase only yielded an extra 5hp. When this is standardised with weight The GN400 is 1.13 times as powerful as the 250 and 1.88 times as poweful as the 125. While the GN400 is regarded as a good bike given the choice between the 125, 250, and 400 I would choose the 250 as the power difference is minimal and parts for the 400 would be harder to come by.

Bonus - The LAMS power to weight ratio

While the GN250 and GN125 have been popular learner bikes the new LAMS regulations will mean that their relatively low power to weight ratio will become more pronounced. Under the new legislation a bike with a power to weight ratio of 150kw/tonne is permissible. Importantly the weight part of the power to weight ratio also allows for a rider of 90kg. This additional weight means that the LAMS power to weight ratio for these bikes are 42kw/tonne for the 125 and 75kw/tonne for the 250. To put it another way you could get a bike with over 3x the power to weight ratio of the 125 or 2x the power to weight ratio of the 250 while on your learners or restricted in New Zealand.

5 Tips on buying a Learner Motorcycle

If you're looking to learn to ride a motorbike you will probably also be looking to buy a motorcycle. If you're just beginning to learn this means that it will probably also be your first time buying a bike and all the options can be a bit overwhelming. Unless you have a knowledgeable friend or a trustworthy motorcycle dealer you may be feeling a little lost. If so here are 5 tips to help you buy your first motorbike

1) Know your legal limits

Before worrying about whether you're physically able to ride your motorbike it's important to check if you're legally able to ride your motorbike. Until October 1st 2012 NZ riders have been able to ride any motorcycle with an engine size of 250cc or less. This limit on engine size rather than engine power to bike weight ratio lead to some bizarre distortions in the market. There were 250cc bikes deemed too powerful for learners with bigger engined bikes deemed to be within the control of most learners. After October 1st 2012 the legal restrictions will change. Restrictions will now focus on the power to weight ratio rather than the engine size. While most bikes of 250cc or less are still able to be ridden on a learner's licence the bikes below cannot:

Make	Model	cc
Aprilia	RS250	250
Honda	NSR250 (all models and variants)	250
Kawasaki	KR1 (all models and variants)	250
Suzuki	RGV250 (all models and variants)	250
Yamaha	TZR250 (all models and variants)	250

An up-to-date list of prohibited 250cc bikes that can't be ridden on a learner's licence as well as a list of bikes over 250cc that can be ridden on a learner's licence can be found here:
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/licence/getting/motorcycles/approved-motorcycles.html

2) Don't invest too much in the bike

There are 2 main reasons for this. The first is that most people will move onto a larger bike when they get their full. The second is that you are probably quite likely to drop or damage your first bike while you figure out what you are doing. Often you can save a substantial amount of money by buying a bike second hand. Even minor scratches or damage can shave a fair amount of the potential purchase price. Take note of this when you are buying. If you buy a pristine learner bike it's resale value will plummet if you drop or damage it.

While it may be tempting to assume that this rule no longer applies - as learners can now purchase some bikes with engines larger than 250cc - keep in mind that people tend to upgrade for 2 reasons. While the first is to escape the 250cc learner/restricted stigma that they feel is imposed on them the second, more valid reason, is to gain more power. The bikes that are learner friendly and over 250cc are deemed learner friendly because they are relatively low power bikes. The bigger number will not stop those who want a more powerful bike from wanting a more powerful bike.

3) Invest in gear

As I've already said when you're learning you're reasonably likely to come off your bike. While this could be a simple drop from a misbalanced stop it could also be a slide from something going wrong while the bike is moving. While the first case will damage the bike more than you a slide can put some serious hurt on unprotected skin.

The minimum legal requirement is an approved helmet. While full face coverage is not required it is advisable as it will provide more protection if you come off your bike and/or crash. DO NOT BUY A SECOND HAND HELMET as you have no guarantee that the helmet has not been dropped or in an accident. Importantly the exterior condition of the helmet gives no indication of whether the interior of the helmet (the part that actually protects your head) is in good condition. While a second hand helmet may save you some money it could cost you your life. Furthermore it's probably false economy as a new standard helmet can typically be bought for $100, sometimes less.

The minimum advisable safety gear is a closed faced safety standard approved helmet and a good pair of gloves. This will protect your face and hands from gravel rash if you come off and go for a slide. If your hands are protected you will still be able to hold and manipulate things (such as knives, forks, and toilet paper -- think about that for a second).

Ideally you should go for a full set of protective clothing - Helmet, Gloves, Jacket, Pants, and Boots. When you put all of this together you should be well protected from gravel rash and the boots should help protect your ankles in the event of a crash. If possible try to get a pair of pants that will connect to your jacket by a zipper or similar. This will prevent the two pieces of clothing from coming apart during a slide and help you avoid gravel rash

4) Decide the type of bike you want to buy/Decide what type of rider you want to be

Cruiser, Sports, Dual-Purpose, Commuter, Tourer, a Scooter, or something else altogether? These bikes are designed to suit different riding styles and, as such, suit different riders. As a general rule commuters are designed to be cheap on gas, reliable, and easy but unexciting to ride. Sports bikes provide a more exciting riding experience at the cost of relative ease and economy. the other sub-types all come with their own unique trade offs as well. Figure out why you want to own a bike and buy the kind of bike that suits you. Similarly when reading reviews of the bikes you are interested try to identify whether the author's riding style suits yours. If your riding styles match up your taste in bikes will match up to. If they don't match up you may find that you love the bikes they hate and hate the bikes they love.

5) Get the bike Checked

If you're buying a bike second hand this is a very important step, particularly if you have never bought a bike before. Ideally you should get it checked by a bike mechanic whose opinion you trust. Alternatively a friend who knows about bikes can be a good option. If you're mechanically minded or would rather check it yourself here's a starter guide to buying a second hand motorbike.

Critically, DO NOT CONFUSE A WOF TEST WITH A PRE-PURCHASE INSPECTION. A WOF check is done to ensure that a bike meets the minimum standards to be roadworthy. While this does involve checking for things like structural rust that presents an immediate problem it does not involve checking for things that could lead to a problem down the line nor does it involve checking for mechanical 'gripes' (things that you will probably want to get repaired but don't actually need to be repaired to pass a WOF). A pre-purchase inspection should be more thorough (provided your mechanic is holding up their end of the bargain) and will involve checking things that aren't considered in a standard WOF check.

Day 11 - Chocolate Banana Cupcakes

Banana cupcakes with a chocolate topping

Photographer's notes:

I knew I wanted an even yellow background so I headed for the yellow tiles in our kitchen. To knock out the bench I put the cupcake on top of a white ramekin. I shot reasonably close with my 24-70mm lens at 70mm and an f-stop of 4 - just enough to keep the cupcake in focus while allow the background to blur out. To get the even lighting I cranked the shutter speed to ~150, dropped the iso to 100 and relied on the flash (bounced off the white ceiling) to do it's ttl magic. After a few variations I peeled the cupcake casing down to hide the white ramekin and mimic a banana peel. After a few quick touch ups we ended up with the image above. 

Day 10 - Chocolate Cupcake

Chocolate cupcake

Photographer's notes - I wanted to go for something soft, classical, and old looking to help compliment this basic (compared to the rest of what wifey has been up to) cupcake recipe. This was just a chocolate cupcake, no extras. I settled on ambient light (in this case tungsten house lights providing even lighting through the room) and the piano to match the simple, brown colour palette and also for a bit of a classical feel.

I came up with the above 2 candidates. While they were taken with a slow shutter at an iso of 100 (so very clean noise wise) when I got them into lightroom I decided to add some grain to help enhance that old, classical feeling. This is the first image that I have wanted to add grain to and I feel that it really helps sell the story of the image in this case.

Day 9 - Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Chocolate and Peanut butter cupcakes

Photographer's notes - This photo took a while to come right. I knew I wanted a golden background and I knew I wanted peanut butter in the shot. The bit that took a while was getting the right balance of flash vs ambient light to make the normally yellow and white background take on a golden appearance compared to the background (the ambient light was tungsten so should be orange, the main light was an external flash coming in at about 45 degrees behind and to the left of the camera.)

In the end the messy, spiky glob of peanut butter was the winner out of a bunch of earlier, smoother candidates and the wooden chopping board benefited from the addition of olive oil to help bring out the golden colour.

Day 8 - Chocolate and Raspberry Cupcakes

Raspberry and Chocolate cupcakes were on the agenda today. They had a lovely pink icing and ribena was included in the recipe.

Photographer's Notes: This was another reaosnably accidental photo. I had intended to use a red ramekin, fill it with raspberries, and place the cupcake on top. In the process of doing this I grabbed a glass to help me sort through the raspberries. I felt that the glass was more effective and the rest of the above idea took shape.

This image also includes a little bit of photoshopping. As it turned out the chocolate ended up with a strange green and yellow tinge to it. I had to darken it up and shift the colour slightly to get it looking right.

Day 7 - Cinnamon Cupcakes

Cinnamon Cupcakes ended the first week of the 100 day cupcake challenge. They smell amazing and have a layered structure that is visible through the base of the cupcake in the photo above.

Photographers Notes:

This is a composite of 2 images. The first was taken before I made a massive mistake. The second image was taken after the massive mistake. I wanted a gradient going from a nice warm orange at the bottom of the image to black at the top of the image. I wanted to achieve this by using a flash to light the foreground and letting the background drop off to nothing. The warmth would be achieved through using our dining room table which has goldy coloured imitation wood. This all worked quite well in the first image. While that did look warm and inviting I decided I wanted to add some cinnamon to the shot. I figure I would sprinkle it through a sieve to create golden droplets against the black background. While this worked, and is included in the final image. I hadn't counted on how fine the cinnamon was and how quickly it would fall through the sieve. The consequence of that mistake was a table and cupcake drenched in cinnamon. While the cinnamon on the table and in the air looked quite nice the top of the cupcake was now solid cinnamon. It looked horrible. Luckily by this stage my positions were locked though so I was able to combined the top of the cupcake from the previous shot with the rest of the second image. The result it above.

Day 6 - Vanilla (ice) Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcakes with icing (different to vanilla ice)

Photographers Notes: To be perfectly honest I don't really get vanilla. When I hear vanilla mentioned I immediately expect to hear ice or ice-cream following it. Jess tells me that it's about subtlety, perhaps someone should have told vanilla ice that. In any case I opted for something plain and subtle. Whiteness. I was a bit tired of plates so this time around I inverted a rameken to make a white platform for the cupcake to sit on top of. I bounced the flash off the ceiling to create some nice, even, bright white light. I also opted for a relatively large F number to help ensure everything was in focus. I added the vanilla pod because I wanted something that said vanilla without whispering ice ice baby at the end.

Are landscape and property photography the same thing?

Yesterday I got an e-mail from someone wanting to know if landscape and property photography were the same thing. They were looking at taking a landscape photography short course in order to develop the skills required to photograph house. They wanted to know if that was the right course to be taking.

The short answer is no - landscape photography is not the one to focus on if you're interested in property photography. Property of Architecural Photography would be the one to focus on.

For the most part landscape photography does not involve the use of flash or additional lighting. Day time property photography typically requires the use of additional lighting and/or HDR to overcome the disparity between light levels inside and outside properties. Twilight property photography can be done without additional light sources but the time window is very narrow.

On top of this landscape photography typically focuses on wide open spaces. Property photography focuses on small, enclosed spaces.

That being said overall the basic principles of photography are the same regardless of what you are taking photos of (it's always about capturing light).

Once you have the basic principles under control you will be able to take lessons applied in one area (landscapes for example) and apply them to any other.

Day 5 - Queen Cupcakes

Here we have a Queen Cupcake - a hyrbid of the batter from Nigella's How to be a Domestic Goddess with the sultana concept from the Edmond's cookbook. It's the Nigella's cupcake recipe with some sultanas added. It looks like a scone but tastes sweeter.

Photographer's notes:
I wanted to go for a very English tea set-up. While Jess does have a suitable tea set I was horrified to learn that we didn't have any doilies. I also couldn't find a tea tray. I started out with 3 whole cupcakes on a saucer with the teapot and tea cup in the background. This looked far too busy and didn't actually show any of the sultanas. After a few attempts I cut the cupcake in half, added a sultana, and ditched the saucer.Things were starting to look good. With a bit more tweaking I managed to get some steam in the tea cup. This was achieved through pouring boiling water into the tea cup and using an external flash to backlight the steam as it rose out of the teacup. The finished product is a combination of 2 exposures. The dominant exposure is lit by the house lights and provides everything except the steam. The secondary exposure is the steam alone illuminated by the external flash. Everything else in the secondary exposure was well underlit to the point of appearing black. This made life easy in photoshop as the black ended up acting as an alpha channel leaving only the steam. In the end I was glad that we didn't have a doily or a tea tray, they would have added more unnecessary clutter and lead to a lot more mucking around.

View Visits by the Hour - Google Analytics

If you want to find the time of day that your site is the busiest the standard views in the current version of Google Analytics aren't much use. Instead you will need to make a custom report.

The custom report outlined below will highlight which hours of the day are generally the busiest.

The Custom Report tab is right next to the standard reporting tab (look at the green bar towards the top of the screen).

Once there create a new report
- Metric
Select Visits. You will find this under visitors. It will be the last item on the visitors list.
- Dimension Drilldowns
Select Hour. It is the 3rd item from the bottom in the 'Other' Category.
Be sure to select Hour NOT Hour of the Day. Hour of the day gives every hour of every day it's own code (as such you will end up with 7 0700s if you are looking at a week's worth of data. ~30 0700s if you're looking at a months worth of data)

This is a useful analysis as it will help you identify when people are engaging with your content. You can then use it to help shape your advertising campaign and optimise the time to make announcements, updates, and more.

Day 4 - Butterfly Cupcakes

Here we have a butterfly cupcake topped with cream, jam, and icing sugar.

Photographer's notes:
When Jess initially talked about butterfly cupcakes my immediate instinct was to throw them in the air and catch a photo of them mid flight against a blue sky. While this may have been good for a giggle I was told that this would not do as the cream and icing sugar would not hold up until morning. Instead I grabbed a dainty, flowery plate and positioned the cupcake on it. Jess repositioned it to show off its best angle and I suggested we replace one of the wings. Photoshop wise the jam has been brightened slightly and the recorded colour of the cream has been toned down (it came out very yellow which seems to be a common problem when photographing whipped cream).

Day 3 - Liquorice Allsort Cupcakes

Liquorice Allsorts Cupcakes set against our most allsorty cushion.

Photographers notes:
I'm not a Liquorice Allsorts fan myself so I don't really get these lollies. That being said they seem to be about colour and have that iconic black liquorice strip running through them. I put the remaining allsorts on a plate around Jess's sample cupcake - I liked the wedge that she had taken out of it. I grabbed a coloured cushion with a striped section running through it and put it in the background. I figured it was allsorts-y looking. While I did play with the cushiion a bit in photoshop afterwards to try and make it more allsortsy eventually I settled on the original image which is what you see here.

Day 2 - Orange Zest Cupcakes

Day 2 is the first opporunity to branch out, in this case literally.


Photographers notes:
Today things got a little more elaborate. While we don't have an orange tree we do have a mandarin tree. I figured that if I kept things out of focus nobody would be able to tell the difference. While that did work reasonably well the next set of cupcakes required a trip to the supermarket. Seeing as I was there I picked up a few oranges and reshot the image. This is the pick of the bunch.

Day 1 - Plain Cupcakes

When starting a 100 day project it makes sense to start at the beginning. In this case the beginning is aplain cupcake - the recipe taken straight out of the Edmond's Cookbook (a.k.a. 'Old Faithful')

These are the cupcakes that I grew up with so they brough back loads of memories from when I was a kid. Admittedly most of those involved sneaking jsut one more cupcake while nobody was looking... 

Photographers notes:

I kept things simple for this one. They are plain cupcakes afterall. I had a look at the light falling around the cupcakes and decided that I liked this angle best.