Busy making other plans

Love at (almost) first sight - Canon Powershot S90

2010-01-04T11:33:00.001Z

I was quite excited when Canoncamerabuzz asked whether I was interested in reviewing some gear for CanonUK. I said I was happy to either trial some pro gear at weddings and write about that over at MTP, or compacts privately and write about those over at this blog.

I must admit that when I received the Canon Powershot S90 for my trial, I was initially a little bit disappointed that it wasn't, say the 1Ds MkIII, and kind of cursed myself for saying that I'd be happy to trial compacts as well. But funnily enough, within 5 minutes of playing with the S90 on Christmas Eve when I (quite fittingly!) received it, I did a complete 180 and was absolutely blown over.

As it happens, only a little while back I purchased the Powershot G11. I really wanted a near enough compact sized camera, which I could carry around in my pocket and take to music gigs etc, which would have full manual control and the capability to shoot raw. To be perfectly honest, I didn't really know that there were other options out there than the G11 (and the previous models) for what I wanted, so I didn't really even look around for anything else. Well as it happens, the S90 has exactly the same sensor as the G11, only everything is packed into a smaller body (nearly as small as my Ixus), and the lens is faster at f2 compared to f2.8 on the G11. The question I'm asking myself now is: how did I not even know this camera existed?

Obviously being smaller in size, there are less controls on top of the S90 than the G11 (and lets be honest, it's these controls that are like a siren call to us photographers looking for a compact). But all that is forgotten once you discover the two click-stopped direct control rings on the S90, one of which is at the base of the lens and is SO very satisfying to use - from setting the aperture to any other functions you might want to assign to it. Now, after having used the S90, I feel a little bit at loss with the G11 without the nice ring around the lens, what a silly thing to omit from that particular camera.

There is really no difference in the quality that these two cameras produce. I like to shoot wide open where ever I can, and both of these cameras allow for me to do that, but the faster lens on the S90 does make a huge difference to me. It also means that it doesn't really matter that much that the ISO range isn't as wide as on the G11. The only 'negative' on the S90 I can think of is the shorter zoom at 3.8x as opposed to 5x on the G11.

Unfortunately I don't have very many 'proper' samples of photos from the S90, as for some reason the battery charger was omitted from my box - and the battery didn't fit any of my other gazillion canon battery chargers. I did have the camera with me in Finland, and the battery lasted approximately 2 minutes outside in -16C. (So it's safe to say the camera/battery is not really the best option for 'extreme' conditions).

I did manage to snap a few pictures on New Year's Eve though. The picture below was taken nearly at midnight. It was pitch black, apart from the street lights, but the S90 didn't really have a problem. These sort of conditions also show what a difference the ability to shoot raw on a compact makes.

In conclusion, and I REALLY hate to say this, I would recommend the sleek S90 over the bulky G11 any day (not to say that the G11 isn't a GREAT camera - it is, I just prefer the same greatness in a smaller package). If you are looking for a properly compact sized compact camera, with full manual control and raw ability, this camera is pretty perfect. I really wish I would have known about it before I bought the G11, and am now secretly kind of hoping I could exchange the G11 for the S90... :D

End of the year survey re:2009

2010-01-03T18:04:00.001Z

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
Cruised on the Thames twice (even if it was for work, still cool).

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
My resolution for 2009 was to 'remember to see the big picture and keep working towards goals that might not be clearly in view just yet'. I think I did do that. It has been damn hard, feeling almost impossible at times, but I think I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. For 2010 my resolution could be to have the strength push towards taking the final steps into a more emancipated way of living, and once you get there, remember to enjoy what you've achieved, but never stop working towards being better/happier/closer to where you want to be.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Well, he probably didn't give birth per say, but Ride became a father in December.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No. For which I'm grateful for. I don't think I could have handled that sort of things this year.

5. What countries did you visit?
France, Switzerland and Finland.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
A HOLIDAY. One that lasted more than 2 days.

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I don't know the exact date, the whole year is pretty blurry on dates. But there was one specific moment when it really hit me that hey, I'm a professional photographer - people pay me to take their picture. I know it sounds simple, but it's a pretty profound shift inside.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Taking my business to the level it is at now in such a short space of time. There's nothing big headed about that statement, I have worked fricking hard for it and I am proud of myself for it.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Sometimes losing sight of the goals and sinking into a funk. Not having time for anyone, least of all my loved ones or myself.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Funnily enough, I've been pretty ok this year. I've only gotten ill on the few days that I've had off. I guess the body sort of 'gets with the program' when it realises there are no other options but to push through and live on pure adrenalin. Probably can't go on forever though.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My tilt shift lens, hands down. Plus quite a lot of other photography-related things.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Susanna has proven to be an absolute star this year. Both on professional and personal front.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
There are some people that have disappointed me... by getting annoyed that I haven't been in touch (through lack of time), or by dropping all communication whatsoever. Phone lines for example work in both directions.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Camera gear.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Booking a shedload of exciting weddings.

16. What songs will always remind you of 2009?
Kings of Leon - Closer.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Both.
ii. thinner or fatter? Fatter.
iii. richer or poorer? Richer.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Sleeping, socialising, relaxing, loving life, exercising.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Worrying.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Christmas Eve at home with Stu. Christmas Day and Boxing Day with Stu's family.

21. How did you spend New Years?
Sitting in a sauna in very snowy Finland.

22. Did you fall in love in 2009?
In some ways.

23. How many one night stands?
0.

24. What were your favourite TV programmes?
True Blood, err... nothing else comes to mind.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Hate is a strong word, but certainly dislike.

26. What was the best book you read?
Hmm, maybe Audrey Niffenegger - The Time Traveler's Wife.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Crikey... haven't had much time for that. Damien Jurado, Citizen Cope, Tiny Vipers... oh and Kings of Leon, as I'm always late to the party. :P

28. What did you want and get?
To make a success of my business.

29. What did you want and not get?
To find and buy a flat.

30. What was your favourite film of this year?
Burn After Reading (although this was probably released in 2008).

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Shot Eleni & David's wedding. I turned 33. Jaysus.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Not having two full time jobs...

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
A complete meltdown.

34. What kept you sane?
Self belief.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Colin. (And also Robert Pattinson... just a little bit. Sorry Colin)

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Stirred? None.

37. Who did you miss?
Everyone.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
So many lovely clients, some of whom have become friends.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
You can do things you never thought capable of when you put your mind to it.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Not now but soon,
The most beautiful light
Will wake us to pillow fighting excitement

Not now but soon,
Bright into
Every corner,
Satellites manoeuvre in beams of change,

Standing by the best days of our lives,
Magnificent, the best days of our lives,
Big bang boom, the best days of our lives
They’re coming right up
If we can just get through this one.

Who said it was over?
It’s as good as it gets
Well we’ve got a few tricks up our sleeves yet

If we swallow "it’s all over" and open wide on these make-to-believe
Sullen, chewed up, sodden soliloquies,
Oh, we’re sweet nothings anymore

Terrifying best, days of our lives
We’re hanging on the best days of our lives
No two ways about it, best days of our lives
They’re coming right up, if we can just get through this one.

I’ll hang on grab onto your feet
Someone else holds tied to my shoelaces
When their trouser leg tears, runs and stops at the seam to keep us
dangled together
Until help finds us here

I’ll hang on grab onto your feet
Someone else holds tied to my shoelaces
When their trouser leg tears, runs and stops at the seam to keep us
dangled together
Until help finds us here

Best days of our lives
Better be the best days of our lives
Bring on the best days of our lives
Coming right up, woah
Coming right up
If we can just get through this one.
Imogen Heap - Not Now But Soon

The forgotten ones

2009-12-22T15:29:00.003Z

I just realised I've completely forgotten to do my monthly picture round-up! Shame on me. Good job I remembered now so I could just about squeeze in the shoots I've forgotten to tell you about before the year is over.

Autumn was pretty much all about the engagement shoots!

Starting with Anna & Chris...

... Erin & Ben...

... Sam & Adam...

... Katie & Sam...

... Fiona & Peter...

... Erika & Jon...

... Simona & Dan...

From early December it was back to weddings, starting with Emily & John.

And last weekend I did a family shoot with the Bennetts.

There's still one wedding to go until I wrap up 2009. My calendar for next year is looking crazy to say the least, which is a good, if slightly daunting, thing. There are so many lovely weddings ahead though that I can hardly wait to get stuck in!

Yes, yes, will do something about the Cornwall pictures at some point when I have a minute... :P

It's a big world out there outside of full frame

2009-12-19T18:45:00.002Z

I started writing this over at MTP, but then decided all this text looked kind of out of place in a photo blog, so thus I moved my ramblings over here. Maybe it's for the better anyways as God knows this place needs some livening up!

Recently I was invited to attend a round table discussion with Canon UK, which was organised by Canoncamerabuzz. It was an opportunity for me and a few other professional photographers to see the whole lineup of Canon's DSLRs (including the brand new 1D MrkIV, which started shipping this week) in the same room, and hear about some of the processes behind developing new bodies and lenses.

I didn't really have any expectations for the evening, apart from getting to fiddle with the 1Ds MrkIII (which was very satisfying indeed - I still definitely cavort over it more than the new 1D MrkIV). What I came away with was a clearer understanding behind Canon's decisions for their line-up and who the average end user actually is (i.e. not me). As professionals, we tend to have a bit of a skewed perspective on what the next camera models should do and what kind of features they should, or shouldn't, possess. Add to that the fact that for someone like me, coming from a film background, it's hard to get my head around the fact that the majority of dSLR consumers these days have never even used film, which was kind of clarified to me when I was questioning why the 1D MrkIV isn't full frame. As it goes, the market for full frame isn't as big as I would have though. For me, it's the only sensible thing to do but, as product specialist Mark Burnhill from Canon UK explained, the majority of dSLR users are of an age that have always shot with a crop sensor, and that's what they find 'normal'. To me, that seems completely perplexing! When I started my move to digital, via an EOS 350D and 20D, I felt restricted, not only in what I saw through the viewfinder, but in the fact that I couldn't use my lenses to their full effect. So when I finally got my hands on the 5D, and subsequently the 5D MkII which I now use, it literally felt like I could breathe normally again. Until I now heard Mark rationalise the issue for me, I couldn't for the life of me understand why someone wouldn't want a full frame camera.

The other interesting fact was how infinitely bigger the market is for the lower end models, the pro end of the line is practically a drop in the ocean when it comes to Canon's dSLR sales. Obviously that is going to have an affect on what the development efforts will be concentrated on. Interesting no? Perhaps this has always been obvious to everyone else, but I've never really even considered all of this when scratching my head about why there are so many crop sensor models, and a dizzying amount of different lower-end models with only marginal differences, about. A shocked shiver went through the room when Mark asked us what we thought of the possibility of coloured dSLR bodies, apparently that's the latest demand from the Japanese market. Uh huh. Give me a pink Ixus to slip into my pocket any time, but please leave that sort of gimmicks out of the 'proper' cameras I say!

After all these 'revelations', my position hasn't really changed. Ever since I started using SLR's in the early 90's Canon has, and always will be, the manufacturer for me, and in my opinion their lenses are head and shoulders above the rest. And the fact that even after looking at the realities of 'where the real money is', they keep on developing new and exciting pro gear for us to play with is a testament to Canon's dedication to quality picture-making.

How was that for sounding like a real Canon fan girl (which of course I am)? :D

I know, I know, I need to blog about what's been happening on the house-hunting front, about Cornwall and all the other stuff that I haven't had time to blog aboout. Soon, I promise. Well, perhaps not a firm promise, but at least a promise to attempt!

We are the champions - not

2009-11-18T11:00:00.006Z

Last night I attended another quizzy quiz organised by 3 as part of the 3mobilebuzz team.

The Alphabet Bar was decked out in a very festive manner. One of the bonus rounds involved creating a gingerbread man. Here's my scary effort.

@michchapman & @phaslehurst

@liamgh representing.

First mince pies of the year (for those who actually like them... ie not me :P).

@liamgh, @michchapman, @pebaline and moi.

Stuff Magazine won the coveted trophy. For some mysterious reason we came last. Even though we only got like 3 questions wrong! Obviously a fix I say...

Some people get excited on night buses...

Oh and by the way, this was the first night of really testing my new G11 in some challenging conditions. Considering it was really dark, and I'm pretty pleased with how it performs. But obviously it never will beat a proper SLR with a good lens, as is clear from the previous 3popquiz pictures...

Tiiiired + chocolate schooling

2009-10-26T15:41:00.008Z

Oh man am I tired today. Starting work at 8am is definitely not my thing. :|

But looksie here, on Sunday I actually did something that wasn't work-related, so I now can offer you this very rare 'normal life' themed blog entry. You lucky, lucky people. What happened was that last Christmas all the Taylor siblings, and their better halves, got gifted with these 'experience vouchers' for a chocolate workshop. It took us 10 months to get organised enough to actually book and attend this strange sounding occasion (which is odd since you'd think the idea of chocolate was a tad more motivating wouldn't you) - and yesterday was finally the big day.

When we met with Nikki, Ian, Chris and Amy outside the course centre, there were a load of other people there waiting for the workshop to start, which got us all a bit nervous - I certainly got that first day of school sort of feeling. Stu gave his best shot trying to persuade everyone that going straight down the pub would be a much more sensible thing to do, but our curiosity won over in the end. We followed the others (who, incidentally, asked us whether we were the 'chocolate lovers'... umm) in and down to the cellar. Once there, the first thing we had to do was to get kitted out with lovely plastic aprons. At this point it was all looking suspiciously like a mortuary experience, rather than anything chocolate-related.

Once we took our seats things kicked off with our 'teacher' telling us about the history of chocolate, with other people in the room actually sticking their hands up and answering her questions while our table snickered in the corner. Quite disconcertingly, the next stage involved 'volunteers' going up and demonstrating things in front of the 'class'. Terrifying. I had to fight my natural instinct to flee at this point as my mind was catapulted 20 years backwards into a school classroom.

Luckily the latter part of the day was a bit more fun as we got our hands dirty - quite literally and exuberantly. I was pretty proud of my efforts until I made the mistake of looking over to the other tables and seeing their professional level (non-messy) creations. I somehow get the feeling that we were the only group who had been gifted this experience, while the other folk in attendance had actually paid for it themselves and took it all quite seriously. Oh well.

Messy as it was, the actual making the choccies bit was pretty good fun, and we got to go away with a bag full of goodies made by our very own hands (boy did I feel ill in the evening).

After the workshop Stu finally got his wish as we went for a nice meal (albeit in a strange place [yes yes, chosen by me]) and to the pub, before heading home. Scary school flashbacks aside, it was really nice hanging out with the Taylor gang after a very long while. I do miss living closer to them and seeing them more often. We're off to Rayleigh next Sunday for the first time in a long time, and hopefully I'll get to see at least some of the new houses everyone else seems to have been buying lately. :D

Monthly round-up and a bit of a slump

2009-10-07T17:07:00.001+01:00

The Autumn somehow creeped in from around the corner while I wasn't looking. Suddenly the days are getting shorter and the rain wetter. I've just realised that's it's now pretty much a year since I started my photography business. A year of 13 hour days and working all weekends. I think I've had about 5 days 'off' in the last year. If someone had come to me with this sort of proposition at the beginning of it all I would have laughed and ran away pretty promptly. But somehow, when you're in it, and you have to do it, you just get on with it. I'm glad I have a two month break from weddings now, even if my weekends are still filled with other kind of shoots and business-related work. It still feels a little less crushing than the pressure weddings, and editing them etc., puts on you. I do love shooting, no doubt, but unfortunately running a business is probably about 20% shooting and 80% of all the other gubbins.

I am pretty amazed and happy about what I have managed to accomplish in just a year, and how quickly I seem to have established my business. I have a healthy amount of weddings booked for next year, and currently get more inquiries than I am able to accommodate. People keep telling me how 'lucky' I've been, getting my business established and actually making some sort of profit so quickly (I did make a pretty big loss in the first financial year, mind). I do believe you make your own luck though, by trusting your gut feeling and your abilities, being honest about who you are, and by working bloody hard. Luck alone gets nothing done unless you put the hours in.

At the moment I find myself in a bit of a slump. I think it's because I've just realised that the summer just whizzed by without me even noticing. We've also started looking around for somewhere to buy, which is demoralising to say the least. Prices are astronomical, and no amount of working or saving seems to get us anywhere closer to a deposit for anything decent. I've just moved from searching for two bedroom sh*tholes onto searching for one bedroom sh*tholes. Cheery. I miss our flat in Finland.

I guess there's nothing else to do than to keep your head down and plough on, and hold on to the faith that it will all be worth it in the end.

And since it's become a bit of a routine, here are a few images from last month.

Magali & Jeff got married.

Had a blast shooting Sophie & Henry's engagement photos.

I made a bit of a departure by doing a jewellery shoot for Melanie Eddy.

Trinh & Alastair got married.

Had an engagement session with Heather & Mark.

Took baby portraits of Jodie...

...and Alice.

Hello time, where do you go and hide?

2009-09-03T17:55:00.001+01:00

How has another month slipped by again?? Perplexing... I don't mean to neglect this blog, honest. Somehow time just, disappears.

Right, what has happened in the last month then. Well, S and I celebrated 10 years together (I say celebrated, we got chinese take away :P), which is another perplexing time vacuum conundrum in itself. I think the rest of the month will be explained via the images below. Very sorry to re-hash content from the other blog, but have no time to take other photos at the moment. Hopefully I will get to do some personal projects again in the winter months.

Eleni & David got married on my birthday. (Oh and someone asked me what I do with my t/s lens, so here's one example.)

Baby Lucinda was born.

The first couple to ever officially book me (back what seems like a lifetime ago), Sarah & Dan, finally got married.

I did an engagement shoot with Ana & Alan for charity.

Carolyn & Marc had a kick-ass wedding at Leadenhall Market.

And finally, I got to return to The Garden Museum for Claire & Ben's wedding.

Oh completely forgot to add Georgina & Mark's engagement session on the last day of August! :D

So that's August pretty much wrapped up. It's been hectic to say the least, but has also included some real high points of the summer. Tonight Sooz is dragging me to Westfield for a 'mini makeover' of some sort. Let's see just how small they manage to make me (it was a bad joke the first time round and hasn't really improved, sorry).

Another year older

2009-07-27T11:42:00.005+01:00

Poof. Another year has yet again disappeared somewhere, as I turned 33 (yikes) on Saturday. Most of the day was spent shooting a wedding (and a lovely wedding it was too), but when I got back home in the evening S had prepared a delicious birthday feast for me, which was pretty awesome. My presents this year have been pretty incredible as well, I can't remember when I've gotten such uber birthday pressies before, if ever. Jumping the gun a bit, earlier in the month I bought a 45mm tilt & shift lens for myself, which we agreed with S was to be my main birthday present. I wasn't 100% sure how much use I'd have for the lens, but it turns out I'm really loving it and use it at least once in every session. Another awesome present was my new phone. Since my INQ trial came to an end, and my old Nokia had died in the meanwhile, I really needed a new handset. Dad was kind enough to get me the Nokia E75, which is hands down the fanciest phone I've ever owned. And since it was purchased from Finland it has a 'proper' keyboard and everything - a bonus! Also, while in Finland, mum treated me to a facial and some Clinique stuff, which I couldn't live without.

On the actual day I got lots of pressies from Susanna, one of them being her offering to assist me for free at the wedding, which was very kind of her indeed. I also unwrapped one present from her only to find a book I'd lent to her earlier, which was a bit peculiar, but thoughtful, as everyone hates a non-returning borrower. :D On closer inspection I saw that she had actually gotten my book signed by the author, none other than Mr Ethan Hawke himself! How awesome is that! (You must excuse me for I can't seem to stop using the word 'awesome').

Three presents in one: Sooz posing with my Ethan Hawke autograph, taken with my new E75. :D

The biggest surprise awaited me when I got home from the wedding though, and went to transfer my images from the cards to the computer. I thought something looked 'off' with my desk, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. Only after turning the computer on did I eventually realised that there was a brand new 24" wide screen monitor sitting on my desk! I was pretty gobsmacked I can tell you that much. :D It takes a brave person to try to surprise me, and S had definitely gone all out on this one. I must say that I love love love the extra screen space. I'll just have to get the calibration right as I've now noticed that yesterday's edits look awfully dark on the monitor here at work. Have now ordered a Spyder from eBay, and hopefully once it arrives I can truly enjoy the benefits of the new beast. Can I please say awesome again.

Thank you for all my amazing presents (oh including shopping vouchers from Marjut - woo!), and all the birthday wishes I got via text and Facebook. <3

Tap, tap, tap... is this thing on?

2009-07-22T14:45:00.002+01:00

Will you look at this, it's a genuine new blog entry. I bet you're as flabbergasted as I am. Yes, talk about being busy! When ever I've said I've been busy in the past, I take that all back. This year has taught me the true meaning of being busy, in good and in bad, and it has made me ponder about the origins of the word business. :D The business has indeed taken off at a rate I couldn't have dreamed of last year when I made the decision to start charging for my photography. It's all happened so organically, intuitively, that sometimes I have to force myself to stop and really take in how fast it's all happening. I feel extremely lucky, not in a stroke-of-luck kind of way, but in a way that makes me appreciate the fact that I possess a skill that people are willing to pay for - and if I work hard - has the potential of changing my life.

But for now, I just have to make sure it doesn't kill me first. While I still have my full time day job as well, there just is no extra time for anything. Every waking hour is pretty much about work in some form, even if the photography side of things doesn't really feel like work (but trust me, all the nitty gritty of running a business sure does). For now I'm just trying to keep my head down and plough on. If I get through this year in one piece, it will all be worth it in the end I hope. I have some amazing clients (now this does have something to do with genuine luck as well) and weddings in beautiful locations coming up next year. I really can't wait. That goes for each and every one of them.

In other news, Miikka finally got married last Saturday, and even if it meant travelling all the way up to Juuka, of course we were there. We treated the (8 hours each way) drive as a road trip, as that was pretty much all the 'holiday' we'll get this year. The weather was perfect and Finland was definitely showing its best. The only minus side of being on the road for most of the 4 days we spent in Finland was not having any time to meet up with other friends and family. You can look out for pictures of the wedding over at the wedding photography blog, but for now, here is a quick collection of snaps from along the way of our road trip.

Out for count

2009-06-21T19:13:00.003+01:00

Soo the cold I was trying to fight off developed into a full-on chest infection and really knocked me out for count. Annoyingly it meant that I had to reschedule consultations and a maternity shoot, which has now been moved a week further, which is making me feel a bit nervous and I'm really hoping that the baby doesn't decide to arrive a bit earlier than expected. Fingers crossed we're still good to go on the shoot next week!

Just to add insult to injury I (of course!) got ill on press week, and so I had to drag myself to the office on Friday, even though I lasted just for half a day. Still, that certainly wasn't fun. I did get antibiotics and they started kicking in by yesterday, and today I'm starting to feel like a different person already, so phew. Next week is going to be pretty hectic so I'm very relieved to be feeling better.

I did make it through Claire & Hywel's wedding last Saturday before the illness really hit me, and I'm glad I did as it was one of the nicest weddings I've ever had the pleasure to attend. Pictures are now up on the wedding photography blog.

Fighting colds and sipping cocktails

2009-06-12T16:17:00.005+01:00

Oh my where does the time go.

I'm currently trying desperately to fight off a sore throat and a cold that's trying to sneak up on me. If I can hold it at bay at least long enough to get through tomorrow's wedding I'll be happy...

Last night I went out for some cocktails with a few fabulous ladies. Me, Sooz, Kat, Chanelle, Liz, Ly and Rhiannon, among others, headed to the Cellar Door and took full advantage of their happy hour. Lots of fun was had and useful contacts created. I'm feeling really good about getting a bit of a network of like-minded photographers/wedding people going. Who ever says Twitter is useless just has no idea. Of anything. End of.

After my painful computer meltdown I fell so behind in all sorts things that I decided to admit defeat with my 365 Bokeh project. No matter how much I love doing it, when something becomes a chore it's not really beneficial to try to desperately to fit it in... Perhaps I'll pick it up again in the autumn when my calendar calms down a bit.

Oh and Maesha & Pete's wedding is now up on the wedding photography blog. What a long, but fun, day that was!

A gentle reminder

2009-06-05T10:22:00.002+01:00

xkcd - A Webcomic - Dreams

Too right! Found this via Kai.

Duality project slowly moving on...

2009-06-04T09:45:00.001+01:00

Yay finally a new addition to my Duality Project (see the rest in the gallery). This is Kat from Rock 'n Roll Bride, and she is number 14 in this series that I've been working on for what seems like forever now. My goal is to photograph 50 women in all... sooo at this rate I'll probably be about 60 years old by the time I finish it. :D Anyways, if you want to see some more photos I took of Kat on the day, head over to MTP blog.

The world doesn't deserve him

2009-05-28T11:59:00.005+01:00

This week... let's not even go there. It's like everything that could go wrong in your worst nightmares has gone wrong, and then some.

I'd rather talk about seeing Antony & the Johnsons at Hammersmith Apollo last night. I went with Sooz (the ticket was her birthday present as she missed seeing Antony at the Barbican last October), but we had to leave Stu at home to try to sort out a serious computer crisis, which sucked a bit. After seeing Antony at Kulttuuritalo in Helsinki in 2007, and then at the Barbican last year, I was a bit worried about how a venue like the Apollo would work. And, as it turned out, I had a reason to be worried.

I have waxed lyrical about the out-of-this-world quality of Antony Hegarty's voice, and the life-altering effect of experiencing his live performance, plenty of times before. And yes, those things were present yesterday. There's no other voice I have ever heard that can instantly move me to tears when it flows through me, and in that respect, I wasn't disappointed.

What I was disappointed, no, disgusted with, was the audience. Well, not everyone obviously. I'd say about 80 per cent of the people were there to actually listen, but the other 20 per cent did do their darnest to try to ruin the whole experience for everyone else. Seriously, if all you care about is running back and forth getting more beer, not giving a shit how much noise you are making or how it might be affecting the artist on stage, why not just go to a pub? Surely that would be a lot cheaper night out as well. I just cannot comprehend it. When something larger than life is happening right before your eyes and ears, and when the artist is clearly dragging out the start of the song waiting for people to quiet down, how can anyone in the same space not notice this and stop breathing, instead of carrying on with banging and running around? It's such an insult to the artist, and in this case, to everything that is good about the whole friggin humanity. At some point Antony clearly got annoyed and pulled back emotionally. The voice was still there, but it was clear he didn't want to give anything more to the audience. He did come back for two encores, one of which was the always amazing Cripple and the Starfish. To be honest, if it was me, I wouldn't have come back. But it was lovely that he did want to do that for the people that were there for him. I think everyone did try to make up for it by the huge standing ovation.

I am glad I went, even if it was a mix of elation and pure anger, and I'm sure I will in the future try to see him live when ever I get the chance. My overwhelming feeling throughout last night was put into words by someone commenting on a youtube video with 'The world doesn't deserve him'.

Oh and the picture from the concert is by Marc Broussely, who funnily enough is one of my clients (whom I've yet to meet), who's wedding I'm photographing in August. I had no idea he'd worked the gig until I saw his blog today! Funny coincidence. :D

Here's a clip of River of Sorrow from the Barbican in October 08.

End-of-week round-up with added sea air

2009-05-24T23:48:00.004+01:00

A little round-up of end-of-week happenings. Did manage to get the new magazine to press ok, so yay for that. Had two wedding consultations, and the couples were lovely. Friday night I headed off to the Photographer's Gallery with few of my fellow Timeliners to check out The Photographic Object exhibition, which, to be perfectly honest, didn't really do very much for me. I guess I'm just an old fogie but I just don't get the whole 'gimmicky idea=art' concept.

Yesterday I got a craving for some sea so we headed off on a little road trip in search of some seaside. We ended up somewhere close to Worthing, in a little place where evidently people only go to die. But still, I got to breath some sea air, which was nice. The trip was hampered somewhat by a headache that wouldn't leave me alone all day.

Today I had an engagement shoot in Regent's Park, and boy was it hot! It seriously made me rethink any dreams I had of shooting destination weddings on tropical islands. :D Jeez. I think I should consider specialising in winter weddings, much less sweating involved. Anyhoo, I'm about to edit some of today's shoot now, before collapsing into bed. So it's over and out from here.

Happy bokeh Wednesday!

2009-05-20T20:46:00.003+01:00

How can it be press week again?? Time is a perplexing thing. So far this week has been super knackering for a lot of reasons, keeping my fingers crossed I'll make it through to the other side. It's Bank Holiday weekend coming up, and I only have one engagement shoot so should hopefully have some time to just chill as well. Having multiple blogs is getting slightly confusing and I'm not quite sure what I've told where. But yeah, if in doubt, you can always check out the other blog as well. :P

But now I've got to go tidy as, unusually, I have a consultation at home tomorrow evening. (Meeting at a pub involves a lot less cleaning! :D)

Terminate the Rate

2009-05-20T20:28:00.003+01:00

Arriving home from work today I had a little box waiting for me by the doorstep. From it emerged a paper beaky, reminiscent of the ones we used to make in school back in the day.

Turns out it was part of campaign material for Terminate the Rate, which launched today. Basically, what's happening is that BT, 3, moneysupermarket.com, NUS, FSB, GMB and Carers UK announced their stand against high mobile termination rates (those pesky additional charges made every time you call a mobile cross-network or from a landline), and launched a campaign to get them lowered to a more reasonable level.

If you want to know more, keep an eye on the Terminate the Rate blog. Oh and if you want to make your own little beaky, you can print out the template from here.

No words today

2009-05-19T20:44:00.000+01:00

Gimme some calm

2009-05-15T19:43:00.002+01:00

Thank crunchie it's Friday!

Windswept

2009-05-14T21:40:00.001+01:00

Holy shock to the system, Batman!

2009-05-12T14:24:00.004+01:00

Only just noticed that Timelines is finally live! I feel strangely naked now. I guess that from now on I must start taking part in only highly interesting and exciting happenings. Phew.

Just roll with it

2009-05-12T11:03:00.004+01:00

Days in the office are starting to feel almost like 'down time' to me, funny that. :D I shouldn't really complain though, as I do feel really fortunate to be as busy as I am. Sometimes the physical and metal exhaustion just gets the better of me and makes me turn into a little whiner. :P And sometimes dragging myself to a shoot after a full day at the day job feels like too much. But then when I get there, and when it's good, it's really good. I had a brilliant engagement session last night with a couple who's wedding I'm covering next month. They were just so nice and sweet that I know the wedding is going to absolutely kick ass. So today I'm feeling pretty excited.

I've got two sessions to edit by the end of this week, but tomorrow I'm having a night off to go see Lisa Hannigan at Shepherd's Bush Empire. Yay.

Here in the office it's not actually the worst time at the moment. After months of re-design work, we're finally working on the June issue, which will be the first new look magazine. And we have at last migrated to InDesign (hallelujah), which makes life so so much easier. So it's pretty much as 'exciting' right now as this job is ever likely to get.

Oh I don't think I ever mentioned anything about the Miles Aldridge exhibition I went to last week. It was pretty awesome and inspiring, even though the prints displayed could have been a bit bigger! But then the prices would have probably climbed out of reach for everyone. Personally, if I did have an extra £1800 lying around, I so would have bought a picture then and there. :D Now I'll just have to try to find the new, freshly published book from somewhere.
p.s. Sooz took this sneaky shot as my mobile was being too loud for any sort of espionage!

Welcome to the dark side

2009-05-03T23:46:00.003+01:00

I think I'm starting to go a bit cross-eyed from all the editing I've done in the last two days. And I'm not even half way through yet! :D Oh well, I do enjoy it really. But it would be nice to one day be in a position where I wouldn't have to be doing it at weekends/annual leave days. But yes, so far I've gotten as far as the ceremony of Lucy & Richard's wedding.

You can see a few more pictures over at MTP.

I'm currently contemplating on carrying on further into the night, but my neck and head is giving me such grief that I might have to call it a day and start on the mammoth task of reception shots tomorrow.

Not doing anything else but sitting in a darkened room staring at the screen doesn't really give much material for any other exciting blogging I'm afraid. Oh, on Friday we did have a little May Day cocktail party with Sooz, which I suppose could count as exciting under normal circumstances. But, as yummy as the cocktails were and as enjoyable the company, I quite embarrassingly ran completely out of juice before 11pm. Me! I was quite shocked myself to find that I just couldn't keep my eyes open for any longer. But still, fun was had none the less.

While I've been working away S has been busy being a very exemplary husband. He has tidied the flat (and the car) from top to bottom, and we have more clean clothes than we have space to put them in! I am very impressed indeed. Finally the training is starting to pay off. :D

Two things

2009-04-27T22:25:00.003+01:00

One. Adam at Quark technical support rocks!
Two. Starting the week with a stomach flu of some sort, not so much.