Life just gets a bit crazy at times

Been a few weeks since I decided to sit down and write about what ive done and where Ive been, Ive been ill, had a birthday and shot a few more of the usual djs.

Its coming up to a very busy weekend for me, with it being the weekend of SW4 and get loaded in the park, but onto those in a min.

Instead of just shooting for the gallery @ ministry of sound, ive also been in for the saturday sessions. Something i dont usually do, but ive had some wicked fun. First up was Joachim Garrauds album launch on toolroom knights label, and it was something id never have expected. Joachim to me had been under the radar, I didnt know just how big he is and what he has done (co producing some of David Guettas massive hits etc..) but also how cool he is as a live show. Some djs are different, some mix, some use a laptop, some play the keyboards live etc... but I didnt expect to see someone standing on a beer crate infront of the crowd playing his keytar! Wow is all i can say and it was bloody fantastic to watch!

Following on from that for the saturday it was another big night from accross the pond with Roger sanchez playing a 7 hour set for his release yourself nights, Roger is a reall top guy and was a pleasure to shoot, albeit if i was quite tired that day.

So thats the clubbing side of things covered for the last few weeks.

Ive also done another new bit of work for a friend of mine who is designing a website and lots of other things for a pub (the red lion) in wingham near canterbury, brief was to go and shoot the cathedral for something different, which i did from a rather strange angle but it should work quite well with the design of the site. I think everyone thought a 6ft 6 lad lying on his back under neath the main building was loosing his marbles for a few mins :D. Once this was done it was back to the pub for the food, we needed some pics of it for the site aswell as a few other bits and pieces (luckily got to enjoy the lovely bit of duck after id finished shooting it). I tell you what alot of respect to the guys who shoot food, I struggled with it, anyone who knows me well will know how I like to eat, so having fantastic food sitting infront of me is hard not to just dive into!

This week I got back out again to shooting some cars, I live near brands hatch and a few mates were out (although sadly late in the day when it was A dark and B raining) not much fun but still it was nice to get to use my siggy 300 2.8 with the 1D a bit more how I want to. It allways amazes me that at every track day I do myself that the photos there are what I would describe as dull. Well by dull i mean parked, the emphasis seems to be more on making sure every photo they take is sharp to sell even if theres no motion to it, for me I dont want pics of my car looking like ive driven onto the track stopped put the handbrake on so i can smile for the camera, so dont understand how these guys make money doing it :S

So thats that part again of work done, and been busy to see alot of my work being used from the last year, first up is the press pics i shot for MIKE/push which are being used on the site and as part of the campaign for the top 100djs poll, plus a few flyers for another group and loads and loads of printed stuff from where i was shooting last years Sw4 and get loaded in the park festivals. Im awaiting to have a press pack from the organisers as they have said its been alot of work tracking it all down but should be nice to see just how wide spread last years pics went. Which is why I am glad to be back, this time with more gear and shooting both days + the afterparty aswell as still shooting the gallery on friday so, 4 events in a weekend will be slightly crazy!

Still hopefully next week ill have some nice bits to add to this, with no horror stories.

So how do we evolve

This question is something that has been discussed with a few mates recently (and ive thought about more after a long weekend shooting for the gallery and then toolroom knights). Times are changing, just look at how life is now compaired to in the 1950s, heck look at the differences now to the 1990s. Technology changes, things improve, prices change as do fashions. So why shouldnt photography? Well I mean why shouldnt a photographer, our gear is constantly changing with the technology around us, we now are the digital era, with hours spent on computers with photos rather than alone in a dark room. Ok so im a newbie in that sence, I wasnt part of the 35mm area although when I look through it, its pretty cool! Photographers were photographers not graphic designers.

So without going off on to much of a tanget what am I rambling on about? Well as I said life changes, so what about me as a photographer. Do I change? Some might say you get a style and you can see it stays, its ever evolving though, with new angles to be seen, new effects with the flash etc... I can look back at what I was shooting in a local club and everythings different, not just the settings, but the way I look at a shot, again even a couple of months ago you could see it was a bit different to what I shoot now. Ok maybe some of its to do with the gear im using now as opposed to then, but even so im still looking each week for something else to play with something else. I guess its why despite shooting the same venue each week for well over a year I dont seem to get bored of it, even though i know the lights, the smoke, even now which dj does what behind the decks theres allways something new to try, a little change on the setting, a different angle, flash or no flash, etc... Its just something that you can just allways keep trying to do something new with, some may work some wont, but isnt that what Evolution is about? Ok maybe im thinking a bit to literally but its allways good to sit back and see just where you have come from, and how you have changed, whether its as a person or just with the type of style you shoot with.

So on that, with every new job comes a new challenge, should we worry about it or embrace that challenge? I say embrace it and see what new cool stuff you can come up with :D

Another double header friday...

Well again for a friday it was an early start in london. I was working for lock n load events for a free gig to promote the festival they are holding on clapham common in late august (one which i covered last year and it was wicked fun!). Sadly my journey to london wasnt much fun as police had shut a few roads for problems etc.. so I was touch and go to making it on time if at all I thought at one point.

The showpiece of the event was new songstress MPHO singing for all the atendies and the gio-goi bus which came down from up north as part of the advertising campaign.

Once this was done had a few hours to kill so kicked back and enjoyed some grilled chicken and did the processing from this event and recharged everything up just so I was ready again for later on that night with the usual gallery stuff.

This friday was a big one with well over 2,000 tickets being sold in advance, as it was the offical after party for Tiestos gig in london that evening, so lots of party kids in for the wicked line up, featuring rank1, Giuseppe Ottiviani, John OO flemming and Simon Patterson with DAT soundsystem playing in the bar. It really was a cracking night, I just couldnt put the camera down! well I tell a lie i did for a while, but that was to pick up a video camera when Tim Davidson from DAT soundsystem asked if I minded doing some filming for him whilst he was on. Obviously I jumped at the opportunity as something thats equally as fun as photography and I hope to get my teeth into one day!