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Thrive
Hyde End Studios are proud to support Thrive a national charity who's aim is to enable positive change in the lives of disabled and disadvantaged people through the use of gardening and horticulture. Please click on their website and see if you can help them with their valuable work.
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Published On: May 23, 2006 03:06 PM
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Published On: May 23, 2006 03:06 PM
Mon - May 22, 2006
Richard Hawley
Tonight I travelled to Portsmouth to see the
genius that is Richard Hawley (!) in concert. I went with my friend Will, a
talented music photographer who wangled a photo pass to the gig for me. It was
great to be able to have access to the stage to get some nice angles on the
performance. Will is writing a gig review for the Reading University student
magazine and for the BBC Radio Berkshire website which will be accompanied by my
images.
The support act was Micah P. Hinson, a gravel voiced Texan who performed a superb short set on acoustic guitar, accompanied by harmonica.
Richard Hawley was in fine form fronting a 5 piece band who were all superb musicians. He hails from Sheffield and musically speaking he wears his heart firmly on sleeve. The influences of American music from the forties through to the sixties are clear but there is a depth to the music that shines through and bears repeated playing. Thoroughly recommended if you get a chance to catch them on the current UK tour promoting the latest album 'Coles Corner'.
Guitarist 'Shez'
Support act Micah P. Hinson from Abilene, Texas.
I think the singing got in the way of his smoking sometimes...
Sidekick Oliver on harmonica.
The support act was Micah P. Hinson, a gravel voiced Texan who performed a superb short set on acoustic guitar, accompanied by harmonica.
Richard Hawley was in fine form fronting a 5 piece band who were all superb musicians. He hails from Sheffield and musically speaking he wears his heart firmly on sleeve. The influences of American music from the forties through to the sixties are clear but there is a depth to the music that shines through and bears repeated playing. Thoroughly recommended if you get a chance to catch them on the current UK tour promoting the latest album 'Coles Corner'.
Guitarist 'Shez'
Support act Micah P. Hinson from Abilene, Texas.
I think the singing got in the way of his smoking sometimes...
Sidekick Oliver on harmonica.
Posted at 11:59 PM
Thu - May 11, 2006
In the garden
My daughter Evie (aged 5) is spending some time
gardening today. She's five and loves to be outside planting and generally
getting her hands dirty. I shot some pictures (it's fascinating watching work
going on :) ) and they looked really nice as a collage. This way of laying out
images works really well - it's something we do for our wedding albums and
increasingly for outdoor portrait sessions. There is a stronger storytelling
element this way and I like to think it will be nice also for her to look back
on when she's grown up. If only to think "Why was my Dad just taking pictures
instead of helping me!?"
Posted at 05:02 PM
Wed - May 3, 2006
My new love...
OK, I admit I'm a total iTunes junkie and
although I resisted for a long time, I finally gave in to temptation and bought
the new iPod
Hifi . It's amazing how quickly times have changed and now that I have
around 1500 tunes on my iPod (modest by some standards), it's so much easier to
use than hunting down an obscure CD. It's great you can have different playlists
for different times and I also a playlist for my kids (aged 8 and 4) to keep
them happy during teatime (anything for an easy
life).
The sound quality is pretty good, fills the room and has a very clear feel to it. Like all speaker systems of this kind you don't get true stereo spread but it's a very impressive sound none the less, and the bass is nicer than I expected as well. The little remote control you get with the system is great although I know I'm going to lose it very quickly :(
The sound quality is pretty good, fills the room and has a very clear feel to it. Like all speaker systems of this kind you don't get true stereo spread but it's a very impressive sound none the less, and the bass is nicer than I expected as well. The little remote control you get with the system is great although I know I'm going to lose it very quickly :(
Posted at 03:58 PM
Tue - April 25, 2006
Thrive
I was up at Thrive's Garden Project at Trunkwell in Beech
Hill today. The plan was to shoot some nice images to update their image library
and have some new pictures for their reports and newsletters. Unfortunately the
weather was against us and it rained...and rained...I bravely took refuge in a
greenhouse until it finally stopped. I made a slideshow of some of the images
shot today and you can view it here. The staff and fundraisers at Thrive do a
really good job for a worthwhile cause. If you get a chance please visit their
website to see if you can help. If you're a keen gardener they have an Open Day
on the 2nd of July. You can read about it here.
I plan to drop by again at the end of the week to carry on where I left off today when the beautiful spring weather kicked in :)
I plan to drop by again at the end of the week to carry on where I left off today when the beautiful spring weather kicked in :)
Posted at 07:28 PM
Sun - April 9, 2006
Going Underground
We took the kids to the Science Museum today and
on the way back I decided to shoot some images in the underground in the big
tunnel that leads from South Kensington tube to the museums. Shooting at slow
shutter speeds is a bit hit and miss and the images you think won't work
sometimes do (and vica versa :(
).
These pics were taken at around a 1/15th of a second and although I usually strive for sharp images, it was cool just to go for the blur. To make it more fun I didn't look through the camera viewfinder.
I think the sense of movement complements the subject matter quite well and they seemed to work so much better in black and white.
These pics were taken at around a 1/15th of a second and although I usually strive for sharp images, it was cool just to go for the blur. To make it more fun I didn't look through the camera viewfinder.
I think the sense of movement complements the subject matter quite well and they seemed to work so much better in black and white.
Posted at 07:58 PM
Tue - April 4, 2006
A sky collage
I often shoot pictures of the sky (I know, I
know...) but I think like a lot of things you see everyday, you take it for
granted and stop noticing it. Anyway I thought these four images looked really
nice together as a collage. For some reason they worked better with a sepia tone
here than in plain black and white, kind of
peaceful.
Posted at 07:25 PM
Sat - March 18, 2006
The Italian Job
I was asked to visit the International
Photography Festival in Orvieto, Italy this weekend by my friend Jim
Lowe.
Jim is one of the UK's leading architectural photographers and currently
vice-president of the Federation of European Photographers. It was a nice short
break even though it meant flying out of Gatwick at 0630 on Saturday
morning...
Apart from the pleasure of attending exhibitions and seminars by leading European photographers, we had a little time for a wander around Orvieto. It's a mediaeval walled town built on an extinct volcano in Umbria, about an hour north of Rome. It was like walking through a film set with many narrow winding alleyways and streets. The worn facades of the buildings and the fabulous doorways contributed to the great atmosphere. The town was dominated by it's colossal 14th century cathedral which you suddenly stumble across when exploring. It is so large you think your eyes are playing tricks on you when you see it first.
Here's a few images I took there as we spent a couple of hours wandering around the town. It was nice as always just to shoot images for myself, something I think is important as it's a time to develop one's style and approach to a different subject.
Apart from the pleasure of attending exhibitions and seminars by leading European photographers, we had a little time for a wander around Orvieto. It's a mediaeval walled town built on an extinct volcano in Umbria, about an hour north of Rome. It was like walking through a film set with many narrow winding alleyways and streets. The worn facades of the buildings and the fabulous doorways contributed to the great atmosphere. The town was dominated by it's colossal 14th century cathedral which you suddenly stumble across when exploring. It is so large you think your eyes are playing tricks on you when you see it first.
Here's a few images I took there as we spent a couple of hours wandering around the town. It was nice as always just to shoot images for myself, something I think is important as it's a time to develop one's style and approach to a different subject.
Posted at 07:03 PM
Sat - December 24, 2005
Tue - November 1, 2005
A sunny seaside morning
On this rainy November morning I was thinking
about the summer and remembered this image. I shot it on a boat in Poole harbour
when we took the children for a day out by the seaside. I grabbed my camera out
of the bag and shot without checking the settings. The pic was totally
overexposed, far too light for a 'good' exposure. I nearly trashed it, but there
was something about the light, airy feeling that reminded me of that early
morning boat trip.
A little Apple Mac magic, colours tweaked, a sky from another time and place added and here's my final result. Only now I'm thinking "I wonder if I could get it to work well in black and white....?" Must get some proper work done...
A little Apple Mac magic, colours tweaked, a sky from another time and place added and here's my final result. Only now I'm thinking "I wonder if I could get it to work well in black and white....?" Must get some proper work done...
Posted at 11:13 AM
Mon - October 24, 2005
Lensbaby
I've had this strange device for ages but only
tried it out once. I decided to give it an airing in town in the rain this
morning. Basically a lens baby is a lens mounted on a flexible,
spring plastic tube that works a bit like the bellows in an old fashioned view
camera .
You move the flexible tube around until part of the image comes into focus. It's a bit hit and miss, but a nice antidote to sharp, precisely controlled images. The pictures have a bit of an organic feel. With so much control over images possible these days, it's refreshing to shoot some pictures which have a unique look created in-camera as opposed to after the event in the computer.
I like the way it makes the building look like it's in motion, with only the nameplate sharp. I like motion in static images, it might be nice to try the technique on a wedding soon to get some images with a unique look to them. I do like the wedding albums I design to have unusual images in them to catch the eye.
You move the flexible tube around until part of the image comes into focus. It's a bit hit and miss, but a nice antidote to sharp, precisely controlled images. The pictures have a bit of an organic feel. With so much control over images possible these days, it's refreshing to shoot some pictures which have a unique look created in-camera as opposed to after the event in the computer.
I like the way it makes the building look like it's in motion, with only the nameplate sharp. I like motion in static images, it might be nice to try the technique on a wedding soon to get some images with a unique look to them. I do like the wedding albums I design to have unusual images in them to catch the eye.
Posted at 03:03 PM
Sun - October 16, 2005
Sunday Afternoon
We visited some friends for lunch today and
afterwards went for a walk in the woods. The children played hide and seek in
the bushes. This is Lily.
Posted at 07:22 PM
Sun - September 4, 2005
Odd shaped balls
Whilst waiting patiently on a Sunday morning for
a job to start, I snapped these two guys practicing their kicking on an adjacent
rugby pitch. I like the way the size of the posts gives scale to the
picture.
Shot with a D70 and the mighty 70-200 f2.8 VR lens
Shot with a D70 and the mighty 70-200 f2.8 VR lens
Posted at 04:42 PM
Mon - August 29, 2005
August Bank Holiday
And it's too hot to do anything, so I just shot a
couple of flower pictures and noticed afterwards I'd composed them in exactly
the same way which tells me I need to get out more. Or
something.
Posted at 01:40 PM
Sun - August 14, 2005
Sun - August 7, 2005
A walk in the park
Nothing more strenuous for me today on this
beautiful afternoon than a family walk along the Thames at Whitchurch with the
children and the dog. The dog had his first ever swim ! Luckily he made it back
to the bank safely, I would have hated to throw the children in to rescue him...
:)
Posted at 02:41 PM
Thu - August 4, 2005
Too old to rock and roll....
A sad day today as I sold my Zephyr 750, bought
new nearly ten years ago. In the immortal words of Nicholas Cage in 'Wild at
Heart' "It's a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal
freedom..."
:)
Hopefully I'll get another bike in a few years but right now I don't get enough time to ride it (I'd get some strange looks turning up to photograph a wedding on it), so it's good to sell it to someone who'll be able to ride it more than me.
At least that's what I keep telling myself... (sniff..)
Hopefully I'll get another bike in a few years but right now I don't get enough time to ride it (I'd get some strange looks turning up to photograph a wedding on it), so it's good to sell it to someone who'll be able to ride it more than me.
At least that's what I keep telling myself... (sniff..)
Posted at 08:19 PM
Fri - July 29, 2005
Womad
I went to the Womad festival in Reading today (my first visit) and it was pretty cool. It's great to see bands and hear music that you wouldn't normally come across. The atmosphere was wonderful as well, lots of families and children present.
Festivals these days are so well organised. We found a great spot between the main stage and the beer tent and a had a great afternoon. Here is the mighty Youngblood Brass Band in full flight in the Siam tent. A very cool and unconventional brass hip-hop sound. An unusual mix of very tight horn playing, DJ effects, New Orleans style jazz lines and some wicked drumming. Check out their website where you can download some MP3's for free. Don't you love it when that happens ?
I like the way the evening light shone through the back of the tent, projecting the image of the
crowd onto the fabric -
The flags at Womad -
Flower fairys in the Siam Tent -
Definitely looking forward to next year !
The Womad pictures shot with a Canon 20D and 50mm 1.4 lens
Posted at 11:13 PM
Sun - July 3, 2005
Wildlife Photography...not
So I was trying my hand at shooting the birds out
of the kitchen window and the results were pretty dull to be honest. With this
image below I worked on it on the computer, changing the composition and making
it look a bit more graphic and abstract. I toned it a blue/turquoise colour and
upped the contrast. I quite like the
result.
Just for a laugh I entered it in the 'Pets' category of an MPA (Master Photographers Association) competition - and hey - it won!
Just for a laugh I entered it in the 'Pets' category of an MPA (Master Photographers Association) competition - and hey - it won!
Posted at 04:33 PM
Mon - March 7, 2005
A new addition to the family
After years of excuses, I finally caved in to
pressure and we got a dog. He's a labrador/collie cross and even though (being
as I have two children) the last thing I need is another small creature to feed
and wipe up after, the kids love
him.
His name is Riley (as in - the life of...) as he seems to have a really easy time - fed and found and looked after. As soon as he kicks his chewing habit, life will become a lot easier for me!
His name is Riley (as in - the life of...) as he seems to have a really easy time - fed and found and looked after. As soon as he kicks his chewing habit, life will become a lot easier for me!
Posted at 03:18 PM
Mon - November 8, 2004
Ooerr Missus...
3 weeks after I bought this car a police van crashed the lights at the Jolly Farmer roundabout near Bagshot as I was making my way home and this was the result ! 4 hours by the roadside and a lift home in the car transporter. Luckily I was on my way back from a shoot and not on the way to it (!)
Posted at 04:39 PM