It's up! ..

Done! At last! Made in Eccles is up and running! I can finally relax! Actually, I'm aching all over today, pathetic as it sounds. I just didn't realise how much bending and stretching and reaching and hammering is involved in the hanging of over 100 photographs. Still, they're there now so I only hope that now I've "built it, the people will come"!..

Funnily enough, the first person to see the show was one of those ubiquitous Japanese tourists, who'd obviously been tootling around the rest of the museum and just carried on and wandered into my space, camera - inevitably - in hand! Now the last time a Japanese chap saw one of my exhibitions in Manchester he ended up staging it in Tokyo, providing me with a fantastic and memorable trip to the land of the Rising Sun! Now a good friend, Nobu rang me and asked if I'd "mind" if he put my Joy Division photographs on view in his home city. Mind?
No, I did not mind, and the rest, as they say ..
Here's hoping ...

Bye, buy ..

I've certainly hit the road running this week, as I've woken to an email from Japan letting me know my range of T shirts is now on sale in Tokyo! Joy Division, Devo, The Smiths and The Human League all feature. Quick, get over there! Buy, buy ..

My picture today is from a Wedding I shot in June, and I'm pleased to say that it's going to be featured in Pure Weddings magazine as a 'Real-Life Wedding'. It was certainly a different day to your 'average' Wedding, as the weather caused havoc with all the bride's plans. There was an absolute cloud-burst just before the newly-weds came out of the church, meaning they had to wait inside until the storm had passed. Then, there was ..  oh, what am I doing? You'll have to read the magazine. Quick, get out there! Buy, buy ..

I'm being filmed for a movie in Sunday! Oh, yes .. touch my hem! I'm being interviewed for a film called Being Frank, about the life and times of the late, great Chris Sievey. He used to have a band called The Freshies, which I shot a couple of times in 1979, but then he subsequently morphed into the 'cartoon character' Frank Sidebottom and never came out of his, erm, head .. again! Anyway, my shots of the band are hopefully to be featured in the movie along with my quirky, amusing reminiscences about the band (It says here!)

Before that there's one other big event in my diary. For the first time since I opened the studio I'm going to be shooting a dog in there! (Sorry .. photographing a dog! Don't go phoning the RSPCA!)
Better go get set up! Bye, bye ..

#culchethstudio
www.studiofivefour.com

Breaking news ..

Well, literally!..

Me zip's bust! I'm going to have to splash out £230 on a new backpack 'cos the fastener's gone on my old one. Mind you, I'm not surprised, the amount of stuff I squished into it! Never mind 3 bodies and everything from a 500mm mirror lens to a 10.5 fish-eye, I was going through the pockets the other day and found a roll of cellotape, a rain mac and a whatdyamacallit of solidified foundation make-up in there! Poor bag! As Scottie might have said .. "She canna take it any more, Cap'n.."

Actually, the real breaking news is that I've just had four of my music photographs selected for new clothing designs in Tokyo. Well, T shirts and a baseball cap, don't ya know! Oooh, I've never had me shots on a hat before! How to get ahead in photography, eh? I'll have a bag of that, any day...

#culchethportraitstudio
www.studiofivefour.com

Oh, yes...

I was chillin' and having some 'me' time last evening - you know the kind of thing - gin in glass, Smiths on turntable .. and a copy of a Japanese Photography magazine in my hands. It's called Camera Life, and I bought it when I went over to Tokyo for my Joy Division exhibition. Trouble is, it being in Japanese and all that, I haven't the foggiest idea what it's actually going on about! However, it comes with a strap-line - in English (Well, almost!) - across the front page, and I wanted to share it with you. It says ..

"Camera Life proposes happiness to your camera and photograph life"

Isn't that great? Wouldn't you just want that as a photographer?

Guess what! I've got it!...

Vicar in a tutu...

..and, hopefully, lots of Japanese Smiths fans in my T shirts! Yes, I'm Reeling Round The Fountain with some great news! Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before, but I got the call yesterday from my pal in Tokyo to say my new range of Smiths designs had been given the nod, and they'll be launched in February (in Paris!) in time for the 2012 summer season. Can't wait to see 'em, 'cos the company did such a good job on my Joy Division T shirts that I know this new set will be just fantastic. All sizes will be available too 'cos, let's face it, Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others! By pure coincidence, I'm just printing up a new set of the same photographs to put up in the exhibition I've told you about and, even though I'm Still Ill, this great news has made me completely forget about my snotty Man-Flu! I just hope the Shoplifters of The World don't Unite!...