Format PS...

More from Format in Derby...and a nice shot spotted in one of the swanky shop windows in the lovely Cathedral Quarter of town. Glad to see at least one of the traders getting into the swing of it! (He had a nice Nikkormat hanging off one of the other mannequins! Trip down memory lane!)
Have to say I'd never been to Derby before this trip, and I thought it was a great little place, with really friendly people!
Spent yesterday walking between the various venues that house the images, thus getting the added bonus of a walk around the confusingly named Silk Mill, which actually houses a fantastic collection of Rolls-Royce engines, including a full-size RB-211 Jet engine. Brought out the plane-spotter in me, it did! Met Peter Dench at the opening on Thursday evening, too...really good photographer and writer of the very amusing and frank Dench Diaries in Professional Photographer magazine. Bought him a glass of red..it's his round next time! Fave pictures from the whole thing I would have to say are the shots by Richard Kalvar, who is actually speaking in Derby as I type..Aaaagh! How did I miss that??...and the shots by Bahbak Hashemi-Nezhad, shown in the Deda Cafe.  I'm sure they've got to be set up...either that or the guy has the patience of a saint! I'd be happy to be corrected! All in all, a great event, and one not to be missed..and hey, I've not even been paid to say it!

 

 Finally, just a quick hello to another great guy I met on Thursday...Gabriel Thompson, one of the photographers with work on show. He's based in New York and we had a great time at the opening.

Now, I'm bloody keen on photography..you may have noticed!..but check out this guy's tattoos..

Now THAT'S keen !!

Oh, Joel...!

Mission accomplished! Met my hero Joel Meyerowitz at the Format Festival, and I think you can tell from my face that I was rather delighted!! He signed two of his books for me, and was gracious with his time and warmth. Thank you, Joel! The show itself is a 'Belter!'..well worth seeing! Give yourself lots of time, though, as it's spread all over the City. More tomorrow!

Oh, my hero!

One of my nice Kodachrome shots of the Florida Keys for you today, as I'm hitting the road again..all the way to Derby and the Format International Photography Festival.
Looking forward to seeing some great photography, hearing some interesting ideas and drinking some great wine, but the highlight will be if I can get to meet my hero!  Joel Meyerowitz is an American photographer whose work I've loved since I first found out about him in the early 80's. Check out his book 'Wild Flowers' if you can find it! He'll be at the opening event this evening, and I'm going to be like a google-eyed giggly teenager if I can get to chat to him! "I love you, Joel! Eeeek!"
Autograph book at the ready...Wish me luck!

The Springs of Joy!

My Joy Division photographs are 'on tour' again, and will feature as part of a special 'Wired In' event at Duke's Lancaster in April.  I've just had to supply them my images and they'll be made into a cool slide show accompanied by live music! Far out!
Off to a Steam Engine Museum in Cheshire today! I'm shooting  PR photographs of three apprentices and their MD for a Manchester company. Hope I can see 'em through the smoke!

Marching on...

A nice bright daffodil to mark St David's Day, for all you readers in Wales. It's from my Florescence Flower Photography series.
 And now for a list of things I read yesterday!
(No, I can't work out a connection there either!)

I read that Johhny Depp is part-Cherokee Indian! (This after my girlfriend and I had watched that lovely film Chocolat. She remarked on how beautiful his face was, and that he surely must have some Native American in him. Clever clogs!)
I read that there is a Wedding Photographer in LA who has been so hard-hit by the recession that he has cut his standard rate to a mere $8,500 a day (Oi Vay!)
I read a review of a pub restaurant that we ate in on Sunday. Somebody had raved about the fresh dressed crab saying "It does exactly what it says on the tin!"
And I read an email from a young couple who contacted me about shooting their December Wedding. They said "You sound like someone we'd like to invite to our Wedding!"
My kinda read!

Bring it on..

March tomorrow, and with a fresh month ahead, and the main Wedding Season approaching, I thought I'd change my homepage picture to convey the fun and excitement that is Wedding Photography. These guys really knew how to party, and even had pints of Guinness -icing! - on their Wedding cake!
My kinda couple!

Passports at the ready!

I must say this blogging mullarkey is rather exciting, and it's getting me all over the world...well, in word and picture form at least! Checking my stats for this week I see I've had readers from as far afield as the good old US of A, New Zealand, and Oz, but then from amazing and completely far-flung places like China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Russia and Israel. I don't know how to say "Thank you for your interest" in those languages..but I do, I really do!

An old shot from Manchester Airport for your delight today. A Pan-Am 727 and a British Airways VC-10..shot as I got into photography in about 1975. Talk about history!

Anyway, crossing the border myself, today...going to Yorkshire!

Great Weekend, everybody!

It's all happening!..

Thought I'd show you one of my favourite Wedding Photographs today. An odd one, you might think, but there's such a lot happening in there..from the mascara going on the scruffed-up bride, to the champers being poured, the bridesmaids getting ready behind and the inevitable mess all around. Just feels right, compositionally, too, but that's so difficult to explain to a non-photographer. How can a picture 'feel' right? Just another of the joys of being able to 'see' photographs.

Off to Leeds this weekend to check out a new Arts Market there. (New to me, anyway!) I'll be running a stall there in the Spring,  offering the good people of Yorkshire the chance to buy my flower and documentary prints. Just another of the joys of being able to let people see my photographs!

Who do you think you are...David Bailey?

Takes a lot to become known as a Photographer in the UK, unlike, say, America or France. I was watching an interview with the maestro yesterday - the one and only David Bailey - and he said the trouble with England was "People think the camera takes the picture!" Well put Mr B!
Nothing wrong with people taking their own pictures, in fact, it's brilliant..but there's a big difference between taking a photograph and making a photograph. Times are hard but I do wish more young Wedding couples would take that fact on board!

You Gotta Laugh!...

My God! No sooner do I write about Libya than we get the earthquake in New Zealand. My heart goes out to everyone, especially my pal in Wellington who knows a photographer with a studio right in the centre of Christchurch. No news yet!

*Stop Press: News just in. All safe but building rather battered!* Thank God!

Anyway, I've been invited to give a presentation to a Manchester PR Company, who are keen (I hope!) to work with me. To that end, I've been ploughing back through my archive to get a few images together, and completely randomly came up with three images of comedians I've shot in the past. I don't want to make light of the awful things that are happening out there, but I just thought I'd throw these up as a reminder that there is just as much joy and laughter in the world as there is anything else.
Keep Smiling!

Tripoli!

Terrible things happening in Libya at the moment, and I hope things work out for the best very soon. My blog's just about photography, though, so without wanting to be trivial I just wanted to tell you about the time I was on assignment there. A reporter and I travelled to Tripoli for the Manchester Evening News to cover a story back in the 90's - during the 25th anniversary of Gaddafi's rise to power, actually! You couldn't fly directly to the country, so we had to first fly to Malta, where we caught a cockroach-infested ferry from Valetta for a 14 hour journey across the Med. Once in Tripoli we firstly had our Duty-Free whiskey confiscated, and were then collected by our 'minders'. It took a couple of days for us to get settled, find the subject of our story and arrange a meeting. That meeting happened briefly, one night, in a crowded bizarre 'holiday camp' on the outskirts of the city. It didn't go quite to plan, and I ended up having to snatch shots with a telephoto and flash..in the dark. Pretty obvious where the photographer was! All the time we'd been there, though, there were jets zooming overhead and tanks rumbling down the streets. Not as dramatic as it sounds! They were rehearsing for the 25th Anniversary celebrations of Mr G, and I decided I would stay on to cover them. Our minders, however, decided that, no, I wasn't going to stay on to cover the event, and as we'd finished the story we came for we were politely pointed to the boat, and off we went back to Malta! Of course, this was still back in the days of film, so once back in Manchester I zipped into the darkrooms, desperate to see what shots I'd got. Well, the pictures were fine, and the paper rushed to get the story out. I went home, happy and unwashed, then dashed out at lunchtime to buy the first edition of that day's newspaper. There it was - a front page picture- and a story all about how "Our Reporter" had returned from Libya with his exclusive story! No mention of me at all! Tut!! More on that tomorrow.....

Making a stand...

So here's a shot of my stand from this weekend's Wedding Fayre, my wares on display for all to see!
Some great people passing through the lovely church of St Laurence, in Frodsham, and I can't wait to shoot there, as there was lots of interest in my work from couples getting married there.  As usual with Wedding Fayres, though, it's a waiting game to see who checks out my site and gets back to me. Rather encouraging then to see an email enquiry in at 4.25 on Saturday afternoon..when the show only finished at three..though I know one young lady who won't be contacting me...The bride who has a "keen amateur" shooting her Wedding. So far, so bad I hear you say. but wait for the punchline, guys!..It's her DAD !! Call me old-fashioned, but isn't the Father of the Bride supposed to be doing other things on the Big Day. Very odd, very unusual..and slightly worrying for the young lady, as far as I'm concerned!

Right, the site...

Yep, you gotta put the footwork in in this game, so here I am about to hit the road for my first Wedding Fayre of the season. Come on down to St. Laurence church in quaint old Frodsham town! Any time up 'til three and I'll be there. Any time after that and I'll be haring home to watch THE match of the FA cup so far..Man U v Crawley Town!  Don't you just...wouldn't it be good if...Ooooh! Hey, for once I can shout 'Come on you reds' and support both teams at the same time!

Anyway, promised to tell you about the Website I'm on! I've just joined UKBrides, the largest Bridal Website in the country, so hopefully I'll be discovered by even more of you lovely brides and we can get together to plan your Big Day! Have a look..there's tons of useful stuff on there. Just don't check out any other photographers, Ok! Well, why would you? You've found me! ;-)

Anyway, off to Frodsham...Have a nice weekend!

Out in the field..

I'm putting myself about a bit this weekend! It's time to let all you lovely brides know all about me!
I'm involved with two Wedding Fayres this weekend, and I've just signed up with the biggest bridal website in the UK. Saturday sees me at St. Laurence Church, in Frodsham,  for their annual Bridal Event. I'll have a stand there with a cool slide-show presentation and a nice selection of my fab albums. On Sunday it's the first of the bi-annual Fayres at Chester Race Course. I was actually supposed to have a stand there, too, but due to .. erm, let's say an admininstrative error by the staff there, that's not going to happen. I'll be there in 'spirit' though, as  they've offered to put my flyers into all 1, 500 goody bags. Not a bad prescence, eh? Why not pop down to either event and take advantage of my Wedding Fayre Special Offer. If you book me to shoot your Big Day I'll thank you with a free Engagement Portrait session and a  card-mounted print for your guests to sign at your reception! Ooh.. is that the time? Tell you about the Bridal Website tomorrow!

Spice of Life...

Variety, that is! The Wedding head was off and the Commercial head went on as I had to shoot some Industrial units yesterday for a Business Park's Brochure. Steel shuttered doors, dark brick walls and signs hanging off their screws..it was what you'd call a photographic challenge! Not helped by the fact that after 30 minutes's shooting the sun went in and dull became duller. I knocked it on the head and shall return when the nice light does! The shot above is from my archive, taken during the rejuvenation of Salford Docks..so by my count I was three when I took this shot ..yeah, yeah!!

The Emergence of Convergence!

So, if I was Paul Whitehouse, I'd be walking along now with a woolly hat on shouting "Aren't digital cameras..BRILLIANT!" -  I mean, the things they can do! I remember when they were first appearing alongside us film boys and the proud owners were smugly announcing that you could change the ASA (Sorry, ISO..I'm still on old money!) in between shots! I fancy some of that, I thought..and plunged headlong into a Fuji Finepix S2 (There's one on Ebay right now for £51...Bless!)
I loved the ISO capability, and now almost subconciously flick it up and down during Weddings. White balance, too...who'd have thought you could flit from room to room to exterior without a bag full of filters, grey cards and tungsten film! Oh joy, oh joy! And now video! Two of the bodies I run have HD video capability though, I'll be honest, I've not entirely taken advantage of it. Now, for the first time, I've had one of my clients book me for a shoot, and ask if I can shoot some video alongside the stills. How exciting! Convergence, they're calling it..stills and video in one!
Now I just need to buy an HD-DSLR rig, Z-finder, Editing suite, microphone.....aaaagh!

Hard work never hurt no-one!

Terrible grammar but you get the point! Lots on at the moment...and I'll start by telling you about a Corporate shoot I had yesterday, photographing new appointments to a Manchester company. Had to shoot them individually - suited and booted - and then they each had to get changed into the company's branded shirts. Problem there being the shirts were branded just above the left nipple..which leaves a lot of blank space between the faces and the company logo, but the PR chap insisted I shoot it that way. We downloaded the shots straight to his laptop, and by the time I was back here the first image had gone live...and they'd had to crop off the logo! Told you, told you!!
Anyway, back to making a rather large Wedding album - 150 images! - and in between that I'm preparing for the first of my season's Wedding Fayres this weekend. Just designed and taken delivery of a new banner and 1,500 flyers to go in all the goody bags! Oh, and I'm going live on the website and newsletter of Birchwood Business Park in Cheshire today. I've come up with an introductory offer for all the firms on the site to get some PR images shot economically.
Erm, what else did I have to do..? Oh, breakfast..must eat breakfast!

My first love!

Well, Happy Valentine's Day, everybody, and here's a picture of my first love!
She's called Paulette! The Halina Paulette Electric, my first ever 35mm camera! Cost me £16 in 1975, and I had to pay the whole price in weekly installments before I could get my sweaty hands on her! She guided me through the basics of photography, and I've been passionate ever since! What fun we had, what lovely days out together. Oh, we were inseparable, until I dumped her for a Yashica FR1!
Have fun !

Colour me up!

I was listening to an internet radio station based in Dallas yesterday, and they played a band called White Lies. Now here's me writing about old duffers Iron Maiden and completely missing this new band...!
I hastily googlified them to find they're playing Manchester next week..and it's sold out! Oh, sob, sob..but at least it's an encouraging sign. My mates reckon my musical education stopped circa 1985 ! Anyway, on the subject of white, nice to see snowdrops instead of snowflakes this morning, tinkling their little heads in the breeze. White band, white flowers...new beginnings...oh, calm down Martin!

No denying that Spring is on the way, though. There are buds appearing, the daffodils are coming, I watched a robin collecting nesting material, and I swallowed a fly whilst out walking yesterday! It's time for a bit of colour again.

Now, speaking of colour (tentative link #365), I've just finished making a Wedding Album that's a bit of a first for me. After all these years it's the first one I've ever done completely in colour. All the reportage, that I normally print in sepia, was requested in colour. It brought up an amusing moment, as I was trying to correct a colour cast on a bridesmaid's hand. Obviously not a problem in black and white, but I couldn't understand where this weird orange glow was coming from. Then it dawned on me...it was the remnants of the poor girl's fake tan!

Right, only one colour to talk about now...Come on you Reds !!!!

For those about to rock..

Did you ever see the film Flight 666? It was a fun, rock-filled documentary following heavy-metal band Iron Maiden as they flew themselves around the world so that they could gig in 'hard-to-reach' places. Excellent film, and this from one who doesn't own a single Iron Maiden song (I don't really like most Heavy Metal, it's too slow for me!) Anyway, the buggers are at it again, and they leave today to do it all over again! They'll gig right through into the summer, and you can bet your sweet wotsits they'll put 110% into every night.
That's what I'd be if I wasn't a photographer...a rock drummer! I just love the passion of musicians. The effort and energy and ability to move people. How could you not be passionate about that?
Just thought I'd mention it in passing, as that's a word that was used to describe me this week. I was also called wacky, colourful and quirky, and I'm happy with all of those descriptions...particularly as every one of the people who described me thus..booked me as their Wedding Photographer!
Rock on!

The Fame Game

Now here's a nice picture of Meryl Streep for you. Oh, no...it's really Maggie! I thought the resemblance was striking! (Streep's playing Thatcher in a film, if you're still baffled!) I photographed Our Maggie for the Press way back in 1978, whilst she was still 'trying' to become Britain's first lady PM. I shot her a few years later at a private event in Manchester. Now it doesn't matter what you think of her politics..long silence..but you have to admit she's famous! So, I did what I always do when there's someone 'BIG' standing in front of me...I asked for her autograph..and she gave it me! She wrote "To the best photographer in the world, love Mags!" No, she didn't..she just signed her name, and it still sits nicely in my little book next to signatures fom heroes like Mohammed Ali, George Best and Morrissey. Funny old thing, fame, isn't it. My pal doesn't get it, but I love the fact that I've met these amazing people, and I suppose the autograph is literally the proof that I did so. It has to be in person, though. For example, I have a book signed by the great photographer Joel Meyerowitz. Fair enough, but it's just a signed book. It wasn't me that got it. Now I find that the great man is giving a talk soon in Derby. I could meet him and get his autograph, but  I've got a Wedding Fayre* on the same day. Aaaagh, what to do?  Guess I'll just have to wait until he's back in the UK! At least another great snapper, the fab Terry O'Neill, is now following me on Twitter!

Fame!

*Commercial Break...The Wedding Fayre is at the Park Royal Hotel, Stretton, Cheshire on March 6th...See ya there?

Bear with me, dear reader!

 Sorry to intrude..this has nothing to do with anything current. Well it does, but only if you like motor-bikes! It's just that a client of mine, Carole Nash Insurance, is running some editorial on the Carole Nash Irish Motorbike & Scooter Show and their little PR chappie asked if I had a pic of one of the Carole Nash Babes they could link to. I’ve photographed these young ladies a good few times and this is a typical shot. Taken at their big November UK show, Motorcycle Live, at the NEC, I HAD to go around the show with the gals to show the kinds of bikes Carole Nash insure. Why’s it here? Well, my Wedding and PR blog is the easiest place to post to give them that all important link....apparently! Search Engine Wizardy and all that!  The PR whippet tells me the Irish Show’s worth a visit so if you’re in Dublin early next month....

I've been Framed!

Had a great day yesterday! Took another Wedding booking for this year, and got a cool set of portraits of a little lad in Cheshire! I've decided to shoot my portraits on location this year, so went round to a lovely converted barn on a huge farm a few miles from here. It was like walking into my own private gallery!
I'd shot the Parents' Wedding a few years back, so there were framed photographs from their Big Day all over the house, but in pride of place in the kitchen was a huge framed print of their first son, giggling gorgeously in black and white! I'd taken his photograph about two years ago, and now it was time to put the new arrival on the wall next to him. The session couldn't have gone more sweetly. The nipper laughed and gurgled and dribbled (Sorry Mums..it looks so cute!), but he was most in his element when we let him play with his big brother's train set (Sorry Big Brother!). Numerous bits of train later, I made my exit..a great set of shots in the bag! Lovely to be part of the family!

Time, gentlemen!

Another one bites the dust! This pub's called The Harrow, and now it's shut. Harrowing! Mind you, I'm not surprised. I was paying £3.25 for a pint of Guinness at the weekend. (Not in there, obviously!) It's getting too expensive to go for a pint! And I notice price becoming more and more relevant in all aspects of my business, too. Brides ringing me for the first time often begin their calls with "How much?", and I've just had one chap looking to have his Wedding photography costs reduced by suggesting he does all the 'tweaking' if I just hand over all my images to him!! Only yesterday a PR firm called with a list of three press jobs they needed shooting. Their fee was..£75! Seems I've been saying 'No Thanks' a lot lately. Get me a drink!

Oh, just great!

I've just spent good money advertising in a local magazine's Wedding supplement. The ads look great and one of my photographs was used as the cover shot. Very happy! Then I read their article "Weddings on a budget"! It says "Look for a student/new photographer who's starting up in business. Not only will it be cheap, but you can almost guarantee they will put ALL (Their capitals!) their effort into capturing the right pictures." Well, thank you very much!

Now, I'm not going to quote this article out of conext..it does go on to say "Hire the photographer for a few crucial hours and ask a trusted friend to take more informal pictures"..but what an image to present to a newly engaged couple! It even uses the word "cheap!" Ugh!..although my favourite part is the giveaway line "You can ALMOST (My capitals!) guarantee they'll put all their effort into capturing the right pictures!! Ah, relief..I'm a professional! You can DEFINITELY guarantee I'll put ALL my effort into capturing the right pictures.

Heard a line the other day. "If you think it's expensive to hire a Professional to do the job, wait 'til you hire an amateur!" How true! Rant over!

Stop Press..It wasn't me, Guv!...Whoops!! 

Trouble with the wind!

I thought we'd talk about wind today! Not that kind..the gale force stuff that's been whipping round the country. Fortunately it's not the terrible kind like the Australian cyclone, so we can smile at this nice tale!  When I was laid off from the Warrington Guardian, it was a real hard time as I couldn't afford a car to get me  'on the road' to freelancing. I ended up with one camera and a bicycle! One windy day, a lorry blew over on the M62 high-level bridge, close to where I used to live. From my window I could see the traffic backing up, and eventually the motorway was closed, as the lorry was causing too much of a blockage.
I grabbed my one camera, (Yashica FR 1, if you're interested, with a 35mm lens!), and got on my bike. Eventually, headlong into the gusty gale, I cycled right to the top of the flyover. A policeman watched my progress. When I reached him he said "I've watched you cycle all the way up..I haven't the heart to send you back!" So, I got my shots, and headed back to the Manchester Evening News with my film. Two shots in that night's paper and a satisfying glow of a press job well done. But the really best bit?  Cycling down the flyover with the wind at my back! Felt like 100 miles an hour!

Sing it, baby, sing it!

You'd swear this little baby was joining in with the hymns at this Wedding, wouldn't you!
It's one of the shots on a slide show I present to couples who are thinking of booking me to shoot their Wedding. There's been a real flurry of enquiries lately, though it's a funny time as I'm still dealing with at least four Weddings from last year.  I'm currently working on an album from a Wedding last September, and rather oddly the bride has asked me if I can remove everyone else from one particular shot, to leave only herself and her Mother on the picture. Only problem? The Groom just happens to be standing between them !

Pick of the Day !!

Happy February, everybody...and goodbye January..Phew! A shot of good old Robin Day to start the month, from an event in Manchester many moons ago. He was giggling because I'd got Paddy Ashdown to hold my reflector..though I don't know why he was picking his nose!!

Still working on my Google Optimization here, and pleased to see I'm nosing up to the top of the second page now. (When did being a photographer involve so many other disciplines??) Hopefully that'll allow more people to find me and I'll be able to shoot even more Weddings!  Funnily enough, it was a great day for bookings yesterday, and I also received a rather unusually large number of enquiries. Has somebody opened a Wedding gate and you're all flooding out looking for a photographer?
Brilliant ! Pick me!

Stickin' it on ya!

Greetings, all! Hey, whaddya think of my new magnetic car signs? I'm going to drive around town as my own personal billboard from now on! Mind you, I had to cut the bloomin' things in half to fit across the trim on the side of my car. An easy job, apart from the fact that the flippin' things magnetised to my guillotine and had to be wrenched off in bits!

Had a great portrait shoot at the weekend. Tootled over to Stockport to photograph some lovely kids, and
ended up photographing their friend, too.. He'd been 'volunteered' to hold one of my reflectors, and ended up being a model as well!

Also met another lovely couple who are getting married at Manchester Town Hall later this year. They love my work (of course!!) and it's another tick in the book!

Lastly for today...I've booked some space for my Florescence photography at a fortnightly Arts Market in Leeds. Stay tooned for details...

If I only had time...

Some interesting reaction to Thursday's blog about the shot of the Climate Minister. A pal of mine suggested I should have tried to make more of the shot than I did. I'm the first to agree with him!
I'd have loved to have got a bit more 'arty' with the image, but that was the point of the blog. Sometimes you can only do what you can do in the time restraint you are under. Bear in mind that I had about 2 minutes to shoot this picture then had to get the other 30 people at the event into the shot, too...and then the minister was gone. I was actually happy that I got what I got! An old picture editor of mine once told me that my trouble ..MY TROUBLE...was that I was always trying to take award-winning photographs! Well, I'm so sorry, boss..and here's me thinking creativity, art and style were what you wanted from me. I certainly want it from me!

I joined Linkedin..finally..this week. Hopefully all you wonderful Pr agencies will find it just that little bit easier to find me now!

The image today is the front of a new Wedding business card I'm having printed, and now all I have to say is...Come on Man U !!

Can you dig it?

Sometimes, you can only shoot what the client wants. They're paying the bill, after all ! So it was that I ended up with this shot today. The Minister for Climate Change, Greg Barker, planted a tree to mark the opening of a new office space in Salford. The shot does what it says on the tin and all I could do was put the guys where I needed 'em and add a nice bit of fill-in flash. It's the bread and butter of press photography..job done..and it'll be on the company's website before you can say 'Don't get your shoes dirty!"

Actually, I'll add another shot here. This was taken during a PR job yesterday. I'd finished shooting the third of three speakers and was hanging round the back of the staff canteen, where the presentations were being held. The sun was beaming though the window and..I saw this!

I love the fact that, as a photographer, I'm always seeing photographs. Can't help it! Wouldn't want it any other way!
Can you dig it?

Taking the long view...

Doom and gloom in the economic forecasts, with the fear of another recession casting a long shadow over everyone. Good excuse to dig out this shot take during a trip to Australia. (Shot on Kodachrome, ironically...another victim of our times!)
Nothing to do but hunker down and hope we can all get through all of this. I can see that my bookings aren't as vibrant as they have been, but this is my 33rd year as a professional photographer, so I don't intend to stop now!
I'm off to one of my clients in Manchester for a shoot this morning. It'll be a very entertaining day, I'm sure, as I'm shooting schoolkids in industry...always a source of amusing/interesting photography!

Way to go, Pop!

Cold, grey and wet out there so I thought I'd brighten up the day with this funny old shot, taken during a parade in..ooooh, summer of 1979? It's from Don't Miss That, my collection of 70's photographs. This perky geezer had a go at these passing balloons with his umbrella and the 18 year old O'Neill was on hand to capture it! Hate to say it, but even with the most up-to-date of digital cameras, it's still possible there'd be enough of a shutter delay, or lens-focus search, to have missed this shot. Manual, manual manual, man!..It's the only way!
Now, where's me brolly?

I love you all.....

Had a great afternoon on Saturday at the opening of my Joy Division exhibition. It had visitors from as far away as Belfast and Lancaster, and it's already lead to a new event being planned with the work later in April. Thanks again, everyone, for your interest and effort!

So...moving on, and it's time to put the Commercial Head on! I've got quite a lot of PR and Editorial work to shoot this week, including the visit of a Minister to a client on Thursday. Looking forward to it, as I love being able to direct large groups of people in short spaces of time! (Bit like Weddings, really!)

And so to The Met...

..and the opening of my Joy Division Exhibition..at last!
Was on the blower to Hooky this week. He was joking about all the money I've made out of him and the band. (I'm hiding it well, eh Hooky!!) He managed to blag a T-shirt and some photographs out of me for his collection, and hopes to use a shot or two in the new book he's writing.

Excellent programme on Beeb 4 about Thin Lizzy last night, and some fantastic stills of Lynott and the boys giving it welly! I'd have loved to have seen them, and I hadn't realised they'd had so many guitarists!) Catch it on iPlayer ..

Anyway, first things first...I've an appointment with a new bride-to-be this morning, and hopefully that'll be another booking in the diary for her September Wedding.

The shot today is from my book Don't Miss This!

And so to The Met...

My tasty bargain!

Picked up a second-hand..sorry, pre-loved..85 1.8 for £175 this week, and I've been playing with it in the fog. (Relax, it's a lens, darling!) It'll sit nicely with the £99 500mm mirror lens I snapped up last year.
They're the kind of lenses that I'll use once at a Wedding, as I do my 10.5mm wide, but they make shots that really stand out in a Wedding Album.

Anyway, speaking of bargains...if you pop down to tomorrow's Joy Division opening I'm offering card-mounted prints and some one-off T-shirts and postcards of Ian and the boys at great prices.
Hey, I'll even sign the prints!
One more thing about my music photography. I was delighted to see one of my shots of Ramona, of the Mo-dettes, was sold in December. Have a look at those and other music shots here....

Ok..happy Friday, and keep your eyes out for those bargains.....!

Lost and found....

Who are these guys? 
I've found a whole series of shots of bands from years gone by...and I don't know who they are !! This shot, for example. I've obviously set it up before or after a gig, but I cannot remember where, when or why! (I don't know where their shirts are, either!)
Some shots are at The Band on the Wall (The fact that it says the name on the back wall is a kind of giveaway!), but I'm at a loss as to who all the singers are. I'll sort them onto Flickr soon and if you can help, please erm...help!

Speaking of finding things...a guy's picked up a roll of film in the snow in the US (Film??) and wants to find its owners. Check his film out...

He's Back.....

When routine bites hard...go on holiday. Just remember to come back in time for your exhibition opening! Yes, folks...I have returned..fresh, enthusiastic and ready for the opening of my Joy Division exhibition at Bury Met. Nice and hot where I was...but don't worry, I didn't wear any of these Limited Edition T-Shirts to stay/look cool! I only have 15, and they're all available to purchase for a lovely Limited Edition price on Saturday..Prints, too..oh, and a booklet of all the images.

All very timely as I was told today that Bowdon Vale Youth Club has re-opened. Different building..same name. Must check it out and report back!

Catch you later...gotta get my smalls in the wash!!

It all Ad's up..!

A flurry of advertising activity here, as I launch Ads and prepare Wedding Fayre material for the approach of Spring. (Seems you gotta spell it Fayre when it's connected with Weddings, for some quaint reason!!) Here's my ad for a local magazine that's publishing a Wedding Supplement, and I've got two fairs/fayres coming up within the next month or so. (Details on my website soon, 'cos I know you're dying to meet me!)

Other than that..the launch date for the Joy Division photography exhibition has been announced....
January 22nd, at the Bury Met..2-4pm..Square or there and all that!

Until then I'm looking forward to a few days' break..so I'm going to have to deprive you of my scintillating wit and insightful observation..! A bientot !

Walk on, buy !

Another change to my website this morning...I really like this shot and can't resist putting it back on every now and again. All part of the effort to keep my site looking interesting and, hopefully, enticing!
Thanks to everyone who reads this blog, by the way.....from as far as Slovenia, Russia and New Zealand!

Oh, good news on the Joy Division front. Once the exhibition's finished its stint in the upstairs area, the Bury Met now plan to show it in the downstairs bar. I'll drink to that!

What are the chances..?

Talk about coincidences! I write about ear-plugs, pop my I-Pod on shuffle, and what comes on?
Deaf, by those old Manchester rockers Crispy Ambulance!
And it's weirder than that...I'd just come back from Bury Met after putting up my Joy Division exhibition.
The band played there when it was called the Derby Hall, on the night of the infamous "riot" caused by the non-appearance of Ian Curtis. Who stood in for him? My old mate Alan Hempsall..lead singer with Crispy Ambulance! Spooky, or what!?

Anyway, catch the exhibition at The Met until the end of March. I Remember Nothing...20+ shots of Joy Division at Bowdon Vale Youth Club, March 1979.

Speak up...

I pack a mean set of gear when I go to shoot a Wedding.
Three bodies, four speedlights, a semi fish-eye, an 8x neutral density, but I never thought I'd need...ear plugs!

I've just read a photo magazine Wedding supplement which included a half-page feature on protecting one's ears when photographing the first dance! With a review of three different kinds of plugs! In a photography magazine! Honestly! Wow, I never knew Wedding photography was so hazardous!

Pardon?

In the balance...

Feeling a bit like the Waitrose/HMV situation today....walking a tightrope between good times and bad!
I'm going to be honest and say my Wedding bookings for this year are erm, a bit low, and on a day I've dropped my cheapest package to just £495 I've been approached by a classy bridal magazine with an offer of a discount on a quarter page advert which is normally..£2, 316...PLUS VAT!
Talk about two different planets!

Even so, my first enquiry since I launched the new price wanted their whole Wedding photographed, and all images on Cd..for £450 !  Hey, they've even offered to give me the blank Cd to put the shots on !! Thanks, guys!

The public's perception of the importance of photographers is getting lower and lower, and it's becoming very difficult to explain to couples that Wedding Photography is so much more than just wandering around taking a few snaps. One chap I was speaking to lately told me the best Wedding photo he ever shot was when the couple didn't know they were being photographed.
"Oh yes?" I replied "I do 600 of those every week!"

Time, gentlemen....

Three little ladybirds, hunkered down against the cold New Year weather. I took this shot on a walk the other day and saw it as an analogy of the year ahead...
Let's stick together and we'll get through this! (Or had I just had too much Bailey's?)

So, 2011...bring it on! I think last year felt the fastest year of my life, yet trying to handhold the camera for this half-second shot seemed like ages! (Ah, the joys of getting older!) Ironically, the first Wedding enquiry to come in this year was actually for 2012. Seems ages off, yet their Big Day's only 16 months away. Time flies, eh? Enjoy it while you can!

My latest Joy Division exhibition starts this week. It's now 32 years since I took those shots at Bowdon Vale Youth Club, yet they seem to be getting fresher and more popular every year. Catch them until the end of March at the Met in Bury. Speaking of time, it's a shame the brochure got the date of the gig wrong, but who am I to nit-pick!?

Now, must dash...time's a'flying!







 Stop Press: Timing's everything!.....I've just managed to get ONE frame of the eclipse this morning, and even that was through the trees by my house! I sat and watched..time ticked by..and then the clouds parted for the split second it took to get this shot. 500mm mirror lens and framed using live-view, if you're interested!