Good to be back.
I feel really bad not posting for so long and forsaking my friends. Quick update on the Plymouth; the first staff car report ran last month in american car world, but it still isn't on the road. The cooling problem is still suspect and my attempt to sort out the wiring issue has resulted in a horrible misfire. I need to get the new Pertronix ignition in place and then get an auto sparks in to sort out the final touches.
I've just come back from a shoot for a national paper. For a change it wasn't a shift or a commission, but a story I dredged up by myself. I was on a commercial shoot, started talking to a model about an aspect of her life, next thing you know I've sold her story to a paper and two magazines for a total of 6,000! On top of that I'm now acting as an agent for her until she gets sorted enough to get a proper bit of representaion,and I'm talking to a big name 'lads mag' about a proper fashion shoot with her which could be worth a few grand. Call me a softie, but I'm splitting everything down the middle with her, despite my colleagues in the tabloid press suggesting that I should take 70% out of the deal.
I'm still up to my eyes in Hand Bags. I'm shooting for a fashion designer called John Richmond, not a massive global name, but very big in the UK. This month's Marie Claire had two full page ads in it for his label, so who knows, maybe the next shoot will be for one of those.
The upshot of recent work is that the studio has paid for itself already, and still left enough money for me to blow my targets out of the water for the next three months. The down side is that I'm really tired right now. I seem to have been working every day, well into the night, but being freelance means a constant cycle of feast and famine. The previous two months were a bit lean, and I need to take some time of in september (august is booked out) so I guess everything will even out.
I mentioned I was shooting at Guilfest and banged on about work, but now I've had a bit more time to reflect on the whole experience. Weller was inspiring, and being three feet away from him for the first three songs was incredible. When you hear some of the younger bands knocking out shouty, poorley performed rot, and then hear an old master like him in really tells you what live music is about. Through the whole thing I was sans ear plugs and cuddling a huge cabinet so every note pounded through me like a gunshot. Absolutely amazing. An access all areas passs meant stage access so I got to stand up on stage infront of 15,000 people which is pretty intense if you are not a performer. The best part of the weekend was Hayseed Dixxie, who played heavy metal standards redneck style. At first it seemed like a novelty act, but they really got the huge crowd going and were just such a laugh to be on stage with. None of them got stressed about a scruffy tog diving around on stage with them and they took plenty of time to pose up mid song for me.
The night ended with me crashing around backstage with Marillion, and some drum and base act smoking dope and drinking beer. Good time had by all!
The other half has a friend over and is in town at the moment. With all that is happening in london I do feel a bit nervous, but then I grew up with the IRA setting bombs every other week. If they think that a couple of bombs on the underground is going to tunr london to panic then they are wrong. Never forget that we all grew up listening to tales of the blitz when a far more evil individual dropped thousands of bombs on london every night.
Just going up there to cover the first round of bombs you really got to see the London Spirit in action. No-one was screaming, no -one was crying into cameras wailing about the fear and horror. People just told the press and TV what they had seen, dusted themselves off and started worrying about how they were getting home that night. The whole scene was one of complete calm, I remember being 100 yards away when the IRA blew up Harrods and it was just the same. People helping the injured, no hysterionics, no panic, just people clubbing together and getting on with life. There have been some memorials but I really wish that someone had organised a bloody great party in trafalgar square, just to show the world that we may care, but we are not going to shaken.
Todays bombings were frankly the best thing that could have happened. On the radio people were joking about watching a very surprised suicide bomber leaping ten feet into the air and scurrying away with a smouldering back pack and leaving half his arse on the seat. Every single one got picked up on CCTV and got photographed by the public. Now we have the bombs, the components (that can be traced and chemically fingerprinted) and at least one of them is probably in custody (no-one is meant to know that, benefits of being in the press!) and one has been shot dead. Ultimately they are all going to spill their guts like hogs in an abatoir, then comes the payback.
Last weekend I was covering an event at a mosque and every single person I spoke to was genuinely devastated by the bombings, and unfortunately scared of repercussions. One chap was so vociferous in his damnation of the people responsible that, froma a distance, he looked every bit the ranting muslim extremeist. But by the time you got close enough to hear what he was saying you realised that he was almost in tears for the atrocities committed by these people. He just stood there clutching his hands and shout 'not in my name, not in my name'. I think everyone theri, white, black, muslim, christian, bhudist and even aethiest (in my case) were genuinely moved by his outpouring of emotion. I don't support the war, I don't believe in Bush's reasons for invading any middle eastern country, I even have suspicions about who actually carrried out many of the recent terrorist actions, but all I know is that real people on both sides are dying for some pool of carboniferous detritous in the desert.
Why can't we all just get along?.....because governments will never let us.
I feel really bad not posting for so long and forsaking my friends. Quick update on the Plymouth; the first staff car report ran last month in american car world, but it still isn't on the road. The cooling problem is still suspect and my attempt to sort out the wiring issue has resulted in a horrible misfire. I need to get the new Pertronix ignition in place and then get an auto sparks in to sort out the final touches.
I've just come back from a shoot for a national paper. For a change it wasn't a shift or a commission, but a story I dredged up by myself. I was on a commercial shoot, started talking to a model about an aspect of her life, next thing you know I've sold her story to a paper and two magazines for a total of 6,000! On top of that I'm now acting as an agent for her until she gets sorted enough to get a proper bit of representaion,and I'm talking to a big name 'lads mag' about a proper fashion shoot with her which could be worth a few grand. Call me a softie, but I'm splitting everything down the middle with her, despite my colleagues in the tabloid press suggesting that I should take 70% out of the deal.
I'm still up to my eyes in Hand Bags. I'm shooting for a fashion designer called John Richmond, not a massive global name, but very big in the UK. This month's Marie Claire had two full page ads in it for his label, so who knows, maybe the next shoot will be for one of those.
The upshot of recent work is that the studio has paid for itself already, and still left enough money for me to blow my targets out of the water for the next three months. The down side is that I'm really tired right now. I seem to have been working every day, well into the night, but being freelance means a constant cycle of feast and famine. The previous two months were a bit lean, and I need to take some time of in september (august is booked out) so I guess everything will even out.
I mentioned I was shooting at Guilfest and banged on about work, but now I've had a bit more time to reflect on the whole experience. Weller was inspiring, and being three feet away from him for the first three songs was incredible. When you hear some of the younger bands knocking out shouty, poorley performed rot, and then hear an old master like him in really tells you what live music is about. Through the whole thing I was sans ear plugs and cuddling a huge cabinet so every note pounded through me like a gunshot. Absolutely amazing. An access all areas passs meant stage access so I got to stand up on stage infront of 15,000 people which is pretty intense if you are not a performer. The best part of the weekend was Hayseed Dixxie, who played heavy metal standards redneck style. At first it seemed like a novelty act, but they really got the huge crowd going and were just such a laugh to be on stage with. None of them got stressed about a scruffy tog diving around on stage with them and they took plenty of time to pose up mid song for me.
The night ended with me crashing around backstage with Marillion, and some drum and base act smoking dope and drinking beer. Good time had by all!
The other half has a friend over and is in town at the moment. With all that is happening in london I do feel a bit nervous, but then I grew up with the IRA setting bombs every other week. If they think that a couple of bombs on the underground is going to tunr london to panic then they are wrong. Never forget that we all grew up listening to tales of the blitz when a far more evil individual dropped thousands of bombs on london every night.
Just going up there to cover the first round of bombs you really got to see the London Spirit in action. No-one was screaming, no -one was crying into cameras wailing about the fear and horror. People just told the press and TV what they had seen, dusted themselves off and started worrying about how they were getting home that night. The whole scene was one of complete calm, I remember being 100 yards away when the IRA blew up Harrods and it was just the same. People helping the injured, no hysterionics, no panic, just people clubbing together and getting on with life. There have been some memorials but I really wish that someone had organised a bloody great party in trafalgar square, just to show the world that we may care, but we are not going to shaken.
Todays bombings were frankly the best thing that could have happened. On the radio people were joking about watching a very surprised suicide bomber leaping ten feet into the air and scurrying away with a smouldering back pack and leaving half his arse on the seat. Every single one got picked up on CCTV and got photographed by the public. Now we have the bombs, the components (that can be traced and chemically fingerprinted) and at least one of them is probably in custody (no-one is meant to know that, benefits of being in the press!) and one has been shot dead. Ultimately they are all going to spill their guts like hogs in an abatoir, then comes the payback.
Last weekend I was covering an event at a mosque and every single person I spoke to was genuinely devastated by the bombings, and unfortunately scared of repercussions. One chap was so vociferous in his damnation of the people responsible that, froma a distance, he looked every bit the ranting muslim extremeist. But by the time you got close enough to hear what he was saying you realised that he was almost in tears for the atrocities committed by these people. He just stood there clutching his hands and shout 'not in my name, not in my name'. I think everyone theri, white, black, muslim, christian, bhudist and even aethiest (in my case) were genuinely moved by his outpouring of emotion. I don't support the war, I don't believe in Bush's reasons for invading any middle eastern country, I even have suspicions about who actually carrried out many of the recent terrorist actions, but all I know is that real people on both sides are dying for some pool of carboniferous detritous in the desert.
Why can't we all just get along?.....because governments will never let us.
I like getting an insight into what it's like to freelance as a photog (and actually make money). I have been doing the freelance thing, but I am a student, and not able to put a lot of time into it though, and thus don't make much at all money out of it. I have been trying to nail an internship at the local weekly paper that pays well, but havent managed to get it.
And as for the terror, I think you nailed it. The terrorists are trying to divide us, to seperate us and cause and promote hate, because they know they can't win a straight out war.
I am glad to hear you are doing fine with all the shit happening in London... we feel for you man, we really do!!
I'll let you know when I'll be back in Paris bro, until then, take care!!