All is not lost!!!

It is inevitable for a photographer at one point to loose images due to a corrupt card or an accidental erase, i unfortunately had this same problem a couple of days ago after shooting pictures of my former teacher and her current students. As you could have guessed from my previous post i was not very happy about loosing 250 images after having traveled and returned home to edit the pictures. I frantically tried to recover any data i could from the card using every method i knew and after hours of failed attempts i had to admit defeat (Which i ABSOLUTELY hate doing!!!). I of-course i had to inform Louisa (my wonderful teacher) of the situation and try to find a time to re shoot.

I take pride in making sure the quality of my work is as high as it can be and telling a client we have to re-shoot is seriously infuriating as that is unacceptable. Thankfully a wonderful GENIUS of a photographer named Karla Gowlett practically SAVED the day, she suggested this wonderful little gem of a program, hidden in the vastness of the internet which not only recovered the images from the memory card but also pictures from a previous format. This is an absolute MUST have for photographers, especially those who shoot a canon 5D, as there is a very STUPID option to delete all your images, which has always frightened me but i will fear it NO MORE!!!! alas i am now 1 memory card down due to the corruption but at least i have all the images recovered so thank you again KARLA, to those of you who may be interested you should definitely check out her work she is a fantastic photographer (just google her full name and you will find her website) and she did my very first set of head shots when i was a student of the "Thespian way".

Now Just to quickly get back to why i was there at the shoot..... Louisa was one of three wonderful teachers at Sir George Monoux College who really inspired me and really opened up my eyes to the world of art. Before meeting Louisa i had.... erm.... well lets just say i had trouble keeping in tune when singing, but after some really helpful guidance and help from her i was feeling confident and singing in-front of people. I never thought myself to take up dance or physical theatre or even singing until i went to Mounoux and met Sandra, Leanne and Louisa but i am thankful that i did because it has helped to shape me in to the person i am today and will continue to do so i hope. When Louisa sent me a message asking me to take portraits of her and her students for a new Academy she is working on, i was thrilled and so i jumped at the chance. After meeting the students i was blown away with their musical skill as i find it so hard to play the piano, guitar and sax and these kids make it look so easy. I hope they really take their time there to learn as much as they can, because now i wish i was in their shoes to still have that safety net of being at school, but on the other hand i can sleep in late and dont have any course work...... HAHA!!!

Happy Place, go to my HAPPY PLACE!!!!!

I Just lost 250 Images before i could even import them in to Lightroom

ENOUGH SAID!

The Lesbian Bath House

Yesterday i went to help out a friend of mine with a fashion shoot, i was mainly there to be the assistant and also to advise my friend shall he ask for it or need it. We went to Algate East where the "Studio" was and when we arrived at the time we were told which was 11.30 there was no one to be seen there so after a few phone calls we find out that the client said 11.30 because they didn't want anyone to be late and really wanted to start at 12.00 but annoyingly it was the client that arrived at 12.00, so we decide lets just get on with the day. We finally get in to the studio and..... well.... it was perhaps the WORST ever studio i had seen, it was a disgrace to hold the name STUDIO, there were dirty seamless papers all over the place, wires, props, old broken chairs, and well not a lot of space to work in and oh of course a giant window RIGHT NEXT TO the seamless paper without any way in which to block out the ambient light, and to make matters worse they had ONE trigger for the 5 elinchrome strobes they had which well REFUSED TO FIRE, so i was forced to use my own pocket wizards (which i love by the way) to sort out their idiotic decision to only have one cheap plastic trigger.

After all the technical problems were solved by me and ola we finally started shooting, and we managed to get some really great images for the client and were actually starting to enjoy ourselves. I then had to quickly figure out a way to get the triggers to work because i had to leave to go and take pictures for the poster of my friends new Edinburgh show "The Lesbian Bath House" and i would need all my lighting gear including the pocket wizards. After some technical wizardry and a LOT of luck i managed to get the elinchrom trigger to work. I thanked ola and all the other people involved in that project and quickly made my way to Central School of Speech & Drama where suzi was waiting for

me.

We got in to an experimental lighting room which the students mainly use to work out what things would look like on a scale model before they finalise their designs, and i started to set up my lights, at this point i am a little nervous as i have never shot a large group of people before let alone a large group of gorgeous women, and i get very nervous around gorgeous women as i tend to turn in to a bumbling idiot. After having a talk with suizi and the directors Ben and Nigel i got a good idea of what they were looking for and was quite worried i might not be able to pull it off with just a 430 Exii and a reflective umbrella, but that was all i had so that was what i would have to use!!! The plan was to use the posters of 'THE L WORD" and "DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES" as an inspiration and go for something that is sexy, suggestive or seductive but not overly sexy that it looks pornographic.

The ladies all arrived and to my surprise it was actually the very first time they are all meeting each other, and only minutes later they would have to be half naked and all over each other, which made me realise just how brave actors are because we have a very low sense of inhibition and we make friends very easily in a room full of people we have never met. When we finished the ladies and the directors applauded me but i felt that truly it was them that deserved the applause because its not an easy thing to do and they took direction very well and were all very lovely to work with, i am sure their production will be a roaring success at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and wish all the cast and crew a very bright and successful future.

With A Little Help From My Friends

A couple of days ago me and a group of photographer friends of mine wanted to go in to central london for an organic shoot with the hopes of taking portraits of random strangers that we bump in to along our way. We were armed with speed lights, pocket wizards, umbrellas and cameras and so we were not quite worried with the equipment, the challenge was to convince random public members to stop and have a lil fun with us and hopefully end up with some really cool pictures. London is not the most friendly of places for photographers as as soon as you are taking a picture in central london you are approached by a security guard or a police officer, now every location we went to we were asked to leave even though we didn't put down any tripods and we explained that this was a personal project and not a commercial shoot, and to add to that 9 out of 10 people we asked were very dismissive and frankly quite rude, its ok if you don't want to participate but there is no need to start cussing or just ignore us.

Ahh that rant is over now, i am currently watching the creative-live stream from the US with Zack Arias who is an amazing photographer, and trying to learn as much about studio lighting and how to grow my photography business. I am so amazed by the amount of great photographers out there that have been willing to share their skills and knowledge for free to photographers like myself. Zack is a visionary and to all starting photographers i would say definitely go to his blog and check out some of his work.

now before i finish this blog i would like to show you of our results from the shoot (well attempted shoot) in central london and if you havn't figured it out by now, the pictures at the top are of my other photographer friends, JAMIE McLAREN, OLA YIWOLA and FEMI in order. Here is the video of FEMI's poem shot using the 5D mk2, this was our very first time using the 5D for video and its an incredible piece of kit.

Train To Jordan

I know, i know, the titles for my blogs are getting stranger and stranger, but hey call it my humour. I chose that title because it happens to be the title of the song i am listening to on itunes, "Train to jordan" by Aretha Franklin, its one of my most favourite songs so i love listening to it when ever i'm feeling a bit down or just want to sit back, relax and let my mind wonder.

A couple of days ago i went to take pictures of my friend's show at SHUNT VAULTS and the pictures above are from that same production, it was one of the most challenging productions i've photographed because i had no way to prepare and neither did the actors as the lighting was purely controlled by the audience. As you can see from the first image the production is dependent on audience interaction, an individual can highlight a specific actor and watch and if that does not interest them then they can just fade the lights out and move on to someone else. The production was called Lautes Licht, and was directed by my friend Adrian Figueroa whom i worked with at the Gielgud Theatre. The venue was incredible, i've been there before for another production but i lost all the info i had on it and had been trying to find out what it was called and more information about it but as i didn't know what it was called i was at a dead end. It is a huge series of corridors and small rooms, its like a complete other world tucked away through a small door by London Bridge tube station. To all those that haven't been to the Shunt Vaults.... YOU HAVE TO CATCH THE NEXT SHOW!!!!! it is an incredible venue that i cannot believe is hidden away. One day i plan to do a shoot there.

So till next time :D

"Just when i thought i was out....."

I thought i would have probably given up blogging by now, but i kind of find it a bit relaxing so i guess its here to stay. Yesterday i had 2 different shoots, both of which were favours to friends of mine (to whom i now officially am their photographic wench, meaning shall they have any photographic needs i will be getting a phone call, which is JUST FINE WITH ME). The first one was with Susannah Lombardelli & Helen Broughton who were working on a show at the White Bear Theatre, called Le Silence. Helen was the director and Susannah the designer, i knew helen from university and Susannah from The Gielgud Theatre where we worked together so i was excited to take pictures of their production. As you can figure out the first two pictures are from that same production.

About a week and a half a go a very good old friend of mine sent me a message asking me to go and take pictures of a fashion show she was modelling. its been a very long time since i saw or spoke to Chumma so i jumped at the chance, plus it was another opportunity for some great pictures and new people to meet. So after i finished taking pictures of Le Silence i jumped on the bus and headed towards the fashion show. When i got there i saw Chumma and within seconds it was like we never even lost contact, now here is where the story gets interesting, now Chumma had no idea that photography was only allowed for the official photographers and they told me and her this as soon as i got there. So at this point i figured eh well so much for the pictures but at least i A) get to see Chumma again B) Meet new people & C) Get to watch a fashion show for free :). but right when i was about to pack my gear away a good friend of mine Ola Yiwola turns up with all his equipment. To put things in to context Ola is a friend of mine from Jessops, where we worked together and ever since i left we have stayed in contact as i respect him as a photographer and he i hope does the same of me, so the chances of me just randomly bumping in to him were quite SLIM. To make things more interesting Ola is the main Official photographer of the event, and as soon as the producers of the show turn up Ola Gets me a pass as a photographer. Maybe this is where all my recent bad luck will start to take a turn, but hey just gotta wait and see now.

Before i go, i gotta say a very big well done to all that were involved in both Le Silence and the African Fashion Show, as there was a lot of talent and hard work put in to these two events. Le Silence will be running at the White Bear Theatre for the next three weeks so go and grab a ticket before they sell out.

Till next time :D

You Are My Religion

I have a great love for the arts, i love music, photography, performance, poetry, comedy, films, writing, theatre....... the list goes on. Yesterday two friends of mine organised a fundraiser for a show they are both working on which will be performed at the White Bear theatre titled "Le Silence". The night was a roaring success as there were many talented comedians who rocked the audience. The venue was "The Battersea Barge" which is this wonderful little boat/restaurant on the thames river but its on the shore so those of you who get a lil motion sick don't have an excuse to not go there as its a really lovely little venue. The line up included......... Ben Hewis, Kate Lucas, Dave Bibby, Andy Gibbons, Alex Perry, Laura Carr, Tom Adams and compere: Inel Tomlinson. The night was organised by Helen Broughton, Emma Jane Green & Susannah Lombardelli.

I am and have been listening to one song for the past 2 hours, yea SAD i know, but this song speaks to me (now don't get alarmed i don't mean I AM HEARING VOICES, well i am but its the voice of the singer singing, not like voices telling me to do stuff...... ok ill stop now) and i can't stop letting it play on and on. It is one of the songs from a show i am currently rehearsing in called "Rainbow Beach" and the song is "One and Only Love" it is perhaps one of the most beautiful ballads i have heard, and it reminds me of the first girl i adored, i say the first but like the title declares she really was my "One and Only Love". Now i'm not saying i can't or wont love anyone else, its just she is the first, the one and only first, the one that made my heart beat so fast i thought it was going to burst out of my chest. I can't display the whole lyrics due to copyright reasons but there is one snippet that speaks volumes to me and its "You are my religion". I simply don't want to stop listening to this song because it reminds me of a time where i could have been the living definition of the word happy. She was and will always be the one that has left the first mark, and she will always be the first one i think of when ever i hear a love song.

She was my religion, now i long to find my faith.