In memorium

Last night we said goodbye to our loving black and white cat Theodopolis Big Cat who has been with us for 24 years. It was a very sad day for my wife and I but age had really taken its toll on him and we know that he is in a better place now. He is sadly missed by both of us, and by his dear friend Jethro who is still with us at 22.

Change of web address

Please note that I am changing my web address to www.gerrywalden.co.uk from now, and you should use this address to log on to my site.

Thanks!

The things people will do

Last night I had the great pleasure of meeting Angie MacDonald who had agreed to get her head shaved at a local supermarket for charity. Angie has a friend who has lost her hair through chemotherapy and Angie wanted to support her and raise money for the very worthy Marie Curie cancer charity. Well done Angie - don't worry, it will grow back!

I have neglected the blog for a while because I have been very busy updating both my websites, and thinking about many other things in life, but I am pleased to say that I am back now and hope to post more regularly - sorry if you have missed me!

The new stock image site looks terrific so if you get chance please drop by and have a look. To tempt you I have put a widget of my black and white gallery on the blog. Black and white has always been a love of mine and I have exhibited images from the gallery in many countries as well as a one man show at the Royal Photographic Society.

Come back soon!

Isaac Hayes

I was saddened today to wake up to the news of the death of Isaac Hayes, the Oscar winning musician who wrote the theme to 'Shaft', and was one of the main voices behind 'South Park'. Isaac's music formed part of my early love life and my wife and I first saw him in concert in the early 70's. A year ago (almost to the day) I had the tremendous pleasure of photographing him in concert in Bournemouth (UK) when he performed as magnificently as ever, but was not the same 'love God' that he became known as with songs like 'Don't go Changing'. I will never forget his stage show in the 70's and post his image here in tribute to him for the pleasure he has given me.

A step back in time.

I took a cross country route back from a job yesterday rather than the motorway route I normally take, and was greatly rewarded. As well as a couple of great thatched cottages to add to my stock library, I also found some fish traps on the River Test and, believe it or not, some wheat stacked in sheaves drying. Now, I haven't seen that since I was a kid, and as luck would have it the 'owner' of the wheat arrived whilst i was photographing. Turns out that they are for thatching as the supply of Norfolk reed is drying up, and this is used as a substitute. Just show, take the slow way sometimes and you never know what will happen!

Shoot the Day!

It has finally arrived - and fellow photographers with my American stock library Photoshelter will know exactly what I mean! In an effort to get us out of our apathy and into the sunshine (it is glorious here in southern England) they have named July 20 as 'Shoot the Day' day, with substantial prizes for the best images submitted. They are doing other things in the New York area, but as that is over 3,000 miles away I am going to concentrate on local events including a family birthday party.

Why am I telling you all this? It is to emphasise that you don't have to travel thousands of miles to get good stock image. For every photographer who is packing his bags to fly out to a new stock location which he is hoping will produce 'the image' there is another flying into the UK for exactly the same reason. I often wonder of we ever cross at the airport! All we need to do is search the Internet for likely events and open our blinkered eyes. Personally i have 4 events listed for this weekend, all of which are within 40 miles (60km) of my home. So get out there, and have a great Sunday!

Something Fishy!

Believe me, it is not often that I recommend the work of another image maker but for Alex Mustard I will make an exception to the rule! Alex is one of the best underwater photographers around (and a fellow Nikon user) who has successfully combined his skills as a diver, teacher and photographer into one likable bundle. His images combine all the skills necessary to get to the right location in the first place and know your subject inside out, together with a fine eye for the artistic composition that creates superb photographs. Now with his third book on the shelves, and repeated success at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards, his growing success is very justified. I thoroughly recommend a look at his web site.

Shooting in Norfolk

I have just returned from a great few days in Norfolk on the eastern side of England. It is a land known for its Broads (lakes) and water leisure facilities, and did not disappoint. I have some great images to work through but thought I would tempt appetites so i have just posted one for now.

Pingos in Norfolk

I am often bemused by image requests that land in my email from various stock agencies that I have work with but this one had me stumped! The nearest my brain could get to it was Pingu, that very humourous and multi-lingual (all of them gibberish) cartoon character. Thank goodness for the Internet and Wikipedia, which soon sorted out what I was looking for. For a change Fate was smiling on me because I am just off to Norfolk and have added pingos to my shooting list but will need to pack my walking boots, and maybe resuscitation equipment because the specification is for 'collapsed pingos'. Still don't know what one is - well look it up, it isn't what I expected!

A Strange World!

I often find that, as a photographer, I live in a very strange and transient world. This week I had a chance to photograph Neil Diamond cancelled at the last minute due to factors totally beyond my control. Was I disappointed? Yes, of course I was but not totally surprised because I know how these things happen. However my disappointment was more than made up for by the sale of an image I took within 3 miles of my home during the Chinese New Year celebrations here in Southampton. The image was of firecrackers exploding and was sold to a museum over 3,000 miles away in Brooklyn (New York) for a poster that will run for up to 7 years. I have posted the image here to show that you just never can tell what will be successful for you in the world of stock imagery!

I will be there!

Those nice guys at the Civic Centre branch of London Camera Exchange in Southampton are holding another Canon Pro day this Saturday and have kindly asked me along to talk to people about studio lighting kits and all that goes with them. So if you are not doing anything better why not pop in and say "Hello". I will, of course, be handing out gems of wisdom (or otherwise) on any other question I am asked!

What a great weekend!

What a great weekend this has been! I have been very busy photographing at the Salisbury Festival covering events ranging from a formal press call with Archbishop Desmond Tutu to covering some great bands playing African music. Saturday night culminated with a crescendo of fireworks bursting above the magnificent Salisbury Cathedral but during the evening I had photographed the wonderful Freshlyground who are the biggest pop group in South Africa (www.freshlyground.com) and the fantastic Natasha Atlas, described as the 'the Queen of new North African Cool' by the Guardian newspaper. I put into stock shots of Desmond Tutu 'boogieing on down' to the music, and the wide eyes of the Fezeka Choir meeting a hero of their own country when they had not even known he was in the audience. Today took on a slightly more serious note when Desmond Tutu did a walkabout after the Eucharist service in the cathedral, but again more stock shots were added to the ever growing library. Thank God we had glorious weather.

As my grandmother used to say "We may be poor but we do see life!" Hard work for me, with a day of image editing ahead tomorrow, but well worth the effort.

Wedding Photography

I have just been contacted again by a lovely couple whose wedding I photographed in the depths of the winter of 2004. They wanted me to upload their photos to my web site so that they could order a few more, which is (of course) very kind of them. What surprised me was how much wedding photography has changed just in those few short years, and how much more relaxed it is now. To a large extent the formal groups have gone and have been replaced by a more 'casual' approach, and colour is now mixed freely with black and white. It is all a long way from when I started taking wedding photographs, and the albums etc. we used in those days. Now friends anywhere in the world can look at, and download, the happy couples photos within a couple of days of the wedding - and hopefully people can feel more relaxed without dreading the drawn out photo sessions that were so dreaded by the bride and groom, and guests alike.

It all looks so easy now but looks can be deceptive and there is no substitute for the experience of a professional wedding photographer and his/her assistant who can keep their heads when things don't go according to plan. Chances are that the photographer has been there before, seen the problems and knows exactly how to sort them out. He/she can cope with the heavy rain, the headdress coming loose etc. without turning it into a major catastrophe. The ubiquitous 'Uncle George' is fine as long as everything falls neatly into place, but if it doesn't you will wish you had booked a professional!

New Nikon Software

As a user of Nikon cameras I am always interested in their software offerings, but they have failed to live up to requirements as far as speed is concerned, although they offer the best rendition of colour etc. out of my camera. When I have 500+ images to edit after a concert I need something that is quick and is not going to hold me up in any way, and that has not been CaptureNX up until now. There is a new version on the block (NX2) and I am testing it at the moment. Initial impressions are that it is better, but whether it will be fast enough I will have to wait and see. I will keep you posted.

Salisbury Festival and the FT

Had a very pleasant surprise yesterday when one of my world music images appeared on both the Financial Times web site, and in the hard copy. That's the first time I have had an image in black and pink instead of black and white! This is the image they chose which was shot as part of my coverage of Salisbury Festival. If you go to my stock web site at www.stockuk.co.uk you can see more of my work from the Festival, where I will be shooting again at the end of the week. Keep your fingers crossed for fine weather as I will be working outdoors!

The Easter Weekend

Amongst other more routine work over the weekend I had the great pleasure of visiting the kite flying at Leeds Castle near Maidstone in Kent. Despite the weather forecast the rain stayed away but regretfully the wind was very gusty and the kite fliers were unable to perform to the best, but I did manage to get some great shots of kites flying thanks to the co-operation the Skyartists display team from Yorkshire.

If you want a good day out with plenty to see and do, whether with the kids or just the two of you, I can recommend Leeds Castle. Look out for the photographs on my stock site within the next day or two!

Stock image update

I have recently added Chinese New Year images to both Alamy and PhotoShelter web sites, together with author Malisa Peer (the slimming guru) and the Arundel tomb in Chichester (UK) Cathedral.

Intro

Hi everybody!

I am a freelance photographer based in the UK and working throughout Europe. I work in sport, music, weddings and general commercial work. My work is published internationally.

Glad to hear from anyone who is interested in talking to me.

Gerry