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!