Front Cover!

April edition of Jazz Journal features a shot of Judy Carmichael, the American stride pianist, that I took at the Concorde Club in Southampton. Stride piano is a particular style of playing which has its origins in New Orleans jazz, and Judy is one of its best exponents as well as a very fine singer who appears in this country fairly often. It is saying something that this shot was about a third of the frame of the original image taken in landscape format. For the technically minded, it was shot on a Nikon D300 and a Nikon 70-200mm lens at f2.8 and 1/125 second @ 1250 iso using just the stage lighting during her performance, hand held of course. Jazz photography pushes the boundaries of what equipment is capable of, but the Nikon gear I use has never let me down (now, where is that wood to touch?)

Hitting the Anvil

Last Saturday I did two things for the first time which, when you get to my age, is quite unusual! I crossed genre (no, not 'gender') and photographed a great country musician in the attractive shape of Beth Nielsen Chapman, and I did it at the wonderful Anvil Theatre in Basingstoke - and what a pleasant experience it was on both counts. The Anvil is a great venue and I couldn't really believe that I had not been there before. They could not have made me more welcome (thanks Kim!) and rest assured it will not be my last visit. As for Beth Nielsen Chapman, well I have long enjoyed her music and I am sure she didn't disappoint her fans. For some reason I found the photography technically difficult (for those who know about these things, I was working with a 300mm equivalent Nikon lens at 1/50th at f2.8) but then that is what I am paid for. At the end of the day I got some good usable images and they are on my website in the Music gallery.

Happy Birthday Photoshop!

Photoshop, the tool that is absolutely essential for professional photographers, reaches an unbelievable 20 years old! I first started using Photoshop on version 4, and I think we are now on version 9, so I have seen many of the great changes that have been put into place over the years - and I couldn't live without it. I recall attending a 'how to' session on the program once where the expert asked how many people were using Photoshop and a 100% put there hands up, and he then asked how many had paid for it legitimately and only about 20% responded whilst the rest looked very sheepish. At that stage I was able to put my hand up, but will freely admit that my first copy was bootleg, and I think that is how many got hooked on the essential that it has become. Now that "to be Photoshopped" has entered common English it is difficult to imagine how it can be improved but I feel sure that Adobe will do something to keep us buying!

Upside Down World!

Our world has been turned upside down by the addition of a new member to the family - Retzki has arrived to train us into being cat parents. We are getting along well but we still need a little training on modern stroking techniques! Our last two dies about a year ago at the ripe ages of 23 and 21 years, and we left it for a while, but decided in the end that we needed the great relaxation that stroking a cat can bring, so we 'acquired' our new addition from animal rescue and are delighted. Looking at this image, I think we have a model but then she does have a photographer for her Dad!

Good Evans!

So Terry has gone from Radio 2's morning radio slot, and Chris Evans has replaced him. As one of Terry's TOGS, I am not yet sure whether I can cope with the brighter, louder wake-up call but I dare say that both he and I will settle down, and I will grow used to things. I met Chris in Cheltenham about 3 months ago, and found him very likeable so I certainly wish him well. He kindly let me disturb his newspaper reading in the Green Room at the Literary Festival and I grabbed a few quick shots of him for my agency, and we parted very amicably. I hope it isn't too long before I get him in front of my lens again!