It’s been HOW LONG?

Wow it’s been far too long since the last post here, I certainly intended to keep it more up to date. I kind of feel like I haven’t done much recently, but thinking about it, I haven’t stopped. Firstly, there’s been my coursework. Although I’ve had problems writing it, the research has been pretty inspiring. Looking at the photos of Walker Evans and the FSA, Eugene Atget, August Sander, Martin Parr, David Bailey, Anton Corbijn,  Diane Arbus, Irving Penn… the list is endless, but inspiring nonetheless. The differences in technology used and the social circumstances of each photographer really helps to raise the appreciation of their work too, whether they are contemporary or past masters. Unfortunately I got myself into such a mess with my coursework I had to start it again.

As well as the academic side, I’ve been taking quite a lot of photos too, much to the dismay of my computer. That’s possibly the first thing I’m going to upgrade when I get the chance,  in the mean time, more external hard drives will be my friends. In the last few weeks I’ve had a photo session with the band Circa Regna Tonat, a really great band from Cardiff, and quite a few gigs… CRT included… along with Little My’s awesome last gig, billed as Little My’s Wake with the beautiful songs of  The Gentle Good in support, a triumphant show by The School (www.myspace.com/theschoolband) for the launch of their lovely album “Loveless Unbeliever”  (the tracks “All I Wanna Do” and “Shoulder” have been regularly popping up on my mp3 player for some time now- perfect pop), and… oh I don’t know, loads of other gigs. Not as many as previous years probably, but I’m a lot busier these days.

I also took photos for Laura and David  (http://ilikemakingthings.blogspot.com/ and http://bloggydavesblog.blogspot.com/ respectively) in preparation for the wedding party.  Dave’s a brilliant photographer so I felt a more pressure than usual, but I’m really pleased with the results, and they’ve told me they are too. Lots of great comments from friends and relatives at their party on Saturday night actually, so that made me feel even better about them. It’s nice to know that people with a background or experience in photography think I’m doing a good job. Being my own harshest critic serves me well, but can sometimes get in the way of me progressing, so when people tell me how much they like my photos it means a lot, especially when I know they’re not just saying it to be polite and they actually mean it.

Last week I did my first event (hopefully of many) for Save The Children, at Crabtree and Evelyn on the Hayes/St David’s 2 in Cardiff. It was a bit nerve wracking but I got into the swing of it quite quickly and hopefully the results may be in Cardiff Life in a couple of weeks. Along with the free food and drink, the staff were offering free demonstrations and samples while being really enthusiastic about their products in a really good way. It was a long day for them (the event started after the shop closed and ended over two hours later, then they had to put the shop back ready for trade on Wednesday) and their work was much appreciated. The treatment and products went down really well with the girls/ customers (there were a few men there but I think they just turned up for the food…)  and they helped to raise a few hundred pounds for Save the Children, so well done to all involved –  the people who put in a lot of their time and effort, and those who spent money too. It was a very nice evening.

The working week ended with a wedding/business/photography seminar from skillset and Damien Lovegrove. He’s one of the top wedding photographers in Britain and I had to jump at the chance to listen to what he had to say, especially for £20. It was well worth it. I wish I’d said hello and thanks in person but there was a lot of packing up to do and a few people milling around, plus I had to get home to meet my friends who were visiting, but the seminar pretty much confirmed that I’ve mentally got everything right in theory regarding the business side of photography, I just need to start the ball rolling now.  The event took place at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay and it was fairly packed. It was a great opportunity to learn from one of the best and also meet other photographers, plus the food was fantastic.

The end of the seminar was the beginning of one of the busiest weekends I think I’ve ever had, and as a result I now have to go and do some work! I’ll be back in a few days with tales of Brecon, David and Laura’s  wedding party and an exhibition from a local artist…

phew!