This week I are mostly been...

• Shooting some more Gossip Girl and It Girl covers for Headline publishing.
• Having a meeting about the next Shane Francis Aherne Trust shoot, whilst eating some excellent sausage and mash at Mother Mash. It should be a very interesting shoot when we get it all together.
• Going to the Blackpool College Graduation Show at the Association of Photographers Gallery. Very few ex-students there this year, which was a little disappointing.
• Shooting some book covers for Puffin - involved making a beach in the studio, which was very messy, but very good fun.
• Taking some shots of the girls from Cheerfit.
  
• Going up to Reeth in North Yorkshire for a stag weekend, although I was only there for just over 24 hours. We climbed High Harker, whose namesake is getting married in 3 weeks, and then spent the afternoon chasing each other round a forest in a load of buggies.
• Going to see Waiting for Godot with Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Simon Callow. Very impressive indeed.
  

This week I are mostly been...

• Shooting Team MF in lots of Berghaus gear running around Trent Park near Cockfosters for Men's Fitness. It was a very serious shoot, and in no way did we end up chasing each other through the woods. Neither did I at any point have to send the art director and the digital editor into the naughty corner as they were making me giggle too much.
• After several sessions of deep-learning-hypnosis, a weekend long revision course, late nights in front of wikipedia, and a huge bribe to the quizmaster, we finally won the pub quiz on Thursday. That's it now, I can tick that one off the achievement list, and stop worrying about it.
• Shooting some arty fitness stuff for Triathlete's world.
• Because it would be inappropriate not to, I took the car into the garage again. It's now had it's engine management completely reset, and seems to be behaving much more normally. Ideally I'd just like to drive it now, even if just for a few weeks, before I need to take it in again.
  
• Shooting a whole day of reportage stuff for Men's Health's search for a cover model 2009.
• Having another meeting about the Nikon/Calumet roadshow 2009/2010. It's starting to look pretty interesting, and we've even got some dates confirmed.
  

More Timelapse Magic

I enjoyed making the last one so much, that I thought I'd have another go! I made this timelapse back in April, on a week long shoot for Golf Monthly in Tenerife. It was a bit harder to shoot than the last one, due to the differences between shooting on location and in the studio. When shooting golf instruction (without an assistant to wield the timelapse camera) I can only be fairly certain where exactly we'll end up shooting, so quite often the framing is very wide, and it may be a little hard to work out exactly how I'm shooting stuff!

Rather than waiting around for talent to turn up, as was the case with the last one, this time we spend a great deal of time waiting for either the light to stay consistent, or golfers to clear the course around us.

The eagle eyed amongst you will notice that I'm not the only snapper in the video, and that I even lend a hand to start with. That's because there were 2 of us shooting all week, myself and Mr Paul Severn, a gentleman who specialises in Golf, and consequently does a much better job than I can! He can even hit golf balls too, which is something I definitely can't do.

The lovely jaunty music is by Kevin Macleod, the same fella whose stuff I borrowed for the last one. I've used up all his lengthy tracks now, so will have to compose my own for the next video!

This week I are mostly been...

• Attending an AoP Education Working Group Meeting. Strictly Classified as always.
• Going up to Leeds to photograph Alistair Brownlee in Training for Men's Fitness.
• Taking the car to the garage AGAIN, this time with a weird electrical fault.
• Heading up to the National Velodrome in Manchester to photograph an introductory fixed wheel cycling class, again for Men's Fitness.
  
• Spending a very pleasant evening with my cousins, as they live in Maidenhead, and I had to be in Oxford for 4am on Friday so that I could photograph a golf marathon - 4 full rounds back to back - for Golf Monthly and the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. Quite tiring, to put it mildly, but very atmospheric to be out shooting at 4am, and still be there at 10pm!
• Going to a Tea Dance in the local park, learning to waltz, meeting a man dressed as a chimney sweep with a pram full of vegetables dressed as babies, then going on to a very good friend's 30th birthday. All perfectly normal for a Saturday.
• Getting the insurance money I've been owed for 6 months for the bathroom!
  

This week I are mostly been... Or, "Got any Change Guv?"

• Shooting Marin Cilic at the Queen's Club for Men's Fitness. Lovely Chap, I hope he goes far, and with a serve like he demonstrated I think it's quite likely!
• Having a fantastic day at Richmond Rugby club shooting a calendar/catalogue for the Shane Francis Aherne Trust. Beautiful weather, a great location, very willing models and the occasional gorilla, all combined to make a very enjoyable experience indeed. All finished off with a beer on Richmond Green watching the Cricket, and a rainy barbecue. Feel free to donate any money to the Trust, or better still, buy some of the gear once it becomes available! I'll provide the necessary links in due time.
• Burning myself out both running and Shooting the 3 peaks challenge for the Captain James Philippson Trust for a feature for Men's Fitness. It's one thing to do the 3 peaks race, and something else to have to carry the camera gear and take shots as well! I'll be sending round a mass email to beg for retrospective sponsorship money very soon, but meanwhile if you're so inclined and want to donate to the trust you can do so here. Our team managed Ben Nevis in 4 hours and 5 minutes, Scafell in 2 hours 54 minutes and Snowdon in some time or other, for a combined time of 9 hours something something. We also got round all 3 including the driving in 22 1/2 hours, so thanks go to our driver Chris for his sterling work. Right now, more than 48 hours later, my feet, ankles, and calves are still killing me, and I'm dying to pop the big blisters on my toes! A pretty unforgettable experience - although I was very glad to get to the summit of Snowdon and know that it was downhill all the way!
  

This week I are mostly been...

• Getting the new car taxed, parking permitted, then calling the RAC out as it wouldn't start the day I took it for a service. Not an auspicious start, but it performed very happily yesterday on the way to the Blenheim Triathlon.
• Shooting the same Triathlon for Triathlete's world. Awesome venue - particularly since I'd just been reading about it being built in The System of the World. Mind you, I got soaked, and despite my fancy Kata rain cover, my 70-200 decided to stop focusing as water had worked it's way in. Very happy to report that it is now better after a day to dry out. It had only just been serviced by Nikon, so I would have found it even less funny than usual if I'd had to take it in for repair.
• Going on a big bus tour and then a boat ride with my young lady.
• Taking some shots for a friend's band. They're much less serious in the flesh.
• Coming 3rd in the pub quiz and getting beaten at squash. Again.
  

It's Show Time!

'Tis the season, again, as yet another clutch of expectant, optimistic and hopefully talented young graduates thrust themselves into the wide world of employment. The graduation shows are now starting to happen thick and fast, and the wise London Creative need not pay for a drink between here and mid-July if they can only get themselves invited to the right events! Bearing in mind how important these events can be, I've put together a few suggestions for those who are about to go through the process:

• Don't stand in a huddle with all your mates - now's your chance to meet new and possibly very useful people! I appreciate you may be nervous, but I'd suggest drinking just enough to make you feel confident (your mileage may vary on this one, but don't take it too far - see below) and then start circulating as best you can. Hell, it may even be worth positioning yourself near the door and greeting unfamiliar faces as they come in. Just don't offer to take their coats, or ask for tips!

• If you see anyone unfamiliar standing around looking at your work, sidle up and engage them in polite conversation - ideally related to your work, but talking about Britain's Got Talent would work in a pinch. You don't know whether the person in question is simply your fellow students Mum, or the head of Art at M+C Saatchi. Although you might be able to guess in that instance, as they'll probably be dressed differently.

• Don't get too pissed, at least not until the end of the night. The sight of a shit-faced student is nothing new, we've all been there, and we've all seen it before - wait till the punters have gone home.

• Make sure the people responsible have got enough free booze in. You'll be surprised just how much can be put away.

• At times other than the main "Private View" or opening night, make sure someone's always in attendance at the gallery, and that there's a healthy supply of postcards/business cards etc on hand. A surprising number of people may call in during the day, as we do work some odd hours, us photographers.

• Get there early, and help with setting things up. This way you can make sure your stuff doesn't get hung way down the back, in an unlit alcove. Ideally you'd already be involved with the committee or group who've been organising the show anyway, so you'll have had some input into choice of venue and so on.

• Make sure you've got a healthy supply of your freshly printed business cards to hand, ready to be pressed into other people's hands.

• Send round polite reminder emails to people you've invited a couple of days before the event. We're a forgetful and busy bunch, and a gentle reminder never goes amiss.

• Above all else, remember to enjoy yourself. If I can pass on one thing I learnt from my graduation show (which was a little while ago now...) it was that there's actually only a fairly small chance that someone will walk in and commission you or give you a job on the spot, so don't be too hurt if you're still holding onto 99 of your 100 business cards at the end of the night. Your graduation show is actually more about ending a period in your life in a memorable way, and launching you into a new one with a boost.

Apologies if this post seems a little scattered - I've been drinking the coffee, and am amazed I can even type as my hands are shaking so much.