That time again...

Today, Matthew... I will be mostly arguing the point with "Easyjet" staff that my camera bag really does only weight ten kilos and that the scales they've used to weight it are VERY broken!.. Lets think about that name for a second - "Easyjet" ... Sorry, can anyone spot the irony?...

Easy : not hard, to make not difficult, to assist, to make...easy!
Jet: ...uh, a plane

Maybe, just maybe, they should have considered calling the company "Bloody stupid rules Jet" or.. "We really couldn't give a toss, just give us your money and yes, we're going to fly from the most remote parts of England to random places...Jet" ... Quite frankly, I'd pay an extra £100 just to fly from Heathrow and catch "normal hours" type flights...

rant over

Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize
Dear Simon
Reference Number: 1805 E
Thank you for entering your work into the above competition. The judges have now made their final decision and I am sorry to inform you that your work was not selected for exhibition. This year, there were over 6,700 entries with only 60 selected for exhibition so competition was extremely strong.

Any surprises? Not really.. err, no...

ALIEN BEE!(Yup, that cute light up there)
Alien Bee make some wicked lights... from all reports, though, I've not used them myself... AND I can't get any here in the UK to try out / See in action.. Does anyone have any thoughts? I want two B800's Or, do I want two 1600's?... Here are the full specs Does anyone have any experience with these lights, or, can I organise to get a pair to test here in the UK?

I might try get in touch and get some over this side of the pond to give a thourough going over...

Perhaps.

Just had lunch with a good friend of mine and said goodbye to my other family (The Distillers) for a week..

see you guys tomorrow! (the internet is everywhere as Joey would say..)

I'll leave you with a little friend of mine, Robyn..

Ramblings....

Press Photographer of the year has been announced, you can see the results HERE or go straight to a slideshow HERE

I was walking home lastnight and dropped in to see my friends at the pub across the road. I walked a friend of mine to the tube, on the way to the tube we walked by a bus stop where a few of the homeless people from around the Hammersmith area tend to congregate. I called out "Howdy fellas" to the two of them that were sat there, very old, dirty men who have been living on the streets for what I assume has been some time... The recognise me and acknowledge me, the girl I'm walking with immediately says "don't talk to them!" ... I asked her why, she said because they're rude to her.. well, I have a feeling that the reason they're rude is that she totally ignored them the first time they glanced / spoke to her / whatever... I feel sorry for them, but I feel sorry for her more you know...



Digital Photography School is coming along in leaps and bounds... We have

Threads: 26,564, Posts: 250,950, Members: 21,061

Welcome to our newest member, KateElizabethPhotography

You really should join and learn how to use your camera, I joined a while back and have learned loads of stuff... Click Here To Join today!

Ricoh GR II.... Is it to cool for school, or is it really as good as they say it is?... I'll ask my mate "Susan & Her 5D" who mainly uses a Canon 5D (Who also has a Ricoh GR II),,,Here's what she had to say...

[17:40:46] Sime says: hey
[17:41:15] Sime says: Just how good is the Ricoh GR II?....
[17:41:22] Sime says: (In fifty words or less!)

[17:43:26] Louise Turner says: Well as a little compact I find it really good mainly cos I can totally set everything up manually. I think lens is better quality cos fixed. It has a filmy type grain. It shoots really well in some lighting scenarios - not in others. Out of the camera you'd probably get better lookng results out of the Canon G9 but you don't have much easy-to use manual adjustability on the canon which is why i didn't go for it.

[17:43:39] Louise Turner says: it's basically a really nice niche market camera for geeks like us

[17:43:50] Louise Turner says: I've taken some shots I'm dead pleased with on it

[17:44:05] Sime says: :) Thanks Lou... Can I put this answer on my blog and MAKE YOU FAMOUS!

[17:44:28] Louise Turner says: why?!

[17:44:36] Sime says: no, you mean "why not!"

And, with that ends today's posting.... (for now!)

Geek Alert! : Intel bust free of wires!...

Intel moves to free gadgets of their recharging cords

SAN FRANCISCO: Intel has made progress in a technology that could lead to the wireless recharging of gadgets and the end of the power-cord spaghetti behind electronic devices.

It says it has increased the efficiency of a technique for wirelessly powering consumer gadgets and computers, a development that could allow a person to simply place a device on a desktop countertop to power it. It could bring the consumer electronics industry a step closer to a world without wires....[contd!...]

Who wouldn't miss this....

sharpen my vision, originally uploaded by gtvone.

You know I'll always be watching you, right?

Platform for (jokes?) Art

I put a pitch together for a great display that would have been in full swing right now... A photographic exhibition that would have been UK wide, maybe even world wide if there ere entries from people that were travelling to the UK... But, no... rejected "We have exhibitions that are ready for display all the way up to 2010..." OK, so why the hell do you still have the same horrific "what the hell is that" exhibition up on the Gloucester rd tube platform?... If you didn't like my idea, fine, but don't insult my intelligence by lying to me when quite clearly you have nothing to replace your current tripe. /rant

Tonight by Martin Grech, I wanted to do a version, so I did...

Here it is.... CLICK

Seven days is over, what now?... No idea...

Maybe I could do a series on stalking people on the internet?... Stalkbook 101?..

Went to Battersea yesterday... Smiley happy flowers everywhere...


cya... and welcome back, hope your trip was nice x

Seven Days : Day Seven

So, It's all over... "Seven Days on accreditation" In the seven days I've spoken to paper editors, photo desk people, organisations, promoters, governing bodies and professional photographers about accreditation and the UK Press photographers card and have come up with some pretty useful information...

The Facts!

• Accreditation and the UK press card are VERY different things.
  
• Not just anyone can get a UK Press card, and rightly so.
• Accreditation to shoot a concert is generally obtained from PR agencies.
• Mainly, it's about who you know. (sad but true!)
  
• Three minutes isn't long when you have an artist to shoot!
• I've totally loved every minute of it, thank you.

So, Tuesday night thanks to Emma and Tom at AEG live / Indigo / The O2, saw me with three minutes to snap a capture of Henry Rollins at Indigo I had to use a longer lens (400mm) and, as my Canon 30D just does not like me pushing ISO was set on 200, could have gone to 400 to bring the shutter speed up, but am a loser and failed under pressure - at least I know what I did wrong, right?.. So, yeah, ten shots from the left, ten shots from the right and about five from the middle... Absolutely loved it (A photo below)

I was able to get accreditation for the RedBull air race as you've seen in previous posts, that was through work (Thanks Kev) and was a real highlight of my "photog career" thus far... Shooting along side some really amazing photographers (Thanks Marcus!) and watching them work was, quite frankly, bonza!

Well, that concludes "Seven Days to accreditation"... I'd just like to thank some folk...

Phil and Joanne Turner at The British Press Photographers' Association
Emma and Tom at indigo / AEG live / Outside Org
Rita at Fishmouth for letting me shoot any gig I liked

Thanks all of you very much. Hope to see some of you soon!

Till next time!!

Sime

Day 6.5?

Yeah - Seven days is taking an awful long while, I know... I'm dragging it out as tomorrow night I'm shooting Henry Rollins at Indigo (With a camera) and am scared, nervous and excited... I want to do that before I post my wrap up on this seven days series... Now with that out of the way...

In a strange vote of "no confidence" from myself, I've quit threessixtyfive, my project where I took a self portrait every day for a year... With thirtyfive days to go, I decided it was time to ditch it... I may complete my personal set of photos, but not post them to the group...

I had a strange weekend, a melancholy, happy, confusing, lovely, final kind of weekend... Don't read into it, this is just how I am... Nothing life changing? maybe...

Martin Grech... Tonight...

Meanwhile, I shot this kid... Yusuf, Check him out on myspace

Seven Days : Day Six

Yep, failed on the podcast front - sorry guys! - Day seven might be a wrap up podcast... Friday, yes, tomorrow night I'll do one...

The UK press card is a really valuable tool, It will allow you into most outdoor "press scrums" It might get you into a concert if you're lucky and you know somebody... I applied for a UK press card via one of the "Gatekeepers" I was disallowed!... The system works, hell, I'm no news gatherer!!...



So, I shot Red Bull air race and met a few people in the industry, posted a few photos online... That's all good, I got a page on the 2008 RedBull Air Race highlights dvd, maybe... We shall see - TV is a fickle friend...

I managed to get accreditation for the gig at Indigo and have constant access to all Fishmouth gigs... So, I'm getting my name out there and I'm getting more and more involved with Fishmouth and other bands from that, but the one thing I'm not doing is charging anyone anything - this is bad, no?

No UK Press card. Various accreditations. Go ask people, all they can do is say no, or yes... Now it's down to how the gigs go, I guess? I get one shot at Henry Rollins and from that I have to make it work and get those images out for people to see and get myself into more gigs and then, from that, paying gigs... this is the idea anyway.

At the end of the day, we all need to pay the rent and this whole accreditation thing is very important to me because I don't want to fix printers for the rest of my life, I want to shoot bands and, well, anything else... except weddings!!!... (Well, maybe one or two)

I showed my Redbull shots to the general manager at work today, he liked them, that's nice.

I don't have a load to say or a lot of knowledge to impart today, I mean I am well on my way to where I want to be but just have to get over that one last hurdle.

Well, I have a website or two to update and a friend from HK to go see and a few other things to sort out... Life, when did it get so busy!..

I have some listening for you to do!

www.lukeritchie.co.uk - I heard Luke again on Tuesday night at Fishmouth : Brilliant!

and, when you're done there - go check out fishmouth, Rita Kvist is the imagineer of Fishmouth - well worth a look!!! (That's her above!!) www.myspace.com/fishmouthlive

Seven Days : Day Five

Well, look at me... stop!... Actually, things got crazy!!... I managed to get accreditation for the RedBull Air Race in London over the weekend, through my work... So, that was wild, my back hurts, I have 1500 photos to sort through... I have a couple up on my flickr (link on your right) So, I shall continue where I left off. Day five...



Day five I was all about contacting newspapers and got all... putt off? because not one of them replied, but when you're out with the actual photographers on the ground, you realise just how many people there are out there shooting!... I thought I'd use my time at the Air Race twofold... To get the shots that work wanted, and, to ask other photographers who they work for, and how the came to be where they are today. You know, funnily enough, the most pro looking guy with two Canon 1Ds MK3's and all the big lenses (400 f2.8 and a 600 f4) had only been working "pro" for two years... but, they all had the same message - It's all about how you get along with people -

So, how you get along with people really does matter, well, he was shooting for the washington post yesterday because of someone he knows... I was watching him and, as we had direct access to the pilots, he was making a point of getting a good portrait / photo of the various pilots and approaching them directly to give them that shot... I didn't ask if he was charging them for the shot, but all the same...

So, enough on that - Work got me accreditation to the RedBull Air Race, thank you work.

I contacted Indigo at o2 Arena and SOMEONE REPLIED... infact, as of this morning, two people have replied... Emma who was the first person to reply gave me the information I was loking for - ie: yes, they use a PR company mostly for all photographer access to gigs at Indigo, but, that they also have a "staff photographer" that takes some photos for them. Well, I asked how they chose that person, to which she replied - are there an gigs on our website that you'd like to shoot?... Hell, would I!... So, Henry Rollins is going to be the first through my lens, very exciting... And then, with some luck, Brand New Heavies are going to get a good shooting too. How very exciting.... So, Indigo usually use a company called "Ouside Org" Who are the promoter of a lot of concerts, and the promoters for the o2. I have been in touch with a fellow named Tom at Outside Org who is organising my accreditation. Very Exciting...

So, The promoters are the people to speak to if you're looking to shoot "gigs that require accreditation" whereas, if you're after a UK press card, you're going to be climbing a longer, much steeper hill...

Well then, A UK press card... Should I? I'm a news gatherer....

Podcast to follow later today! Might have music and everything!!... ha...

Sime

Seven Days : Day four

Contacting newspapers is a tough game! Not one of the ten or so that I contacted yesterday has even bothered to reply - Maybe their email servers have me blocked! darn it all.. I shall try and try again...

Why am I trying to get in touch with a newspaper? well, I want to find out what it takes to become a "news gatherer" for my local rag, that way, I can apply for a UK press card, no? We found out yesterday that it actually takes a hell of a lot to be granted a UK Press card and that I'll probably miss out on getting one anyways.. That's OK, at least I will have tried.

Phil emailed me once more with a small piece that a colleague of his pointed out...

"Whilst chatting with a colleague about your project he pointed out that many music events have a cap on the number of photographers. It’s often an arbitrary number and is sometimes dictated by the headline act’s management as part of their deal with the venue. The PR that control the access will always try to get the most publicity they can and will have a pecking order of photographers and agencies. Many PR people like preview instead of review pieces. Once the band has been to your town on tour, there is little need for the pictures when you can’t control the review. These days it’s all about control – information and image"

So, today I'll continue to attempt getting in touch with venues that I like - I quite like o2's Indigo - A great venue for live music, if a bit stark... I was there recently for a Chick Corea gig, I took along my Ixus and managed to take a couple of shots...



I did see a young woman wandering around with an SLR, I also saw a guy being ushered out for using a video camera - right up at the stage (What did he think would happen, honestly!) ... So, today I'll get in touch with indigo and maybe Brixton academy - another cracking venue, and see what they say about obtaining accreditation at a gig...

I found a brilliant list of local newspapers here I will choose a couple and use them to "test the water" ... Maybe I also need to contact a bands management to see what they say about "getting into the fray" at a concert... How the hell does one get in touch with a band manager?!... (Actually, I have a cunning plan)

Well, Lets keep day four short and sweet!!... Oh, I **may** have accreditation to shoot on the runway at the Redbull AirRace live, from London tomorrow!... Now that would be outstanding!! - Maybe I should take a recorder to get some feedback from other official photographers... Maybe?...

Peace Out...

Sime