Seeing as this will be my last shower....

...for four days! [Yeah, stand WELL back]

But seriously, went for a short 8km hike up a montana today - sure, it stuffed me, but I made it!

I don't have mucha to say, except, if you are in Cusco, go have dinner at Gronje Heidi - It's owned by a Germán guy - muchos atención to detalla, great service, awesome food... Can't recomendó it enough.

Here's me - Chilling out, hill top, post 4km walk [another 4 back down]


spell check brought to you by...well... someone spanish!...

Adios!

D Day

Tommorow is the start of Machu Pichu... EEEEK!...

Cusco (or Cuzco) is a total tourist trap!... Totally... There are those "I'm WAY cooler than you" travellers that have forgotten where they live and have bought a dog and are staying here, they also have dreadlocks and are trying to dress like a nomadic Peruvian type person... Myself, I bought the MOST uncool rimmed hat that says "MachuPichu - Cusco" on the front... yep, i'm the ICON of cool...

We're off to the hidden valley today, should be good...

Will post a photo later...

Cuzco welcomes you...

You know, the internet is an amazing thing. I'm in Cuzco, Peru and have just checked in to the Hostal, there is an open wireless access point [thus this post!] ...quite amazing really, Imagine this concept ten years ago!?...

So, two days from now and laptop will be packed away with almost everything else I have with me, and we'll be getting on a bus to head out to the start of the Machu Pichu trail.. To be completely honest, i'm not looking forward to it... I'm the most unfit person I know.. so, well, we shall see... If you hear of a search and rescue for a lost Australian tourist, chances are it's me.

Thus far I have embraced Peruvian culture, taking time out to feast on roast guinea pig and Alpacca steaks amongst other stuff that I couldn't identify.. There are ninety something various types of potato in Peru, so, as i'm a lover of that particular veggie, i'm loving it... sort of

I have had my morning Coca Tea and a nurofen+ and still have a residual headache... Altitude is getting the better of me. I think Cusco is actually higher than Machu Pichu but parts of the trek [Dead Womans Pass] are considerably higher.. I have some energy bars and a good old waterflask, should be right, right?

Anyways, time to go and wander around Cusco... here's a photo I took yesterday [Above] Cute kid, eh...

Blogger?

)Eah, can I send these from here?

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Blackberry | Not just a tasty snack

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Last Post...

...Not Likely!

This message comes to you from Starbucks, Madrid! - I'd like to thank my sponsors...



Colin Farrell just wandered by, I was four feet from him, he was looking at me, looking at him - he came from the "Business Lounge" of Iberia Airlines... I wanted to say "G'day Collin" but, knowing his wildman status, thought he might pop my coffee, upside down in my new Dell XPS M1330... A Very lovely little piece of kit that i'll use on my Peru Trek to backup photos and try to do a daily post [internet dependant] ...infact, my threesixtyfive for today [below] was taken, and then the SD card [Canon ixus 960 is, today...] pops right into the front of the little laptop... Quite sweet!



So, the music over here is urm... well, i've heard Tina Turner and now i'm listening to "Rush" by whoever the hell it was by... I'm sorta rocking out, gently, in an eighties kind of way... And now, ladies and gentlemans... "Sarah, By Starship!!"....

Brilliant, well - I'll check in, web permitting, from Lima in about half a days time!!...

Day Seven : Project Published : Seven Days

Well, Seven days is all, she wrote...

Except, without the ultimatum note! I have managed to become a published photographer within seven days. And, I'll just mention now, that I received another email asking for use of one of my photos on a website here

So, it is possible, as an amateur photographer, to be published in seven days... Can you keep it up?.. Well, I'd like to find out - but I'll be away from this Saturday, and will more than likely not have Internet. I will continue this on my return to the mother ship.

What is crucial in becoming published? Persistence! ...send send send! and then send some more, get your name out and about, do gigs for free, work for a charity? - or, pay the BIG BUCK and do a big old course and get hired by someone?... Yep, that's an option if you can muster up the cash and the time. In this case though, I was looking at it from a "how the hell do I get into thew industry as a beginner with drive" point of view.. And, I did...

I don't think I could make a living from it, I was told along the way that I'd need 5000-10000 images on a site like Alamy or something similar, I was not replied to, I was treated like a complete beginner, and, as such - that's what i was.

So, dear reader - do NOT lose faith, If I can do it - you can!... Work on your photo quality in terms of your framing and your technical ability [you don't need to do all that much to make a photo better straight out of the camera] Websites like Digital Photography School help with this stuff, you can sign up here



So, my little experiment was looking like a flop at the start, but, came home strong!.. Thanks for following, I will post a follow up shortly.

Sime

An amusing aside

...An excerpt of a letter my good woman, M, wrote to a friend that has recently moved back home...

"What's been happening here then? Well Ken was kicked out and we now have a new mayor, Boris Johnson. Labour were slaughtered in the local elections and are facing their lowest rating for something like forty years. The Lib Dems are on 24% popularity and Labour are on 25% whilst the Tories were on something like 45%. Gordy and his mates have made some big mistakes. They have increased taxes and scrapped the 10p tax rate without really explaining the compensation low income workers would receive through tax credits. The base rate has been kept on hold at 5% but there is talk of a housing crash, which, combined with the crappy GBPAUD exchange rate, is not good news for us in the short term and means we may have to put off our return home until things improve. Who wants to sell at the bottom of the market?? Kids continue to get stabbed and die. A 16 year old was stabbed outside a bakery on the weekend and yesterday or the day before a guy was stabbed and then his throat was slit on Oxford st in the middle of the rush hour. Well that's all a bit grim isn't it! (Oh and Pete Doherty went to jail but is out now and Amy Winehouse continues to be in the news too). On the bright side, this May is looking to be the hottest on record. It has been superb! Dad arrived over a week ago and the day after he arrived the weather picked up and was great the whole time pretty much. Banksy had an exhibition in a tunnel near Waterloo which was good, we did the Tower Bridge Exhibition, went to Hampton Court Palace, Greenwich, Warwick castle, Portobello Road and Dad did some other stuff on his own. He left on Sunday. I'm putting together an eclectic tea set and I bought a gorgeous Victorian cup, saucer and plate and a milk jug and I got some silver forks. Before Dad arrived, we had a top temp of 21 and we went for a ride to Richmond Park. Boy did I trash myself. Sime had a horse whisperer moment when we noticed a horseless rider trotting toward the main bike/walking/driving path and he went after the horse and managed to gently approach it with a few comforting noises and grab its reins. The poor rider it had thrown off was in tears and Sime finally reunited her with the horse"



I dunno, but it made me laugh quite a bit... she has a "way" with words... or something!

Day Six : Project Published : Seven Days

Day Six!!... Well, I'm writing these in hindsight, as I have been SO busy fulfilling requests by AMAZING publishers to submit my photos... oh, NOT!...

Well, actually, I've BEEN PUBLISHED!... Well, I sort of knew about it, but, all the same - published!... The photo I took of a local artist made it into a local paper



So, aside from this has anything else happened? Well, there have been a couple of interesting little things.

I had an email from the National Museums Liverpool popular music exhibition asking if I would allow them to use an old photo I took of a tape deck at work one day...

This photo :


Does this count? Certainly... Getting your photos used on websites is all part of the process, right? - exposure, and slowly starting to build your name up around the traps. If you're good and people see your work - you will get more and more work... This is the goal, anyway...

So, day six and I'm "sort of" published.

Day Five : Project Published : Seven Days

Day five was a big pit of depression, actually. You know - You think that if you send out about fifty emails to different types of publisher folk that you'd maybe get a response? Any response?... Just a "Yes, we've received your email, but we can't use your work at the moment" - No, not one... Not a word...

So, Starting to lose hope!

Should you lose hope? No, of course not... Hell No! I read a small article by a photo editor recently, he mentioned that he might receive one hundred emails a day asking him to "publish their work" A lot of the time it's just a lucky strike, if you will... He sits with a coffee and opens your email, he likes it - you're published. So, why lose hope - you could have an email under his mouse sometime soon!... Or not?

Well, yeah... I was standing about with a big crew of photographers the other night and they were mostly "freelance" So, you have these guys that are "pro" freelance type fellas, they're going to know how to get right to those magazines / newspapers.. So, that's something you will come to learn I guess? As you progress with your photography and your approach to the people that you want to have your photos.

So, a down day, day five - but hey, everyone has them, right?

Day Four : Project Published : Seven Days

Still no solid concrete "you're published" emails or calls... not ONE email back from a publisher of sorts... not ONE...

I thought of a different angle last night! ....I give you "paparazzi"


Though, I'm not fond of aggressive paparazzi, I understand that they have a job to do. You must realise that the only reason they exist is because of our need to "know what's going on with everything" and so, they can make a living from taking photos of all sorts of odd things, not least of all - famous and royal type folk like our Prince harry, pictured here sorting out the Royal Jewels.

Day four... Should I lose hope?

Hell No!...

NY Wedding Photographer License proposal

[From Adorama]

Hearing today on NY Wedding Photographer License proposal

We've just been informed by an alert from Carolyn E. Wright's Photo Attorney web site that New York City's City Council is holding a hearing this morning on a proposed law that would require wedding photographers to be licensed and submit a $5,000 bond. If you are a wedding photographer in New York and can make it to City Hall to voice your concerns, the meeting will take place in the Council Chambers at 10:00 AM.



The council's proposed law also requires bridal shops to be licensed, and the photography license also includes videographers. The law states in part: "It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the business of owning or operating a bridal shop or wedding photography without first having obtained a license..." The law will require licensing fees, extensive additional paperwork, and fines of $1,000 to $5,000 for each violation.

[Read the entire proposed law here]

Not that it will effect us, but, thoughts??

Day Three : Project Published : Seven Days

***We may have a break-through folks*** There is a chance that after chatting at length to the newsdesk of a local paper yesterday that they are going to put a small piece and two of my photos in the paper. Now, I wasn't even going to consider using this as ***A breakthrough*** but, now that it's two newspapers that are possibly picking up the "local" story, I may... remains to be seen!

"Let's get out tonight, let's get noticed"

Nobody is going to just happen upon your flickr account and email you with high dollar offers on one of your photos, right? (Well, unless you're my friend Susan!!) So, you have to get out there and get yourself noticed...

"Are they listening to me?"

Honestly, Probably not. Though, I did get an email back from Will Cheung, Editor of Photography Monthly, this morning [thanks, Will] That partly restored my faith in human kind!.. You need to contact and contact again. Photo editors are very busy people and I guess that a lot of the time unless you have fiftysevenmillion photos on Alamy or some such service you will get overlooked.. Very possibly, so, try and try again...

So, Day three... I've still not heard back from anyone that I contacted on day one or two, so, I will follow up my emails, and, I have a couple more irons to pop into the fire... Taking photos for a target audience, A photo that I think could be used by Thames Water, so, I shoot it, edit it and send it to them... A photo I think could be used by a small flower shop, same again.. etc - All possibilities.

Palermo Touristico?

Destyn.Via | Check it, Wear it.

Destyn.Via | OuterWear

Burma cyclone: The aid challenge

A friend said to me earlier today; "What can we do to help?" Well, I had a think about it and really, what can I do?....

I decided that starting a couple of groups would be the first bit of my plan, so I popped onto FACEBOOK and then onto BLOC and started two groups, to raise awareness...

Next, I'm going to gather together from some favourite photographers of mine and hold an ONLINE charity auction... I have NO idea how, but i'm going to try...

I have started a CHIPIN group that I will promote using facebook and bloc and my blog [you're reading about it now, right?] ChipIn - all you need to do is to MAKE one of your coffees today, and not buy it, and take the currency amount of that coffee and donate it, via chipin to this Burma appeal.



I have contacted Oxfam about how I can take this donated money and make sure it goes to the right people / place. I have also been in touch with Oxfam to see who we email to get better "flow through" for aid and donations...

WATCH THIS SPACE!

[...and for the amazing person who put this idea in my head, thank you!]

Day Two : Project Published : Seven Days

Day Two!... What'd I do? I stayed in bed and felt sorry for myself again... I spoke to my Doc this morning on the phone, he said take Nurofen+ and call him in the morning if pain persists! [yes, really]

So, Today I decided that I'd continue thinking about places to approach, and I came up with a random! Earls Court Exhibition Centre! - There must be a million things about that place that are not "photographed" so I thought, it's an icon of my area, it's been around since 1st of September 1937, there's a swimming pool under the floor of Earls Court One that takes a week to fill! - Why not approach them and ask if I can shoot it for a small local exhibition? Then, I approach Barry, Our local member of parliament and ask where I should exhibit some "Local Work" - Barry is all about that sort of thing, so, watch THAT space...

In other news, I heard from a TINY newspaper that I contacted about some shots I took LAST week at an Oxjam [Oxfams musical brother] gig... The paper wanted a shot or two for their story on the "local gig for oxfam" so, I sent them a link to my flickr and they want one - maybe, maybe this one:


They also want a crowd shot, but, I'm not sure I have one from the night!... Well, that's a "maybe"

I didn't hear from any of the people that I contacted yesterday, but time will tell - though, they better hurry! Don't they know I only have FIVE DAYS LEFT!...

Lowepro Flipside 300 | Photos

So, my review of the CompuRover AW has been put up on the DPS BLOG
and is my primary "travel" photog bag. I wanted something else though, as i'm a bag lover... So, I picked up one of the new FlipSide 300 bags by Lowepro...

Here is a link to the photo set that describes why it's called the flipside

I give you the "Small, but bloody lovely Lowepro Flipside 300"

building blocks...

Building Blocks by student photographer, Maria! She's in third grade and has eight other siblings in her family. You can see her photos here

My Friend, Samantha has started something really good! | L.O.V.E

PLEASE chipin and help out with this brilliant cause. So far, L.O.V.E has raised $1,210 of the required $5000 - you can click here to help out

You can see photos from the children participating HERE they are truly inspiring!

Vision:
To transform the lives of marginalized children through creativity and to impact the attitude, beliefs and actions of others by providing a window into another world.

Mission:
To inspire marginalized children to envision and transform their lives through development of their own creative voice and body of work. Through sharing the children’s vision, our mission is also to inspire viewers to take actions to support the children in achieving their goals.

Our Program:
To provide digital photography workshops to non-profit organizations that work with marginalized children. Through intensive instruction and hands on participation, the workshops provide an opportunity for participants to complete a body of work that is meaningful by empowering participants with the ability to voice their vision of the world and share it with the rest of the world. LOVE’s goal is to give a voice to the children so that their stories can be told through their photography.

Partnership for Change:
LOVE partners with non-profit organizations who represents children whose voices need to be heard. We come to them with the necessary materials to lead photography workshops. Students meet with an instructor/mentor who provides comprehensive training on the basics of photography to begin their creative journeys. The experience culminates the student’s body of work being publicized through online galleries and art exhibitions. Proceeds from the sales of the student’s work are used to further their education and realization of their dreams.

Lowepro CompuRover AW Review 9/10!

I have two red sore bits where my hips should be… Not super bad, but red and a touch on the “ouch” side. That’s where the waist strap of my new Lowepro CompuRover AW Camera Bag has been sitting all day… I have had this before with my hiking pack when I didn’t do it up correctly. So, I don’t blame the bag for this, the waist strap is great - very padded, I blame me… I started my day at about 9am, right after breakfast and walked around Palermo until about 6pm so in fairness - the bag did exceptionally well.... [..cont]

Day One : Project Published : Seven Days

So, day one - I need to sit [...or stand, freaks!] and work out who my target audience is : I guess generically you would have "your market" so, if you were a sports photog, you would go after a newspaper or a sports magazine, if you were a travel photog, a travel magazine / website - etc. Well, for this exercise, I'm after "anything I can get" ...So, I started over on the Reuters news website - wouldn't THAT be awesome! Anyone can submit a "news worthy" photo to Reuters via email to : pics@reuters.com : So, well, that's great but doesn't satisfy my "Immediate need" - I will follow that up though. So, I did a Google search for some travel magazines, I decided upon two...

www.thetravelmagazine.net
www.wanderlust.co.uk

I emailed them with a couple of photos from recent trips, and a small blurb about me.

This is a bad time to be doing this, it would be SO much better to send them a link to my website - but - it's currently being re-developed!... Soon my precious, sooon...

I also decided upon two music magazines to contact... Aiming high, NME! and the music section of Time Out is quite good, so I emailed them a little "hello" as well...

So, day one - some feelers out there, Day Two will be the same... I am going to have a bit more of a research tonight and see what else I can come up with.

Another thing that shouldn't be afraid to do is see if any of your contacts have contacts - this is called, wait for it!... NETWORKING!... so, yeah, I'm going to speak to a few and see if they have any directions for me / contacts : you never know until you ask.

Maybe I could contact a skiing magazine?

Today I bought two books...

ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six Figure Income
by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett

Synopsis
Blogging has become a popular and fascinating pastime for many, but more and more bloggers are finding it can also be an excellent source of direct or indirect income. Although the barriers to starting a blog are low, without expert guidance it is easy to get frustrated when success doesn't match expectations. Written by the creator of the world's number 1 resource for making money with blogs, "ProBlogger" takes the reader from absolute beginner to earning money from or as a result of blogging.Through step by step practical lessons the reader will choose a blog topic, analyze the market, set up a blog, promote it and earn revenue. Unlike other books that are big on potential and theory, "ProBlogger" provides results based on the authors own experience of what really works through practical, tried and tested advice. Inside readers will learn: how Bloggers make money; direct income earning vs. indirect income earning methods; why niches are important' using 20 critical blogging tools; 20 ingredients for a successful blog post; optimizing advertising; which advertising platforms work best; and expert analysis of Technocrat's Top Blogs - why they work and so much more.

I'll Be Watching You: Inside the "Police" 1980-83
by Andy Summers.

Synopsis
In the early 1980s, The Police went on tour accompanied by a photographer who documented the band behind the scenes in a series of candid and striking black and white photos. This talented photographer also happened to be the band's guitarist, Andy Summers. Yes, it's true - the man responsible for the guitar lick from "Every Breath You Take" was not only the backbone of one of the most popular bands of all time, he also possessed a visual gift for composition and mood that allowed him to capture the spirit of The Police better than anyone else could have. This book, somewhere between photojournalism and an illustrated diary, follows The Police around the globe between 1980 and 1983. From the American West to Australia to Japan, Summers recorded not only the band members rehearsing and partying - the proverbial sex, drugs, and rock and roll - he also photographed fans, landscapes, still lifes, and passersby in a reportage style reminiscent of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank. Containing over 600 photos and filled with diary-style entries, "I'll Be Watching You" is a sumptuous volume beating with musical energy, nostalgia, and atmospheric beauty.

It is a must for photo buffs and Police fans alike. It contains over 600 photographs personally selected from the photographer's archive of over 25,000 thousand negatives (1980-83). Most photos are previously unpublished, and many of them have never even been printed prior to this project. Highlights include: rehearsals and recording sessions with band-mates; Sting and Stewart Copeland; exclusive back-stage and on-stage footage from concerts including Plaza de Toros (Barcelona, 1980), Budokan (Tokyo, 1981), Wembley Stadium (London, 1981), and Shea Stadium (New York, 1983); inside the tour busses, limousines, helicopters, private planes, parties, and hotel rooms; behind the scenes on music video shoots, at press conferences, and in-store appearances; life on the road with other bands including The Go-Go's, XTC, and The B-52's; and rain-soaked train windows, trashed hotel rooms, island retreats, over-capacity stadiums, and thousands of screaming, singing, sobbing, fans.

Project Published : Seven Days

Morning!

I have decided to try and find out what it takes to get one of my photos in print with a news paper / magazine or website and i've decided to allow myself seven days from tomorrow morning at 9am to do it!

I am not a published photographer as yet [aside of a couple of little brochures etc for a bakery / cafe here and there] and have no qualifications, just a passion and some photography gear [non professional]

Maybe it could be something to do with "The Cans Festival" that I took a few photos at yesterday? Or just another protest that you see in the streets almost every other day...

My first approach will be to "The Metro" a free newspaper read by lots and lots of people in London, i'd love to get one photo in the paper - I have not really got a clue what it will take, I have an email address that I found on their website and I have "passion and drive" so, i'll take that one from there in the morning.

I don't want to place all of my chickens in one proverbial basket, I want to diversify a little bit, as I read in a good book that my friend Louise gave me Image makers, Image takers by Alle-Celine Jaeger. "branch out, ask everyone, pester photo editors - don't get yourself black listed!" ...So, I guess there is a fine line and I don't want to cross it.

So, what other publications could I approach? I thought about photography magazines at first, but they are photography magazines and as such have THOUSANDS of contributors... so, that's off the list. What about travel magazines? I travel a bit and have hundreds [read: thousands] of photos from places i've been... So, that will be number two on my list - travel companies!

A third? Well, let's see... What about a venue? I like shooting bands and am getting beter at that, what about I shoot a band [a free entry type band] for a local venue and try and get the photos and a brief write up in a local paper? Or, on the venues website? Do websites count? of course they do!

So, A newspaper, A travel magazine, A local publication, A website... Lots of options and I have SEVEN days to get a photo in one of them! Wish me luck...

Sime

Humanity : out of the woodwork...

A metallic gray Porsche pulled into the end of the street, towards me as I was standing in the middle of the road. At first I thought the driver was going to motion for me to "get out of the way" He rolled down the window on the metallic beast and leaned his head out... "Do you need a Doctor, Mate?" ...I was fine and I had things under control, I told him no and thanked him for his kind offer. As the Porsche's tail lights disappeared into the distance, the howling sound of an ambulance wail filled my ears... "Not long now, mate" The stricken rider looked up up me with an appreciative, yet pained look "Thanks, friend" he said...

This is not fiction, this was last night! I was standing in my lounge when I heard a large bang from outside the window on Old Brompton Road. I looked out and had dialed 911 before I had a full grasp of the situation. There were people running from all directions towards the fallen rider - when I say fallen, there was a car with its front smashed in and its horn stuck on sitting in the middle of the intersection. The rider, from where I was standing [One floor up and almost directly above him] was moving his limbs and his head - no spinal injuries one would hope. The phone came alive and the emergency services were on the other end "What service do you require" "...Ambulance" I replied, they too, were on the phone within seconds... we went through the scenario, me answering every question as if I were a CSI detective!... She thanked me and hung up the phone. Not more than 3 seconds later the phone, my mobile, was ringing... "Hi, This is the Paramedic Dispatcher, would you be my eyes on the ground?"... I had my shoes on and had run out and taken control of the scene, quite literally, within twenty second! I am not sure what came over me, but I had the road blocked off, the guy stable and not moving and people looking after getting details of the car involved.

He was ok, the bike was trashed... He'd run a red light [the motorbike] and a car had turned right, into his path... ***BOOM***

The paramedic asked me if I was a medic myself, I said no and asked him why... he said "you sound like one, son..."

Amusing [on my part] Nice to see people help [someone other than themselves] Crazy Times[Indeed]

Lowepro Flipside 300 | A gritty review

BUY THE FLIPSIDE IN THE UK ON AMAZON FOR £55.94!

BUY THE FLIPSIDE IN THE USA ON AMAZON FOR $74.95!

Go Buy an Icecream and turn your computer off!

The Crumpler bag I didn't buy.... out take

I found this clip whilst wandering through some of my video footage today, it's a little amusing...

battle of the bags | the results

Flipside 300 - Chekc it out here on Amazon

You might recall a couple of days back I was on the path to find a new [yet again!] camera bag. Well, I found me one, it doesn't hold a laptop and it ain't big - but it is really well designed [pre test, just from looking at it here at work!] and CUTE!.. People, meet the Lowepro Flipside 300!

video blog | first