Snow

Snow. Yeh we got a lovely dusting of snow down here in the westcountry... This photograph even made me late for my job. I think it was worth it though...just wish I had time to walk to that stile...looks lovely.

Please come back snow...

Noah

It's been snowy here, but not that snowy. Still it's all hot water bottles, three layers, knitwear, hot-drinks, blocking up gaps, waiting for the windows to defrost, porridge oats, fires, finding the other glove, icy skids, cold swims followed by hot showers and all that fun.

I've been having a few problems with my Bronica as of late so I've managed to get my hands on a beautiful pre-loved Mamiya 7. I love it.

The portrait is Noah.

and this..

Whilst walking in the woods photographing a story i am up to my eyes in at the moment - saw this. Oh to be a spider.

P&P

I've been having a few problems with my dear Bronica. It was becoming so soft I spent more time thinking about getting everything sharp than the actual subjects of the photographs. I'm not sure what to do with it so I'll put it in the cupboard for a bit. New camera with a slightly different format coming soon.

Until then..

Paul.

P&P would be problems and paul then...

Ollie

Merino

It's definitely getting colder and I've found myself layering up already. I even thought maybe I should get some more merino stuff to keep me nice and toasty. At present I'm a slave to the howies merino which I do like alot but was looking around to see what else there was today and found Chocolate Fish. Now the only thing that ever bugged me about the howies stuff was where it was made....I'm not saying I could afford howies clothes if they were made in the UK - and I trust that they try their hardest to get stuff made in good places. But Choclate Fish make all their stuff in NZ where the mernio comes from in the first place - interesting stuff.

Anyway after a bit of tip tapping on my keyboard I did stumble upon this rather funny post from a slightly ranty forum talking about howies clothes...

It did make me chuckle....

Best jeans I've ever had though...

Tom & Lauren

Tom & Lauren with their cat's Nim & Mo.

The end of digmore

It would have been great to have been out on saturday night taking snapshots of peoples halloween costumes. Towards the early hours I saw one guy and I couldn't tell whether he was in fancy dress or had just left a&e. Maybe next year if the polaroid fairy comes to town and forgets her cargo I will make my wish come true.

Instead I joined some friends to say goodbye to digmore. I posted some photographs on this blog a few months back from digmore..(see here). I guess people would just think it's a place to ride your bmx - but I never went their to really photograph that. I wanted to capture the people and the spirit there - because to them - that was digmore..

I never wanted to stop taking photos at this place but i'll have to now as the story has moved on. So i'll be culminating my work in a short photofilm here on this blog soon. For now though some shots from the last evening where everyone enjoyed the warmth of a good fire...

Foraging

My brother and I both share a passion for food. So when he invited me out on a foraging expedition with a friend the other week I could hardly say no. Paul (my brother) and Bradley armed themselves with receptacles, a flask of tea and a guide to edible wild plants whilst I loaded my trusty Bronica up for a days strolling.

Alex James

When I was (even) younger it was all Blur or Oasis but despite being firmly not in the latter camp I'd be hard pressed to give any details. Obviously I love 'Girls & Boys', 'Song 2' and the toe tapping 'Country House'......who doesn't but I'd be hard pressed to give any more info on the band than that. So it was with surprise when I was tasked to photograph Alex James. Ok....so who's Alex James? Even my mother seemed to know of this brit-pop turned self proclaimed cheese aficionado. Oh well....I didn't who he was..





I'm definitely going to need an assistant if I have to photograph five kids a rockstar and his wife again......I'm not going to even post the shot's where they tried to get the family pet in too....

Murray

Van Trip

I went for a small surf trip in the van recently with my mate noah. It was supposed to be time away from work and life, and as people who surf (not surfers) - try to get out on our boards more in three days than we have managed in the last six months. It was cold and my sleeping bag was inadequate, but there was some good surf, some big surf and plenty of searching for somewhere to park up.

Oh and lots of tea.

saturday..

I've spent the last two days shooting portraits and editing previous assignments. I did manage to squeeze in a bike ride and the bike is now trying to take over the house..

i know..

I know that some jobs leave a lot to be desired when it comes to the satisfaction of being a photographer. I like to feel like I have achieved something with my job...that sense of achievement after a day at the office...or out of it for that matter. That doesn't always come so naturally..

Now thats not to say that the work you (or me for that matter) is not good, hasn't achieved a brief or the client won't be happy - it is, has and they will... It's just that sometimes it's not exactly exciting or satisfying..

So I'm taking portraits of people I know for no other reason than that. Just portraits of my friends and the people I know..

Tom..or Timmay..photographed at his flat in Bristol.

Chutney..

I'm on batch number three of chutney..making that is. Two successful chutney's already holed up in the larder. I did manage to pull myself away from the kitchen for a moment to elaborate on the photograph from my last post.

autumn..

When there's more rain than shine, more damp than dry and you trade beer gardens for cosy fires it's when autumns arrived. It's not that I don't like waterproof trousers but I can't wear them everyday - and it's the getting caught out that tests my patience. Autumn does also stand for crumbles, chutney making, rain rain more glorious rain, shorter evenings, log fires and all of those beautiful burnt amber leaves..

pump track..

I'm finally getting around to some long awaited scanning of some projects I have been working on recently. Above is the first of a bunch of scans that I was excitedly up late last night processing.

Maybe I should call it 'feet...burgers'.

my favourite model..

even though he spilt coffee on the backdrop..

triscombe and rain.. and then mud.

other side of the lens..

its me and of course I got it flatter.. flat as a laptop..or tabletop..whichever you prefer. it was the lights or the trigger or something..cheers pie.

three things..

First and foremost - award winning hands of Rebecca Harley - Well done - First Place in the Press photographers Year Multimedia Category - FIRST PLACE!!!! You superstar - and you didn't even need to shoot pictures of poor people, dead people or pretend not to pose stuff up. See it here....and see the other winners here....yes well done to Mr Oil Scraff too..

Secondly saw this van on our street for the second time recently - and it reminded me of Timmay and his van.... I had a phone call from the mechanic taking a look at the problem with the diff and the rear axle etc.. (self diagnosed obviously)...wheels fell off when he was driving it. safety first.

Thirdly - our cat Meg did lots of meowing this morning.

pump track..

kung. pump track.