#phonar

I've just got back from giving a lecture and working with the #phonar class at Coventry University this week where I talked photofilms, transformative storytelling and transmedia. Interesting stuff and thanks to Jonathan Worth's approach to sharing and creative commons (it's his class), you can take part and hear the class too as #phonar is free to join and take part in online. Visit www.phonar.org for more details.

Matt Johnston who run's the course with Jonathan will be uploading the talk to the phonar class soon for you to hear but in the meantime he recorded my five top tips for photofilms..

Stray

Anyone want to look after this beautiful stray cat. Got enough already. He's Freddie and he is super cute.

New Old

I've started working on a new project in a way that's new to me, but old to many others. You see my first camera was digital - a fuji finepix. I don't remember the model but it had 1.3 megapixels and was damn cool. I took it to the states and took as many pictures as I could fit on to it's massive 16Mb flash card. The pictures are long gone on a hardrive that decided it no longer wished to take part in living, but I still remember the camera. So I never had a 'proper' camera and thus had never got my hands covered in developer, fumbled around in the dark and got used to the heady red lights of the darkroom.

Time for a change..

Paul

Paul has a cigarette under the vine. Barratt Street, Summer 2011.

Life Bicycles

When I embarked upon a trip to Alpe d'huez in the French Alps this year for some riding at the ever famous Megavalanche event I was excited. I expected to spend my time split evenly between the local bars, the chairlift and riding down mountains as fast as I possibly could. The reality was that I slept on a cardboard box, got a chest infection, didn't make it to the bar at all and spent less time riding than an average week at home. On the plus side I did race the Megavalanche and it was awesome. Really really hard and really awesome.

When I wasn't helping to make our super demanding chalet dinner or trying to take the tyre off my bike or just generally taking medication to make me feel less like dying I made a video of our travels. Life Bicycles. It's very very serious. Seriously.

Names

I recently attained the title of odd-parent from my long suffering friend Gwyenth (yes - she's Welsh). Odd-parent as in a god parent with a lack of religious responsibility. The day was celebrated in traditional Welsh style with a rainy day, a few ales and a longer walk than expected including the standard pushing a heavy pram through a wet grass field whilst being chased by some angry cattle. My favourite.

Here's to lovely Gracie (that's my new odd-daughter).

River Usk.

Gwyn, Gracie and rain.

That's Gracie with a very well behaved (not very often) Rufus. More pictures on my flickr account here.

Greenman

Went to Greenman festival on the weekend and had a great time apart from realising that I'm older now and that lack of sleep, carrying a box of wine around for sustenance and sleeping in a tent just doesn't help.

Some great bands most notably Coco's Lovers, Laura Marling and The Burns Unit who are now on my shopping list. Check out this video of Coc's lovers playing out of the back of a van powered by bikes - awesome!