It’s been a while since I took to the street with my 135mm, and with a shoot falling through last minute but the overwhelming itch to use my camera, street photography seemed the next best option. I forgot how much I enjoy snapping random faces in the crowd.
Jack Smith Is…
It was Saturday morning and Jack arrived in Glasgow, complete with an entire box of Krispy Kreme’s for my fatty fat arse. I enjoy showing people around Glasgow because – as much as it has acquired a terrible reputation over the years – I know the good bits and how to sell the city; Tribeca for brunch, the lighthouse for a panoramic view of the (diamond in the rough) city, or a lunchtime drink in Ashton Lane. I think I sold it to him, although that might be because Indie took a shine to him.
Alan’s Mural
My friend, Alan, whose wedding I will be shooting later in year, asked if I could photograph him painting a mural at a local salon. I had no idea Alan could even paint or draw, or was as creative as he actually is, so it was a nice surprise.
I really struggled with the white balance in these photos; it’s a bit all over the place and was difficult to get right with the green glare from the wall, and the fluorescent lighting above.
Refresh Glasgow
It’s been a while since I took my camera with me when I haven’t needed to. This disappoints me as taking my camera everywhere was how I found my feet with photography, and I often got good, candid portraits as a result (I even took my camera to the dentist). Last night was Glasgow’s Refresh. I’m making more of an effort to socialise with people who work on the web as I enjoy picking their brains and often find I learn something new (last night, for example, I learned the opposite of agile – waterfall!), and it also happens to be a good laugh.
Having spoken to some of the folk at Refresh, it seems there’s some interest in learning photography. I’m thinking of putting together a photo walk in Glasgow, so if this is something you’d like, leave a comment so I can gauge interest.
Ayden Gets Inked
I had mentioned to Ayden a while back it would be fun to photograph her getting tattooed, and so – after a weights session at the gym and before I headed back to work – I popped into Timeless Tattoo for 20 minutes and did just that. I’ve never seen anyone get a tattoo before. I’m not interested in having one myself, but I generally quite like them on others. It struck me how much pain poor Ayden was in. She’s a bit of a veteran when it comes to tattoos, and I had gathered some people even like the pain. I like Ayden’s new tattoo because it reminds me of Bioshock.
London
Earlier this week I was in London for business. Despite staying in Chelsea, which was pretty to look at, and being treated to a 3 course meal at The Fifth Floor (I would have loved to photograph my dessert, “Doughnut Funfair”), this was the only frame I snapped. Mark came with me as he’s pretty good at front-end development and procrastinating (only kidding, Mark). This was taken when we camped in Cafe Nero in Chelsea to get some work done.
On an unrelated note, head over to Kickstarter and check out Safelight, an app for photographers to proof and sell their work. It’s the fist Kickstarter project I’ve backed, and I really want to see it come to life.…
Naconf 2013
Another January, another New Adventures in Web Design. I have attended this conference every year, and can safely say the third and final New Adventures was my favourite. The topics covered and how they were delivered inspired me, to say the least. I know a conference has been worth the expense if I’m itching to run home and create, which New Adventures did (and I’d be running almost 300 miles). My personal highlight of the conference was Wayne Hemingway’s talk.
Initially I was mildly displeased the conference fell on the day before my birthday. Did I really want to spend my 26th birthday driving home for 5 and a half hours to an empty house? Naw. I stayed an extra night and hoped there would still be familiar faces kicking about. Chloe, Andy, Stringer, Hughes, Jack Smith, Mark, Paige, Jack Osborne, Leckie and Robbie treated me to dinner at Bonzai, followed by cocktails at the Lace Market Hotel. I’m still very grateful for their kindness.
The photo walk was another highlight. Despite this being my third year visiting Nottingham, I hadn’t seen much of the city. I was surprised by how pretty it is. Of course, with my preferred subject matter being people, I spent the photo walk shooting the attendees as opposed to our surroundings.
All in all, a fantastic end to New Adventures in Web Design. Nottingham, you’re nice.
Shipyard Faces
Any opportunity to partake in some street photography, I visited Ferguson Shipbuilders to watch as they launched Hallaig, the first commercial ship to be fully built on the River Clyde for over five years. I was surprised at the turnout; people of all ages – including school kids – had come to wave flags and cheer. And everyone had a camera, which meant I could subtly blend into a sea of lenses.
A Typical Weegie
Shooting at The Barras yesterday reminded me of my love for Glasgow, particularly the funny patter with the Weegies. We attracted a lot of attention while shooting a beautiful model in Carolyn’s dresses, surrounded predominantly by male market traders. I’ll be uploading those photos later in the week, but for now I just wanted to demonstrate what a typical Glaswegian is like. Yep.
Anyone For Tennis?
There is something fascinating about sports photography, not that I have ever had the pleasure of partaking in it on a serious level. Competitors are caught up in the moment, unaware of the camera, meaning you have the perfect marriage of candid and action photography.
