I was taking photos in Trafalgar Square the other day to try and capture some images of the Extinction Rebellion demo.
The demonstrators had occupied the square and built tents all over the road. The Police were trying to reopen the roads and removed the tents that blocked the road. The Police were polite but determined. The demonstrators were upset but compliant – the counteracting forces of democracy were working in some sort of unison.
But, when you see the pictures I am not sure that they show this. When I looked at the pics they seem to show something far more aggressive that I actually witnessed
The angst about Brexit continues. The struggle to make sense what the hell is going on is becoming a little too much to bear. I was in Parliament Square in September taking pics on the day that the MPs took control of the agenda, just before they forced several defeats on the new PM.
As usual there was a selection of amusing and scatty posters with just a minimum of argy bargy between for and against.
The summer has been most quite in terms of cabaret and burlesque, however the performance season has opened with a bang.
The month kicked off with the fabulous Luscious Cabaret – which has the streamline Step into a world of friends you never knew you had if you have never been you really should. I have been shooting their for about 18 months and I have never seen a dud performance.
Athena Thrillme
The one and only Paulus
Wayne Carter
Then I was asked to take some pictures for Usod, better known as United Shapes of Drag at the RVT
And then I shot the award winning Busty and Ginger, again at the RVT, how can my life get any better. Well at time of writing I am still to shoot Burlesque Idol – a fantastic return to cabaret and burlesque.
I know, I know that this supposed to be a blog about how good I am as a photographer and not a personal record etc etc, BUT when you are so super proud of your children, sometimes you have to go that extra mile and post again.
My beautiful daughter got married to the man of her dreams this summer. I was officially ‘off duty’ however I happened to have my camera with me and took a couple of pics of the happy event.
Sophie, my daughter, looked radiant, happy and generally super excited to be starting a new life with her husband. Her husband is an engineer and I couldn’t be prouder of them both. I wish them the full happily ever after whatever life brings them.
I know I have said it before, I really like trains. When I was a teenager I worked on a miniature railway and learnt to drive a steam engine before I could drive a car.
A couple of weeks ago, I was invited back to the railway, The Great Cockcrow Railway, where I grew up to take some photos of their gala day. It was a real pleasure to ride the trains again and get covered in a rime of smuts and dust. The smell of the smoke and the warm oil made me nostalgic for when I was a teenager and all I wanted to do was drive a steam engine.
I took lots of photos, which I will post later, however I also made a short video of the day and I was rather pleased with it, so am posting it here for everyone to see.
I should be trying to sell you video services, however I enjoyed making this video so much that I won’t try and chase you for business, although if you are looking to get some video done, give me a call.
A special photoshoot in the privacy of your own home that will make you feel amazing.
Spice up your portfolio, just for fun or simply because you want some pictures that look different from everyone else? You have an amazing personality why not let it out with an amazing portfolio picture and astounding background to show off your inner goddess.
A special cost of £150 and you will receive 4 photos with the an amazing and exclusive wings backdrop to show off your inner goddess.
Use your best ‘Ascot’ clothes or even perhaps something more exciting. Your two hour shoot will make some awesome photos which can be for you or even for you to share with your partner.
Tricky Formal Points
The photoshoot will take around 2 hours
You will be responsible for your own clothes, make-up and hair
It will be a relaxed lifestyle and dramatic shoot, rather than a usual boring studio shoot. It will be relaxed and personal reflecting your amazing personality
A street photo portfolio shoot – spend the day in using Brick Lane as a backdrop for portfolio photos or simply for the fun of it.
Spice up your portfolio, just for fun or simply because you want some pictures that look different from everyone else? You have a dramatic personality why not bring it out with a street shoot in London’s charismatic Brick Lane.
A special cost of £150 and you will receive 5 photos with the amazing backdrop of Brick Lane in the background.
Use your burlesque costume or even your best ‘Ascot’ clothes. Spend half a day with the Burly Photographer to take some awesome street photos which will spice up your portfolio.
Tricky Formal Points
The photoshoot will take around 3 hours
You will be responsible for your own clothes, make-up and hair
It will be a relaxed lifestyle and dramatic shoot, rather than a usual boring studio shoot. It will be relaxed and personal reflecting your amazing personality
It is refugee week this week. I have a lot of sympathy with migrants, whether forced or who have moved for economic reasons. While it might not look it, it’s part of my own family history.
My father’s parents moved from their home countries, to come to London. They moved to find a better opportunity there than there was at home. Firstly, they lived in Stoke Newington, where my father was born, then moved to the sybaritic paradise that is Hayes in Middlesex. Yes, they moved from Scotland and Wales, but that movement is baked in to my DNA.
I have also been a migrant, first I lived in Germany – when I was a teenager – then I lived in the Soviet Union. In UK terms I was that most disdained character a migrant student. Later on in life I have lived in Germany again. It is a terrible experience being a migrant, you don’t speak the language, everyone is different and the food is not what you are used to at home. I very well remember my feelings on my first day in Germany. I was in tears because I turned on the radio, those of you that know me will know how important the radio is to me, and I couldn’t hear Radio 1, which was my listening of choice when I was 16.
(You have to remember that all of this is before the internet – The time that history has forgotten).
So, now you know a little bit of my history, you will understand why I think that migration is such an important thing to me. I have visited migrant camps, The Jungle Calais, and some informal camps in Northern France. They are utterly horrible places.
As part of Refugee Week I have made a couple of films highlighting the problem and trying to humanise the migrants.
