Musical Publishers Association AGM 25th June 2010

For the 2nd year running I covered the MPA's Annual General Meeting, which is a lot more fun than its sounds. Firstly the people who attend are the denizens of the music world, who create the music we all listen to and the music publishers who propagate it to performers and all the people who channel the fees from performances in all medias to the performers and composers and songwriters.

Secondly, once the work of the AGM (approving, minutes, accounts, re-appointing auditors and officials etc.) is done there is always a music based game based on advocates for particular songwriters and composers, which this year, surprise, surprise was based on the World Cup and very amusingly so!

Using two camera's, a Fuji Fine pix S5 Pro and a S3Pro  with Nikon SB 800 and 600 Flashes both kitted out with Gary Fong Lightsphere II diffusers and a variety of wide angle and telephoto lenses, I photographed the pre AGM arrivals and coffee/biscuits socialising, the AGM itself, the World Cup based competition and prize giving and the post event drinks, canapes and table football in the basement. Gary Fong's diffusers are a marvel and give studio quality light on the hoof and I could not live without them.

I look forward to next year!

A visit to The London Water Tower on Shooters Hill regarding The Thinking Hotel

On Tuesday 22nd, I headed off East with Maria Ana Botelho Neves founder of The Thinking Hotel project and Sarah Farrugia to meet Catherine Shovlin, owner of The London Water Tower to see it for ourselves and decide whether it might suit a planned prototyping workshop for the Thinking Hotel.

It turns out to be an amazing vertical house created by an Australian couple with around £3 million of building works with wonderful ground floor reception areas and a "secret garden" ideal for chatting in groups, five bedrooms each on a different level and a super top floor bar with surrounding balcony 130ft up with breathtaking views of London in all directions.

As we walked around it, climbed up and down it, stopping for a chat on the top deck, then a coffee in the garden, I snapped away with my Leica M8 and 15mm F4 Voigtlander lens and you can see the results in this slideshow.

Due to its very vertical nature, the space is only suited to certain types of workshops and events, but is absolutely fabulous for a super get away from it all break with family or a group of friends.

Definitely a place to tell people about who are looking for a unique experience in London.

Rodrigo Titian gives a Gilding Class for BAFRA at Titian Studio 12/6/2010

On Saturday I was privileged to attend and photograph, a class on Water Gilding, by master restorer, Rodrigo Titian of Titian Studio to members of BAFRA, the British Antique Furniture Restorers Association.

 The Studio restores a vast range of items and I first photographed some of the workshop areas with their multiplicity of tools and materials.

Then the class started with Rodrigo introducing himself and the studio and then a step by step display and explanation of all the processes involved in gilding.

Words like jesso, comp, rabbitskin glue, yellow clay, red clay were revealed as were the techniques and tricks to apply them. The sheer range of knowledge, skill and craft, with a need for sensitivity and aesthetic sophistication was amazing and everyone left, with copious notes and a need to practice their new skills.

You can see more pictures in the slideshow.

Reportage Style wedding photography

 I like photographing events reportage style, as I like telling stories.

  Here in a slideshow are a selection of images of four weddings I have covered in this way.