Merry Xmas

My folks put up a huge Xmas tree this year, the neighbours are jealous, it might win an award.  Go parents!  But, shock & horror it was so laden down with tinsle, baubles and lights that it toppled over during the night last week.  Happily though we re-erected it and securely tied it up in time for Xmas.  aaah how jolly, seasons greetings everyone : )

More Yeah Yeah Yeahs...

The YYYs opened the recent ATP festival with a full gallop through their life changing debut 'Fever To Tell', coming on 30mins late to the rumblings of a hungry crowd the atmosphere was charged.  Like a, cheesy metaphor alert!, storm about to break.  Cue band coming on looking pretty wasted and hyped, playing a savage set that included Karen O spraying champagne intot he crowd and my face.  I live for those live moments where everything is teetering on the edge of oblivion and you're their taking photos in no mans land between crowd and band.  Fun fun fun..

Victoria Park, London

Here's a view of the canal by Victoria Park at about 5pm, taken just near Approach Road. Felt very olde London with steam drifting up from the boats. 

This is exactly NOT how I was feeling at 1.30am this Monday while at ATP Fest in Minehead getting my brain churned into cream by Lightning Bolt.  Pics coming up soon.

California Dreaming...

So many of my favourite things, places and people come from California, permanantly fixed in my pysche from long hot summers in the central valley.  In the same way Mummies were left food and objects to take with them on their long journey to the afterlife, if I found myself in a small boat on the styx I'd happily settle for somewatermelons and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.  My grandparents old house in Davis, California, is made of Redwood, the outside was aged and dark until recently when the new owners painted the whole outside cream.  But I just discovered that the google streetview footage was taken before this - it's a timecapsule of how I always remembered it.  Have a look.

Here's a couple California landscapes.  First from just outside Ferndale an old Victorian farming town that prospered from butter production, then almost vanished before being reclaimed and now preserved as it once was in former times of glory.  Friendly place but there's something just a little spooky about it.  It's also incredibly wet and the grass is greener than you could imagine! 2nd photo is from Bumpass Hell in Lassen Volcanic National Park, it's named after a cowboy, the amazingly named Kendall Vanhook Bumpass who literally stumbled into the hot springs.  After nearly burning his leg off he crawled miles back to the nearest town and then later returned and again fell in.  What a guy.

wtf...vol.1

(Southfields)

(South Thames College)

(I studied here)

(Animal Calenders - Oxford St)

(Honda - Newman St)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs 1st Dec 2009

Only the best band in the whole wide world but with added inflatable eyeballs.  I might just have simple tastes but really what more could one want??  I caught them at Shepherds Bush earlier in the year but having the full expanse of the Brixton Academy stage to run amok on created a glittery spectactle that left me even happier.  Nice light too, well done lighting peeps..

Click on the slide show below to open pictures in a bigger view...

Autumn landscapes

Ok so Autumn is undoubtedly evocative and I'm a sucker for those golden and red leaves/conkers and all that, although I've always been wary of piles of leaves.  You never know when there's going to be a dog turd lurking at the bottom you might unceremoniously skid on.  I also have a thing for barren, gloomy landscapes, I guess it's good for your brain, it's easier to think when you're not being stupified by a beautiful sunset.  Here's a few shots I got back from a walk in the country (around Leominster in Hereford) and my garden (Southfields, London).  Aaah Autumn.  Wrap up warm and drink some port. xx

November Photos...

I carry around my beloved Contax T2 everywhere and although it takes amazingly rich and saturated colour photos, always find that B&W images come out too dark.  This is the kind of stuff that troubles me I guess, along with why can't we get decent Watermelons in the UK!!!  Few weeks back I ran out of my fave colour film Portra 400VC and so all month have been using up my Kodak TX400 (sorry what a geek!).  Got the film back yesterday and what a random selection of images! Here's a little slide show that takes in a Halloween night out, Oh! Inverted World November, A Sonic Boom at Shunt in Liverpool Street and other wierdness....

                              

SamulNori

SamulNori is the art of Korean Drumming and recently had the chance to see a rare UK performance by Kim Duk Soo one of the few masters around.  It started with a series of incredibly complex rhythmic patterns from various regions of Korea that sent the drummers into an almost europhic trance.  2nd half was more performance based with acrobatic dancing and ribbons spun from special caps, amazing.  Sitting in the front row it was so loud and vital at times it felt like you drifted out of the physical space of the theatre and were left aware only of the drumming and flashes of colour.

Japanese Voyeurs

I love this band, like all the 15yr old me's dreams come true.  These pics are from a shoot I did back in late summer. You can check their music out HERE

The Cheek @ Cargo

Last Monday seems like last... who knows when.  Since then I 've enjoyed one of the best Oh! Inverted World nights ever, spellbound by The Mariner's Children and rocking out to Treetop Flyers, experienced a bizarre underground sonic boom in London Bridge and felled a tree in my pyjamas. 

Then last night whilst pondering what to do since finishing 30 Rock series 1 remembered, doh I've got to look through my photos of The Cheek from Cargo last monday!  They've been touring loads and it shows in the new confidence to mix things up in their live playing.  They have a general disregard for any stage banter and mostly sneer at the crowd whilst unleashing sleazy grooves and getting sweaty...

        

        

The Wishing Seat

So you might have noticed it was recently Halloween, pumpkins kicking around, strange kids at the door demanding sweets and drunken adults running around dressed like cat woman.  Ring a bell?  Fun times some might say, evil pagan worshiping deviants others might clamour!

I got fake blood in my eye, drank way too much virgin blood and woke up hung over and on my way to a secret haunted house (pssst it's in Kennington).  It's such a cool place, Simon the owner has dedicated 15 years filling it with macabre robots and secret crannies, go have a hunt for it.  I was there to take photos for the UK launch of Lady Gaga's new version of 'The Fame' album, called 'The Fame Monster'.  It allegedly comes with a free lock of her hair.  Loads of fans had turned up to win prizes in a dance off  (amazing!!!) and best dressed competition and all of them got the chance to have their photo taken.  It was so much fun, everyone was lovely and a bit wacky races, all the pics taken in the 'Wishing Seat'...

Here's a slide show of my favourites, hope you enjoy...

G is for Goodtimes

Denim + Leather = rock n' roll, it's a simple equation.

The Goodtimes are from Southend, last time I took their picture we were under a pier and a local yokel started mouthing off.  The response 'Last night I had your mum', didn't go down so well, he said he was going to kill us.  At this point I'm thinking save the camera, run for the hills and they're taunting him some more. ha, er goodtimes ; )
This time I agreed to take photos only on the condition we did it somewhere safe, not sure where Kensington at 11pm came into it.  There's absolutely no light on the main drag, just expensive shops and no-one on the street, it's a fancy ghost town.  Did finally find a couple cool spots down in the tube station and by Marble Arch...

Oh! Inverted World at The Old Queens Head

Dawned on me today that I've been a bit of a hermit last couple weeks but that's about to change.  Seeing Phoenix for the first time tomorrow at Brixton Academy, can't wait!  Then Yuksek & Delphic in Old Street on Sat, I'm DJing with OIW crew on Monday at Ginglik and.... best of the bunch Oh! Inverted World returns to Old Queens Head on 11th November for a proper folky hoe down, we have Treetop Flyers, Mariners Children and Player Piano playing.  nice, nice, nice!

I have a strange love of paper and have tons of different colours and textures stashed away up in a cupboard with a bunch of old maps and travel guides.  Cue me grabbing the paper and everything else falling on my head! shit. Tidied up, got busy with my scissors and harked back to the summer...

Worship

Here's a few photos from a shoot I did last week with a new band, Worship, taken on a roof in Kensington High Street, London.  The building opposite has become one of my absolute favourites, it's offices for charities and local government and think it's a case of being so ugly it becomes likeable.  For ages have wanted to get in there and take some shots of it's dusty corridors, 70s/80s office furniture and pot plants. In fact better get on that, have heard rumours that it's going to be demolished sometime soon.

The band wanted to go with a mysterious vibe, so thought would tie in with some religious connotations.  Hence the red silk sheet from Shepherds Bush market.  There's some great and cheap fabric shops in and around the market which serve the local Asian community and students living nearby.  The market has a ghost town feel now that Westfield shopping centre has opened so pay it a visit if you can.

The last two, I got distracted and we started creating these mad shapes with the sheets. tasty : )

The Maccabees - Brixton Academy 03/Oct/09

They say 'This is the best night of our lives' and I believe them : )

Powerful, stylish and evocative the atmosphere is electrifying, not all gigs can be like this and tonight is a milestone for The Maccabees. They've played in hundreds of different venues over the past few years, working away until finally reaching this particular pinnacle. Great to see...

you can see more photos HERE

Oh Inverted World - 8th Oct

Oh! Inverted World is currently lurking in E. London, come join us on 8th October. Here's my latest attempt at flyer design, I used a new font for once ; ) OIW favourites La Shark are playing and headlining are 22 lady choir Gaggle. wow.

Shake it...

Guess it makes sense, this is from 1957, but how damn rock & roll is this, mind-blowing. Jerry Lee Lewis sending the kids wild.

In Vogue

Happy Friday! I've been snapping a great new band from Suffolk, The Cheek, and Vogue have used a couple photos on their blog. check it out..

http://www.vogue.co.uk/blogs/the-vogue-blog/articles/090925-the-cheek-band-london-vogue.aspx