Four days in Ireland

I dusted off my Mamiya 7 II for this trip but it rarely came out of the bag. These were taken on my G9 in Dublin and Kilkenny.

While in Dublin I visited an exhibition at the IMMA of Francis Alÿs' Le temps du sommeil, a series of 111 small-scale paintings documenting the artist's 'recorded actions'. These include: carrying a leaking can of paint around Ghent; pushing a block of ice through Mexico City until it melts; wandering the streets with a gun in his hand until he is arrested and using 500 volunteers to move a 1,600-foot sand dune just four inches from its original position.

Waves

I was over on the Kent coast yesterday to photograph representatives from the NHS and a pharmaceutical company. With time to kill before catching my train back to London I walked down to the beach and took these. They're pretty derivative of Syoin Kajii's Nami series but I had fun taking them.

The United Kingdom

I went to see The United Kingdom play the Bull and Gate in Kentish Town last week. My friend Dan - who runs the Actual Size record label - plays drums and guitar for them so I took a few snaps.

Publication

I recently discovered that iN-PUBLiC's Nick Turpin has launched a biannual periodical called Publication. This incredibly well-produced collection contains images and essays of and about street photography and includes twenty-two images in the form of postcards with the photographer's biog on the reverse. Well worth £14 plus p&p - in my humble opinion - and each sale goes towards producing the next issue.

More info here: http://www.in-publication.com

Liverpool

Whilst up in Lancashire for a shoot yesterday I decided to make a quick detour to Liverpool. Although I was only there for a couple of hours and there wasn't much going on, the light was good.

Japan, October 2008

These are just some random photographs I took while shooting my Aida 間 project in Japan a couple of years ago.

Recent portrait: Gordon Campbell Gray

Gordon Campbell Gray, Chief Executive of Campbell Gray Hotels, photographed for EP Magazine at One Aldwych, London.

From a shoot at the London Aquarium . . .

Corporate portrait: Simon Jose

Simon Jose, General Manager and Senior Vice President, GlaxoSmithKline UK

   
I used some additional, off-camera lighting for the first time today: one 580EX II (diffused with a Gary Fong Lightsphere) was placed on the floor to the left of the interviewer.

Section 44, The DEB and the ICO code

Two images I took at the 'We Own The Streets' demonstration back in January 2008  

It's annoying to be labeled a "Paparazzi" for taking more than one picture of something with a camera any larger than an IXUS, but one can at least understand the thinking behind it. However, thanks to anti-terror legislation - namely Section 44 - more and more photographers are now finding themselves viewed as suspected terror threats, detained while at work and questioned in relation to so-called "hostile surveillance." I have now been questioned and/or prevented from taking photographs on three separate occasions in London.

For more information about Section 44, your rights and the gatherings protesting its implementation, have a look here:

I'm a Photographer, Not a Terrorist! 

On top of this, our Government is planning to effectively dismantle copyright law in relation to orphan works usage rights and ban non-consensual photography in public. This is obviously going to make it increasingly difficult (if not impossible) for photographers to both control their images online and work in public. 

For more information about the Digital Economy Bill and the The ICO code click here. This law has not yet gone through so there is still time to write to your MP and voice your opposition! 

Strangely, although we may soon be allowed to object to having our souls stolen by street photographers, we still can't seem to do anything about all the CCTV!