Focus On Imaging

For those of you who may not be in the know, once a year here in the UK all the photographic world gets together for a big show at the NEC in Birmingham and it's on now till the 1st March. If you are into photography it is a complete must.

I made my trip up there yesterday and had a good look around, theres some real bargains to be had especially on film bodies.

One point of note is Canon decided not to attend this year which to me is disgraceful. It's as if they have decided being the number one manufacturer for camera's they don't need to look after their customers. VERY POOR! I think they came up with some excuse about going to the American show and not wanting to make announcements in the UK as news would break here before the States. Well it would apear that Nikon / Hasselbald and the rest of the photographic world have no problem with attending both.

The main things i went to see where Adobe's new software (aperture), the huge bags available from Lowepro, and to have a chat with alot of the people who i may have spoken to on the phone over the last twelve months without actually meeting.

For those of you who haven't been before its a must.

Wedding season already?

Just got back from a trip to see the national wedding show at Olympia, after receiving a free invite. Wedding shows aren't my idea of fun but It can be interesting to go and have a scout around and try and spot a new trend coming through. It's also an excuse to have a good natter with other people who i may have worked with at some stage or other. Hairdressers, toast masters, florists, videoographers, weddings are a funny business and it can be amazing how many people you can be working with on just one day.

As for the show itself there were a few photographers of note and some not so good. It just proves the saying that in most instances you tend to get what you pay for.

3 days to put together an album

Just managed to finish off a portrait album for a family. Excellant quality again from Queensberry. Alot of clients ask why i use an album company that is based in New Zealand and the answer is simple. They suppy an excellant world class service, how many Uk based companies would have someone available at three in the morning in case any photographers from the UK call with questions and problems. Sure they may be a bit more expensive but when it comes to quality and service i don't believe there should be any compromise.

On a differant note only 16 days left till the training day in Chelmsford on the 12th March. I can hardly wait to meet up with you all and share some secrets. It's going to be fantastic, of course if you can't attend i'll put some stuff on here just so you know what you missed out on. See you all very soon.

World Wide Audience

It always completely blows my mind when i check the web stats for my site where people come from. The figures change throughout the day depending on what part of the world is in bed and what part is in daylight. The graph on the left is just the last 100 visitors (roughly 3 hours worth).

On the subject of international relationships i recently received this e mail from Carolynne who is from somewhere in Australia;

"God love you Martin, your generosity in sharing hard earned knowledge and experience is directly reflected in the beauty of your work. A truly kind and compassionate heart. Should be more like you. My heart felt thanks and appreciation. Carolynne."

I really appreciate all your kind words from everyone who emails me and i apologise if i haven't answered you all personally but i can promise i have at least read them all.

Adobe Aperture

I've just had a sneak look at Adobe's new software for handling files etc. It's called aperture and my first impressions are very positive. It seems they have really thought about what pro photographers want and need from software and have put it in place. It's definately one of my top things to look at at Focus.

I got back some commercial images from the lab today. As a rule i don't tend to do alot of commercial work but this job just happened to fall into a day where i had nothing in the diary. It worked well and keeps me in the habit of using studio lighting and gives the Hasselblads a work out.

I was pleased with the results but i don't think i'll be jumping straight in and become a purely commercial photographer. I find it alot harder to photograph something that doesn't have a pulse and doesn't even crack a smile at my best jokes.

More Crazy Ideas

For those of you who don't know me can i just explain that i'm not mad. I just like to work outside of the box, in fact i totally refuse to acknowledge the fact that boxes exist. So having said that my plans for the Photographers training day on the 12th March have taken another exciting twist. I can't say anymore than that but It's going to be so good i can hardly wait, i feel like a four year old on christmas eve.

For anyone not in the know the venues the very plush Pontlands Park Hotel, near Chelmsford. I can honestly say for those attending it's gonna be one busy day packed from start to finish. There are a few places left so got to my site and drop me an e mail if you feel you could do with a) a really good laugh and an enjoyable day with other likeminded photographers and b) new skills in portrait photography. Till next time ........

Wow how fast is this year going?

wow

I can hardly believe we're out of January and deep into February. Where's the year going?

Just finished editing a shoot from last week, the people involved kindly allowed me to show some of their images, take a look at the young lad in these images. He was so full of energy and fun all day. I could easily have used 20 rolls of film. One of the locations we used was Rochester castle (Kent) and boy was it blowing a gale that day, still we managed to get some great shots.

I've been checking out the focus on imaging web site and it looks like that canon are not going to be there? That's a real shock decision in my mind as its got to be the best attended photographic show in the UK. Good job Nikon are going to be there to look after their customers (i fancy a little look at the D2x).

Oh while i think about it i must put in a good word fro the Pro centre (and Hasselblad). To my horror i discovered the battery in my mecablitz c60 ct-4 flash was no longer holding a charge (it was six years old). I deperately try to google it and then came to my senses and rang the pro centre. I ordered the battery on friday afternoon and it turned up today as promised. Great service. I can now shoot the Barmitzvah on Saturday safe in the knowledge the back up flash will be sound.