Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:17:08 GMT So I sold my iPhone 3G so that I can afford the upgraded model on Friday. I was gobsmacked at the value of these phones second hand, which was why, ultimately, I did it. As much as I love my apple emblazoned phone, I wasn't expecting to miss it as much as I am. Sure it's pathetic in part, but today I've realised just how much I use the device for staying in touch, for keeping on track of emails and information to help me do my work smoothly and efficiently. Just something as small as not having my calendar to hand instantly is so crippling.
Anyway, thats as much as I'm going to sulk. I'm just looking forward to Friday morning.
Got a new film coming up on Whats On Stage tomorrow or Thursday, this one is about Open Air Theatre. It's been a struggle getting this one done, for many reasons, but I'm hoping that it proves to be an interesting five minutes to watch. Will be finishing the edit before work in the morning.
Also spent part of the afternoon with a company filming a piece that we're likely to be running at the end of the month. The crew that awaited me was very organised and had even scripted and planned everything to film, which was just wonderful and made my life very simple, being the lone camera, sound, etc, chap who turned up with only half an idea! Will post more when it goes online.
So yes, in-between working on a massive edit at the dayjob and having no decent phone, means few updates from me this week and slow responses to email. I hear you breathe a sigh of relief to that very news.
x ian
So the whats on stage videos so far...
Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:16:43 GMT I can't embed the videos on here sadly... but truth be told, I also want to drive the traffic over to the site... Here are links to the two videos I've made for What's On Stage so far...
Putting together the next one now.. this one hasn't gone as smoothly as the other two, for many reasons. Salvaging it in an edit hopefully...
x ian
So very tired
Mon, 8 Jun 2009 23:56:12 GMT I'm busy busy busy at the moment. Dayjob is crazy and full.. not a moment to myself. What's On Stage is getting going nicely - I've two videos up and planning the rest for this month.
I was touched to the response I got to my recent 'announcement', I really didn't think anyone would give a sh*t, but I got lots of lovely email and tweets.. even a few reposts on blogs - seriously I was gobsmacked and touched. I'm getting there with planning my swansong exhibition - its being held on the 15th July in East London, between 7pm and 8:30pm. I won't say where as I'm limited on numbers, so its very much a one-off private invite only showing. But if you're interested in attending, please email me or send me a tweet.
Along with that, I'm going to have a slight re-jig on this webpage to reflect what I'm doing now. Not worked that side out, will probably do a temporary change like put photos all on one page, videos on another, blog on one, etc, then jump to a new design at a later date. Anyone have any thoughts on wordpress? Seriously considering using their software.
Anyhoo.. just thought I'd tap a little update, might get round to sharing thoughts on the new iphone later in the week, might also get the online store up and running soon too.
night x ian
Hello whatsonstage.com
Wed, 3 Jun 2009 00:37:20 GMT I've just filed my first video report for whats on stage tv. Last week I attended one of the group outings they organise, afterwards we spoke on camera with some of the theatregoers and cast at a post-show drinks reception that's part of the package. The show was Sister Act. The film is designed to showcase the fun evenings that WOS do, I hope it succeeds, it was a very enjoyable evening, the WOS team and theatregoers' were great company.
So long as all's fine the video will be on their website at some point tomorrow.
In other theatre-related news, last night I went to the re-opening of Avenue Q. This was a group outing that was organised by the Dress Circle store, not WOS! In fact I had these tickets booked up long before WOS was part of my life. Like the night last week, there was a post show reception with cast and puppets, which was absolutely brilliant. I found myself at the bar collecting some wine for me and my friend, being propositioned and chatted up by the Lucy The Slut puppet! I love anything muppet related, so was overjoyed to have conversations with pieces of foam! The cast were wonderful and very playful with those of us who were there, letting everyone get photos too.
There's a few more photos on my Flickr page. For anyone who's seen the show, its as good as ever.. but then there's no real changes, so I wouldn't've expected anything less. In fact the only change I did notice was that Trekkie doesn't pop up from the floor in 'the internet is for...', presumably there isn't a trap on the stage for them to do that yet. It was nice to see Jon Robyns back as Princeton, if only for one night. At the post show drinks, he said that he had to rehearse a week and a half with them just to do that one performance - usual Princeton Daniel Boys was off to do the last night of the John Barrowman tour.
In other news, the arrangements for my exhibition are coming along. I have a date and a venue. Some friends are doing the mounting for me. Got to arrange a good price for printing next and sift down to 30/40 shots to display... which in fact is the hardest part of doing a ten year retrospective. I've thousands upon thousands of images in my catalogue, deciding which represent my work best is unbelievably hard. I've been boring my friends with constant requests for thoughts.
Right, thats enough rambling for now. Exciting times. x ian
Bye bye rocktography
Thu, 28 May 2009 15:34:35 GMT So it's taken me a long time to post this, simply because I don't want too. It took me an awful long time to agree with facts that were clearly in front of me, and whilst I've come to terms with things and privately relayed my feelings to those closest around me for the past few months, its now that I should post something on my website - a place thats become more about what gadget I'm playing with or testing of late, as opposed to my latest photography work. That is simply because I've purposefully been slowing down the amount of work I do in this wonderful, artistic field. And now is the time to admit that I have to almost stop completely.
I've accepted a sort of semi-retirement from a semi-profession for a few months now and this decision has been spurred on by a new job that I was recently offered. Thanks in large to the videos I make at the dayjob and those I've been doing recently for Clash, I've been appointed Whats On Stage TV Editor. It's something I'm very excited about, I've always loved theatre, had a great respect for the performers in this area and been fascinated by stage and show trickery. This new job allows me to indulge in this passion and share a large amount of behind the scenes knowledge with other fans, whilst at the same time making films - something else I've always excelled at. I see it still as a form of photography, just one of a moving picture nature.
The snag however is, that this is not a full time job. It's a part time thing. I'll still have to work at the school - which I love doing, it's a great place to be in - so the only way I can fit in this new challenge and give it the all that it deserves me to provide, is to quash my work as a live music and promo photographer. In the end the decision was quite easy. My health is good, but events of past have made gigs particularly difficult. Whilst the adrenaline gets me through, gigs will kill me the following day. I can't jump like a loon any more, I need a seat at a show. It's pathetic. I'm aware. I try to make an effort to see bands I still love and are friends with.
It's also an area of work that's notoriously difficult to get paid for unless you're with an agency. The majority of publications want a shot for nothing these days. If you don't oblige then they can find some upstarter on flickr who thinks his compact cam is the bees knees and would almost want to pay the mag to take their shots. In short the rise of the cheap compact and DSLR has more than killed the artform, its pretty much killed a large chunk of the business. The only way to make a real living in the area, IMHO, is to either be with a great agency or work to a level of notoriety (for whatever reason) that makes you a name that the labels kill for. Sadly, what with the level of PR control on artists these days, its near on impossible to work to upto this level. You need a very lucky break and one hell of a giving publication to be working for, or be someone working from the outset with a group who explode bigtime into the mainstream. I fear we'll never have another 'name'.
Saying that, over recent months, I've come to follow a great snapper rising through the ranks who goes by the name of Simon Pollock. Having met briefly at one of the events I ran with 3 mobile, he's become one of my fave tweeters, always with something insightful to say, always striving to get accreditation for great gigs, getting fantastic snaps and then getting them homes. From what I can tell he's doing a lot of work with the wonderful demotix - boy I wish they were around when I was starting up. So please check him out http://blogger.gtvone.com I'd have no problem in recommending him if you need any work, I'll certainly push some his way - he has a baby on the way too, so I'm sure will appreciate any pennies or opportunities.
My thanks go to...
I know that I will do another gig or shoot. Likely for a friend who needs something or has an emergency that they need help with. Until then can I thank every PR that I've worked with. On the whole you've been great and helpful and supportive, your work with grass roots journos and togs is as important as the big boys. The access you've given me has helped me develop and is also part of the reason I've got this new job- I learnt to conduct an interview and work with a professional front. Can I also give a big shout out to my man in Glasgow, Mark. In a strange way, this chap has almost become my agent. He's been there through the hardest of times and helped get me back out and in the field when things were low, taking me to Clash and beyond - we've never met, but you've always been an email away.. and we will meet soon! Mark is one of the people who I'll always go back and do another shoot for.
Jason, Jamie, Tim and Ollie (aka Battle) - You guys were always the warmest and most supportive champions of my work. You gave me great access and many times I will always cherish. You also made a string of great songs, it will always upset me that it didnt work out in the end, that you never got the recognition you deserved. You guys will forever be a part of me.
similarly, Katie, Doug and Nestor (aka Sky Larkin). You three are simply just great. You gave me a shoot whilst recording your first single, I've many great and funny photos from that day. You got my shot in mags and papers, including the Times! And then you agreed to do the demo postcard for my Clash series. You've always been kind and generous and I'm so chuffed that you've landed with the greatest label in the World, who in turn helped you produce a rather special record that I cannot stop listening too.
Gareth, the man of Battle and Sky Larkin and all things good in the grass roots world. This chap works tirelessly to find and share great music and bands with the rest of us. For me, much of the battle and sky larkin goodness was facilitated through your dedication. You rock. I will forever owe you a pint.
And finally to my always supportive family, friends and those most special to me - you all know who you are. You put up with me. You encourage me. You inspire me. You will always be there as I move forward into my new exciting challenge in life. I love, adore and cherish you all.
I really didn't mean to ramble on quite as much as this. That however is my prerogative, there's a lot I've wanted to say for a while and I hope I've done it as succinctly as possible. In the coming weeks I'm going to re-establish my online store, will update the shots on these pages and also plan to host an exhibition in July, a one off night to share and celebrate my favourite shots, hopefully with some live music too. If you'd like to come along - I'll make sure it's free! - then please email me at ian@rocktographer.co.uk
x ian
Catchup pt2 - Gadget Show Live
Tue, 19 May 2009 22:22:12 GMT So after the day of travelling and SE C510 task that I did, me and my friend Andy ventured to Gadget Show Live.
We were going with Matt from 3mobilebuzz, Seb from 1000heads and two other bloggers. Attending as press, we had free reign to search the exhibition, but had to specifically look for most bizzare, useless, desirable and innovative items. The video below gives a nice snapshot of what I found..
And just for good measure, here's a bit of the live show they did in the super theatre.
So that was a fun fun day. Only disappointment was the fact that no one had 3d tv's on show, which was a great shame. The top tips area they had was also deliciously aimed at an alien, seriously, it was like they were talking to lemons who didnt even know how to - say - switch on a phone. I would've thought most people visiting a gadget exhibition would know more than the presenters in that area. We did. We left!
Cheers to Matt and Seb for arranging it all.. and for the lunch! x ian
Blog catchup - SE C510 task 2 - Seven Sins
Tue, 19 May 2009 20:59:05 GMT So I'm playing blog catchup. Its been a few mad weeks at the dayjob and in my life.. all's good, very good, a new job is on the horizon.. its all very exciting, but more on that later.
My first catchup is the aforementioned second task I did for 3 mobile buzz on the SE C510 phone.
Me and my friend @pamrleader each had a phone and a set of playing cards. The task was to take photos with the cards in shot, each number representing a sin (for me) or virtue (for pam). The order of the sins was set to us via Skype on the phone - both in text chat and conference calls. Now because its taken me such a long time to get this online, I suppose I should plug 3 Mobile's new Skype initiative... free skype calls and connection for life, even on PAYG. Pretty impressive. If I had more than three people on my skype, I'd probably take them up on it! Right, thats the plug out of the way, after the seven sins, I had to do three extra modern day sins.
Whilst I'm not posting all the pics I took, here's a selection.. I was on a break at the time, the morning in Manchester, aft on the M1 and evening in Birmingham.. which made doing this rather,um, interesting.
Lust
Greed
Gluttony - this wasnt the one I used, that was a rather embarrassing photo of me!
Rock n Roll (new sin)
Pollution (new sin)
So thats a handful of pics. Once we were done we uploaded the photos to snapfish using the phone, where the pics were printed out and put into a photo album for us to keep. Nice.
It was a good chance to get a few final impressions of the phone. It's a lovely small cheap phone for your pocket. Not something that I personally would want as a main phone, but if I needed a secondary one for the dayjob, this would probably be it. Its a perfect phone for someone on a budget. I was actually sad to see it go back to three mobile, but that was probably more that it was a totally free phone for me to use for a month!
OK, thats that one done. Next.. gadget show live! x ian
Busy week
Sun, 26 Apr 2009 11:05:45 GMT So I'm back from Birmingham and the Gadget Show Live and a week later still haven't written a single word about it or the phone challenge I took part in.
And that's because this has been a very busy week. Straight back to work with a huge stack of work to get thru. Literally everything else has been put on hold. I'm hoping to sort through my photos and videos at some point this week, but again, got a busy few days ahead. Hoping to get back to doing some bits for clash too.
I saw in the week that the leisure society are up for a Novello, which tickled me, I'm so pleased for them. When the video I made with them a month or so ago airs online, you'll see that they discussed that would be one their aims with the record. So score! Again, well done!
Farewell Manx... hello Brum!
Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:52:29 GMT Writing from today's Holiday Inn.. just off J7 on the M6. The mobile Bband is much faster here, which is very pleasing indeed. Might even be able to upload a video or too.
This morning me and my friend Andy headed to Old Trafford. Whilst I couldn't've cared less, Andy was in his personal Mecca. The stadium is impressive and I actually really liked the way they've done their Munic air crash tribute - right in a tunnel the supporters will use to get to one of the stands. A brilliant way to make sure the fans never forget about the tragedy.
Tonight, we're off out for a curry - what else would you do in Birmingham? Then we're gonna dash to watch Doves at the O2 academy. Taking of O2.. the SE C510 challenge I'm running for their rival 3 is up and going.. in fact, it's almost done. I've had to find the seven deadly sins as I've gone about my business today. It's certainly interesting trying to fit this in whilst also on holiday and trying to navigate a bunch of towns and roads you don't know!
Anyhoo's. I'm tired, hungry, but still happy today. All's good.
Oh! and GADGET SHOW LIVE TMR! Doing stuff with 3 mobile (heck, screw it, I should just have this webpage sponsored by them now...!), hopefully will find time to browse around. I must visit the Flip video stand.. and must try to go say hello to Jason Bradbury again!
TTFN x ian
hello from manchester
Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:35:11 GMT Not having much luck with t'internet up here.
First my video from yesterday is a bit big to upload over mobile broadband, then my blog software throws a hissy fit and loses a long postcard to you all about yesterday's adventure.
So both can wait now! Long story short sat nav broke.. got dinner.. went to watch We Will Rock You on tour - really enjoyable and they have quite a new star in the cast... look up Georgina Hagen, yep, thats the girl from Britannia High.
Doing some touristy stuff in Manc today, then off to birmingham for a curry and The Doves. Oh! and I'm doing another 3 mobile phone challenge today too.. which should be interesting.
x ian
Not been upto much!
Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:58:44 GMT As the title suggests.. I've not done any work full stop for a few weeks.. no day job, no photo work, nothing on video.. not even testing for 3 mobile!
Spent a large chunk of my Easter hols with one person, unexpectedly, but I've really enjoyed the past couple of weeks, I feel relaxed and rather happy. Can't really say much more than that, mainly because I figure my downtime to be of no interest to the average person who might stop on this page.
Right now I'm on a mini-trip with my friend Andy. We've just arrived in Manchester... dotting about here for about 36 hours, then off to Birmingham. Will be doing some work whilst I move for 3, a challenge on the phone and then something quite funky on Saturday.
Will try to post some photos or video from my phone or Flip HD. As always, the twitter is updated all the time.
x ian
Gadget Show Twitter Mob!
Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:26:02 GMT GOSH I am the laziest person in the World. It's taken me a week and a half to write this.. hmm.
Friday before last I attended the Gadget Show Twitter Mob. Each week the channel 5 program contains a challenge, usually this is about two of the presenters representing a gadget in a particular line of tech and going head-to-head over two or three parts. The show that the inserts were being filmed for t'other week had the challenge of Twitter Vs Facebook.
Jason Bradbury was running Twitter's corner. The challenge was, which social network could gather together the most people in one place and one time. Throughout the week @jasonbradbury was plugging the event on his twitter account, asking people to retweet and use the tag GADGETSHOWMOB. It was near the top on twitscoop nearly all week. The meet was 1pm on the Friday at Somerset House in London.
A twist of fate meant that I had the day off work - an unexpected return to hospital outpatients meant that I had to rearrange everything I was doing that week. So once I was done at the hospital on Friday morning I walked to Somerset House. Arriving an hour early I was surprised to see JB already there, filming with a laptop and twitter webpage wide open. Even more surprising was the fact there was already ten or so people who'd arrived before me.
The camera's soon turned on me as JB said hello and asked if I was there for the twitter mob. I hope that bit isnt used in the final edit, because I'd just walked 6 miles and was a bit hot, flustered and breathless! It was a glorious day weather wise, and I sat with everyone else there, yes, tweeting live updates - pathetic, I know - and talking with the others. One person had come from Portsmouth, one from Manchester.. people were traveling quite some distance for this! We all got photos with JB..
me and Jason Bradbury
Randomly Gail Porter then turned up. I was a bit thrown by her appearance, not only as I didn't know why she was there, but the 17 year old lad in me just died and went to heaven! It was soon explained that Suzi Perry had been fairly ill and wasn't able to film, so GP was standing in for her. Having since read what Suzi's been through lately, I can only wish her a speedy recovery, it's quite terrible.
Gail Porter and Jason Bradbury change into street clothing...
...because twitter and facebook are going to have a Dance Off. FEAR. Lured by curiosity and wanting to do something interesting, I'm now faced with the prospect of being filmed dancing on tv. FEAR.
More people trickle in, with a huge influx just as 13:00 ticks over. We spread on two sides of Somerset House, facing each other like enemies about to head into war. The dance off consists only of simple, silly and fun moves... We Will Rock You. Electric Boogaloo. A reverse mexican wave (dunno what its called!). JB - who can Breakdance - leads on the heavy and impressive stuff, even spinning one of the mob round above his head. Gail makes full use of her goldie lookin chain in her moves.
Its all over quickly. Jason and Gail stick around to talk to people, have photos taken - and in Jason's case sign books that his publisher had bought down. Having promised everyone lunch and having to pay for it himself - Jason clearly hasn't got enough cash to pay for everyone that turned up... suffice to say he seemed fairly blown away by the response. Everyone agreed that he should give the £300 he had drawn out to a homeless chap - a far greater cause if you ask me.
The final tally... Twitter, a couple of hundred (hard to count). Facebook, about 11. :o) Always nice being on the winning side!
What did I learn from the mob?
People travelled from all over the UK to attend this. It really was quite gobsmacking.
Those silly slot shades that Kanye West wears actually help you see clearly - even if you have bad eyesight.
The tweeter's device of choice was clearly the iPhone, everyone had one and either tweetie or twitterfon fired up.
I shouldn't be near any video camera whilst attempting to do any form of dance moves
By turning up, not only did we whoop facebook, we also helped a good deed take place. I'm sure the recipient of that £300 was very grateful.
Great. So I've now caught up on what I want to write about. Not much else is going on at the moment. Trying to switch off work at the moment, focussing on health for a few weeks- not that I'm ill, just I need to calm and refresh for a bit. Might tap a bit about what's rocking my World later in the week, although it really isn't that interesting!
x ian
SE c510 treasure hunt
Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:18:27 GMT SO. As I've previously mentioned, I'm testing, writing, blogging about the SE c510 phone for 3 mobile. To get this going, 3mobilebuzz.com took myself and three other bloggers who're also testing the phone, out on a treasure hunt around London.
Before I continue with the story, let me bring myself uptodate with my previous post on the phone. There is a manual keypad lock, its star then a lock button, it took two days to work this out and wasn't mentioned in the manual. Sony get a huge FAIL on that one, we don't all come to their phones with such prior knowledge. Also, after a few more hours playing, it soon became clear that it really isn't fair to compare this to my beloved iPhone. The SE c510 isn't a smartphone, it really is a budget, entry level phone.. as indicated by the cheap line rental 3mobile charge. Also with that in mind, it took me a very long time to get to grips with the interface, I'm used to something a little slicker!
Back to the treasure hunt.
We met late afternoon in a pub by the Tate Modern. After quick introductions we were paired up into two teams. I was with Beth, a social network and website designer/adviser/consultant. We were given an envelope with clues. We didn't just have to solve each clue, but had to perform a task with the phone; some were uploading a photo to facebook, some a video to youtube, some updating our facebook status'. The phone was also used to help us get around, a google map app was installed for that purpose. OK, so that covers all bases, we have excuses to tap out some words about things the phone can do.
I'm not going to give away too many of the clues or responses, mainly because I'm planning on doing something like this with my friends over Easter. However, what followed led to various embarassing facebook updates and confusing photos for my friends to look at. What I'm going to do is comment on each of the things we were doing with the phone.
Facebook app OK. The facebook app that 3mobile have is fairly useless IMHO. It presents you with a input bubble for you to type in and update your status. It also displays the latest ten or so updates from your friends. If you want to click through for more info, or to do anything else, it simply redirects you to the facebook mobile website. The only nice thing it does is add an extension to the home screen of the phone that constantly shows you your friends latest updates. Otherwise, this app is better suited to twitter based on its limited functionality.
You Tube app I found it simple enough to upload a video I shot on the phone's camera to you tube. Logging in was a greater problem as it capitalised the first letter of our passwords. Both me and Beth found this - took a few seconds to work out how to turn that off. Browsing videos since then has been a mixed blessing, the screen is too small to make this a phone I'd want to watch a long you tube video on. Video quality was also average, though, I've found the sound quality to be fairly crisp at a test I did at a gig. Judge for yourself below... Clip on the treasure hunt (on a boat) and clip of Jarle Bernhoft at the regal rooms - both short as I've no memory card for the phone.
Google Maps Again, had mixed blessings with this as we did the hunt. Some clues had postcodes to help us find our way around and generally point us in the correct direction. All very well, except to the feature that pinpoints your current position on the map isn't very accurate. It was always a few roads off the correct position and didn't update that quickly - a footnote, one request for current position presented me an ariel map of the whole of London, I know, technically it wasn't wrong. We learnt this the hard way, at one point getting walking directions from cambridge circus to soho square that, bizzarely, wanted to send us via Westminster. Those who know the area, know that's completely wrong.
The trade off was to get our rough position mapped on the phone, then look around us to work out where we actually were on the map. The actual workings of the app are fairly simple, a key to zoom in and out, and decent search input. The maps can be a tad sluggish to load and refresh, but for the cost of the phone on contract, I see no need to complain.
The Camera Switching to the camera app is simple, just open the protective cover on the back. There's an action button just as you'd find on a digital compact camera - half down to focus, full press to take the shot. It was hard to tell the quality on the phone, so I uploaded the pics to flickr... look below with links to the full res pics. My opinion is that the quality is decent for a phone camera, a little bit blurry round the edges, but decent enough. In a similar vein, there's no real definition to the colours, it just takes a simple, flat image.
I found the focus sometimes failed to work properly at times, leading to a few very fuzzy images and found little value in the smart sensor that's supposed to take a shot when people in your photo smile - mainly because, despite many attempts, I've not been able to get it to work.
Some shots below are from the hunt, took one at work and one at a gig - the latter proves it didnt cope well with low light.
Other things Email - still not got this to work properly, I'm guessing because it's a review handset and I have to actively go and register a temp address... thats what the phone tells me at least. I can't be bothered to do that currently. Maybe later.
Action buttons - you know the action buttons you get on phone that allow you to respond to a question? The ones that are located to the bottom left and right of the screen? They're ridiculously small, especially for someone like me with huge, fat digits. Seeing as they're located right alongside the call end and stop keys, this has led to several frustrating mis-hits.
Battery - is very good. Only lost half the charge in the two very active hours of use in the hunt. On standby it seems to last a large number of days.
Uploading - You have options to upload photos to facebook, vids to you tube, or anything to email, from within the media browser. Couldn't have been any easier.
Overall Well, I'm sure me and Beth lost the hunt. It took an hour and a half to get to the halfway point and another envelope of clues... we kinda gave up the ghost and headed straight down to the end point. If only I knew to bring some red bull for stamina! And the phone? As I've said several times, for a free phone at £20 a month, this is a fairly decent phone. It's clearly something aimed at someone on a low budget, and for that market I reckon it'll get a big thumbs up, but for the geek it's nothing that special.
OH! and seeing as I turned up late, and had to rush off early'ish.. I've no idea who the other two on task were... hoping 3mobilebuzz will let me know though.
Will tap more on the phone in another week or so. Right now.. dinner.. then I'll blog about heading out to the Gadget Show Twitter Mob this afternoon.
x ian
Gadget Show Twitter mob!
Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:14:32 GMT Just got back from a twitter mob that was organised for Channel 5's Gadget show... what fun. Will write more about that later, as well as my current thoughts on the SE C510 phone I'm testing. We did a treasure hunt with 3mobilebuzz last week.. I've been really slow at getting anything written, but I will do so very soon.. tonight in fact.
So I'm trialing the Sony Ericsson C510
Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:12:06 GMT Over the next month or so I'm trialling the Sony Ericsson C510 phone on behalf of 3mobilebuzz.com - tomorrow afternoon I'll participate in what they describe as a 'trip with a twist' in London to start us off and, i suppose, celebrate the launch of the phone on the 3 mobile network.
As someone who totally adores his iphone, a large chunk of my rambling is going to - without question - lead to comparisons between the two. Not just on things like pic quality, but also on whether or not I can be weened off the item of beauty that apple made for me.
So if you follow any of my blogs, or my twitter, please forgive my ramblings on this topic if it doesn't interest you. Using a different phone after nearly two years of iPhone OS is something I want to play with myself, see if I can actually justify my holier than thou preaching of the jesus phone.
Initial thoughts 3mobilebuzz sent out the phones to myself and a few others yesterday to have a play with before this 'trip' tomorrow. Tonight I unboxed it. Initial thoughts include (in no particular order):
- Feels nice in the hand, is quite dinky.
- Haven't seen a phone menu - as such - for a long time now, iphones are not like this obviously. As I can recall from days of yore, menu items are self explanatory and mostly useless in terms of content as there appear to be shortcut keys to most things. They have a nice shortcut system whereby the onscreen grid mirrors the grid of the physical buttons, hitting the corresponding key loads that menu option. Thats fairly slick, i do admit.
- Theres no keylock. At least there is, just you can't activate it easily. Nokia have the centre + * system. the iphone has the button and onscreen slide. This has no way for me to lock when I'm done with the phone. There is an autolock so it will lock the keypad after, say, 30 seconds, but this setting is off by default. How stupid. It took me ten minutes to find the paragraph that explained this as well as how to turn it on in the manual (note: the iphone has no manual, never ever needed one). Even then, its tucked away on page 64, this should be near the front, not on pg 64, the point where i've lost all interest in reading and want to use the phone. So its menu > settings > gen tab > security > autolock > switch to on. Surely this should be on as standard in the phone build.
- Wanted to try the FM radio, but I can't. I need to plug in the supplied headphones that act as an antenna. Fine for now, but these phones use a sony patented connection for the headset, not the standard 3.5mm jack. I can see me using this headset and will be narked if i have to shell out for a replacement, so I just won't bother. Give me my amazing wunder radio app and its use of the 3G network any day.
- Camera is activated by slipping down the protective cover over the lens. Seems fairly swish and smart. Taking a shot is just like a standard digicam.
Thats all i've had time to play with so far. I will ramble, sorry, but I'm taking part in this trial and WANT to ramble.
Tomorrow the idea of the launch event is to take photos and upload them to facebook, so if you're my mate there, you'll see what's going down. Otherwise I'll see how easy it is to upload them onto flickr from the phone directly.
x ian
oh! and almost forgot.. here's the Eugene McGuinness video postcard
Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:57:25 GMT ..Clash put it up last week. forgot to shout about it as I had a mad week at the dayjob.
Shot this back in Feb, lovely chap, grew up quite close to where I've lived my whole life, literally a ten minute walk away, so we had a lot to talk about.
x ian
Did ticketmaster accidently flip the on switch early?
Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:28:31 GMT Now, I'm always organised when getting tickets on ticketmaster on the day they go onsale (or pre-sale), but today was ridiculous.
There's no way I'm not going to at least try to get tickets for Michael Jackson in July, and with a couple of presale codes I was up at 6am to get ready for the 7am start. I won't lie, 6am is not a time I see very often. It hurt. It hurt even more knowing it was my day off and I could've had a nice long lie in.
I refresh my screen at 6:35'ish and see the page now has options for selecting tickets. I know this must be a mistake, but give it a go anyway. The code works. The CAPTCHA goes through. The queue time is about 10 seconds. It shows me friggin amazing seats. My debit card fails (no surprise there) but my CCard is fine. 60 seconds later, I have seats on the floor. I'm gobsmacked. about five seconds after that the confirmation email arrives in my inbox.
So I go ahead and go for the second night I wanted, its around my birthday so perfect for a drunken celebration. Again, it all goes through, this time selecting even better seats. By this point I realise that Ticketmaster have made an amazing, huge error, the tix are taken off shortly after and go live again bang on the time they were supposed too - 7am.
Queue times are now 15+ minutes, as you'd expect. Whilst I'm buying for myself and friends, touts - who're even more organised - are not, so I feel good that I managed to get a handful of tix away from them and into the hands of friends who're traveling to work when the 7am link did go live.
I'm now both looking to see if this balls up gets reported in the press and whether TM act on the error, or even acknowledge it. One things for certain, I got my tickets fair and square, it was their mistake this morning.. and if they so much as try to renege on these sales, they've got a fight coming.
Right, its now the time I usally wake up... I think I'm going to get breakfast and sit knowing I'm going to see MJ in July - I just hope it's been worth all the effort. x ian
Let's pull our collective minds together
Sat, 28 Feb 2009 14:56:23 GMT OK. So I'm going to be editing a small advert for a film club that we're starting up at the school in which I work during the day. What I want to do is use a load of film clips and quotes in a montage that tell this students about what the club will be doing in a fun way. So can you think of any good clips I can use for any of the following?... Any style, genre, era, will do, the stranger the better actually.
What film clip and/or quote means a lot to you? Fills you with joy, or tears?
Any clip about exploring new things and adventure.
Films you know
Films you don't know (old, cult or avant garde)
Anything that features a writer at work
Anything that revolves around winning - competitions, prizes, anything like that
Anything about switching off from the world around you
If you can think of *any* suggestions, then please tweet me or add a comment on my myspace or facebook.
Yes, I am looking and thinking for myself, but with so many films in the World maybe you've seen something that I haven't.
x ian
ummm.. you want to sell what?
Sat, 21 Feb 2009 00:10:45 GMT Checked my recently activity on flickr last night and read this comment on one of my shots. It left me fairly open mouthed.
"Hi. Can I sell your photos on bronu.com ?"
Now the comment has been deleted, probably partially due to my - how should I say... polite? - response. But it really was the strangest request that's fallen on one of my photo pages.
Of course, I'm aware it was probably a typo or a case of broken english. Any reply I made would be in part right and in part potentially offensive or embarrassing to the original poster. But I have looked at the referenced website, at face value it looks fairly decent for selling shots, better than photobox ever was...
So bottom line. Something that left me fairly gobsmacked has at least got me thinking about setting up an online store again. I'll investigate bronu and other sites - if you've seen a decent site for togger's to sell online then please drop me a line.
Been doing some filming... check the leisure society
Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:28:03 GMT So I just got back from filming another musical postcard with The Leisure Society. Really nice songs, lovely people too. It was a first for the postcards project - was shot in a bedroom. The band recorded the album in the room, its very much a DIY project, hence the reason for it being the location. It was a bit strange to begin with, but I think worked really well.
Just showed the footage to my parents, and I think they're instant fans! Have a listen - www.myspace.com/theleisuresociety - I hope it works out well for them, its always hard for a band at the start, doing it all themselves, so if you like what you hear, BUY the album, don't download it. If you need a download fix, go download the new U2 record instead, they have enough money already.
Not usually that vocal, but I feel real inspired after that little visit.
Got in just in time to see the Pet Shop Boys on the Brits. I was lost for words. What the 'ef was all that about?
Filming a few more postcards over the next couple of days - making the most of my week off. The one I'm doing on Friday, I'm really really excited about.
Right now though. Early night. Fairly tired. Feel a lil bit rough. x ian
Shots in this month's clash
Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:40:56 GMT Clash magazine time again.
This month I've a whopping six shots leading the live section from the final Astoria show. Thats kinda cool, wasn't expecting so many to be used! I suppose it's fitting with the actual event though, loads and loads of acts crammed into such a short space of time for one last swan-song. I've also got a photo of the great Duke Spirit on the following page.
The accompanying reviews are also top notch - would you expect anything less?
You can find out all about the other articles and free downloads with the mag by clicking here
Doubt I'm going to get much into the next issue. The little time I've had has been spent getting a few of these videos done for the clash site.
x ian
Oh Cool! Clash have made the acoustic videos embeddable
Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:00:37 GMT ...which is nice of them.
So here's my published handy work all on one page...
EMMY THE GREAT
WE ARE SCIENTISTS
Still not sure when the Eugene McGuinness one is going up, nor when the new Mike Bones one is. So why not jump over to the clash website and see if its there. Have a browse and read around too. They're making it a real rich music hub, loads of news, articles, features worth reading.
Good stuff
Add the musical postcards page to your Myspace
Wed, 4 Feb 2009 21:23:09 GMT I randomly bulletin about the musical postcard videos I'm putting together for Clash... great bands and singers/songwriters, performing acoustically in really low key, raw, films.
I've now made a myspace page so that I can help spread the word about the new films me and Mark make amongst people who like music in the purest of pure forms.
Please pop over to the page and add us.. I'm gradually getting round adding requests to some of you, it takes time!
Sun, 1 Feb 2009 20:11:05 GMT Man. TweetDeck makes twitterring so much more useful and fun, that I am forgetting to add things to my website. So here's some news that I should've posted on Wed.
BRAND NEW MUSICAL POSTCARD!! Emmy the Great performs two songs and I have a brief chat with her. Preview below (sorry its not the full song... First Love is about 6 minutes long and a large chunk of the film). You can watch the full film on the clash website at the link below..
Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:40:28 GMT I've been twittering sporadically for a while now, and now I've found some decent mac and pc software to tweet from as well as my preferred iPhone app, I'm finally using it as I've always wanted too.
With some decent new website widgets on offer too, I've moved my feed so it appears in a much friendlier format at the top of the blog on my website and on my myspace profile page - no idea how to add it on facebook - is there an app anyone?
Please feel free to add me if you're a fellow tweeter, but please don't be offended if I don't add you back immediately.
In the meantime, where I don't have time to ramble on about nothing in detail here, I'll always try to find a minute for 144 characters to ramble on about even less.
x ian
Farewell Astoria
Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:35:54 GMT What a great night... well done to larry, sam and som for managing to arrange it all in next to no time. A real 6 hour marathon, a great vibe, a celebration of so many styles of alternative genres that have graced the astoria over the last thirty years. I've some photos on my Flickr page or facebook. They'll be up on the clash site and in their mag soon too.
Until I have more time to type:
Me.. on Doctor Who
Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:06:04 GMT As I mentioned last week.. New Years Day, I was on the box. I went to the Dr Who Proms with my sis and little niece back in September and we were featured quite prominently during the special who mini episode.
I just found it on youtube, so in the vibe of loving to share.. about two and a half minutes in...
Spent the week relaxing, getting back into the swing of the dayjob. Got a mad few days coming up, really looking forward to it.. but more on that later. x ian
Its 2009
Sat, 3 Jan 2009 19:53:31 GMT So a very happy new year from me to you.
New year celebrations were quite muted for me, I see little point in having a massive celebration for what is essentially just a date change, but it's always nice to have a pivotal point to reflect on the past 12 months. New years eve itself was spent at Barts in an MRI scanner, which was nice. Once that was done I walked into the west end, browsed some shops and went to watch the Watermill's transfer of "Sunset Boluevard" at the Comedy Theatre by myself.
Never heard 'sunset' before, found it enjoyable and fairly true to the film. The actor/musician effect works really well, but c'mon, how can they justify charging nearly £60 for such a scaled down production? Big grand shows like Wicked cost as much, and they have giant automated sets, immense light and sound rigs, huge ensemble casts and a separate orchestra (opposed to this which is 11 or so actor/musicians). If you can get a cheap ticket, then I'd recommend it as a decent night out.
After sunset I met up with my friends Andy and Paul, grabbed a bite for dinner and we then hit Jersey Boys for a night of frankie valli tunes... we all thoroughly enjoyed. It was way too cold to stay in town, we opted to not become popsicles and grabbed the tube home to watch the fireworks with the fire on and a bottle of bubbly. All in all it was a lovely understated evening. Good times.
So now it's 2009. I've spent one day in bed watching Blu Rays on my new 42" 1080p screen, as well as myself, sister and niece on the Dr Who proms special (below). Yes, as I was flashed up on screen I did my best Father Jack impression, "What's that gobshite doing on tv?"
The past two days I've been editing a video for the dayjob, which I return to on Monday. Just watched the Dr Who announcement, which is a brave choice, most will be a tad bemused but I saw Matt Smith in "That Face" at the Duke of Yorks last year and thought he was great, so have faith in moffat's choice. I just hope the fanbase are patient and give him a chance. Also watched some strange British version of Takeshi's castle fronted by Richard Hammond. Hmm. Remind me to find something to do next Saturday evening.
x ian
We Are Scientists - Musical Postcard now online
Tue, 9 Dec 2008 19:02:51 GMT You know I posted that demo 'Musical Postcard' that I made for Clash last week? Well the new one is now online. and its of the brilliant, funny, fantastic WE ARE SCIENTISTS.
A 5 minute preview for you below. If you want to watch or download the whole thing for your ipod/itunes for free, then fire up the clash website by hitting the image at the bottom.
Mon, 8 Dec 2008 00:03:18 GMT Please don't suspend my debit card again.
Seriously. Is me purchasing two (relatively cheap) tickets on Ticketmaster out of the ordinary for me? Is me spending a minor £20 at amazon on items that are being shipped to my address really THAT suspicious. Or god forbid, my spending of £13 in my local jessops for that matter? Did you really need to close my card and block my access to using cash points?
I appreciate the need for their being a fraud detection system, it benefits both me and you. However there was nothing out of the ordinary on anything I've bought in the last two weeks, and even so, it's coming upto Christmas, some people might actually be spending abnormal amounts in abnormal places.
Are times so tough for that you need to be this twitchy about people spending money?
I just got a text from a friend who's also had his card suspended, for buying from amazon. Maybe there's something about amazon that we just don't know about, or are times that tough that you have to watch every single penny leaving your system? Carry on like this and I'll gladly take all of my cash out of your bank and keep it all under my mattress, because it seems that the only way I can buy anything these days is to either
a) Phone you before every purchase I make to tell you that it really is me about to spend £3.60 in Subway on lunch, or b) Pay for everything in cash, risk getting mugged and leave the world of internet shopping behind.
yours, ian miller
Musical Postcards - Sky Larkin
Sat, 6 Dec 2008 14:39:16 GMT Yeh, ahem, so I never got round to doing that blog catchup. Had a busy few weeks. Which does include this. So.
My latest project. Musical Postcards - something I'm doing as a value added, net tie in for the live section in Clash magazine. It's a simple premise. Bands/singer songwriters stripped back to acoustic status play a small set in a setting of their choice. It could be in a public location, but then again it might not be. Everything's done in one take, one shot, it's about as low-fi as it gets.
I shot a demo for the mag nearly two months ago and have been sitting on it whilst things have progressed - it takes time. But now I know it's definitely going to be a Clash thing I've put the video I made out into the public wilderness. It's a video of my three favourite people from Leeds, SKY LARKIN.
They performed two new songs, 'Firefighters' and 'Matador'. Katie had a pretty full on cold when we shot this, so I'm surprised she managed to get through it actually... we took a few breaks along the way, which meant we probably spent a good leisurely hour and a half putting this thing together one morning back at the start of October. I like to think that this relaxed vibe comes across in the style of the video. I haven't seen the larkin's since before I went into hospital - which was actually some time ago now, so it was nice to catch up. From what I heard here, in the single Fossil, I and the new song Beeline, I'm pretty damn sure already that their LP will be cracking. Tidy.
The video is below, if you like it, then check musicalpostcards.co.uk - a simple lil place I've setup to showcase all the videos (and to preview the bigger ones we're going to do), join upto the mailing list and I'll let you know when Clash get the new ones :o)
I've already shot the next one. Can I say it's of We Are Scientists? whoops, well, I just let one outta the bag. Clash have asked me to include a bit of interview material as well as the songs, and I have to say it's pretty darn funny. Hopefully you'll be able to listen to three great tracks plus lots of keith and chris rambling on the clash site in the next week or so.
x ian
Playing blog catchup
Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:42:07 GMT As always, I'm playing blog catchup.
Things have been busy both in my work and personal lives over the past few weeks.. and I've just been on a much needed and enjoyed holiday. So expect me to be rambling about things that have been going on over the last month over several entries over the remainder of the week.
Until then.. here's a sunset I captured whilst on a boat on the Norfolk Broads.
Farewell Nat!
Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:46:03 GMT Going off the usual top of me..
Would like to take a moment to wish my friend Nat, aka Natfly, aka Merchbird, aka Scrat, a safe and happy move to Norway. The original spaniard is relocating for love, snow and new photographic opportunities... and whilst I don't see her as often as I'd like to these days, I feel as though a talented 'togger is being lost from these shores.
Farewell Nat. I look forward to flickr posts from your new land soon :) x
Underage fest pic - sonotone online zine
Sun, 28 Sep 2008 14:02:12 GMT One of the many shots I took at the underage festival, is now being used on the front cover of the latest edition of Sonotone.ch.
I've absolutely no idea what any of the text says - its a foreign publication and i'm ignorant when it comes to speaking different lingos - however I know the cover article is all about the underage movement.
Right. Time for the singapore nightrace.. t'ra x ian
In print this month...
Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:49:41 GMT Yup, I'm back in print this month. The new (October) issue of Clash magazine to be precise.
If you look towards the review section in the back quarter you'll find shots of Gallows (Underage Fest), Laura Marling (Field Day) and Le Volume Courbe, whom I also reviewed. I'm fairly chuffed with this, it's nice to be back and with a team who select shots exactly as I would've done. Get In.
Go buy it now from WHSMITHS, BORDERS, HMV's, ZAVVI's and 'all good independent newsagents'. :)
Congrats to Elbow
Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:29:08 GMT that's a well deserved £20k you've earned tonight.. such a beautiful album...
So you still want my job?
Tue, 9 Sep 2008 22:38:07 GMT Friends and random people often comment on how jealous they are of the photo work. How they'd love to swap places with me, be right at the front of gigs taking photos. I always tell them they're mad, yeah its great when you're up there, but that the amount of class A shit you have to go through either before, after or during the gig, often makes you wonder why you bother...
I often wish I could relay some of what goes on, I either can't be bothered / believe that it's not right to bitch and moan publically. Industry shit comes part and parcel, you just have to deal with it. However tonight a new one crept up on me, and its so goddamn unbelievable and funny that I have to share...
Here is my evening so far.
- Camera ready... check. - Battery charged... check. - Lenses clean... check - CF card cleared... check - Dinner cooked / eaten... check - Get on the tube... check - Get to Koko.. check - Name on the list, +1 on the list, photo pass on the list... check, check, check. - Enter the venue... hang on, we've a problem here... 'we can't let you in as you've got a professional camera'
YOU WHAT???
Even the chap running the guestlist seemed a bit surprised by this, "But he's good, he's on our list for photos".
I'm just about to make a run for it into the venue, when another security chap and someone who I recognise, whom I think is from the venue management butt in.
"Sorry, we've all been told that we can't allow any professional camera's into the venue tonight."
I get roped back to the wrong side again. I point out that I've also got to write the review and I can't do that if they won't let me in. My +1 can go in, but I cannot as I have the cam. The irony is that I shot the Young Knives at Offset the other week... We could've used them.. and they were good shots..
I get on the phone to Mark to let him know, he's as surprised as I am by the dumb-fucking logic in play tonight. Me and my friend walk around Camden for half hour whilst he tries to sort this, it's never easy out of office hours and when I speak to him again he's trying but not getting very far.
Me and my +1 have now been standing outside koko / walking around camden for 45 minutes. Nothing's called thru, texted, emailed. It's nearly 840. We head home. The train pops above ground a few times en route, but still nothing pops up on my phone. Get to my destination and on the ten minute walk back to my front door my phone buzzes. It's Simon from Clash. He saw there was a problem and had just gotten me numbers of people who could sort everything out. Great, except it's now 9:15, the band are about to come back on stage and I'm a good 40 minutes away!
- So thank you Mark for trying your best. - Thank you Simon for taking the time to make calls and get me details - you were prob out at the Mercury's (or something as glam), and you didn't have to help. - Some may say it was a wasted night... it wasn't... it was another bit of life experience, a story to share about the sheer sillyness of the music industry.
Now.. do you still want my job?
x ian
My Vitriol new live photos
Tue, 2 Sep 2008 00:39:28 GMT More photos from the fantastic Offset to come later in the weekend.. in the meantime, here's My Vitriol!
"You can stand under my umber-ella-ella-ella-eh-eh-eh..."
x ian
Fuck it.. here's the rest of the Underage Photos
Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:25:05 GMT No idea which ones Clash will be using... I'm guessing they'll only pick out two to use. If that. So.. I've uploaded the whole bunch from the Underage Festival onto flickr.
Feel free to comment, tag, etc. All rights are reserved - as always - so don't even think about stealing the pic to use on your website. I'll only get mad and stop uploading new shots in the future. Will pop up the field day ones in a similar fashion shortly
Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:52:04 GMT I've just uploaded a few more photos from the underage festival to my Flickr page. Not many mind, and not necessarily the best - mainly one's that I like that I don't think will be used by Clash. Then again, they may prove me wrong there..
The Maccabees
Adele from Sons & Daughters (one of my fave bands)
Gallows
..and a crowd shot.. ...which makes me laugh, because it tells two stories. The following two frames I shot were funnier, as the shoe came in, the smiles off the two chaps vanished and the novelty glasses came flying off. But I'm not cruel enough to publish them.
There's a couple more on the page, so pop over and look if you're interested. Once I know which clash are and aren't using, I'll upload another batch. Field day photos to follow soon also :o)
Currently enjoying my first day off in god knows how long. No dayjob. No photo assignment. No festival. Just me and my laptop and tv. Nice.
x ian
Overage at the Underage Festival
Sat, 9 Aug 2008 01:21:53 GMT So today I worked the Underage Festival in Victoria park. Strange day. To start with I had to walk round the outside of the compound three times to find the guest entrance - a gate which opened late, hence why I didn't find it first time. A few problems getting in, but thats always to be expected.
Then the real fun twist. As it was an underage festival, the licensing meant that, being somewhat overage, I wasn't actually able to walk the arena alone. If I was, and was discovered, then it would cause a breach of license and the whole darn event would be shut down. It's nice to know that everything was being done to keep the site safe and secure for the kiddies, so I happily grinned several long, lonely, boring waits on a bench in the media and production compounds. At least the man in the teepee from habbo.com was quite jolly.. y'know they made little avatars of all the artists playing, so that when they visited they could log in and interact? Amazing. Well, it would've been if they wireless connection they were on hadn't died.
Started shooting some kids on the main stage - no idea who they were, was told, just forgot... harpoon or something. Foals was a literal riot. Security had to stop the set - kids climbing up the tent's mid pole and jumping off to be caught by the crowd, a crush or two, apparently the barrier buckled under the weight??? I dunno, we were removed after 1 1/2 songs. Can't complain, the lighting was shite and safety does come before my photos. A contract for Glasvegas - do they really think that they're going to be SO huge that they need to control their image now? Hey ho. So long as the shots can be published for my employer.
A fun day, all in all. First gig of the year, first in 9 months actually, so I'm pretty exhausted. I forgot how much that gear weighs and cane's being strapped to you all day. Will sort out the shots tomorrow.. in the mean time, two teasers..
x ian
The last two weeks
Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:12:53 GMT The last two weeks have been particularly busy, memorable and tiring.
First off. Yes. I did get the iPhone 3G. It's shiny, smooth and glossy in your hand. The Appstore is a revelation. Sure there are a few bugs to iron out, but hell, it was worth the fun of the queue. O2 however deserve shooting, the catastrophic system crash meant it took forever to actually buy my phone, we were instore for an hour and half - and we were first in!
First and second in line at 5am. Pathetic.
The dayjob has been the crazy-tiring part. End of term which means things get busier for me, deadlines to meet, evenings to setup, rehearse and then do, plus the boss retired... which meant I had an extra weight to deal with.
The memorable parts might have contributed to the tiredness, but they probably helped amount to some of the happiest times of the year so far. Birthdays. So many birthdays! Including mine.... I was serenaded by virtually half the school's staff in a local pub - much to my embarrassment. I'm told photos of the surprise moment exist, I'm told I looked quite pissed off! I don't want to see those photos - my colleagues should know I appreciated it more the following morning though.
I then met a bunch of friends in town where we went to watch Brief Encounter - my fave show in the West End currently. Those of you who've been will know about the experience that hits you the second you walk in, the band entertaining you with songs as they walk around the auditorium, the ushers, the dancing and the buns, oh my, yes, the free buns. All that makes it an enjoyable evening before the stunning comedy, romantic, tragedy - all strikingly staged. I loved it. Being in the front row, I got the bun in the first half "would you like a bun sir?" and the balloon dog "I couldn't help thinking things could be arranged slightly better" :D. When 'Laura' sits back down in the front row with 'Alec' for the Palladium turn, she whispered something in my ear too - all of these things made me bounce with happiness (the huge amount of booze i'd drunk probably contributed to that too). It was by far a very happy birthday - photos...
In t'pub I sat at table 28 - my new age. *makes spooky ghost noise*
In t'pub with Paul. You know I've had too much to drink by the pose
Getting the balloon animal - during the interval.
Me and Gen after the show - she made the effort to dress up like me and looks stunning.
After the show we met Emma Rice (the director) and Tristan Sturrock (plays the lead role of Alec), as this photo suggests.
Prior to my birthday I spent a weekend at the London Film and Comic Con - an event which gets continually bigger and better every year. Again, head over to my Flickr page for photos of Patrick Stewart, Jason Mewes and Pete Postlethwaite, but here...
"Roads, where we're going, we don't need roads" Me and Christopher Lloyd
Me and the lovely Georgia "The Doctors Daughter" Moffat
And finally. Post-birthday, I went with my sister and niece for a day out at the Royal Albert Hall. There we were, outside the building in a queue at 5:30am on Sunday morning waiting to get a day 'promming' ticket for the Dr Who Prom. We were 11th, 12th and 13th in the queue respectively. What a fab time we had, well worth every second of the wait outside - all the monsters were there - the jadoon, the cybermen, the ood, sontarans, daleks, they even had Julian Bleach on hand to rehash his turn as Davros from the centre of the arena. There was a new episode of Who for that event, a kind of interactive fun affair. Top stuff. Add onto that the heavenly music. Gosh. It was fantastic. We were all on the barrier, so I'd expect you'll see us all when it airs at Christmas.
I kept my phone off for the majority - live broadcast on BBC R3, it would've been awful going off - but took a snap of Murray Gold (composer) and Ben Foster (Orchestrator/Conductor) taking bows at the end.
So yes. Busy, memorable and tiring. Now its the summer, I've time to blog and rest up. This week I'll be out snapping my first gig of the year... ooer. Hope I can remember how that all works!
x ian
Me tomorrow?
Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:22:11 GMT
Hopefully.
I know it's Glastonbury when...
Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:36:20 GMT ...the mud-slinging crowd shots I took there two years ago start getting a major hit rate on my Flickr page.
Every year without fail, this now happens. I'm guessing people are looking for shots to inlcude in their blogs????
I vowed on my last visit never to return to those fields unless I was working there. Even then, it might take some persuading. It's not just the mud, its the fact that you're in the middle of nowhere. Thats probably the biggest turn off of all for me. I can easily see why it didn't sell out, enough of this 'controversial' jay-z nonsense.
I'm quite happy watching from my smelly and mud-free bed. And I have to say, watching the Kings of Leon set back, that I can't wait to see them perform later in the year.
YES! That's one of my photos in this month's Rolling Stone!!
Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:00:04 GMT This...
...is the current issue of the South America edition of Rolling Stone magazine. The rock bible. If you turn to page 34, you will see this...
That's MY PHOTO of Robert Plant!! In ROLLING STONE!!!! My photo of the frontman in the quint essential Rolling Stone band... in ROLLING STONE!!! And it's a 3/4 pager. Cor! How chuffed am I right now??? and YES, I'm allowed to show off this time. :P
Will get up a better scan soon.
Saving my hearing at the MBV gig last Friday
Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:21:32 GMT
Just to prove that camera phones are little demons that invade the privacy of anyone and everyone.. this image of me. Knowing this image existed absolutely mortified me, yet at the same time I found it strange, because this is an incredibly memorable moment of the 'holocaust' for me... how so? Well, lets see whats going on in this image...
Directly in front of me is another chap with glasses. He too was riding through with some earplugs. He's holding out his mobile phone and has just tapped the sentence "Your ears must be dead!" to his san-plugs friend. I know this, because I saw this, it made me smile!
And yes, in front of him there's another chap, yup, with his fingers in his ears. Its a great pic telling a story of an unforgettable experience.
Sat, 21 Jun 2008 13:14:54 GMT I've had a night to digest the events at the Roundhouse. As I said in my last entry, I think the most succinct comment I can make is that it was too loud. I know that makes me sound like a grumpy old man, but I wasn't able to hear as much texture of the music as I would've liked. As much as - what I know from friend reports of the ICA gigs - I knew was there to take. To me it was all lost in a murky punch by the 6th/7th song of the night, that meant at times I really couldn't hear what was being played. I think I counted Shields was running his various sounds through a combination of - i counted - eight amp sets. Thats insane!
Twelve hours on I think thats really starting to frustrate me, because I did hear the brilliance there. Only Shallow, as an opener, was the softest track of the night, and it was sublime. Maybe it was to lull you into a false sense of security about the volume before they cheekily ramped it up. The 'holocaust' as its - apparently - known, went through shades of brutal-ness and brilliance with each sway of the top and low ends of the EQ. It was intense throughout. Painful with plugs in. I found myself being one of many, many people with fingers in or hands totally clhtming my ears. I literally couldn't move. It shook my skin, blew my hair into several new styles and reverberated right through me. One chap on dis noted the sound meter on the mixing desk was reading 128.9dB. I've no idea if that's true, but it really was an insane, unique, shared experience of pain and delight in equal measure. How anyone could describe it as beautiful is beyond me though. I think it was supposed to be uncomfortable and challenging.
As in my last entry, I posted a photo from my iPhone onto my Flickr page during the gig. It's had over 150 views in half a day, which is just silly. It's just a really crap photo taken on a phone. Blah. It annoys me when my personal phone shots get bigger initial responses than some of my best work. Maybe someone should let me shoot the gig properly?
x ian
My Bloody Valentine!!
Sat, 21 Jun 2008 02:07:16 GMT
THAT WAS LOUD. IT STARTED LOUD. AND GOT LOUDER.
YOU MADE ME REALISE WAS AN INTENSE SINGULAR EXPERIENCE IN ITSELF. IT HURT SO MUCH, ER20 earplugs are useless to you in its presence.
As unique as THAT experience was, I kinda lost what I wanted to hear by about halfway through. I couldn't make out the melody by the time Blown A Wish came out and at times I seriously found it hard to tell what they were playing.
More tmr...
WWDC predictions - a new iPhone?? for sure..
Sun, 8 Jun 2008 18:09:49 GMT Collage by tsevis on flickr.com
As any apple fan knows, tomorrow sees the start of the World Wide Developers Conderence - an event which traditionally brings a keynote from Apple CEO Steve Jobs. And this year is no different, in fact this year has seen probably more rumours and general fanboy jumping up and down that I care to remember - all this even before El Jobso's keynote has been fired up for the World to see.
I'll happily admit that I love a Jobs presentation. He is the greatest salesman in the World, watching him speak to the World is like a masterclass every time. So what do I think is going to happen at 10am PST tomorrow? The thing to remember is that WWDC is a developers conference. That means that the announcements will always be putting focus on the software and not on the hardware. Saying that, there is one huge no brainer thats been widely reported...
iPhone 2.0 We already know that the iphone firmware is going to update to 2.0 this month, as was announced at the SDK launch back in Feb. The bulk of this presentation will be on showcasing the new software.
- There will be a new focus on enterprise. Again this we already know. MS Exchange syncing, remote wipe/management, etc, are huge new features that will widen the appeal of this device to firms.
- There'll be a recap of what the App Store will do to transform this phone's practicality to an even wider group of customers.
- Apple will probably chuck in a few new apps of their own. I'd expect to see some form of ichat, and prob a video/audio recorder - poss with youtube upload?
Then of course we're going to have the much rumoured 3G phone unveiled alongside the software...
- It'll be 3G (obvioiusly), designed to work on any network in the World - it will be unbelievably fast if you're in the right locale.
- Being 3G, it will support data calls so will probably have a second camera on the front face. The original back face camera will probably be upgraded.
- As for dimensions, there's a hundred rumours about it being fatter, wider, skinnier, smaller. Who cares???? I'm sure it's going to look as great as the current model, there's no point in speculating.
- There are numerous rumours that the device will have a GPS antenna built in. Again, this makes sense, it would sit perfectly alongside the google maps they already have and add so much desirability for 3rd party apps - geotagging for example.
- Pricing models will be restructured, especially in Europe. The Financial Times has already reported that apple plan to relax rules that stop mobile operators subsidising the device. Given the current economic climate, I can easily believe this as a reluctant move on their part.
- Hardware-wise is there anything else need to add?
Will they add flash support to safari? Probably not. Will they add bluetooth transfer? Highly unlikely.
.mac service rebranded I think that the .mac service will be rebranded. What with over the air sync'ing with Exchange, it makes sense that there also be a similar option for mac users. So...
- .mac will be added to the iphone
- in turn this means that .mac must surely have to become a free service?? If this is the case then I can see it being rebranded with a new name just to help differentiate the change to current mac users.
- Could it become something that's tied in with Google? Very likely according to rumours. Could this mean that a new .mac service will merge OSX with iPhone OSX and possibly even XP and Vista???
Oh! One more thing.... Will there be a 'one more thing'? Well, I'll be playing keynote bingo, and I reckon there will be. This is, after all, a software conference, so I reckon we'll be given a first glimpse of OSX 10.6.
One thing's for certain, I think I'm going to love tomorrow! x ian
STEVIE IS COMING TO LONDON!!
Thu, 5 Jun 2008 20:14:07 GMT Ohhhh yes!
A summer of Prince, Led Zepp and now an opportunity to see Stevie... the O2 really does know how to push my buttons!
Press conference concert:
pinch... punch... 1st of June
Sun, 1 Jun 2008 21:56:56 GMT I've had the past week off the dayjob. It's been a nice relaxing affair for once, to summarise seven days in the life of...
- I was angered by Indy 4, and have found my real world friends as split down the middle on the film as my online ones. Before anyone comments, I can understand both stand points, I can replay the film in my mind with the eyes of each camp, so there's no point in starting another online flame.
- Polly Stenham's "That Face" was fantastic, if a little intense. One of those plays you should digest fully before commenting on, so I won't.
- English football is boring... even when we're winning it's dull.
- Hairspray is great fun. I don't care what anyone says, the songs are great and all sound like they've been lifted out of the 60s, the cast infuse so much energy into it all that you just can't stop grinning - even in the serious bits.
- Reality tv can be a great way to kill a saturday night if you allow it.
- Harold and Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay might be a dumb piece of shit film, but it knows it and wears that badge with pride throughout. It's also a darn sight more entertaining than Indy 4 (ok... now you can start the flaming).
Thanks to everyone who's passed on kind words about my new website, I was unsure about the new design but now feel slightly more confident about sticking with it. Some big news (for me at least) to follow amongst my inane ramblings, later in the week...
x ian
New website design now online
Mon, 26 May 2008 16:54:20 GMT A few weeks ago I switched over to a new website design, and now I'm happy with it, time to announce it! As well a different design, this marks a major change in my online activity. I'm no longer posting full sets of images to the main site, and everything that is made public is done so with all my rights reserved from now on.
I know that people will continue to steal photos for their websites, publications, etc, and if you do so without my permission then you are a prize a cock. If you want one for your desktop wallpaper, then I won't stop you doing that... surely that's what photos on the net are for after all?
Anyway, the new web address is www.ianmillerphotography.co.uk - yes the old ones still work, but I felt I needed a new domain that at least had my name in it. Obviously, you're looking at it right now... so do feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think.
x ian
Sound Control go into administration
Sat, 10 May 2008 21:58:52 GMT This hit me in the middle of the week like a bolt out of the blue.
Of course Sound Control going into administration means one thing only to me, the death of Reverb magazine - the store's in house publication that's distributed free through their chains of SC, soho soundhouse and turnkey, as well as to so many music fans on a mail shot. Being someone who's become a regular contributor of articles that I've written as well as numerous photos, it's extremely sad news.
From what I've been able to find out so far the business has been facing tough competition from internet retailers, who obviously have the benefit of no retail floorspace costs to pass on. The administrator has kept open 14 key stores (london, manchester, glasgow...) for 90 days in the hope of turning things around and successfully finding a buyer for the group.
However even if the company is saved, I know that my good friends in Glasgow have already been made redundant, so Reverb is no more. If either of the Mark's that ran the show read this, thanks for being such champions of my 'tog work, and even more so for building up my confidence with the written word. I've loved every second of working for you, it's been a blast. I know that you've probably both had a nightmare week, and I hope you both find work elsewhere soon. Good things are deserved by good people.
I've no idea if the planned issue of the mag will arrive in the stores, if it does, I've got an interview with Russell from Sparks in there. If it doesn't then I'll post it online for anyone who cares to read - I'm not getting paid for it now, so I've nowt to lose!
Sad times, but the World moves on. x ian
The perfect bank holiday weekend?
Wed, 7 May 2008 21:21:57 GMT Had a fantastic long weekend. Yes, the sun was out in force, which is never a bad thing. But also...
On Saturday I did my annual pilgrimage to Milton Keynes for another Collectormania. It wasn't too busy, fairly relaxed, which was perfect. In the space of 15 minutes I met the stars of two of the key movies that shaped my childhood; Charles Fleischer (aka Roger Rabbit) and Lea Thompson.
Charles Fleischer was certifiably borderline insane, in the best possible way. He was chatty, if a like obscure at times. When I asked for a photo he enquired, "With me, or an ecuadorian dog?" I embrace kookiness so got along with that kind of comment, though I imagine that he must've been on the other side of several blank English faces throughout the day. I just wish my brain was awake enough to have responded, "With you, the ecuadorian dog and a peruvian muskrat," but sadly it wasn't.
Lea Thompson was simply lovely. I always had a crush on Lorraine Baines McFly from the BTTF films, and I admit that I did gush in her general direction just a teeny tiny wee bit once she started talking to me. I was smiling for the rest of the day after meeting her. Oh! and she's still gorgeous..
Also found the time to get another autograph for my heroes poster - Tawny Cypress, aka, Simone Deveaux. Again, she was lovely and far more stunning in real life than she is on the tele...
Sunday was devoted to wii fit and general work on the new version of my website. And then the perfect end to the long weekend involved Iron Man. What a fantastic film, it was a perfect comic book adaptation. Wheras I'd usually find my mind drifting with one of these movies, this hit every beat perfectly. I enjoyed every second of it.
Seeing as the sun will still be shining this weekend, I 'm on the lookout for something just as good to fill this Saturday - anyone have any suggestions?
x ian
Gremlins in the computer system
Thu, 1 May 2008 17:00:39 GMT All those years of being an IT tech, I can now finally prove that there are always gremlins in the works...
New websites
Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:54:11 GMT Long time no entry.
Things are still going on, which means I haven't done any new photo work of late. It's a tad depressing, but events being all encompassing I'd rather have some chill time to myself than working flat out. But hey ho... some news on work I did last year that's just gone live.
A new website! Yup, the new website for my dayjob employer has just gone public. It's been a long hard slog. The design is one thing, the coding another (fairly simple) element.. it's taken forever to get the content together and updated. But finally. You can now see the majority of my photography work for the last quarter of 2007 scrolling on the front page. It's a new direction of 'tog for me, and one I rather enjoyed working on.
The addy to load - www.skhs.net Thoughts, feedback, comments are always welcome.
If that wasn't enough then I should let slip that I'm reworking my personal site. I'm cutting the number of photos I continue to host for starters, and am streamlining everything. I'm not 100% happy with the design, but am slowly getting there. More info soon. I will, however, be blogging much more often. About anything and everything, not just "me news" as I call it.
Oh! and one more thing. The current issue of Reverb will probably be disappearing from the shops soon, so if you want to read about my encounter with Foals or ogle at the photos they have of Katie Ting Tings, then run out and grab it now before the new edition lands.
x ian
Photo Books for sale
Wed, 9 Apr 2008 16:59:05 GMT I’m selling a bunch of photo books that I printed at the end of 2006. I got them made up as gifts for friends, family and those who supported me throughout that year’s work. I also used them as a promo/portfolio item to help further my so called photography career. Aside from having a clear out, these books are now a little too out of date for me to use, so I’m offering them up at a bargain price.
I only had 30 made and here I’m selling off the last 10. They include my fave photos from that year (2006); the NME Awards tour - that was Maximo Park and Arctic Monkeys - Imogen Heap, Giant Drag, The Pipettes, Mystery Jets, Spinto band, TCTC, Incubus, Juliette Lewis and lots of Battle. In total it contains 22 pages of photos.
They cost £10 each including postage and packaging.
Mar/Apr issue of Reverb out now + the Foals Interview
Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:27:51 GMT Once again, a bit behind on my shameless plugging...
The March/April issue of Reverb Mag is out now and can be picked up for free in all good Sound Control stores and can also be seen online at reverbmag.co.uk Amongst the articles inside this one, I'd highly recommend the cover piece on the Ting Ting's.
My contribution is an interview with Foals' Yannis. It's the longest piece I've had published and I'm told is a good read. Personally I can't bear to see the piece again, the story behind it kinda makes me cringe. It was an interesting interview, Yannis completely refused to answer a number of questions that delved into what the band write about and why they do it. The same can be said when we discussed their instrumentation - both fairly key ingredients for a gear mag.
The thing is, whilst I know and understand that he's completely within his rights to not want to talk about it, his PR arranged a lengthy 45 minute session face to face in a pub, which is a ridiculous amount of time for someone not particularly interested in talking to silly, little old me.
Whatever, whats done is done, I'm forgetting about it now.
The album (now I've heard it) is fantastic, I'd wholly recommend you do give it a listen when its out on Monday.
GOSH EASTER IS BORING. x ian
Changes on the website
Wed, 2 Jan 2008 13:57:24 GMT I'm making a few changes here over the next week or two. Nothing too major, just a few tweaks to assist me for the coming year's work.
Spent new years with a few friends indoors, watched the fireworks on the bbc at midnight. I would've loved to have been there in person, but aside from the fact that I wouldn't have been well enough it's far nicer to have seen in the new year in the warm with a can of strongbow - even if that is extremely boring!
Happy new year to all, x ian
In a Franz Ferdinand book
Thu, 20 Dec 2007 23:18:57 GMT I'm finally on my Xmas holiday now, which is fantastic as it gives me a chance to recuperate and regroup myself and my thoughts after the mad month of busyness and illness that I've had.
Am going into town today, but before I disappear I'd just like to publicise this new book about Franz Ferdinand - "An A-Z of Franz Ferdinand" by Helen Chase.
The reason I'm telling you about it? It features one of my photos of the band backstage at the V Festival. No I'm not on commission for sales!!!.. Just having seen the book I thought it was strikingly better than most titles of a similar nature. Not only has Helen gotten the band onboard and quite deeply involved with her project, but she's managed to collate and curate an amazing amount of the bands visual history and stories. The articles are exceptionally well put together and it's all really well designed.
So all in all I'm delighted to have been a part in this publication. Well done Helen!
x ian
Long time no post..
Mon, 3 Dec 2007 22:47:53 GMT I've had a busy couple of months and it probably seems as though I've retired in terms of the lack of new work I've been posting on my website. My life since October has largely been based around prepping a show that we're doing at the school which I work at. The show is Joseph, and it takes place this week. It's been a long slog, and right now I'm caught somewhere between utter exhaustion, a bout of tonsillitis, a chest infection and flu. The lighting for the show is my main priority this week, and is very behind, I don't think it's going to be upto my usual level of perfect as a result... So long as I get done what I can with the help of a few others, I'll be happy.
Because of the show I haven't had time to go out and shoot as many gigs as I'd like. To be exact, I've only done one for Reverb mag... Sons and Daughters in Southend t'other week. It was a really good gig, loved every second of it. The shots are on here now, but here's a few extra processed ones for you to gawk at...
The priority was to get the S&D shots to the mag, although I also shot the support act - Victorian English Gentlemen's Club - I haven't got that set sorted yet, but will post them up here as soon as poss. Aside from that I've been spending a lot of time working on a big photo project for the school prospectus. Obviously, because of nature of the shot contents, I'm not able to put those pics on this site due to child protection laws. However, I think this one is ok, I think that it's a fab photo:
...and when I've not been working on the show, or on that set of shots, I've been playing with my smugPhone, ahem, i mean, iPhone. The result of that has seen me developing a mini iPhone version of rocktographer.co.uk to get around the whole 'iPhone doesnt do flash' issue. I'll get that all switched on for iPhone visitors before Christmas. :)
x ian
New issue of Reverb out now
Sun, 7 Oct 2007 20:06:15 GMT Just realised I haven't gotten round to plugging the new issue of REVERB... so to make up for lost deeds...
The September/October issue of Reverb magazine is out now and available for free from all good Sound Control stores, or online at www.reverbmag.co.uk
In this issue I've got two articles, each with shots, one on the fabulous Luminaire venue and the other of Just Jack in the studio discussing his recording and writing techniques. I've also reviews! and a photo of Prince! :)
Just got in from watching Control at the cinema, what a great film, compelling performances, faithful to the book and (unsurprisingly) beautifully shot. x ian
What have they done to Rent?
Sun, 7 Oct 2007 13:31:57 GMT Went to watch Rent Remixed on Friday night. Its the first time I've seen it on stage and admittedly I was a little cautious of going to see it, although I'm more than open to change, re-versioning and remixing so was actually quite excited about giving it a try. I suppose I should've been wary the second I saw in the program 'footwear sponsored by...', knowing full well that one of the key themes of the show is about the morality of selling out to the mainstream.
I really didn't enjoy it. Things started off really well, but after a while it started to feel like a vendetta against guitar driven rock - which has hardly fallen out of being 'modern', as William Baker's remix mandate for the show set out to do (to modernise the show in a new climate). In fact several songs were made to sound like 80s classics, 'Happy New Year' like Madonna's Holiday, another had a When Doves Cry style beat... The final straw for me though was the song 'Contact', having Angel die and wear the campest set of angel wings on his ascension to heaven was simply hilarious and unreal, hardly intense and sad, which is what you should be feeling. In fact, half hour in I started to think of a recent episode of the IT crowd... and yes, just when I was trying to eradicate that thought Denise Van Outen came out into the audience for a bit of interaction!
The cast were good with the material they had, obviously they were still finding the characters as they're in previews still, so I might give it another go in a few months... but I really didn't feel, like or find myself being moved by rent remixed.
It's been quite a busy week actually. On Thursday night I went to a preview of The Darjeeling Limied - Wes Anderson's new film. I won't say too much about it, except that I can't recommend it enough once it's out in the middle of November. Dare I say, it could be regarded as his masterpiece in a few years time. If nothing else, simply on themes, its a great companion to Tenumbaums. Great funny, dramatic, spiritual movie - it was like medicine to a flu-like bug Ive got right now.
Oh! and I've finished the battle article, finally. I've even selected the shots I'm going send in... you'll all see it in a month or so's time :)
x ian
Thurs 27th Sept 2007
Thu, 27 Sep 2007 22:38:12 GMT I'm finding it really hard to settle down, shut out the world and crack on with work on this tour article. I've blocked out 80% of the coming weekend to spend on it, so touchwood, it'll get written then. It's nice being busy, but distracting when it comes to getting other things finished. At least the photos are all done, just got to do the writing.
Found out that this weekend's My Vitriol gig has been cancelled. I was in two minds about whether or not I was actually going to go anyway, but its sad to see that the date has been shifted yet again - suffice to say that us hardcore fans are more than used to things dragging along! After all, its been, what, five, six years since Finelines????
Next week I'm out at the theatre a lot. One show I'm going to see is this 'remixed' take on Rent. I'm really worried about what this reversion-ing has done, I've never seen the show onstage before and I've a vision that they may have made it really camp. I'll know soon enough.
x ian
Yes! Yes! The Raveonettes are back!
Tue, 18 Sep 2007 01:19:59 GMT Just got back from their gig at Bush Hall.. i have to 'rave on' a bit...
I'd forgotten just how much I love them. And the new material they played from the new album 'Lust Lust Lust' is simply dark and dirty with added groove.
I'm revisiting some of the shots I took of them back in the day. I must arrange to shoot their next gig.
x Ian
Finally, shots from the carling weekend...
Sat, 15 Sep 2007 17:10:22 GMT It's taken me ages to get my act together with these, sorry folks! I've a selection of shots from the shows at Leeds and Reading now online - about 20 from each.
There are a bunch of backstage/offstage shots also, but I'm holding them back the article I'm putting into Reverb magazine about life on the road with the lads. When the mag comes out, the good news is that it's free and you'll all be able to pick up a copy from Sound Control / Soho Soundhaus stores nationwide :)
but for now...
LEEDS FESTiVAL:
READING FESTIVAL:
BRISTOL - LOUISIANA - first kubichek date:
and just for good measure, and to add to the legend of Oli, I managed to capture the moment spontaneous combustion which still seems to affect so many drummers :D
x ian
Me & the cheerleader
Sun, 2 Sep 2007 21:27:30 GMT Before I write this blog, I must say, I know I haven't written much about my time on the road with battle this week. And I know I haven't posted many photos yet too. It's all coming. Currently I'm writing up my scribbled notes, keywords and memories from the few days of documenting into longer, more coherent but still scribbled, messy notes. From this I've got an article to put together and then I'll probably put tidbits online.
Today I went to the London Film and Comic Con. It was an absolute shambles of an event held in the dimly lit part of earls court 1. I had my photo taken with Hayden Panettiere (the cheerleader, heroes fans!), but felt that the time taken out to do the photo shoots eats too much time into signing time for one day only guests. By the afternoon Hayden's ticket numbers were still so low that they turned her queue into a production line, no personalisations, no photos, not even a full name in her autograph. From what I could tell she did around 300 autographs in half hour to make up time. Fair enough it gets everyone an autograph, but where in the morning she was lovely, charming and stunning, she now looked stressed - it led to a misunderstanding/s with me all of which left me a tad upset.
Still, it was a good, but long day. I also got Jack Coleman, Milo Vintimiglia and Adrian Pasdar to sign my Heroes poster, picked up a staggering amount of DVDs for £20 and got an early copy of the Deathproof DVD. All of which are results.
Here's my photo of me with Hayden. It's a great photo (in terms of Ian goofy poses), although technically its a terrible one. Check the drop shadow behind both of us. Based on the price you pay for the 'professional' shoot I was expecting balanced studio lighting. Maybe I should expand my operations and offer to do the work correctly.
LOTR is on channel 4, these films really annoy me now. Saying that though, Cate Blanchett is always jaw smackingly fantastic...
x ian
The Reading Festival
Sun, 26 Aug 2007 22:24:16 GMT Friday was Leeds, yesterday was Reading Festival.
Unlike Friday the traffic was good, we got there really quickly. Today was too hot for me though, well, to be exact, I can keep a good face about the heat, except the heat and the overcrowded arena didn't mix at all well - is it me or has the site gotten smaller? There just seemed to be far less space than there should've been. It soon started to piss me off. Saw a bit of Dan Le Sac & Scroobius Pop, they were really good actually.
I went offsite after that to meet my friends Tony and Clair for a lunch in a nice little empty pub called The Griffin. Really lovely, posh food. They'd just been to watch Knocked Up at the cinema, glad to know that I wasn't the only person not feeling the Reading vibe - or maybe there were just no bands on that they were interested in???
Went to watch Bloc Party, it was enjoyable, but I was unable to shake the grumpy mood, so decided to flake away and wait for the battle set to arrive. Actually lounging on the backstage grass with the sun setting and Arcade Fire pounding away in the distance was pretty much perfection for me. Here's a couple of initial shots from last night...
more to come soon :) x ian
One photo from Leeds Festival
Sat, 25 Aug 2007 10:10:10 GMT Heyho
Just one shot for you from Leeds yesterday - there'll be more later in the week once I've had time to review them more carefully. Can't quite remember the setlist, but I think it was something like:
Longest Time, Negotiation (maybe), Demons (i think), Tendency, Paper Street - I might've forgotten one in that list.
Crazy traffic all day and an amusing journey trying to exit the festival, sadly I'll have to save all of that for my article! (sorry!) Reading today! x ian
Going on a summer holiday
Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:04:22 GMT Really enjoyed V festival.
Saw some really good bands with my friends, saw Kanye fuck up the lyrics to Golddigger and managed to see both the secret and not-so secret Foo Fighter sets from the front of the crowd. Highlight of the weekend was seeing Iggy and the Stooges, again from the front of the crowd - thats another one of life's ambitions ticked. Most disappointing act was KT Tunstall, and most all round enjoyable for me was the Guillemots.
Tomorrow I head off for about five days with Battle. It's all for a Reverb article, so chances are I won't be posting all of the shots I get immediately. I'll be visiting Leeds, Reading, Bristol and Nottingham (i think) in that order, will try and get some blog updates done whilst out and about.
The weathermen say that it's going to be a really hot and sunny weekend. Looking out my window at this second seeing the grey, windy and wet skyline, I find that very hard to believe. Still, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and head out in a tee, hopefully it won't be too cold. Off out in a few minutes to buy some wellies, I'm expecting the Reading site to resemble a mudbath :/ it's going to be an interesting few days...
x ian
I don't know which is most worrying...
Wed, 15 Aug 2007 18:48:40 GMT ...that I seem to have become addicted to buying tickets to see Prince this summer - I've almost been living in the o2 the past couple of weeks - or that when I'm not at the show I'm stuck on my laptop chatting to my friend Jon about what we're missing, due largely thanks to live updates from fans sitting inside the Dome.
Last night he played 7 and 1999!!! The other night he played Pop Life!!! What's the betting he doesn't play them again?? It's worse than being addicted to crack I tell thee.
Nothing much has been happening the last few days, just been relaxing and enjoying the beautifulness of HD television. Also went to watch Knocked Up on Monday night, which was both heartfelt and extremely funny. Other than that I've just been prepping the next 12 months of work, both dayjob and otherwise... how boring of me. But sometimes you have to put in the groundwork to ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible.
Off to V this weekend, for enjoyment and not work, should be good.. the weather forecast is looking good at least, so I'll hopefully get at least a bit of a tan before I head back to the dayjob in September.
x ian
More Prince, new watermarks and apple software
Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:05:09 GMT First off, here's a few more photos of Prince taken on my mobile phone and compact camera. Doubt there'll be any more, from what I've heard they're really starting to clamp down really harshly on stopping people taking photos. The links will take you though to the flickr page they're hosted on...
Have been working on a few ideas for a new watermark to put on my photos, the idea isn't just to get my name and website a bit more prominent - most people who steal them end up cutting them out anyway - its to make it absolutely crystal clear that the shots are licensed and owned. I know the watermark annoys a lot of people, it does me too, I'd love to be able to put the shots up unblemished, but if I didn't they'd be knicked far more often and by commercial websites too.
So yes, just to be clear, as it says on the bottom of every webpage, you can use the web versions of my shots if its a) for a non-commercial use, b) they're not edited in any way and c) the source is attributed (IE. Ian Miller / rocktographer.co.uk).
Watched the apple announcement at the start of the week re: new imacs and software, at first I thought it looked terrible, I've never been a fan of any of the iLife suite, but then Steve Jobs showed off the new bolt ons for .mac. Fuck me, it looks impressive, the photo gallery especially, it hooked me in for the rest of the talk... and then he showed off the new iMovie... Now I detest iMovie, hate it with every bone in my body, its slow, confusing and eats up the disk space when you edit videos. This new version, however, looks impressive as hell, I'd go as far as saying that it reinvents the key premises in video editing in such a simple format. Don't get me wrong, its still nowhere near as powerful as Final Cut, but for doing a quick edit I might just have to use it from now. Am downloading a trial now, hopefully it's as good as it appears.
What I want now is for them to put the .Mac export things into aperture and Final Cut Pro, or even better still, to allow you to export those same pages to your own webspace, I'd use it like a shot then.
x Ian
Saturday 4th August
Sat, 4 Aug 2007 13:18:05 GMT Spent yesterday finishing off my Just Jack transcription and getting the Lumi one done too. Having fallen behind with the articles at the start of the week thanks to the cooking accident, I now feel I'm pretty much back on track. As a result I had a fairly strict and boring day with myself, no tv, radio, music... nothing. I feel as though my reward today is an absolutely beautiful day outside and another outing to see Prince tonight - yup, I managed to get some more floor seats!
Here's a couple of shots of the Luminaire that I took earlier in the week. As I think I mentioned, they were really hard shots to achieve, getting the atmosphere of the venue just right without overpowering on the flash was tricky. I think it's about as good as I could do - I'm sure if I've cocked it up Gen will tell me, she knows that place intimately.
There are a few more around on my Flickr page if you're interested in having a peek. Might put the whole set up on this webpage at some point.
x ian
I love you baby, but not like I love my guitar
Thu, 2 Aug 2007 16:56:14 GMT My god, the new o2 arena (aka the dome) is going to be seeing a lot of my hard earned cash passing its doors this august. Yup, managed to get some floor seats for the first Prince show last night - I took Gen along to that and the aftershow as her birthday present. My god, what a show, what a showman, what a god. We arrived late and missed Purple Rain and Creem, but - and I cant believe I'm saying this - it really didn't matter, I suppose that's testament as to just how good he is.
"You can't handle me, I've got more hits than Madonna's got kids!" he proclaimed.
The after show was a good wind down, the DJ was actually fab, loads of prince licks mashed up with classic 80s rnb, rap, soul and jacko, but there was too much wanky jazz going down when the NPG finally came on stage.
Prince eventually turned up, but didnt sing anything or play anything overly recognisable, although he did help the jazz rock out a hell of a lot more, so for that I will be thankful. Got home about half three, and have been up since just gone 8 to take my pills and get on with my work for Reverb this month.
Before I headed to Prince yesterday I was at the Luminaire in Kilburn gathering the material for one of these reverb items. Spent time snapping the venue, which was actually quite a challenge. I hope I've captured the true spirit of the place in the shots.
And just to prove that I'm cramming my days off with plenty to do, yesterday morning I was at Whipps Cross eye casualty getting my left eye checked after a cookery accident I had on Monday night. Already sporting a burnt hand, wrist and notable forehead 'harry-potter' esque burn (which bizzarely makes my face ten times more interesting to look at). I can now add a burnt cornea to the list of injuries. Being screamish about eyes, i'm surprised I wasnt in any serious amount of pain.
Despite these injuries and some slight unwellness on the weekend, I'm having an absolutely top week, I'd almost forgotten how much fun living can be. More Prince at the weekend now, i should start packing boxes and move into the dome methinks. I suppose I could really do with getting myself an agent, just so they can get me photo passes for one of these 21 nights. One can wish.
x ian
Just Jack's Studio
Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:49:00 GMT Spent this morning in Just Jack's personal studio, located in the basement of his mum's house! It's quite a neat little operation, lots of cool old bits of kit clumped together in a small room, with vinyl records filling every little bit of floorspace available. I was there to work on another article for Reverb, a tecchy geek piece with Jack and his studio right hand man, Jay.
Photos were a little tricky; it wasn't that the space was too small for my lights, it was more than ample, just there wasn't that much space for me. You can often end up in quite a strange position to get the shot you want and today felt a little bit like a game of twister. The hardest part was trying to not kick, crush or damage any of the records that were lying - as i said - everywhere. Yes, I was almost thwarted by circular pieces of plastic. Got there in the end though. Photos are already sorted, such are the joys of being in control of your environment. Will get them online soon.
Went to watch the Simpsons movie yesterday. Was everything I had hoped for and I'm certain that there'll be more jokes to pick up on in the second and third viewings. Strangely though, I'm finding myself chuckling more at the humour now (24 hours later) than I did in the cinema at the time.
x ian
It's my birthday...
Mon, 23 Jul 2007 11:55:12 GMT ...not that I'm going to harp on about it, its just a matter of fact. Another year older, another step closer to the 3 0.
So far today I've opened presents from my family, watched some disney silly symphonies - the dvd of which arrived for me to use at work next year - and listened to the Battle album... twice... its been well worth the wait, a really good debut, far better than what Break the Banks was a year ago.
Found Tim and Oli's latitude blog on artistdirect.com, it's quite a funny piece. It features a few of my battle photos from the day as well as my sole jarvis and arcade fire ones. I also noticed one of the Kew garden shots as the artist photo on there, which will make it the first time that I've seen it being used officially :)
This afternoon off shopping with a few friends, tonight am going to watch Wicked with 11 mates. x ian
Battle at Latitude
Wed, 18 Jul 2007 18:23:34 GMT As promised, I've just got the Battle shots from Latitude up online, here's a few of my faves from the set...
Strangely my potential fave shot from the day is completely out of focus. I don't know, today, it works for me. We'll see what tomorrow brings, maybe this is the first sign that I'm losing the plot?
Mon, 16 Jul 2007 21:48:03 GMT Went to Latitude yesterday. Would've liked to have gone for the whole weekend, but sadly it was so last minute I had other things planned for the Fri night and Saturday.
I went along to see and snap Battle who were playing the Uncut stage in the afternoon. I arrived before the band, so had to semi-blag my photo pass. It wasn't too much of a problem but meant I was limited to shooting only that one stage. Seeing as I was going along as a guest of the band and not a magazine that was perfectly fine and meant I was able to relax and enjoy the day rather than running round like a headless chicken trying to shoot numerous bands. Battle's set was short but packed the punch it needed. They played the full length version of The Longest Time to open and went on to play a mixture of old and new. It seemed to go down really well with the crowd.
After the set I ventured into the wider festival. As most of my mates will tell you, I've become a bit of a grouch when it comes to going to these things recently. It's hard to say exactly why, but I actually found myself really enjoying Latitude; it was set in the middle of a beautiful, picturesque wood and care was taken to make sure that it blended into it's environment rather than leave a stomping footprint on it and there was a wide variety of events other than music on offer. Most importantly it wasn't overcrowded, there was space for the atmosphere to flow. Or maybe it was the gorgeous aero mint milkshake that put me in such a good mood? I've always been a fan of the shaken udder stall.
Watched the Cold War Kids - they were good, but I still feel that it's all only about 'Hang Me Out To Dry'. Then caught The Ratpure's set. They were astonishing, didn't think that I was going to enjoy them but they really blew me away. Had my photo taken with Luke from the band - bizzarely - after the set. Jarvis entertained throughout the hour of his songs that I didn't really know and then the Arcade Fire came on and left me dumbfounded. I'm really really desperate to catch their shows in the Autumn now.
Took some shots of Jarvis and Arcade Fire from the crowd, which was naughty of me, but hey... got a couple below. Still sorting the Battle shots, expect more soon.
x ian
Scans from this month's reverb mag
Sat, 14 Jul 2007 10:30:23 GMT Just managed to get the scans of my photos and words from this month's Reverb Magazine up... click on the thumbs to see the big picture.
You can download the pdf direct from the lovely Killola's website www.killola.com
And you can view the whole magazine for free online at www.reverbmag.co.uk or by picking up the paper version for free in soundcontrol stores :)
I said it looked good, didn't I?
Definitely heading up to the lattitude festival tomorrow, hope it doesn't rain! Will finally get to see Arcade Fire, and about time too!
x ian
It's Reverb time again
Thu, 12 Jul 2007 23:20:32 GMT Yup, the new issue of reverb is now out, free from Soundcontrol stores around the UK.
This is my first article back since the hospital stay, I was assigned to do a piece on KILLOLA, the band from Los Angeles. You can see my piece and the photos in the mag now... I have to stay, that I'm over the moon with the design they've come up with based around my shots, they've been used very effectively. God bless em. I'll try to get scans online as soon as I can.
Looks as though I'm going to Lattitude for all or part of the weekend, a nice unexpected twist to what was going to be just another weekend. Will report back after the weekend.
Wednesday 11th July 2007
Wed, 11 Jul 2007 20:40:45 GMT Got a text from Tim Battle yesterday that was rather intriguing. He simply said to look at page 28 of the day's edition of G2 to see if I saw something that looked familiar.
I figured it wasn't one of the shots that we did a few weeks ago, because he would've simply said that. So I investigated and found the following... (click for a bigger look)
It took me a few minutes to figure this one out, but it soon hit me... (again, click for the bigger view)
...it's one of the shots I did at Pure Groove. What a cool comparison. Tim must have a really sharp eye to have spotted that :) x ian
oooh - i have a photo in a tourist guide now
Tue, 3 Jul 2007 22:50:22 GMT Just got this email:
Hi Ian,
I am delighted to let you know that your submitted photo has been selected for inclusion in the newly released third edition of our Schmap London Guide:
If you like the guide and have a website, blog or personal page, then please also check out our schmapplets - customizable widgetized versions of our Schmap London Guide, complete with your published photo:
Sun, 24 Jun 2007 21:38:36 GMT I've just uploaded a bunch of new Battle photos here. Anyone who's observant would've noticed that I put them up in a quiet fashion on flickr and on my facebook page a week or so ago. They are of Battle in Kew Gardens, shot about two and a half weeks ago.
The band asked me to do the shoot as they were in need of some new press shots to accompany the campaigns for the new single - 'The Longest Time' - as well as the album which will be out early autumn as far as I know (I don't know the exact date before you ask or email, but play.com has it listed as the 3rd September). Suffice to say I was quite chuffed to be asked. The only brief was to incorporate nature, the original plan was to go upto Hampstead Heath, although a day before someone had the fantastic idea of Kew instead.
I hadn't been to Kew before and didn't realise just how huge a place it is! It's actually hard to believe that it's in London, the place is so tranquil, the air so fresh, I found it incredibly calming... if only I could live there! We were supposed to have a chaperone, although he didn't turn up and wasn't answering his phone. No one at the entrance could help either. We decided to go it alone and started with the tropical plants and giant bamboos.
We shortly after picked up a map which led to the most amusing of incidents; we chose 'Climbers and Creepers' as it sounded like we'd find interesting plant life there, maybe even some giant venus fly traps! After ten minutes of trekking we arrived, only to find that climbers and creepers was in fact a soft adventure play area for the under fives! Heck, if there wasn't a member of staff supervising I would've thrown caution to the wind and gotten the lads on the climbing frame. Shame.
And what followed in the following two hours was the taking of just under 300 photos, with plenty of discussion about photography, album covers and hay fever inbetween. The best photos came out towards the end of the evening once we'd all warmed up to the job at hand. It's was as much a pleasure for me as shooting their live shows, as strange as it is for me giving direction, I'm getting used to the concept :)
Hope you like some of the photos, and if you spot one in the press, do let me know! - email ian@rocktographer.co.uk
x ian
Glastonbury squelches by again
Sun, 24 Jun 2007 12:54:12 GMT Another Glastonbury, another mudbath - I'm so glad I didn't go this year! I personally don't understand anyone who can have fun in those conditions, maybe that's just me, but having waded through waist deep sludge twice before I never want to do so again. Yup, I'm much happier watching the fantastic coverage on the good ol' telebox, full sets on the red button again... good ol' BBC. Mind you, there's been hardly anything thats been worth watching so far, bar Iggy Pop who was simply astounding. Interestingly I noticed all the photographers were allowed their flashguns when snapping his set, which hardly ever happens these days.
There's been a lot of interest in my Glasto 2005 shots this past week, as soon as the rain started pouring on Friday morning I've given permission and licensed out several of them. So thats all good. Click below if you'd like a look
Elsewhere, last weekend I did a day at the O2 wireless to see Daft Punk - who were worth every second of the ten or so years I've been wanting to see them. Also went to watch Muse at the new Wembley Stadium. Absolutely beautiful new venue, the food wasn't as overpriced as some people have made out. I actually wish that I'd been able to shoot that gig, it was mega in every sense of the word, a true spectacle. I sure hope they release it on DVD. Managed to get a surprisingly good photo from my new camera phone...
Meeting the cardiologist
Sat, 16 Jun 2007 12:08:13 GMT Its probably of little interest to the casual viewer of any of my websites, but its a big deal to me. Yesterday I finally got to see my cardiologist. I was nervous as hell, what with this being my first appointment. My blood pressure test was sky high because of this!
The consultant I ended up seeing was a really nice young chap, my nerves totally vanished once we started discussing my case, most of which he - surprisingly - already knew. The good news is that any damage that's occurred to my heart due to the high blood pressure is fully reversible with a bit of TLC. Fantastic! My drugs have been tweaked slightly, which I was expecting, they've been working but not well enough. They want to be certain of the cause of the high bp, so I've got to redo a couple of tests at home and go for a scan in a couple of months. Chances are its all down to genetics, I was doomed from the day I was born! :P
So, all in all, it went better than I expected, life goes on. And indeed it picks up this weekend, O2 wireless in hyde park today (daft punk, woohoo!) and Muse at Wembley tmr. Expect some cam phone pics! And expect some new 'proper' photos in the next few days also.
x ian
Return of the podcast
Sun, 10 Jun 2007 19:38:10 GMT Yup, the podcast is back, I've just uploaded a new episode featuring some of the Killola shots I got a few weeks back. Am busy trying to get the podcast listed on iTunes, until then to view it you'll have to goto 'Advanced' and choose 'Subscribe to podcast', then enter the following url:
The aim is to add some of the interviews I do to the podcast eventually as well as all the photo videos.
Did a photoshoot in Kew Gardens the other day, was good fun and the shots have come back looking pretty darn good. Will post more info about it all later.
Shooting Battle at the Borderline & a Prom set
Mon, 4 Jun 2007 18:30:05 GMT More Battle photos for you all, it probably seems as though I shoot no one but them at times but I do have a few other shows being lined up for the rest of this month that will hopefully come to fruition. So. Yes. Battle photos, this time from the Borderline. I adore the place as a venue for live music, hate it for shooting, the lighting there has always been somewhat dull. Dull in overall intensity and dull in colour choice. If you're shooting for a mag you have little choice but to whack on the flashgun or be very patient with a fast lens, waiting for your subject to move into the light that is available.
Luckily I wasn't shooting for a mag, so I was able to play. I managed to get lots of nice burnt long overexposures, using the flash head. The colours were screeching in the ones that came through ok, I'm very happy. I've some more to put up later, probably in a separate set, where I didn't go for the long exposure the images look comparatively dull, so I didn't want to mix them up in one giant set.
Click the shot to have a look:
A couple of weeks ago I did the photos for a 6th form prom. I don't usually do jobs along those lines, but this was for the kids at the school which I work in, so an exception to the rule! I got to use my (basic) studio kit for the first time on the job, got some really nice shots with it, a few of which I've posted below. One problem though, the studio gear I'm using is so basic it's triggered using infrared. Most compact cameras also use infrared for various reasons, one to help reduce redeye - so there's me standing there trying to get what seemed like 30 kids rammed into one small space, one shot, with another 20 trying to take the same photo by my side and another 20 in the very near vicinity taking separate photos with their compacts... all of which are triggering my flash heads simultaneously and just not giving it the time to recharge properly. The result of this saw me standing there, firing the shutter and then scratching my head wondering why I was getting no light. It took nearly five minutes to work out what was going on, and keeping those original 30 in place for that time was an absolute nightmare. In the end I had to be an absolute cock and ask everyone not doing photos with me to fuck off (in somewhat kinder words mind).
Anyway, when my gear was working.. here's a few of my fave setups..
x ian
Wednesday 30th May
Wed, 30 May 2007 13:54:05 GMT I've spent the entire day so far transcribing my interview with Killola. Transcribing is the worst part of writing. You often get people talking too fast and truncating words, you spend hours obsessing over inflictions in the voice - it could result in a totally different interpretation of what's being said. This one is suffering from constant interuptions from passers by and fans, everyone wants a piece of them. Johnny is incredibly polite and gives everyone time, credit due, it's probably a core reason to the success that they've afforded so far. The downside though is that whomever's talking loses thread of what they were saying, I lose the sum total of what we've discussed at times too.
It's still a great interview, you can hear we're all enjoying it. I might edit it up and put the audio out on the podcast. But for now, I've got to get back to typing up the last 15 minutes or so.
Didn't get to pirates last night, going to catch it late afternoon now, then will be heading out to do some work. My friend Sami has just reviewed it on flixter, she's seen it twice now - i'll take that as a recommendation. Am listening to the new Chris Cornell album, he's got a really interesting cover of Billie Jean on it, one that bears little resemblence to the original. I don't know if I like it, but it's worth checking out.
Boring Bank Holidays - website updates
Tue, 29 May 2007 18:52:22 GMT I'm so glad the bank holiday is over. Everything is closed, there's nowt on tele and the rain always pours. Its miserable. Caught up on the ever increasing pile of unwatched DVDs, put on 'Midnight Movies', really enjoyable documentary about films like el topo, pink flamingos and rocky horror that became cult midnight hits. I now want to buy all the films mentioned that I don't own. I must resist.
Woke up late, I've most of this week off work, although I was in for part of today to fix some things in our new media block. When I got home I found that the broadband connection was dead. I can't function without the ability to check my email, so went out for a walk.
Since net access was restored I've mainly been updating this webpage. The nice new flash viewer is now scrolling through my updated portfolio on the front page. I've also updated the contact page and added a whole new bunch of FAQs based on an interview I recently filled in for someone.
Might head out to watch Pirates 3 tonight, until then I'm getting into the new record by Nick Cave's Grinderman outfit.
x ian
Oi! Mean Fiddler! no! Stop stealing my photos!
Mon, 28 May 2007 10:58:07 GMT
Dear Mean Fiddler,
If you wish to use one of my photos on your website, please at least have the courtesy to ask in advance. In fact, you should be more than courteous, as you may have noticed, all images on this website and my Flickr page are listed alongside a creative commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence, which clearly states that the work cannot be shared for commercial purposes, cannot be altered in any form and must state the copyright holder (myself) and restate the terms of the licence unless granted permission by the copyright holder.
You have broken every condition of this licence, the only people who have permission to do otherwise are those featured in the image, namely, Battle. They still at least have the common decency to make it clear the work is mine and provide me with weblinks. They also spoke to me prior to their usage.
If it wasn't for the fact that this is aiding the promotion of a Battle gig and that I know one of the lovely people who's involved with the club fandangdo nights, I probably would be a little bit more irate about this than I am. Still, you must realise that people other than you need to make a living, so please do feel free to contact me about this.
Sincerely, Ian Miller
Yes kids, don't even think that being a 'music photographer' is fun. Everyone wants something for nothing and more often than not, it ends up being stolen when you ask for a fee that could easily be afforded. I do think that my watermark both reminds people that the work is owned by someone without actually obscurring any potential enjoyment of the images. Perhaps I should post fewer images, or maybe I should make the watermark bigger??
Some time with Killola
Sun, 27 May 2007 17:13:47 GMT Gah, I'm playing catch up with my blogging. So as I briefly mentioned previously, I finally managed to get out and do some work again last week. My first mission was to shoot and interview a band from Los Angeles called Killola for Reverb magazine.
Now you may not have heard of Killola before, and neither had I. In the states they have a fairly impressive following, and they've gained a loyal worldwide fanbase via MySpace, around 300,000 fans to be precise, which is fairly impressive! Having listened to their stuff, I was pleased that they make the kind of happy cross-genre pop-rock that I like. Some bits a bit like No Doubt, some a bit like Letters to Cleo just to give a brief indication.
I was supposed to have shot them the Friday before last at the Cafe de Paris - they were playing the cafe rocks night. I was really excited about this knowing just how plush every nook and cranny of the cafe de paris is. Sadly there was some miscommunication of both of our parts and it was hard for us to contact each other on the day, so things ended up being pushed back to last Wednesday at the 333 mother bar in Hoxton.
Now this place is the total opposite from the cafe de paris, a total underground shithole the kind of place that I'm more accustomed too. The band are running extremely late. I'd spoken to the bands bassist Johnny throughout the day and they kept on getting lost. Around 5pm they 'were near heathrow', but not being used to the complex road systems in central London, they kept on finding themselves going backwards. By 8pm they were 'in Camden town, and now we're on some A road heading towards Shepherds Bush'. There was a worried looking female by the door, whom I presumed was the promoter and yes, I was correct. I started chatting to her and moved from waiting in the rain to waiting in a smoky bar, half a result then.
They arrived about 9 and we swiftly sat down and chatted. It was a very enjoyable interview, extremely bubbly and full of laughs. I noticed first hand that they have many followers already, we must've been interuptted by passers by at least five times in half hour. A brief photoshoot followed, and then band requested a photo with myself. I don't normally do photos of any kind, but what the hell...
I stuck around for their set. Was good stuff - knowing she was suffering from flu, I was amazed at just how much Lisa flung herself around. The flu also came with a throat infection - or maybe that was something being cuased by the smoke filled venues that they wouldn't be used to, seeing as they hail from smoke free LA - but she sounded extremely sexy to me all night.
Photos have already been online for a few days, the posed ones are really good. The live ones aren't as brilliant.. if you've ever been to the mother bar you'll know that there's a) no lights in there and b) there's this bizzare metal bar across the stage that kinda cages the artists in. The latter was fuckin' annoying... i suppose I can be grateful that Lisa knew exactly how to deal with that..
aye
Click below to look at the posed shots
x ian
So, I've updated the flash viewer...
Sun, 20 May 2007 23:22:36 GMT Just a quickie from me today.
Today, I've started to change the way new photos are presented on this site. Up until now I've used the flapi viewer, it's been a good friend to me; its free to use, was fairly simple to automate into this site and meant I could host all the photos on flickr - which has many benefits. However, recently I've noticed that a lot of the shots just didn't look as striking as they should when loaded by it. I've no idea why this is, maybe it squishes them in a strange way... but it's been bugging me.
So I've finally gotten round to putting a new flash applet into my site. It's been a little hard to integrate, but finally its here, it works, the photos look fantastic and it seems to load far far quicker than the flapi viewer.
You'll find that the first galleries to benefit are those of my first non-battle work since my hospital stay - shots of Killola that I've taken for Reverb mag. I'll gradually get round to switching a few of my fave older sets over to this new version in the coming weeks.
...oh! and some more on Killola when I get a few more minutes this week.
28 weeks later, spiderman and a python
Mon, 7 May 2007 17:18:46 GMT Went to watch an early screening of 28 Weeks Later on Tuesday night. It was an interesting experience, the film isn't out until next week so there was security on the door who searched us and our bags upon arrival. Our mobiles were taken from us for the duration of the film - they're really pulling out all the stops to make sure that nothing from this movie leaks.
I have to say that it really was an enjoyable film. More thriller than horror, although it was deliciously gory. As with the first film its quite suspenseful and has extended sequences of a deserted London, which were fantastic... I always like seeing our town on screen. There's a bit of political commentry in the films subtext too, although quite subtlely woven in. I'll say no more than that, it's well worth catching.
Yesterday I went to Milton Keynes for Collectormania 11. For those not in the know, that's one of these events where stars from (largely) cult tv and movies meet and greet fans. Some people call them conventions, which they are I suppose, although this one is set in the middle of a shopping centre! We left in the early hours as both myself and my friend wanted to get good points in the queue for the guests we wanted to meet. I thought the early start was going to be a bit of a drag, but it worked out so well; there was no traffic, by the time we got there the centre had opened so there was no queueing in the cold and we got great ticket numbers and met the people we wanted to fairly quickly. In fact, the whole thing was over for us by 11am!
I've been to a few of these now, and this was by far the most enjoyable. That would probably be largely due to the fact that I met Terry Jones, the leg end, the python, Brian's mum! I don't normally do the whole celeb photo thing.. but I had to make an exception...
Today I went to watch Spiderman 3. It was enjoyable, albeit a tad cheesey in places and underwhelming elsewhere. There was probably too many storylines going on at once... still, Bruce Campbell can make ANY film better and my god he was funny in this.
Nothing much is happenning this week... just the dayjob on the whole, although I'll be out doing my first photoshoot since the hospital stay on Friday which I'm very much looking forward too. Am a bit gutted that the trangressive shows have been cancelled, but heyho, shit happens.
x ian
oh btw - is anyone else getting just a little bit fed up with the sonic screwdriver fixing every single plothole and seemingly being the sole source of the doctors intelligence?? I mean, I love the show, but its getting a tad annoying!
A little news and a lot of rambling
Tue, 1 May 2007 00:55:46 GMT Gosh life is boring at the moment. I've little to report on what I'm doing, hence hardly any entries... Whilst I'm starting to get out and about again, it's still in moderation.
Went to the doctors today, got some blood test results and had a checkup. I've got to make changes, or "tweaks" as the doc put it, to the diet that I'd already changed and was improving on. Having just been round Sainsbury's, I'm gobsmacked as to how much these minor tweaks are going to be hitting my wallet over the next couple of months. It's for the greater good, I must remember.
I'm back at the dayjob pretty much fulltime now. It's keeping my mind fresh, the month or so I had of daytime TV is enough to remind me that I never want to have nothing to do ever again! I know that photo work wise, it probably seems as though I've done nothing but Battle Battle Battle - that's simply because I'm always comfortable shooting their gigs whilst I've been on the mend. The good news is that I've a shoot or two being lined up from the middle of May, which I'm really looking forward too. Just bought some new gear for the jobs too - any excuse! Might go and shoot one of the Battle sets on the transgressive tour if I can though :P
Last night I went to watch an amateur production of We Will Rock You in Edmonton with a couple of my friends from work. It was truly awful from whatever angle you might want to look at it. The group that put it on really missed the point of what the show is and (from my pov especially) why you might want to do some of the snazzier elements that are associated with the piece. There wasn't even a live band.. this show is all about the live music, more than anything else. I ended up putting my trusty earplugs in my ears. We went to watch it for a reason that I can't mention officially yet - but lets just say, it's given us all a bit of food for thought before any definates are decided.
Tomorrow I'm heading out to a preview of 28 weeks later. I'm a big fan of the original - even though the idea of rage infected monkeys was utterly stupid, it was no more silly than the simple notion of the undead rising, which is what your more classic zombie movie uses as a premise. The best films are often the ones that challenge conventions, even if they rile up the majority of the fanboys that typically talkback on Aint It Cool News. I have high hopes for this sequel.
And now... just for fun and because I still have too much time on my hands...
Urgh. I hate photos of myself with a passion still.
x ian
A night out at the lumi
Mon, 26 Mar 2007 19:05:09 GMT Two days after starting a course of iron (if you need to know why, check previous posts), I started to feel a bit more like my normal self. Still very tired and weak, but compared to a week previous, a whole heap better. I managed to take the dog out for a walk during the day on Saturday, and in the evening my good friend Andy drove us to Kilburn, where we visited Gen's second home - or as the public call it The Luminaire - to see Battle play their second gig of the year.
Gen was an absolute angel, she really looked after me. On top of doing all the work she does there, she managed to find me nice comfy seats for resting and watching the bands, god bless her! The general lushness of the place made me feel quite at home too.
I couldnt go without along without a camera... it was a Battle gig after all! Not being able to carry all my usual gear, I packed just the body and my new 28mm lenses as that didn't weigh too much. Only shot a small part of the set, got some quite nice photos:
The guys were on top form, airing many of the new songs from the album for the first time tonight. There was a very receptive crowd there watching too, far better than the show at the chalk night last month. They opened the set with "The Longest Time", which is a song thats fast becoming my fave. It's such a dirty, angry and visceral track, with the meanist guitar lick that I've heard in a long time. "Paper Street", which is quite a tender song, also got a really good reaction.
Didn't stick around too long afterwards, Andy had to be at work by 8am Sunday and as my wheels he called the shots! Despite the fact I was absolutely shattered, had a fantastic night out. Live music is the perfect medicine as far as I'm concerned - I'm certain my doctor would disagree ;)
Slept most of Sunday as a result of the strenuous evening, and had a little excursion today. I've some cd reviews to do for Reverb over the next couple of days and then the aim is to try and go back to work on Thursday for a couple of days of light work, after which I've got two weeks off for the Easter hols. Am planning on getting out and about again properly then.
x ian
Bloc party article/photos and bits in the new REVERB mag
19/03/2007 The new issue of Reverb magazine is out now - in fact it came out whilst I was in hospital...
This month read my cover article interview with BLOC PARTY(featuring some of my old live shots too), and a nice piece I wrote called "How to get to number 1" which is a guide on how to get your songs into the charts using the new chart regulations.
As well as the bloc party photos, there's also some more of my archive shots in the second article, namely ones of SMOTHER, THE SAM I AM and PROJECT ABNER.
You can now pick up a copy in FOPP stores nationwide, which I think is pretty darn cool. Full details below :)
x ian
Where can I pick up my free copy of REVERB magazine?
19/03/2007 Just as the year was getting going a nice knock... I ended up going into hospital with a nasty internal bleed.
I'm home now and under doc's order's to rest, so there's been no new work from the past three weeks, and unlikely to be anything for a month or so. A little downtime can be good though :)
Anyone interested in finding out a bit more about the gory story, read my myspace blog - www.myspace.com/rocktographer
x ian
Battle at Chalk and the Chinese New Year
19/02/2007 Had a nice weekend.
Ended up visiting the Chalk nightclub at the Scala, Kings Cross. Battle were playing the main room, their first gig of the year. I took along my camera and tested out my two new lenses, which would also make this the first gig I've shot this year... It was also the first gig I've been to where I've had to wear my new earplugs. A lot of firsts were occuring.
After feeling a little funny about putting foam in my ears, I soon got used to the new found clarity of pain free sound and actually forgot I was wearing them. Gav - of unofficial battle site and blog things - saw me and came to say hi. It's always nice to see him at Battle events, he's always so happy and enthusiastic. We chatted about a project a friend of his is putting together that could involve some input from me. Battle take to the stage bang on midnight.
It was a great set, although a little shaky at the start. Personally I didn't think there was that many people around - compared to the previous weeks at this new club. I was able to walk around a vast empty space talking photos. Maybe Mr Vegas cancelling was reason for people to stay away, or maybe everyone was hiding at the back. Either way, there was little vibe to feel or contribute too.
I got some really nice shots though. Really colourful, silouhette style photos. I'd normally post a series of my fave stills.. but just for a change, let me try and get this new photo rotator to work... let me know if it doesn't show up for you!!
Didn't stick around for too long after, I had an early morning and a 20 minute walk back to my mates car. Got in about half two, spent an hour on photos and then managed a few hours sleep before I headed back into town with my mum, dad and niece. We went to see the celebrations of the Chinese New Year.
We got a nice spot by the Palace Theatre and watched the parade.
And that's my weekend! Am watching heroes on sci-fi right now... Have already seen and am uptodate with the episode that have been on in the states so far, but it's really interesting watching these for a second time. Such a great show!
ttfn ian
January blues
04/02/2007 So yes, today my news updates are behaving like London buses - none for a month and then 3 come along at once!
The full update for January is quite simple - nothing happenned! I haven't been feeling myself for several weeks and have spent most of the time resting and sleeping. All I've managed to do in that time is get to my dayjob and catch the odd film - Pans Labyrinth being the best that I saw. The last week or so I've started feeling better and have been putting together a couple of articles for Reverb Magazine. This week I start doing some proper photography work again :)
Went to my first gig of the year this week also - two nights at the Astoria with Bloc Party, who were epic, beautiful, mind exploding and energetic simultaneously. Am hoping to see them again tmr night... we'll see!
Until later in the week, ttfn x ian
NEW! Photos now on sale at ImageKind.com
04/02/2007 I get lots of interesting email coming through, but one that would normally be discarded as spam caught my eye the other day. Lots of info about a website called Image Kind.
I took up the offer of being able to put up some of my photos to sell to customers in America, only a handful mind you, just to see what the uptake is like.
So if you live in the states, and would like to buy a framed print of Juliette Lewis, Giant Drag, the misc battle acoustic guitar or from the fireworks on the London Eye please check this site:-
**Update. After a month or so, I've decided to remove my images from their website.
Photos from the New Year
04/02/2007 It's taken me an age to get these online (more on why later), but finally, here are some photos from the New Years Eve celebrations and fireworks in London.
The full set is up on this site in 'non music' now, and also on my Flickr.com page
Rocktographer in the Times Newspaper
31/12/2006 Why am I always ill when I'm on holiday from the dayjob? I've been up at the hospital twice this week and am on anti-biotics, so no alcohol fuelled merryment tonight for me. Despite feeling frail, I'm heading upto the embankment tonight with my camera for the fireworks. Hopefully it won't be cancelled! Anyone heading up there? give us a shout.
Anyway. Photo news... Two days ago one of my Sky Larkin photos was published in the UK Times newspaper in the sounds section!!! :) The article was one of these 'insiders tips for 2007' pieces, Colin from DiS predicted good things for them. Here's a scan..
I think that's all kinda cool! I'd highly recommend them too - http://www.myspace.com/skylarkinskylarkin - single out late january :)
I'm going to grab an hour of sleep before I head out, shall tap more here later. Happy new year to all who actually read this! x ian
Merry Christmas
23/12/2006
Have a great Christmas. See you all in 2007.
Digging now on this site & the pigeon man!
18/12/2006 I've just added links to the music galleries that will allow you to 'dig' photos on digg.com :) So far I've only set it to work on the work I've put up this month and all entries I make from now on. I will get it on all other galleries eventually though.
I had a day off from my dayjob earlier this week, and went around London taking photos. I've put a few of them up on flickr, and thought I'd share one that I like and which seems to be popular... The Pigeon Man
Not sure which gigs I'm getting to this week. I missed Sky Larkin at the barfly on Friday night as I was coughing and spluttering cold germs everywhere. :/
x Ian
Snapping the battle boys in the studio
05/12/2006 Last week I was lucky enough to spend some time with Battle in a cosy little bunker, where they were working on some tracks for the album with producer Jeff Knowler. And when I say cosy, I mean it... a small, dimly lit space, with an (also cosy) recording room next door.
The light probably would've bothered me under most circumstances, because I wasn't going to whip out my flashgun (note: even this room was better lit than the new fly venue). In actual fact the lighting suited me perfectly, I was aiming for the kind of studio shots I always used to like by Jill Furmanovsky.. all nice and grainy.
When I arrived they'd just started work on a beautiful song with Jason singing to an acoustic guitar - it was quite a haunting, sad track. Most of the time I was around, they were working on getting the sound of the song right with the full kit, bass, etc. I've no idea what it was called (dont ask me...), but it had the hallmarks of a song like 'children' - only better!
Jeff started playing 'History' - the new track theyve been playing live - when we did some shots in the recording room. I recognised the riff straight away, which is pretty good for a song I'd only heard at two gigs previously! That too sounded great. I heard one other song whilst I was visiting, it made my ears prick up, it was fucking epic. Probably the best Battle recording I've heard yet. I wanted to buy a copy there and then!!!
I've probably said too much already, but I am a fan so want to share with others - for anyone doubting the whole idea of them doing 'Back to Earth', the wait is really going to be worth while. I cannot wait to boom this full Battle LP out of my stereo!
Anyway, onto the photos... I've put them up in two sets, and whilst these are linked to my website, I'd highly recommend using the link to flickr.com to view these, as they look far better there for some reason.
The first set is Battle in the studio:
The second set is some new posed shots that we did outside - once again I did a shoot in the dark, which means these are very flash heavy and show up my piece of shit cheap lens. I'm going to get a daytime shoot sometime soon!
that's all for now folks! dont forget, for once, I'd use the flickr link on the gallery page.
I'm going to be off radar for a while - a busy week at the dayjob is keeping me away from other work for the next few days.
Photoshoot with Sky Larkin
04/12/2006
I've mentioned a few times on my various homes on t'internet, that I did some photos with Sky Larkin at the end of October. We did the shoot whilst they were putting the final touches to their debut single in an East London studio, an amazing building where every room and turn provided a photo op!
I've finally gotten round to putting a few of them online (I've kept a few back on purpose). The band are touting a couple of their fave shots around, so if you spot one anywhere please do let me know!!
To look at the set, click the image above. And whilst you're at it, go check their myspace for info on how to order their record - http://www.myspace.com/skylarkinskylarkin
(sing with me now... 'nooooooooootes!')
Flowers of Hell photoshoot
01/12/2006 I've just added some of the shots I did with Flowers of Hell over the weekend. Click below to have a look.
Working on the next Play issue
27/11/2006 Cor, well, I've reached the end of a manic couple of weeks where I've been to lots of gigs, done interviews and photoshoots - mainly all for the next issue of Play magazine, which (I think) is due out on Boxing day. I say Play, I know it's relaunching with with a new name and look on the next issue... I'm not allowed to tell you what it's called though, I'll wait for the Mark's to release that info!
Friday night saw the return of the fabulous My Vitriol. They welcomed new bassist Laura to the fold and played six (i think) new songs. A really enjoyable gig, I was hoping to shoot it, but I didn't have a 100% concrete confirmation that all was good and didn't want the hassle of arriving with cam to find problems on the door... I wanted a hassle free, fun evening, and that I had, a lot of the old MV crew were there. Their shows are like a school reunion for me and a lot of us, and its great to see a whole new young crowd ready to be inspired by one of the greatest band's I've ever known.
Saturday I was sent to do a shoot with a band called Flowers of Hell, Mark from Play liked their album and so has given them a couple of pages in the mag. I gather they didn't have any images that were either good enough or of high enough resolution to print, which was where I came in. They played the great rota club at Notting Hill Arts club on Saturday, I went to get some shots of the sound check before we went to do an outdoor photo shoot.
As always when it comes to working with bands on gig days, there were delays - i know as much from the years I've spent interviewing artists. By the time we came to do the shoot it was a dark and wet afternoon, which gave a few problems with lighting.. but the band were all extremely lovely and patient with me whilst I checked each shot for rogue elements of flash-lit rain passing through the frame!!!
We invaded the classical record exchange for the last setup, I think the guy in the store probably agreed because myself and the seven flowers of hell made the store look busy for once! I'll post some of the shots on here at the end of the week.
No shows for me to work on this week, I'm not too disappointed... Some of you might be aware that I'm a writer also, and I've got just a few nights to get a full feature on incubus, along with three reviews to get in...
Coopers photo in Kent University campus paper
26/11/2006 I've a photo of the Cooper Temple Clause featured in the Kent Uni newspaper 'Inquire' this month. The lovely Julia Wix has penned an article based on an interview she carried out with Kieran from the band before the Koko show, and the article uses one of my shots from that night. See below:
Sky Larkin at the Water Rats
24/11/2006 I've just added some photos of the marv Sky Larkin playing at the Water Rats on Wednesday night. I did a shoot with them a few weeks ago and will get round to posting some of those shots here in the next couple of days.
New look!
23/11/2006 OK, so in my last post I said nothing much would change... I always get carried away! I've created a whole new look for this site that's also cross browser friendly - something I've actually started to think about more since I switched to using a mac!
I'm still tweaking a few bits of info on the pages, so if you find a dead link or have any general feedback on the changes, please let me know! :)
I've added a gallery of the shots I took last week at the Incubus gig in London and a non music gallery called 'Stuart Headshots' - Stuart is a student at the school that I work at who's in need of some shots to provide to some modelling agencies who've requested photos. I was more than happy to help out.
More photos to come over the weekend.
A few changes and latest work
18/11/2006 I'm going to be making a few changes on the site over the next day or two. They'll largely go unoticed, bar things like moving this page to the bigger space on the right hand side on the framset - I want to start posting nice big photos on there :)
So expect a few possible dead links on a temp basis this weekend, and keep your eyes open for new work that I havent added yet from last month and this past week (namely, INCUBUS!).
x ian
All working again :) and astoria photos
11/09/2006 The guys who put together flapi have worked around all the changes over at flickr.com and updated their marv viewer swf. I've just copied the new version over to my site - every gallery should be working again now, if it isnt please email me.
I've just added some new shots I took of the exterior of the Astoria building. I snapped them to accompany an article I've written for Play, although I know that the 50ft woman is also planning on using them (with a funky twist) for her new save the astoria website. Whoop! More on that shortly :)
Anyone running an article promoting saving the Astoria can use the pics (and any of the shots I've taken there at a gig) free of charge on a credit basis - contact me and I'll sort them out for you.
31/08/2006 Hmmm. It seems that the flapi viewer I use isn't loading up the API feeds from flickr.com
My educated guess would be that this is due to them adding geotagging to the site and feeds. Soooo, if you want to see some photos at the moment, please pop over to http://www.flickr.com/photos/rocktographer/sets where you'll find all my shots (including boring personal pics!).
Don't get stung!
03/08/2006 I've spent the past week playing with Aperture on my new mac.
I recently bought a macbook pro, it's the first mac I've owned and as such its taken me a few weeks just to get used to how the OS works. I was surprised as to how simple it was to use, just as I've found with aperture. Seeing as I don't really do much touching up on any of my photos, photoshop has always had far too many features for me. Aperture has pretty much all any decent photographer needs - I'm mainly interested in cropping, contrast settings and having a good workflow for sorting and rating images.
So yeh, if you're using raw images and want something that I think is far smoother than photoshop, give aperture a try!
10/07/2006 A quick link for anyone who use's google's personalised services... you can now add my photo feed to your google home page simply by clicking on the following link:
10/07/2006 If you liked any of my photos used in this month's edition of Play magazine then they're all available for you to purchase.
The new shots of the Mystery Jets on and offstage, photos of Battle at Kings College and Editors at Brixton Academy can be purchased by visiting the online store (link below).
Photos from previous issues are also available for purchase.
x ian
July / August Play mag out now
10/07/2006
The new edition of Play magazine is out now in all good Sound Control stores in the UK or online (soon) at www.play-mag.com
My photographic work featured in this issue includes live photos of Battle and Editors along with some original shots of the Mystery Jets, both from their live show and new posed pics with Will and Kai from the band.
Writing wise, I penned the cover article - an interview piece with Kai and Will from the Mystery Jets - as well as a few live reviews.
You can pick up a free copy by visiting your local Sound Control (in London, thats the Virgin Megastore on Oxford St) or by clicking here to subscribe via the post (which is also free). The online edition can be viewed at www.play-mag.com it's usually updated around the time of publication. :)
x ian
Want to buy a photo? Shop now open
17/06/2006 Hi all
I've added a new link to the menu above ^^. You can now buy a large selection of my photos online instantly. I've chosen based on popular shots that I get a number of requests about via mail, some of my faves and all the pics (and related images) that have been published in Play magazine this year - that includes photos by Giant Drag and some new offstage shots with members of the Mystery Jets.
If there are any photos you see on this site and want to buy that aren't available in the shop, please email me
The prices start at £2 for a 6"x4" glossy.
Oh! and make sure you set your prints to 'resize to print' when you check out, cropped photos are horrid (although the choice, is of course, ultimately yours!
:) x Ian
Hey! A movie!
17/06/2006 Bizzare but interesting news this one... I recently sold a few photos for use in an independant movie!
I'll post more details of the film once I hear more about the release date, but it sounds like a fantastic mix of "200 cigarettes", "singles" and "dazed and confused" - whether it is or not remains to be seen, but from I've read and what the director has told me it's the kinda film that I should really dig.
It's been an absolute pleasure dealing with Hollywood and I look forward to seeing the finished film (hopefully) towards the end of the year :)
x Ian
Editors, Battle, Humanzi and The Bright Space
02/06/2006 I've just put up new shots of all these bands from the past couple of nights in town.
The Battle shots are mainly of Jason and rather similar as I was after a specific image to go with an article I'm putting together - which I got... Its the second pic in the gallery.
Not many of Humanzi - didnt like them in honesty! Bright Space were a good new band, there's a few shots of them too.
The editors pics are from the second of their three night stand at Brixton Academy.
A busy few nights!
x Ian
New Play mag is now out
30/05/2006 The new edition of Play is out in all good Sound Control stores - in London thats the basement of Virgin Mega on Oxford Street. As usual its free of charge. If a store isnt near you, then click here to register for a free copy to be sent to you home.
This month I've a live review of Imogen Heap and live shots of Imogen and Giant Drag being used.
x ian
PermaLinks now available
12/05/2006 I've noticed that a number of visitors are starting to share photos with friends on forums, and having type out instructions; goto site, click by band, etc, etc...
To make this easier for anyone who'd like to share the photos on this site, I've added PermaLinks to the listings. These will appear next to the titles as [PL], you can copy these links to share and they'll take you straight to that gallery in the future.
Hopefully this will make it easier for kind souls to share my pics :)
I'm soring out a few more photos from the other night at the electric ballroom, hopefully they'll be up over the weekend.
x Ian
Mystery Jets & Spinto band shots..
11/05/2006 ...are coming soon! Also took some pics of the opening band last night at the electric ballroom - no idea who they are though, anyone know???
Thank you Yahoo! Music
07/05/2006 I've just noticed that Yahoo! Music have featured a few of my galleries on their Pepsi Smash homepage.
They've linked to shots I've taken of Natasha Bedingfield and Hoobastank, which is very kind of them to do!
Thank you Yahoo!!
Old Nine Black Alps photos
07/05/2006 I've just found some photos of Nine Black Alps at Somerset House from last August that, for some reason, I never got round to sorting out at the time.
06/05/2006 I've just uploaded and added the first entry to the podcast. It's a nice small mp4 video file featuring photos I took of Annie and Micah from Giant Drag at the Borderline a few weeks back.
The music is a portion of their track "Kevin Is Gay" from their album "Hearts and Unicorn". Go buy it if you like what you hear!!!
06/05/2006 I'm starting to do a lot of work with podcasts both at the dayjob and on a few other projects I'm setting up, so figured it would make sense for me to get one up and running on my main website.
What I've come up with is a nice way to get photos I've been taking out to your PC / PMP / iPod with a bit of music. These video files are in the MP4 format, so you'll need the latest version of Quicktime to play them back on an itunes-less machine. I might put together some audio podcasts from time to time also as I'm often out and about chatting to bands for various publications.
To subscribe manually copy and paste the following into your relevant software:
http://www.rocktographer.co.uk/podcast.xml
I'll put up a page with links to the podcast files directly soon :)
x Ian
Gen's Art Exhibition
22/04/2006 Popped along to my friend Gen's new art exhibition in Brixton tonight.
Whilst I was there I took some photos of her work and that of the other's on her course. Click here if you'd like to have a look through them. Even better, why not make a trip down to the Red gate gallery and see the exhibiton for yourself this week. :)
/plug
New RSS feed on this site
16/04/2006 Happy Easter!
I coded up an rss feed for this site last night that you can now subscribe to. It will automatically post details and teasers of new photos as I add them.
11/04/2006 Really enjoyed Giant Drag last night, Annie was talking about being jetlagged and getting through the day by dosing herself up with starbucks. Was still a great performance. Have been listening to their "Hearts and Unicorns" on repeat for the past few hours whilst installing my new NAS.
I've just added shots from the show to the site for you to see. Have also added the photos from the punked up We Start Fires, who were supporting.
Not sure what other gigs I'm hitting before Easter, but if I post nothing more until then, have a good bank holiday break!
x Ian
Imogen Heap tonight
31/03/2006 Just got in from tonights Imogen Heap show at Shepherds Bush Empire.
Everything about it was just mind blowing. Her voice is so fragile yet strong and demanding. She's also far far more stunning in the flesh than in any photo I've seen of her to date.
I'll be posting some photos from her and her fantastic support's set over the weekend :)
x Ian
Off to NYC
09/03/2006 Yup, am off to New York tmr.
I'm following the Battle boys, who're playing their first US gig at the mercury lounge on Friday night. Anyone who lives round there or has tips for places to visit and photograph, please email me :)
I've got net access over there, so will try to post photos of the town and the battle boys where I can x Ian
New camera! :D
09/03/2006 Awesome.
I finally have it, my new camera! A nice shiny new Nikon D200. Still learning how to use it, it's very different to the D70 that I was using.
I'll post up photos from tests soon
Pickup this week's PLAY magazine!
05/03/2006 You may have not heard of play mag, please allow me to enlighten you.
Play is the official bi-monthly instore magazine of Sound Control shops in the UK. It features a mixture of new gear reviews for all you musicians, as well as interviews and gig reviews. Even better than that, it's completely free!!!
I've started to work with Play and am hoping to have a number of pieces published with them over the coming months.
Issue 36 is out on Thursday (9th March) and I've provided a number of shots and article from the NME tour in it. You can pick up a free copy by visiting your local Sound Control (in London, thats the Virgin Megastore on Oxford St) or by clicking here and subscribing.
Keep on rocking! x Ian
Broken Cam :o(
05/03/2006 Those of you on myspace would've already felt my woes. It sucks. I've had problems for a few months with the sensor in my cam (thats the bit that the photo 'exposes' onto), however unexpectedly my D70 failed two hours before the NME show I covered, whilst sitting in a pub in Cambridge.
There's no power coming through from the battery to the camera's circuitry, so it's going back for a repair.
I've been cameraless for about two weeks now, hence why it's been quiet on here! I'm forking out for a new cam shortly, meaning I'll have a second body (hopefully) come the festival season.
Maximo Park, We Are Scientists & Mystery Jets
14/02/2006 The shots of the mentioned bands from the NME tour are now up online.
If you're thinking about why I've not posted shots of the Arctic Monkeys yet, then rest assured, they will be here soon, I've got to watermark them further due to contractual reasons.
Enjoy! x Ian
Back from the NME tour
13/02/2006 I spent yesterday paying a quick visit to the NME tour in the lovely town of Cambridge.
I was going to be spending time with Maximo Park in the afternoon and stopping by an instore with the Mystery Jets, but my camera just stopped working suddenly when I was setting it up in t'pub! Cue a fast drive back to London to pick up a spare SLR body so I could at least shoot the show!
Photos on the way soon :)
x
BOGOF - special offer on all prints
31/01/2006 Evening all.
The new site is now live, and to celebrate (and to help fund a new camera body / repair on my current cam) I'm running a special offer on prints until the end of February.
BOGOF - as they say! Buy One Get One Free on any 7x5 or 9x6 that you order.
Thats two 7x5's for £5 or two 9x6's for £10 (plus p&p). I don't usually push the prints, but as I said, my current cam does need to go back to its maker for a few weeks and that's costing more than I like :(
So have a browse, see if there are any bands or shots that you like. Please Email me if you're interested.
x Ian
Welcome to the new website
24/01/2006 Gosh! It's taken me a while to get this all together.
I was terrible at keeping the old site in perfect working order. It took ages to get the galleries online and linked in properly... and the info still said I was 23 years old (I wish!). So now, after a big sort out I've got this new version of Rocktography online.
The main difference is the way you see the photos. On the right is a nice snazzy flash file that will display all the photos that you want to see. That links directly into my flickr.com account, which basically means I can get images online nice and quickly!
I think I've gotten most of my shots from the past 3ish years online, the good, bad and ugly. It's been quite something looking back over them seeing shots I'd simply forgotten about.
Feel free to have a browse around, and please use the link to flickr on each picture, where you can leave comments and notes - amongst other things - on each picture (should you wish).
