Tuesday 15 December 2009

Silly Season

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It's been an interesting couple of weeks since the last post. Firstly, I was off to Cwm Rhaedr in Wales to shoot a Local Knowledge article for mountain bike magazine MBR (a 7am start having attended the Rouleur photo book launch the night before may not have been the best idea, however I don't regret a thing). The trail at Cwm Rhaedr really isn't particularly long at a mere 6.7km, but dear lord, it's one of the most fun things I've ever ridden. The start's a bit of a dull fireroad climb, but it quickly becomes seriously fun with a series of slate hairpins which quickly lead into a descent that, while not particularly difficult, is awesome fun. Almost halfway between a BMX track and an mtb descent. I would definitely recommend a visit. Despite the awful conditions (we were riding in low-lying cloud. 1/125 at f2.8, 1600iso for the photographers out there) the photos came out really good. Look out for the article in the February issue of MBR.

Then, on Monday, it was a break from the bikes and onto musicians as I found myself shooting photos of Dangermouse and James Mercer's (he of The Shins fame) upcoming new project Broken Bells. This was a quick job at short notice, and will be contained within an issue of the NME in the new year. Despite the notice and the locations, the results were worth the hustle and sweat to get there in time. Seriously, when I went for a beer after the shoot, I was steaming.

Lastly, this morning I was assisting photographer Sam Jones on a shoot for Heat magazine, with the little chappie who won the X-Factor over the weekend. As someone who's managed to successfully avoid watching a single minute of the X-Factor (or Pop Idol, or any show of its ilk), watching the post X-Factor success entourage mania first hand and in full swing was a bizarre experience.

I can tell you, it's been a bloody strange week.