Canon Gives Me A Good Run For My Money At London Fashion Week.

Photography is all about putting yourself in new situations. I’ve photographed lots of kids before on location, wearing trendy gear, but I’ve never done a catwalk show before, so when Canon’s Professional Network sent down an invite to London Fashion Week, it was an experience not to be missed.

Meeting other photographers at the Charing Cross Hotel, we were given a little shooting advice from Canon’s Hin Pang, even down to what settings to use. This turned out to be a bit of a red herring as far as I was concerned. He advised us that although the models didn’t appear to be moving fast, in photographic terms they certainly were. A shutter speed of 1/500 sec – 1/640 second was recommended with an aperture of F4.5, ISO 400-800. (I can’t wait for the day when we don’t have to set ISO at all! We’re nearly there.) Hin even gave us the white balance setting. In practice, I was paranoid about eliminating camera shake despite having a posh lens with Image Stabilising, so I plumped to shoot at 1/1000 opting for a higher ISO. And why not? My 5D 2 has an excellent sensor at the higher ISO’s anyway.

Like a herd of camels, laden down, we trundled to Somerset House to be shown Canon’s media tent. Impressive. Canon really look after their people, including offering on-site repairs and rentals. Here, I met a familiar face….Sundeep always attends Focus Birmingham or product open days at places like Fixation. The media tent was a hubbub of frenetic activity…rows of Macbooks and journalists editing and sending images, feeding fashion editors like little birds with mouths open.
We were briefed on photography etiquette in ‘The Pit’, the marked out area especially for photographers. We weren’t to stray outside of the line. We were to mark our pitch with a camera bag. We were to shoot without sticking our elbows out, to avoid annoying our neighbours. Space was at a premium.  Once we were in, we were surprisingly well behaved. I selected a spot  close to the central point, next to the video tripods, on the lowest step. The stage lights weren’t on yet, so we couldn’t get light readings. The hum of excitement mounted as members of the general public took their seats.

Heads down and….we’re off!

My god it was fast. The clothes were lovely but some of the models looked terrified. Ex St. Martin’s student, Richard Nicoll’s collection was impressive. Strong oranges, deep, intense blues, crisp white linens and structural dresses in leather were the outfits I notice the most. All the female models sported simple, chic pony tails scraped back from their faces in an unforgiving way. Like thoroughbred horses, they strutted down the runway. It was really important to time the shots as each foot hit the floor too. I edited a lot of weird leg shapes out later.

Focussing, I decided to shoot at f5.6 to get the faces sharp, continually activating the AI Servo AF mode. Past experience has shown me that the 5d2’s centre point is the most accurate. I also felt it was critical to get the patterns on the textiles crisp over and above the faces. Mega concentration needed. For the opportunity? Thanks Canon!

London 2012 – The First Digital Games

Yesterday morning, I headed down town to City Hall to hear about how media coverage for the 2012 games this year had been delivered. I wanted to find out if there were any pearls of wisdom that a small-fry like myself could glean: perhaps discover a new niche to make my service more unique.

London Business Network were holding the London 2012 sector conference review on technology, media and telecommunication. (TMT) I’d never been to city hall before and I was fascinated by the architecture within. Floors are connected by a large spiral walkway similar to the Guggenheim and it reminded me a lot of Gatwick Airport funnily enough.

After a brief networking opportunity (I always find these hard), we gathered in the auditorium.  A succinct intro by MC Faizul Ali of Deloitte MCS Ltd, introduced Tim Plyming, project executive for Digital Live Sites and Super Hi Vision for BBC 2012. Tim gave a fascinating insight into the first digital games ever. Thanks to super fast broadband, this is the first Olympics which has seen full digital coverage of all the events: a feat never achieved before.

Hampton Court Way approaching Hampton Wick roundabout, Team GB up front including Bradley Wiggins.

The BBC realised that with the cessation of analogue services, this presented the perfect opportunity to commit to bring every minute of the event to viewers. Using traditional methods only 300 hours of blue ribbon events were achievable at the Sydney games. Since 1984, the BBC has partnered with Japanese company NHK who supply cameras capable of 16 times the quality of HD video. Super-fast broadband has facilitated the transmission and screening of this live experience to 6 projectors around the world and cinema screenings in London, Glasgow, Bradford, Washington, Tokyo and Fukushima. This is impossible to send via satellite. (Transmission rate is 0.5 gigabites a second.) Tim pointed out that we had now reached the maximum resolution the human eye can see. The experience feels like you’re actually there. (Currently you can visit BBC Broadcasting House near Oxford Circus for a demo.)

“Super Saturday” sees 24 HD channels with particular events chaptered using video data stats which adds value to the viewer’s experience a the heart of the BBC’s Offer. This would enable a page to be built for every sport, athlete or country and the ability to jump to any one particular moment, providing a huge legacy service to use in the future.

How would TMT be used differently in years to come?

Tim explained that chapterisation would allow us to view exactly how we want it. The UK is the most connected country in Europe, whether by mobile, tablet or p.c. There is evidence that people are often using two technologies at once (particularly our kids), and there is no evidence that shows failure to absorb information. The biggest challenge is to make content exciting which means using creative people to manage that info in an interesting and innovative way. This will lead to localised personal experience where access becomes more important over ownership.

( This scared me silly for obvious reasons!)

So where does still photography fit in? Unfortunately, I’m none the wiser but it did point to more collaboration between creatives and more SHARING of intellectual property. Technology is moving so fast that as a sole trader, remaining at the cutting edge will be a real struggle. One participant pointed out that her up and coming company based at Tech City (the area near Hoxton and Old Street), had been excluded from any 2012 opportunities due to impossibly stringent criteria. I had heard by attending previous seminars that small businesses would be given a fair crack at the whip, but sadly it appears not.

Dear oh dear….Big business wins again. I’ll just have to get fitter and leaner!

EBS “Riot Of Colour” Turns A Few Heads At RHS Hampton Court

With only 4 hours to visit the largest horticultural show in the UK, I was hard pushed to get round it all. Following the Edible Bus Stop’s crew through each stage of the build via Twitter and Facebook, I was determined to hit their installation first and wasn’t disappointed.

It was a large plot replicating the original Edible Bust Stop community project site in Landor Road, Stockwell. It was as though they had picked it all up and whizzed it through the air like Dorothy’s house in the Wizard of Oz. The amount of work that must have gone into it was staggering. They had thought of every little detail, actually laid a real road. A large graffiti’d wall, brightly painted served as a backdrop to an old derelict red phone box and a replica of the bus stop itself stood proudly at one end embellished with the words EDIBLE BUS STOP.

Inspired by the violent events of last Summer 2011, EBS wanted to create a controversial, thought provoking offering, illustrating the benefits of green spaces in cities and the way plants, when left to their own devices, reclaim and soften harsh city-scapes. Will Sandy, one of four EBS founding members is a landscape architect and passionate about the built environment while Mak Gilchrist, ex-model, has levered her extensive contacts book to raise their profile. In fact, it was Mak who sourced all of the ‘props’ for the show arranging support from many sponsors.

Essentially, the Edible Bus Stop is an educational programme, bringing the joy of planting to all people. Through their open days, kids learn about planting seeds and where food comes from, turning derelict plots of land into vibrant lynchpins, bonding communities together.

One lady passed by with her friends and said: “Eurgh…I don’t think that Mum would like this….” very loudly. But surely she’s missing the point? This is the future of gardening. Cutting edge stuff.

Links:

Web: www.theediblebusstop.org

Twitter: @EdibleBusStop

Facebook: The Edible Bus Stop.

Planting List:

Carpinus Betulus (Hornbeam), Sambucus Nigra ( Common Elder), Buddleja Davidii, Kerria Japonica ‘Plentiflora’, Rubus Fructicosus (Common Blackberry), Rubus Idaeus (Common Raspberry), Verbena Bonariensis, Alchemilla Mollis (Lady’s Mantle), Digitalis Purperea ( Foxglove),  Leucanthemum Vulgare (Ox Eye Daisy), Valerian Officinalis, Centranthus Rubber (Red Valerian), SElene Dioica (Red Valerian), Silene Dioica (Red Campion), Achemilla Millefolium (Yarrow), Rhinanthus Minor ( Yellow Rattle), Vicia Cracca (Tufted Vetch), Prunella Vulgaris (Selfheal), Sanguisorba Minor (Salad Burnet), Plantago Lacneolata (Ribwort Plantain), Lychnis Flos-Cuculi (Ragged Robin), Hypericum Perforatum ( Perforate St.John’s Wort), Malva Moschata (Musk Mallow), Ranunculus Acris ( Meadow Buttercup), Centaurea Nigra (Lesser Knapweed), Gallium Verum (Lady’s Bedstraw), Geranium Pratense, Primula Veris (Cowslip), Hypochaeries Radicata (Cat’s Ear), Lotus Corniculatus (Bird’s Foot Trefoil), Stachys Officinalis (Betony), Hedera Helix (Common Ivy), Urtica Dioica (Nettle), Rumex Acetosa (Dock Sorrel), Borago Officianalis, Agrostis Capillaris (Common Bent), Cynosurus Cristatus ( Crested Dogtail), Festuca Rubra (Slender Creeping Red Fescue), Phleum Bertolonii (Smaller Cat’s Tail).

Sponsors:

Brett Paving, London Pleasure Gardens, Veolia, Paramount Paving, Lafarge, Treebox, Abacus Insurance, BSW Timber Group, Trueform (Bus Stop), Folio (Hornbeam Tree), Lindum Turf (Wildflower Turf), Vital Earth (Organic Soil), Yum Cha Drinks (Wildflowers), Will Trickett Boats (Fabrication of Double Yellow Bench).

Changing The World One Bus Stop At A Time

Last Saturday, I visited the Edible Bus Stop Community Allotment project in Stockwell’s Landor Road, London SW9. I had been following its progress with great interest on Facebook for some time, because my childhood friend Mak Gilchrist is one of its co-founders.

Just over a year ago, Mak and three other Edithna Street residents, Will Sandy (qualified architect and creative director), Simon Goldsmith (sustainability consultant/ EBS vice-chair) and Liz Seymour (installation producer for EBS) got together to do something very special: guerilla garden a bare patch of scrub land next to the 322 bus stop just on the corner, very close by. And who’d have guessed it? They’ve had loads of coverage in the press. Guerilla Gardening is ‘de-rigueur’.

On approaching the site, I was struck by the vulnerability of it. There are no barriers or fencing to stop wanderers stomping all over the plants. Passers- by can pick what they like as it’s not policed in anyway. The surrounding area is a typical urban sprawl, feeling edgy and polarised. The beautiful Georgian villas at Stockwell Green give way to a derelict school all boarded up and a Londis mini-mart.

Looking down Edithna Street there’s a view towards a high-rise housing estate and new skyscrapers in the city are taking shape on the horizon. Most of the people passing by don’t appear wealthy, sporting an eclectic mix of thrift shop fashions and tracksuits. It’s not difficult to be reminded we’re in recession here.

Edithna Street, a typical terrace, ends with a long, white-washed wall which at one time was constantly being ‘tagged’ with graffiti. Keith Heaseman, EBS head gardener told me that since they’d planted alongside it, the tagging has stopped. Facing the sun most of the day, this structure makes an ideal spot for heat loving plants such as tomatoes. Indeed there has only been one incident of vandalism over the past year which involved pulling down a sunflower. The Rhubarb is victimised on a regular basis because everyone loves it and there’s  never enough to go around.

Gail Oldroyd and Keith, both part of the project from the start, are working together on the Olympic Veg project, growing veg in the colours of the Olympic rings! Keith is well positioned to carry out any plant research having been a professional gardener for some years.

But a curious thing has happened! Neighbours who once passed each other by without uttering a word are stopping to chat, smiling and happy. Friendships are forming in front of our eyes. Groups of kids stop to look at the flowers and butterflies. Couples walk past hand in hand remarking at the beauty in such an unlikely place. The 322 bus stops by and the driver honks the horn, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Mak says they dig the Edible Bus Stop. Call me an old hippy but could this be love m-a-a-a-n?

This week, EBS has been participating in the Chelsea Fringe, which today is represented by the bizarre Bicycle Beer Garden. The rider turns out to be a talented uni-cyclist too but for the moment he arrives on a racing bike pulling the Beer Garden along behind him. Beer cans have been cleverly converted into plant pots. Mine’s a pint of worms please!

I’m struck by small islands of planting: rows of sweet corn covered by plastic water bottles companion planted to ward off the pests, took me back to when I had a plot of my own in Hampton Wick. How I struggled trying to do things organically! I tried everything against the slugs that I could but to no avail….Makes you realise just how difficult it is to grow any food at all.

Keith told me, in a tone of resignation, that they got their water from the houses by can and bucket. It used to take me 2 hours a day to water my plot in the Summer. All we had were Artesian wells, so I sympathised.

Will’s plans for the new council funded landscaping are up on the walls. How fantastic that they’ve backed this. I got the impression that the local Council were a bit reticent at first, but the project has created so much positivity in the community that they now back it fully.

What’s next? Of course, it’s to create a green bus route….and this is actually happening with a second plot on the go at Norwood Road SE27.

Recently short listed for the ‘Grassroots Community Challenge’ category of the Observer Ethical Awards 2012 – EBS are pushing ahead this year by being represented at several prestigious garden festivals including Hampton Court. Will Sandy’s showcase garden concept ‘A Riot Of Colour’ is a representation of life after the 2011 riots and will be shown here and later at the London Pleasure Gardens. Word is spreading like wildfire…so look out!

https://vimeo.com/36341895

 http://www.chelseafringe.com/event/bus-stop-gardens

http://www.rhs.org.uk/

http://www.londonpleasuregardens.com/test/about/