Ice-cream and fighting

Oh my diddy! It's the beginning of 2012!

While I sit here with a smile on my face listening to House of Pain, Jump Around, playing on the radio (good memories), having just finished the last of the chocolates, cakes and enough sweet things to give you diabetes overnight, I have to think about where I've come from, where I'm going, and what I need to get there.

I solemnly promise... No wait. I swear to... What is that thing where people go to court and promise to tell the truth? Well, I do that. And I promise to end 2012 more than I am in 2011. How's that?

As people go back to work and I start mine, all I can think to myself is that everything has to be about moving forward. Images looking more amazing. Images looking more fitting and often deeper. Soul searching scenes.

I look around me and with people having the troubles they do, I see a number of people taking a deep breath and getting ready to fight for success in 2012. I see them getting ready to fight for their existence. To fight for their happiness. One thing is for certain in uncertain days is that there is a sea of potential to nourish our lives. We have people around us to give us energy when we are doubting ourselves. Seriously, we do. No matter what you see on the news, the majority of the world is not full of evil people sharpening knives and eyeing areas of your back.

I plan to shoot more, put myself in more inspiring situations, drown myself in more ideas so I can nurture a soul in my images. And failing that, I'd like to get enough money to buy some Haagen Dazs Strawberry Cheesecake ice-cream. :-)

Welcome to the new year. See you all soon.

A new dawn shot from my phone while relaxing a the house of close friends.

Angus D

I absolutely hate it! Banned from taking pictures. :-(

I've been banned from taking photos. Again. Can you believe it?!

It happens when friends and family don't want me working at their wedding. Which is funny because when I end up a groomsman, I end up working just as much as if I was behind the camera. Cheating b......

Anyway, I do get to look at pictures because inevitably they all send me links of wedding photographers to see if they are, in my view, any good. I'm always happy to do this because even if I am not doing the job myself, I hate seeing people using the wrong tools or services for their needs. It really does grate on my nerves. Fingers down a chalkboard grating. ... Our kids will never know what that sounds like! I digress.

I was drip fed a series of links to photographers websites. Good stuff. I pass my all seeing eye of Sauron over them. Burning red flames and all. Normally, I can tell within about 3 seconds whether I will like them or not. 1, 2, ahhh I like! But sometimes it's 1, 2, what the hell?!

I just had one of those moments.

Now, I'm in the business of art. Art is in the eye of the beholder. That is always true. But when someone asks me what I think, it's my eye that gets to behold. And I saw something that made my eye wince like I had tried to drink lemons through the iris of my precious eye of Sauron. I saw a picture of a baby. The baby was in a lovely little wedding frock with a nice big pink bow at on the side and she was smiling with such cuteness. But... Big "but"... The baby was in a position that only an adult would be in, but no baby would ever naturally be in this position. Ever. Everevereverever! It was like taking a model from the cover of a mature womans magazine, with the model lying down on a couch for example, then instead of a woman, you have a baby.

There are a number of pictures I've seen of babies doing what they wouldn't normally do or in positions they wouldn't normally be in. They are often funny. This one, not so much. All I could think is, I'm glad the people that wanted that picture didn't choose me. I honestly think when I saw that picture, a little part of me vomited into my cringe centers. I'm so glad that the lovely people who come to me like my work first and foremost.

Not a normal sight

Angus D

I absolutely love it!

Every once in a while, there is a shot that makes you stop in your tracks. I've been staring at this image for a while. Taking it in. Breaking it down. Absorbing it whole. I absolutely love it.

On Thursday 20th of October this year, the Metro, a free paper here in London ran a story about a long running dispute and the eventual eviction of "Britain's biggest illegal traveller site at Dale Farm." Emotions flared. Violence decended like an inevitability of moths to a bulb. Sharp tactical police crashed against the hard determination of the protestesters. The mist descended. Rage. Tears. Sparks. Fire.

In the carnage, this shot emerged.

Image: Associated Press

I really don't think my words could add  any more drama to this image than what it already has. When people talk about Photoshop, remember images like this.

Composition.

The correct moment in time, the correct viewpoint, the background and foreground creating an atmosphere so rich you can smell the air, sweat and intesity. If you ever were wondering about essense, this shot has huge amounts of essense frozen perfectly in time for your senses to imagine, feel, and put you right there.

Every shot should put you right there.

Angus D.

Bringing Out the Essence

"Great innovations are born, not out of love, but out of hate."
Penn Jillette. I think.

Branding. Marketing. Mindshare. Lobbying. They can be some seriously dull stuff. On the other hand, get them right, and they are infectious.

When I started photography, I didn't have some paternally inspired story of "my father handed me a camera when I was just a day old and I've slept with a camera beside me ever since while sucking on flash batteries as a dummy." No, my story was a lot more... typical me. I didn't like most of what I saw. I didn't like pictures of me. I didn't like holiday "snaps" that I was shown. And I really didn't like pictures of people with darker skin tones. The darker, the less I liked. It was the flash effect in dark environments creating big white spots on the forehead and cheeks. Oh I hated the balance in those images!


"Well do something about it then" one of the voices in my head said to me.


So I set about learning. Reading. Testing. Feeling. Understanding. Sleeping with a camera beside me. Sucking on my thumb or batteries. ... Seriously, please don't be silly enough to suck on batteries. The result will not be soothing in the slightest.


I really did want to understand why some things work and some things don't. Now, I can't tell a Jimmy Choo from a Louboutin (did I even spell that correctly), but I focused on seeing a smooth pleasing, interesting image. One that doesn't jar the visual senses like the visual version of eating slightly off food - some will notice at first bite, some will chew away thinking it's fine at first, and slowly but surely...


Then I started learning about balance. From the lightest of the vanilla skin tones to the darkest of the dark chocolate skin tones, I began to understand why I didn't like what I saw. I began to understand the balance that was missing. I also began to understand why some shots are bloody difficult!!! I studied the Grand Wizards of the art form. (Studied? Still studying. Still inspired by.) I thought about I and I likes and dislikes and why I wanted more. If that makes sense.


Up until this point, it was essentially broad strokes of life and art. Then came the finesse. The essence. 


Do you ever have that thing that you like to do where it's not really done till you can look back on it and get a certain vibe, a contentedness, a bond that it is somehow more. If you really appreciate music you will know that feeling of being touched by the chords of a certain track. There is a certain energy that I always wanted to pull from a moment in life. Something like a truth.

It's not easy.

My computer is littered with ideas that I couldn't quite get to the level I wanted them. Which is why I love planning some portrait set pieces. In my mind, if I know how to do everything to get the result I want, I'm not trying enough.

One image where I really managed to get my imagination out was done on a recent wedding shoot. The energy is there. The smoothness. The emotional connection. So I made it my new front page. Check it out. Let me know what you think.

www.AngusDPhotography.com

Angus D

Tools and talent

"A photographer went to a socialite party in New York. As he entered the front door, the host said 'I love your pictures - they're wonderful; you must have a fantastic camera.' He said nothing until dinner was finished, then: 'That was a wonderful dinner; you must have a terrific stove.' "


Sam Haskins

I think that was a brilliant way of showing where we place importance with different things. I've lost count of the number of times I've heard,

"Oh that's a nice shot! You must have a really good camera?"

"I must have a really...?! What the...?!"

I smile. I honestly thank them for their appreciation of the image. And then I think about people and our... biases.

From a purely photographic point of view, the funny thing is that the camera is the 3rd important thing. More important than the camera is actually the lens. People forget that a good camera with a rubbish lens will be like doing a tug of war with a 3 year old in your team - no matter how strong you are those teeny tiny 3 year old hands will struggle to perform to a high level!

Note we are talking about capabilities and not results.

But the most important thing, the most important thing, theeeeee most immmm-po-tant-ting ("h" not included), is the mind's eye of the photographer.

What would you rather have?
Vision or money?
Understanding or results without understanding?
Insight or happiness?

It's curious and not always easy to see the point. But one option gives instant results and gratification. The other gives the ability to know why you got results and how to get more results and develop beyond your own ability.

But to say it was all the camera...! That technology is the real skill! That I go for instant gratification without spending time on core values! I'm, I'm, going to cry.

But this happens in many other things. Most people seem to think that footballers are too highly paid. In motor racing, it's the car that does all the work. Hospital consultants earn waaaay too much. That chef is sooo overrated. (And my own personal one) Paris Hilton is rich for doing nothing.

Really? Really?


The point is not to be controversial about how much are they morally worth compared to others. The point is, do we really understand what they do and how they got to the position they did doing the things they do. Or even the things they had to give up to get to where they are. We all can only dream. I was at an event recently listening to a very successful, inspirational lady talking about how people always assume she had a silver spoon upbringing and her success is the result of an easy route. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Taken in 2007 and still one of my favourite powerful moments

A vision, insight and understanding is what we need. Even for Paris Hilton. Which I am really really struggling with!

ADP

It's not sexual, but it is sexy.

I think I may have to lay down on the psychologist's couch for this one.

"So Angus. How are you feeling today?"

"Not bad. Not bad. But I feel I have something to get of my chest. You know, some thoughts that have been bouncing around me head for a short while."

"How short a while?"

"About 6 years."

"Ah. Ok. Tell me about it."

Deep breath.


"Well, about 6 years back, I was waiting at the bus stop and saw a woman on the other side of the road. As soon as I saw her walking... bang! She caught my attention. However... It was not in a jaw drop, eyes pop out, start drooling Homer-see-doughnut kind of way. It was more a feeling of someone that has it. Someone who is rocking that thing.


"I looked at this woman as she crossed the road. Quite obviously staring at this point mind you. And damn this woman had a sexy walk and air about her. Her clothes, fitted her perfectly. Her style, fitted her perfectly. Her confidence, fitted her perfectly. I stared at her as she took one sexy stride after sexy stride. Not too much, mind you. Not overdoing it. But it just seemed to fit her perfectly. And the most interesting thing of all, was that I was not having a hormonal response. I didn't want this woman sexually, though I thought there would be quite a few men that did!"

"Not sexually? You didn't have any sexual urges towards this woman at all?"

"Nah not really. Seriously. Seriously! Don't let me see you smirking behind that note pad! It was more like a deep appreciation of seeing someone who is confident in their own skin. Someone who may not have found themselves completely, but is confident in knowing they are on the right path.


"Ok, put it this way. If you see a hot woman or man you may think sex. I wouldn't mind some of that! Then you're off to the next thought. But if you see a hot person, who has an air of confidence around them. They have an air of, of, ju ne se qua, mixed with a dash of swagger, all wrapped together lovingly with a sense of higher purpose. What you feel towards them is not sex. Or at least not just sex. It's respect. It's understanding. It's that smile and hug you give someone when they have just achieved something for themselves and for no one else. It's that feeling you get which you can't explain that says "before me is more than what I see." That pride you feel in someone who is, well, as I said before, confident in their own skin that they are on the right path."

"So what made you come here today and chat to me? What made you bring this up now?"

"A good friend, Angel (yes really, that's her name), recently put on an event. I'm always proud to do this particular event. She started up a forum called The Natural Lounge which has kinda blown up and become very popular. Hence the event to get everyone together under one roof. It's a place where women with afro hair come to learn how to take care of their thick and curly."

The organiser, Angel, on the right

"Their what?"

"Their hair!"

Thick and curly

"Well why would they need a special place to be taught how to do this?"

"Well, to generalise massively, a large number of women with afro hair have had their hair straightened with dangerous chemicals from a young age and been led to believe that it is the norm, necessary and or the nominal notion of beauty. So now a number of women with afro hair are finding these forums to find their fit in their own skin. Though the event is a celebration of hair, I suppose the event can be said to be a celebration of learning yourself.

Sucking up good information

"And back we come to sexy. Sex is raw. Sexy is more. ... Did I just say that? I should trademark that! Sell it to..."

"You were saying about sexy..."

"Hey. As the doctor, aren't you meant to let me speak my mind??? Anyway. Yes. Sexy. How shall I explain this. The... aura. The swagger. The feel. The focus. The discipline. The purpose. But not all the answers... It's like looking at someone who's clothes fit them just right, then looking at someone else who, kinda looks like they are wearing clothes designed for another person. Another frame. Another soul. It's not "looks" you are looking at. It's "self". The same goes for hair. It's not about being rebellious. It's blending society and self and coming out with, well, inner sexy.

A perfect fit

"Not sexual at all?"

"Only a little." ;-)

Angus D
Click here to see more from The Natural Lounge Event. Plenty of smiles there!

Good Morning! :-)

It's Saturday. It's Saturday. It's Saturdaaaaaaaaay!!!

Is there a better morning to wake up on? Seriously, if there is, I wanna know. ... Maybe if Saturday was January 1st... But then, it's still Saturday. Oh yes.

What to do, what to do? Normally a slooow stirring from bed. The mind being eased of weekly work worries. Pressures are given short stick and the pillow is given a long warm hug. The weight and warmth of the duvet kisses your skin while your body stretches and writhes below like a cat stretching it's claws. Eyes open. Blink. But no immediate look at the time. No snooze button. No dread. Just the slow heavenly presence of sunlight on the face of your mind giving it a soft ethereal splash of energy. No doubt some of you with shoot back down below your duvets hiding from the light like a shocked rabbit diving for cover!

The mind has energy warmed into it. What to do what to do?

You slip slowly out of bed, perhaps to the sofa to flop back down to have a second wakeup session. Senses coming online. Slowly. Gently. See, now would be a perfect time to have someone to come and serve you while you lie there yawning, rousing, stretching for a smoother day. ... A Saturday morning sla... helper :-) ... Now that's an idea...

Happy Saturday people.

Morning Glory

Angus D