Last Minute Christmas Present Idea?

Rain
Originally uploaded by Way Ahead Photography

Need something quick for Christmas?

How about a photo of you as a couple/family? Perhaps a fashion style shoot for a stylish partner? Or maybe a band shoot for the kids, or even a photo of the family pet?

Way Ahead is pleased to offer you a 1 hour photoshoot with an 8"x10" printed framed photo, for £30.00*

Simply contact Luke on 07956 584178, or via the website http://www.wayaheadphotography.com and book a shoot, and I'll email you a lovely colourful Way Ahead Photography voucher.
They'll get something to open on the big day, AND even better - something to look forward to after Christmas is all over.

And if you pay with PayPal online, you won't even have to go out in the snow!

Simples! :)


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* please note that this does not cover delivery if required, and is valid to customers within a 30 mile distance from Ashford, Kent. Customers outside this distance may be subject to travel costs.

Don't forget to have fun!

Signs Ahead
Originally uploaded by Way Ahead Photography

A recent natter on Facebook with one of my festival buddies reminded me that it's important to take photos just for the heck of it - to experiment and to HAVE FUN with my camera.

Now I'm trying to earn a living with my camera, I often spend way too much time take photos for a reason, and sometimes the only reason should be I want to take photos.

The aforementioned friend is a huge fan of a style of photography called Lomography, which came about after the discovery of a little known russian film camera back in the 1990's, and serves as a reminder to enjoy your photography.

Lomography devotees attempt to adhere to the 10 Golden Rules, which are essentially all about using photography to document your everyday life, rather than it being some fancy art form for "Sunday best" only.

I love the idea of breaking the rules, and this is positively encouraged in lomography. The website http://www.lomography.com is full of amazing photos, snapped in all sorts of ways, and well worth a good look.

Inspired perhaps by a visit to the site, I took the attached whilst driving my Mini yesterday! I quite like it. Not sure the police would tho...

Never listen to critics... unless they say nice things!

Friday night I had the privilage of seeing Chasing Ora play at the Water Rats, London.

Having liased with them beforehand on Myspace, it was great to see them playing live. They didn't disappoint. Strong, driving and foundational rhythms supplied by Steve the drummer and Darren the bassist, creative guitar riffery from Alex and Jonas, and the icing on the cake, beautiful, sweeping, haunting vocals from the lovely Natalie. The band delivered songs that were instantly memorable, and caused me to go and buy 2 of their tracks from ITunes!

Prior to the gig, I had suggested that they contact a certain magazine to try and get some exposure, and was told by a glum Darren that the magazine in question had slated them horrendously.

Astonished, I wasted several minutes of my life I will never ever get back, and tracked down and read said article. A classic example of lazy writing, cliches and somebody trying to be far more clever than they have the potential to be. Somebody I've never ever heard of before.

And here's the difference. Bands like Chasing Ora exist to play music. They want to succeed.

Critics like the one in question want to be famous. They don't care about success, they don't care who they hurt along the way, they only want to be "known".

Bands like Chasing Ora make people feel better, they take them out of the inane crapness life might be chucking at them at any given moment, and give them the night off.

Critics who think it's clever to destroy rather than build, just bring everybody down a bit more. They unleash their bitter desparation on a bitter, desparate world, and it achieves nothing.

Chasing Ora are driven by the memory of a beautiful and talented female vocalist, taken from them, and their fans, by a tragic accident. They are driven by the music she loved, and they love still. They believe in their music, and they desire to entertain people with it.

I wonder - what drives our friend the critic, and how proud they are of that article now?

The old saying "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything" seems appropriate...

Use what you have to hand...

Rain
Originally uploaded by Way Ahead Photography

Did a photoshoot in Canterbury, Kent yesterday, with a superb model called Claire. It rained. A lot. And we kept going...

As a result we got some of my fave shots so far, including this one. My camera, an EOS50D survived admirably, and we had a great time.

Brits talk about the weather a lot, but we don't let it stop us having fun!

The Novels @ Office Bar Folkestone

The Novels @ Office Bar Folkestone
Originally uploaded by Way Ahead Photography

Had the privilage of being able to go see my mate Adam's (who also runs EK-One Magazine when he's not being a guitar hero) band, The Novels play at the Office Bar in Folkestone the other night.

Not only did I have a great time photographing them, the music was cracking!

Go check out their MySpace page. You'll be very glad you did!

Autumn Marsh Sunset

Autumn Marsh Sunset
Originally uploaded by Way Ahead Photography

Had a terrible night last night, youngest had his first seasonal bout of croup (he gets it a lot) resulting in me sleeping (I use the term loosely) on the floor in his room.

Today in contrast was a lovely day, my kids (despite the night's excitement) were in a lovely, fun mood, I had a very productive time working, I took a trip to the lovely seaside town of Hythe, and finally, got to see this amazing sunset.

"When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul. "

It *is* well...

Marketplace Girl

Job Done!
Originally uploaded by Way Ahead Photography

"It takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer. You need less imagination to be a painter, because you can invent things. But in photography everything is so ordinary; it takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the ordinary." (David Bailey)

One of my final photos for the Ashford project, and one of my favourite photos I've ever taken. So far!

Why Am I Doing This?

"Because we do not know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustable well. Yet everything happens a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can't even concieve of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even that. How many times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless." (Paul Bowles - "The Sheltering Sky")

Sometimes you've just got to take photos for fun. If you ever lose sight of that, then it's no longer a passion. It just becomes another job...

Photography should be about capturing moments, stopping time and remembering that which is important. It should not be about earning money, or chasing fame and fortune. Sadly it's an easy trap to fall into in the world we live in where everybody wants to be somebody.

Summer's End...

So the kids are back to school, and I'm back to some sort of normality. I've done a lot over the past few weeks, 2 holidays with the family, both fantastic, lots of photo shoots, I've bought a new camera and quit from a photography degree course before even commencing it. I feel older, wiser, a bit more wrinkly in places, but ready to take on the world.

Photo is from a recent shoot with a lovely young lass called Caroline - I really enjoyed the natter we had, as well as a really good time taking photos.

Strings To The Bow

I'm a freelance photographer. So by my reckoning I need to be doing "a bit of everything". Which suits me just fine - my character is such that my wife believes strongly that I have ADHD...

This last week I've been flexing my "fashion shoot" muscles. I advertised for some models, pointing out my style, which I think is quite individual, and has been brought about by the rock photography I do so much of.

The response was very pleasing - 30 applications to work with me. So far I've worked with a couple of lovely models - really nice people as well as having a great look. And I had a blast.

One thing I'm learning fast is that ability can only get so you far. Personality is really important if you want to stand out from the crowd. The models I am choosing to work with are the ones who are funny, friendly, and pleasant people. Looks aren't everything, even in photography and fashion!

One of my heroes, David Bailey, was known for his huge charm and personality, backed up by a tremendous talent behind the camera. He was, I imagine, amazing to work with - which is why people flocked to use him.

In this game, I really believe nice guys can win....!!!

All Fested Out!

IMG_9556
Originally uploaded by Way Ahead Photography

What a stonking fortnight I've had!

First of all I got to experience the brilliant Sellindge Festival, culmination in a blinding performance by the amazing Supergrass. And I got to meet them backstage...!!!

Then it was on to the Beach Break Live event in Lympne; 10,000 students shipped in from Cornwall at the last minute, to watch bands like Red Light Company, Mystery Jets, The Zutons and Dizzee Rascal

And I've just returned from the Hop Farm Festival, where I met Ash, and experienced the legend that is Paul Weller.

I've shot thousands of photos, learnt loads, and most importantly, met some absolutely great people. It's been a blast! Now I need a lie down!

Second Chance...

Thus far my online shops have not done brilliantly. Ebay was a disaster; despite several early sales, I was barely clearing my costs. Etsy was better in that I didn't waste as much on selling fees, and I met some really lovely people - not to mention having sold some cards to a nice lady in Australia!

I've decided to give it another go, encorporating my cunning Twitter usage to bump up the visits to my pages. I'm now selling cards, not giant framed photos, which brings down the production costs, the selling costs and the postage costs - which all means a cheaper price for my customers.

Let's see what happens...

Problems with Outlook email links and Firefox? Read on...

I had a problem on my Vista laptop with Windows Live Mail where, because I prefer to use Firefox to do my web browsing, I found I couldn't click on hyperlinks in emails. When I did, I got a "general fault" and the offending link refused to open in Firefox.

Being a full-blooded IT guy, I can never be bothered to fix things on MY computer - so I left it.

Today I was called by a customer who, amongst other issues, was having the very same problem on a Vista laptop - this time, between Outlook 2007 and Firefox! As money was involved, I actually took the time to solve it :) If you have the same sort of issue - read on dear reader!...

The solution calls for a registy fix so you will need to run REGEDIT. Go to Start - Run - and type REGEDIT and press enter. (In Vista you can click Start and type REGEDIT in the search textbox at the bottom of the Start menu.)

In regedit you will need to navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL\shell\open\ddeexec

Once there you will see a name on the right hand side of "(default)" - double click this item.

You will then see a value of ""%1?,,0,0,,,,. " in a text box - delete this value (so the box is cleared) then click ok. Close the registry editor, and reboot your computer (just to be sure!) - next time you click on a link in an email it SHOULD open in Firefox just fine!!!

Laugh or Cry?

Currently reading up on Harold "The Doc" Edgerton - amazing scientist and
photographer. Took the original "droplet" photos of milk, shot apples with
bullets and photographed sportsmen and hummingbirds at high shutter speeds.

Found this page with his "bullet through apple" image and marveled at it
again - then I made the mistake of reading the comments beneath...

Coincidentally, I saw Idiocracy last night - interesting little film where Luke Wilson finds
himself in a future where everyone else is ridiculously stupid and he's
considered a genius. Trouble is - and as this posting proves, idiocy seldom
appreciates genius...

Ok I can accept that some people won't understand how this was done - it is quite amazing after all. But when people start thinking that they "stopped the bullet" or that the US government has found a way to stop time, I start to worry a bit...

New Shop on Etsy

My shop on Etsy is now open. Lots of photos on sale, and other items coming soon, including greetings cards! Go and have a look!

Cafe Oto

IMG_8409
Originally uploaded by Luke Y

Friday night saw me travelling up to London and braving the transport system to get to Dalston, where I spent a lovely evening in Cafe Oto - listening to some fantastic musicians, thanks to Bearded Magazine.

I loved all the acts, but the one that really stood out for me was John Fairhurst - an incredible blues guitarist. I have already bought his album on ITunes and it's just brilliant - BUY IT!!!

Exhibition Opens at New Inn

On Thursday I went over to the New Inn, Etchinhill and spent a very pleasant morning chatting to the bar lady, whilst framing my exhibition photos. I have to admit that it was a very intimidating experience taking down the photos of Karin Albinsson who is absolutely amazing and also takes photos of rock stars - and very good ones at that!

But when my pics were framed, I was actually quite pleased with how good they looked. Go and have a look won't you?

More Water Sculptures For Sale

IMG_7109-1
Originally uploaded by Luke Y

My latest selection of water sculpture photos are now available for sale here: http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/wayaheadphotography - hope you find something you like!

College Interview Essay: “Rock Photography: Art's Very Own Antihero”

This short piece of work focuses on rock photography, and the view that it should be considered an
artform for the modern age.

The first rock photograph significant for me was a portrait by Gered Mankowitz of Jimi Hendrix. What fascinated me about this image was that in one photograph,
Mankowitz manages to capture somebody who was both a performer, and also a real person. Mankowitz himself described Hendrix as “a most charming, humble and witty
person with tremendous charisma” - all of which I think is seen in the photograph. This contrast fascinated me, as it challenges the idea of a portrait being all about the “real person”, and suggests that it is possible for a photograph to capture more than one side of a person at the same time.

I consider rock photography to be an art form. Like the music it seeks to portray, it is not often
considered very glamorous. Advocates of other forms of art might look on this genre as being cheap
and meaningless “snaps” - especially regarding the live performance photography which I favour
most.

Other types of art, such as painting or sculpture have enjoyed a more respectable and “artistic”
status. Rock photography, therefore, often finds itself at the very bottom of the pile of respectabilty.

However, rather than this be worthless, it can be argued that in fact, rock photography and its
development since the 1960's, is indicative of the way society has been changing, and how our
perception of what makes a person “significant” or “great” has altered. This is due in a large part,
not just to the styles and techniques used, as these haven't really changed much at all, but because of
the content.

During the 20th century, philosophers challenged the old values of the world, and art reflected this in
challenging the old ways of portraying these values; philosophy such as post-modernism, and art
movements like Dadaism epitomise these changes. Authority was diminished. Gods were reduced
to heroes, then heroes became “anti-heroes”, flawed like their followers, perhaps in order to make
them more acceptable and less threatening. In other words, society brought them down to level the
playing field.

War was no longer glamorous. Ironically photography itself played a large part in this deposition,
whereas its predecessor – painting – tended to glamorise it. To be engaged in war was no longer
considered heroic, and thus society sought out new heroes and gods in the world of “celebrity”
instead.

Whilst classic works of art portrayed gods and goddesses, mythological and biblical heroes, and
characters from works of great fiction, photography has immortalised the “here and now” gods and
goddesses; the pop stars, the actors, and these days, even people famous in society, just for being
famous. Daily newspapers are adorned with the images of these heroes, as we seek to raise them up
as gods, or sometimes, to bring them down again!
In this respect, photography of this kind may one day be valuable as a tool for historians, trying to
discover what life was like, and what was important to the people of the time.

Rock photography started to evolve around the time of the Beatles in the 1960's, arguably came of
age during the 1970's, and in a style similar to the music it represented, sought to rebel even against
the society which had created it. It seemed oblivious to whether it was considered “respectable” or
not.

It could be argued that photography and rock music, were a match made in heaven. In the world of
the “rock god” - photography enables the hero, often with a famously short life span due to the
lifestyle they adopt, to “live forever”. Both music and photography create immortality, often with
those who die becoming more famous after they have done so, where they “shall not grow old as we
grow old”

What stands out about rock photography to me, is the paradox it presents. The subject matter is
indicative of society and it's modern obsession with celebrity and associated glamour, yet in rock
music and the photography that captures it, there is often a total lack of “glamour” to the images,
which at times seems almost deliberate; both strive to be a “two fingered salute” to the principalities
and powers of this world, whilst at the same time, a slave to the values that the same world holds
dear.

This lack of glamour, at least in the photography, is due in a large part to the technical limitations
placed: Often, especially with live performance photography, there is a very limited amount of time
to take the shots (sometimes no more than 5-10 minutes cramped in a small “press pit” just below a
stage). Into this relatively tiny amount of time, an incredible amount of “moments” take place, both
on the stage and in the audience, of which the rock photographer must first observe, and then decide
whether to capture these, or turn around and capture other moments.

Whilst the intensity of the “moments” available to a photographer is great, the quality and
consistency of any light at these events is often far from great. The contrast of poor ambient lighting
with extremely bright spotlights focussed intermittently on the performers, makes both
underexposed and blown out photographs the norm. Photographers will compensate for these harsh
conditions by using a slow shutter speed, a large aperture, and a high film/sensor sensitivity (usually
referred to as ISO) These camera settings result in the often blurry, grainy images we see depicted
by even the most famous rock photographers, such as Mick Rock or Gered Mankowitz. In any other
arena, these images might be discarded, unable to provide any insight into the subject and
suggesting a lack of basic technical ability in the artist.

But the fascinating thing for me about these images is that rather than detract from the viewer's
experience, the above limitations actually enhance the image, and manage to capture the
atmosphere perfectly; all the sights sounds and smells of a rock concert. Thus rock photography
proves itself to be an “anti-hero” of the arts; its technical flaws actually providing its strengths and
enabling rock photographers to create powerful and provocative imagery.

Perhaps this is because the technical limitations force the photographer to emulate his or her subject
and “break the rules”, challenging the traditional ways and rules for taking good photographs.

The resulting images are loud and dramatic, like the music, and the challenges of poor lighting
result in strong contrasting images bearing moody depictions of the performers, The blurriness
incurred from slow shutter speeds creates the feeling of speed, movement and intensity, which is
exactly what members of the audience can expect at a rock concert. If photography is about the
relationship between the photographer and an object, then rock photography makes it very easy for
people viewing the photos to put themselves in the place of the photographer, as the photos depict
memories and moments that most will share.

There is something genuine about rock music; the triumph of performance over musical perfection,
and the lack of glamour of those artists who just “care about the music”, rebelling against a society
that is all about being somebody famous, gives it an earthy, real appeal, and so do the photos that
depict it. They are raw, punchy, uneditted, uncompromising, and unforgettable.

The right shot, taken at the right moment, can sum up the entire event – which is a desire that is
common to all forms of photography that seek to “tell a story”. It can immortalise the performer,
and reveal characteristics and traits about the real person behind the face paint and leather, whilst
managing to document a great moment from a great performance at the very same time.

This for me is one of the biggest attractions and challenges of rock photography; to be able to do all
that in the most extreme and challenging conditions, whilst getting up-close and personal with some
real-life “gods” of society, without treading on their toes or knocking their microphones over and
earning myself a punch in the face as a result.

So - what is a hero?

Yes an interesting question. I think we are all born wanting to be heroes. I can remember the feeling as I swaggered out of the cinema after Star Wars - Return Of The Jedi! I wanted to be Luke Skywalker!

My son dressed as Sportacus for the first time and looked in a mirror - the look said everything - he WAS Sportacus!

I am very aware that my son thinks I am a superhero right now, capable of anything - I am most definitely HIS hero. But then one day this will become more realistic. I can remember feeling the same about my dad, and eventually I realised that he is in fact mortal, is capable of making mistakes and (occasionally) failing - but he never stopped being my hero!

Society throws the word around rather carelessly these days to describe footballers, rock stars etc etc - but what is a REAL hero?

Is it somebody who died in a war? Seigfried Sassoon tends to suggest that this isn't always the case - and perhaps our guilt at such a futile and pointless death causes us to label unfortunate young men who unlike Norman in my previous post, never got a chance to prove themselves as heroes.

Some men and women do indeed prove that they are heroes during war - but what about all the other heroes? The lady who works tirelessly for years looking after and raising other people's kids? The old lady who saves all her spare money to pay for charities to save people's lives in another country? The guy who takes away the rubbish every week?

Dave Grohl wrote "There goes my hero - he's ordinary".

My definition of a hero - ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things. This is what I think I want to pursue on my photography course!

The Hero

The Hero
Originally uploaded by Luke Y

I am preparing for an interview for college for a photography degree. One of the themes that I would like to pursue is "The Hero". I started thinking about this in relation to the picture here of Norman - my wife's granddad. Not only did he serve in the navy during and after WW2, he then went on to become a fireman, and doubtless saved many lives - both in war and peace times.

I snapped this photo of him and was instantly aware that something of this character could be seen - a tough, dependable man, probably having seen a lot of scary/shocking stuff in his time. Experiences have hardened him, left him with memories and probably scarred him for life in many ways. And yet here is a man who loves life, and lives every second of it far better and more gratefully than some lucky git like me will probably ever manage.

Having lived my whole life as I want, with no threat of being dragged off to war, I owe Norman and others a huge debt. In some way perhaps I can say thank you to these guys thru photography.

This might actually be working!

What a Friday I had - first I sold some stock photos - which means I currently have one WHOLE Dollar in my account - but - far more importantly - it means I am officially "professional" - i.e. I've been PAID for my photos! :)

Then I sold a photo on eBay, which I never expected to happen (albeit to a lovely friend of mine - but still - I sold one!)

And finally I got in touch with a local pub/restaurant owner, and offered him a look at my website, and consequently I am now looking at a month long exhibition! Which is just fantastic!!!

Slowly.... things might be starting to happen!

I fought the law...

I fought the law...
Originally uploaded by Luke Y

An old, wise friend warned me today - "Let the pictures do the talking". He's almost always right... so I've listened to him in this photo.

Security ramped up at local shopping Outlet

Popped into McArthurGlen Designer Outlet earlier, only to discover that they are really taking security seriously these days, with a very visible presence of armed guards...

See? This is why they tell you always carry your camera EVERYWHERE. You never know when a Stormtrooper might suddenly pop up!

There's one - set for flourescant....!!!

This is what I'm talking about

Today was good. Today I took photos, and spent time with my family. Today I felt inspired again. And today I got this shot of a kestrel (along with lots of other birds of prey, and some lovely shots of my kids having a great time!). That's what it's all about!

Feeling the loss...

Yesterday morning I was not at my best. I had had a fairly long sleepless night - my poor wife had been up and down with what we suspect to be food poisoning. As a result neither she or myself were at our best when the kids tumbled out of bed at 6.45 demanding food and attention.

Eventually I staggered to the computer and decided that as it was going to be a long day, looking after both the patient AND the kids, I'd do something useful - and set a backup of all my files running... I keyed in the cmd line (being an IT guy I feel clever and smug being able to use command line applications like Robocopy and in fact, there is no better backup program IMHO - as long as the user has a brain, and is WIDE AWAKE!)

After a good 10 mins (and a cup of coffee) I realised I'd been a very silly boy and mirrored my laptop's files over the hard disk in my backup drive, not usually a problem except I'd archived a bunch of 2008 photos to it (try several thousand...) and these were now deleted and partially written over. As you can imagine, I panicked...

Now before I get lots of posts suggesting ways to prevent this, or recover the files, bear in mind I was an IT guy for 15 years. I SHOULD know better. But - the bottom line is that we ALL make mistakes, and we ALL lose files sometimes. Backups are essential to minimise the risk of this, but sometimes, things just go wrong...

I accept this fully; I made a dumb, tired mistake - I should have wrote a little script that I clicked on each time -to avoid any dumb, tired mistakes... But I didn't.

As a result I lost some files. I managed to recover an awful lot using a wonderful free file recovery program called Undelete Plus, which I would have no hesitation in recommending, should you ever find yourself in the unfortunate position of having deleted/lost files.

But here's the thing. I realised that most of the files I lost were worthless - RAWs I'd never need to process, or look at ever again. And of the more "valuable" ones - well - it made me realise that I can't bask in past glories forever, constantly playing with old "great shots" I took at rock festivals or other memorable events. As a photographer, as an artist, as a creative creation, I am only as good as the last thing I did. If I don't keep taking photos I am no longer a photographer (good or bad!). I *was* a photographer.

So in a way I'm quite GLAD I had this upset - it's made me think ahead, and "archive" my past achievements. Bring on the jobs, the magazines the degree - I'm ready!

And this time I'll be backing up my photos properly too!

Up and running!

I finally got my bank account sorted, and Paypal linked and FINALLY I am selling some work on eBay!!!

Very exciting. Also very scary. If you feel sorry for me go and have a peek eh? Gawdblessya!

Snow Good, I Can't Do Winter Landscapes...

Just been trekking around in my 4x4 trying to take photos (emulating one of my heroes, Kieran Dodds on the DVD that came with the EOS cameras!). Snow everywhere - I drove, I walked, I climbed, I sat. No muse, no inspiration, no excitement...

I love portraits. I love rock music photography. I want intense, exciting moments. I just don't seem to be able to find the inspiration to photograph a lump of mud and clay and rock, covered in white stuff. I even took to turning the camera on myself and pulling faces...

Maybe I was just meant to shoot people?

Self Portraits And Me...

Luke The Guitarist
Originally uploaded by Luke Y

One of the things I've recently been challenged on as a photographer - is that there are not that many photos of me. This stems from a childhood hatred of having my picture taken, but I plan to overcome this. An old chum recently advised me to participate in "Self Portrait Thursday" on Flickr - and I have to admit I'm enjoying it!

So far the photos are very staged, or attempting to make people laugh; they don't feel like "me" yet. But they are forcing me to be a little more "introversial" than I care to be usually - and I guess it's something to work on - it's nice to have a personal goal like this!

My first blog

Am just finding my way in the world of Bloggerising. I am a 35 year old freelance photographer, based in the South East of the UK, and am trying to promote my photography work, using the power of the InterWeb...

Not getting to do a lot of photography at present - there's a LOT to consider when setting up a business!