Saturday 26 June 2010

Dizzee rocks! Where were all the togs?


Dizzee
Originally uploaded by Way Ahead Photography
Watched Glastonbury on the tellybox last night and marvelled at young Mr Rascal's performance, especially when he teamed up with the lovely Florence Welch of Florence And The Machine. I had the privilage of photographing both Florence and Dizzee at festivals last year just before they both got uber-famous.

Wished I could have been there snapping this time!

It's interesting to observe that for both Isle Of Wight and Glastonbury, there is a noticeable lack of still photographers in the press pit; they appear to have been superceded by videographers... is this is a sign of the times? Has still music photography become old-fashioned? I hope not!

But it's definitely been harder to get press accreditation this year, the organisers don't seem as interested as they once did (even tho I have magazines that will print my pics and writeups now!).

It will be sad if my suspicions are proven correct. Photography and live music go together so well, and I believe a still image conveys so much more than several minutes of film ever can.

Tuesday 22 June 2010

"A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others."
(Ayn Rand)

Recently I've read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, and have just bought and started Atlas Shrugged (which is an immense publication and should provide weeks if not months of happy reading!). Her writing blows my mind!

It's not so much that her words have inspired me to change, or have revealed a new truth. Rather they have underlined, and given voice to the thoughts and feelings I've had for as long as I can remember, about how messed up this world can get, and how I can overcome it and remain true to the person I was made to be.

This world does not like individuals. It does not like people who succeed by their own merit. It likes to build up heroes it can control, fake-heroes who can be praised for their weak efforts (for if their efforts were truly great, they'd be a threat to the collective!), then destroyed if they put a foot out of line.

But, to quote another great Randism, " "The question isn't who is going to let me, it's who is going to stop me!"