Few days ago I had the chance to photograph Judas Priest home town gig in Wolverhampton. Thanks to the guys behind Home of Metal I also had a chance to very briefly meet few members of the band for a quick photo opp.
The rest of the images from the night can be seen here.
Great night last Thursday at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery at the official opening of Home of Metal exhibition. Lots of people in attendance including Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath fame and K.K. Dowling (ex Judas Priest).
Home of Metal is a celebration of the music that was born in the Black Country and Birmingham, and is a project created and produced by Capsule.
In the summer of 2011 Capsule will be producing and curating a series of ambitious exhibitions and associated programme under the banner of Home of Metal taking place throughout The Black Country and Birmingham, UK. To include exhibitions at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Wolverhampton Art Gallery & The New Art Gallery Walsall plus a conference, concerts and film programme.
Tony Iommi posing in front of one of the exhibition displays.
Guests getting into the spirit of things by playing Gibson guitars on display.
Just before going on my roadtrip to California I decided to buy my first lomo camera. Was very excited when my lovely black and pale blue Diana finally arrived in the post. I was expecting something very basic but was still quite surprised as to how light, plastic and featureless it was. I guess after using digital camera for years this really was going back to bare basics. I was quite embarassed when I couldn’t even insert the film properly and had to visit a friend to show me how it’s done. Thankfully he didn’t laugh in my face.
I only bought two films so the plan was to take the camera with me and take a few shots while travelling around. I tried not to be too optimistic so when I took the films to be developed last week my expectations were low to say the least. I’m glad I kept them low because the photos really aren’t all that good. Most of them were underexposed, in fact, I think it’s safe to say that ALL of them were underexposed but I managed to save a handful in Photoshop.
I don’t think I want to give up on lomo just yet but I think the next time I’m going to venture out with Diana I’m hoping for nice, bright weather and good light and hopefully the end result will be slightly less disheartening.
Yesterday I popped over to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to take a few snaps of the Home of Metal exhibition that opened for the public that same morning. Capsule girls have been working tirelessly over the past months to put everything together and, boy, did they do a good job. They managed to transform BMAG’s Gas Hall into a dark cave full of heavy metal goodies.
I’ve been involved with Capsule for good few years now, documenting most of their gigs including Supersonic Festival. I also did my bit for the exhibition by photographing three heavy metal fans who’s portraits are also part of the exhibition. I was a bit nervous about seeing them for the first time but they look great (even if I say so myself)…I’ve never seen my work displayed on such a big scale and as lightboxes. Very pleased! However, I was even more impressed with the rest of the exhibition…the displays are really unique and visually striking and I’m sure anyone, regardless of whether they are a heavy metal fan or not, will appreciate the hard work and creativity that went into this project.
For more information visit Home of Metal website
A rather disastrous night earlier this week…was shooting Wu-Tang Clan at HMV Institute. The evening didn’t start too promising as I arrrived at the venue just after 7pm having no idea when the band would come on stage. I soon found out that Wu-Tang won’t be appearing until 9.50pm so I went home as I had no desire hanging around for over two hours on my own. The band didn’t come on stage until 10:30pm and by then I just wanted the whole thing to be over and done with.
Wu-Tang Clan finally appeared but it would be easy not to spot them as the lighting was so dim (and no flash was allowed) and shortly after the entire bottle of water was was poured on my head courtesy one of the clan members. By the time I managed to sort myself out i.e. wipe the water off my face and the camera, our allocated time was pretty much over. I ended up with one semi-usable photo. Not something I would like to repeat anytime soon. Note to the clan…abusing photographers who are there to do their job does not make your performance any better and if I ever get the opportunity to shoot them again I think I’ll give it a miss.
My first outing after coming back to Birmingham was thoroughly enjoyable. My friend Kurt persuaded me to take my camera and go out to see Brummie in exile Carina Round supported by two more talented local musicans, Dan Whitehouse and Vijay Kishore.
I shoot plenty of gigs but I rarely stay at the venue until the end. Last night was one of those rare ocassions. Upstairs room at Hare & Hounds was pleasantly full, plenty of friends and music lovers who came to support the local talent.
It was good to see everyone enjoying themselves and this includes the musicians. Dan Whitehouse even said that nights like these make him happy to be living in Birmingham. I think his opinion was shared by many in the room.
Vijay is one of those rare talented musicians that grabs your attention as soon as he hits the stage. Only him and his guitar but it’s more than enough. Dan was performing with a full band and the richness of his voice filled the room. I could easily see him perform in much bigger venues. Both create beautiful melodies but it’s also the lyrics you want to pay attention to.
Miss Round came on stage all guns blazing to massive cheers from the crowd and she never let them down throughout her performance.
No doubt everyone who came last night went to sleep feeling happy.
More of Carina’s photos can be seen here.
It’s been a week since I came back from my road trip around California (and bits of Nevada and Oregon). I was so excited about this trip and I have to say I was not let down, in fact I would like to go back right now and travel more. I covered about 5000 miles in three weeks and experienced blistering heat of Death Valley and the other end of the scale which was bitter cold and heaps of snow at Mt Hood in Oregon.
After a long and boring flight my companion Pete and I finally arrived in San Francisco which was the starting point of our trip. It was sunny, relaxed and friendly and, yes, they still have The Golden Gate Bridge. We spent two and half days there which really isn’t enough to see everything this beautiful city has to offer although I certainy did my best to see as much as possible. Apart from walking across the GG bridge (and also driving over twice) I would say my favourite part was The Haight area with its easy going, hippie vibe that reminded me of Camden Town in London. I would have loved to be there back in the days when Jimmy Hendrix and Janis Joplin were roaming the streets. There’s plenty of nice cafes and quirky little shops (check out Loved to Death if you’re in the neighbourhood, you won’t be disappointed especially if you like ‘dark stuff’) and also a fair few graffitti.
After two days of exploring San Francisco it was time to pick up the rental car at crack of dawn and head down coastal Route 1 to Los Angeles. I’m used to driving on both sides of the road but when I first sat in the car my stomach was in a knot, not only because the Nissan we had was about twice the size of my car back home but I also wasn’t feeling particularly confident navigating out of San Francisco. I probably shouldn’t have done it but I looked at Pete and said ‘I’m f***ing scared right now’ and a slightly panicked expression on his face said he felt similar. Luckilly I got over the ‘discomfort’ in less than an hour. Traffic wasn’t too bad as it was still quite early in the morning so we didn’t hit the rush hour. The car was automatic so it felt a bit strange not having to change gears etc but later on I really started to appreciate the fact that the engine does it all for you so there’s really not much to think about other than hold the stearing wheel and try not to run over anyone (not to mention the cruise control which is a god send when you’re driving thousands of miles on the open roads).
The coastal route south was pretty spectacular and our first glimpse of what California ‘countryside’ has to offer. We spotted a few signs on the way informing us that due to a landslide the road ahead was closed. Naively we thought that once we get to the point of closure, there would be a detour conveniently located there for us. We were wrong! All of a sudden we arrived at a barrier and a sign that the road ahead is closed so we had to turn around and drive back to a little turning going up the mountains towards Highway 101. I think it took us close to two hours to get there, the road was narrow and winding up the hills. Two girls in a Mini in front of us were obviously not very confident drivers and refused to go faster than 20 miles per hour. Once we got back on the highway it was a fairly uneventful journey all the way to Los Angeles. Eventhough it was amost 10pm when we arrived there the traffic was still very heavy. Driving around unfamiliar city not knowing exactly where you’re going is not particularly pleasant and it’s even worse in LA, however, we made it to our hotel alive (just).
Not sure what I was expecting from LA apart from what you see in movies etc and overall the city left me kind of cold. It was cool to see all the main sights but it all felt a bit seedy especially after San Francisco which was a completely different kettle of fish. One thing I did enjoy immensely was visiting the Griffith Observatory up in the hills. You can see the entire city from up there and the observatory has a really nice exhibtion of all things space related and more. The evening was spoilt a tad because when we returned to the car there was a parking ticket waiting for us. We parked on the road leading up to the observatory along with everyone else but it appears our car was on the wrong side and was not parked completely parallel to the pavement (oh, come on!!!). Luckilly, when we tried to pay for the fine over the phone we were told the ticket was cancelled so perhaps on reflection someone thought they were being too harsh on us and let us off. Thanks, LA Police Department!
Below is my favourite LA pics taken Downtown.
After the weekend in LA it was finally time to leave the urban areas behind for a while and venture into the wilderness of Mojave desert. We briefly stopped in San Diego where Pete had an enjoyable afternoon swimming with the dolphins at the Sea World and then we headed over the mountains toward Anza Borrego desert. As this was our first encounter with the desert of any kind there was a lot of ‘aaah’ and ‘wow’ on the way. It was getting dark by the time we arrived at Salton Sea so we just grabbed a quick dinner and continued toward Palm Springs to find a place to stay for the night. Cheap and cheerful Motel 6 it was!
The next morning we continued to Joshua Tree National Park. The trees, the rocks, amazing views and most of all, not many people around. What’s not to love?
Rock formations in Joshua Tree NP
Dry lake in Mojave desert
Later that day we got lucky by getting the last available room in a motel somewhere in the middle of Mojave desert. We needed a good night sleep as the following night we were determined to sleep somewhere out in the desert. And sleep outside we did. Wasn’t desert per se as we got all the way to Lake Mead but we found a lovely deserted bay by the lake and spent the night there. It was just us and an army of very hungry mosquitos who took a great pleasure of using me for dinner. OK, it wasn’t the most comfortable night and I ended up bitten to death but the evening on the beach by a small campfire looking up at the pitch black sky dotted with stars was worth it.
Our private beach for the night (with toliet facilities)
Sunset over the lake
The morning after, 5am, moon still in the sky
Needless to say we weren’t exactly a couple of happy campers the next morning so we decided to cut our loses and leave really early to make a few hunder miles long trip to Grand Canyon. When arriving there early in the afternoon I can admit I was never so happy to see a hotel room with a bed and a shower. I guess outdoor living isn’t for everyone.
There’s not much to say about Grand Canyon that wasn’t said before. We’ve all seen the pictures before but nothing can really prepare you for the real thing. When we arrived at the edge of one of the vista points at the south rim we both just stood quietly for few minutes. I found it strangely humbling and also kind of emotional and it just proves that anything that a man can do, mother nature can do better. The vastness of the canyon in all its reddish/pinkish glory is just spectacular. The following morning we took a helicopter ride above the canyon which is an experience I will never forget. I just wish we could stay up in the air longer.
After the Grand Canyon we had another altogether different experience which was Las Vegas, a mass of hotels, casinos and neon light galore in the middle of the desert. Was definitely worth seeing purely for the bizareness of the place but one night there was enough for me. A stroll along the Strip in the evening along with thousands other people was interesting but for me personally not particularly enjoyable. Part of me can see the appeal of this place but if you’re not into gambling or shopping (ok, and getting drunk) then I don’t really know what you can do in Las Vegas especially during the day. I think the city is definitely more appealing in the dark.
The next morning we left the Las Vegas light behind and drove to Death Valley. This is the place I was most excited to see but will leave it for my next post.
Less than 20 hours until my long awaited trip to California. Flight leaving at 6am tomorrow morning so just finishing my last bit of packing before picking up my travelling companion Pete from the train station later today. Not planning to sleep tonight which hopefully means I can sleep some of the 11 hours flight to San Francisco. Not really looking forward to being stuck in a little tin can mid air for so long, not so much because I worry about it falling down but simply because it’s boring.
I thought I might be able to have my laptop with me but that poor old thing really needs to be plugged in or it will die within an hour and apparently you can’t do that on a plane unless you can afford not to travel cattle class. I guess it will have to be a good old fashioned book that will keep me entertained.
Birmingham Live reviews are all up to date, Mr Gerrard will be taking over the uploading duties while I’m away, then maybe take a bath and a nap and I’ll be ready to go 
Quite a strange week having attended two leaving dos, first one was organised by our head office in London and the second was just me and colleagues from Birmingham office.
Was a bit apprehensive going to London because I knew a lot of people were leaving and had no idea how many were happy about it but it turned out to be a great evening.
Everyone, including myself, had a bit too much to drink, so there were some quite interesting conversations taking place.
It’s a bit disappointing that people have to be drunk to be able to have more personal and honest conversations and I wish I got to know my former colleagues a bit better a whole lot sooner.
Unused to drinking I was a bit worse for wear the next day but bravely faced the second leaving do here in Birmingham.
Was a great night out and I also got a lovely leaving present which I’m looking forward to wearing in years to come.
Thanks Arts & Business, it’s been good (and slightly less fun) times, I learnt a lot and I wish you all the best in the future.
Hi,
This is my first blog post ever. Not sure how many people, if any, will be reading this but I plan to write about photography, music and all other things that matter to me.
I’m off on a road trip around California in a week’s time so might be checking in and writing about anything interesting that happens on the way.
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