S.K.Y.E

After promising in a previous post to update this blog more often, I failed at the first hurdle. I had some great material to post about too!

A life long friend and fellow photographer Jake Dypka and I had decided to take a trip away to get the most out of relatively newly acquired Leica M6’s and a Hassy. We went through many possible locations, a lot of the time being beaten by cost or time. We could really only afford a long weekend.  Although Norway was top on want list, to get far enough away to get lost wouldn’t have left enough time.

We decided on the magical Isle of Skye, I had recently watched a documentary about a pro landscape photographer who loved Skye. Jake was sold as soon as I mentioned it as he knew it from its featuring in many films such as Prometheus and the Highlander.

We flew to Inveness and drove the 3 hour trip to Portree, the largest “town” on Skye. Neither of us were prepared for that drive. I think it took us nearer 5 hours after the amount of admiration stops we had to take.

We circumnavigated Loch Ness and drove through the most stunning natural mountain range I have seen.  I had to keep switching between driving like I was on a rally track (so much fun) and looking out of the window at the sun soaked beauty. I defy anyone to do this drive on a sunny day whilst listening to The War on Drugs’s album and not feel moved.

We stayed in a basic but adequate harbour hostel which you could have felt was over priced but they have a very captive audience. Jake and I were there to make the most of our adventure and time in the hostel was going to be at a minimum so we just went cheap.

Everywhere we went on Skye was 1. like a rally track and 2. mind blowingly beautiful. It gets a bit ridiculous. Our first morning saw us drive north (there are really only two roads on Skye) we really wanted to get out and discover rather than stopping at the hot spots.

We couldn’t resist pulling over at this beautiful lake with the Old Mann of Storr behind it. As we were reflecting and snapping a coach pulled up out of nowhere and around 50 asian tourists came out taking pictures of everything on apple products.

Jake clambered up the hill after them not so subtly taking their pictures whilst I stood and chatted to the burly coach driver who was dressed in full scott’s attire.

We jumped back in the car and drove on to a look out point where the plan was to ditch the car and go exploring. As we unloaded the car our coach load of oriental friends pulled up so we decided to go up and over rather than along. A plan which allowed us onto a beach I doubt many venture on to but also cut off our options for a long walk. Instead we were left with little choice but to climb back up.

Once we scaled back up the cliff (easier on the way down than on the way up!) we jumped back in the car and soon past a little corner shop. It was about breakfast time and as Jake and I had been so excited to get out we had packed everything our cameras would need but forgot about our stomachs. We stocked up on non nutritious snacks and the most delicious machine coffee I’ve ever had.

After a short drive (still the same road) we came across the most amazing mountain ridge and we knew this was where we could finally get our long walk. The best walks are the ones without paths.

The weather was beautiful the company was great and I was loving my M6. It’s such a delight to use, it feels hardy so at the various climbs we had to do I had no real concern over it maybe bashing the odd bush/tree/rock.

Once on top of the ridgeway the view was just stunning, you could see so many lakes and the coast and well just nature bathed in the finest golden light.

We had to sit down and behold what was before us whilst enjoying our delicious snacks!

After an long walk we drove back to portree listening to this whilst the sun was setting and a Golden Eagle flew by the side of our car for a couple of fleeting moments. Yes I know this sounds all a bit “broke back” as my wife called it but it really did cap off a wonderful day.Day two had a bit more of a jaded start (the previous nights whiskies didn’t help) we decided to head north again and go to the touch the Old Man of Storr. (Not helping this Brokeback image I know)

I have a thing about wanting to physically be on or touch something to truely say I have been there or experienced it. The day started off a bit more cloudy but I was more than happy that we had yesterdays sun and was prepared for the eventuality of the scottish showers.

The storr as wikipedia says is

The Storr (Scottish Gaelic: An Stòr)^[1] is a rocky hill on the Trotternishpeninsula of the Isle of Skye. The hill presents a steep rocky eastern face overlooking the Sound of Raasay, contrasting with gentler grassy slopes to the west.

 

The walk up to the old man was through a devastated forest (not a tree stood any more) it was a conservation project to bring back native species of tree. It made for a really eerie view.

Look up and you see the Old Mann being wrapped in floating menacing clouds, look down and you see miles of broken trees, lakes and eventually the coast.

We chose an awful path to reach the Old Mann, we realised when we climbed up a particularly steep slippery set of rocks to see an old American couple walking above us who had taken the clearly defined path to our west. Undeterred we carried on and eventually got to sit below the strange rock formation.

In the afternoon we decided to head South and climb a mountain which overlooks portree harbour and the Black Cullin volcano range. I was knackered already and to be fair if it wasn’t for Jake I think I may have given up before we reached the top. The view was worth it though.

There really was something great about shooting film over this weekend, it meant we weren’t forever scrolling through our pics, editing at night.

We weren’t reading the postcard before we sent it. We were exploring.

If you have the opportunity, go to Skye. Yes it’s great to take photos but it’s part of the British Isle’s heritage. Some of the plantlife is from the ice age.You don’t have to be a geologist to be blown away by the rocks or an artist to want to capture the views. Just go and experience.

You will most of my pictures have Jake in them, I don’t see myself as a landscape photographer and the 50mm summicron I had didn’t lend itself to making me one. As much as I like a lot of landscape shots for my own style I prefer people being in them.

 

 

Catch up

Apologies I appear to have completely stopped blogging. I’m not sure how to get you all up to date in a suitable way so I’m just going to give you the jist and then normal service will resume.

1. I became a father. Shes beautiful and will be the subject of many of my photos from now on.

2. I bought a leica. An m4 to be precise. This was my present to myself as I realised I wouldn’t have any spare cash for a while (see post 1) I got a Zeiss Biogon 35mm f2 with it. This was a proper indulgence and I promise I won’t turn into a leicawanker but its an investment and the best tool for my hobby.

3. I went to Germany for work, I took my Olympus OM1 to take some long exposures as it has an awesome bridge and cathedral. Long story short the camera fell whilst attached to the tripod and that was the end of the camera.

4. I bought a mint condition black Olympus OM1. Got a great rate and service from the finder and enthusiast that is Dave Lam. If you have any questions about seemingly anything to do with film photography or want to find a camera give him a tweet.

5. I really enjoyed my Lubitel but it was limiting and the lens wasn’t great so I purchased a Yashica D. It arrived around the same time as I became a father and winter so I didn’t use it for a while and when I did I found it was broken. (Thanks Ffordes photographic) However I managed to fix it and its ready to roll again once I reskin it.

6. The football shoot went really well. It was challenging trying to focus and use the floodlights. I had to sign all rights away however as the game images are all owned by Brighton & Hove Albion but here’s one of the crowd which I’m sure I can sneak in.

That pretty much brings us up to date. I have been reading a lot and admiring a lot of photographers work which has inspired me even when I haven’t been shooting much. Hopefully I have a lot more posts to come.

 

Olympic Games, London 2012

I think it’s fair to say the London Olympic games gripped the world. In the lead up to the games the media were concentrating on complaints, money being spent, contractors not fulfilling obligations, traffic problems. However from the opening ceremony to the closing day the world was transfixed to the Olympic Games.

I will admit I was not exactly fussed with the games until it all started. Early on in the games I found archery, a sport I had previously no interest in, enthralling. I think this happened with a lot of people, finding a sport they barely knew the rules for, absolutely unmissable. Productivity must have taken a massive down turn as the BBC were providing great live footage for your Olympic fix at work.

It was a massive soap opera unfolding, twists and turns, drama and dilemmas. It was great to see the people get behind their nations. There was something special about these athletes. We are used to over payed mega stars not giving their all unless everything went their way.

These teams were ordinary people with passion, pride and talent. The Olympians are the best we can do and when that athlete produces the best they can do on the day its incredible to watch. Imagine working ridiculously hard through horrendous conditions with poor funding for a race that lasts 1 minute, or 3 jumps?

We tried and failed to get any reasonably priced tickets so we decided to make the trip up to London on the last day to watch the marathon. Not the best of spectator sports but at least we were there and the atmosphere around London was alive.

I wanted to take some nice pictures to try and capture some of the spirit of the Olympics but realised I was never going to get close enough to the action. I decided to cheat a bit. I had seen a technique of taking bokeh layered photos by taking a photo of light on a computer first then double exposing them with your image. Slightly unimaginative but I have seen some nice results.

I decided to replicate this process but taking photos of the athletes instead and layering them over London landmarks. I scoured the internet and downloaded the best images on to a wide screen tv. I then sat there and took the photos of the images (getting strange looks from my wife) on my Olympus OM1. I used Kodak Elitechrome. I then rewound the film, loaded in an Olympus Trip and headed to London with @LucyWelland and met up with @Dypka and @Misslucybridger and strolled the sites.

Even though the technique is cheating as I’m ripping off someone else’s images I was happy with the results.

Introducing – Thomas Cole Simmonds #1

I am forever finding myself lost in the depths of photography websites such as flickr and amazed at the “non professional” talent out there. People who shoot for a passion and not a pay check. I am starting a series for Honeyroasthoax introducing this emerging talent. First up we have Thomas Cole Simmonds from my town of Brighton.

Age: 22

Years shooting: About 2 years now, a bit less shooting models though. 🙂

Favourite camera: I haven’t used it much yes seeing as it was quite a recent purchase but I really enjoy using my Bronica ETR-Si

Projects: At the moment I am working on my 52 week project, that is mainly so I have something photography related to do in between shoots. Other than that I am just trying to get as many shoots lined up and hopefully get in some magazines!

Person to shoot: I am actually in the process of arranging a shoot with someone who I have wanted to shoot with for a long time now, but more about that later. 😀

Why use analogue: I love digital, you would be mad not to use it. It has so many advantages over film, however in my opinion it still lacks a certain character that you cat with analogue and in my opinion it can’t quite be replicated in a digital form.

Thanks to Thomas for sharing some of his photos. Take a look through his portfolio here

An analogue adventure in Iraq

My work involves a fair amount of travel but usually it is not particularly glamorous. The M25 is a well worn path for me. I do however get presented with an exciting opportunity for travel abroad where I always try to make the most of any free time I get. When my company asked me if I was happy to work in Iraq for a week the thought of bombs, shootings and kidnappings entered my head. Not exactly where I saw my career (or life) progressing. Thanks to British media all I knew of Iraq was war, Saddam Hussein and oil, lots of oil. Begrudgingly my work were extremely keen on me going out there so after some (a lot) of persuasion my flights were booked. I was travelling to a city called Sulaymaniyah in North Iraq. A quick google search was in order to see what was in store for me. (It’s not worth searching on youtube unless you want to scare yourself)

The modern city of Sulaymaniyah was founded on 14 November 1784 by the Kurdish prince Ibrahim Pasha Baban who named it after his father Sulaiman Pasha. Because it was founded as the capital of a powerful Kurdish principality, Sulaymaniyah has developed into a large city with a population of about 1.500.000 people. It is the cultural center of the Sorani-speaking Kurds and an important economic center for Iraqi Kurdistan.

Kurdistan you say? I thought I was going to Iraq. After more Googling I discover Kurdistan is a region in North Iraq. Kurdistan refers to parts of eastern Turkey (Turkish Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan), northwestern Iran (Iranian Kurdistan) and northern Syria inhabited mainly by Kurds. Kurdistan roughly encompasses the northwestern Zagros and the eastern Taurus mountain ranges, and covers small portions of Armenia. I appreciate a lot of you more clued up people will have already known all about the Kurds from the heinous attacks Saddam committed on them (mainly) in 1989. I have to admit I was only 6 then and it’s not really come up since.

It’s fair to say the region is extremely hostile bombings still happen almost every day in Baghdad and Basra and relations with their Syrian and Iranian neighbours aren’t exactly at the stage of borrowing a cup of sugar. I traveled by myself to Istanbul to catch my connecting flight to Sulaymaniyah, looking around at the holiday makers in Istanbul made me want to change my flight plans and get the first taxi to the beach instead after an hour’s wait I was on a small plane bound for Iraq. Nerves and tiredness were starting to set in it didn’t help that it was pitch black when we landed so I couldn’t see what was awaiting me.

I arrived at about 4am to be met by our driver “Alan” not a very Iraqi/Kurdish sounding name but I was tired and just accepted it. He took me on a short tour of the city on the way back from the airport and we stopped at a tea shop. The Iraqis have more of a thing for tea then British do, everything stops for tea and it must be administered every 2 hours. It’s served in small glass shot glasses and poured into the saucer to cool it down quicker and slurped. There were a lot of people about even at 5am; it’s so hot there a lot of the construction is nocturnal. There were a lot of quizzical looks when I entered this sports orientated tea shop. It was a mecca to football stars past and present and pride of place were two big pictures of the great Messi and not so great Frank Lampard. It may have been the tiny tea (no milk 4 sugars) they bought me or the familiar faces that calmed me down but as I looked about I remember drawing comparisons to a builder’s greasy spoon.

The next morning I awoke from my hotel and surveyed my surroundings through the window. I was in a fairly residential area but had a great view of the city. All of the houses were built in compounds and I could see so many new builds under construction. It was dusty, busy and 48 degrees at 8am.

 

The first few days of my trip were mainly work, the business hours here go long into the night. I must have consumed the volume of the atlantic sea in tea and water. I saw so many great photo opportunities whilst I was there but unfortunately I was driven practically everywhere and my schedule so tight it made shooting without a flash impracticable. I had recently procured a delicious Olympus RD that I was itching to take but it had suffered a minor mishap and the aperture blades had jammed. I was going to take my Olympus OM1 but this is a heavy SLR and not exactly inconspicuous. The following is a massive advert as to why twitter is amazing. A guy I was following @Leftofnever a great photographer and expert with all things analogue, after hearing my predicament and impending photo op offered to lend me one of his Olympus Trips. This camera was perfect for my needs, lightweight, fixed zone focusing and an awesome lens. (Thank you Martin).

I have a small stash of Kodak Elitechrome that I was saving for special occasions. This was the time to break out the film most analogue photographers would sell their Grannies dogs’ favorite toy for. (My Grandma does not have a dog)

I fired off a few shots through the car window but knowing it was only 100iso I fully expected blur and the odd 4×4 bonnet in the way. Luckily towards the end of my trip our hosts had arranged a few small excursions to see some of the sites. Sulymaniah is certainly a beautiful area. Surrounded by mountains it is mainly an arid land but has a great sense of history in it views. We were taken out to Lake Dukan, it was an hours drive west and was a great chance to get out of the City. We encountered many check points on the way (and oil tankers) without a problem until one of the larger ones where we were pulled over. In Iraq is fairly common to see guns, big guns too. These aren’t the nice shiny guns you see cradled by police in Airports in the UK. These guns were quite obviously used; you do what the guards say.

After a search of the car, a host of questions about what we were doing and a long look over our passports we were off. Alan was completely calm during all of this, I was not so good and it’s fair to say the 5.31pm Friday night drinking club my friends and I partake in seemed a very very long way away. It all comes down to what you are used to. These check points are there to protect you; it is good that they stop you; it is good that they are thorough. After a few days in Iraq I realized that they have a lot of Europeans coming for business and actually a lot of Middle Eastern people vacationing.

What feeds Lake Dukan is the coldest river imaginable. I was dared to have my feet in it for 5 minutes. Coming from a race of people who don’t think 49 degrees is hot to me who is used to British weather I was more than up for this challenge. I wish I hadn’t, stubbornness and the National Anthem going through my head was the only reason I kept my rapidly turning purple feet in that water. Alan explained throughout the summer the river is cold and in the winter (where they have snow) the water is hot. I’m not sure why this happens but it seems to.

After a couple of photo ops we carried on to Lake Dukan, I was amazed when I saw this massive expanse of water in what is predominately a country of desert. The surface area of the lake is 270 square kilometers (100 sq mi) and has a lovely island in the middle. There were quite a few people swimming in the clear waters of the lake and some small boats drifting about with fisherman using big nets. I got some strange looks carrying my telescopic fishing rod down to the banks.

Alan explained why they were giggling. Iraqis are very practical and effective if you have a task do it the quickest way possible. If you want to catch a fish do it the quickest way you can. They use dynamite and nets. Hence why my tiny rod and fake lures seemed ludicrous to them. After an hours or so fishing with temperatures soaring, the swimming was becoming more and more appealing. We were encouraged to have a dip so we stripped down to our pants and took a plunge.

This felt amazing, the sun was setting, there were some young men singing a beautiful song and it felt great not to be dusty for once. After a while of splashing around and teaching Alan to swim backstroke thoughts of my preconceptions of Iraq were making me chuckle. I thought I would be dodging RPGs and hiding in shadows yet here I was in the most beautiful lake swimming in my pants.

Due to a cancelled appointment we had some more time to kill the next day and I was keen to learn more about the city and its people. Alan had proved to be a most knowledgeable guide and his story of fleeing of Saddam Hussein to Nottingham is an incredible story that needs to be made into a film. I wanted to know more about the war(s) as there was very little damage to sulymaniahs buildings.

Saddam had a compound within the city where he was run out of Kurdistan by the local people. The siege lasted all day, the local people a powerful emotional force and Saddam’s compound extremely well fortified and armed. We were lucky enough to be allowed to a take a photo of this building through the gates. This building is littered with bullet holes and is a scar on blossoming city. I guess it serves as a constant reminder of what has happened and the pride of the region.

They must have been extremely brave to stand up to Saddam and eventually make him flee by helicopter to the safety of Southern Iraq. Many many crimes to humanity were carried out within this compound and it was an eerie site. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to take a photo of these buildings but in a way the buildings use had turned from a centre of evil to a badge of honor for Kurdistan.

We were then taken to the local Zoo. There aren’t many recreational things to do around here but I was told that this is extremely popular with people of all ages. After awaking the young ticket seller and buying our tickets we were told it was out of season but we can still have a look about. I’m not a great fan of zoos and wasn’t expecting the greatest level of animal comfort. We were taken to the first enclosure and as I gazed through the locked gates I saw the bizarre site of a Labrador looking back at me. The next enclosure housed a few cats and a recently born litter of kittens. Alan loved them and was awfully impressed when I showed him a picture of my cat who not only a looker I have no doubts he would go for a rhino if it looked at his treats.

We were getting hungry so were taken to the local markets, a massive souk not dissimilar to any you would find in and around the African/middle eastern region. What was pleasant is that you didn’t have the same pestering sellers that go hand in hand with markets in places such as Egypt. It was a much more relaxed atmosphere and I was free to browse where I liked without fear of hearing “lovely jubbly”. There were plenty of shops selling ironmongery and watches but one stall selling a 2004 copy of the Argos catalogue made me look twice.

I left Iraq having had a nice time, it was a beautiful place, has a lot of culture, the people are lovely and it’s hot. Without all of the fighting I have no doubt that this would be firmly on the backpacker’s route. It’s surprisingly a very safe place to be. Strict laws and even stricter religion means that you are never going to get mugged, abused or any of your possessions stolen. Yes there is always a chance of more serious events but they are very keen to separate themselves from places like Baghdad. Bar some protesting violence at a local TV station there hasn’t been trouble on that scale here for many many years.

My impression and knowledge of Iraq has changed immensely and I hope you see from my photos that this is a normal region. Iraq is a country full of different beliefs shoe horned into borders which when you add in the vast amounts of black gold hidden beneath its land unfortunately has led to war.

I met a young man my age whilst I was over there that had also had to flee the country at time of trouble. He spent a few years in England until returning to his country. We got on great and he was keen to tell me his shoes were from River Island, Shirt from Marks and Spencers and Trousers from TK Maxx. We went out for some lunch and I was keen to impress on him how my vision had been blurred by the likes of the BBC and was glad to of come here and experienced it for myself. He liked English people and had enjoyed his time over there. After teaching me some basic phrases in Kurdish I asked him to give me his best English accent. He said (in the best North London accent) “wot you lookin at?” A common enough phrase that spells trouble for the listener. I thought that about sums it up, In Iraq I was treated so well and everyone was so polite to me I took away some nice memories whereas when pushed to recount his ideas of England he came out with that!

The rest of my photos can be viewed here

Lomography Swap Shop!

I have in my possession a brand new, in box, Coloursplash Lomography camera. It is the snazzy looking chakras edition and comes with a great book, film and a cardboard box (perfect for making a hat with).

You can take some awesome shots with this camera.

This sleek Lomographic camera will re-cast your world with a gorgeous riot of color. Its patented colorwheel system puts several tinted flash filters at your finger tips for instant selection; with an additional 9 filters included to exchange. Just select your color, put it in front of your flash, and fire a burst of colored light at your subject! Long exposure capability creates dreamy streaked backgrounds behind crisp, color-flashed foregrounds.

This special limited edition has been customized by Staple Design with a rubberized surface and Staple’s signature pigeon graphics. Inspired by the ubiquitous bird of New York City (and countless other urban locales), this special edition is outfitted in a slick grey & red color scheme. It uses regular 35mm film that can be developed anywhere.

The camera retails for £69.99 and it can be yours for a swap! What I would like you guys to do is…

Step 1. Comment below telling me what you would like to swap this camera for and why I should swap with you.

Step 2. Sign up to the email service for this blog so I can let you all know when a new post is published. (Your details will not be passed on to any other people)

Step 3. Tweet ” I have entered the swapshop competition for a #lomography camera at https://tomwelland.wordpress.com/ @tomwelland ”

If you don’t have a twitter account, you should get one, its fun. I guess you could maybe blog or facebook it but you will need to post me a link or screen grab of you saying it.

The swap shop will be open from now until the 1st April 2012 and a winner will be picked in early April. I will pay for the postage to get the camera to you but likewise you will be expected to pay for the postage of whatever you swap to me! I am based in the UK but will happily post overseas.

Please do not think this swap is all about monetary value or that I am after something specific, I want to see all kinds of suggestions. It could be anything from a left footed flip-flop once worn by Winston Churchill to a pigeon’s toupee and everything in between.

Good luck, everyone is in with a chance and I hope the camera goes to someone who really wants it.

HRH

Sometimes it all goes wrong

I have recently returned from a snowboarding trip to the fantastic resort of Le Deux Alps. I was really excited as last years conditions were about as much use as a chocolate tea pot. This year there was plenty of snow and they were getting some blue skies.

This would prove to be perfect for some photos. I have started to get quite into planning my equipment and my shots. This year was no different I had probably spent about 2 hours looking through good snowy shots and looking at what film and cameras they had used.

Photo by norkateer.

I really liked the pinkyness of some of the new shots coming out of the relatively new tungsten film by lomography. Tungsten is a 35mm, 64 ISO color slide film – its low ISO gives you photos with ultra-fine grain and it can be used with all 35mm cameras. I also had my very last roll of Kodak EB3. Since the sad demise of Kodak they are no longer making this film so this truely was one of the last roles left in the world and in all honesty probably the last time it would be used on snowboarding.

I also took 2 Lomo chrome 100iso films out with me. I did not stop there with the prep. A week before going out I ran the Tungsten film through the dishwasher, dried it for a few days. Then unravelled it (in the dark) used Lucys hairdryer to dry it thoroughly and wound it back in with a chopstick. The dishwashed technique is a strange one and can produce amazing results or it can look like rubbish. It was worth a go and I think it was a world first to try and dishwash the tungsten.

This is one great example of the dishwashed technique by Novakmisi

So i was all set, had a fantastic holiday, all but one day was fantastic conditions. I shot just under a role a day. On the last day we went riding with a seasonair friend, Dan Colas, who is incredible. I got photos of him jumping OVER trees and grinding benchs, hopping rocks, the loot. All on the precious tungsten. I also got some great riding shots of Lucy and two mates who came with us. I was really looking forward to these. So much so I paid for the hour service at Colourstream lab!

I waited that delicious hour, had a coffee, refreshed twitter a bijillion times took a slow walk back to the lab to be greeted by the technician shuffling her feet looking coy.

All four films were blank, all of them, not a single shot had come out. I couldn’t understand it, the camera had been well protected, all films had been with me in hand luggage, batteries were fine. Unfortunately the -20 conditions had rendered the camera useless. The circuit from the batteries to the workings had basically seized.

I am so annoyed about this, the amount of research and effort I went through and the patience my holiday crew had with me while I framed the perfect shot and they are lost forever. It is a real bitter sweet thing as the holiday was great and I was riding better than ever.

Thank god for digital else we would have nothing to show! It was a neglected camera but it did come out at some points.This is a photo from a mid station restaurant overlooking the half pipe. Sorry I couldn’t of shown you more but that is what you must accept if you use film. Nothing is guaranteed.