Slip sliding away..
When you cover a job for a month, you very quickly lose track of what happened where and when so sitting down to write anything from the Winter Games in Whistler is going to be hard. Long days and nights of covering training sessions on the icy slopes soon merge into one and only certain [...]
The “s” stands for “sodding hell, it’s even better!”
The other day, the lovely people at AFP Paris sent me through my new toy, the Nikon D3s. To those who aren’t as obsessed with keeping up to date with all things new, the D3s is essentially a D3 with the small amount of concerns that photographers had ironed out plus a few very attractive [...]
Variety is the spice of life
The last time I was in Blackpool, I spent the day dashing between the “Haunted Swing” and the “Steeplechase” at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and building up the guts to go on the creaky looking “Grand National”. Nineteen years later, I’m onstage at the Opera House in front of a few thousand people taking pictures of [...]
Recession hits the money shot
Another year, another Erotica exhibition at London’s Olympia centre. Having covered this event four times, it’s actually become quite a challenge to get something that’s both different from previous years and is acceptable for publication on the news wire. While horrible nastiness and the carnage from Middle Eastern suicide blasts often makes it’s way straight to [...]
Don’t tell my D3, but I’m having an affair…
As anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis may know, I generally tend to avoid doing reviews of cameras and equipment partly due to lack of time but mainly due to the abundance of websites available such as dpreview that offer incredibly in-depth, fast and dependable advice on which route to take when [...]
A full 360°
With their trademarked sense of understatement, U2 set up camp in Wembley Stadium for a two-night residency and I managed to get into the first night to see what subtle delights they had to offer on their 360° tour. Running over 2009-10, the tour is expected to include up to 100 shows all over the [...]
The knowledge continues to grow..
http://www.leonneal.com/blog/2009/06/11/the-alternative-london-knowledge-v10/ http://www.leonneal.com/blog/2009/06/15/the-alternative-london-knowledge-v20/ http://www.leonneal.com/blog/2009/07/10/the-alternative-london-knowledge-v30/ Following on from my three-part guide to the press photography “knowledge” listed above, it’s good to see that others have offered hints and tips from their own fields of expertise. New additions include a helpful guide from the PA picture desk on the view from the other side.. http://paphotocall.wordpress.com/2009/07/24/the-pr-picture-editors-knowledge/ and music photographer [...]
Nature’s flashgun
After seeing some of the great shots that came out of the storms at Glastonbury, I realised that I had yet another hole in my photography knowledge that needed filling and last week, I had the perfect opportunity to experiment. After reaching fatigue point recently, Kirsten and I got the chance to stay at a [...]
The alternative London “Knowledge” v3.0
If you actually prepare for the bad weather for once and get fully waterproofed up, by the time you arrive at the tube station in central London, you’ll emerge to blistering sunshine. The same also applies in reverse. You will see the politician that you waited 10 hours outside the House of Commons for on [...]
File under “Good week”
Wow. Do you know how sometimes everything just goes wrong and other times it all just clicks? I guess I’m on the peak of the rollercoaster ride at the moment (See #12) as I’ve just won the the “Portrait of the Year” category in the Press Photographer’s Year awards, here in the UK. I’m staggered [...]
Eavis: Outstanding in his field.
Having had a lot of my Glastonbury festival shots on the Boston Globe’s “Big Picture” site, I wasn’t sure how to put this blog together as I didn’t want to just repeat shots that a lot of people have already seen. In the end, I’ve decided to go for a mix of some of my [...]
The alternative London “Knowledge” v2.0
It’s good practise to get on with all the photographers you come across as it’s guaranteed that you’ll end up stuck on a doorstep for three days with the one you told to piss off. Stand next to the loudest shouter at film premieres. (See also “Ian West“) Even if the object that we’ve been [...]
The alternative London “Knowledge” v1.0
Not much can compare to feeling the first hot rays from the sun as you leave Downing Street on a Summer’s day after an 8 hour stakeout. No matter how sure you are of the job, the longer you wait for it to happen, the more likely you are to feel the need to frantically [...]
Beached
One job that proved very successful for me and still creates interests and enquiries from viewers on flickr was my coverage of the sinking of the MSC Napoli cargo ship and the resulting free for all that put the village of Branscombe on the international news map. Having heard about a cargo ship running aground [...]
In the words of Mr. Punch..
..”That’s the way to do it”. Having extensively covered the G20 protests last week, I can honestly say it was a real pleasure to photograph the Tamil demonstration in Westminster. By arranging the “flash-mob“-style protest through text messages and avoiding social websites that can be monitored, the group managed to appear from nowhere and catch [...]
G20-20 visions
After countless hours of research, meetings, plans and tactic proposals, the G20 rolled into town on Wednesday for a few days of PnP (politics and protests). First job of the day was a visit to Maggie’s Cancer Care unit in Hammersmith with Michelle Obama and Sarah Brown. Usually a pool job means one photographer and [...]
Going through the change
After months of speculation among the head bods, AFP London moved to the dark side, or more particularly, the black and gold side. Now armed with Nikon D3 bodies and various lenses, I’ve wandered the streets of London zooming left rather than right and pushing the exposure the wrong way. I mean, who in their [...]
The leak shall inherit the sack (AKA “D3x release? Ooops”)
When I was handed my mail in the office today, I was surprised to see that the quarterly Nikon magazine featured their brand new D3X. I have a geekish habit of keeping my eye on the forums and blogs relating to new gear so was really surprised by their casual launch. It’s only now that [...]
Thank Credit Crunchie, it’s Black Friday..
In my previous work for The Times, the monthly week of shifts for the business desk was seen as a bit of creative desert so as a Radio 4 discussion programme talked of the next four years of global recession, a part of my brain withered a little. Does this herald the beginning of half [...]
Labour Pains
Another year, another political party conference. This time, it again saw me heading to the Labour Party conference. All of my previous years of conference work have been in either Bournemouth or Brighton so heading to the sunny climes of Manchester was the new twist on familiar photographic territory. As a little background for anyone [...]
Canon’s return to form?
Having only just returned from my holiday in Cuba with my girlfriend and a hurricane, I’m mid-picture edit but thought I should post about this morning’s announcement of the new 5dmk2. Having totally changed the field of digital photojournalism on it’s initial release, the 5d’s successor has been the subject of miles of online debate, [...]
The Cucumber Season
August. To many, the month means pleasure, happiness and relaxation as they flee the country and head off to rows of pre-poured cocktails next to their beach lounger on the Costa Del Swank. To photographers and journalists across the land, it signifies the beginning of.. (cue lightning strike) ..the silly season. When this annual news-drought [...]
Mad on her? She’s alright, I suppose..
With a distinct sense of deja vu, I headed out to Cardiff on Saturday to catch the opening night of Madonna’s latest world tour, “Sticky and Sweet”. Taking in 27 dates around the globe, this will be her first tour since entering her 50s. I last shot her in 2006 at the same venue on [...]
Misdirected diatribe v2.0
Following the breaking news of yesterday’s air-crash, I headed up to Coventry to cover the story. As it’s currently the quiet or “silly” season for news where events just stop happening resulting in stories about penguins getting knighted and maize fields trampled to look like James Bond making the front page, this is the kind [...]
