Todays Ride....

A solid ride today. I thought I rode 70 miles but according to google it is a mere 55 or 86K which always sounds further! I wanted to go further north to Slimbridge, but missed the turning and lost us about 15 miles but no harm done. Mind you it felt a lot further as we were battered by the wind and with one other rider there was no escaping from it in a mini peloton.

A decent ride and my second 50 miler in 5 days - as I did 60 on Saturday 18th July.

Time now for a rest as off to Spain tomorrow which is nice....!

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One or two for Benny !!!!

Just a few more photos from the weekend! I feel a bit bad as I am off away for a week and a bit and really wanted Ben and Tam to get these and a book asap, but I cant rush process it. However, I have processed a few more in between work and sleep ! Enjoy these guys - I hope to get them sorted asap when I get back.

Ben and Tam; 19th July 2009; Priston Mill.

A great day today! Ben and Tam's wedding. To be fair it started off wet, very wet. I awoke to the sound of the rain hammering on the window but knew that with a 2 o'clock start time there would be time for the weather to change. In a way it did. On the first batch of shots outside it was blowing a gale - somewhat mysteriously given how still it was some hour before. Still, it did not spoil the day and I think everyone had a brilliant day. Later in the afternoon the sun came out and gave me some wonderful rim light to work with, thus lighting Tam's hair and giving me that nice over exposed romantic photo I have come to love. The old skool wedding photographer will be looking at the highlights thinking 'no,no,no' but tough in my book....

I suppose shooting a wedding when attending as a guest is the devil and the deep blue sea. As a wedding photographer everyone expects. A tap on the shoulder reliably informs you that you have not yet taken a photo of Aunt Flo' and Uncle Bert with the lucky couple, but you give it your best shot. I suppose I was lucky that the remit was typically Titan Images which I suppose you could call 'candid' given the current zeitgeist for labeling photographic styles. I think I got some nice pictures of which I hope Ben and Tam will be pleased with. I promised to put a few sneak peeks up here before I process the bulk of them as I am off to Spain for a break and wanted the guys to see some of the day. It was nice seeing the book I had published for them used with warm wishes being put into it by guest. No doubt Ben and Tam enjoyed the day - as taxing as it was for them - being the centre of attention is tiring business I suspect.

Nice one guys......congratulations !

Red and yellow and pink and green etc etc....

Tying the tone together nicely.

Look at that light !

Big Steve gets some protection from Big Pete (Waste Management).

A truly awesome couple....

Ben and Adam doing what they do best...!

Pensive Pete; Photographer?

The evening ended with upbeat motown style jazz music. Nice....

Most Haunted - You aint got nothin' !

An absolutely hysterical day today! Scott ventured up and Rich came out. We decided to head to a cave half way up a cliff, which we had to climb. It was wet, which made it slippery. Crazy stuff when you are carrying some collective £10K of camera kit. The old cave leads to a working railway line and trains passed us a few times. A mad feeling as they went back with a really wierd front draft and back draft. Convinced we could hear footsteps, we were all a little nervous, but naturally, making each other jump as much as we could and flashing each other in the eyes in complete and total darkness. You could not see your hand in front of your face. Had a play with some flash. Second curtain, 1/4th, 1600 ISO, -2 stops under with a kick from the hand as I took the shot. Some crazy effects got. All just fun, aside from getting out of the cave, which we will leave for another day....

The crazy bending light is the exit of the cave....

I really like these 'exorcism' photos....

Scott and I looking dramatic....the Horfield Dragon's still looking sharp !

Krafty Work....

Tour de Force, Tour de France. What a brilliant two weeks of cycling it has been. Yet, paradoxically, the Tour is more than just cycling. It is a soap opera, a chain of events, shakes and moves that even the most gifted of Hollywood scribes would struggle to create on paper.

Above all else, a lot of focus has been on two men - 'We are the Robots'....

One from the Isle of Man who talks in neither scouse nor Manc, a dismissive 'so what' attitude reminiscent of most council house kids - the Liam Gallagher of the peloton, but an absolutely explosive pocket rocket of a finisher. The one and only Mark Cavendish. Love him or loathe him he has the British talking about riding a bike and even 'The Sun' had more than a few words on him today. Naturally the daily coverage in the broadsheets has been exemplary.

In the words of Bruce Banner, 'Don't make me angry, you wont like me when I am angry'....

Be warned, he might just go green.

The other, a lyrical gun slinger, a thinker and a doer and a machine sent from the future to kill all other cyclists. Had father time caught up with twittering Lance Armstrong or can he produce the goods in the hills and prove once again the he is the best cyclist the world has ever seen. A cowboy from the American West, a man bigger than the sport itself and much derided for that. Irony yes, but no can doubt what he has achieved and what he brings to the table. I like him. In my eyes he has the Brian Clough about him, that ironic wink of a man who knows his talents but is still 'I think' quite humble.

The way the two weeks have panned out with Alberto have been nothing short of a riddle, maybe even a ruse, but thats the beauty of this TV show.

The paper cant tell you the story line three weeks in advance;

The internet cant ruin it for you;

Just a man and a machine against each other and the clock and as such neither can the riders.

I urge you to tune into ITV 4 @ 7pm on an evening and just watch and enjoy or if you have the time sit back and watch the whole thing fold away like a silk ribbon across the wonderful, shame inducing French landscape that makes 'Bristol; a cycling city' look like the abject mess it really is.

July update....

Nothing much doing - aside from playing with some cameras. Of late I am taken by the Canon 50D and the way it can render a photo. The high ISO is pure film and looks great. Nice vivid colours and classic Canon imagery to boot. Loving the Olympus Pen camera Uber stylish and sleek and again, very good image quality that bodes well for the future of the micro 4/3rds camera range. Just over a week til' Spain now, counting down the days. Had coffee with a depression counsellor yesterday and feel better today. Slowly but surely....have added some snaps for you to peruse. Hope you like them.

Sinking....

Feels like an age since I last picked up the camera. It is amazing how little I shoot at the moment. I hope to pick the machine up over the coming weeks, but I do not obsess about it at - time may bring me and the camera back together. I have been focusing on other things of late. Spent a lot of time in the saddle last week and rode around 200K in a week with 100K coming on Saturday alone. Cycling is as good for me as it is bad for me in that it helps stave off the bi-polar but hills really kill me and can bring me down. Climbing with my rugby players frame is never easy. I cant seem to shake off depression anymore despite trying everything. I get very introspective - yet I know I am doing it though I cant help it as it is a big release valve for me. I still have massive regrets over my past and whilst there is nothing I can do to change it, a chance viewing of some photos on facebook really hit me for six. Paradoxically, they could tell me how far I have come but the fact that they tripped me up is not good but I try my best and will continue in this battle....

Depression is such a lonely illness, it really is.

Portrait taking 101....

Portrait taking is easy. Is the subject relaxed, are they talking about themselves for the moment of introspection? Nice catchlight going on. Good - then take the shot.

Here is one of Dad that I made earlier. Resident Evil or just plain bonkers?