Charlie Speed at Korks

Our favourite local band, the Charlie Speed Band will be performing at Korks in Otley on the 19th November, the birthday of the light of our lives, Ellie May. Be there or be square, as my dad used to say.

Photographic Holidays Part 3

Those of you who know us know that Steve is a geek when it comes to aircraft. We are as we speak costing out photographic holidays to Malta and Tunisia (don't be concerned about the supposed unrest in Tunisia, it doesn't affect where we are planning to go and Tunisia needs tourism to survive) we thought that a day spent at an air museum in the North and at one in the South of England, together with a session using Lightroom and Photoshop may be viable. So we've included this in our costing exercise. If you are interested, then contact us for more details.

Tornado F3 RIP

These aircraft have guarded our skies for 25 years or so. We are still using the attack version of this aircraft but these dedicated fighters are no more. They still had a large number of hours left on the airframe and would have made a good dedicated electronic attack machine, unfortunately the bean-counters thought otherwise and along with the Harrier and Nimrod have been scrapped. About five years earlier, these same bean-counters got rid of the Jaguar attack aircraft, having just spent millions on their upgrades. Governments don't have any money of their own, they have ours, what we pay in taxes. I beg the question, if the money DID come out of their wallets, would they be as wasteful with it?

Wet and Windy (with a little Sun) at Manchester Airport

The 777 blows water off the runway as the pilot uses reverse thrust to aid the slowing down of the giant plane. Flew on one of these to Australia in 2005, very enjoyable flight and a very good airline.

The Airbus  on its final flare out is from the resurrected Swiss airline (used to be Swissair until it went bust) bringing with it some early evening sunshine. If you didn't know it was Manchester, it could be anywhere.

Liberty Bell RIP

Both of these images are of the B17 Liberty Bell performing at Duxford in 2009. In June of this year this beautiful aircraft crashed in Illinois USA. Because the fire engine couldn't make it across a field, the aircraft burnt out. Thankfully, the seven crew members on board safely got out, all they could do was stand and watch this beautiful machine burn.

Carthage

Images of Carthage with modern Tunis in the distant background. Carthage is on the left as you go out to Sidi-Bou-Said, the place with the doors for the tourists amongst us. The mosaic is from a Cartheginian tomb and to my mind, rivals anything that Rome produced. And yes, the Christians managed (the French actually when Tunisia was a French colony, its not just the British who had designs on world domination) to build a Cathedral on Byrsa Hill in Carthage without paying any respect to the Cartheginian and Tunisian heritage. Shame on us all. Had an idea, what about a photographic holiday in Tunisia, similar to what we're costing out for Malta? Get in touch 

More Tunisia

The image on the left shows a tomb in what was Carthage. Carthage I hear you ask? Remember that man who crossed the Alps with his Elephants, Hannibal his name was. He nearly defeated the vast Roman Empire in his day, the Punic Wars they were called. Well he was a Cartheginian. Carthage? Modern day Tunis. Yes, Hannibal was Tunisian. How did they almost defeat the Romans? Cartheginian shipbuilders invented the flat pack and mass production ( and you thought it was IKEA). Cartheginian shipwrights designed and made their ships all the same, with each piece numbered for quick assembly. Those of you of a certain age may well remember building Airfix kits (or had a brother or sister who did). These ship kits were very similar. They did what the Allies did on D-Day, they simply out-numbered the opposition. It wasn't until an enterprising Roman soldier captured and dis-assembled one did the Romans manage to turn the tables on the Cartheginian strong hold on the Mediterranean by copying their ship building methods. (Well the scholars amongst us will have to excuse the rather simplistic view of the Punic Wars 1 and 2, yes there were two plus a number of other skirmishes). And people think Tunisia a backward country! The image on the right is a view over old Hammamet. And do you know something else? The ordinary folk are just unbelievable, so friendly, warm and giving. Many times I have been invited into a house to meet with and share food and my favourite sweetened mint tea. Forget the market traders, they are just doing a job, treated with respect they will leave you alone. Final thought, learn their customs, see how they see you.

Tunisia as it was and how it is returning

Tunisia, another place you either love or hate. Images of Tunisia seemingly untouched by the upheavals the world has witnessed. There are stark contrasts between the haves and have nots. The average Tunisian is lucky if they've got a job and if they have, they are lucky indeed to earn about £30.00 per month. Compare this with the mausoleum built in Monastair whose costs could have paid for the building of a number of schools and hospitals to help the common Tunisian. My experience of working all over the world tells me its the same old story no matter where you are. Those with it seem to acquire more and more whilst those without it seem to loose more and more. No wonder there is such unrest. I know of those in the UK who are on low wages and find they are worse off if they work overtime or have extra jobs because they loose so much in benefits. A close friend of my daughter whose father has had a pay rise, now finds her parents worse off by £15.00 per week because of it. How can a system in a supposedly modern and progressive country allow this to happen? Hard work should be rewarded, not penalised. Unfortunately, it just shows how out of touch parliament and government in general is with the realities of life for the vast majority of the UKs population. Could rioting happen in the UK? When it happened a month or so ago, the rioters were labelled criminals and the government has been keen to promote the fact that 1 in 10 had a criminal record. What was their crime, stealing food because they couldn't afford it? What about the other 9 who didn't have criminal records, why did they get involved? The fact that we've just had another round of excessive bonus payments to those who have contributed to the world calamity has nothing to do with it I suppose. The British complain and riot? Never, its just not cricket.

Big Beautiful Doll RIP

Alas she is no more. This P51D crashed after colliding with a Skyraider at the spring Duxford Flying Legends show. Thankfully the pilot managed to bale out and the Skyraider landed safely minus about 4 feet of wing tip. However, the P51D was a total loss, happily it didn't catch fire but I think the damage was severe enough for it to be a total loss. Sad indeed.

Waterton Park Hotel Wedding

Covered a wedding at Waterton Park Hotel last Friday for Lisa and Alistair, an all day 10 hour shift again. Weather wasn't too kind, in and out with sunshine and rain but managed to get the job done. Took this shot at about 9.30pm as we left, I could get used to living in a house like this. Ah well, if only my numbers would come up, I'm too old to marry into money and the wife and daughter would have something to say about it if I did.

Charlie Speed Band advertising poster

Further example of Leecia's talent with this Photoshop and Graphics melarky. She really is a wizz at it, any graphics work then contact us via the website (she actually has a BA (Hons) degree in the subject from the Batley School of Art and Design for those in the know, but I try not to mention it, she gets too cocky when she realises how proud of her am I).

Malta Photographic Holidays

Malta is a place you either love or hate. Personally, I fell in love with the island when I first visited it many years ago. I love the people, I love the history, I love the food and most of all I love the old buses. Unfortunately, even the resourceful Maltese have had to bow to the inevitable since they are now part of the European Community and these buses have disappeared being replaced by modern rectangles, good for the Maltese but not for me! My daughter and I love the place for the sea and diving, my wife is not so enamoured, preferring to laze in the sun as we two half kill ourselves doing what we do. However, when wearing her photographer hat, she who must be obeyed sees Malta in a different light. It is a place packed full of photographic opportunities, from the environment to the people and the many festivals held on the island.
So, with this in mind, we have decided to offer the opportunity for like minded individuals to visit Malta, to stay in a large villa with swimming pool, to take part in photographic excursions around the island and to receive tutelage in photographic techniques and post processing with Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. The holiday/workshop will be £895.00 but please note that flights and insurances are excluded but transport from and to the airport and around the island on trips, plus bed and breakfast, lunch and evening meals for seven nights and IT tutelage is. You will need to provide your own camera gear and laptop with the specified software (Lightroom at least).
Contact us for more details and if we can generate enough interest, then we can book for block seats with Air Malta or EasyJet which will bring the cost of air tickets down as well. So, contact us via the main website where more details and an itinerary is published. Please note that due to day to day operational decisions, the content of photographic itinerary may change but the digital processing will remain the same. 

New York 2

A couple more of New York, remember John Lennon.

San Francisco

More examples of Leecia's handywork from a trip to San Francisco. I hate to admit it but she is far far better than me at Photoshop and in some cases, can see the images I can't, although I am loathed to tell her that.

New York

Leecia spent some time in New York a while ago, these are some images she took whilst there. Made black and white I think they are good enough for posters, you can buy one via our website,

Outdoors Classique

Classique again, this time at a windswept outdoor gig up on't moors, sheep and werewolves everywhere! It was also bloody freezing and then it started to rain. Most were so drunk they didn't notice and the other thing, it saved some of them from having to have a bath when they got home or back to their caves.

Classique 2

My old mate Keith manages a group called Classique (see previous posts). Images from a recent gig in Skipton, good time was had by all.

Stainless Steel

Saw this roof section whilst walking around Attercliffe in Sheffield whilst the light of my life spent more money at Ice Sheffield, skating. I swear that I must have shares in that place the amount I've spent there over the years. Ah well, there are a number of other destitute parents doing the same for their kids so I don't feel alone.

Sheffield by Night

Great photographing Cities at night, mind you, you have to be careful as a lot of nasty things can happen in the dark. I remember photographing at night in Leeds many moons ago, my experiences ranged from being threatened to have my camera shoved up where the sun doesn't shine to having quite a pretty but hopelessly drunk young lady strip down to her underwear, if you could call the bits of string she was wearing underwear. However, I digress, these are a couple of night shots I did in Sheffield as part of a project for the City Council, bless them.

Industrial Photography

Had a job to photograph a crane refurbishment at an engineering works in Barnsley. It will remain nameless and these two images show why. Very photogenic but the H&S would have a field day!