Don’t look down, look forwards..
Been busy plotting and scheming in the new Roof Unit already. GPS positioned projects, a new Imacon X5 on the way and also some very exciting projects. Going to keep the exact details a bit hush-hush until further developed but until then here’s an incredible panorama I shot in Jhajjar India that I hope will be gracing the editorial world as a double page spread soon. Big thanks to Thomas Wright for the leg-work on stitching these 32 frames together… You can click the image to “zoomify” around the details.
Shoot Unit now at Roof Unit
After a month of graft I’ve thrown my carpenter’s tool back in the attic. 20 desks of solid 7-ply, 200 foot of sanded scaffold boards, 1400 sq-foot of antique pine floor-boards, 4 massive wooden truss beams and 1 studio/event space near Bethnal Green maketh Roof Unit. The original idea spawned and built with Chris Littlewood back in !2006! is reborn in a new space with the old vibe that other photographers are colleagues not competitors, it’s better to work together and together the work get’s better. We have 2 desks left for rental and the studio is also available for hire. The desk depicted is within a nuclear storage area near Sellafield not the one’s we rent in London..
OK, enough with the cheesy metaphors. I’m very glad to be a photographer again and plotting what’s next; firstly some nocturnal and nuclear work in UK before wandering further afield. The current research and planning stage will involve reaching out to potential partner organisations whilst testing the water and potential of the subject matter. I would love to hear from anyone reading this who might want to get involved. You can reach me from the contact page or come on over to Roof Unit.
Opening The Flood Gate..
My project on Scottish Hydroelectricity has gained some great natural momentum in the last month. Firstly, I am extremely proud to see the work featured by National Geographic Online as part of an extended photo feature with additional reporting by Marianne Lavelle. The 14 page feature can be seen HERE. Secondly, I had the privilege of spending a long weekend in Teeside hanging and opening a solo show at Profile Gallery. The exhibition is showing in sunny Saltburn-by-the-Sea until the 21st of May. Finally, the results of the Magenta Awards 2011 have been revealed and I am chuffed to see my name along-side some great friends and photographers, looking forwards to it for the second year running.
Nuclear Energy
The crisis in Japan is certainly bringing the debate of nuclear energy to the forefront of everyone’s mind. I’ve been thinking hard about my project Light After Dark and the time spent photographing within metres of Britain’s fleet of nuclear Power Stations. With the UK on the verge of renewing its nuclear fleet I hope the discussion remains diplomatic rather than sensationalist.
R.I.P. The Monster
With regret I must report that my beloved 1993 Toyota Hi-Lux (a.k.a. The Monster) was stolen from outside my flat in Bethnal Green last night. Painful to comprehend that all the hard-work building the bed, heater, stove and electricity systems are succumbing to a blow-torch in the Docklands before being shipped in pieces to West Africa. All of the best and most remote locations from my Scotland project were accessed and made homely thanks to her even in 2 foot of snow. 70 mph on the motorway was admittedly scary but trusting the engine would start first-turn in -25C and get back to civilization after a night of photography was amazing. The monster will be missed but will be replaced by something just as good (with an immobiliser).
The End of the Road…
Finally back in the UK after what has been a really intense 4 months behind the camera. The first draft of editing from China is complete and now I turn to penning the supporting text. Plenty of exciting things to keep me busy in the next few months on home soil. Rejigging the front-end of this website and an exciting new Roof Unit in Bethnal Green just for starters. Although I won’t be forgetting my experience in China anytime soon. This Tibetan motor-bike messenger was spotted at 4300m above sea-level on a sheet ice road at -25C.
Welcome to 2011
2011 started briskly with another flight to Asia and 5 locations to cover before the end of the month. India is hot on the heels of China with regards to industrial development and this felt very evident from a 165m up a still setting chimney. Over 8000 labourers are striving to bring this coal-fired power station into service before the end of the year. The atmosphere, colours and passion of India is so very different from the steely, relentless possibly unsustainable growth of China and I can’t help but feel this power-house of Asia is about to surface from a media shadow.
Back on Solid Ground
Back in the my hometown of Lincoln and enjoying a break with family before 2011 gets rolling. I have started editing the China work but am already looking toward the next leg of the project. Continuing the theme of energy growth and development in Asia; I will be working in Hong Kong and India throughout January. Having spent 4 days in HK this year I am equally excited about this as I am getting to grips with the colour, diversity and sites in India for the first time.
Behind the Firewall and Off The Map
I’m blogging blind by e-mail, I can’t see my own web-site nor any of the news-feeds I’m used to. I suddenly find myself in China, Qian’an in Inner Mongolia to be precise. I am at my second location on a 2 month personal project covering 8 different types of Power Generation Technology; Biomass, Wind, Super-Critical Coal, Hydro, Nuclear, Coal, Natural Gas and finally Solar. After 5 days I am almost lost for words as I plot the narrative seam through what is a complete visual, political, cultural and language shock. So excuse the radio silence until 2011 with what I have a hunch will be a very juicy project.
Scaling the Wind Turbine
As part of The Renewables Project shot earlier this year I spent time looking at the Wind Farms across Central Scotland. With thanks to Scottish and Southern and Siemens I had the opportunity to accompany 2 engineers, Jason Smith and Ross Kennedy on routine inspection at Drumderg in Perthshire.
This image was released in Live Magazine this weekend and I will be releasing a larger edit of the narrative later in the year.