The Girl With The Angel Tattoo

I learned a few things today....

I shot a little BMX stuff (which can be found here) and found out it is actually rather tricky to make everything come together well. I'm planning to do a bit more on this in coming months. Props to T for agreeing to do a couple of jumps for me to try this out, tho.

I also learned that continuous shooting mode can be quite useful for street. I try to only take one image, but occasionally, being able to hold the shutter button down and grab three of four really helps. Think I'll be rocking that feature more regularly.

And I further learned that when I ask people if they mind me snapping a portrait of them, they think I'm mad for wanting their portrait, yet when I ask if I can just shoot their back they're totally fine with it. I didn't quite expect that. I can understand the logic tho, but if anything screams "nutter!" to me, it would be the latter more than asking for a portrait.

I saw this lady leaving the Town Hall with a little boy in tow. I was supping coffee, and quickly gathered up my things, took a gulp of coffee and left the rest on the table (such was my impulse for this shot, can you imagine such extravagance?) and accosted her as she crossed the road towards me. She agreed straight away, and even went along with my "yeah, but can you also stand facing that wall" bit as well. Brilliant. I love the juxtapositions in this....the tattoo against the dress, the tag sticking up out of the dress (no, I didn't bother pointing it out to her...my bad), etc. There's a sense of mystery and story waiting to be told to it, I think. Maybe.

Had a mostly moochful day - was going to be doing a little work, but hysterical-argument-avoidance dictated my going for a mooch instead. Wasn't great, I wasn't in the mood for it, tbh, but getting this shot and trying the street sport photog'ing did lift my day quite nicely.

A friend and fellow Oxonian has just bought a Leica D-Lux (yes, I am exceedingly jealous), and we're meeting up tomorrow so I can show him how to use it. We will be flaneuring our way through town. If the weather's good enough for it, I'm tempted to camp it up a little and go all out on the ostentatious radical artiste garb.

I shot a friend's jazz gig at The Grapes last night, too. Took (no lie) about 400 shots! Yikes! I have to get onto editing them, as well. Some truly cracking ones in that set, and I think I'm peaking with shooting well on my gear at The Grapes now. This was my third attempt at that venue, and fifth attempt at shooting bands in general. I love doing that stuff, and got heaps of compliments on it. Been asked to do some more, but have told my friends to tell people I charge, cos there's lots of people in Liverpool doing this for a living, and it would be slack to lose them potential clients. Have to figure out a suitable fee tho, as undercutting heavily would just have the same effect. I want to do a good job of documenting the jazz nights I've played at, and the players I've learned from, but once I've done that I'm gonna cut back on the band stuff, unless I get fiduciary benefits.

(I promise between yesterday and today, this isn't the start of a series involving lots of back shots...tomorrow will be different)

Edit: Note To Self - When you make a mental note to straighten the photo you hastily took, remembering to read said mental note prior to hitting "Export" would probably help. I truly am a total plank.