Windfest 2011

Hey guys, it’s been a while! Sorry for the lack of updates of late, it’s been a busy summer! I headed down to Sandbanks again this year for Windfest which had another great turnout. Although it was due to rain, the sun decided to stay all day, much to everyone’s delight.

Windfest has an amazing assortment of sports from windsurfing and kite surfing to paddle boarding, beach volleyball and ultimate frisbee

The Animal Bike show as always was awesome Martyn Ashton and Blake Samson entertained the crowds with their amazing skills. They do shows all round the country so check them out next time they are in your area.

I feel my wakeboarding pictures have improved from the last time I photographed the sport. I was less fearful of getting close to the action, which I’m sure has helped me get much better images, though you do have to be fully aware of what’s going on around you not just what’s happening in front of you!

Congratulations to all of this year’s competition winners!

Here’s hoping the weather for next year event is as glorious as this year’s!

For now, stay tuned to see what else I’ve been up to over the last few months!

Birty Dastards, Clyro, June 2011

01 BirtyDastardsClyroJune2011-466At the beginning of June I was invited by Birty Dastards to go off roading with them. I had never been off roading so this was going to be a whole new experience

I met the guys at Baskerville Hall Hotel, Clyro in North Wales.The Saturday was a little overcast but not raining so all was good. The first task I was faced with was getting to the top of the site! One of my friends is a member of the group so offered to drive me to the locations. As we were last in the convoy I got to watch all the other trucks slip back down the hill! Now I’m the type of person that is never a passenger in a car, I always drive. I trusted my driver, so I could do nothing but believe him when he said ‘It’s fine we won’t slide like that!’ – hmm yeah right!! We slid sideways and backwards!! Once I had realised I could escape the truck at any point and walk, I was much happier and had the great excuse of ‘but I need to be out there to take pictures!’

Having never photographed this subject before i didnt entirely know what to expect, the only certainty i had was MUD!! Mud that gets flung through the air as the traction doesn’t hold and the tyres spin like crazy. Once I had experienced this and knew the camera wouldn’t come to any harm, I got a little closer to the action…well as close as it was so I was safe!

Sunday was a great day. The sun was shining and creating lovely light through the trees on the site, with the added advantage of the mud drying out a little. I was based primarily with two drivers who were testing out a new section of trail, which meant they were taking the course slowly and allowed me to walk out infront of them to take shots of them driving each section.

By the end of the weekend I had gotten used to some sections of the trails and didn’t leap out of the truck quite as much! Overall, it was a fantastic experience and I’m looking forward to the next off road adventure in September.

Avebury, UK – Video

Avebury was another video made as a learning piece for me. We arrived at Avebury as the gates to the car parked opened for the day hoping to be able to film the stones without too many people around. The plan went fairly well though it was only an hour before the site started to get rather crowded. We decided to move to the less busy area of the West Kennet Avenue and then on to West Kennet Long Barrow to include some more of the historical area in to the video.

It was a lovely area to visit and I would advise anyone thinking of visiting the area to arrive early to experience the stones in a peaceful setting.

Bath, UK – Video

One of the first video projects I set myself was to create a short promo video of Bath. This was primarily a learning piece for me for both filming and editing.

We set out early in the morning to do our best to beat all the crowds and to give ourselves the best chance to film the quiet streets. I had a list of the main areas I wanted to cover but because we were not working to a strict schedule, I had the freedom to shoot anything else that took my eye during the day.

It was the first day I had taken out the Zacuto Z Finder Pro x2.5 and it is amazing, it makes filming so much easier especially on a sunny day. We also took out the slider for the first time, I am rather glad I didn’t have to carry it myself!! I’m only little and it weighs a ton when in the same bag as the tripod, I wouldn’t have got very far on my own!! Love the effect from using it, though in a busy city its really only usable when the street are quiet. It was a fun day and I am really happy with the final piece. I hope you like it too 🙂 

HLB Media

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Exciting news! Today I have launched a new sub-section to my work base HLB Media. As you will have seen from previous blog posts and tweets I have started working more within the videography world. It’s something that’s developed from doing it in my day job over the last 6 months, I’ve learnt so much and have really enjoyed putting my new-found skills into action!

HLB Media is a developing area of work and I am looking forward to showing you what I have been doing. Keep checking back to the new site, videos will be posted soon!

I am currently working in collaboration with Obsidian Entertainment. If you are interested in working with us on a video project please get in touch via info@hlbmedia.co.uk

East 17

Recently I was called by a friend and asked if I would like to go to London to do a photo shoot with East 17. The shoot would be for all their new promo material. Of course I said yes!

I have always liked East 17 so it was a pleasure to spend an afternoon with them taking their new pictures.

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It was great to work with you, thanks guys!

Find out more about the guys at www.East17Official.com