Edits, zines, and work experience.

I finally handed in the first half of my project for the year on Friday. I was fortunate enough to have finished everything the night before, so didn't have the panic of the last-minute rush like a lot of my class mates; that doesn't relieve the stress, however, and even now I am panicking at the mere thought of getting my results in a couple of week's time. Luckily, I finished the first edition of my zine completely on time:

Woohoo! Now, I still have a few things I wanna do to it, so think of this as a draft version - I have an illustrator on board who is gonna fill in the blank pages, and a couple more outfits I wanna shoot with to turn it from a 4-outfit look book into a 30-page zine. I also want to play around with the photos a little bit more, maybe take some photographs to work as busy, patterned backgrounds in the photos where the fabric is quite plain. I experimented a little with my favourite photo of Jude, and am totally smitten with the result. Fingers crossed I can make more photos that look just as awesome!

There are a few things going on at the moment that I can't wait to blog about - next week I have a work experience placement for Bentlys Records where I'll be photographing two of their bands as they perform around the city and then at a gig in the evening. I also have some work experience with the Evening News coming up at a later date! As well as this, I have a job interview tomorrow, after being unexpectedly fired, which I'm pretty nervous about - and on top of that I'm in talks with an up-and-coming clothing brand, to photograph their collection for display in the next edition of Femme Sole! I really can't wait to be able to share all of these photos on here, and I hope whoever is reading this is excited to see some new work too.

Yesterday, after staying up all night and then getting on a 4am coach, I was given the brilliant opportunity to take photographs at London Fashion Weekend, the aftermath of London Fashion Week that gives the general public the opportunity to watch catwalk shows and shop for designer goodies, as part of the Canon team. I've never attended London Fashion Weekend before and so, with team members from Canon guiding me, I was rushed through the compact bazaar around the showroom and into the photographer's pit alongside 20 or so others, with barely any time to take in my surroundings. When I photographed at Graduate Fashion Week I had the freedom to sit in the crowd and take photographs at my own will; here, I had to quickly secure my 50cm x 50cm spot and make sure that I didn't get in anybody's way (or suffer a deadly elbow in the back if I did).

My brief was to take 5 beautiful photographs from each catwalk show I attended, to send to Canon for juding in a competition that could win me a Canon 650D and a chance to photograph at London Fashion Week next year. The first catwalk I photographed was the 'Trends' show, a 30-45 minute display of the upcoming A/W trends. Catwalk presenter Zoe Hardman talked the audience through each style - Kitchen Chic, Sergeant Indigo and Lady Brocade, all put together by resident stylist Miss Molly - before the models came walking down the aisle, at which point I had to rapidly arrange my aim, zoom and focus before snapping away. These are the 5 photographs from the 'Trends' show that I put forward to Canon.

The second show I attended was a designer highlights show by Issa, a London dress company with many celebrity fans. Put together by Issa's creative director Daniella Helayel, the collection featured bold prints inspired by Moscow and, more specifically, Red Square. Bold colour combinations and a sophisticated, feminine silhouette were noticeable in each design, and the Russian-style motifs really made the collection stand out. I spent this show in a different position to the last, stood up in the middle of the pit as opposed to crouched uncomfortably at the front. Using both a 70-300mm and a 24-70mm lens I managed to capture close-ups of the models as well as an overall sweeping gaze of the room. These are the images I chose to send to Canon from the Issa show.

After the Issa show, I had the time to look around London Fashion Weekend as a whole. What I found was 35 or more designer label pop-up shops, each crammed into a small room within Somerset House. In one wing of the building I found myself with a free can of coke and the opportunity to pose with a Jean Paul Gaultier coke bottle for a photo that would be immortalised on a postcard I could take away, whilst further down the hall discounted off-season designer clothes were being sold to the crowds of well-dressed fashionistas; meanwhile, in the small area surrounding the show space, the Vodafone Lounge was hosting a Q&A on what goes on behind the scenes at a cover shoot for the team behind Elle Magazine. It was a great atmosphere and was filled with a myriad of gorgeous, intricately-designed clothes (way out of my price range, of course), and I really hope to go back next year. Or, fingers crossed, maybe I'll have the chance to experience the real fashion week...

I'll leave you with some of my other photos, which didn't quite make it to Canon but are still favourites nevertheless.

Catwalks at Graduate Fashion Week

Not only did my AAA pass at Graduate Fashion Week allow me to access a lot of areas that were out of bounds for the general public, it also meant that I could get into the catwalk shows as a member of the press, blag a front-row seat, and photograph away to my heart's content. The photos I took of the catwalks and the designs weren't going to be used on the official GFW blog, I knew that much, because there was already a designated photographer/writer team who were covering them. That meant that I could take as many photos as I wanted, but had to be careful; if I'd spent too much time away from my own designated tasks it would've looked like I was slacking off, and as a result I only went to 4 catwalk shows. Out of those 4 I only took photos at 3 - Salford, East London, and the university I was most impressed with design-wise and show-wise, UCA Rochester. These are my favourite photos from each show.

East London:

Salford:

  

UCA Rochester:

  

   

What I really liked about the work of the UCA Rochester students was the amazing diversity between all of the designers, and the amount of effort that appeared to have gone into not just the designs but the show itself. The catwalk show opened up in silence, with a faded milky light on the entrance to the catwalk. From the empty, sterile environment two figures emerged, dressed like scientists in white coats, and reached out for a row of coat hangers that had been suspended above the stage. Under the discerning gaze of the entire audience, they dressed the first model in his outfit, left the stage, and then - just like that - the music began, the lights intensified, and the models starting walking. Each set was something new, and brilliant. The decorations used to adorn the models was extremely imaginative, and every set of clothing had a perfectly apt song choice to accompany them down the catwalk. Not only that, the students had gone to the effort of creating a fashion magazine, which was placed on the seats of those in the front few rows, entitled Geist. I read through this magazine on the hour-long journey home, and was really impressed. From interesting case studies about unpaid interns, to androgynous fashion shoots, the magazine is well researched, well presented, and was very well received. It might have been because UCA Rochester was the last show I got to see before I came back to Norwich, but it really seemed like there was something special about the work I saw.

The Nexus Agency and The People Tree

I'm heading out to Krakow tonight, and I'm extremely nervous - everything has been very last minute after being mucked about by my former employers regarding my pay. Around £180 should have entered my bank account last Friday, and instead I was appalled to see that £17 was sitting there, the week before I was due to fly out to Krakow and two weeks before my rent is supposed to come out. Therefore I've had to dip into the money I received for my birthday only two weeks ago, and thus everything has culminated in me hurrying about the city today trying to get my pounds changed into Polish banknotes, and attempting desperately to find somewhere that stocked cheap enough film that I could spend my last £15 on it. Luckily the university shop had some slightly-expired stock left, and I managed to get my hands on four lots of black and white film, two of which are C41, and one colour. Phew!

There was more to last Friday than just sheer panic over my struggling funds; it was my first job for James Thomas, my new photography client who will hopefully be employing my services over the next few months. James is head of the Nexus Digital Communications Agency, a company that provide online promotions and media for local businesses. My role in this is to photograph the interiors, exteriors and products of the companies for use on their websites and social networking sites. Friday's job was for The People Tree, a small shop in central Norwich that stocks ethnic goodies for your house, bedroom or even pocket. From ornate furniture and wall hangings, to beautiful jewellery and accessories, the shop is filled to the brim with the brightest colours, the most delicate ornaments, and incredibly embellished masks. There are trinkets hidden everywhere, such as tiny wooden cats that are painted a vast array of bold colours, and hanging mobiles of pigs with wings; with hidden gems tucked beneath every surface and burrowed into every corner, the room has been used to its fullest potential, packed solidly with a feast for the eyes. I borrowed an amazing wide angle lens from my uni, a 10-22mm lens, which stretched each view from wall to wall and produced brilliant results.

The following photos are my favourites from the shoot.
Click for higher quality.

You can find The People Tree at their website.