Bye Bye 2011, Hello 2012!

Well, another year is about to draw to a close, and for me, this is always a time where I like to look back on the year that we're leaving.

It's been a bit of a funny one for me, it started well, then there was a bit of a rough bit, and it's finished rather well too.

In January it all looked so promising, I was going to finish uni and head out into the big wide world, to start work. I was dipping my toe into photography, and loving it, and Phoenix were doing well in the league. Some things carried on well, others didn't.

2011 will always be remembered by a lot of people as the year Manchester Phoenix became EPL champions. I took a lot of photos of that night, and it still gives me chills looking back at them all these months later.

I attended my first Play Off weekend, which was a fantastic experience (thank you to all those who made me feel welcome and looked out for me :) ). I'd started to go to some away games too, something I've kept up with this season too. Again, thank you to those who are kind enough to let me travel with them and share those experiences :) This means I've been to a lot of places this year that I hadn't before: Peterborough, Sheffield, Milton Keynes, Guildford, Telford and Slough, I think that's all of them, anyway!

That leads nicely onto another first. I went on holiday, with my good friend Becky, for the first time. We headed out to Paphos, in Cyprus, and had a lovely week in the sun, back in October. Definitely something I'd love to do again.

There were some low points. I got chicken pox back in May time, which didn't help with university deadlines, at all. I got over it, and managed to submit everything OK. Unfortunately, I was to find out soon after, that I'd not passed some modules. So my plans changed in an instant. I'd have to come back to uni in January, to re-do some films.

A lot of things went through my mind, and I even considered, and applied for, a job as a junior photographer on a cruise ship! That would've meant being away from home for up to 8 months. I didn't get it, so I was wondering what to do with myself.

I decided to do some voluntary work, and that's how I found myself standing in one of the shops of a local charity, the Douglas Macmillan Hospice. This is where I met some wonderful people who have shared in some fun times with me, and have helped me grow as a person.

There have been other good things, like, finding someone who I really care about, and who really cares about me, and that has made the last few months wonderful.

So here's to 2012, which will see me making more films, taking more pictures, and generally being me. It's a year for defining who I am as a filmmaker, as a photographer, and it's about taking chances, going outside my comfort zone and generally pushing myself to achieve my potential.

Happy New Year everyone!

Where Have the Months Gone?

Again, it's been a while since I last posted here, and there's a lot of news to share with you.

The first is I've now got 2 blogs. That's right, I am now an official blogger for British Ice Hockey. Basically, I try and do a weekly blog, although I've not managed this week, but I blog about the games, giving my perspective on them and also talking random hockey stuff. So far it's thrown up some interesting things to write about.

The second bit of news is I've been volunteering at a local charity shop, and loving it. I've made some brilliant friends and I'm gaining new skills, but most of all, I'm having fun, and it's given me a photography opportunity as well, which is even better.

And finally, for now, I'm off to sunny Cyprus in 2 weeks with a lovely friend of mine named Becky. I'm taking my camera so expect a very long blog post/photojournalism piece when I get back!

Film Screenings, Planes and Concerts

As I said in my previous post, I was planning to hold a film screening up in Manchester, to showcase my latest film and the films of some good friends of mine. On Sunday, 10th July, this event took place. I don't have any pictures of this event, sadly, as I was a bit busy presenting it at the time. I might be an OK photographer, but being able to shoot my own pictures while doing something else is way beyond me!

Anyway, the venue for this event was the Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham, and myself, Richard (another keen photographer, and good friend of mine, as regular readers will know) and Helena (another very good friend) arrived at about 4.15, ready to set the room up and generally prepare. You can ask either of them, on that particular journey to Altrincham I was VERY nervous, but they kept talking to me about various topics and the nerves disappeared, til we arrived.

It was an easy setup, plug my laptop into the mains, plug the laptop into the projector, and plug the speakers into the laptop, check the DVD worked and I was good to go. People began to arrive and in the end there were roughly 30 people in attendance, a great result for me, and we began proceedings.

After the first introduction, the nerves disappeared completely, and it was just like talking to a group of my friends. Which, to be fair, it actually was! All the films played no problem, and I think it was a great success. But then I'm biased, so I'll let people who were there pass comment :)

Anyway, we wrapped up the evening and headed out. By that point Helena and I were quite hungry, so we decided to grab some food. It is here that I learnt the art of the spontaneous photo shoot, the value of smartphones in certain situations, and to ALWAYS bring a camera, even if you're hosting an event and probably won't need one!

Richard had an idea, since we'd been talking about it earlier, to go to the Runway Visitor Park at Manchester Airport. This is where the smartphone came in handy, I was able to look up the postcode and opening times, and we set off.

I'd never been to this bit of the airport before, and it was actually a really enjoyable experience. It's basically an open air area with various exhibits, and obviously places to stand, watch and photograph the planes. We enjoyed a good hour there, I think, before we had to leave, and I REALLY want to go back for a day, because I've found I quite enjoy taking pictures of planes.

This is one I'm pretty proud of:

As well as this one:

This one, I hadn't realized there was a plane in the sky as well as the one on the ground:

The rest of those shots can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/45456370@N02/sets/72157627169677512/with/5926664726/

So, after all that, you'd think I'd be taking a break from pointing a camera at stuff? Oh no, I went to 2011 Live, an open air concert that was held in one of our local parks. I'll write more on that in the next blog, but to give you a preview, I'll tell you that, that was the day I learnt a lot about photography with a point and shoot camera.

New Kit, and a few interesting happenings...

Well, it's been a while, again, and things have moved along quite a bit since my last entry.

First thing first, I'm not going to be dropping the "film" part of this blog title just yet. Short version of events: chicken pox set me back more than I thought, I've got to retake 2 modules at uni in January. So that's a pain, but, what can you do?

Now, the good stuff! I have a new camera! I am now the proud owner of a Nikon D5100 and a whole load of extras for it. Wonderful camera, loving the results so far, and looking forward to experimenting further.

Big, big news on the film screening that I was hoping to put together! It's going ahead, and all the details can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=200511993325046&ref=ts

Lots of films, hopefully lots of people, it should be a great night.

I took my new camera out for the first time, to a couple of local museums, and the pictures from those visits can be found on my Flickr page.

I've also been asked to take photos and video at a local event tomorrow, so those pictures will hopefully be up next week. I'm looking forward to it, it'll be a chance to build my portfolio, and more importantly, hopefully build contacts to get closer to my goal of making this hobby at least part of my profession.

The 4 days in Southport went very well, great company and a lot of hard work, but all worth it when I got to see my first professional camerawork go out on a big plasma screen in the closing sequence. I will admit, I shed a few silent tears of joy and pride at that.

So, until next time, bye bye!

Endings and Beginnings

Well, it's certainly been a while since I wrote here. Apologies for that, but things have just been insanely busy.

I went into the Easter break from university with a small profile piece to shoot, as wel as one other documentary. All was going well, got the profile piece done, all good. That was a saturday shoot. On the Sunday and Monday I felt a bit under the weather but thought it was a bug/summer cold/something insignificant. Tuesday morning, I wake up to find my face and back covered in CHICKEN POX!

Let me just say, everyone, I hope you all got it as a child, because at 21 it is absolutely vile. I felt ill, couldn't go out, and then ended up being off uni for 2 weeks under doctor's orders. Great. That meant I was back in uni on the 11th of May. We had til the 20th to get all our work handed in.

You can see now why chicken pox was a slight inconvenience. I managed to get my other film shot on the 12th of May, thanks to a lovely understanding group of contributors and 2 fabulous crew members (Adam and Ben) who stepped in at short notice to help me get the thing made.

"King Street" will be available online soon, in various forms.

"Plexi" is also finished, which in a way, I'm a little sad about. Both my films interest me, but this one in particular, captured why I love the sport of ice hockey so much. It also made me realize we've got a fair bit of off-season left, which is probably where the sadness comes from!

That will also be making an appearance online soon, as well as, hopefully, a screening up in Manchester.

So, both films are done, and hand in day comes along. This was actually a really happy day, I've been so stressed with having to miss time at uni and get everything done, that it was like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

But that's it. One presentation tomorrow afternoon and it's done.

My degree will be finished. That's quite sad, as it's been a great three years, but I'm also so proud. There were hard times, there were many times where I thought I wasn't going to do it. Times where I wanted to quit and do something else. But I didn't, I had a cracking circle of family and friends who supported me and made sure I did what, I know in my heart, I wanted to and was good at. They know who they are, so I just wanted to say, thank you.

So that's the ending, and the new beginning is my life in the working world. I've got a little 4 day job in June, as a freelance camera operator, and who knows, that might lead to more regular work. I'm also still looking at post production jobs, just in case.

This is the start of a brand new adventure, and do you know what I say?

Bring it on.

Play-Offs, the off season, and a lesson about assumption

OK, so on 8/4/11, I, along with a couple of good friends, headed off to Coventry for the EPL Play-Off weekend. It's basically a big social event with some hockey thrown in there, just to keep us all amused.

It was a great weekend, I met new people and got to know my friends even more. The only bad thing was Phoenix going out in the semi-final stage with 20 seconds of overtime left. But as the saying goes, "Que sera, sera". It wasn't a big photography weekend, my lens still hadn't been repaired, so I just took my compact camera and gave it a test or 2, then just sat and enjoyed the games.

So, now we're into the off season, the rumor mills are in full swing, and I've got Sundays free again. I've no idea what I'll do with the time, but until uni finishes, I'll be working on my films. "Plexi" is now at a point where I can put it on the back burner, as my other 2 shoots are coming up, so that's good. I'll have more film news once the shoots are over, I'm sure.

News on my lens, it's fixed! It came back yesterday with a replaced scale ring, whatever that means. All I know is, it's back, and that makes me one happy photographer.

Now for that lesson in assumption. I had to go to Manchester yesterday for a chat about possible employment after uni. All went well, and I head to the station to get the train home. I go to the platform where I normally get trains home from, the first calling point and eventual destination are correct, so on I get. I notice the little scrolling LED isn't working, and the driver only announces the next stop and destination, so still I think all is well.

Train goes to the first calling point, but then at what should be my stop, I see Wilmslow out of the window. Hang on, I think, I've gone somewhat wrong here. So I fortunately get off at Crewe, the next stop. If I hadn't, I'd have ended up in London. Cue another train journey to get to where I need to be. So, let this be a lesson, even though all seems correct, never assume the train you're getting on is going where you think it should!

What a Weekend!

All I can say is, wow! I have had a mad week. As I wrote before, my main lens for shooting the hockey had to be sent off for repairs, and this left me with a situation when it came to shooting the weekend's games. I couldn't use the kit lens that came with my camera, I've tried before and it's just not good enough. So, I was able to borrow a Nikon D90 from the uni, and shoot on that. It was a bit weird, I'm a Sony user and there are some fundamental differences, but I managed to get my head round it all for the trip to Peterborough on Saturday.

At that point, Phoenix needed a point to take the League, and we all thought it'd be done that night. The atmosphere among the traveling Phoenix support was immense, but alas, it was not to be, we lost 6-2.

It was a pretty subdued journey home, but really, looking back, I'm glad we lost.

Because it set up an amazing end of season clash between Phoenix and the Swindon Wildcats. The Ice Dome was packed, and the atmosphere was electric. I don't think I'll forget looking round as the intro video played and seeing packed blocks, with everyone on their feet, clapping and cheering, something I'd never seen before.

The game was a nervous affair for me, and also for Helena, but Phoenix did us all proud and won the title, with a 5-2 victory. This is where the atmosphere basically went from electric to what can only be described as "all hell breaking loose" both on and off the ice. It's also where I learned that yes, I am getting the hang of this photography business, because in between turning to Helena and shouting "We've done it, we've done it! We've won the League!", I was able to capture some cracking shots of the players celebrating. Some of them are below:

More can be found on my Flickr page here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/45456370@N02/

Now, onto some film news. I've got a target time of 6 minutes for "Plexi" and my 2 other films are taking shape. I got a lot of advice about "Plexi" from my supervisor, who said that once I've transcribed my interviews, I can basically build a script and edit it to that. I'll be having a go at that during the week. I'm also hoping to have cut together a trailer by the end of the week and will hopefully have it online ASAP.

The Future

Two words that at the moment, I'm seeing a lot. I'm in the process of applying for jobs for when I leave university. This also means thinking about accomodation, location etc. I'm going to be honest, it's scaring me somewhat at the moment, there's a worry that I won't get to do what I want, that I'll be stuck in a job I hate, and loads of other things.

But, I'm staying positive, I'm getting my CV in order and applying for work. I'll get there, it might just take time.

So, film-wise "The Other Side of the Plexi" is now into the post production stages, where I'm really having fun working with the footage. I'm also working on the pre production for my other two films.

Photography wise, I'm very sad. Over the weekend I was down in Milton Keynes at a Phoenix game, and after, my 70-300mm lens began making some rather odd grinding noises. At the home All Star game on Sunday, it was really struggling to auto focus, so I shot the whole thing in manual focus mode. I haven't looked at the shots yet but I think some may be a little soft. So, yesterday, my lens was picked up by courier and is going to be repaired.

But it does essentially leave me camera-less for the next few hockey games. This is where being a uni student is good, I can book a stills camera through uni and carry on shooting! Hooray! Although, I'm a Sony girl, and the uni has Nikons, so Friday night will be spent with me trying to figure out how to work the D90.

I also got to relax a little yesterday. Making use of a free day, I headed up to the rink in Altrincham for a skate. I've not been on the ice since summer, it was a quiet session, and all my stress just eased. I also picked up a couple of new skating skills, such as a 2 foot spin and a new way of going from forwards to backwards skating.

So hopefully next time I write, I should have a rough edit of "Plexi" online to show.

Photos, filming and editing

Yep, this blog entry will cover all of them. I'll start with the photos. Last Sunday, I was lucky enough to go to an away game in Sheffield. Another new experience, IceSheffield is the nicest rink I have ever been in. It was purpose built and it shows. Anyway, the game was a weird one, 3 fights across 2 periods. This gave me lots of practice at shooting fights, and the photos can be seen, as always, on my Flickr page.

So, yesterday, I began shooting one of my films for the semester. I tend to get very nervous about shoots, I don't know why, because 99% of the time, everything goes OK. Anyway, I headed up to Altrincham for the game, as usual. What was unusual was a) my mum was driving and b) I had Rich and Marco, my trusty crew with me. So, we got to the rink, and started filming interviews, then went and filmed the game. It was an experience. It's hard to predict what's going to happen during a game, or where people will be, but we filled one memory card and started on the other, so footage shouldn't be in short supply.

Now, I'm capturing it all, and beginning to edit. I love editing, I can just stick a pair of headphones on, and become lost in my own little world. And it's one area where I'm actually not bad. So, I'll update more when all the footage copies over and I've got it into Final Cut, but so far, so good!

Lots of Firsts

Well, as the title says, there have been a lot of firsts since my last blog posts. Where to begin, I wonder?

I'll start with my first trip to a Phoenix away game, in Peterborough. This was great fun, I was in good company, and I got to experience one of those lovely photography moments that, unfortunately, don't happen very often! A fight broke out, directly in front of me, on the ice, I hasten to add! This was fantastic from a photography point of view, as the seat I was occupying was at the back, in line with the staircase going up the block, meaning, no one to stand in front of me and block my view!

The results speak for themselves, and I'm immensely proud of them!

So, after this, I was advised to send some of the shots, including those 2, to a hockey website called British Ice Hockey (www.britishicehockey.co.uk). They've since come back to me, asking me to send 5 to 10 images to them after each game! So that's another success, and again, I'm very proud. Nothing's gone up there yet, but I'm keeping an eye out.

Anyway, I also went to an away game at Telford, and got my first taste of just how awful the lighting in some rinks can be. It was orange! So a lot of post production work has gone into those photos, although they're not online just yet. There was another fight, although this time, I was sat up at the back of the away block with Helena, and everyone stood up, so we didn't see a thing! Ah, the joys of being 5 foot 2!

That was a Saturday game, and we played Telford at the Ice Dome on Sunday, and it was back to business as usual. I got a lot of nice shots, but there's one I'm VERY proud of, and a lot of people seem to like it, so I'll post it here:

Now, onto film news! My individual film idea, has changed! The dance idea just wasn't coming together well in my view, and it would've been a very weak film. So I'm playing to my strengths and doing another documentary, about something I know lots about an am very passionate about: being a hockey fan. Things are going well, I have contributors, I have permission to film on a gameday, and I almost have my crew. I just need a location for my interviews.

The collab is going well, we're hopefully basing something around a park that's local to Holly, so that should be awesome.

It's Been a While

So, after my last post, it's been a little while since I've written here.

A lot has happened, some good, some not so good, but progress is being made on all fronts, which is very good.

So, the individual film. The idea has changed slightly, because before, I couldn't pin it down and that would only cause problems later on in the process. The idea is still centered around a musician and dancer, only now, it's two friends, who have come together to rehearse for a show. This is a show with a difference though. It's in total darkness, the pair illuminated only by glowsticks, and maybe the odd disco light, if it doesn't ruin the effect.

I tried something similar last year, and a lot of people said it was a good concept that just needed more time and development. Last time it was simply a series of moving glowsticks, this time there's a story and something more substantial there.

Anyway, obviously I'll need actors for this, and I did my auditions on 16th February. They went well and I basically have my 2 actors, which is fabulous.

Now, the main bulk of the work is researching the concept, and scripting etc.

The collab idea, well, it's getting there. We've not hit on an idea we're confident with yet but we're hoping to do that within the next week. I can't really say more than that to be honest, as we're still working on things.

On the photography front, I think I'll leave that for another post. It's getting there, but I've still got 2 games' worth of photos to edit, so will share more when they're done, which should hopefully be later today.

Community Spirit

I know this is a film and photography blog, but I just want to get a quick message out. To cut a long story short, my good friend Helena's hip popped out of place at Sunday's Phoenix game, meaning an A&E trip. Now, I'd like to say thank you.

To every single person in that rink who helped us, supported us, or asked after us, THANK YOU! It was appreciated immensely.

Special thanks have to go to Jason, who kindly transported Helena and I to A&E in his wheelchair accessible car, meaning we didn't have to get an ambulance out. If you read this, you are a lovely person and we can't thank you enough for your help.

And a big thank you to Richard and Yolanda, who joined us at A&E after the game (we left at the end of the first period) and helped Helena deal with the pain, as well as keeping us both entertained through the rather lengthy visit.

So, what's this got to do with community spirit?

I've been told by various relatives, of a time when people would routinely call in on older relative or neighbors, who'd look out for each other during bad weather etc. You just don't see that very often now. But the hockey community should be very proud. People made sure that Helena got the help she needed, and a fair number asked after her. Word can spread quickly in an ice rink, and when the message got to us that all these people had been asking after Helena, it brought a smile to both our faces.

Helena and I have a group of friends we call our Phoenix family, because of how well we get on and how welcoming they've been to both of us this year. And now I understand that nickname more than ever, families look out for one another, as do communities, and I can now use both words to describe the lovely people I see in the rink every week.

So to those that say community spirit is dead, I urge you to talk to some ice hockey fans, because I bet there are a lot of stories like this one out there.

Random musings for the weekend

Well, I said I'd be back soon, with updates, and I am! My individual film is unfortunately not moving along as quickly as I would've liked, especially in the casting department. So I'm rewording my casting call so that more people apply. My collab film, with Holly, is progressing quite well actually, we're just waiting on a yes or no answer from a possible contributor, and then hopefully things will fly along with that.

I said in my first post, that I was a keen photographer. Well, I've uploaded some images from last weekend, so here's some photos for you to look at:

I'm still learning this skill, and to be honest, I'm really lucky because I've got people around me who are willing to give me advice, or point out that the pictures are improving, despite what I may think. Because, when you're looking at your own work, it's so hard to spot improvement, but when someone points it out, it's a great feeling.

One of the people kind enough to advise me and teach me how to get these pictures, is also a blogger, so I urge you to go and check out his blog here: http://rgallanphotography.blogspot.com because it's a near certainty, that you'll a) learn more from reading it and b) see a better quality of picture.

However, that's not to say I don't like my own work, I do! But there's always someone you can learn from, which is the point I'm trying to make. Every shoot is an adventure, and a chance to learn something new, and that's the philosophy I'll be taking into the game tomorrow.

Oh, I'll also be remembering to format my memory cards before the game, which will help.

What's all this about then?

Right, what's this blog about? A simple question, and fortunately, one that has a simple answer. This blog is here to follow the progress of my 2 final year films, and also to chart the success, or otherwise, of my photography exploits.

So, on that note, I should probably go ahead and post something useful. This past weekend, I was once again sitting by a freezing ice pad, watching my favourite sport - ice hockey. The ins and outs of how I came to be a Manchester Phoenix fan really don't matter, all that you need to know is that I was sat, with my good friend Helena, watching a game, and taking a load of pictures, as I normally do.

Except, I've usually got the brains to format my memory card first. Yep, I shot the entire warm up on a card which already had a load of pictures on it. That was annoying. What was more annoying was that I managed to fill the card part way through the first period. And why is it, fellow photographers, that the need to change cards never happens at a good time? I don't remember what was happening at the point when my card said "No more! I'm full!" but I know, it wasn't during a stoppage. So, a quick change over, and I was back to shooting more pictures. Overall I broke my all time record, over 300 pictures taken.

I'm now in the process of sorting through them, editing and then watermarking the ones I want to put online. I could go on forever about how irritating it is that I, as someone who is not a professional and who shoots for fun, has to basically double their work to put the watermark on. But, the sad fact of life is, people steal photos, and I don't want it to happen to me.

Now, film wise, it's all go at the minute. Research is being done, scripts are being written, then re-written, and locations sorted out. The only problem is, I've had 2 responses to my casting call. One could well end up getting the role, and one I had to turn down as they were in London and things would've gotten very expensive, very quickly. And making a drama is expensive enough as it is.

So, I'll leave it there for now, and come back to you soon, hopefully with progress on the film, and hopefully with some nice pictures to show you from the weekend.