Go Pro Hero 3

My very own go pro hero 3. A camera designed to capture footage for extreme sports. I’ve always thought it would be cool to own one and just on a whim I brought one. I had seen loads about the camera from youtube and getting one was almost surreal, just like I pulled it out from my computer screen (Strange, I know). After having mine for 3 weeks it’s a love hate relationship. You are first introduced into a world of high quality, well thought out packaging. It was encased in a clear plastic cube that reminded me of a museum display cabinet. As you unpackaged the camera everything looks and feels high quietly. It soon becomes apparent that everything about the camera is about practicality. The camera sets inside a housing that is waterproof and extremely tough.  It only has three operating buttons and comes with ergonomic bolt fittings and mounts. 

 I love this camera as its shoots in high quality 1080P, captures 12mp images, it’s waterproof for up to 60m and tough enough to withstand high impact. All in something that is smaller than a credit card. Its wifi connectivity even allows you to operate the camera in a different room. With its tiny size it could easily be used for something covert. Its toughness allows me to just throw it in my bag and not have to worry about it getting damaged. Something that my rather expensive Canon IXUS point and shoot has become a regretful victim of. The Go Pro is something that the professional use all the time. I you can seem them being used for T.V and film. Plus it’s a desirable respected gadget to own.

However I also there are some big drawbacks. I was disappointed to discover that the battery life at most is only one hour. It was not anything I would have thought I would have needed to think about these days, most cameras have at least 6-8 hours as standard. Working with this camera is a real think before you shoot and extra batteries job. Another reason I don’t like the camera is that it doesn’t come with a display screen on the back as standard, or even a viewfinder. Unless you want to spend the extra £100 for the LCD touch screen display that dose not have a waterproof housing. It requires you to use wifi connectivity with your phone that has about a four second lag in live view. Again making this camera a think before you shoot job.

The camera is meant for video rather than photography but is capable of capturing photos. It favours a slow shutter speed around about 1/50sec that is useless for capturing anything that moves. I came to the conclusion that you would only use its photo function for capturing that epic view of you and your friends once you have reached your summit.

I find this camera is an expensive buy at first as owning one is buying into another company all over again. I have already invested a good grand into Canon so far and buying a Go Pro is no different. £260 for camera, £2.50 a month insurance, £30 memory card, secondary battery and charger £20 and you just got to get the head strap.

What comes into question is that after all this why did I buy A Go Pro in the first place? The answer is simply for the adventure. No other single camera can withstand the extreme challenges that people could ever put themselves through. Whether the location is on the land, under the sea, taken air or venturing space, 1mph or 1000’s. I can be sure that my Go Pro can capture it all.

Below are some test images I have taken with the camera so far. 

The freedom feeds me. The work kills me.

The freedom feeds me the work kills me project is a fast paced black and white journey into what make us unique. It’s recognising what makes us unique by showcasing it in photographic images.  The reason for doing the project was to find something out of nothing and turning that into an energy that we can get involved in. There is no direction to this project as it’s a journey but it exists under the depths of our own music, fashion, culture and art. Getting deep into are own freedoms is what its about.  Below are the 1^st images of the project. All images are one take only. Rejecting work for what we shouldn't be doing. Turn the shouldn't into work by its very existence. The music below also lends itself nicely to the project. 

Reminder of the Buzz.

Thought I get a post in. I just meet up with Larissa who has just started her new photography course to try and offer some help. I found that just to talk about what needs to be done helped us both. I loved hearing about what was already going on with her course and the ideas that she had come up with. It brought me right back to when I was at uni. Having that buzz about having a million things to do is something I really miss and I feel that I can do with right now. I thought that I need to post this, I need to crack on. There is work to be done and the days are flying away. Back in the zone. Love it.

What also was apparent was how set on my ideas I was. I described my geo glif project and the best way I was going to make it happen. Then Larissa made a suggestion on what I could try and I was like "but i done this or Ive already done that".  On reflection finding it difficult take in her useful ideas was just like the uni critiques. Back then I had to learn how to open up and take onboard what people was saying. It put a smile on my face and I appreciated the feed back.

The meet just makes me think I can't ever stop and do something else, I must remain focused. But then I get reminded that there must be a balance. Getting too wrapped up in projects can make me lose touch with the real world. Creativty is always going draw me in as something that you can get lost in but its the control which determines the master.

Cant stop must move on.

My 1st Geoglyph

Going back to my ambition post from my blog in January of creating an image visible from outer space.  I decided to progress with my biggest project yet. Last wednesday 5th june I created my first large scale image called a Geoglyph. This is a large land based image traditional produced using materials from the earth such as rock or soil. A good example to the left would be 'The Nazca lines/ ant' from peru.

To create my Geoglyphic image I used a stencil aesthetic sand drawing at the beach in Lytham St Annes. The large open sandy beach and dunes were a great choice of location to create this work. The dunes would provide the elevation I needed to capture an areal view of the work. I planned how best to approach my image with my photo buddy Alex and also got Mrs Lansiquot to help us out. We worked on designs that we wanted to create on the day and equipped ourselves accordingly. Luckily the night before making the image, I discovered a photo of Tom Bolland using a rake to make a sand drawing that he was working on. Rakes was something which I had over looked but ideal to have for my itinerary of tools for my Geoglyphic image.

On the day we had narrowed the designs down to just one peace hand gesture stencil. This design was the most important to make as its one that I have originally envisioned for my final master image. We also selected our design based on its balance of complexity to produce. It was not too basic or too hard to achieve. However like all my great plans it was another of these ideas that was a lot harder than first thought. It took three people to produce. We fell into natural roles such as art director and technicians. We worked out the best way to transfer our design from paper to sand by a system of delegation and a giant dot-to-dot joining method. Raking away dry top sand and digging out the lines and markers required lots of physical effort. The intention was to fill the positive space of the hand with wet sand to create a solid image rather than an outline. But this proved a mammoth physical and time consuming task, that we were not willing to commit too. Especially as this image was a first attempt at producing a geoglyph. I felt that it was preferred but not necessary for this attempt. I have attached a video taken from the day so that you can see us working on the image.

When the image was finally completed I was glad to see it finished. I was so grateful to both Alex's for helping out. Without their help I don't think I would have been able to achieve the picture. Looking at the final outcome I think that it is questionable that It looks like a peace hand gesture. It may be because we had made the hand too wide or the angle that it could be viewed from was too shallow. However I am still proud of this Geoglyph. Its magnificent. It is a symbolic first step towards the huge undertaking of creating a picture visible from outer space. Creating this project feels like I'm part of a NASA program trying to launch a rocket into space. Metaphorically speaking, achieving this ultimate goal is like building prototype test rockets that eventually succeed through trial and error, through learning and developing from each new prototype built. This in effect is my first prototype that I must learn from and develop into something bigger and better. "I will achieve my goal of making an image that can be viewed from outer space".

Below are the pics I took from my geoglyphic shoot. These pictures may not have existed had I not have remembered to ensure that the memory card was actually in the camera. I almost walked away after creating this work without any pictures. DOH! Amateur mistake. In my defense I was sharing one card between two cameras. I will have to get myself another memory card.

Hisaji Hara's Photographic Portrayal of the Paintings of Balthus

When you think Amsterdam and art, one name springs to mind. Vincent Van Gogh. But it was the heavy, government marketing that turned me off seeing the work of the great artist in person. Thinking back it was almost mad not to take up the opportunity, but it was just unappealing. The Van Gogh Museum held huge rectangular signs that dominated the side of the building. It was almost like the Netherlands government saying this is art! You must conform and see this work. I am usually not so sensitive to my perceptions of such factors, but after my 'right to censor' project on globlisation, consumerism and new world order, it was hard to ignore. So I decided to turn my attention to more current artistes. Thankfully Amsterdam is a cultured city. Only a few streets down I was stopped in my tracks by the work of Hisaji Hara's Photographic Portrayal of the Painting of Balthus.

Perhaps it was the serenity of seeing the work at night through the window of the Reflex Modern Art Gallery, which stopped me in my tracks. Art was not on my agenda that night. I was too engrossed in exploring Amsterdam's nightlife. But I found his images arresting. I instantly connected with what the artist was trying to achieve. I could see that this was work perfected. It hit many buttons under scrutiny and is something that I desire to achieve; An understanding and input into the art community. A relief. So much for the Harris museum at Preston. This single series awakened me to the fact that I am starving of artistic nourishment. Literally starving. I live in a place populated by handy men with dim views of art. How can I continue to excel in this environment? "If you can't bring the mountain to muhammad, then bring mohammed to the mountain"

I found Hisaji Hara's Photographic Portrayal a display of artistic freedom that encapsulates a world that is separate from mine. One which determines its own rules and boundaries. Perhaps a private view of a fantasy or vision that I was invited to join. His still life's are delicate and use of monochromatic tones evocative, presented before my eyes as tasteful center pieces to finish any blank space. I think I will have to get my hands on some of Hara's work.

I later found out the full title of the work and researched it further. I found that the artist in which Hisaji was emulating causes some controversy. Some of Balthus paintings have featured young girls in erotically suggestive poses or situations. In Hara's images he has toned down the perversity, by introducing more acceptably aged Japanese women, rather than adolescents. The sexual suggestion if any for me, becomes more of an expression of Japanese values or culture. Below are some examples of Hisaji Hara's Photographic Portrayal of the Paintings of Balthus. I have included one comparison so that you can see how closely he has followed Balthus paintings. But also what alterations and interpretations Hisaji has placed on his own photographic portrayal.

Wedding distraction

Nothing like a wedding to distract you from your work. I got married! I have spent the last few months putting all my energy into getting married. I like to thank my good photo buddy Alex for capturing the wedding pictures on my big day that I will be posting a.s.a.p. I haven't decided to pack in the photography just yet and now I am back on the grind. So my main focus over the next few weeks is to have a really strong online presence that sings and dances at every end (if that makes sense). I want people to be able to go online and explore the world of domgoodphoto. I wouldn't say that its something hard to do, but I'm gonna need to put the work in. I'm almost building it from scratch. I'm quite happy that when you type my name into google my work comes up, but now I wish to work on campaigns to achieve my photographic ambition. Who knows, I could have all this online work done by the end of the week.

The wedding distraction did not go in vain as I discovered a few new things. Firstly the power of tumbler. I think nothing has brought me more up to date than tumbler. It single handedly opened up a world of other prolific photographers working on current trends which I find highly appealing. As you may recall 'After The Smoke' appealed to me when I worked with 'Sjambok' on my latest music video project. I loved After The Smoke's website designed by 'Rob Coin'. I wanted to create something similar for my own music projects. On closer inspection I noticed that he had used tumbler to create the site. Although I have not quite figured out how I will best use tumbler. I have began to explore it with a small sample of pictures. You can see how it unfold at http://domgoodphoto.tumblr.com/

Twitter. I have to finally embrace it. I have solely used facebook as my means to stay connected. However I have come to find that almost everyone who is half decent at something, is available on twitter. I will post my twitter link on the blog shortly when I have sorted out my twitter game later this week. domgoodphoto will have its own facebook page which will also launch this week.

A rant

Today must be a bad day or something because no matter who or where I try, I can not take any pictures I want. I had the idea of shooting some interesting shops such as Cigar, gun and tattoo shop and they all declined me taking pics. I never get such bad luck with these things. Now I need to rethink what will I shoot. Miffed am I. I wanted to impress with these images as I was set the task of getting some good photos. It almost makes me wonder If I'm on the cutting edge of photography for Preston. Probably not but these days people wont open up. Hide on the defensive. Thinking that the world is out to get them. Scared. Come on Preston open up, why does everything need to be planed. Whats the point of asking your permission if you gonna turn round and say no. I'm trying to improve my craft at a time when its easy to give up. Well I say no. I have not come this far to just have people turn me down. A good shoot would make me feel better.