Photo shoot... behind it all!

Firstly I'd like to apologise for my lack of posting yet again! The last month and a half has been hectic with edits, presentations and parties.  One edit will appear here soon!

Now this hecticness is over I now have time to pursue personal projects and get involved with other people.  These photos are from a shoot I did to provide Rab with some photos of their powerstretch top in action from a biking perspective.  These photos didn't make the final cut but I like them all the same.

Enjoy!

Nearing the End

I've been ready to move on since Christmas really.  My next new challenge awaits and I can't help but feel a little anxious.  I've applied for a couple of things to try and break my way into the adventure media industry but as of yet, I've heard no news.  However, on trawling the Internet I went on to Chase Jarvis's blog and came upon a little gem of inspiration to keep trying no matter what.  He writes:

In one case the fear is that you’ll fail and not be good enough. In the other case the fear is that you’ll never have lived your dream…

When you think of those two, which one is worse?

To be honest, I prefer the first fear, the fear that I simply won't be good enough! My dream to become a snowboard photographer began at 16 years old.  I wanted to take myself off to the mountains as soon as my exams were over.  It wasn't realistic at the time, however, completing this degree in Adventure and Media, is making the dream become realistic and making me push towards a career in professional film production and or editorial work for adventure sports magazines.  


But where to begin? 

Scotland Dissertation Trip (behind it all)

As my friend Sarah and I were struggling to focus on our dissertation work, we decided it'd be great to escape into the middle of nowhere.  There are no distractions up here except my camera and the great outdoors, which we use as an excuse for a break in the middle of the day.  I feel if I ever have to do another large scale project such as this dissertation I will have to escape again, but for a longer period of time.  I've never been so productive in my life.

Anyway below are a few photos from a dissertation break to Nairn, just south of Inverness.

Practicals Aren't On Today (behind it all)

I can't believe my friend Pete and I turned up to practicals yesterday.  We should have checked the notice board and then we would have realised they'd changed our practical dates.  Thanks university of Cumbria.  So with us both getting up early to be there we decided not to waste the day and head out to play with our cameras.  Lets say a new lens and some filters have now been added to my wishlist and I will be living off vegetarian chilli and cereal for the forseeable future.

These first set of images were taken with my Canon 7D and Pete's 16-35mm l-series wide angled lens. I love the distorted effect it gives.

Mountain Bike Project part 3

So another catch up with the mountain bike project I'm doing to go towards my degree in Adventure and Media.  I was ecstatic as I saw the sun shining through my bedroom window and it made me motivated to get out onto the moors to shoot much needed B-Roll footage.  It was incredibly mild and it was nice to be able to enjoy setting up the shots without having to wear gloves!  I also came home to get interview footage with my parents so just waiting on my dad to get in from running. Should be good.

Anyway I came across this video on snowboard Canada's website and thought, I know exactly how these guys feel.  Waiting for the weather, dealing with the riders getting it wrong and all the banter that goes with it.  It just made me feel happy that all film makers have to deal with the same problems and that the pro's aren't super heroes.  Anyway, enjoy!

Old times (behind it all)

I had a bit of a surprise in that I bumped into an old friend the other day, and it got me thinking about all those people I knew in first year.  I have some old photos of some of these guys kayaking, so thought I thought why not dedicate a post to these super guys!

George on Aira Beck

High on life (behind it all)

Even though I have all this work to complete pretty much by the end of April, I really haven't let it drag me down this past week. I've had a cold so I've not been concentrating on doing work, however, I've been using my illness as an excuse to escape to places and learn how to use my new camera, as you can see in previous posts. It's been an absolute joy to do something practical rather than writing and typing lines and lines of words one can barely understand.

Towards the end of the week I had a couple of great nights out with friends and although this doesn't seem so outdoor related, I think it's incredibly important to socialise and do something different with different people. For example, Thursday night was spent with some students I'd never met in person before and, Saturday night was spent with the ladies from Penrith Hockey club. Let's say it was a pretty wild experience.

Then you have the spur of the moment plans, my second match of the weekend got cancelled and another opportunity presented itself. I ended up driving across to the North East for the afternoon and having sunday lunch with one of my best friends and her parents. We rounded that off with a trip to the cinema and pub.

I feel joyous that I'm falling to sleep with a smile on my face because of these experiences, and felt I should probably share this happiness.

And to round it off, a favourite song of mine at the moment... Miami by the Foals