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

Lessons Learnt

We were blessed with another lovely day in the Lakes and I took it upon myself to get out and photograph anything and everything! I'm trying to work my head around my new Canon 7D and learn how to move around with it quickly. However, after the day I had, If I'd have moved at a slower pace things wouldn't have gone half as bad.

Lesson no.1: In terms of photos, I need to learn to take time with composing shots and as mentioned before learn my way around the camera. There were so many spur of the moment opportunities, that I simply could not keep up with. I missed out due to not knowing which buttons to press and which switches to flick.

Lesson no.2: In terms of footwear, it's pretty much essential to go out with a pair of shoes that have good grip if you have no idea where you may end up! Even if they are trail shoes, they are by far superior to skate shoes. I ended up falling over 4 times in total onto soggy wet grass. Let's say it wasn't my brightest moment.

Lesson no.3: Always ensure bags/equipment are securely placed on the ground and aren't likely to end up falling in streams or off cliffs. My bag was subject to such abuse and my phone ended up drowning with no way of escape.

Other than a number of lessons presenting themselves to me, I had a fantastic day. The sun was shining and spring is well and truly on it's way. I was almost tempted to go for a dip in the stream but was then reminded it's melt water. It's days like these where I am truly happy to be able to document the Lakes.

Mountain Bike Project part 2

Just an update really. Went up to Edinburgh for the weekend and commenced filming for this section of the film. I also finished the interviewing of my brother. I'm starting to feel like it's all coming together after months of planning and preparation. I've still got a long way to go though. I will be returning home at some point in the coming weeks to get much needed b-roll footage in west yorkshire as well as interview footage with my mum and dad.

Anyway here are a couple of pictures. I didn't manage to get any photos of the actual riding due to memory card space. But these are some lovely sights in Edinburgh. Enjoy.

Behind it all post 2

With the amount of work I've had on lately, it's been near impossible to justify taking my camera in to uni or wherever I am because of the amount of books I have in my bag. I do try though.

An opportunity presented itself yesterday and in my ill state I took it. Fresh air is definitely the way forwards when you have a cold!

Thanks to Jon who let me drive his freelander and dragged me out on this miserable yet awesome day!

Where am I at?

Well, shortly after returning to uni after the Christmas period, I decided it'd be a sweet idea to make a bit of a creative project to help me learn the ins and outs of my new camera. It's called behind it all and the idea is to capture everything and anything that isn't the main focus of my final year at uni. So far so good :).

Enjoy