This was such a great event. I had a lot of fun doing the video for this one

Some photos I took recently for a great charity based in Birmingham called Mobile Advice Line.

They are putting on a theatrical production of Macbeth.

It was very difficult to capture smooth video on a moving bus, but here it is… It was great fun!

I’ve been looking for a good light-weight small travel tripod for a long time. I didn’t mind spending a little extra for compactness. I was thinking maybe something carbon fibre. Hmmm.

I was in no rush, until a video project in Ukraine presented itself, I needed something quick. I couldn’t find the perfect tripod so (as there was to be no panning in this particular project) I bought something very small and compact, but wasn’t sure if it was sturdy enough to carry the weight of a 5DmkII with a 70-200mm L lens attached.

This is what I bought from Maplin’s UK: (this seems to be vey similar to this tripod available in the US)

This small unsuspecting tripod opens to 1 metre in length. But is extremely compact when closed (29cm). The legs are telescopic and lock into position by simply turning each topmost section until it clicks. I used this for my project in Ukraine, but it had one very big flaw.

The ball head was never build to handle fairly heavy equipment. I had to screw the ball had as tight as possible, but the camera would still sometimes start to droop down.

I started researching small ball heads I could replace with. I decided to get a Manfrotto head, so I could use the standard plate that is attached to all my other equipment.

This is what I found on Amazon UK (also available on Amazon USA): Manfrotto 494RC2 Small Ball Head with Quick Release

I combined the two together (simple standard screw) and this is the final result:

Obviously this isn’t the sturdiest tripod out there(!) But for some situations, I prefer to sacrifice sturdiness for compactness. It’s small enough to put inside my camera bag and I find myself using a tripod much more often. I’m very happy with it.

This is my first attempt at capturing video and editing for a specific purpose. As it goes, I really enjoyed the entire process. I will definitely be doing more of this. The next project is likely to be for another OxjamBrum event, a day of live music on a bus(!)

Some photos I took recently for a great charity based in Birmingham called Mobile Advice Line.

They are putting on a theatrical production of John Van Druten’s I Am A Camera.

Some photos from my second ever 4am Project. This one took place at the Birmingham Museum Collections Centre.

The aim of the 4am Project is to gather a collection of photos from around the world at the magical time of 4am. Everyone can take part and join in!

I first heard the buzz surrounding the 4am Project on twitter. People sounded very enthusiastic about the idea. I had to find out more about something that asked people to wake up at an ungodly time of the night and go out to take photos with (in some cases) total strangers. When I attended my first event on 04-04-2010 in Birmingham, UK; I found out what all the hype was about.

Being awake and in town at 4am (with a clear head) reminded me of when I was a schoolboy and for whatever reason, I’d be in town on a school day. The world seemed very strange, it would be a rare occurrence. I remember thinking the world is somehow different. The 4am Project is, in a way, very similar. Even the drive from my house to the location where everyone was meeting was peculiar. I noted that I didn’t meet a single car on my journey. The journey took 4 minutes, where sometimes could take 30. This was indeed an unusual occasion.

With the organiser (Karen Strunks) being based in Birmingham, something special was organised in partnership with the Birmingham Council and  the Birmingham UK City of Culture 2013 Bid Team. The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery was opened to the 4am crowd during the early hours.

Some Of My Photos From The Night

Video by Birmingham UK City of Culture 2013 Bid Team and Birmingham News Room

The great thing about the project is the shear number of people around the world all sharing their photos. I’ve shown some of the photos I took on the day, I urge you to take a look at some of the great photos taken as part of the project by people around the world.

On 03/04/2010 the English Defence League (EDL) came to Dudley to protest against a proposed new mosque to be built in the city. I was there to take photos and capture video of the day. This post is not the place for my personal opinion regarding the EDL. What follows are simply photos and videos that I captured from my particular physical standpoint.

It was interesting to see the use of twitter on the day. Chief Inspector Mark Payne of the West Midlands Police kept the public and journalists informed with up-to-the-minute updates of events. This way he was able to quash false rumours almost immediately. Journalists were able to stay in touch with him through this medium also. He has written a blog post about how he used twitter during the day.

UPDATE
The BBC have purchased some of the video footage I shot on the day for use in a documentary of their’s, Young, British and Angry

2010 see’s the return of the Flatpack Festival in Birmingham.

Described by the organisers as:

a lucky dip of the best new features, animation, documentaries, shorts, kids movies and experimental film, along with live scores, bus-tours, workshops, special guests and loads of free screenings.

The festival runs for 6 days (23rd-28th March 2010).

UPDATE:

After attending some of the events, including a workshop on film creation, I will definitely attend again next year. Here’s an article in the Guardian about it.