Sunderland Echo - Part 2

And just to finish off my earlier blog - here, as promised, are the other 4 images that were published in the Sunderland Echo in 2009. Thanks! Catch ya later, Ash

My Work In The Sunderland Echo

Hello again folks!

Well, as 2009 comes to and end I thought I'd add a few more images to my blog. I've been very busy lately due to a demand for my framed images in the run-up to Christmas, so I haven't had the opportunity to get out with my camera. So, maybe this is the best time to take a retrospective peep at some of my 2009 images that I've had published in my local newspaper, the Sunderland Echo.

Every now and then they run an article called 'Picture Perfect' which displays photographs that have been submitted by readers of the newspaper. I've submitted eight of my own over the last few months and it was nice to see them all published. Some of them (shown below) were also published on the daily 'Letters Page' and I will be submitting more of my work during 2010.

I also intend to target one or two other local publications such as 'North-East Life' and my local 'Houghton Community Times' brochure. We'll see what happens about that in the next few weeks and I'll post any developments here on my blog.

Here is half of the images I submitted, with the other four to follow very shortly. Each one is featured on my website so feel free to pop over and view them in better quality. Cheers, Ash

Simple Minds - Live At Sheffield Arena

When the house lights went down it was a swift move from Row 4 to the front - what a great view! The venue was packed and it was time for the headline act - Simple Minds. A huge cheer greeted the band as they made their way on to the stage, one by one. As expected, it was frontman Jim Kerr who was last to make his entry, as the opening song 'Sanctify Yourself' kicked off a great show. Simple Minds, who are Jim Kerr (lead vocals), Charlie Burchill (lead guitar), Eddie Duffy (bass) and Mel Gaynor (drums) were accompanied by Andy Gillespie (keyboards) and Sarah Brown (backing vocals).

It was hard to believe that we were standing in such a great position next to the stage, with the band performing just a few feet away. Every now and then Charlie Burchill and Eddie Duffy would swap places on stage so we got a close-up of each guitarist throughout the show. This was great for me, standing there with me little Fuji compact, waiting for those photo opportunities. There were plenty of them too. At times the light was low and this threw up the odd challenge here and there as I tinkered with the camera settings to get some good shots. There was an official snapper in the pit, just in front of me, and I couldn't help wishing I was in his shoes with my DSLR. I reckon I could have done some damage with me trusty old Nikon!

Once again it was a case of 'Do the best you can, with what you've got'. When I looked behind me I realised how lucky I was to be standing at the front. There were thousands of people and even the folks 'In the gods' looked like they were making the most of it. As the night wore on Simple Minds got better and better, churning out a string of well known hits with a sprinkling of new material in between. Highlights for me were I Travel, Moscow Underground, New Gold Dream, Waterfront & Someone Somewhere In Summertime, amongst others. The band played on and on.

I wasn't too sure what to expect before the gig. I'm not a big Minds fan to be honest, as I lost interest after the 1982 album 'New Gold Dream', which is still an all-time favourite of mine. Although I'd seen the band put on a great show in 2006, during the Black And White' tour, I wasn't overly excited about tonight's gig. However, on reflection it has to be said that this was one of the best concerts I've attended. I wish I'd bought a recording of show, which was available on memory stick in the foyer afterwards. Twenty quid they wanted. Kept me money for a kebab on the way home though. Aye, nowt gets in the way of me hungry belly, eh folks!

OMD - Live At Sheffield Arena

Orchestral Manoevres In The Dark, better known as OMD, were the support band for Simple Minds during their 2009 arena tour. Here at Sheffied Arena the venue was only half full when OMD began their 60 minute set, but they quickly got into their stride by belting out hits from their back catalogue. The band comprises of Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass & keyboards), Paul Humpreys (keyboards), Martin Cooper (keyboards) and Malcolm Holmes (drums).

The first couple of rows were taken up by die-hard OMD fans who managed to secure the best seats when their pre-sales tickets went on sale a day before the Simple Minds pre-sale link went live. Never mind, we were in row 4, dead centre, which could have been a lot worse considering the size of the venue. The overall sound was excellent and OMD played a great set, including Enola Gay, Forever Live And Die, Souvenir & Sailing On The Seven Seas. It was during 'Seven Seas' that the legendary 'Shirlo' (friend and long time Simple Minds fan) donned her dancing shoes and put in a bit of light entertainment nearby. Aye, a right laugh. Nice one Shirlo!

OMD returned to the stage later in the evening, joining Simple Minds to perform a version of Kraftwerk's Neon Lights, which was warmly received by the crowd. The support slot was a great warm-up for the headline act and OMD were every bit as good as the last time I saw them in Newcastle as part of the 30th Anniversary Tour. Andy McCluskey was showered with ladies underwear during the 60 minute set. I hope me missus doesn't go berserk when she realizes half of her knicker drawer has gone missing...he he (wink)!

Joe Cornish Exhibition - Newcastle

This one was by invite. The venue was Digitalab in Ouseburn, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.
The weather today has been awful so I was quite glad to sit this one out and let my friend take on the driving duties in treacherous conditions, it has to be said. Mind you, travelling in a Nissan Murano along the A1(M) seems like a safe bet in even the worst of conditions, but when you're not paying attention to the Sat-Nav, you're asking for bother. Yak yak yak.

We got there in the end though. Digitalab is situated on Stepney Bank, Ouseburn. They specialise in the production and finishing of highest quality photographic printing. On the premises is a small gallery, which is where the stunning landscape photography of Joe Cornish was being displayed today.

Joe Cornish Biography :
Joe was born in Exeter in 1958. He studied art at Reading University, where he first came under the spell of photography. After graduating in 1980, two years assisting in Washington DC and two years assisting studio and car photographers in London prepared him for a career in mainstream commercial photography.
It never happened. His passion for the outdoors encouraged him first to pursue travel work. A meeting with Charlie Waite in 1986 helped provide both an important and ongoing source of inspiration, friendship and mutual cooperation. From 1986 to 1995 Joe was responsible for either all or the majority of the photography in more than thirty travel books. An assignment with Raleigh International in 1991 was to inspire an abiding love of wild places and wilderness, and ultimately to alter the direction of his work. Around the same time he began a working relationship with the National Trust photolibrary that continues to this day, and this experience has convinced him of the vital role photography plays in inspiring environmental conservation.

Joe knew that his first photographic hero, Ansel Adams, had built his reputation as a landscape photographer by working in Yosemite Valley as a warden for eight years. If London had been a necessary phase in his photographic apprenticeship, it was never going to provide the backdrop for practising the skills needed for landscape. Moving to North Yorkshire in 1993 was a vital first step to fulfilling this goal. Towards the end of 1995, after a frustrating assignment doing travel photography in Greece he made the decision to devote his photography to landscape in general, and wild places in particular. He began this process shooting on the Horseman SW 612 wide-angle camera, but after a year switched completely to 5x4 inch. He has been using various versions of the 5x4 Ebony field camera ever since.

The North York Moors and coast are Joe's personal Yosemite, and other outstanding landscapes of northern England have been a further source of inspiration not too far away. He also has a deep affinity for Scotland's magnificent coast and mountains, and has travelled widely throughout the UK for the National Trust, specialising in particular on the coastline. He believes he must have seen as much of the British coast from the land, as anyone else alive.

Joe has continued to be involved in books, having contributed heavily to many National Trust publications, especially Coast and Countryside, published in 1996. His first book as an author was First Light, a Landscape Photographers Art, 2002, now in its fifth printing. More recently he wrote and photographed Scotland's Coast, a Photographer's Journey, and shot the pictures for Urbino, (a hill town in central Italy) a rare departure into architectural photography.

He writes regularly for Outdoor Photography and Amateur Photographer magazines, and his work has been featured in (American) Outdoor Photographer magazine. In January 2006 Amateur Photographer honoured him with their annual Power of Photography award.

In 1999 Joe started Joegraphic, with designers Joni and Joe Essex, a business devoted to producing a range of cards and calendars. This has since grown and is now developing into Joe Cornish Galleries as a trademark. It includes the production of limited edition prints, two galleries, and embraces a publishing programme that also features the work of other fine photographers.

Joe has given lectures on landscape photography throughout the UK and as far afield as New Zealand. He is an experienced workshop leader, having led tours for Charlie Waite's company, Light and Land for a decade, and also for Inversnaid photography workshops. Photographic companies who work with Joe include Lee Filters, Fujifilm UK, Gitzo and Lowepro.

Todays exhibition was a preview for the main event, 'An Evening With Joe Cornish' which takes place on Tuesday 1st December. Work commitments scuppered any chance of me attending the event and meeting Joe in person, so today's preview was the nearest I was going to get to see the man's work up close for the first time. There wasn't a great deal of exhibits, but what was on display was of the highest quality in every photographic sense. Each image was mounted and framed before being signed by the artist and then promptly priced between £400-£500.00 each! Quite steep you may suggest, but anyone who knows their photographic onions would agree that imagery of such a high standard as this deserves to command such a fee.

Each image had been printed 'In house' using the latest high-end large format printing equipment. As the images were of local interest I could relate to them quite easily, as I'd often walked these locations before, unknowingly re-tracing the steps of Joe Cornish. There were images of Holy Island, Budle Bay, Dunstanburgh Castle and St Mary's Lighthouse. At a quick turn there were postcards of Newcastle Quayside, Angel Of The North and Roseberry Topping. Each one was breathtaking and the bar was most definately set for any photographer wishing to reach the standard Joe Cornish has set.

My friend introduced me to Jill Roe, exhibitions manager at Digitalab. The three of us had a chat about Joe's work and she said how excited she was about the forthcoming event where visitors could meet Joe in person. I told Jill of my own interest in photography and printing techniques before she gave us a tour of the printing studio upstairs. This was a very modern 'State of the art' set-up. I have a large A3+ inkjet myself, but some of these big boys made mine look like an Oxo cube in comparison. Then again, when you're shelling out £175,000 for a printer you obviously mean business. We were shown a large collection of top quality prints in finest detail on a variety of media, including photo papers, canvas wraps and fujiflex.

This was definately well worth a look out. Very much a case of 'Food For Thought.'

In the meantime, why not take a look at the work of Joe Cornish - a genius in his field.

Finally, a link to Digitalab.

Thanks, Ash

Gary Numan - Live At Sunderland Campus

What a nice surprise - Gary Numan playing a live show in Sunderland instead of Newcastle. The venue was the Campus Academy, and this was the north-east leg of the 'Pleasure Principle' tour. Gary had already successfully toured his 1980 album 'Telekon' so it seemed a natural choice to get back on the road and play the 'PP' album in a similar fashion. It's been 30 years since the release of that album so I was interested in how it would be performed after all this time. Would it be played live as it was back in the day, or would Gary opt for a contemporary 'Beefed Up' rendition?

On arrival at the venue we were met by a very long queue at the door. I wasn't expecting that! Still 15 minutes before the doors open too. My compact camera was tucked away but the likelihood of getting a good spot near the front looked...well...unlikely.

It wasn't long before we were out of the cold and indoors, and I must say the concert room was bigger than I had first anticipated. The walls were covered with American style memorabilia and although the stage looked a bit cramped with all that gear, I was still expecting a great show once the music kicked in.

The support act 'Dirty Harry' were quite good. Loud, proud and very much live. A quick changeover and the main event started around 9pm. Numan's band quickly got into their stride, kicking off with the 'Pleasure Principle album and a couple of extra songs from that period. I'm not sure why there were 4 keyboard players though, one of which was Gary himself.

The music was excellent, just as I had hoped it would be. The synths were as powerful as always and on reflection it was quite hard to believe that these songs were actually written 30 years ago!

Well, I managed to grab a few shots, but being a few rows back hindered my chances of pulling in some big ones, plus the lighting was quite poor for 'Point And Shoot' photography. After Gary and the band had played the 'PP' album in its entireity the mood quickly changed as the more recent darker songs were introduced. Not really my cuppa tea to be honest folks, but quite a few of the punters were well into it. Towrds the end of the show we got 'Down In The Park', 'Are Friends Electric' and 'We Are So Fragile' before the final track 'A Prayer For The Unborn'. A great way to finish the night. This was probably the best Numan gig I'd been to and it was great to hear the live versions of an album which was the first one I ever bought back in '79. Showing me age now, eh!

Ah...the days of vinyl records...

Later, Ash

Edinburgh Stop Over

It's was back up the A1 motorway again and my fourth visit to Edinburgh of 2009. This time it was a one night stopover on the way to Livingston, a town approximately thirteen and a half miles south-west of Edinburgh. The rain scuppered any chance of me grabbing some early evening low-light shots of the illuminated castle, which was top of my photography wish-list during our brief stopover. Infact, I didn't manage any photography at all on Sunday night and it wasn't too long before we were back in our hotel on the City's High Street.

The following morning I awoke early and headed up the Royal Mile towards Edinburgh Castle. The sun had just risen and it quickly disappeared behind the low cloud cover on the horizon. At this time I was in the castle car park overlooking the rooftops towards the west. It's a spectacular view alright, with the hills in the distance and some of the finest architecture in the foreground. It was very chilly, which was to be expected at this time of year, and particularly at such a high vantage point. But no visit to Edinburgh would be complete without a visit to the castle so the customary 'Showing of the face' happened once again. It was a pity that the weather last night got in the way of what was potentially a perfect opportunity to get the shots I was after. Oh well, maybe next time.

At mid-day we headed out of the City and back onto the A1, homeward bound. With the belly rumbling once again it was a case of a quick detour into Eyemouth to sample another helping of delicious haggis & chips. This was the third haggis I'd pouched in the space of 24 hours! Dear me, I must go sit in the corner and have a quiet word with ones self (wink).

All in all, an enjoyable visit to both Edinburgh and Livingston.
Cheers, Ash