Work Update

I realize I've been working for over a month now, and have nothing to show for it on my blog. Here are some highlights:

Photo Galleries from my photos:
Fashion Week
Chinese New Year
London Snow Day

Photosynth:
Queen Mother Statue

Photo Galleries from Press Association photos:
Beijing Chinese New Year
Japanese Snow Festival
Plane Crash in NY
Australian Wildfires
Famous Flubs

Video:
Lent
Valentine's Day

Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet

Last Thursday, I learned I was attending London Fashion Week. That same day, I was offered to shoot Porsche. Yes, the car. Peter Bale, Executive Producer for MSN UK came to my desk to ask me on a photoshoot for a Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet. The team from MSN Cars was writing an article about the car and Porsche lent them the car for the week.

On Tuesday, February 24th, I rode in that Porsche. We started at 8:30am and went to the Cliveden House Hotel in BLANK. Mapquest said it was about 50 minutes outside of London-we got there much quicker. I will admit, driving through the English countryside in a Porsche creates a different experience than of my past tourist visits outside the city.

When we arrived at the house, we discovered more Porsches, a plethora of Porsches. Incidentally, Porsche was doing a photoshoot there as well! The same guys that rented us the car were there and welcomed me to shoot the other cars. They were due to leave early, but I snapped a few before they drove off.

The Cayman S Series

We made a pit stop at Windsor Castle to take a few pictures, and then headed back to work.

Later that day, I shot the new Queen Mother statue and made a Photosynth. Architect Philip Jackson designed the memorial of Queen Victoria and it was presented to the public. A photosynth is a program developed by Microsoft that allows viewers to see all angles of a photograph. Since I can’t really explain it- here are some good examples from the Web site
National Geographic –Stonehenge
St. Louis Post Dispatch –T-Rex Exhibit
And here is the one I created: Queen Mother Memorial.

London Fashion Week

February 20th started London Fashion Week. Buyers and fashion enthusiasts look at the upcoming trends for the season and London is among the biggest fashion weeks next to Milan, Paris, and New York City.As an MSN news intern, I was fortunate enough to preview the first show of the week.

Admittedly, my only experience with fashion is the copious episodes of “Project Runway” I watch each season back home in America. When I actually heard someone utter, “Make it work,” the slogan of guru Tim Gunn, I felt like I had stepped (with high heeled shoes of course) into Heidi Klum’s world.I was clueless for expectations. After wandering around before the show, I joined the queue going into the catwalk tent. Once inside, I found that the audience was just as impeccably dressed as the models. Fashion did not stop at the catwalk, especially for this front row viewer.

The London Fashion Week celebrated its 25th anniversary this February. Usually held at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, the show will move in September to Somerset House. The week is organised by the British Fashion Council and funded by sponsors. For the last seven seasons, Canon Europe has been the primary sponsor. According to the Fashion Week website, the show generates £20 million to the London economy with direct spending and £100m in orders for the region.

When the show was about to start, the audience was blacked out and the runway was lit up brighter than Parliament at night. The models started to walk down the catwalk towards a wall of photographers' flashes. The facial expression variety in the models I observed astounded me. Their faces matched the outfits, if that is possible to believe. This model looks mart and sassy with this pocket dress, but later elegant and aloof in an evening gown.

The designer I previewed was Paul Costelloe. Originally from Dublin, Costelloe has five stand-alone stores and has his lines in many other stores throughout the UK. Princess Diana as well as Liza Minelli have both worn Costelloe’s clothing. I felt like I had arrived in a potato sack with a camera as my only accessory.

Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” blasted from surround sound speakers for the first half of the show. Models came pouring out from behind a white stage and paraded down the catwalk. I discovered that unlike most other fashion shows I had seen on the TV, Costelloe’s clothing was much more down to earth than I had expected. Reading his bio, I discovered his goal was to clothe ‘real’ women, not just models.

Large hair that would have done any 80s rocker proud stayed completely still as models took over the catwalk. Clearly, neon is back in fashion as every eye shadow colour bordered Day Glo shorts. Dramatic eyes and bright red lips took away the need for extravagant jewellery.

Photography Protest in Scotland Yard

Today (2/16/09) at work I had an interesting experience. At around 10:30am, the photo editor hustles over to my desk and says ‘Grab your camera, we’re going to a photography protest.” Not one to ask for details, I hurried my rear after him. He told me that currently, political activists were trying to pass legislation banning the photographing of policemen due to the threat of terrorism. Um, do you know ANY terrorist event that has resulted from the photographing of policemen? No? Shocking.

A man pins a sticker on 'V' that says, "I'm a photographer, not a terrorist."

Such the custom of London, photographers staged a protest. My fourth protest was the most calm; an officer took down only one person. Mostly, participants took pictures of the police standing outside the New Scotland Yard. A few people were dressed up in Guy Fawkes/V for Vendetta attire and nearly everyone had a camera constantly clicking.

Three protesters flick off Scotland Yard.

I call this one: Three Bald Men.

Double fisting.

Check out the death stare.

Mark Thomas speaks at the protest.

At the end of the day, as much as I like my rights as a photographer, I felt bad for the policemen that had to organize the riots. Some photographers got in their faces to take pictures, which would have more than pushed my buttons. Alas, maybe I am a softie after all.