London

24Photography 2011

| Zapfly

For the second year running, I have been part of the 24Photography artist’s group, an annual photography exhibition documents New Year’s Day. As usual, the exhibition opened on 24th February.  This year, there were around 500 people in attendance, with representation from various London newspapers.

As one of the photographers involved, we have embarked on an ambitious project that will span a generation, creating a pictorial social documentary to record what New Year’s Day represents – not only as a one off event – but also as an on-going and developing catalogue of what the end of one year and beginning of another comes to represent over time.

For my entry this year, I wanted to prove to myself that my work was not about the technology but what you do with it.  So, I chose to shoot all of my work on a Nokia N8 phone.  None of the guests could believe that a phone was able to take such clear images.

The exhibition is running for 24 days in Berkeley Square, Mayfair.  Nearest tube station is Green Park.  Please pop along and take a look.

Useful links:
24Photography website: http://www.24photography.org/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/24photography
Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=6072707497
Facebook event information: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=181781975193369

Listings:

  1. Professional Photographer
  2. Telegraph Arts & Entertainment
  3. Hotshoe International
  4. Time Out
  5. Flavorpill
  6. What’s On Guide
  7. Aesthetica Magazine
  8. Artslant
  9. Art Calendr
  10. Evening Standard
  11. IndieLondon
  12. The List

Printed Press:

  • Mayfair Times
  • AOP  IMAGE
  • IN London – Highlight of the Month
  • Amateur Photographer Magazine
  • Evening Star – Double Page Spread
  • Ham and High Express
  • EADT – Double page Spread Photo Essay
  • Hammersmith and Kensington Times
  • Hackney Gazette
  • Westminster Chronicle

Meet the Iceland 2010 team: Julien

| Zapfly

Finally, the last member of the team is me.

I have been an ardent cyclist for years, braving the London commute on two wheels for over a decade. I have several war wounds to prove this as London motorists and pedestrians are a careless bunch sometimes.

From an expedition perspective, I have had a few adventures in my time. Last year I cycled 4200km to Nordkapp, the most northern point in Norway and indeed, Europe. The year before, I cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats. Other outdoor pursuits include rock climbing, mountaineering, trekking, sailing and so forth in lots of interesting place around the world.

I am fortunate enough to have a good excuse in that being a photographer, it is all part of my day job. I am not sure if anyone believes this but what the heck, it works for me.

When I am not in the wilderness, I am an online specialist and have been privileged to have worked at many of London’s finest agencies, including The Team, Blsat Radius, Head London, Endemol and Imagination to name but a few.

In recent weeks, I have been cycling around 120 miles a week in preparation for this ride. However, there is no experience like being out on the open road and Iceland has long been a dream of mine. I just hope that Angelique and Dave do not want to kill me for dragging them to the Island of Ice and Fire (or is that Tierra del Fuego?).

My other preparations for this trip include trying to part you generous people from your cash by way of sponsorship and fund raising. In fact, rather than dismantling my bike for the flight next Saturday today, I have been writing to lots of newspapers, magazines and companies to see if I can rustle up any interest to back the expedition and the Kids First Trust. So, if you have a fiver in your pocket burning a hole, please do donate to a most worthwhile cause at my Just Giving page.

Welcome to Team Iceland 2010.

Cycling for the Kids First Trust

| Zapfly

Each year I like to raise money for a worthy charity when I undertake my annual cycling challenge.  This year I have chosen Kids First Trust after speaking with an old Raleigh International friend of mine, Gloria, who also happens to be the CEO.  The Kids First Trust is a children’s charity that makes kids the centre of all their actions, such as developing core skills and competencies as well as providing vital funding support for a variety of needs.

If you would like to find out more about Kids First Trust, you can visit their website: www.kidsfirsttrust.org

I believe that the money we raise from this year’s cycle ride will go towards one of the Kids First Trust´s Playground partnerships.  More on this soon.  In the meantime, you can donate to this extremely worthwhile cause via my fundraising page on Just Giving.

If you want to find out any more information about the Kids First Trust, here are their contact details:

Tel: 020 7837 0044
Email: info@kidsfirsttrust.org

Join their Facebook Group

Day 1: London to Faversham

| tom@Childsi

Hello, my name is Tom Phillips. I will be updating Julien’s blog with news from the road as he travels from London to Nordkapp, the most northern point of mainland Europe. Julien is embarking upon this epic journey of around 2,500 miles, to raise money and support for the wonderful charity the Child’s i Foundation. So please do your bit by donating money on Julien’s Just Giving site and by visiting the Child’s i website. Thank you!

So on to the first day – unfortunately things haven’t gone exactly according to plan! This morning Julien discovered that his bike and gear was going to be a little too heavy for such a long trip. Once some excess baggage was removed Julien set out only to discover his speedometer had broken, this was then followed by a puncture on the rear tyre of his brand new bike!

To add to this Julein had to contend with some very inacurate ordinance survey maps which had him cycling down dead ends and alleyways. To catch up on his mile target Julien decided to veer off the planned route and head along the A226 for some quicker riding. So there weren’t too many exciting sights on the way today, but Julien did mention that he saw some great views whilst cycling through Erith in South London. As the weather turned nasty late this afternoon Julien decided to forgo camping and has instead settled down in a B&B just outside Faversham.

Overall he clocked up 70 miles today – not bad going considering the slow start. Let’s hope for a better day tomorrow as Julien catches the ferry to Dunkirk and begins his journey across Belgium.

A Google Map of the journey so far!

My book, a presentation and Gok

| Zapfly

What a month it has been! So much has been happening since the end of February. My principle focus has been on completing my first book. I am so close now that I can smell the ink drying on the first draft. My book is all about my cycle ride last year from Lands End to John O’Groats. I will be utilising the Blurb platform to publish it. It is a mixture of journal and landscape photography. Watch this space.

Other news includes all the preparation for this year’s cycle adventure, London to Nordkapp. I aim to be off within the first half of June. I have decided to cycle along the North Sea Route for part of the way. This will take me through England, over the channel to Belgium, then on through The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and eventually, Norway.

En route to John O'Groats

I gave a presentation to the good people of the Child’s I Foundation last week as I shall be supporting their cause for this cycle adventure. I hope to have a few bloggers filling in for me whilst I am away. Relaying information from the various corners of northern Europe should be an interesting challenge but something to relish rather than fear!

I will start to post more information about the route in the next week, along with preparations and training. Ending on an exciting note, I did a shoot last week for the Gok Fashion Fix show website that will appear on the Channel 4 platform. Hyperlinks will be available from this Tuesday / Wednesday.

Getting back on the road

| Zapfly

Fit for a long cycle ride?

By way of getting this year’s cycling adventures off the ground, I shall be organising a London to Paris cycle ride.  It will act as a pre-curser to my long summer ride.  Has anybody completed the London to Paris cycle ride?  Was the route taken an interesting one?  I am looking at two different options, both of which should take about 4 days of cycling with a fifth day to return to the UK.

Unfortunately, my cycling companions for this summer’s excursion to Scandinavia have pulled out of the ride. This means that I will be completing the ride along. From a filmic point of view, I suspect the journey will be a lot more introspective than it might otherwise have been. Spending five weeks alone on the road, through all types of terrain and weather will most certainly be character-building.

On the plus side, going solo means that I will be able to grab as many shot as I choose. With the advent of digital photography, the need to carry bags of film has been replaced with the need to find power points to keep your kit fully charged and functional. I ordered a new Canon EOS 5D II a couple of weeks ago to fulfil my photographic needs on this summer’s ride but it looks as though I will have a wait on my hands as many people seem to be chasing the illusive supply of 5Ds. At least it means my 24mm lens will actually be 24mm and not 36mm as it is on my Canon EOS D20. The camera has served me well but after thousands of actuations, it is beginning to get rather long in the tooth.

One of the key outlets I have for my photography after an expedition of this nature is via publishing a book, thanks to the advent of affordable self-publishing. To this end, I am working on a book documenting last year’s cycle ride. I have almost finished the first draft and hope to have the first versions available in the next 6-8 weeks. I will be using Blurb as they have the best publishing software, although I have just looked at Lulu and they offer a package with an ISBN, essential if you are keen to sell online through the likes of Amazon and via bookshops.

Has anyone got any feedback on any of these service providers?

Sports Programme Manager

| Zapfly

Along with my various photographic endeavours, I like to combine my work with expedition style material. This can range from mountaineering to trekking, or in more recent times, long distance cycle rides. To that end, I like to complete at least one sponsored ride per year.

This year, I may well end up completing at least two. The reason for this increase in altruism is mainly due to joining forces with a new charity called the Childs i Foundation (CiF). They are raising funds to build an orphanage in Uganda for all the parentless children who are abandoned after the recent turmoil the country has suffered. I have been given the lofty title of Sports Programme Manager, which is nice.

So, one of my new jobs is to create some exciting sports programmes to raise money for the charity. First on the cards for me is getting my plans together for this summer’s ride, which I shall be doing for CiF. There are a couple of plans afoot at present, both of which involve Scandinavia. Pete and Mary should be joining me, so that will be really exciting. At present, we are deciding whether to head to Iceland or cycle from London via a ferry journey from Harwich to Esbjerg in Denmark, via Sweden and Finland up to Nordkapp, at the northern tip of Norway. Either option should be exciting but time will be the critical determinant in the end.

The other ride I will be looking at completing will be a quick four day stint from London to Paris. This will be the first ride that I organise on behalf of Childs i Foundation, so hopefully it will prove to be a popular ride. If everyone is altruistic in their approach, giving their time to help put the even together rather than just raise funds in isolation, this should be both a very accessible and comparatively inexpensive endeavour for volunteers.

More on this once I have looked into it further with my lovely CiF colleagues.

London mash up

| Zapfly

Trashed handlebars

The weather was just so good today, I decided to down tools a take a break from conquering the world of photography to go for a burn on the bike instead. As London is a mental place, I decided to do laps of Regents Park, which is just over 3 miles per circumnavigation.

After fighting the urge to power through 10 laps, I soon settled into a comfortable pack. After a few laps, I thought I might even push my self a little further and cycle 40 miles as the weather was so good and the cycling that pleasant.

I was joined by Doug, a Scot who happened to be out on his rounds in Regents Park. We chatted for a while about cycling, Le jog, this and that really. It was thoroughly enjoyable cycling with someone else rather than merely doing solo laps.

On my last lap, I told Doug that I wanted to put the hammer down and crack out one fast lap. I notched the pace up to 25mph and sped off. While passing the junction between York Bridge and the Outer Circle, a taxi turned in front of me, followed closely behind by a motorbike. Although I shouted a warning, it was already too late and I clipped the back of the bike as he turned across my path.

The next thing I remember is flying through the air upside down, staring at the traffic and Doug on his bike behind me. Then next moment, I was earthward bound and inverted, having left my bicycle behind me somewhere. With the grace of a one legged cat, I landed heavily on my back. Fortunately for me, I happened to have my bumbag on laden with a full water bottle, which most kindly adsorbed the brunt of the impact.

After various remonstrations, I struggled to my feet and limped to the side of the road where Doug was inspecting my bike. He was able to unlock the breaks and straighten my handlebars so I could pedal my compressed bicycle with bent front forks, buckled front wheel, trashed seat, broken computer, bent pedal crank and derailed chain.

Although the bike driver was most congenial and apologetic, my bicycle is now trashed. I will have to have it evaluated and fixed but suffice it to say, this will not be done quickly enough. So, until I receive my new bike towards the end of next week, I will not be able to train, which is a bummer this close to the start date.

That's gonna cost a bit to get foxed...

Anyway, if anyone has a bicycle I could borrow for the next week that would be real handy. In the meantime, I am going to convalesce and let all the bruising and swelling go down. I have the feeling that tomorrow, I am going to hurt like hell!