snapshots and observations

Tuesday 31 December 2013

2013. a review by me... mainly featuring photos of me.










january
my main memory of january is of being in thailand for two weeks.
january is also the month of my birthday.
( january 13th since you ask )

i do like thailand.

in fact i might well fly over there again next friday
( three days before my birthday )









as ever, i couldn't resist taking photos of myself in thailand
as ever, i looked just about as miserable as i could.









february
posing up with two of my friend m1's angels at a short lived project in wc1









in february i received this very limited edition pair of sneakers
converse year of the snake pro leather highs in a perspex box.
genius !









march
in march i had a very annoying shoot.
i was sent to the wrong address...
oh it's a long story.

in the end the pics were fine.









sadly it was the last shoot i did with my most punctual ever assistant... 
j-ro.

as she left sunny london to start a new life somewhere else
( i didn't really listen to her to be honest )


she was a good little assistant, though she did have a penchant for fancy dress,
and she did stare at me like paddington bear on at least one occasion on every shoot.









in march these quality albums turned up at whitfield towers
a gift from my friend chris in toronto.

as you know, i do like receiving packages through the post
( leave it )









april
in april i went to barcelona.
i stayed in hotel mirror.

as you can imagine, i did more than a few self-portraits there.









may
in may i was interviewed and photographed for a korean magazine









they kept asking me to smile
hmmm...









which let's face it, was never going to happen.
but i did my bit for anglo korean relations and in the photo they used 
in the magazine i do have a less than usually miserable expression.

i was on a bit of a far east roll in 2013 as i also had a couple of shoots in japan
one in china and sold t-shirts to japan, hong kong and singapore.









this photo was in may, in china...
just outside my hotel in beijing.









june
this was one of my favourite photos of the year.
nothing special, just a staff discussion about cheese in a restaurant high up in the shard.









also in june i did some photography to advertise design junction
the space was incredible and before i did the actual advertising shots
i did a few of myself









and one with angel 'a'
sitting on one of m1's sofas









july
in july i stayed a night in a hotel in leeds.
like a bad person i brought take-away fish and chips to my room.

you think that's bad, you should see what i brought to my hotel room
in edinburgh in november.









in july i photographed somebody with very nice hair
no... not this person









i mean this 
look at my barnet. 
it was pretty much perfect this day.
but maybe i need to work on my guns ?









august
in august i went to torquay.
whenever i go there i always photograph this ice cream display.









in august i made my first batch of t-shirts.
they went all over the world.
this is my friend marc in singapore
representing n7.









i also honed my mr breakfast making skills in the month of august
this effort was in god's own country









september
in september i flew to new york.
hours after landing i had a shoot with one of my favourite artists.
patrick earl 









later in the month i attended a girl on girl wedding ( or whatever they're called )
it was one of the nicest weddings i've been to in recent memory.
one of my highlights of the day was the food...
they only went and hired a fish and chip van to do the catering !
outstanding !
( though i must dock them a point for using a capital 'm' )









in september i did my final shoot with my favourite assistant ( for this year )
bad cop / bad cop









october
in october i holidayed in santorini.
it was ok i suppose.









i also was commissioned to shoot on 'the island'
at a restaurant owned and run by friends of mine.
they were very pleased to see me.









november
in november i had one of the best shoots of the year.
it wasn't a big shoot, it was just the most pleasant... the most fun.
the only one where i asked the police to get out of my way because
"some of us are trying to work here"

the only shoot of the year where i ended up in handcuffs.









the day after the previous photo, i flew to tokyo
tokyo means many things to me, but typically the thing it means most is...
omotsando koffee
my favourite coffee shop in the world.









also in tokyo i hooked up with my friends kana-chan and coco-chan
we did a little shoot together before heading off for a massive burger-fest.









december
in december i returned to the queue game.
with my friend tonytwentyone i was at piccadilly circus tube station 
at 5am for the launch of the nike x london underground air max 90's 
and air max 1's.









later that day i was supervising window installations at whitfield towers
in what was probably the big story of the year here in n7.

so now the year draws to a close and i can look back on 2013 fondly.
i have new friends, new shoes and new windows.

sure my expression is still miserable, my stories too long and my jokes are old

but i have new friends, new shoes and new windows.

and like a man who can't pronounce his "f's or his "t"s...

you cant say fairer than that.



what ?













see you in 2014 everybody


Monday 30 December 2013

a few more








a few more odd photos from my blog folder.


1
it's a long story









2
part of my christmas day haul.
a chocolate orange, wales sticker, orange masking tape, a brass ruler ( japanese )
and some kendal mint cake.
all perfectly acceptable gifts.









3
stepping up my slipper game.









4
testing the old overhead camera routine.









5
xmas day when i discovered that squirrels love fudge.









6
the fudge is out of focus in the foreground on the left here.









7
oi oi !









8
cheeky little thing.
i reckon he was after my nu... 
( you did that gag the other day - ed )









9
i like squirrels.









10
and i like socks.

in fact... i have something to tell you about socks.

hmmm... maybe i'll leave it until the new year.

big sock announcement to come in a few days then.







Sunday 29 December 2013

tidying up the blog folder









here are a few pics that have been kicking around my blog folder.



1
missoni hotel edinburgh.









2
standard procedure at the bull and last.









3
an orange flying disc that came free with a magazine i bought in tokyo.
good job it came with an instruction booklet.









4
a nice shirt by paul and joe.









5
stüssy socks.
perfect.









6
a plate featuring an angry man.
maybe i showed this photo previously ?
hmmm... i seem to remember mentioning his hair.









7
maharam digi camo bespoke af-1's
perfect for this season.









8
don't ask.









9
ok... do ask.









10
xmas at whitfield towers









11
with our very festive tree and baubles.









12
and some interesting looking presents.


more photos ( with more words ) tomorrow.