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20.07.10
Grace
Nice photo usage in today's Guardian of Grace Jones at Lovebox over the ... more »
01.01.10
Should Old Aqaintance pt 4
Wow, start of a new decade...yet another new decade. Decayed would be more apt...
It seems so long since we wre all shit scared the the Y2K bug was going to wipe us all out doesn't it but we've made it into the twenty tens somehow, despite the powers that be doing their best to make it as uncomfortable a journey as possible with war, famine, plague and pestilence...I'm sure I've read that before elsewhere....it'll come to me. Anyway, despite their best efforts mankind has managed to soldier on for another few years.
On a more personal note the last decade has seen more highs and lows than I care to recall. It all started out so well and promising and yet ended with such a whimper. It has to improve....Saying that I go into the new decade in a strange and unusual place. For the first time in my life I find myself unemployed which is both scary and exciting at the same time. Not sure my debtors will view it that way though. So 2010 brings a lot of challenges. Having turned 50 this year though and unemployed you can't but help think that you've reached the gates of life's scrapheap a little bit too soon. The photography side is going very well though so that's a big bonus and one I wasn't so sure of this time last year. In fact it's been a very good year photographic wise and the year finished on a high with a half page usage in The Observer of Paul McCartney's Christmas show at the o2.
In fact I had lots of photo use this year around the world and it's still always a thrill to pick up a magazine and see one of your photos.
2009 started out good actually. A few hatchets from the past were buried and some bridges rebuilt with old friends. Lots of new friends were made too, good reliable people. A few hiccups along the way but overall not too bad. A few notable people went out of my life too and I wish them all the best with their own life journey. Whereas the previous year had seen some health problems I managed to stay pretty good this year but health has still played a major part of the year for me with a close friend being ill and my biggest wish for 2010 is that it proves a good one for him.
I did some really satisfying stuff this year and things I want to build on for this coming year and have, for the first time I can remember, made some resolutions which, 13 hours into the year, I've managed to keep! Time will tell how long those last...
I'd like to thank everyone who's been in touch...well the good ones anyway. It's always a pleasure to hear from you and although I've been fairly quite on here, writing wise, I do appreciate you taking the time to email etc.
I was reminded yesterday that my old boss is playing the superbowl in February. I found some photos of the band last time they played to such a huge TV audience back in the dim and distant past at the start of the millenium, when they played the Concert for New York. My major disappointment then was that I didn't have the camera gear I use now and was using only cheap stuff. On the day of the rehearsal I dropped my camera and it decided to play up for the rest of the trip. I went down to 5th to buy a new one but ended up buying a camcorder instead, which worked out fine really as I managed to film the whole of the band's show from the side of the stage, getting a different angle to the official release. Backstage though a better camera would have come in very handy as the band's dressing room was packed with all sorts of people - Clinton, The Stones, Elton John, Harrison Ford amongst them. It even captured Roger's first meeting with Mike Myers...which almost led to him playing Keith Moon in the still to be made movie. Here's a small collage of some of those photos:
Good luck to the band with the Superbowl, I'm sure they will blow everyone away.
I usually add a few of my own personal highlights of the year around this time so I may as well carry on that tradition.
Best film: District 9
Best live act: Difficult but I'm going to go for two - Florence and the Machine and Editors.
Best CD release: Cat Stevens and Editors.
Best act to photograph: Hmmnnn Yoko, Florence and The Mars Volta but too many to choose really.
That's about it, onwards and upwards.....hopefully! I hope 2010 is a wonderful new year for everyone out there. I hope we all manage to live together and don't fuck it up!
Cheers,
Matt