Lomostyle, part 1

A few years ago, my brother gave me a Lomography Action Sampler camera for my birthday. Basically, instead of just capturing one photo when the button is pressed, the camera takes four pictures a fraction of a second apart. The resulting images all appear on the same print.

In theory, these pics should capture the movement of the subject, or the camera, when the photo was taken. In reality, it doesn't quite work that way. The flash isn't quite in sync with the shutter, so there's often a dark quarter, and I haven't quite gotten used to the framing. But things like these just add to the random nature of the photos. In fact, some of the best pics are ones that have gone wrong, in a traditional sense.

Having gone through all the films I've taken since being given the camera, I've compiled a set of my 40 favourites. In the tradition of the Action Sampler, I'll be splitting these picture over the next 4 entries.

So, without further ado, here's Lomostyle, part 1:

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Wake me up before you go go

"If the rope goes slack, let go. If you do fall keep your mouth shut."

I've been wakeboarding several times, once in the sea off a Sardinian beach and a couple of times in a lake near Drayton Manor, just outside Birmingham. Slightly different locations, yes, but one thing was constant, I was being towed by a motor boat.

On Saturday, as a joint birthday celebration with Luke, a group of us ventured to the John Battle Water Ski centre, which, in keeping with the theme (no pun intended) set by the brummie ventures, is next to Thorpe Park. The problem with the lake at JBSki is that, instead of a boat, the boarders are towed by a cable. Being pulled by a cable, travelling at a constant speed, is tricky to say the least, and that's where the instructions quoted at the beginning of this post came in.

Essentially, the wakeboarding trip turned into being repeatedly pulled face-first, mouth open (obvs), into a ridiculously cold, murky lake at high speed by a cable I'm pretty sure was designed and built by Skynet.

To make it worse, when I thought I might have mastered the kneeboard that cable beginners have to complete two laps on before graduating to the proper, upright board, I'd come rocketing off in the furthest point of the lake from the start. This meant I would then have to swim to the nearest jetty. You'd have thought that having a board that is essentially buoyant would aid in this matter, but no, of course not. And then, once I'd got to the jetty, I'd had to haul myself onto a thick layer of goose shit of varying freshness. Considering that I only spotted two geese, and I spent a lot of time walking round that sodding lake, that was actually quite impressive.

Another problem was the temperature. Despite the fact that it had supposedly risen in the past week, it was very much still within the period known as 'the coldest time of year for open water'. I'd have loved to carry on, and make it past the first corner on a wakeboard, having so expertly got onto my feet at first attempt, but it was too cold. Really, it was ridiculously cold. Not-fun cold.

Next time, and there probably will be a next time, I think I'll wait for it to warm up, a lot. And for there to be a boat towing me, rather than an unorganic metal wire that corners at extremely wakeboard-unfriendly right angles.

I've been able to look back and laugh though. It was definitely worth going. Save for Luke, who pretty much a pro when it comes to being dragged over water on a board, we were all similarly rubbish. And today, having used muscles that I didn't know I had, or, actually, used areas of my body where having muscles really would have come in handy, I feel like I've been hit by a truck.

But so what, it's my birthday tomorrow!

Viewing greatness

More fluff

Just a quick note to say that Errol, the photographer who you might remember took photos of me and my trainers, has had his photos from last week's Fluff SB launch party published on Aussie trainer website Sneaker Freaker.

Check them out here.

Marie and I, local celebrities that we are, got papped:

The sound of my shoes

The trainer queue. It's something I've only ever read about. Anything from a handful to hundreds of dedicated souls waiting outside a shop for anything from a few hours up to a week to get their feet into that special pair of trainers on the morning of release. This weekend, I finally bit the bullet and tried out the experience for myself. But the queue is just part of the story...

On Friday night, I was lucky enough to get an invitation to the UK release of the Fluff SB book launch. The book, presented by Nike Skateboarding and dutch skateboard magazine Fluff, comprises photographs by Marcel Veldman, following 117 riders from the European Nike SB teams on various tours through 19 European countries.

To celebrate the book release, there's an exhibition of photos from the UK content of the book at the Nike Sportswear London shop, 1948.


The show opened on Saturday, but I was there for the party on Friday night. As most of the photos were taken in Ramsgate, the exhibition has a traditional British seaside resort theme, with the photos displayed on the walls of beach huts.

Keeping with the theme, there was also free Nike SB/Fluff rock. And a free copy of the (600-page, 5kg) book for everyone who was invited. There was also free beer. Lots of free beer.

After the Nike party, it was on to party two. It started out as Kate's birthday party, but soon turned into a celebration of Kate and Steph's engagement.

Getting home from drunken karaoke at about 2am, I went to bed for about two-and-a-half hours before getting up and heading out into the snow to pick up one of 12 pairs of Nike Zoom Bruin SBs, designed by the people at Fluff magazine, that were released to promote the Fluff SB book.

Swaddled in all my warmest clothes, some of which I hadn't worn since climbing Mount Kenya in the summer of 1997, I got (back) to 1948 (the aforementioned shop, rather than the year) around 6am, definitely feeling the after-effects of the free booze consumed in the very same place not 12 hours before. There were two people already there. They'd turned up at 1am and slept in their car. Between then and 10.30, when the shop opened, people turned up in dribs and drabs, until there were about 16 people (unfortunately for the last four, the fact that there were only 12 pairs had previously been just been a rumour).

Despite one of the guys in front of me also being a size 8, I was very happy to pick up a pair in my size. Very happy, very relieved and ridiculously tired. All in all, the trainer queue was an enjoyable experience, but not one I'm planning in making a habit of.

For those of you with an interest in photography or skateboarding, the Fluff SB exhibition runs until 14th February and it's well worth a look.

My 15 minutes?

Following on from the the photoshoot of me and my trainers (I might have mentioned it). I've become what is known as an 'internet sensation' (albeit a very, very small one).

The above image turned up on the Classic Sole blog. I was dubious about the pic. With, as it turns out, quite good reason.

Look at us through the lens of a camera

I was subject of a photo shoot last Friday. I answered a request by a photographer on the Crooked Tongues forum looking for people involved in the trainer industry to be photographed for an upcoming exhibition he's putting together.

Having seen Errol's Flickr stream, I decided to drop him a line. Not only do I have quite a big collection (in terms of normal people, but compared with other trainer 'collectors', mine is pitiful, but then I don't see myself as a collector, I just buy what I like the look of and wear them), I also write about trainers for N-SB.org.

Below are a selection of the pics taken. The rest should be up in The Sneaker Business section of Errol's Flickr soon. All pics copyright Errol, www.errolphotography.com, used with permission.