Focus On Imaging - 6th - 9th March 2011

It’s that time of year again when the Lowepro UK team load up the vans and head over to the NEC for the annual Focus on Imaging Consumer Show.

The Lowepro Team at last years Event

Come along to Stand B10 to check out the Multi Award Winning Industry leading Lowepro Range including the brand new products like the new S&F range and ILC Classic products.

This year we will also be running some talks with some of the UK’s top photographers Paul Galagher, Colin Prior and David Noton. Places are limted so you will need to register to get a ticket.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS & REGISTRATION

For more information on Focus On Imaging please visit their website here.

With the UK already enjoying snowy conditions, many of us are spending time looking over the shots we have taken this past year and planning what to do next year. For those who really want to push themselves there is the now famous ‘365 Project‘. There are various connotations of this with dedicated websites and flickr groups a plenty. The essential premise is that you take a photo every day for a year. To learn a little more about what it takes to ‘do a 365′ we caught up with talented photographer, friend of Lowepro and 365 veteran Charlie Trotman ( aka  Crustydolphin ).

Turn your back on Mother Nature - Charlotte Trotman

So Charlie tell us about 365?

Well it began as something my friends were doing and I just jumped on the bandwagon without giving it much thought. About 60 days in I realized that just taking a picture of my foot didn’t cut it and started on a huge learning curve regarding setting scenes, conveying emotions and the most important learning curve of all, managing light. Now into my third year, it’s become a therapy of sorts for me, and also my visual diary. I can look at any of my photos and know exactly where I was and how I was feeling on that day. It’s a lot of commitment, but it’s definitely been a useful project in regards to learning more about photography, and as a bonus, myself!

So it takes full on commitment then?

Well I did it religiously for 2 years– by that, I mean I took one photo every day without fail and beat myself up about it if I didn’t feel like it and then took something shoddy. This time around, I shoot when I want, what I want – not necessarily self portraits which is what I started out doing, but those people and the world around me. After all, photography and projects are supposed to be fun – I’ve relaxed a lot. It’s still a big part of my life, always ongoing, but it’s more personal dedication now than full time commitment.

I can haz bubbles - Charlotte Trotman

How do you think it benefited your photography?

I actually had to get to know how my camera worked! Rather than just pointing and clicking. Aperture, light….just making a photo interesting. I have become rather picky too of what I take photo’s of whereas before I’d just shoot anything. Now I’m always searching for the perfect composition, perfect light, how do I want a subject to look, what do I want to convey, how do I capture what I’m seeing and do it justice. Photography isn’t just looking through a lens and pressing the shutter…its telling a story. Your story on how you see the world, or yourself and others. So how’s it benefited my photography? It’s made me think a heck of a lot more about it and that’s a good thing!

Do you think that being able to shoot a good self portrait is key to succeeding with a 365 Project?

No. I don’t. It depends what you want your 365 to be – what ‘you want to go back and view at the end of the year’. There’s no rules to say they have to have self portraits in there…it could 365 photos of strangers you’ve met each day! Make up your own rules!

Hitchhiker - Charlotte Trotman ( featuring Lowepro Pro Runner 450 AW )

Given the pressure on to deliver, you must have to shoot light and fast, what’s on your kit list?

My trusty Nikon D700, 50mm 1.4 Nikon lens attached, Lowepro Passport Sling as bag of choice when I’m shooting extra light, holding my sb600, spare battery…. and jelly beans. That does it for me.

Who do you look at for inspiration?

I’m lucky enough that I have fabulous friends who are pro photographers so they inspire me every day. I don’t really have a favourite photographer but I do have favourite images – but I’m fickle and that changes depending what mood I’m in!

Good Morning Sunrise - Charlotte Trotman

What is next for Charlie Trotman?

Would love to have 10 pieces that I’m uber happy with, start a new project shooting female photographers who inspire me…have a little exhibition…keep learning, do some lighting courses, read more photography books and keep being inspired and having fun with it!

Thanks Charlie!

For more information on 365 projects check out the Flickr group here.

For more information on Charlie Trotman and her photography check her website here ,  her Flickr photostream ( including 365 projects) here and her Twitter feed here.

Last week saw a large smattering of the who’s who in World Cycling pop along to Loweprofessional Geoff Waugh’s latest Lowepro supported Photography Exhibition at the Look Mum No Hands Cafe in London’s trendy Old street. We caught up with Geoff after his opening night to get the lowdown.

Loweprofessional Geoff Waugh

So Geoff tell us about this new exhibition? Why Selectism?

Well, we (me and the designer) pondered over names and most of them sounded too hifalutin to be honest. Selectism came about because in cycling there are many choices to be made. Some of us select which bike we want to ride, we chose the clothing we want to ride in whether it be to complement the weather, the bike or both, we chose the tyres, the gears and we select the actual lines we ride out on the trails. Occasionally, we select not to ride at all. I liked the look of the word too; thought it would look good on a layout.

Image courtesy of Geoff Waugh - Selectism Show

Are there any special unique stories on show then?

Two I can think of. First the Holgaramas which are panoramics shot on the toy Holga camera. I showed the designer at Orange bikes company a pano I had shot and he got excited enough to commission me to use the techinque for some images for their brochure. The pressure was on. I had never shot this style before for anything but fun and Holga shooters know the results are unpredicatble to say that least. The cameras work best inbright sunshine and this job was inside a murky welding shop. So, I took my Multiblitz lights and some high-ish ISO negative film. The results were better than I could have hoped for and gave me a lot of confidence to use the method at anytime. I suppose the second is the contact sheet montage of Hasselblad images from this year’s 3 Peaks cyclocross race in Yorkshire. These have never been seen before.

Contact Sheet courtesy of Geoff Waugh

So you seem to be a big fan of film, do you think this changes your attitude to taking pictures?

For me it has re-kindled a creative spark that has lain dormant for a while! When digital photography first appeared it was novel and fun. Now it is the other way around. I shoot film for the pleasure of not seeing the results instantly, of taking the film to the lab and interacting with a real person. I saw a good quote recently where a surf photographer Erica Doria said: “I think it is important people undertand that those who chose to shoot film are shooting blind and are aiming to score our best shots in one attempt not one out of a 100 frames.” That says it all really. It also exposes (excuse the pun) those who don’t have the goods. But I would like to emphasise that I am a digital shooter 90% of the time. I use film for certain looks and in certain situations where a commission allows it.

Your famous for your bike pictures, but you’ve got the full package of genres in your portfolio, do you like pushing the perception of your photography with each shoot?

I will shoot whatever I am asked to shoot in a commercial sense. I doubt I will ever shake off the ‘he’s a bike photographer’ label but I don’t have a problem with that, it’s natural when a percentage of work is bikes. But recently I have shot a printing company’s products and a wedding which is pretty far removed from the two wheeled thing. It’s always been a case of have camera will travel!

Holga Panoramic courtesy of Geoff Waugh

What’s next for Mr Waugh?

Back up the road to Yorkshire to shoot more Orange bikes this time for Privateer magazine, over to Belgium for cyclocross and six day track racing and some personal projects I have bubbling away in the background that will turn into published work in the long term. All good.

Thanks Geoff!

Geoff Waugh’s Selectism Exhibition is on at Look Mum No Hands till the 30th of November. For more details click here

For more information on Geoff Waugh check out his site here.

In between testing some product for 2011 and launching the new Street and Field range at Photokina we managed to catch up with UK Loweprofessional Percy Dean to talk about his recent work trip to China.

Kowloon – Hong Kong – Image by Percy Dean

So Percy tell me about this trip to China?

China was un-believable… Probably one of the best trips I have ever been on, from the people that we met to the people we travelled with. It was just one of those dream come true scenarios. Vans Footwear had commissioned me to shoot a photographic document of their European team as they journeyed around the world collating their ‘1966’ skateboard DVD; the project developed into a book that will accompany the films release.

How was it taking pictures on the streets?

It was good for me because the people we encountered were so amazed by the skateboarding that they didn’t really pay much attention to me or the camera, but for the skaters it was hard having crowds in their hundreds amass every time they skated a spot.

When you’re setting up for a skate shot do you have a clear idea of what result you are looking for?

I have shot skateboarding for 18 years and so I have the visual wreckage of thousands of skateboarding pictures already in my head. The battle is to not be repetitive in my set-up, to make things not look the same. It’s also difficult to make the images about more than ‘just a skateboard trick’. Skateboarding to me is about where the culture of skateboarding and the real world collide; trying to represent that, and make a good ‘skateboard picture’ is a difficult procedure.

What kit have you been using out in the field?

I got a Classified 250 AW in my Lowepro package and have used it to death. It was weird to switch from my usual backpack to a shoulder mount, but now I couldn’t be without it. The Nikon D700, with a grip for sequences is my workhorse, the low light capabilities are invaluable to me when trying to shoot high speed in difficult circumstances. That speed problem is also solved by a bunch of Pocket Wizards and small Nikon Speedlights. I just need to make my kit tight and light… Skating around cities with a full load is no joke. When you’ve hit a few curbs at full blast and had a surplus of gear hit you in the back of the head enough times you soon learn how to downsize.

What else are you up to at the moment?

I currently have an exhibit called ‘Clouds Of Glory’ running at the Brighton Photo Fringe that the Arts Council kindly supported I also have a couple of interesting documentary projects on the boil and have been shooting a lot of HD, I feel like a kid again when I use video, its so exiting.

Classified 250 on Location in Quing Xi China - Image by Percy Dean

Cheers Percy!

To find our more about Percy Dean and his photography check out his site here

To find out details of his current ‘Clouds of Glory’ Exhibition click here.

Yesterday saw the annual Gear of the Year awards hosted by Bauer Media take place in London. Drums rolled and Fireworks went off as the winner of the Best Camera Bag 2010 was announced. Needless to say we were absolutely blown away that the Pro Trekker Series won this mighty accolade!

Since launching the Pro Trekker series earlier this year, the 5 star reviews and awards have rolled in from all corners of the globe. It has simply been called ‘The Ultimate Expedition Camera bag‘.

Here in the UK it has become the industry standard and staple choice for the leading Landscape and Outdoors Photographers including Colin Prior, David Ward and David Noton.

Please note: Whilst this image shows the Pro Trekker 600 AW carrying an expensive bottle of Champagne, we do not recommend you carrying it into the field as it may effect your focus!

Good Morning All, my name is Tim Sadler and I look after Lowepro in the UK and will be popping up on here to bring you the latest news from our small Island. My role here is one of those great jobs for any nerdy photographer ( which I am often labelled ), I get to play with lots of new kit, work closely with our world famous team of Loweprofessionals and get to talk about Lowepro and photography with our retailers and media partners on a daily basis.

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