Kemptown Carnival fundraiser gig

It's been a while since I went out at 11 PM. Seriously. I must be getting really really old. Really, old. Really. Anyhoo, swiftly moving on, some time ago I bought tickets on a whim for the Kemptown Carnival fundraiser at Concorde 2 tonight, so I had to make the effort to go, really. And thank goodness I did! Had a great time!

Being so out of touch with clubbing, I insisted on going to the venue at 'doors open' time. There wasn't much happening, of course... which gave me an opportunity to get acquainted with the venue!

Yeah, like I said, not many people yet...

But you know who was there? Brighton's No 1 Michael Jackson fan! Strutting his stuff.

There were other people in fairly individual outfits, too - as well as dancing styles. Which is what I love about Brighton: you can be whoever you are, and as long as you don't harm any other people, you can do whatever you like, too. Which is how it should be everywhere.

Around midnight the first band came on: The Carnival Collective.

I took some of these photos purely because I was mesmerised by the lights. Like I said, I haven't been out much.

Here's Carnival Collective, getting organised.

They put on a fab, fun show.

Then, some time later (it was getting REALLY LATE! :), the next band started getting ready for their set...

Kalakuta Millionnaires!

Unfortunately I don't know the name of the singer, but she was an absolute hoot!

This band was absolutely fantastic, doing fabulous carnival music - both Brazilian and African style. I am truly ashamed that I was getting tired around 2 AM and thought I should get home so I could wake up the next morning. What on earth is happening to me?!? Next time I will party until early hours, I promise! And I can't wait for the actual Kemptown Carnival to see these completely fantabulous bands again.

An Ode to Trees

Yes, well, I don't know about odes, but I do know I like trees!

...including their creepies...

The first signs of SPRING!

And a lovely sunset...

Double portrait shoot

I had a shoot with a couple of friends today - well, I call them friends even though I have met them only a couple of times before; I call them friends because I sense that they are good people and I sense that we have a connection and we will get along famously! Here they are: meet Nilden and Joanne:

Nilden:

Joanne:

In black and white:

Joanne has these most amazing blue eyes.

...and together these girls are... well, like something out of a comedy movie trailer.

What can I say. They had a good time. We all had a good time. ;-)

Joanne has already started using this photo as her Twitter profile photo:

Isn't she gorgeous? Inside and out. But that takes knowing her - the inside bit. I hope it shows in this photo, though.

Lifedeathlife shoot in Wales

I did a commissioned shoot yesterday for dance/visual artist Caroline Sabin. The image is for her new dance theatre work called Lifedeathlife.

The piece sounds very intriguing - see for yourself:

Caroline Sabin

Presents

Lifedeathlife


Infinity. Mortality. Jokes about your Mum.

This rich and inspiring show is the culmination of three years of work by dance/visual artist Caroline Sabin. An avid follower of current developments in science, from microbiology to cosmology, she presents work that prompts a return to the wonderment of childhood and picks up the essential questions of how and why. With lyrical, dynamic movement set amidst beautiful visual imagery and studded with truly mind blowing science - from the truth about your cells to the scale of the universe you live in - Lifedeathlife provides a witty and rewarding evening of theatre.

I hope I get a chance to see it when it opens!

The shoot itself was great fun - regardless of the cold wind, sand and drizzle. I had it easy; I only had to try and keep sand and water off my camera equipment as much as I could, but these women were dancing and cartwheeling in skimpy dresses in freezing cold wind and drizzle. Glad I got the shot before they turned blue.

This was actually my first ever exercise in setting and using off-camera flash, and now that I know how much fun it can be, I will start doing it more!