I’ve admired Aloysius’s service for a while now, and with us looking at spending a few days in Hong Kong, it seemed the right time to get both of them done.  His Facebook page has some stunning cameras on there that have undergone the process, the biggest issue I was faced with was deciding which leather. He has so many on offer, from lizard to shark to crocodile (which is just bloody nice). In the end, after looking at his Facebook page for what seemed like an entire winter, I settled on lizard leather in a colour I felt worked well with both of the bodies.

Arriving in Hong Kong, I arranged the time and place with Aloysius and met him at Temple Street Market after work. We set off in the direction of his apartment where he stripped apart both of them and started the process. Removing glue that has been on the M6 for a good part of 20 years wasn’t easy, but after much scraping, they were both naked. His collection of Leica equipment is impressive, and it’s this passion that got him started in the re-skinning business (a business that is now very busy, and rightly so).

The whole process took an hour or so and Aloysius’s attention to detail was brilliant. Nothing was rushed and it was just done right. In the end, I think both bodies look amazing (again, Marmite comment from above does factor into this). If you are looking at refreshing your tired M body, drop him a mail and work out which leather is for you. If you happen to be in Hong Kong, he offers a fitting service too.

The magazine ran and I had to wait a while to receive it, but wow talk about impressed when I did. Great paper, stunning layout and just amazed to be included amongst other great works. Having a seven-page layout in the magazine was appreciated.

Great to see the project getting the exposure and especially for the crews of ER24, who were part of it.

When a poor township boy with a deep, traditional fear of the water is offered a chance to escape the violence of his community through surfing, he is forced to choose between friendship and his dream. The story is set during Apartheid times and it was great to be involved in the production and act in a few scenes.

The film will be shown in South Africa in May and I hope to see a copy at some point.

I was concerned with access, it has always been a major issue for any of the projects i’d chosen before, and this wasn’t anything different. Thankfully, the ER24 team went out of their way to make me feel welcome. It must be hard for anyone to do their job when you are chaperoning someone like me, but to their credit, they really made me feel at home and ensured my constant barrage of questions were answered. Shooting in situations like this was tough – from a mental perspective to a technical perspective. On a mental note, you are witnessing someones most vulnerable moment. Sure you can go all gung-ho, paparazzi style and get in their face, but that’s just not the way I work. I’m a firm believer in respect and having a camera in my face whilst I was being attended to, isn’t something i’d like. Also, privacy is a key part of todays life, so whilst I had a number of strong images, there are some I just couldn’t use.

From a personal perspective, I’ve learned so much about the work that paramedics perform. At a time when greed seems to be the flavour of the day, especially in todays financial climate, here is a group of people who just want to save lives and make a difference. Whilst they did work shifts, we rarely clocked off when that shift was over, often going into the night and helping other paramedics out when help was needed. For me, this was just an amazing environment to be in. Here is a group that is obsessed with saving lives and making a difference. Honestly, as cliched and cheesy as it sounds, I felt so privileged to spend time with them, a humbling wake-up call.

It is a tough job, there is no doubt in that, and if there’s one thing I wish people of South Africa would take away from this project is how lucky they are to have these paramedics patrolling the roads. Sure, South African’s have great medical facilities on hand, but it’s the job of the paramedic to ensure you are stable, alive and able to get from the scene of the accident to that facility. They aren’t, as many do think, glorified taxi drivers.

So next time you are tutting under your breath about being asked to move out of the way of an advanced life support response car, or ambulance, remember it could be you in the back of that van next time.

A big statement, especially for someone who’s invested a large sum of money into a fancy MA, spent two years studying and traveling and then spent even more on a final project and show. There is, however, a big sense of relief that i’ve come to my senses.

My style of photography is different. Many might not like it, I might never get accepted into any photo agency and the frustration of dealing with photo editors, who just couldn’t be arsed about you or your work, is a futile exercise. I read Laurence Kim’s, a photographer and business man, sobering truths about making a career out of photography and the epiphany occurred: Daniel this is not for you.

I count many amazing photographers as good friends and I respect the fact they are doing what they do, what they love doing, they are much stronger beings than me, that’s for sure. The overall attitude in the photography industry is strange. You have the buyers, who are no doubt overwhelmed by the sheer volumes of photographers baying for their pound of flesh,  to the consumers of the medium, who baulk at paying for anything in this age of always on and instantly free and available.

There are articles that big publications take what they want for free, even when the photographer has said they can’t use them without paying for them.  If you knew what most big name photographers get paid for images, you’d laugh and think they were all bloody mad. I guess the more I look into it, with a clear head, the more I realise this isn’t what I should be doing.

So, as a result, I’ve decided to put two fingers up at the industry and move away from even trying to earn a single penny. I don’t need to. What I will be doing is shooting images and projects that interest me. If publications want to use them, I’ll let them use them on terms I dictate and I don’t give a monkeys what others think. Shoot for free, actually give time to others, for free, just because you can.

Greed is a big issue in todays society, everyone wants their slice of the pie and at 35, I’m in a position where I don’t need to jostle for small tidbits. Moving back to the UK has woken me up, I’ ve got some good projects lined up and I’m excited about what’s happening over the next twelve months.

Now, back to editing the last two projects…

A big thanks has to go out to Alix-Rose for the questions and giving me a chance to appear on the blog.

So much work was put into this show, I underestimated how much is really required to put together a show. A massive thanks has to go out to my fellow LCC’ers who really took control, Yolanda, Ivy and Amelia, much love towards you all right now (and others of course).

There was always that niggly feeling that only a few would turn up, but how wrong was I when the flood started at 6pm (30 mins before the actual opening). From then on, they just came and came.

I had a good chat with Simon Norfolk and got to finally meet Mr David Campbell, which was a highlight for me. Too often in this virtual life we all seem to lead, you forget how good it is to actually speak to someone face to face.

Seeing the work on offer and how everyone’s final projects turned out was an immensely proud moment, it really looked amazing, even if I am biased.

The beer all went, I think we had one bottle left and from all accounts, a good night was had by all. Thanks to my wife, I actually have pictures to show. Yup, bloody photojournalist who didn’t take pictures, honestly!

The exhibition will run until May 24, Mon – Wed & Fri – Sat 12.00 to 17.00. Would be great if you found time to have a look at the diverse projects we have all shot.

Update:

Phil Coomes, Picture Editor at the BBC, has kindly written about the show last night and featured some of our work. There is just something amazing about having your work on the BBC, a feeling of job well done Thanks Phil!

The Independent ran an article on the show today, for those in the uk, it’s on page three.

The projects on show are as diverse in subject and style as they are in geographical location. Works range from a study of Socotra (a remote island off the coast of Yemen) and a look at the disappearing culture of South African Bushmen to a psychogeographical investigation of the North and South Circular roads in London, via sea nomads of Indonesia, and Asian teenagers in the UK to name a few of the projects.

Participating photographers are Yolanda Crisp, Daniel Cuthbert, Ivy Lahon, Greg Laychak, James Morgan, Nektarios Markogiannis, Claudius Schulze, Amelia Shepherd, Alice Smeets and Darrin Zammit Lupi

Big thanks must go out to Phil Coomes and the BBC team.