Copenhagen Day 1

This was the second of our 'City Break on a Budget' where we aim to pay £300 or less for travel & accommodation. We opted for Copenhagen as we've both fancied Scandinavia for a while and we'd heard how quick & easy it is to get to Malmo - 2 cities in one break - bonus!
We had a really early start for this trip, arriving at the airport for just after 5am. It was our first time flying with Easyjet so we weren't sure what to expect, we'd checked in online about 8 weeks in advance as the website led us to believe that people were allocated seats the order of check in which we soon found out was misleading. There are 2 groupings - those who've paid to get on the plane first and everyone else, regardless of how soon you checked in. We'd also printed our own boarding cards, expected that as with other airlines we'd just check in our bag and that would be it, but no the happy chappy tore up our boarding cards and reprinted identical ones, whilst trying to sell us the 'guaranteed' seats together (on the return journey, we used our printed boarding cards and just found the bag drop, no hard sell).
After a fairly speedy passage through security we had breakfast, followed by an on time flight and smooth journey. Landing at Copenhagen is slightly strange, as you get off the plane in the same area the folks are waiting to get on the plane to go back to the UK, then you walk through the duty free area to passport control! All very strange (we didn't bother with any duty free as it was more expensive than the UK).
After managing to buy train tickets to Copenhagen H (or Copenhagen Central), we hopped on the train for the swift 15 minute journey, upon arriving at the station, our hotel was literally 30 seconds away.
We stayed at Hotel Nebo Run by a Christian Mission, we opted for an 'economy room' which is what you see - no ensuite as the toilet/bath/shower rooms are around the corner. We also had a desk and TV with several english speaking channels (with plenty of decent TV if you choose to spend an evening in doors). The reception area of the hotel has free internet, tv screens with live teletext airport departures, snack/drink machines and a whole stand of tourist information, including pocket sized cards that also give you discounts on many attractions. We picked up one for the Canal Tours and headed out towards Gammel Strand (ok so we got a bit lost on the way there...)

Gammel Strand
We were a bit early for the last tour of the day, so wandered around taking photos and found a great little souvenir shop behind the horse man statue.
The tours run all year round, although in Winter as when we visited, there was just the red and yellow lines, the boats in Winter have an indoor section with glass roof and is heated and was much needed at times.
The canal tours are a relaxing & easy way to see a lot of the sights without lots of walking, they last approx one hour and take in sights such as Nyhaven with it's colourful fishermen's houses
The Royal Danish Library with it's new extension nicknamed the Black Diamond due to the way it sparkles in the sun
The infamous little mermaid who is currently on display the other side of the world

As well as Christiansborg palace , Christianshavn , the Opera House to name but a few. We were very lucky weather wise, as not only was it gloriously sunny (albeit freezing cold), the last canal tour of the day was during the so called Golden Hour which meant we got to enjoy a lovely winter sunset from the boat

Sunset over CopenhagenAfter the tour, frozen but happy we wandered around for a bit more sightseeing, then headed back to the hotel. Being on a budget, we stopped at the 7/11 store two doors down from our hotel for our tea. Amongst the broad array of hot food & drink they served the traditional Danish style hotdog - different to ours in that they are served in quite a crispy toasted bread roll (almost French baguette style)which is hollowed out, the sauce/mustard etc is then squirted inside and your sausage is squished down inside it, very tasty I might add. The shop also appeared to have a Domino's Pizza franchise inside it, selling pizza, calzone and other dough/pastry based dishes - they even did room service to the hotel!

Central Library

A few weeks ago me & a few flickr friends spent some time at Manchester's Central Library, photographing the building before it closes for major renovations. Due to obvious changes that will occur, the library have decided to relax the rules on photography, so as long as we didn't photography people's faces etc (well unless we asked first) we could go mad and also post them to the Get Wisdom flickr group.
I will confess, it was my first time back in the building since I was at university and it was actually a lot more impressive than I recall. Designed by architect E. Vincent Harris and built in 1934 the 'heart of the library' The Great Hall (previously known as a the Reading Room) is probably the most recognized architecturally for it's large glass dome in the roof.
Outside this room is an outer corridor of beautiful arches
and more stacks of books,along with seemingly endless rows of tiny drawers containing microfilm cards etc.. which seemed to hold the group attention for a quite while, yielding some varied results.

Most of the library is now closed, with the ground floor general readers library closing 18th June and the Theatre & Box office closing 4th July with the newly renovated library planned to reopen in 2013 for more info check the Manchester Libraries website

In Conversation with Don McCullin: Shaped By War

The Imperial War Museum North is currently hosting the mind blowing retrospective exhibition Shaped by War: Photographs by Don McCullin spanning his lengthy 50+ year career. Considered one of the most prolific photographers of conflict, the exhibition contains more than 200 photographs along with video interviews and objects including the Nikon camera that stopped a bullet, his US army issue helmet along side numerous visas and assignment letters. The exhibition charts McCullin's career - from the East End Gangsters and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus to the Vietnam War and Northern Ireland conflict.
Don McCullin’s first published photograph: The Guv’nors of Seven Sisters Road, London,1958. Photograph © Don McCullin
A distraught woman flees the village of Gazabaran with her family after the killing of her husband, Cyprus 1964.Photograph © Don McCullin

Along side the exhibit the museum also hosted a talk in March: in Conversation with Don McCullin. Fluctuating sound levels coupled with screeching microphones meant we missed the first few questions. But aside from technical difficulties it was a really enlightening and deeply honest interview. The overall impression of McCullin is of a very sombre and despondent man. He has obviously been deeply affected by what he has experienced and photographed over the years and this sadness carries over into his more recent landscape photography. For me the most surprising comment of the evening was from McCullin on how he looks back over his lifetimes work and feels it meant nothing, as it changed nothing (ie didn't help stop the wars), and I (like I suspect a lot of people) disagree - whilst his photographs may not have forced politicians into action, I think he has certainly influenced and affected, we the general populous. Certainly I think photography in the media was a strong factor in my joining the protests against the Iraq war in 2001. I think war photography was more in your face, in the danger than the tea time television correspondents ever were. So I think he really does under estimate the power of his work.
Back on topic though, as I mentioned earlier McCullin also talked about his landscape work towards the end of the interview - black and white stark winter landscapes that evoke the same sense of sorrow you get from his photographs of war and from the man himself. Dark, yet not depressing the way some landscapes can be, he has been quoted as saying ‘My landscapes have become a form of meditation. They have healed a lot of my pain and guilt.’
Iron Age fort in the snow, Somerset, 1992.Photograph © Don McCullin

Shaped by War is on display at the Imperial War Museum North until 13th June 2010, an accompanying book Don McCullin - Shaped By War is also available in the Gift Shop.

Another Year, Another Batch of Resolutions

I guess it's that time of year again, to make a list of things I'd like to achieve, doable things though... not ridiculous things like shrinking down to a size 6.

1. Visit Hot Bed Press at least 3 times a month - I've been a member of the print studios for almost 6 months, and really haven't spent enough time getting back into it.
2. Read a new book every month - I must have at least 30 books sat on various shelves waiting to be read, it's time I really started ploughing through them
3. travel to at least 2 new countries - hoping to do either a couple of city breaks this year, or go for a bit longer and travel through a couple of countries, Northern Europe is high on the list.
4. Get fit and run a race - I've put back on 10lbs in the last 5 months, since I stopped exercising regularly - mainly due to the weather being awful and running being my exercise of choice, so I've bought a wii and intend to use it, aiming to lose around 20lbs by easter time.
5. learn how to use illustrator - I'm terrible for not sticking at things I find difficult, so I need some recommendations on good tutorials and to get stuck in really.
6. Get the bottle to try out colour film processing at home - apparently the only real difference is that colour film is more sensitive when it comes to the temperature, I just need to get out there and buy the chemicals.
7. Complete my NVQ level 3 before Easter and swiftly start on level 4 - this is a qualification I'm doing through work, and need to complete if I'm going to achieve my goal of getting a new job
8. Update my blog regularly (ie more than once a month) - I have a list of stuff I keep meaning to blog about, but never seem to find the time/inclination

I'm sure I'll come back and amend this, as I'm sure there's more things I will think of over the next few days

A permanent (aka year round) list of my goals can be found over at 43 Things

Happy New Year, lets hope 2010 is a damn sight better than 2009!


I'll finish 2009 with this photo, that was short listed for the Salford Photographic Prize 2009.

Photocamp Bradford

Now I know this is a bit of a late review, but hey I've been busy!
Photocamps are described as 'Open Photography Conferences' or 'Unconferences' with the simple aim of sharing knowledge.
Whilst quite a few of my friends have attended previous photocamps, this was my first.
Held at the National Media Museum in Bradford, 150 people attended this event which had something for everyone. Starting off with the welcomes and a keynote speech from Natalie Dybisz aka Miss Aniela apparently somewhat a flickr celeb, she gave a run down on how she got started in photography (as described in the link), she seemed to divide the crowd into those who love her and those who hate her given the comments I overheard as we left the theatre & throughout the day. I'm not sure if was arrogance or naivety on Natalie's part but she didn't seem to really understand why people who've put a lot of time & effort going to college/university to study photography, researching, applying for grants etc.. would be somehow aggrieved at someone getting exhibitions and making money from photography (I mean that's the dream right, making a living doing something you love) almost instantly - I suppose it's akin to the whole Pop Idol/X-Factor thing, no longer to you need to spend years struggling playing every dive in every town, instant celebrity is around the corner! But back on subject, I found Natalie's photos quite interesting, with an obvious nod to David Lachapelle's fashion stuff in terms of style.

There was a wide variety of sessions throughout the day, including practicals (making a pin hole camera, creating still life set ups, strobism to mention but a few), discussions and gallery tours it was very hard to choose what to see & do, but I ended up not attending any of the practical sessions which surprised myself.
The Museum had on a exhibition of Don McCullin's photographs In England, gritty black & white shots showing poverty & wealth and that in between - worth checking the above link as (my)words cannot do it justice.

Without waffling on too much, the sessions I attended included how to promote yourself on-line with loads of useful tips to do with building a website etc..
Desmond Wee did a fantastic talk on his project "How to Wear A Camera like a Tourist", which reminded me a lot of of the sort of stuff I did & researched on my MA course many moons ago!
Also the king of the pano's ASBO Allstar aka Neil did a really cool talk on how (allegedly) easy it is to create stunning panoramas and stitch them together


There was also a street session on the Sunday, but I didn't make it to this event but saw some excellent shots from the day. A varied selection from both days taken by organisers & participants alike can be seen here
All in all a fantastic event and I'm looking forward to the next one!

U-turn for Much Needed Manchester Transport Updates

In 2008 over 800,000 people in Greater Manchester voted against the Proposed Congestion Charge. I can recall endless online debates that at times got quite aggressive, over whether the congestion charge was a good or a bad thing. The only consistency from both sides of the argument was that transport across Greater Manchester needed a massive overhaul. Over crowded, over priced and at times not very convenient meant that driving into Manchester for many is an obvious and easy choice over the alternative of trains, trams & buses.
One of the 'promises' from the For Campaign was that the Congestion Charge would allow a massive fund to improve transport, however, we (Greater Manchester residents & voters) were firmly warned that if the charge did not go ahead, there would be absolutely no funding to pay for transport upgrades!


Very interesting then, that this week a leaflet dropped through the doors of many a resident, stating that (despite no congestion charge) that GMPTE are planning to (finally!) introduce bus services across the City Centre, as part of a larger programme to deliver £1.5 billion of transport improvements over the coming years. Currently people living in the of North of the city have to swap not only buses, but bus companies to travel south of Piccadilly Gardens resulting in having to buy multiple travel tickets, from what I have read in the distributed leaflets, this will be a thing of the past. I'm sure it's too much to expect a similar system to London, where everyone pays a flat fee per journey/time period.

Warehouse Project 2009

Last night we went to the Warehouse Project underneath Piccadilly train station. After spending almost 50 minutes trying to find the venue (GPS locator sending us in the wrong direction, ending up behind piccadilly, unable to cut through!), we eventually arrived a little after half 10. After seeing promotional pictures and the "strictly no entry after 11.30pm" message on tickets, we expected to be queuing for a quite a while, so it was a nice surprise to find on a handful of people waiting to be searched before entry. We went straight in to find the venue (a car park during the week) fairly empty, which gave us plenty of time to have a wander around and explore. Very cleverly laid out underneath the arches, there is a foyer with merchandise for sale & cloakroom, the main room, with a bar off that area, around the corner there is the second room, and a chill out lounge with cinema!


The cinema was showing Beetlejuice & The Bourne Identity along with another film I can't remember, there was no sound but that didn't seem to bother anyone as you wouldn't have been able to hear it over the sounds from the rest of the club, there was a popcorn seller, and you could get your photo taken in the Smirnoff Cinema Seats - for this you are rewarded with 3D glasses and a visor! Along with having your photo uploaded to Facebook

The drink prices were pretty reasonable for a club, £3 to £3.50 for a can of beer (tiger, kronenbourg, red stripe etc), to £3.30 for a spirit & mixer, the bars were never too busy, we managed to get served within a couple of minutes each time we went to any of the various bars. The toilets (portaloos) were plentiful and the queues were not too bad, although they ran out of loo roll before midnight, which isn't great when you consider the club is open until 5am.

On to the music - Rich Reason was the warm up dj for the main room, he was ok, nothing particularly stood out, but it wasn't offensive to the ears either, by the time BeardyMan came on at 11pm, the previously empty room was packed out, he started with Shimmy Shimmy Ya and the crowd went crazy, it was a real party atmosphere! If you haven't seen beardyman before it's worth checking him out on Youtube.
After that we chilled out in the cinema room for a while, waiting for DJ Krush to come on at 1am. We ended up queuing to get into the relatively small second room to see DJ Krush, because he's that popular - luckily the room emptied out as most people apparently wanted to go see the radio 1 dj who's name escapes me. We didn't see all of Krush's set, but it was very Shadow-eque, it was a shame that the accompanying visuals displayed on the wall behind the decks weren't very bright, but over all a good night.
We didn't manage to see Friction or Roni Size as these were on way after out bedtime!
We headed out into the night around 1.30am, being old & tired having had a really good night out, will definitely be looking forward to more similar events.