Jezebel

For this posting, I find myself back in West Londons boutique heart.

The Jezebel Loft parties are a 5minute ride on your single speed from the heart of Londons well known Notting Hill, so close to Ladbroke Grove you would have barely finished making your roll up and a quick jog with your hood up, down Harrow Rd from the pleasant surroundings of Kensal Rise and Queens park.
With such affluent suroundings it is no wonder the Jezebel parties are what they are, and that is a bloody good laugh.

Moseying along with Roo Kendal to help with the photography for the evening, I had to pinch myself every now and again to keep my mind focused at the task at hand. Through no fault of my own you understand, the somewhat raucous atmosphere with its party goers wearing facial expressions of gay abandon, a stronger man than I would loose concentration.

It is easy with such parties for the atmosphere to be pompous and unfriendly having have found it as such within similar settings in the past, though on this night there was a distinct air of a friendly nature.

The passing crowds are more than happy to stop in front of a que of 20 or so people down a corridor to 1. have their picture taken upon seeing the camera. 2. have a wee chat and 3. offer me with a sip of their drink if not a whole one from the bar.

The majority of the evenings shots were take from inside our own little studio. With a people bursting through the doors all night, we had no shortage of models, some shy and hesitant to take the lime light and others who simply couldn't get enough.
All in all a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

A massive thank you to all those involved in the organisation of the event and another big thanks and accreditation to Roo Kendal and Zoe Hitchen for the evenings photography.

-If you have any problems with the above pictures please do no hesitate get in touch. My information can be found to the right hand side.

Blow Pop - Blue Mountain re-launch!

The last few days of January saw Bristol's music loving community give the finger to what ever detox they may or may have not have endured in this new years first few weeks for an evening that I shall certainly not be forgetting in a hurry.

Blop Pop took the bull by the horns and kicked open the long sealed doors of Blue Mountain for the first time in many years, ushering its eager crowd to the feet of such big name DJ's as Evil Nine, Zombie Disco Squad, A-Skills, and JFB as well Blow Pop residents, Bristols finest, Real Nice, SWAY 2, Stereo 8 and Steve Redux.

I have done my fair share of club night photography and would never really validate it by putting it on my blog or even look to publish it further than facebook but this was no ordinary event, they were no ordinary DJ's and for me these are no ordinary pictures.

If your ever in Bristol i urge you to look up Blow Pop, see what they are doing and join in. Every time they so much as go near a sound system the roof is raised, they are pant wettingly good....i speak from experience!

I'm always on hand to take event snaps like these so if your indeed of someone with an itchy trigger finger to mingle at an occasion of yours, get in touch!

Riot Act.

I shall spare you my usual 'shpeel' on the subject matter. I would hope the pictures speak for themselves!

More from this album at http://www.flickr.com/photos/51731306@N06/sets/72157625685326260/

It's where it goes so wrong, that it can go so right.

Rifling through some draws back home, I came across a masterpiece of photographic history, a Nikon RF10.

This fully plastic, fully automatic camera, once belonged to my grandfather and has not been touched in years. With this in mind, i blew away the cob webs and set about reliving its formative years

Even in its hay day the RF10 was nothing special. Developed for the masses in the early 90's, it was for those who wanted no frills.

With a fixed focal length of f/4.5 and a similarly immovable 34mm lens, its just a case of picking it up and pressing the button.

As is always the case of these things, it is their imperfections that grow on us with age, we develop a sympathy for the unloved.

The grain on the film is clearly evident in every shot and with its fully automatic nature the tendency to reach inside ones pocket and snap away at any given moment means some fantastic and unplanned shots.

A few nights out with this baby and I'm hooked on it.

Beyond the Highlands, lies this place.

Better late than never is a term I have uttered on many occasions, although never in a connection with my professional commitments I might add.

But it is now time to utter this phrase in regard to a collection of photographs taken way back in the summer on a brief visit to the Highlands of Scotland. So....better late than never!

In the small town of Nairn I found myself walking along endless beaches, strolling through fields, navigating my way through thorny undergrowth and clambering over ruins of ancient castles.

The castle in question, Rait Castle, is currently the subject of an ongoing debate about the state of its repair and the the possibility of restoration. Obviously I am hugely in favour of preserving and restoring such historical sites as physical bookmarks in time, especially one with such a gruesome, yet fascinating story behind it concerning rival clans, a disloyal daughter and relentless bloodshed.

More information on the current situation of rait castle, facts about its ancient architecture and a more in-depth account of the ghosts that haunt the place, visit http://www.saveraitcastle.org/.

Aside from these tombstones to once great architecture there are many more wonders are to behold. Beauty does not present itself in the guise of sunny beaches and glamour, but has more of an autumnal and sensible nature about it.

I find myself actually enjoying the cold bite of the wind, the powerful rolling grey clouds and pride myself in doing so. It feels right. It feels very British.

Unfortunately the visual complexity of some of these photographs does not lend itself too well to the small format of the blog. Apologies for this. You may find it easier to view them via the flickr link below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51731306@N06/sets/72157625514335547/

Allow me to Tumble

Here is a new page i have set up on tumblr. It is by no means a replacement for this page but it is far better to view some of my preferred photographs from over the years.

http://eddabneyphotography.tumblr.com/

'The Ruskins' @ Koko (supported by 'The Joker & The Thief')

Its been a while since i strolled down Camden Town, and upon doing so, this fact struck me as a bit of a shame. Its a superb example of Londons ability to accept everything and offer even more.



Hopping off the 253 from Stoke Newington, i bounded into a rather jovial stride down the high street, roughly aimed towards Koko. There was good reason for this positive disposition, as i had heard nothing but good things about both the bands i was due to take pictures of and was glad about the fact that my ears were going to me penetrated with something that wasn't of the electronic genre. Now i must state here, my love for said music knows no bounds but, as with everything, a change from the norm is rather nice occasionally.



First up, 'The Joker & The Thief'. This trio is made up of two old school friends of mine, Justin Gartry (guitar) and Dan Grabiner (vocals, drums and other random pieces of percussion), accompanied by Josh Elliot (Saxophone and accordion), were hands down one of the best live performances i have seen in a long time. Now, i am by no means an aficionado when it comes to this genre of music, or be it any for that matter. However their blend of rock, indie, folk, blues and god knows what else, struck me as original and inspired, especially their rendition of 'All along the watchtower', Bravo lads.
Now We come to the main act of the evening, the band for which i had been summoned to capture in action with my unique skills and ability, I give you 'The Ruskins' ladies and gentlemen.



With a mixture of indie, ska and folk music, they were just the sort of up beat vibe that the crowd were craving for after their tasty starter. Eamon the front man on vocals, with Dave on drums and Ricky on bass (and lets not forget some truly unforgettable MC'ing from Mr Marcus Adams), had the crowd, right from the word go, eating out of his palm. You really got the feeling that the crowd would quite literally jump on que for the man, and they did just that.



With more (stage) invasions than the Roman army the band stood their ground and played on, all i can say is, why these guys aren't signed after all the good press and reviews they have had, i simply do not know!



Have a flick through the flickrr link below for the full album of the nights events and please note the pictures above on this page are in chronological order i.e the first two are of The Joker and The Thief etc.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51731306@N06/sets/72157624902007873/