Author: Fiona Cullinan

Photographing the Dachshund UN

Dachshund UK

The Fierce Festival is a wonderful art/performance thing that happens in/to Birmingham each year. But this year festival artistic directors Laura McDermott and Harun Morrison really outdid themselves with the promise of 40-50 sausage dog delegates attending a scale replica of the United Nations General Assembly.

The live art installation is by Aussie artist Bennett Miller – more info here… Wonderful to attend, amusing to watch and great fun to photograph.

Aerial Dachshund UN

The rest of the set is here: Dachshund UN.

Meanwhie tomorrow, as part of the Fierce's Curious Sounds in Curious Spaces, Pete will be DJing his beepy 8-Bit Lounge set at the Birmingham's Symphony Hall.

More strange events on their What's On page.

Photographing the landscapes of Birmingham

Photo School Landscapes-23

So today was week two (of four) of Matt & Pete's Photo School. Last month, we played with finding the decisive moment in street photography, this time it was landscapes and creating huge panoramic vistas using the iconic buildings of Birmingham.

More adventures from Photo School… Continue reading "Photographing the landscapes of Birmingham"

"The years have passed and so have I" – R.I.P. Davy Jones

Some personal memories of Davy Jones, who passed away this week aged 66…

I became a Davy Jones addict aged 12-13 when the BBC started playing re-runs of The Monkees on a Saturday morning. They were like a human version of the Banana Splits. Davy was so… well, beautiful is probably the word, that I used to sit close to the TV screen and not blink so as not to miss a minute. After the show was over, I was gutted to have to wait another seven days to see Davy again. Puberty had arrived. Continue reading ""The years have passed and so have I" – R.I.P. Davy Jones"

McCullin – A film by Jacqui Morris – a first review

Tonight I was privileged to see the (first-edit) premiere of 'McCULLIN – a film by Jacqui Morris'. Here's the trailer…

McCullin Trailer from Jacqui Morris on Vimeo.

This cinema-quality documentary film recalls the work of Don McCullin, the celebrated war photographer who has taken some of the most affecting war, famine and humanitarian photos of the 20th century. He is 75 now and made the film, well, because he was seriously ill and told Morris to come and film quickly before he died. (He has had an operation and is recovering well.)

Continue reading "McCullin – A film by Jacqui Morris – a first review"

Roller disco by the reservoir

It's a disco but it's on wheels. It's roller disco! Back from the 70s/80s and currently going strong in 2012 at the old-school neon pink glitz of the Tower Ballroom by Edgbaston Reservoir in Birmingham. Tonight featured a very mixed crowd (from 18 to 70+), a punter being stretchered off to hospital by paramedics, the Cupid Shuffle line dance on skates, slamming into the bar, skating back from the bar with pint in hand, and lots of wibbly-wobbly laps. 10 out of 10. Go. Meanwhile here is some lo-fi vid featuring power ballads and Whitney-pop to whet the appetite… Continue reading "Roller disco by the reservoir"

Street photography and the discomfort of strangers

Today was the inaugural five-hour lesson of Matt & Pete's Photo School in which 10 strangers met upstairs in Birmingham's Victoria pub to learn more about photography and how to improve our own efforts.

Photo School Feb-10

The framework of the day – after tea and coffee – involved an hour of learning a bit about the technical side of how a camera works, a bit about Henri Cartier-Bresson and a bit about the theory and style of street photography.

Then Matt and Pete set out three rules for our photowalk around Birmingham: Continue reading "Street photography and the discomfort of strangers"

Photo School, Friday School and Social Media Group Therapy

This is obviously the Year of the School. Firstly, there's my moveable cake-fuelled feast of learning, the Friday School, while over on the other office sofa, Pete has just launched Matt and Pete's Photo School.

Photo School is a monthly 'photo club', that's also designed to combine learning with fun. It is based in Birmingham and the idea is to learn more about your camera, the art of photography and how to improve your picture-taking skills both in and out of the classroom. It is all but sold out for the launch session this Sunday but there is more to come in March so book ahead to reserve your spot – here's the flyer: Continue reading "Photo School, Friday School and Social Media Group Therapy"

Cantal press trip blogged – and a travel request

Just back from a week in the centre of France in a little known area called the Cantal. It may be "one of the most sparsely populated and geographically isolated French departments", according to Wikipedia, but it does have one big claim in that the region encompasses Europe's largest volcano. Snowshoeing a sleeping volcano seemed an irresistible storyline. Continue reading "Cantal press trip blogged – and a travel request"

Following the North Cotswold Hunt 2012

Being in the Cotswolds at the start of the new year has been lovely and surprisingly mild and sunny. Today we happened on the North Cotswold Hunt – no longer of foxes but of a scented trail laid down just ahead of the hunt by a set of runners on all-terrain quad bikes. I caught the start on video, setting out from the Lygon Arms in Chipping Campden and we were lucky enough to bump into them again on a cross-country walk to Blockley. In a rather working class, urban way, I stared agog at it all: the hound pack, beautiful horses, clopping of hooves and the vivid scarlet jackets. I'm afraid I was quite impressed.