I timed my trip perfectly to coincide with the Beast from the East. The weather was mostly awful, although I got a two hour window towards the end of my stay when the sun came out. 

The problem was the pictures were for June Issue of the mag. It was certainly a challenge, contending with the snow, hats and scarves, and Christmas decorations still hanging around town. I've never had to think so hard on my feet and come up with some creative angles. Fortunately there was a lot to photograph inside the beautiful churches and museums about town. 

Here is a selection of images and cuttings from the mag, and a BTS pic courtesy of my friend and travel buddy Chavala Madlena.  Belgrade City Life-145Belgrade Fortress: the Fortress consists of the old citadel and Kalemegdan Park on the confluence of the River Sava and Danube, in an urban area of modern Belgrade. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Stari Grad. Belgrade City Life-189The Republic Square or Square of the Republic is one of the central town squares and an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, located in the Stari Grad municipality. The Statue of the man on the horse represents Prince Michael. Belgrade City Life-295Nenad, the shopkeeper at Parfimerija Sava makes his own perfumes in his laboratory in his back office to the shop. The family run business has been trading since 1941.   Belgrade City Life-410Views from New Belgrade, on the other side of the river Sava. New Belgrade is the central business district of Belgrade. It is also home to a number of Brutalist style residential estates. Belgrade City Life-545Musicians playing at the restaurant Three Birds (Tri Sesira) off the Skadarlija street in Belgrade. Belgrade City Life-631The Church of Saint Sava, a Serbian Orthodox church located on the Vračar plateau in Belgrade. It is one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world and ranks among the largest church buildings in the world. Belgrade City Life-760Churches on Belgrade Fortress: the Fortress consists of the old citadel and Kalemegdan Park on the confluence of the River Sava and Danube, in an urban area of modern Belgrade. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Stari Grad. Belgrade City Life-786 13f88bba-6965-4a7d-8201-47a4ae68fc27  

Duchess of Cornwall RAD-2The Duchess of Cornwall visits the Royal Academy of Dance at the on the 01/02/2018. Photo: David Tett Duchess of Cornwall RAD-7The Duchess of Cornwall visits the Royal Academy of Dance at the on the 01/02/2018. Photo: David Tett Duchess of Cornwall RAD-1The Duchess of Cornwall visits the Royal Academy of Dance at the on the 01/02/2018. Photo: David Tett Duchess of Cornwall RAD-6The Duchess of Cornwall visits the Royal Academy of Dance at the on the 01/02/2018. Photo: David Tett

Zomba Day 1 High Res-2Family Malawi at the on the 16/07/2017. Photo: David Tett

Lambeth Green Flag Parks-205 Lambeth Green Flag Parks-28 Lambeth Green Flag Parks-98 Lambeth Green Flag Parks-173 Lambeth Green Flag Parks-217 Lambeth Green Flag Parks-58

It's my first time in Malawi - the people here must be some of the friendliest on the planet. It's no wonder they call it the warm heart of Africa. For years the country has been one of the worst hit by HIV-Aids but thanks to charities like Dignitas things are improving steadily, helped by a growing economy as well.

Below is a selection of portraits of some people I've met this week.

Zomba Day 4 Low Res-52Zomba Day 4 at the on the 20/07/2017. Photo: David Tett

Zomba Day 1-257Family Malawi at the on the 17/07/2017. Photo: David Tett

Zomba Day 1-241Family Malawi at the on the 17/07/2017. Photo: David Tett   Zomba Day 2-12Zomba Day 2 at the on the 18/07/2017. Photo: David Tett Zomba Day 2-51Zomba Day 2 at the on the 18/07/2017. Photo: David Tett Zomba Day 2-57Zomba Day 2 at the on the 18/07/2017. Photo: David Tett Zomba Day 2-86Zomba Day 2 at the on the 18/07/2017. Photo: David Tett Zomba Day 2-109Zomba Day 2 at the on the 18/07/2017. Photo: David Tett Zomba Day 2-236Zomba Day 2 at the on the 18/07/2017. Photo: David Tett Zomba Day 2-248Zomba Day 2 at the on the 18/07/2017. Photo: David Tett Zomba Day 2-22Zomba Day 3 at the on the 19/07/2017. Photo: David Tett Zomba Day 2-48Zomba Day 3 at the on the 19/07/2017. Photo: David Tett Zomba Day 2-130Zomba Day 3 at the on the 19/07/2017. Photo: David Tett Zomba Day 2-133Zomba Day 3 at the on the 19/07/2017. Photo: David Tett Zomba Day 2-199Zomba Day 3 at the on the 19/07/2017. Photo: David Tett Zomba Day 2-205Zomba Day 3 at the on the 19/07/2017. Photo: David Tett Zomba Day 2-212Zomba Day 3 at the on the 19/07/2017. Photo: David Tett Zomba Day 1-63Family Malawi at the on the 17/07/2017. Photo: David Tett Zomba Day 1-91Family Malawi at the on the 17/07/2017. Photo: David Tett    Zomba Day 1-245Family Malawi at the on the 17/07/2017. Photo: David Tett

Dog Screening Picturehouse -27 Dog Screening Picturehouse -24 Dog Screening Picturehouse -22 Dog Screening Picturehouse -21 Dog Screening Picturehouse -16

RSC Audience April 2017-339 RSC Audience Julius Caesar 2017-694 RSC Audience Julius Caesar 2017-646 RSC Audience Julius Caesar 2017-664 RSC Audience Julius Caesar 2017-662

Boat Screening Boat Screening - 1 Boat Screening -38 Boat Screening -78

P1 cover 1262 (1) P20-21_WILLIAM John Bird & William-40  

P16-17_Outsider art (1) Charming Baker Artists event-29 Charming Baker Artists event-96

issue-22-the-gist

issue-21-the-gist

Gist Cover March 2017-36 GIST cover Jan2017-67GSTT Cover Jan 2017 at the on the 10/01/2017. Photo: David Tett

Really nice to see the images printed to such a high standard, and next to so many other great hiking trails.  FullSizeRender (7) FullSizeRender (8) FullSizeRender (9) FullSizeRender (10) FullSizeRender (11) FullSizeRender (12)  

Brexit for Business Report-33 Brexit for Business Report-36 Brexit for Business Report-40

Robert Montgomery Poem -121Artist Robert Montgomery with his giant poem outside Hammersmith Town Hall. Robert Montgomery Poem -63

Andy Sarah Barbara Saatchi May 2017 -31 Andy Sarah Barbara Saatchi May 2017 -66 Andy Sarah Barbara Saatchi May 2017 -71 Andy Sarah Barbara Saatchi May 2017 -76

Underwater Rugby Session 2-51Underwater Rugby at the Putney Leisure Centre, London on the 13/08/2015. Photo: David Tett FINALIST SPORTS TETT FEP_Certificate_Award_David Tett

I have 3 pictures in the sports category, all taken from my extreme and alternative sports series: Jimmy Morris, stock car racing driver; Sina the Technician, Chessboxer and The UK Underwater Rugby Team.  Jimmy Morris-92Jimmy Morris, stock car racing driver, at the Wimbledon Stadium, London on the 30/03/2015. Photo: David Tett Sina Chessboxer-9Liverpool St Station at the Liverpool St Station on the 28/02/2015. Photo: David Tett Underwater Rugby Session 2-36Underwater Rugby at the Putney Leisure Centre, London on the 13/08/2015. Photo: David Tett

Unicycle Hockey Session 2-1 Unicycle hockey seesion 1-36 Unicycle hockey seesion 1-40 Unicycle hockey seesion 1-31

The second shoot was at the Bletchley Bar on Kings Road where you have to crack codes using enigma type machines and drinks are made according to your favourite smells. Certainly not your average cocktail bar experience.  Tower of London game-36 Tower of London game-28

036_TO_2420 (1) The Bletchley Bar-57The Bletchly Bar promo photos, at the Chelsea London on the 08/03/2017. Photo: David Tett The Bletchley Bar-53The Bletchly Bar promo photos, at the Chelsea London on the 08/03/2017. Photo: David Tett The Bletchley Bar-6The Bletchly Bar promo photos, at the Chelsea London on the 08/03/2017. Photo: David Tett 013_TO_2421

Player Netrugby 2-77 Netrugby 2-66 Netrugby 2-35 Netrugby 2-44 Netrugby 2-13 Netrugby 2-5

Mercury Sun Transit© Licensed to London News Pictures. 09/05/2016. London, UK. The planet Mercury makes a transit across the Sun, coming between the Sun and the Earth. Mercury is seen here moving across the Sun for the first time in 10 years and will not make its next transit until 2019 and then 2032. Photo credit : David Tett/LNP Mercury Sun Transit© Licensed to London News Pictures. 09/05/2016. London, UK. The planet Mercury makes a transit across the Sun, coming between the Sun and the Earth. Mercury is seen here moving across the Sun for the first time in 10 years and will not make its next transit until 2019 and then 2032. Photo credit : David Tett/LNP

Tim Minchin and Ian Mckellen.

RSC Shakespeare 400 Live Backstage at the RSC, Stratford Upon Avon on the 23/04/2016. Photo: David Tett

Horrible Histories CBBC RSC Shakespeare 400 Live Backstage at the RSC, Stratford Upon Avon on the 23/04/2016. Photo: David Tett Al Murray and David Suchet RSC Shakespeare 400 Live Backstage at the RSC, Stratford Upon Avon on the 23/04/2016. Photo: David Tett Alexandra Gilbreath

RSC Shakespeare 400 Live Backstage at the RSC, Stratford Upon Avon on the 22/01/2014. Photo: David Tett

Roger Allam

RSC Shakespeare 400 Live Backstage at the RSC, Stratford Upon Avon on the 22/01/2014. Photo: David Tett

Al Murray

RSC Shakespeare 400 Live Backstage at the RSC, Stratford Upon Avon on the 23/04/2016. Photo: David Tett

RSC Shakespeare 400 Live Backstage at the RSC, Stratford Upon Avon on the 23/04/2016. Photo: David Tett RSC Shakespeare 400 Live Backstage at the RSC, Stratford Upon Avon on the 23/04/2016. Photo: David Tett RSC Shakespeare 400 Live Backstage at the RSC, Stratford Upon Avon on the 23/04/2016. Photo: David Tett RSC Shakespeare 400 Live Fireworks at the RSC, Stratford Upon Avon on the 23/04/2016. Photo: David Tett     

The games are generally fun and well designed. You get all the zones they had in the original: Aztec, Future, Medieval and Industrial. You also get to wear some very stylish bomber jackets.

Here are some pics from the crystal dome section at the end (unfortunately the only part I was allowed to photograph). The Time Out guide has some useful advice for anyone collecting those gold tokens. The online article with more pics is here. Trust me when I say it's a damn sight harder than it looks on the tele.

Crystal Maze recreated at the Secret Location, London on the 09/01/2014. Photo: David Tett Crystal Maze recreated at the Secret Location, London on the 09/01/2014. Photo: David Tett Crystal Maze recreated at the Secret Location, London on the 09/01/2014. Photo: David Tett Crystal Maze recreated at the Secret Location, London on the 09/01/2014. Photo: David Tett Crystal Maze recreated at the Secret Location, London on the 09/01/2014. Photo: David Tett

 http://www.express.co.uk/comment/columnists/stuart-winter/629634/Stuart-Winter-tails-PDSA-award

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/12064964/Dog-shot-in-head-by-crossbow-named-PDSA-Pet-Survivor-of-the-Year.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-1238933/Ziggy-wins-PDSA-Pet-Survivor-2015-crossbow-injury.html

Ziggy Pet Survivor at the Watford Junction, London on the 20/12/2015. Photo: David Tett

Ziggy Pet Survivor at the Watford Junction, London on the 20/12/2015. Photo: David Tett Ziggy Pet Survivor at the Watford Junction, London on the 20/12/2015. Photo: David Tett

Dance Proms 2015 faves-20Ruby and Megan CroydonDance Proms 2015 at the Royal Albert Hall, London on the 15/11/2015. Photo: David Tett Dance Proms 2015 faves-12Ruby and Megan CroydonDance Proms 2015 at the Royal Albert Hall, London on the 15/11/2015. Photo: David Tett Dance Proms 2015 faves-48Ruby and Megan CroydonDance Proms 2015 at the Royal Albert Hall, London on the 15/11/2015. Photo: David Tett Dance Proms 2015 faves-8Ruby and Megan CroydonDance Proms 2015 at the Royal Albert Hall, London on the 15/11/2015. Photo: David Tett Dance Proms 2015 faves-3Ruby and Megan CroydonDance Proms 2015 at the Royal Albert Hall, London on the 15/11/2015. Photo: David Tett Dance Proms 2015 faves-71Ruby and Megan CroydonDance Proms 2015 at the Royal Albert Hall, London on the 15/11/2015. Photo: David Tett Dance Proms 2015 faves-77Ruby and Megan CroydonDance Proms 2015 at the Royal Albert Hall, London on the 15/11/2015. Photo: David Tett Dance Proms 2015 faves-76Ruby and Megan CroydonDance Proms 2015 at the Royal Albert Hall, London on the 15/11/2015. Photo: David Tett Dance Proms 2015 faves-89Ruby and Megan CroydonDance Proms 2015 at the Royal Albert Hall, London on the 15/11/2015. Photo: David Tett Dance Proms 2015 faves-55Ruby and Megan CroydonDance Proms 2015 at the Royal Albert Hall, London on the 15/11/2015. Photo: David Tett Dance Proms 2015 faves-98Ruby and Megan CroydonDance Proms 2015 at the Royal Albert Hall, London on the 15/11/2015. Photo: David Tett Dance Proms 2015 faves-83Ruby and Megan CroydonDance Proms 2015 at the Royal Albert Hall, London on the 15/11/2015. Photo: David Tett

From what I've seen so far I can say that this sport is intense. It's been called a mix of polo, rugby and basketball but that cannot really do it justice. Players gallop around on horseback flinging a ball to each other while trying to throw it into giant hoops placed either end of the arena.

The ball is essentially a football wrapped in a harness and the first difficulty seems to be picking it off the ground while remaining on the horse. Once you've managed that you can only hold onto the ball for 10 seconds and the ball has to be passed a certain amount of times between teammates before an attempt at goal can be made. All the while the opposition are within rights to barge into you and rip it off you. It's basically a contact sport on horseback and spectacular to watch. Horseball best-70 Horseball best-56 Horseball best-67 Horseball best-58 Horseball best-59 Horseball best-69 Horseball best-54

Shooting inside the Selfridges window displays was definitely most squeezed I've ever felt on a photo assignment (and I've been to some pretty narrow places). Fortunately packed my 16mm f/2.8 fisheye lens for this one otherwise would have been virtually impossible to get anything decent.   

Underwater Rugby at the Putney Leisure Centre, London on the 13/08/2015. Photo: David Tett

Underwater Rugby at the Putney Leisure Centre, London on the 13/08/2015. Photo: David Tett Underwater Rugby at the Putney Leisure Centre, London on the 13/08/2015. Photo: David Tett Underwater Rugby at the Putney Leisure Centre, London on the 13/08/2015. Photo: David Tett Underwater Rugby at the Putney Leisure Centre, London on the 13/08/2015. Photo: David Tett Underwater Rugby at the Putney Leisure Centre, London on the 13/08/2015. Photo: David Tett Underwater Rugby at the Putney Leisure Centre, London on the 13/08/2015. Photo: David Tett Underwater Rugby at the Putney Leisure Centre, London on the 13/08/2015. Photo: David Tett Underwater Rugby at the Putney Leisure Centre, London on the 13/08/2015. Photo: David Tett

1. Cable ties are incredibly useful in almost any situation, even more so then duct tape in my experience. Just so tough and easy to work with. Always carry them on shoots!

2. Scuba diving gear is an absolute necessity when shooting underwater and I'm indebted to the underwater rugby team for letting me use theirs. I've tried with and without and there's just no point in even trying if you can't relax underwater. It's not just the having to hold your breathe but also the fact that without the tank, and with arms full of equipment, you're just way too buoyant to dive down. Just embrace looking like a dork!

3. Underwater camera housing doesn't come cheap as you can imagine. Most models on the market are expensive and often dedicated to one particular camera model. I was pleased to find an alternative option on ebay by a German company called Ewa Marine, who offer flexible but firm plastic housing rigs, tough enough for pool shoots and allowing for various different camera types.I must say I was very nervous taking my D3s to the pool the first time, but after a few tries I was soon flinging it about underwater without much of a worry and I trust it now to do the job.

4. Firing off camera flash underwater is one of the most difficult techniques out there. Radio waves and infrared just don't travel any distance at all underwater to be picked up by your remote strobes, so you can forget about using pocket wizards. After some research I decided the most affordable way to manage this was by using a system of optical cables. I took my inspiration from this guy

So far his set up is the best DIY solution I've found to the problem of firing flash underwater. It's still a real challenge to move all this kit into position underwater. Without weights your light stands and cables risk floating around underwater and potentially very hazardous.

Also there appears to be very few glues out there that are strong enough to work with underwater. I used shoo glue to attach the optical cable connector to the peli case and it lasts only about one session before coming unstuck. The cable has to be directly opposite the speedlight sensor or the flash won't fire so this is crucial.

Despite the challenges shooting underwater is much fun. Especially a sport like underwater rugby which is so action packed and downright bizarre at the same time.

Jimmy Morris, stock car racing driver, at the Wimbledon Stadium, London on the 30/03/2015. Photo: David Tett Jimmy Morris, stock car racing driver, at the Wimbledon Stadium, London on the 30/03/2015. Photo: David Tett Jimmy Morris, stock car racing driver, at the Wimbledon Stadium, London on the 30/03/2015. Photo: David Tett Jimmy Morris, stock car racing driver, at the Wimbledon Stadium, London on the 30/03/2015. Photo: David Tett Jimmy Morris, stock car racing driver, at the Wimbledon Stadium, London on the 30/03/2015. Photo: David Tett

Kidzania feature for Time Out magazine at the Westfield, London on the 02/07/2015. Photo: David Tett Kidzania feature for Time Out magazine at the Westfield, London on the 02/07/2015. Photo: David Tett

Hello Kitty promo at the Westfield Shopping Centre, London on the 01/01/2014. Photo: David Tett Hello Kitty promo at the Westfield Shopping Centre, London on the 10/04/2015. Photo: David Tett Hello Kitty promo at the Westfield Shopping Centre, London on the 10/04/2015. Photo: David Tett Hello Kitty promo at the Westfield Shopping Centre, London on the 01/01/2014. Photo: David Tett

Alexi Duggins and his Red Bull Soapbox crew working on their machine at the London on the 28/06/2015. Photo: David Tett Alexi Duggins and his Red Bull Soapbox crew working on their machine at the London on the 28/06/2015. Photo: David Tett Red Bull Soapbox at the London on the 28/06/2015. Photo: David Tett Alexi Duggins and his Red Bull Soapbox crew working on their machine at the London on the 28/06/2015. Photo: David Tett

RAD South East Awards 2015 at the RAD Hq, London on the 10/05/2015. Photo: David Tett

Epic Dance Showdown at the Cadogan Hall, London on the 26/06/2015. Photo: David Tett Booby Dazzles Grande Productions show at the HM Theatre, London on the 28/06/2015. Photo: David Tett Grande Productions June 2015 Bobby Dazzlers at the HM Theatre, London on the 28/06/2015. Photo: David Tett Grande Productions June 2015 Bobby Dazzlers at the HM Theatre, London on the 28/06/2015. Photo: David Tett RAD South East Awards 2015 at the RAD Hq, London on the 10/05/2015. Photo: David Tett

Do the Right thing hereos at the Brixton Prison and Tulse Hill, London on the 15/04/2015. Photo: David Tett Do the Right thing hereos at the Brixton Prison and Tulse Hill, London on the 15/04/2015. Photo: David Tett

While there are plenty of excellent examples of long-exposure photography out there, this sort of technique tends to be used at night. The trails of traffic and bright neon lights make the city appear vibrant and colourful. My idea behind this project was to use the same technique but in bright midday sun to produce an opposite effect. The city space looks dead, void of any human activity and familiar landmarks appear eery in situ.

This effect is accentuated by the fact that a long exposure like this, shot in the midday sun, makes a digital image look like it was shot on film. Using an infrared filter on top of neutral density filters I can cut out at lot of nuisance IR light spilling onto the sensor, at the expense of muting the colours.

http://www.cityam.com/211618/gym-founders-want-see-brits-jumping-joy-new-parks

Trampoline Promo for Altitude Parks at the Farnborough Leisure Centre, Farnborough, UK on the 13/03/2015. Photo: David Tett Trampoline Promo for Altitude Parks at the Farnborough Leisure Centre, Farnborough, UK on the 13/03/2015. Photo: David Tett

Caroline Walton Headshots at the on the 04/03/2015. Photo: David Tett Caroline Walton Headshots at the on the 04/03/2015. Photo: David Tett

Dr Zhivago Press event at the Sanctum Hotel, Soho, London on the 08/01/2015. Photo: David Tett

  Pilgrim's Trail-2 Pilgrim's Trail-1 Pilgrim's Trail-3 Pilgrim's Trail-4 Pilgrim's Trail-5 Pilgrim's Trail-6 Pilgrim's Trail-7 Pilgrim's Trail-8 Pilgrim's Trail-9 Pilgrim's Trail-10 Pilgrim's Trail-11 Pilgrim's Trail-12 Pilgrim's Trail-13 Pilgrim's Trail-14 Pilgrim's Trail-15

Having tracked the plane’s flight path I set the telescope up in my front room and waited for the right moment. This sort of shot takes a hell of a lot of patience.

In those days the tunnel would be lined with souvenir stalls. Those eager to boast of their experience would snap up as many as possible as this demonstrated how long they were able to stay underground. Brilliant!

I’m also posting a few pics of the set-up I use to shoot the sky. This includes my Nikon D3s with t-adapter and barlow lens, and a shot of the baader solar filter fixed to a homemade ring cutout over the aperture of the telescope.

Using my telescope effectively as a massive telephoto lens (with a t-adapter and barlow) I’ve fitted my camera up to take shots of the full moon.

I also invested in a solar filter which cuts out 99.99% of light, enabling me to get a shot of the sun in broad daylight.

It’s amazing seeing the sun spots on the sun, beautiful to observe.

Here are a few shots from the day. Alexi Duggin’s article can be found on the Time Out site here

Many thanks to my enthusiastic models in this shoot. Gave the pictures a lot of energy, especially Jamie with his ‘kid in a candy shop’ impressions.

The shoot became a technical challenge when I found out I couldn’t use flash. Naturally that sort of thing freaks the hell out of cats. Thankfully Ben Rowe at Time Out was on hand to help out with some mobile phone lighting. Enjoy!

There are plenty of guides online on how to do this (a good one here) so rather than simply regurgitate all this advice I created a timelapse video to demonstrate the process.

Step 1: Mixing chemicals. I used the Tetenal 1l c-41 processing kit which is good for well over a dozen developments and only about 25 quid online. Easy.

Step 2: Achieving the right temperature. Maintaining this is key. Colour development must be done around 38-39 degrees C. You can see it gets rather steamy at one stage! A drop of one centigrade is apparently disastrous! I adopted the same approach as in the guide above using two washing up bowls, one as a heating bath for the chemicals and one as a holding bath for the tank. With bath tub and shower head, a couple of bowls, and a couple of decent digital thermometers it’s dead easy to keep the temperature consistent.

Step 3: The development. Once the chemicals have been heated the development can commence! Stopwatch is absolutely essential at this stage obviously. A very useful app I discovered for the timings – LabTimer.
The developer goes in first, then the bleach fix (nasty stuff you generally want to avoid much contact with), then a 3 min rinse before the stabliser at the end.

Step 4: After a quick wash the negative is ready for drying!

Here are some of the results. These were shot on Kodak Portra colour film, on my Mamiya AFD II 645 medium format and Voigtlander Bessa R2 35mm rangefinder.

untitled

Steel frame construction. Giant Meccano basically.

Extra floors added.

Concrete added.

Panorama.

Watch this space…

Time Out London Issue 2239 PDFs

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The project was a real challenge. Not least because the majority of the participants hated having their picture taken! This forced me to work really hard in what was only a half-hour session with each person. Suffice to say I couldn’t rely on cheeky one-liners. It was also a mission finding different locations we could use around the campus. It’s amazing how fit you get lugging camera gear and lighting stands up and down stairs.

I chose to do the whole exhibition in black and white. I’m really glad I made this decision early on, as I’ve learned a lot about colour and monochrome shooting, and what lighting, composition, backgrounds suit both formats.

Here are the results of an intense 2 week shoot, and below a few images from the Inspiring Women launch event.

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I shot these pictures with my new Sony Nex-6. I’m amazed by how smart these bridge cameras are getting. Really excellent quality too. It sure beats lugging my D3 around town. Sure there are still things it cannot do that a pro body can. The autofocus, high ISO shooting, and lens quality still fall a little short of the high end of the DSLR specturm, but you’ll find the Nex-6 is a really great compromise. The HD movies are super sharp too. Plus the addition of built-in WIFI is handy, allowing you to upload pics immediately from the camera or via your smartphone.

Highly recommended!

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In the 2nd shoot we embarked up a tour of the London Science Museum dressed as giant cockroaches. Why? I don’t know why exactly, although Duggins’ piece on it is in the magazine this week. Some sort of educational thing I imagine.

Finally a spot of life drawing at London Museum. This was an interesting one, trying to get the best shot possible in an environment where just holding a camera felt wrong and weird. For a funny read go here http://tinyurl.com/cmqnkeo

Shot this using mainly available light with a slow shutter speed to enhance the flame. Time out article is here http://tinyurl.com/8uesduq

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Here is the peloton crossing over Putney Bridge headed by Bradley Wiggins. No joy for team GB unfortunately.

We also spotted wild horses up there, the only ones still in the UK. Altogether an eventful day.

Check out Tim Ireland’s excellent pics of the region here too http://timireland.blogspot.co.uk/

I recently purchased the Lastolite Octa Softbox, the largest softbox I own at 90x90cm across. I’ve been looking for a truly portable large softbox for a while now and it fits the bill perfectly. Takes roughly 10mins to set up mind so you have to factor that into the shoot. It produces lovely diffused light, and is nicely balanced. You can also shoot speedlights through it with a hotshoe attachment. Travelling around London on public transport with all your gear means you need these sort of portable lighting solutions.

Here are a few shots I´ve managed to upload for now. I have also included here a picture of the Flechas, very sharp arrow like plants sticking up like knives from the ground.

Next on the agenda is the Sangay volcano.

Waterproofing all the gear is of paramount importance on this trip. It rained for a few hours today in Quito and it rained hard. I can´t say for sure what to expect in the mountains but it´s sure to be the toughest physical challenge I have faced so far.

Here are few shots from Quito today. I´ll keep updating when I can.

So this is it. The Search for Gold 2011 Expedition is about to begin. I’m on a train gliding through rural Oxfordshire on my way back to London Town, gazing out the window and reflecting on what kind of adventure lies ahead. Just a few days left to go before I board the flight to Ecuador and join up with the rest of the team.

I’ve just picked up my share of expedition food from Mr Tinker for the trip: 24 hour survival rations, comprising of tightly packed freeze dried food. Right now I am resisting the temptation to break out the chocolate pudding. Powdered muesli… mmm tasty! I keep reminding myself at least it’s endorsed by Ranulph Fiennes. I bought a George Foreman grill once. I trusted that guy…surely Sir Ranulph wouldn’t let me down?

I’m buzzing with excitement, anticipation, and a mild amount trepidation to be fair. I know that Jacki Hill Murphy and Ken Hames have poured a lot into this trip, literally years of planning and preparation. We have amassed a wealth of information about the Llanganates, the legend of buried Inca gold, and the various treasure seekers that have tried and failed to locate it. And yet despite all this, nobody really knows exactly what to expect. And that’s part of the fun! That’s what these trips are all about. At present I’ve only met half our team but we might well call ourselves an eclectic bunch of thrill seekers, from various backgrounds, of various ages, each of us bringing something to the table.

My role on the trip is that of the official photographer. A trek of this magnitude and difficulty presents me with a conundrum over what kit to take out. We face treacherous conditions: high altitude boggy terrain, razor sharp vegetation, and freezing rain accounting for an annual precipitation of up to twice that of the Lake District. I’ve decided to take my Nikon D3s, with three lenses: two primes 20mm F/2.8 and 50mm F/1.4 and a telephoto zoom Sigma 70-300mm F/4-5.6 APO Macro. These I will carry in a Lowepro Inverse 200AW beltpack (with all weather cover!) on me at all times. It’s not ideal but the best compromise I could find. I’m interested to see how my D3s handles the weather although I will be taking some extra waterproofing in case it gets hairy.

I hope to document the trip and the team effort while working on my own photo stories along the way. I’ve heard a lot about the biodiversity, and I’m looking forward to doing some Macro photography, training my long lens on the various fauna, flora, and fungi we encounter along the way. Luckily we have two Belgian wildlife experts on board. I’m relying on them to advise us on the how cuddly these creatures are.

Part two of our expedition involves climbing the Sangay, one of the most active volcanoes in South America. That’s about all I know about it at the moment, but it does look pretty damn impressive on Google Earth. I’ll be blogging more about this as we go along.

More to come!

Love working for these guys. I recently found out they also have a great picture archive of bands and artists shot over the years, which you can check out on their web page www.bsimagearchive.com. The collection they have is unique…and there are some cool shots there…including Bob Marley enjoying a kick about.