Oh no, it's March already!

Spring is fast approaching which means my next shoot is just around the corner - next week to be precise - so this weekend is going to pass fast and furious as I attempt to finish props and get things ready.

In all honesty the books I've been making are taking longer than anticipated so most of my day today (and tomorrow, and Saturday) will be taken up with 'construction'. I know I'm going to have to source a few extras from the library but I think if I push hard, I might just get another ten done.

That leaves the wings. The butterfly wings took a few weeks due to the sewing and gluing of the material but I'm hoping the Snatchabook ones will be much quicker as it's all about glue this time. I'm using an old celluloid film to create the body of the wing and I had wondered about melting the ends together to fix it in place, however, I was advised that this approach probably wouldn't work so I'm going to stick with my faithful glue and keep everything crossed.

Yesterday I spent some time in Leeds at the Corn Exchange. With it's beauty, light and space, it's a building that always makes me stop and look around every time I visit. For some reason my memory can't do it justice and I always forget what a breath taking building it is.

The trip down yesterday had three functions. First to re-acquaint myself with the space we will hopefully be holding our Graduate Exhibition,

And secondly to meet up with the acclaimed photographer, Paul Floyd Blake who had been kind enough to agree to speak to myself and a fellow student regarding the profession. To say I was nervous would be an understatement! To come face to face with an actual Taylor Wessing prize winner was very much like meeting a celebrity for us but we needn't have worried. Paul was the most humble, genuine, kind, patient and encouraging professional you could ever hope to meet, and couldn't have been anymore helpful if he'd tried.

Lastly, we couldn't possibly visit The Corn Exchange without a trip to West Yorkshire Cameras, where I discovered this:

I first used orthochromatic back in 2014 and have been in love with it ever since. It's the film I used to shoot the ladies football team and the results it gives you are just stunning. This particular pack is almost thirty years past its expiry date but given the speed and grain of the film, I don't think it will make that much difference (obviously depending on how it has been stored). That said though, I almost want it to be slightly affected to see what crazy and unique results I can get from it. I'm really hoping that I might get a chance this weekend to run some through the field 5x4 camera I've borrowed but only if I get everything else finished.

So with this in mind, I'll go and crack on with another book before it's time to collect the small people from school. Wish me luck!