My Student Blog

Renault 5 GT Turbo [Flickr]

Daniel Hodson — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:29:57 PST

A lovely example of a Renault 5 GT Turbo. Captured using a bracketed exposure.

A "hot hatch" version, the GT Turbo, was introduced in 1985. It used a heavily modified four cylinder, eight-valve Cléon 1397 cc engine, a pushrod unit dating back to the 1950s. It was turbocharged with an air-cooled Garrett T2 turbocharger. Weighing a mere 850 kg (1,874 lb), and producing 115 PS (85 kW; 113 hp), the GT Turbo had an excellent power-to-weight ratio, permitting it to accelerate from a standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 7.1 seconds. To differentiate it from the standard 5, it came with blocky plastic side skirts.

Renault 5 GT Turbo [Flickr]

Daniel Hodson — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:16:05 PST

Daniel Hodson posted a photo:

A little bit of appreciation for a classic in such pristine condition.

Johnny Foreigner [Flickr]

Daniel Hodson — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 11:00:27 PDT

Daniel Hodson posted a photo:

Johnny Foreigner

Off The Cuff Festival 2011

Johnny Foreigner [Flickr]

Daniel Hodson — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 11:00:15 PDT

Daniel Hodson posted a photo:

Johnny Foreigner

Off The Cuff Festival 2011

Johnny Foreigner [Flickr]

Daniel Hodson — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 11:00:03 PDT

Daniel Hodson posted a photo:

Johnny Foreigner

Off The Cuff Festival 2011

Tom Ward - Liberté photoshoot

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 12:55:00 +0000

Following my on going project, I conducted a shoot with a solo musician called Thomas Ward.

He is on the verge of releasing an EP entitled 'Liberté'

We ventured out of Birmingham to a small village called Earlswood.

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Tom Ward - Singer/Songwriter by Daniel Hodson, on Flickr

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Tom Ward - Singer/Songwriter by Daniel Hodson, on Flickr

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Tom Ward - Singer/Songwriter by Daniel Hodson, on Flickr

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Tom Ward - Singer/Songwriter by Daniel Hodson, on Flickr

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Tom Ward - Singer/Songwriter by Daniel Hodson, on Flickr

Band Promotional Shoot

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 19:28:00 +0000

Band Promotional Shoot
Originally uploaded by daniel.hodson.

Here is one of the images from my recent band promotional shoot down in Solihull. I can't give any more details yet as the photos are due to be release as part of something special.

Shoot with a Cold Night For...

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 16:13:00 +0000

Here are a few images from latest shoot with Artists - A Cold Night For...

What Next?

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:32:00 +0000

So, Today is July 29th 2010. I finished University for summer over a month ago now and needless to say I feel a little empty. I've had little motivation to do any photography work so far but I'm going to turn this around.

I'm currently approaching my third and final year on the course and really need to get my act together. Why do I feel unmotivated? It's possibly linked to my under par gear that lets me down every time I attempt live music photography in a dark venue.

This summer was hopefully going to be upgrade time, but with promise of full time being out the window, the upgrade looks unlikely.

So now, on a positive mindset... I'm now looking towards my negotiated project and dissertation.

Here is a working title for the chosen area.

"Logistical & Location Aspects of Product and Advertising in the Music Industry"

Obviously this gives me a wide scope of things to analyse, be it how products are marketed in various media, the logistics of conducting a band shoot on location. Taking into account makeup, stylist, lighting amongst other things such as time management.

Other areas to address are icon album art from bygone eras eg, The Clash - London Calling, Exile on Main Street, Patti Smith, Pink Floyd etc.

Following my one to one with a tutor at university I've also began to compile a list of iconic photographers to research:

Robert Mablethorpe
Anton Corbin
Storm Thorgenson
Peter Blake
Brian Griffin
Robert Frank

This is just the beginning.. Now, lets have a good think..

Elephtheria Jervis-Xenos - Fashion Collection.

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 19:25:00 +0000

Fantastic day, in a fantastic location.

Collection and modeling by Elephtheria Jervis-Xenos
Stylist by Melysa Wilson
Make-up by Becky Hunting.

The Benwahs - May 3rd 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Wed, 05 May 2010 13:42:00 +0000

Well, what a day? Incredibly good fun and a great team to work with. I'd firstly like to thank both Melysa Wilson and Charlotte Louise. Without these two the photos wouldn't of been half as good!

What started out as a sunny day turned into icy cold showers and rain. Though they were intermittent so it enabled us to make the most of the breaks in the rain.

Below are the edits from the day.

Muchuu Shoot - 4th May 2010.

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Wed, 05 May 2010 13:32:00 +0000

Today was an extremely exciting day. After speaking with John Mostyn via email for the last few weeks it was finally shoot day, We set off for Hereford, and swung by to collection Milky & George of Muchuu.

When I was told we were heading to a country house called Elton hall, I assumed it was a nationa trust type property. But how wrong was I?

The hall is lived in and we got to meet the residence who were delightful. What was even more delightful was the playground we were given to shoot on.

Below are some edits from the shoot.

Do leave comments on photos if you have any thoughts.

A good day.

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:16:00 +0000

So today has been a good day, after sewing various seeds in the last few months, one of the shoots has started to show.

A gentleman called John Mostyn has approached me today asking if I'm available next week. The natural answer was to say yes, as I was prepared to give anything up for the chance to build a relationship, and portfolio content.

John Mostyn is involved with a band called Muchuu, you can hear their work here

http://www.myspace.com/muchuumusic

The vocals of the female lead remind me of Ellie Goulding.

To give a little more information about shoot day, we'll be heading to Herefordshire, to Eaton Hall, a wonderful country house with lavish and interesting gardens and woodland.

Should this weather hold out it will be a fantastic day!

Watch this space for outcomes, I'm genuinely excited about this.

Frustration and fears..

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:38:00 +0000

Its another one of those days were I sit around pondering my future. Maybe the 'sitting around' part of that last sentence is the problem?

I spend half the time worrying about the future, its a natural thing to do I suppose but I don't half find it irritating. I'm currently writing a presentation for university for a module called 'Professional Practice.' The irony is I can't get any professional practice right now, and even if I did I can't help but feel my gear isn't up to scratch. The viscous circle then happens, I can pull more hours in my part time job to earn money for new gear at the detriment of my career choice and university commitments. All I know is, I can't go pro with the gear I've got right now as it will not suffice.

One glimmer of hope is the following, I took a shot in the dark and posted an advert on photographers.co.uk. I didn't think I'd hear anything but thought it might help my Google rating for my own website as it was another place that was linking to my own site.

It was posted on the 12th April, on the 17th I received an email from a local photographer called Mike Tolfree. The email received was through photographers.co.uk,

Daniel,

I'm Michael from Cannock. I have my own studio in Brownhills, fully equipped and offering various services.
I may be able to help, in fact, I am looking for an assistant for tomorrow (18th) with transport as I have had a crisis with my own. So it's an assistant, lift share kind of gig (petrol paid and I can come up with some form of payment). I can also offer various things in the future.

If your interested try and get back to me as early as possible today and I will give you the details.
Many Thanks,
Mike Tolfree
Avenue[19] Photography

Unfortunately, due to work and lack of notice I had to decline. I have however been in touch with Mike and hopefully meeting with him this week to discuss possible assisting roles in the coming future. Hopefully it will present me with opportunity to add to my portfolio.

I've also got the up and coming shoot with Birmingham based band, The Benwahs, but I can't help but feel its not going to happen as I'd like. I've been trying to generate excitement about it all but no one else seems to been as engaged about it all apart from me, but we'll see...

Next up is the which camera...? dilemma.

I've got 3 amateur lenses in my arsenal; a stock 18-55 f4.5 lens, a 50mm f1.8 lens and a tamron zoom lens up to 300mm. These lenses will fit a Canon 7D, but quite frankly offer poor image quality when comparing against professional level lenses. The Canon 7D is in my price range but the body only offers a cropped sensor. This is fine for now, but its a lot of money to spend to then upgrade at a later date. The 5D mk II is a full frame camera, but the lenses I currently own are designed for a cropped frame SLR forcing me to purchase new lenses with the 5D body, this I cannot afford and so do I wait or buy the Canon 7D?

I've been baffled by reviews on the bodies and feel completely overwhelmed by some of the technical talk which makes me feel slightly inferior.

sigh..

Project moving forward.

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 11:42:00 +0000

After successfully getting in touch with a banded entitled 'The Benwahs' We finally got to meet. Initially there was a impression of me taking photos of them, literally just that. But after talking and some in depth ideas generation we reached a concept we were happy with.

I'm not going to leak the concept just yet so stay posted...

You can find The Benwahs on myspace here.
They are extremely active in Birmingham's music scene so if you get chance to support them then head down to their gigs.

Check out their live acoustic set on youtube:

Rebrand.

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:08:00 +0000

Following a lot of thinking, I decided it was time for a rebrand. I'm at an important time now where I actually need business cards. The logo was unimaginative and uninspiring.

So after a few sketches and ideas I fired up illustrator and came up with a few various, the one below was the one I chose after a selection of weeks.

The circles are meant to resemble a lens of a camera, which thankfully people have realised. If you actually read this blog than please leave feedback at to what you think. Cheers.

Summary or summery?

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:41:00 +0000

Today for me felt like the start of summer. The sun was out, the breeze was mild and the sky was clear and deep blue. I've missed it so much, for some reason I'm more inspired creatively when the better weather comes than when its crappy outside.

It makes me feel generally better about myself, and lifts my self-esteem. I little trip with a friend of mine to the tech stores on his course landed me with a 10-20mm wide angle lens. I mentioned this in my previous post but figured I'd bring it up again. It proved to provide me hours of fun, and experimentation too.

Naturally I photographed friends enjoying the sunshine with what ended up being a picnic. We had a few beers and smart price sausage rolls... Tasty! anyway, enough of the ramblings, no one reads it surely.
Here are a few images from today. Just a note that the two images from the previous post were included.

Jumping.. for joy?

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:38:00 +0000

So the images above is pretty much how I feel at the moment, if you can't work it out... Its me jumping!

I'm borrowed a 10-20mm wide angle lens today which proved great fun, it's also given me food for thought as regards to what lenses to get for the new camera. Things are busy right now, my project is starting to take off and deadlines are fast approaching for the current university project.

Oooh oh..

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:24:00 +0000

So its here, the fear.. The fear of unknown and uncertainty. My project is taking place, and hopefully the time and effort put in will hopefully pay off. I'm in a place of anxiousness right now as I'm unsure as to whether I should purchase a professional level DSLR. Its a case of if I do, how long will it be before I make my money back on it.

I suppose its the link between feeling confident enough about your work. I can't help but feel I've got the most out of my current 350D veteran and maybe its time to progress. There is of course no reason to get a 40D/50D as they're only a step up and still only have a half frame sensor.

If I take the plunge, I can see myself feeling guilty about my purchase if I don't get the work to get the use out of it...

This is just a ramble so if you've read it and understand my mindset let me know haha..

lol.

Professional Practice Lecture - 15th March ‘10

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:03:00 +0000

I've had a busy weekend so I've only now been able to comment on fridays lecture. We had guest lecturers Lara Ratnaraja & Steff Aquarone. Lara was from Business link west midlands and took time out to explain what her role is within the local creative industry.

It turns out there is an awful amount of support from freelancers and small businesses so its a good idea to bare Lara in mind should that be the direction my career goes. She offered some sound advice, I'd like to hear what she has to say again just at half speed as it was hard to keep up.

Next up was Steff, he was so inspiring to listen to a raised some excellent points, he was infact studying a degree in something not even related to the creative industry, but due to a passion for TV, he got involved with his universities TV network. This is where his career began.

He is extremely successful today, but this isn't without hard work and determination. He's had some slips and trips along the way, but hes a sterling example of what you can achieve if your motivated enough.

Start of something big...

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:16:00 +0000

Oh my, an idea that I conceived is actually starting to get quite big and could potentially reap reward. I'm a fan of fashion photography and music/band photography. So I decided it would be a good idea to possibly combine the two, not in a way as to see bands wearing outrageous attire, more along the lines of posing bands in such a way as to create a body of work with continuity.

I'm hoping to exhibit work should I get enough to show which is why I want to feature local bands. This gives them the ability to gain extra coverage while I get coverage from exhibiting work featuring them. I started writing a draft letter documenting what I was hoping to achieve. Using ties with music industry based students I have been able to start conducting a mailing list of bands that I would like to feature.

Its nice to say that the feedback so far has been great. I've actually got 6 bands/artists confirmed so far. They are the following:
The Benwahs
Dan Whitehouse
A Cold Night For…
The Rimes
Slipstream
Little girl Screaming

And the following bands/artists interested:
Circle Circus
Ellis Wilde

It seems like interest is growing an awful lot which is quite exciting. Its proving to provide me with a great arsenal of bands to shoot and hopefully we can work together to create a beautiful selection of images showing Birmingham's Unsigned talent.

A Notable Lecture - 5th March ‘10

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:36:00 +0000

Well today has proved inspiring, after being blessed with a visit from several industry creatives I now have a slightly clear idea of my own targets.

I'll take the time to mention them all as they all had valid comments that I took notice of. They were the following, All names have a url embedded so do take the time to visit their sites simply by clicking their names.

Timm Sonnenschein
Kate Beatty
Jo Gane
Louise Haywood - Schieffer
Alisdair Cusick
Lorentz Gullachsen

It seems several of these people are in fact alumni of BCU (UCE) when they graduated which is inspiring and warming to know.

Louise was extremely interesting to listen to because she seems to of gone the route I'm interested. Shes had a keen interest in both fashion and music (band) photography and her work is extremely inspiring.

Lorentz had the experience of a seasoned pro with an impress portfolio of big brands under his belt, he showed us his journey through his career which started back in the 70's which was extremely impressive.

Jo showed us some work she had done using the wet plate collodion process, which was an impressive technique used to create a photograph. Here is one of my favorites of 21st century Birmingham.

What a beautiful technique from the archives of photography techniques. Amazing.

Kate showed us her collection of long exposures showing the effects of artificial light on the landscape, I've always enjoyed long exposures so tempted to try this at some point.

All in all it was a fabulous lecture and I've taken a lot away with me.

Makeshift Studio.

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:25:00 +0000

This shoot was set up in correspondence to a brief set by a selection of Media Students, They were asked to create an imaginary 'band/group' so they cast a selection of people to be in the 'group.' A selection of outfits were chosen for the models to add variation to the shoot.

The Group is called A.V.D - Audio, Video, Disco
Their alias's are as following: Tee, Paul and Rosie.

I'm currently in the process of trying to identify if anyone is reading my blog so if you are please leave a message below. Thankyou

CV Opportunity - Students Union

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:28:00 +0000

I've been trying to get myself some work relating to photography so I can build up both my portfolio and my CV. I decided to approach my students union after noticing that all Union events lacked a photographer.

After some tooing and frowing I managed to arrange a meeting with the head of the Union.

Yesturday the meeting took place and we've agreed I'll photograph events related to the union, in exchange to link backs to my site and credit on the photos. I also get free entry to Union events also.

As well as the events side of things the union is currently trying to promote its locations, so I've agreed to do some panoramic imagery inside the venues so they can be displayed on the website. Watch this space.

Interlinked Blog to Website.

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:56:00 +0000

Well I've been busy trying to integrate various sites into one so that you, the user has access to most things without having to leave a webpage.

Using the RSS feature from this blog I've been able to embed it so it shows my latest post on my portfolio site, this feature it pretty cool as it also allows me to show images, video or what ever I choose.

So heres an example of a video from youtube being shown on the site. Loving this song right now so figured I'd show this.

Tasty find: http://www.thisishappening.co.uk/

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:47:00 +0000

I've been on a quest to lay down some networks so I can hopefully fill my portfolio full of relevant loveliness. After a nice little chat in the Created in Birmingham gallery/shop in the Bullring, its apparent that the girl I was talking to in there is actually on my course. I say on my course shes infact a graphics boffin but still.. small world.

Having a mooch around her facebook page, I decided I'd visit her website as specified on her profile. It actually links to http://www.thisishappening.co.uk which seems to be a super blog about up and coming bands, gigs and events etc.

This is sure one to favourite and I'll make sure to check back often.

To the future..

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:04:00 +0000

I dont think you can look to the future without looking what you've done in the past. I've been thinking about this a lot and typed a little entry for my professional practice brief. Even if its a unit brief It's all meaningful.

It always helps to be honest when it comes to career aspirations. For me I'm in a slightly strange place as I've not got the conventional background as regards to my degree. I studied a two year foundation degree in Visual Communications. This entailed predominantly graphic design, typography, web design & illustration. Prior to my degree studies I did a foundation Art & Design year, which allowed me to do a taster in various aspects of design. It was here were I developed my taste for photography, we had the opportunity to trial both digital and film based photography.

It wasn't until I started my foundation degree at The Arts Institute in Bournemouth, now (The Arts University College at Bournemouth). That I realised I wanted to do photography. I tailored the next two years to fit my photography passion. The two years at Bournemouth really helped me hone my design skills which looking back have been a great thing. I feel I have a lot more to give to the visual communication world being able to competently use many different packages, not many photographers can lay claim to that.

The only downside to this is I can't help feel slightly behind as regards to knowing where I want to be. I've still not completely decided what area of photography I want to specialise in. I do however enjoy photographing people, not really in a portrait sense, more a 'fashion' style sense. This combined with my love for music leads me to live event photography, but also the opportunity to do promotional shoots for bands which is something I am keen to experiment with,

Final Exhibition - The Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:23:00 +0000

Well, its done. A massive thankyou to everyone who helped set up the exhibition while I wasn't there today, its great to see its all come together after all the doubt in the past. its only right to now offer to the plate some tasty images of what it looks like.

These images are courtesy of Jess.

Exhibition Setup

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:43:00 +0000

The Day has come to set up the exhibition ready for assessment tomorrow, the only issue is... I'm not actually there, and its quite frankly driving me mad. I've have complete faith that Sophie & Jess will pull out all the stops to make sure it looks great. Its in the nature of anyone related to art to ensure things look great, so I'm sure they'll do me proud. A little birdy as told me that Faye is a no show again, not that I'm surprised.

We had a brief chat with Mona yesterday to smooth over our complete and utter balls up last Friday, it was nice to be told that she had faith in us and knew that we'd come up with the goods. I'm currently around 120 miles from Birmingham and completely useless as regards to the rest of the preparation, I have however been in communication with Jess this morning confirming everything is okay.

I'm awaiting images that I can submit here to show. I can't wait to see.

Exhibition Location Choice

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Hodson) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:14:00 +0000

So here I present to you our choice of location for the exhibition. I don't think there was any other location that we wanted as this seemed the natural choice. It was these very seats that the group had an epiphany and things finally started to go right. The Location will require the seats to be moved temporarily so we can exhibit there, but for me I'm really excited of whats to come.