New Delhi, India. A place of many extremes and opposites. Slow, noisy, dirty, frustrating, poverty stricken... maybe.... but there are so many happy, smiling faces. Children come out to wave as you drive past. People everywhere are keen and eager to help, they can't do enough for you. It all says so much. India has one of the richest economies in the world, and yet so many live in extreme poverty that we can hardly comprehend. It's a huge country and one day I would love to go for more than a week, when I'm not working, and take time to look around at this beautiful place.
A climb up to the peak of Great Gable in late September just happened to coincide with the re-instatement of the Fell and Rock Climbing Club of the English Lake District's memorial plaque to those members who lost their lives during World War I.
The plaque was removed in July by the Royal Engineers who were invited to undertake the project and, accompanied by Vice Presidents Peter Smith and Mark Scott, completed stage 1 on 10th July 2013
On Wednesday 25th September the Engineers accompanied by members of the FRCC carried the plaque back up to the summit using a stretcher. They took all the tools and materials they needed with them and fixed the plaque back into its rightful place.
In September we were filming and editing a promotional video and a series of inserts for a concert that the Lakes Gospel Choir were appearing in at the Apollo in Manchester. The LGC is based in Windermere in the Lake District and they were taking part in a concert in conjunction with UCB and coinciding with the release of their new album 'Moving Mountains, Changing Lives'. Filming took place at the LCC in Windermere over 1 day and the various sequences and promo were then edited and completed for delivery the very next day. A record turn around..!
The Glasgow Skye Association's annual Pre-World's concert at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall kept us busy in August. This year it was the Inveraray & District Pipe Band with their 'Ascension' themed concert.
The concert hall was packed to the seams and this high profile and prestigious concert brought an audience from literally all the corners of the globe to see a wide variety of musical numbers which even included a barber shop quartet, pictured left.
It's a long time since Adrian worked in this great venue and it was good to be back.
Two exciting projects this month. Testing an aerial filming system in the Langdale Valley and shooting a new short documentary film in Windermere, both in the sunny and very hot as it was Lake District. The first project was working alongside Dave Hipkiss from Up Above Ltd. who owns and operates a variety of aerial filming systems to offer an alternative and more economical alternative to helicopter shooting.
The second project was for the South Lakes Youth for Christ and involved working with Director / Producer Tina Taylor to film and edit a short documentary about the life and work of the Light Bus which is an exciting new project centred around Windermere. We shot some amazing footage of the children who come along to enjoy this great venture.
April and May saw a couple of interesting jobs at opposite ends of the spectrum. A new client in Kendal in the Lake District, the famous 1657 Chocolate House was in need of some new product shots for a variety of websites... and no, I didn't eat any of the subject matter... Honestly, I didn't..!
And a little further away was the very hot destination of Bahrain for another Formula 1 race weekend. We got a very friendly reception thankfully despite the continued unrest, and there were no incidents to speak of. A very entertaining race too and some very yummy lemon and mint drinks to chill off in the evening. Not forgetting of course the very welcoming and cooling sight of the hotel swimming pool which was made good use of. Driving was interesting, my first time in Bahrain. Normally I love driving abroad but this was just plain crazy, they have no idea at all and how there aren't more serious accidents, I have no idea.
Just been watching a film called 'Russian Ark', remarkable if only for
the fact that it was shot entirely in one day, on a Steadicam, and in
one continuous shot. Not entirely sure what it's all about but all
respect to the crew and the cast, you can only guess at the logistical
nightmares that kind of shoot would entail, not to mention physical
exhaustion, as they were on take four by the time they got it in the
can. To make matters worse, the director only spoke Russian and the DoP
only spoke German so they were both followed around by a translator.
Must have been a fascinating day.
Directed by Alexander Sokurov. DoP and Steadicam by Tilman Buttner.
Fishing is a popular pastime at this lovely and serene spot, some 863 feet up between the Borrowdale and the Thirlmere valleys. Also a good stop off point to get a cuppa at the tea room next to the Pack Horse Bridge.
Some winter walking last week in the beautiful and inspiring mountains of the fabulous Lake District... High Pike was my destination but I only made it to the summit of Low Pike before I ran out of time to get back in daylight. Still, an amazing day as the sun cleared through the cloud on the way up.
The scenery was spectacular, as was the snow, and it had drifted heavily in several places. The crampons were on for most of the climb and it was pretty icy in places, not to mention the peaty bog that I inadvertently stumbled into, right up to my knee. Managed to escape its clutches though thankfully.
Stuff like this is just great for the soul.
Adrian Turpin is a Commercial Photographer Lake District Cumbria based.
We cover Cumbria, Manchester, Glasgow and the North West. A background
in lighting design for BBC Television, Theatre, Film and Photography
work spanning many years, we offer you a wealth of experience of quality
image making and creativity second to none. We specialise in a variety
of genres with our unparalleled and innovative approach. Studio and
location work. Based in Kendal and available for bookings nationwide.
Please visit our website at www.adrianturpin.co.uk to see images from our portfolio and for
further details. We look forward to talking to you and working with you. By Adrian Turpin
