London Fashion Week - Feb 2013

As mentioned in my previous post, I am very lucky to be the winner of Canon UK's 2012 'Shoot like a pro' competition and last month I found myself based at Somerset House for London Fashion Week 2013.

It was ridiculously surreal and took a few days to sink in after I returned from London. It's been a very busy month since my return from London, thanks to university, however it's probably time to write up about it!

My first, and biggest day was Friday 15th February. I arrived at Somerset House at 9am, to be greeted by an excited crowd awaiting the start of Zoë Jordan and the official start to LFW AW13. I was quite nervous, thinking that everyone was going to be intimidating but I was pleasantly surprised by how everyone was so friendly and accommodating.

Before I knew it, I was going into the photographer's pit into the assigned canon spot. When I was shooting LFWeekend, it was only us students so we had plenty of room but at the time, we all thought it was still rather cramped. Now I know that the space we had at LFWeekend was luxurious compared to how cramped the photographer's pit is during the big Fashion Week. I was lucky to have the assigned canon spot in the pit so I didn't have to worry about having to squeeze in too much; some photographer's were not as lucky and had to last minute jump in between places. On several occasions I even had people ask if they could sit in between my legs - everyone became good friends quite quickly. 

As we were awaiting the show to start, photographer's flashes were constantly firing off as celebrities posed before taking their front row seats. Throughout the day, I heard people shouting the name 'Mollie King'; I have never heard of her but now I know that she's a part of a band called The Saturdays and she loves hogging the front row for almost every show. Apart from members of pop groups I have never heard of and 'actors' off reality shows I never watch, there were a lot of pretty cool famous people and editors milling around... all to add to the surreality. 

Finally, the lights are down and I'm shooting my first big fashion show. 

Entitled 'Foundations', Jordan's sculptured AW13 collection is inspired by post-modern masters and the baroque cathedrals of Italy. Alongside the Italian aesthetics of the collection, it was also heavily inspired by her recent move back to London. Jordan depicts the british urban landscape through the bold yet minimalist colours and graphic prints. 

As most fashion shows do, my first show was over and done with in about 10 minutes. Although, I was due to shoot Bora Aksu within the hour. Meaning, I quickly had time to download my images and a short rest before getting back in the pit to guard the canon spot. I definitely didn't fancy turning up at the last minute and having to kick someone out of my spot - I'm sure it's considered polite to sit in your area so people know you're there anyway. 

For Autumn/Winter 2013 Bora Aksu revisited the twenties, mixed in with the inspiration of Rosie and Jenny Dolly. The Dolly sisters were known for their mixture of innocence & mischief and this was perfectly represented through the creation of contrasts within the collection. A perfect example of contrasts could be seen within the reinvention of the flapper dress, using the mixture of luxe leather and delicate lace. 

After Bora Aksu, I was already starting to feel shattered! So after downloading my images and starting the process of going through everything, I had a well-deserved lunch break. 

On my return it was time for Felder Felder, and I was once again back in the cramped and sweaty conditions of the photographer's pit. Note: If you're thinking about shooting a Fashion Week, go to the gym and work out your biceps in preparation! By my third show, I felt like my arms were going to snap off underneath the weight of the large lenses Canon were ever so kindly letting me use. I'm not exactly the best person when it comes to the technical side of photography but the Canon team were very helpful, which helped me in remaining calm!

In the pits awaiting Felder Felder

Autumn/Winter at Felder Felder this year sees inspiration from one of my favourite photographers, Sarah Moon and 70's skateboarder Tony Alva. While maintaining their luxe and sophisticated design, the Felder twins perfectly convey grunge aesthetics simultaneously.

FINALLY a model tripped. In one swift movement she tripped on her dress, kicked her shoes off and carried them to the end.

After Felder Felder, I returned to Canon's Photographer Suite once again to attempt to start going through the many images I had taken throughout the day. Despite it being only about 5pm, I was completely lacking in energy so decided to spend the rest of the day watching the shows instead of shooting them. I was privileged to be able to watch Jean-Pierre Braganza and PPQ, finishing off my unreal first day at LFW. 

                 

Final parade at Jean-Pierre Braganza 

                            

Sophie Ellis Bextor getting papped infront of me prior to PPQ

Although I was initially only supposed to be attending LFW on the friday, my pass was for the entire week. So I obviously took full advantage by popping in as much as possible. I was lucky enough to be attend shows such as Jasper Conrad and Issa.

Jasper Conrad's beautifully bright procession

As stated many a time, the entire experience was surreal and I am extremely grateful for the experience. It was a very busy few days and I definitely needed quite a few days to recover when I came back to not-so-busy Norwich. It was my first Fashion Week and I definitely hope it's not my last! 

What have I been doing?!

It's been almost a full 9 months since my last post and a lot has happened in this period of time!
My blogging came to a hault last summer when I started my 3 month internship as a Post Production Assistant for the renowned photographer, Rankin.
During my time at Rankin, I learnt a lot across all departments and helped organise many of his exhibitions.
After a long summer of hard work, I managed to get a few weeks off before returning to university late September for my third and final year. It has come to no surprise that it's been stressful and even more hard work.
However, it began with a pleasant start with thanks to Canon UK. Canon invited students across the country to attend London Fashion Weekend and shoot the trend shows and selected designers in the photographers pit. All students were then encouraged to submit a portfolio of 5 images from each show towards Canon's 'shoot like a pro' competition, where you could win the opportunity to shoot the big London Fashion Week in February 2013 as an accredited photographer along with winning a pretty new 650d.
I submitted and thought nothing of it - I never win anything.

A month down the line, I get a phone call from university telling me I've won the LFWeekend competition. Of course, I thought they had got the wrong person but when a 650d turned up on my doorstep a few days later, It all started to really sink in.
I have since been featured on CPN Canon Professional Network, BBC Norfolk and my hometown's local newspaper. Everything all felt very surreal and it was ridiculous to see people take interest in my work.
London Fashion Week came round pretty quick, but that deserves a post of it's own!

Over the christmas holiday, I interned for Wonderland Magazine as a Fashion Intern. Wonderland was very different to my time at Rankin but it was brilliant to be on the fashion side of the editorials. Similarly to Rankin, my days were very long and sometimes did not arrive home until 10pm - which is hard work especially when you are an unpaid intern. However, I did get the honour of assisting for the renowned stylist Grace Cobb on her work for Elle US alongside my work for Wonderland.

On return to university in January, work got even more stressful thanks to my looming dissertation deadline. Thankfully that was handed in by late January, so I have since been able to focus on my practical work and experience.
February was a much happier month; I went down to London to be a photographic assistant for famous music photographer, Andy Earl and of course, my time at London Fashion Week.

When summarising my past year, it does look pretty fun but I can assure you, it's been a lot of hard work while continuing to become more stressful. It'll be all worth it in the end but the countdown to my final hand-in at uni is down to a mere 2 months. I'm now just looking forward to graduating, despite how sad it'll be to leave my Norwich friends, and start working in the industry.

PS - be sure to check out my website, it's gone under a few small changes.