Behind The Scenes: Royal Run.

Behind The Scenes: Royal Run.

Keep the diary open

Whether it was wishful thinking or simply experience, when I first heard about the Royal Run back in 2017 I decided to keep the 21st May available in my calendar. “We won’t be needing you for that particular race,” I was told, but a voice in my head kept saying, “Yeah they will.” It sounds arrogant, and maybe it is, but if there’s one area of photography I can handle it’s huge / important running events.

So it was with great satisfaction that I accepted the job less than one week ago, with the whole planning of the event nearing its zenith. But I wasn’t quite prepared for the role that was given to me, and when I realised the enormity of it I spent the next few nights envisioning settings and scenarios.

You see, when your main task is to photograph thousands of runners and the spectators that come to support them, you get a good few hours to get a series of great images. I like to use flash, I like to climb objects, I like to blag my way up private staircases… but if there’s one thing I don’t like it’s finding out that you only have ONE opportunity to get THE shot.

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Mission Impossible

The shot in question was the Danish Crown Prince, as he arrived at the 5km mark: Amalienborg Palace. It’s here that he lives with his wife and kids, and his mum, Queen Margerethe II, lives right next door. At the very least the race organisers needed a picture of him running past the palace, but it was also highly likely he would wave to his mother as she appeared on the balcony.

None of this was confirmed in advance, of course, so I was left guessing and trying to prepare for “Mission Impossible”, as one TV2 journalist put it.

I arrived in good time and with me I’d brought a small plastic stool for getting a higher advantage. Carrying these extra pieces of furniture around really is a pain in the ass, especially as cycling is the preferred mode of transport. To make things even more difficult, I couldn’t make my mind up exactly where I wanted to put it. At one point I’d found what I thought was a good spot right in between the two palaces (he might wave left to his mum, or he might wave right to his wife and kids), and then I moved it to a second location where he would be surrounded by runners (another requirement on the list of must-haves).

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Security said “No!”

After a brief conversation with a news videographer I finally chose the latter and popped my empty camera bag down by the metal fence separating the course from the spectators. Naturally it didn’t sit well with the men wearing the earpieces, so I was forced to sling it back over my shoulders, along with my camera bodies and multiple VIP Press Passes.

At this point I should also mention, that despite being the only photographer given clearance to stand where I was, it didn’t stop several other pros and enthusiasts from complaining I was in their way. It always gets a bit uncomfortable during these situations, because the bottom line is you are there on behalf of the organisers and therefore have a higher authority to answer to. None of these photographers were present at the press briefing where me and my colleagues were introduced, and none of them were wearing vests or press credentials. The Hulk inside of me had plenty to say on that matter, but the diplomat won the day and I kept things polite. At least, I think I did.

And then of course you suddenly need a wee! I raced off to take care of that, and by the time I’d returned the elite runners were starting to arrive. It was a good opportunity to test my settings and see how the light was working out (the sun was going down BEHIND the runners, making it a nightmare to expose for).

A Royal Wave

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The numbers gradually started increasing, and when I spotted a few athletes waving up towards the palace, I turned my attention to the balcony and to the Queen, who was gracefully encouraging the participants on with a friendly smile and a royal wave.

And then the crowd gave an almighty roar, which could only mean one thing: the Crown Prince had arrived. I quickly hopped on to my stool to try and spot him amongst the sea of runners, and luckily for me I was aware of a running partner he had who was wearing black and red. I spotted him first, and immediately sighted my quarry. The prince was looking to his right (home), and I quickly turned to see if there was anyone there. There wasn’t. But instead, as he rounded the corner he was faced with the sight of his mum, and he instantly slowed down to give her a cheeky salute. My camera was firing off several rounds per second, as runner after runner streamed past me, potentially blocking every other shot.

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The second problem was the lack of palace and queen in my viewfinder; something that was quite important to the organisers. So I dropped the long lens camera and quickly switched over to my wide in order to get all three in frame. As I began firing all I could make out was the Prince already 20 metres away and the Queen a small green dot in the distance. And in a heartbeat it was over.

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By far the hardest race I’ve ever done

For the next 30 seconds I scrolled impatiently through my images to see how successful I’d been. It was obvious I’d gotten the shot, but I couldn’t help think that the first location would have been better. On the other hand, it’s highly likely that the Queen would have been hidden behind a column from that angle. We’ll never know, I suppose.

It was time to move on, as there were other areas to get to and plenty of other images to be had. The tension was still present as I went from support zone to support zone, all the time racing against the clock and hoping I’d planned everything to the best of my abilities. I’m pleased to say I had.

Back at the office I quickly went through and selected all the best images, and I said to myself out loud, “I got the shot, I got the shot”, almost like a mantra. But it was by far the hardest race I’ve ever had to cover; 25,000 people running such a short distance. It’s crazy, and my colleague Deniz agreed.

If you’d like to see some of the best pictures, head over to here.

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Future King of Denmark Joins In Birthday Celebrations With The Royal Run.

In merely a few days time the future king of Denmark, Crown Prince Frederik, will be celebrating his 50th birthday and all over the country flags will be at high mast. A total of five Danish cities are involved in celebratory shenanigans which began on May 18, and span nine days, which The Royal Family has unveilied in tribute to their future king.

Royal Run exceeds over 70k participants, spanning 5 different cities.

Danes across Copenhagen and other cities shared in the celebrations yesterday as the crown prince laced up his running shoes with the rest of the Danes to take part in what has been called The Royal Run.

With registration for the event closing at over 70k members, cities across Denmark, including Copenhagen, have participated today in The Royal Run.

The event span across Denmark’s 5 largest cities which include Aalborg, Aarhus, Esbjerg, Odense, and of course, the capital Copenhagen.

The Crown Prince began the day with a golden mile in the first four cities and rounded off the festivity by running 10km in Copenhagen.

The Royal Run was a unique celebration because it was an invitation to run with The Crown Prince, when the whole Kingdom with the Crown Prince at the head, transformed the streets of Denmark’s five largest cities to a large running celebration on the occasion of the Crown Prince’s 50th birthday.

 

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A Run For Everyone.

The starting gun sounded in Aalborg, where the Crown Prince ran one mile (just over one and a half kilometres) together with Danes, their neighbors, their friends, colleagues and family. Then the race continued in Aarhus, Esbjerg and Odense, where the Crown Prince also ran the well-known one mile routes, before he ended up the festival in Copenhagen and Frederiksberg, running a total of 10 kilometers through the capital.

Along the route the royal blue carpet was rolled out, and the music was playing and the flags were unfurled. But The Royal Run was for everyone, regardless of whether the race was a part of everyday life, or whether it is the first time people were grappling with their running shoes. There was an emphasis that the festival began with the everyday Dane as it ran around the whole country.

The Danish Association of Athletics Federation were responsible for putting on the race and it was also organised under the auspices of Denmark’s largest sports vision, the move of a lifetime, a collaboration with Nordea-fonden and Trygfonden, with Danish television channel TV 2 as its media partner.

The Crown Prince spent approximately one hour in every city, where he ran, handed out the medals, and attended the entertainment, greeting the Danes who came to run with and celebrate him.

By the time Crown Prince Frederik entered the capital it was to be his final part of the race, happening simultaneously with the other 10k distances in the other cities. As he arrived in Frederiksberg he was welcomed by the Mayor of Frederiksberg and Copenhagen’s Lord Mayor, as well as the Presidents of the race’s organisers.

 

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The Golden Mile, some history.

One mile, or the English Mile, measures exactly 1609.34 metres.

It may seem like an unnecessary distance when 1500 metres became the Olympic-standard but it has remained an athletic standard for middle distance runners. However, the mile is actually the original distance, which is why it is a classic. It was only with the introduction of the metric system, that the mile was converted to the 1500 meters, as among Americans it was long known as the “metric mile”.

The mile has a significant place in sports history, notably due to famours runner Roger Bannister, who, in 1954 was the first man who managed to run it in under four minutes. That race aroused greater interest and resonated throughout the world and the concept of a dream-mile was born. Since then, a variety of runners regularly pressed the record down, so that today it stands at 3mins.; 43secs., run by the Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj in Rome in 1999.

Alive and Kicking.

Although the 1500 metre distance is clearly in the ascendancy today, the mile is certainly not forgotten. At the annual Diamond League event at Bislett Stadium in Oslo there continues “The Dream Mile”, and, like many large cities, it has an annual street race at that distance. One of the most well-known is “The Fifth Avenue Mile” in New York, where a field of world-class runners start at 80th Street in Manhattan, and then simply just run in a straight line down to East 60th Street at a little under four minutes.

 

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10km Facts.

10,000 metres or 10 kilometres? We are, of course, talking about the same distance, but in the field of athletics it is agreed that the former is 25 rounds at a stadium, while the second is on the road or street. 10,000 metres is the longest distance on the track, as it is competed at at the World Championships and The Olympics. The marathon course is obviously longer but always takes place outside the stadium.

10 km on a road is a popular distance when jogging. Most can train up to complete it, and it is said that you can run it in 55 minutes. The world record for 10 km is crazy fast, standing at 26mins.; 44secs. For men and 29mins.; 43secs. for women.

The Copenhagen Route.

Since Matt shot the race in Copenhagen you will see some of the sights along this route which featured unique sightseeing and pedestrian streets full of music.

The race took place on closed roads which gave The Royal Run a unique opportunity to pass by a large number of the iconic and everyday heavily trafficked streets in Copenhagen, including H.C. Andersens Boulevard, Gammel Kongevej and Frederiksberg Allé. The latter two represent respectively the start and goal for both the one mile and the 10 km routes. While the one mile participants only ran at Frederiksberg, the other runners awaited the 10 km-sightseeing route around the capital which went past a long row of the city’s sights, including, inter alia, Christiansborg, Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen’s Town Hall, the black diamond and, of course, the Amalienborg Palace. The 10 km route offered participants a unique opportunity to run through all the best scenes that Copenhagen and Frederiksberg has to offer.

Words By Elijah (Content Marketer).

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Using Lightroom to edit your iPhone photos

Even with the new iPhone 7 causing a stir with its brand new camera functions, the old iPhone 6 is still a heavy-hitter when it comes to High Quality images I always tell those who join me on my Beginner's Photography Workshops that activating the shutter is just the...

Back to Copenhagen

It's been a while... Hi folks, what's going on? Jesus, it's been a while, hasn't it? I bet some of you are even tired of me saying something along those lines. Anyway, I just wanted to say 'hi' and tell you what to expect from us here at PBMJ in the lead-up to...

Remember: You don’t know EVERYTHING

How a recent photography workshop taught me how to focus ”The D800 isn’t very good for sports photography,” said my very unreliable source. It was my first summer here in Copenhagen and I was working for a company photographing running events. I didn’t know it at the...

Journal Challenge Day Two

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A photographer’s perspective of Shrovetide

What really happened when I went home to document the biggest game of football in the world? Although I couldn’t see it at that particular moment, somewhere up ahead a ball made of Portuguese cork was being fought over by hundreds of men. Their aim was simple: to...

Danish Imports: The Neuropyschologist

This blog post originally appeared over at matthewjames.dk Grasia Maria Banegas initially moved to Denmark from Honduras in Central America as a volunteer for MS (Action Aid Denmark), to join an educational program called Global Change, where she trained to become a...

Danish Imports: The Psychologist and her son

Due to some technical issues we're running a little behind here, so let's get back on track with our Danish Imports exhibition from last year's photo exhibition. Today we take a look at the life of Chilean Psychologist Paula and her son. Paula Cavada gives multiple...

Teaching Photography in Copenhagen

This entry was originally posted on my main journal over at www.matthewjames.dk One area of photography I don't shout about too much is my Shooting Copenhagen Workshops, but after this week it's probably about time I gave myself a pat on the back and shared the story...

Danish Imports: The Opera Singer

We've come to the end of our revisit to the Danish Imports exhibition, and today we're finishing off with somebody who I'm very fond of. I hope you've enjoyed reading these interviews and the images that accompany them. A lot of love and time went in to the planning...

Danish Imports: The Freaks

"I won't tell you the name I was born with, because what's a name, anyway?" These are the words of wisdom from the polite, baratone vocals of the tattooed gentleman that is Enigma. Covered from head to toe in jigsaw puzzle tattoos and sporting a pair of silicone horns...

Danish Imports: The Neuropsychologist

Grasia Maria Banegas initially moved to Denmark from Honduras in Central America as a volunteer for MS (Action Aid Denmark), to join an educational program called Global Change, where she trained to become a campaigner and youth facilitator.  Coming from one of the...

Danish Imports: The Psychologist and her son

Due to some technical issues we're running a little behind here, so let's get back on track with our Danish Imports exhibition from last year's photo exhibition. Today we take a look at the life of Chilean Psychologist Paula and her son. Paula Cavada gives multiple...

DO IT FOR MOM (Do it for Denmark)

It's highly unlikely that you've missed this one, but if you're reading this from outside Denmark then you might want to read on. This is the new tagline for a funny commercial that came out recently in Danish media. It’s a video that starts off with an older lady...

To refugee or not to refugee, that is the question

Today I wanted to open up the floor to a close personal friend of mine and fellow expat, Michelle Exarhos. Michelle was born and raised in the United States but is, in fact, half Danish. Here she shares her views on the recent refugee scenario playing out in Denmark...

Danish Imports: The Boxer

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Copenhagen Half Marathon Pictures

So did you take part in yesterday's Copenhagen Half Marathon, or know anyone who did? The streets were absolutely alive, especially for the first half of the race where optimism was high and the mood was positive. There were no less than 23.786 runners taking part and...

Danish Imports: The Journalist

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Danish Imports: The DJ

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Danish Imports: The Architect

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Danish Imports – One Year Later

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Surviving the 2015 Copenhagen Marathon

The man's face shimmered with sweat in the afternoon sun as his legs soldiered on. Mile after mile he continued through the streets of Copenhagen, whilst around him, thousands of runners struggled to keep going and crowds roared in his ears. His goal: to reach the...

It’s Marathon Time

You can't really miss all the maps, posters and warnings that are dotted around the city at the moment. That's right; it's that time of year again where 12,000 people put themselves to the test and run for 26.2 miles. The Nykredit Copenhagen Marathon (to give it its...

Same-Sex marriage in Denmark

Or, how Sasha and Anthony got one step closer to happiness written by Antoaneta Borisova This is the story of Sasha and Anthony, a lovely gay couple, who have been struggling to be together for more than six years now. I use the word “lovely” not because I want this...

Denmark: the land of pork, windmills and same-sex marriage

Or, how Sasha and Anthony got one step closer to happiness written by Antoaneta Borisova This is the story of Sasha and Anthony, a lovely gay couple, who have been struggling to be together for more than six years now. I use the word “lovely” not because I want this...

The Sports Photographer on top of the World

If you've had your head in the sand for the past few weeks (or have just moved to the country) then you might have missed out on some pretty awesome news: the return of Red Bull Cliff Diving to Copenhagen. Back in June 2013, several of the world's bravest athletes...

Red Bull Cliff Diving Returns to CPH

If you've had your head in the sand for the past few weeks (or have just moved to the country) then you might have missed out on some pretty awesome news: the return of Red Bull Cliff Diving to Copenhagen. Back in June 2013, several of the world's bravest athletes...

Do Danes Donate?

Do Danes Donate?

Celina Runs For Africa

Recently, Matt took some promotional photos for Celina Christensen, a Danish native who has moved to Ireland with her family, and as part of a project at her new school has been elected to travel to Africa in 2018.

This unique opportunity will mean that Celina will be spending a week helping people in need in Malawi – considered to be one of the poorest countries – in cooperation with an international development charity organization. Through this type of work some of the most vulnerable countries in Africa have seen substantial development through the improvement of education and by supporting local farmers. Matt’s photo work for Celina, to capture her in a running pose, was to promote her fundraising activities to raise money to cover travel expenses in which she is doing a sponsored run. Celina’s campaign is called “I Run For Africa,” where Celina hopes to use her hobby of running to raise the necessary funds and increase awareness of her project.

Fundraising Goal

This led her to candidly have a discussion with Matt about the mentality of donating money and the issue that came up was whether Danes would be inclined to donate less to charitable causes because they pay more TAX than most other places in the world: an opinion that has been studied often over the years, writes the Wall Street Jounral.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-surprising-relationship-between-taxes-and-charitable-giving-1450062191

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Danes’ Willingness To Donate

Celina’s goal of reaching €2,200 has so far been met by donations that have reached €903, but she may have her work cut out. Studies have shown that when it comes to providing assistance, time, and even money, the Danes are no longer as willing as they used to be. In 2014, The World Giving Index (WGI) placed Danish people as being the most generous people in the world. Danes tended to be more giving than their immediate neighbours, ranking at number 18 in the world according to the Charities Aid Foundation (yet less wealthier countries such as Kenya and even Trinidad & Tobago have ranked higher). The WGI is based on the percentage of people in a given month who donate their money to charity, their time to a volunteer cause or help a stranger. In fact, Danes were the most likely to donate their money, with 62 percent of Danish respondents reporting that they donated money each month. 55 percent of Danes reported that they helped a stranger and 23 percent volunteered their time. Denmark’s top 20 placing came as no surprise to Anders Ladekarl, the general secretary of the Danish Red Cross, who said, “We experience a strong desire to give amongst Danes – both in terms of time and money.”

A Contrast To Previous Stats Mark Downturn

As of this year, The WGI reported that Denmark is no longer among the world’s 20 most generous nations, but, despite the results, several recent fundraising drives showed that Danes are still very willing to give. Danes are no longer among the world’s most generous givers, according to the global index, ranking people’s willingness to donate their time, money, and assistance. The WGI report showed that Denmark plummeted significantly in comparison to other countries. As of 2017, Denmark has now dropped in The WGI, with a 44 percent proportion of people donating money.

Taxes and Quality of Life

Denmark has one of the highest tax rates in the world. The average Dane pays a total amount of 45 percent in income taxes with Danish income taxes based on a progressive tax system. It is believed by most Danes that this model turns collective wealth into well-being, seeing it as an investment in society thereby purchasing quality of life.

It’s speculative to question, but Celina and Matt’s conversation about high taxes, despite increasing living standards, is poignant due to the evidence that charitable giving in Denmark is falling year-by-year. However, notably, scientists have found that the brain reacts the same way to making donations as it does to paying taxes, if the taxes are clearly being used for a good cause.

Let’s hope Celina can reach her target and improve the living standards of those less fortunate around the world.

If you’d like to contribute to Celina’s cause please visit https://www.gofundme.com/I-run-for-Africa?u=16805642

Words by Elijah (Content Marketer)

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This blog post originally appeared on www.photographybymatthewjames.com

Behind The Scenes: Royal Run.

Keep the diary open Whether it was wishful thinking or simply experience, when I first heard about the Royal Run back in 2017 I decided to keep the 21st May available in my calendar. “We won’t be needing you for that particular race,” I was told, but a voice in my...

Future King of Denmark Joins In Birthday Celebrations With The Royal Run.

In merely a few days time the future king of Denmark, Crown Prince Frederik, will be celebrating his 50th birthday and all over the country flags will be at high mast. A total of five Danish cities are involved in celebratory shenanigans which began on May 18, and...

Do Danes Donate?

Celina Runs For Africa Recently, Matt took some promotional photos for Celina Christensen, a Danish native who has moved to Ireland with her family, and as part of a project at her new school has been elected to travel to Africa in 2018. This unique opportunity will...

Nordic Race: A mudfest for my camera

My first Nordic Race photography experience I don't know about you, but personally I like to be warm, dry and clean at this time of year. It's the reason I wear nice thick gloves, waterproof trousers and jackets, and a pair of boots every time I leave the house. On...

Being Part of History

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Remember: You don’t know EVERYTHING

How a recent photography workshop taught me how to focus ”The D800 isn’t very good for sports photography,” said my very unreliable source. It was my first summer here in Copenhagen and I was working for a company photographing running events. I didn’t know it at the...

A photographer’s perspective of Shrovetide

What really happened when I went home to document the biggest game of football in the world? Although I couldn’t see it at that particular moment, somewhere up ahead a ball made of Portuguese cork was being fought over by hundreds of men. Their aim was simple: to...

Copenhagen Half Marathon Pictures

So did you take part in yesterday's Copenhagen Half Marathon, or know anyone who did? The streets were absolutely alive, especially for the first half of the race where optimism was high and the mood was positive. There were no less than 23.786 runners taking part and...

Surviving the 2015 Copenhagen Marathon

The man's face shimmered with sweat in the afternoon sun as his legs soldiered on. Mile after mile he continued through the streets of Copenhagen, whilst around him, thousands of runners struggled to keep going and crowds roared in his ears. His goal: to reach the...

It’s Marathon Time

You can't really miss all the maps, posters and warnings that are dotted around the city at the moment. That's right; it's that time of year again where 12,000 people put themselves to the test and run for 26.2 miles. The Nykredit Copenhagen Marathon (to give it its...

The Sports Photographer on top of the World

If you've had your head in the sand for the past few weeks (or have just moved to the country) then you might have missed out on some pretty awesome news: the return of Red Bull Cliff Diving to Copenhagen. Back in June 2013, several of the world's bravest athletes...

Red Bull Cliff Diving Returns to CPH

If you've had your head in the sand for the past few weeks (or have just moved to the country) then you might have missed out on some pretty awesome news: the return of Red Bull Cliff Diving to Copenhagen. Back in June 2013, several of the world's bravest athletes...

From the UK to Oz. On a Bike!

The distance is over 11,000 miles, and this maniac did it!   Back in December I had the pleasure of working alongside freelance writer Oli Broom from the UK. Oli flew in to Denmark to write several articles about the cycling culture here (or just culture, as the...

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Getting the shot: Nykredit CPH Marathon

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Office Chair Racing

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Russia is getting its fair share of attention at the moment. Not too long ago there was the Pussy Riot incident (girls locked up for singing anti-Government songs in a church). Then there's the recent Anti-Homosexuality Propaganda laws that were passed by Vladimir...

A Game of Ice and Gunfire

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Keeping fit through winter

Last summer I was asked to take some photos for Crossfit Copenhagen in exchange for three free months of training. I'd never seen what goes on inside a crossfit centre and when I arrived for the first photo shoot I was quite literally sweating just watching them (this...

Nordic Race: A mudfest for my camera

Nordic Race: A mudfest for my camera

My first Nordic Race photography experience

I don’t know about you, but personally I like to be warm, dry and clean at this time of year. It’s the reason I wear nice thick gloves, waterproof trousers and jackets, and a pair of boots every time I leave the house.

On Saturday I got to witness several hundred people living their lives on the opposite side of the fence, as they battled it out along the Nordic Race obstacle course at Copenhagen‘s Motorcross dirt track. It was my first time photographing the event, and I actually had no idea what was in store for me or my camera.  

Covered in shit

At 9am the first competitors crossed the start line and got straight in to action. Each obstacle had its own discipline: strength, speed, technique… and each appeared to be a lot harder than it looked. People were scrambling across scaffolding, carrying sandbags up hills, clambering up ropes, and my personal favourite; crawling through shit. “That’s the shot, right there,” I said to myself as I carefully made my way down the steep enbankment leading to the muddy challenges below.

Now at this point barely an hour had gone by, and there were still six more to go. But I was dressed sensibly and had nothing to fear as I dropped to my knees in the mud and started shooting happily away. Oddly, the participants looked happy to see me as their heads appeared from under the tyres. Maybe they just realised that smiling was the only thing they could do whilst crawling through puddles of brown sticky mess!

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A working photographer

Nevertheless I got my own taste of medicine a few moments later whilst attempting to navigate one particularly tricky part of the course. Foot number one sank deeply in to the goo, followed by foot number two, and then hand number one. Like a dodgy game of Twister I was forced in to a compromising position that anyone could have taken advantage of. I was all too aware, that if this had been Britian some little scally would’ve rushed over to give me one final shove in the right direction. But luckily no-one was paying any attention to me and I managed to save my own ass and more importantly, my camera.

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For the rest of the day I was rather cold and feeling quite sorry for myself. I have to admit that falling over was the last thing I had hoped would happen, but nevertheless I still had a job to do. Ironically, five minutes before the start of the race my colleague / boss Camilla commented on how shiny and new my Nikon D5 looked. That was no longer the case, of course, but at least I now felt like a working photographer who was truly earning his crust (unlike today where my client cancelled but I still got paid – more on that some other day, maybe).

Large burning metal containers

For the next few hours I found a balance between taking pictures and standing by large burning metal containers to stay warm. “Oh shit, I’ve dropped my nice warm gloves in the mud again whilst holding my hands over the flames.” It was poetic irony at its finest.

Needless to say the pictures were looking great. By 1pm the weather was starting to brighten up a little, and my socks were actually starting to feel a bit drier. Knowing where the best action was around the course now made it easier to choose which locations to focus on, and which (muddy) areas to avoid.

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Cries of pain and warm showers

But as the sun started to fade, and the paramedics wheeled out their 29th screaming patient, it was evident that the majority of people had crossed the line and were already back home under a nice warm shower. I felt a bit sorry for Camilla when it became apparent that I would be occupying her passenger seat in her nice new Audi. I at least had the decency to take off my boots and socks before getting in.

Plans to edit the images straight after were scrapped once I got my tired, dirty ass through the door. It’s quite common to have to deliver the files ASAP for sports events such as these, because people want to see themselves and share the images. Luckily our deadline was much more sensible and as a result I was able to enjoy the feast laid out before me with my family. Did somebody say beer?

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For those of you who have an ounce of sportyness inside of you then I highly recommend signing up to the next Nordic Race in May 2018. One of the biggest thrills for me (after watching people fall) was the teamwork between friends, colleagues and total strangers. I saw one guy helping a different team to climb up a wall whilst he waited for his chance. His girlfriend, already safely sitting atop of the wall, kept shouting down to him, “Just help him, would you darling?” The look on his face said it all: I’d rather die. But help he did, and it almost brought a tear to my extremely dry eyes. Did I mention they were also cold?

For more info regarding the Nordic Race events go to nordicrace.dk

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This blog post originally appeared on www.photographybymatthewjames.com

Copenhagen Photographer Casper Sejersen’s One, Two, Three, Four.

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Nordic Race: A mudfest for my camera

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"I won't tell you the name I was born with, because what's a name, anyway?" These are the words of wisdom from the polite, baratone vocals of the tattooed gentleman that is Enigma. Covered from head to toe in jigsaw puzzle tattoos and sporting a pair of silicone horns...

Danish Imports: The Neuropsychologist

Grasia Maria Banegas initially moved to Denmark from Honduras in Central America as a volunteer for MS (Action Aid Denmark), to join an educational program called Global Change, where she trained to become a campaigner and youth facilitator.  Coming from one of the...

Danish Imports: The Psychologist and her son

Due to some technical issues we're running a little behind here, so let's get back on track with our Danish Imports exhibition from last year's photo exhibition. Today we take a look at the life of Chilean Psychologist Paula and her son. Paula Cavada gives multiple...

DO IT FOR MOM (Do it for Denmark)

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To refugee or not to refugee, that is the question

Today I wanted to open up the floor to a close personal friend of mine and fellow expat, Michelle Exarhos. Michelle was born and raised in the United States but is, in fact, half Danish. Here she shares her views on the recent refugee scenario playing out in Denmark...

Danish Imports: The Boxer

The next story from last year's Danish Imports photo exhibition comes from Michal Jezierski, who had a very long and interesting story to tell about his move to Denmark. Michal Jezierski is perhaps one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met and is full of positive,...

Copenhagen Half Marathon Pictures

So did you take part in yesterday's Copenhagen Half Marathon, or know anyone who did? The streets were absolutely alive, especially for the first half of the race where optimism was high and the mood was positive. There were no less than 23.786 runners taking part and...

Danish Imports: The Journalist

Continuing the Danish Imports theme, today we take a look at Brazilian Noemia Colonna's story. “Sometimes it's good to be like the Brazilians," is Noemia Colonna's advice to the Danes. "We're easy-going, more flexible and and not too obsessed about planning and...

Danish Imports: The DJ

This is the third instalment of my Danish Imports blog posts, looking at the stories behind people's decisions to live, work or visit Denmark. Today's story focuses on Danish DJ, Nikolaj Yu Andersen. You can read previous stories about Meriel or Luke if you'd like a...

Danish Imports: The Architect

Today I'll be sharing the second story behind one of my Danish Imports subjects, Luke Lorimer. If you missed the first post then you can read it here. These images were used for my first exhibition, Danish Imports, which was held at Generator Hostel in Copenhagen...

Danish Imports – One Year Later

Exactly 12 months ago I was celebrating my very first photo exhibition here in Copenhagen. It was something I'd been thinking of doing for a couple of years and it was a definite learning curve for me. Not only was I under pressure to include a selection of images I...

Surviving the 2015 Copenhagen Marathon

The man's face shimmered with sweat in the afternoon sun as his legs soldiered on. Mile after mile he continued through the streets of Copenhagen, whilst around him, thousands of runners struggled to keep going and crowds roared in his ears. His goal: to reach the...

It’s Marathon Time

You can't really miss all the maps, posters and warnings that are dotted around the city at the moment. That's right; it's that time of year again where 12,000 people put themselves to the test and run for 26.2 miles. The Nykredit Copenhagen Marathon (to give it its...

Same-Sex marriage in Denmark

Or, how Sasha and Anthony got one step closer to happiness written by Antoaneta Borisova This is the story of Sasha and Anthony, a lovely gay couple, who have been struggling to be together for more than six years now. I use the word “lovely” not because I want this...

Denmark: the land of pork, windmills and same-sex marriage

Or, how Sasha and Anthony got one step closer to happiness written by Antoaneta Borisova This is the story of Sasha and Anthony, a lovely gay couple, who have been struggling to be together for more than six years now. I use the word “lovely” not because I want this...

The Sports Photographer on top of the World

If you've had your head in the sand for the past few weeks (or have just moved to the country) then you might have missed out on some pretty awesome news: the return of Red Bull Cliff Diving to Copenhagen. Back in June 2013, several of the world's bravest athletes...

Red Bull Cliff Diving Returns to CPH

If you've had your head in the sand for the past few weeks (or have just moved to the country) then you might have missed out on some pretty awesome news: the return of Red Bull Cliff Diving to Copenhagen. Back in June 2013, several of the world's bravest athletes...

Being Part of History

Being Part of History

Original Photograph Featured on Postage Stamp

When was the last time you received a letter in the post with your own stamp stuck to it?

This was the scenario for me back in summer, when an envelope dropped through the letterbox addressed to the business.

Interestingly, in the top right hand corner was an image I recognised from my own photo archive: a female runner from the 2014 Copenhagen Marathon.

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I’d sold the image to Post Denmark six months before and was told it would be used to promote sport. Naturally I was quite excited to see the finished product – something I’d created would go down in history with all the other stamps from the past few hundred years.

I was, therefore, more than a little surprised when I saw how heavily edited it turned out to be. A decision I was not informed of at any stage in the process. Still, it wasn’t anything worth crying about.

The stamp made up part of a collection of five stamps in total, all depicting some kind of sporting activity.

It didn’t make me rich, but it was certainly one of the prouder moments of 2016.

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Copenhagen Photographer Casper Sejersen’s One, Two, Three, Four.

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Photos Reveal Copenhill Ski Slope on Amager Bakke Plant.

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The Five Best Photo Locations in Copenhagen.

  A summer break in Copenhagen is highly recommended if you have never been to Denmark. The sun and heat is enjoyed by all the locals.   As an introduction to the most common places you must visit we’re presenting you with this 3-hour photo walk. If you wish...

And Slash Makes Four

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Behind The Scenes: Royal Run.

Keep the diary open Whether it was wishful thinking or simply experience, when I first heard about the Royal Run back in 2017 I decided to keep the 21st May available in my calendar. “We won’t be needing you for that particular race,” I was told, but a voice in my...

Future King of Denmark Joins In Birthday Celebrations With The Royal Run.

In merely a few days time the future king of Denmark, Crown Prince Frederik, will be celebrating his 50th birthday and all over the country flags will be at high mast. A total of five Danish cities are involved in celebratory shenanigans which began on May 18, and...

Master Class: Visual Language For Tech Leaders.

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Copenhagen wins international climate prize

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Do Danes Donate?

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Game of Thrones Star Joins Climate Change Talk

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Nordic Race: A mudfest for my camera

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Calm sea; rough ride

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Britain’s Prince Harry Visits Copenhagen

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PBMJ: Now we are 2

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Following in the footsteps of Obama

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Who needs a photo education anyway?

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Fact: Danish Newspapers don’t care about swans!

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Being Part of History

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Best Instagram Photos of Copenhagen 2016

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Using Lightroom to edit your iPhone photos

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Back to Copenhagen

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"I won't tell you the name I was born with, because what's a name, anyway?" These are the words of wisdom from the polite, baratone vocals of the tattooed gentleman that is Enigma. Covered from head to toe in jigsaw puzzle tattoos and sporting a pair of silicone horns...

Danish Imports: The Neuropsychologist

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Danish Imports: The Psychologist and her son

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To refugee or not to refugee, that is the question

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Danish Imports: The Boxer

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Copenhagen Half Marathon Pictures

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The man's face shimmered with sweat in the afternoon sun as his legs soldiered on. Mile after mile he continued through the streets of Copenhagen, whilst around him, thousands of runners struggled to keep going and crowds roared in his ears. His goal: to reach the...

It’s Marathon Time

You can't really miss all the maps, posters and warnings that are dotted around the city at the moment. That's right; it's that time of year again where 12,000 people put themselves to the test and run for 26.2 miles. The Nykredit Copenhagen Marathon (to give it its...

Same-Sex marriage in Denmark

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The Sports Photographer on top of the World

If you've had your head in the sand for the past few weeks (or have just moved to the country) then you might have missed out on some pretty awesome news: the return of Red Bull Cliff Diving to Copenhagen. Back in June 2013, several of the world's bravest athletes...

Red Bull Cliff Diving Returns to CPH

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From the UK to Oz. On a Bike!

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Remember: You don’t know EVERYTHING

Remember: You don’t know EVERYTHING

How a recent photography workshop taught me how to focus

”The D800 isn’t very good for sports photography,” said my very unreliable source.

It was my first summer here in Copenhagen and I was working for a company photographing running events. I didn’t know it at the time, but this guy would go on to become a huge pain in the arse for me and most of the other employees who he avoided paying month after month. But at this point I was just glad to be working as a photographer and he was charming enough, so I listened intently to what he had to say.

I’d had my eye on the Nikon D800 for a while, mainly due to its video capabilities, full-frame sensor and compact size. The price tag was a huge gamble, as my business was still struggling to turn over any kind of a profit, but needs must, so I went and bought one and slapped it on the credit card.

Not entirely full of shit

My source wasn’t completely wrong. There were bigger and better cameras out there on the market for sports photography, but his argument was that the D800 couldn’t achieve AF-C 3D focusing. For the layman out there, this basically enables you to track a moving object, such as a runner, and keep them in focus at all times. Pretty neat, and something I used often on the D3 and D3s.

Indeed, once I bought it I was left boggled when I couldn’t find the button to achieve this focusing setting and after a while I just gave up. From time to time I went looking on forums and the like, but never found an answer. Most people simply wrote “It’s not possible on the D800.” I was stumped.

Fast forward a couple of years and I’m at the Winter X Games in Oslo. Once again I’m stressing out that only my D3 can track the snowboarders flying through the air, and not the better quality D800, which is much better at handling night photography scenarios such as this. Sure, I got some great images, but things would’ve been much easier with the D800. In terms of editing, at least.

image

I was frustrated even more when a fellow photographer came up to me at a race asking for help. She’d borrowed a friends camera and was 100 per cent sure that she could change the focus settings – she’d done it before. “If anyone can help me it’s you,” she told me. Sadly this wasn’t the case. I stood there for a few minutes, cursing myself that I couldn’t fix the problem, especially as I was being told that it was most certainly possible. I felt like an amateur.

And then came the DHL Stafetten in August – a relay race for Danish businesses, and a huge event. As I was fiddling with the lens (whilst holding a bunch of other crap and not really concentrating) I noticed the display change to three simple letters: AF-S. If you haven’t figured it out already, the S here stands for single, and it’s the focus setting that my D800 has been stuck on for the last three years. I stopped dead in my tracks and tried to figure out which button I was accidentally pressing for this to show up. I didn’t dare move, and tried to make note of where my thumbs and fingers were pressing. I paid no attention to the side of my hand, nor any of my knuckles, and alas the display changed back once I moved my hand. But now I was confident there was a way!

Threesome vs Camera Knowledge

Ironically the eureka moment came a week later whilst I was teaching a night photography workshop. My Australian student, Dennis, was asking me a question regarding focus-tracking on a moving object and I was lying on the floor staring thoughtfully at my camera. Right below the lens-detachment button there’s a very small switch that reads AF M. It’s a switch I very rarely use, and its purpose is to switch over from Auto Focus to Manual. To activate the switch the user simply needs to press it in and flick it one way or another. Hey presto! This method prevents the photographer from accidentally changing the focus, as the switch won’t move without being pressed in first.

imageimage

As I stared at it the cogs in my head starting whirring. Wasn’t I changing the lens over the first time I noticed the focus display light up? I sure was. So, with a Hollywood dramatic theme playing in my imagination I did the deed and pressed it in, and the display miraculously lit up with those three letters: AF-S.

My thumb and index finger went straight to the dials and I began rotating them to see what would happen and all my dreams came true in an instant. Forget your millions, or a threesome with Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston, this was a moment I’ll never forget.

My life changed in an instant, and suddenly the photo possibilities were endless. With the Copenhagen Half Marathon just around the corner I finally had a chance to put this beast through its paces and track those super fast Kenyans. The organisers wanted me to take photos under Bispeengbuen – a very urban area below a bridge in the Frederiksberg / Nørrebro area of the city. I was happy to oblige now that my D800 was back on the sports photography team.

imageBut let’s not forget the lesson, here. We might think that we know it all when we specialise in a particular subject, but there’s still plenty we can discover. It was poetic, that I should fix out an on-going problem moment during a photo workshop where I was the teacher, not the student. I had to apologise to Dennis, as I hadn’t heard a single word he’s said during those few seconds of realisation. I patted him on the back and thanked him for hiring me. I’d benefited more than just financially on this occasion.

Over the years I’ve been on the verge of selling my D800, or at least part chopping it for the D5. But that would leave me with an older D3 as a second body, and that just didn’t make sense to me. Now I’m looking forward to moving one step closer to owning three camera bodies, which may sound a bit greedy but is very important to the freelance photographer. Sometimes our artistic decisions have a huge impact on our business ones.

Photography’s Commitment To The Environment

When we think of sustainability our attention is obviously drawn to areas such as fossil fuels like oil and gas and, especially, these days, that is to what the media’s attention relates to also. However, with that being said, what people do on a daily basis and the...

Aerial Photography Protecting The Planet

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Regular Photography Turned Inside Out as Fujifilm X-Pro3 Officially Arrives

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Depth Of Field

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Stroboscopic Portraits

Use your unit’s strobe function to achieve rapid-fire flash and capture incredible staccato action.   Pulsing Flash A pulsing flash that fires lots of times during a long exposure can create a stop-motion effect by freezing the action multiple times as the...

Cheap Photography Projects’ Creative Lighting Ideas

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Defining Street Photography, the Cartier-Bressonian Way

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Even Photography Boffs Will Be Impressed By Polaroid’s New Camera.

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Rear Curtain Sync.

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Tips For Using a Snoot in Photography.

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Famous Photographs That Inspired Film.

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UV Photography: tips for blacklight.

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Copenhagen Photographer Casper Sejersen’s One, Two, Three, Four.

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Photos Reveal Copenhill Ski Slope on Amager Bakke Plant.

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The Five Best Photo Locations in Copenhagen.

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And Slash Makes Four

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Photographer’s Picture of Bald Eagle Gets Overwhelming Response

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Off-Camera Flash Photography To Help You Perfect The Strobist Effect.

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Ex-Oasis Photographer warns UK Risks Losing Classic Rock Archives.

Unless a dedicated museum is set up British musical history may be lost. According to one of The UK’s most celebrated photographers unless a dedicated museum is set up to preserve large swathes of classic British rock photography it could lose them all to private...

Samsung reveals a phone with screens on both sides which could change photography forever.

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Viral Photographer Quits To Make Bread.

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First Professional Wedding Gig Shot by Photography Robot.

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The World’s Creamiest Bokeh.

    Full-Frame 50mm Lens with Aperture of f/0.35. The world’s creamiest bokeh (definition: the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image) can be whipped up to give us incredible subject separation through the use of huge apertures. In...

Colour Photography Pioneer’s Images of Old Russia.

    Way Before Instagram A Revolution in the Use of Filters was Taking Place. Deep scientific roots underlie the art form we know of as photography today. Early pinhole cameras were both described by Euclid and Aristotle in ancient Greece. In order to...

Making a Living in Photography in 2019.

    How Viable is it Being a Professional Photographer? Whilst being both stuck in its ways and simultaneously forever changing, photography is indeed a strange profession. The majority of the profession work in a very different way to the old guard who...

The Hidden Colours of the Moon Revealed by Photographer.

A Mineral Impact. Different minerals impact the Moon’s surface leaving different splashes of colour as shown by the enhanced photo of the Moon created by extracting colour data from 150,000 photos of the Moon composed by Sacramento-based astrophotography enthusiast...

Piccadilly Circus’ Neon Lights Reflected By Shiny Cars: the Photography of Nick Turpin.

    Advertising Reflecting. In London’s Piccadilly Circus vehicles are caught reflecting advertising to show how modern life embraces consumerism as shown by photographer Nick Turpin in his latest series, “Autos.” “Shiny new vehicles passing through the city...

Nobody Talks About The Problem With Camera Phones.

The camera itself was the biggest problem with camera phones once upon a time.   Released in 2000, the J-SH04 was one of the world’s first camera phones. Things have come a long way since then. Tiny 0.11 megapixel images was all it could shoot. To give their...

What Is The Focus of Your Photography?

Does your photography have a point? And how can your images engage with more viewers?   You can help define your photography by implementing these few very helpful following techniques, especially if you have reached that stage where it may be a struggle to...

Capturing Cancer: Tumour Cells in Action.

Every year, researchers submit extraordinary images to the Science and Medical Imaging competition which tells the story of pioneering work and its benefits for patients. Replicating cancer cells invade the blood vessels.     Each year, The Institute of...

Selfie Harm.

Selfie Harm. Witness the scary results of Photoshopped portraits done by teens at the behest of professional photographer Rankin as part of his project called “Selfie Harm.”     Unnaturally Perfect. Unnaturally perfect social media photos are being made...

Young Marketing Guru Who Helped Photo of Egg Go Viral on Instagram.

Going Viral Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks you should be fully aware of the photo of an egg that went viral and claimed the top spot for having the most liked photo on Instagram. The simple photo of an ordinary, brown egg has garnered...

The Story of the Desert as Told by the Dubai Photography Exhibition: Inhabited Deserts.

Dramatic Landscapes. Some of the most dramatic landscapes across the world have been captured by UAE-based explorer Max Calderan and Italian photographer John R Pepper through their much renowned collaboration. It was never going to be the usual desert landscapes when...

What Is The Best Aperture and Focal Length For Portraits?

Get The Basics of Portrait Photography Right. You’ve probably asked yourself what is the best aperture and focal length to use if you’re just getting started in portrait photography. You can produce very different effects with your subjects by changing the aperture...

Psychedelic Images of Tokyo by Jean-Vincent Simonet.

Psychedelic Experience. Tokyo at night can be a near-psychedelic experience in itself, and this is echoed in the warped images created by Swiss photographer Jean-Vincent Simonet who prints onto plastic paper then washes the photograph with chemicals, all part of his...

The $90.3 Million Painting That Reveals Unique Photography Methods.

A Masterful Piece of Art. The 1972 painting entitled “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)” by legendary British painter David Hockney fetched the highest auction price ever for a living artist as it sold for a jaw-dropping $90.3 million last month. A man in...

X-Ray Apparatus & Concrete Pyramids: Guy Hollaway’s Photography Studio.

The Process Gallery. Distinctive works are created using X-Ray equipment, housed in a concrete pyramid chamber, by British photographer Nick Veasey, who has had a studio built and completed by Guy Hollaway Architects.     Inquisitive. Designed to be an...

Comedy Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards Reveal Hilarious Winning Images.

World’s Funniest Animal! And the world’s funniest animal photograph of the year goes to a squirrel who thinks he’s Tommy Cooper, writes The Express. The world’s funniest animal photograph of the year has been judged to be what appears to be a cheeky squirrel pictured...

Comedy Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards Reveal Hilarious Winning Images.

World’s Funniest Animal! And the world’s funniest animal photograph of the year goes to a squirrel who thinks he’s Tommy Cooper, writes The Express. The world’s funniest animal photograph of the year has been judged to be what appears to be a cheeky squirrel pictured...

Vanishing From The Museums.

Confronting the absent. Largely absent from Parissien museums are works and faces of photographic pioneers who have become invisible; so, curator Fannie Escoulen is inviting visitors to walk across the city and confront it.   “The history of photography has been...

Analogue Limelight

In an increasingly digitalised world, why is there still a special place for the physical? After connecting on Instagram around two years ago, James Moreton and Raph Hurwitz conceived AllFormat - a global photography collective. After developing a loyal community of...

A Career Shaped By The Photograph

Starting Out For more than three decades the biggest names in show business have been photographed by Derek Ridgers, but it all began by chance, one night in Finsbury Park, north London. With a Miranda SLR slung over his shoulder, Ridgers walked into the Rainbow...

Facebook Bans a Photographer Who Innocently Posted About ‘Shooting a Few Christians.’

Double Entendre When it comes to the word “shooting,” photographers can be subject to endless jokes. So when you post about “shooting a bunch of Christians,” the double entendre is there; this is what happened to one London photographer who found himself faced with a...

Jacob Cockle: in Life & in Death.

A life lived in the sea was a favourite past-time of one Jacob Cockle. Whilst learning to walk at a tender young age he also began to learn to swim and his natural element became water. Any opportunity to film surfing was the best of all options because he loved it so...

How a Shot Went Viral is Revealed by The Royal Wedding Photographer.

Viral popularity and huge amounts of praise were received for one particular photo during this past weekend as the world's attention was captured by the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The details of how the picture in question came to be have now...

Behind The Scenes: Royal Run.

Keep the diary open Whether it was wishful thinking or simply experience, when I first heard about the Royal Run back in 2017 I decided to keep the 21st May available in my calendar. “We won’t be needing you for that particular race,” I was told, but a voice in my...

Future King of Denmark Joins In Birthday Celebrations With The Royal Run.

In merely a few days time the future king of Denmark, Crown Prince Frederik, will be celebrating his 50th birthday and all over the country flags will be at high mast. A total of five Danish cities are involved in celebratory shenanigans which began on May 18, and...

Wildlife Photos Reveal Dirty Tricks as Insiders Spill: “There’s a lot of fakery.”

From trained tigers to glued insects many photographers are revealing the fakery in this niche as one such photographer lost an award for allegedly using taxidermy in a shoot. Inauthentic Capturing a shot at the entrance to a national park was how Brazilian...

One in a Trillion Shot Captures Food Chain in Action.

“What can you shoot with that thing?” “What can you shoot with that thing?” This was a question that photographer Doc Jon was asked when a passerby noticed his Canon 6D camera with 500mm lens attachment as he was walking along the boardwalk of Madeira Beach in...

How Well-Being is Improved by Photo-a-Day Projects: Following the Story of an Artist who Started Out in Project365

Project365 Well-Being is reported to be improved through the online sharing of everyday images shot by amateur photographers. To reference it, it is known as “Project365” in photo circles; it begs the question: how can your life be changed by a Project365? A precious...