On Combining the Day Job with Photography

So, feb/march turned out to be way busier than expected, largely down to things like collecting a new car to replace the dead Ka, sorting some stuff out with galleries, but mainly with the Day Jobs being a bit busy.  It is an unfortunate fact of life when it comes to doing freelance art photography that you have to find a way to financially support your artwork.

However, every now and then an opportunity arises to try and combine the Day Job with the Photography Job, hence this little shoot.  I work as a manager at a National Trust Tea Room, which suits my love of Tea very nicely.  Recently I decided (post-refurbishment of the tearoom) that I wanted to try and do either a new sign or little poster that could go on the blog for our property, so asked Amy to pop in and do some photography.  So to the equal bafflelment of customers and some staff, Amy appeared with camera, mini-lighting rig, and other arcane bits of kit, and set up at the back of the tearoom to get some shots.  The finished piece falls foul of NT branding guidelines (because the font is wrong) and so cant be put up in the tearoom itself, but being as it cost nowt to do for either side, then its not so bad and could be put on the blog...

On the subject of combining work with photography, a shot below from another series shot on one of my days off, but on-site, and done using miniatures from the old Britannia Model Village (or The Project Which Refuses To Die And Stay Dead as I now find myself thinking of it).  There's more info on my model making blog, see links on the right...

Naturally it wouldnt be a Ribbon blog without train photographs, so here we go.  Technically this was also combing work with photography, as we stopped off at the National Railway Museum on the way home from a meeting with a cafe supplier in Easingwold, just outside York... 

The occasion was to see a loco temporarily bought over from the other side of the pond- one of two A4 Pacifics on loan from America and Canada for an anniversary event, bringing together all surviving members of the class of loco.  "Dwight D Eisenhower" is seen here alongside our own "Mallard" which holds the World Speed Record for a steam loco.  Perhaps a tad unsportingly, some Americans are trying to steal the record back for themselves in this anniversary year I gather, using a mechically tarted-up steam loco out in the US somewhere, as they apparently someone cannot stand that an old fashioned country like Britain can hang on to an equally old fashioned record like the fastest time for a steam loco.  America, land of innovation- surely they should be instead putting their effort into building some sort of super high-tech radioactive megatrain which will travel faster than anything else known to man? 

But wait, there's more train photos!  A few quick snaps from the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway Steam Gala.  Well, when the railway runs past the end of your road and you have to walk alongside it on the way to the Day Job (he says, tying the whole rambling mess of this blog entry together into some sort of theme) it would be daft not to take a few pictures.

Anything else to add to this slightly rambling blog entry?  Not really.  Couple of images from the "Intercity" series on display at Cupola Contemporary Art in Sheffield from Friday, a few entries for open calls in the offing, but otherwise fairly quiet at the moment.  In order that it makes sense, I may make Amy do the next blog entry...

Cheerio,

Ben