Looks like there's another bloody hurricane out in the gulf once again. Living on the coast can be perilous at times but being inland can suck just as equally what with quakes and tornados. At least we can see hurricanes coming and have some warning I guess but the results can be just as dangerous and destructive. As It looks today ol' Gustav seems to be heading towards the north coast of the Gulf of Mexico so Texas may yet be spared albeit at the expense of some other poor sods. We shall see.

Once again the raspy tongue returned this time to my forehead and wouldn't let me sleep in. She'd already been fed so she was doing this out of pure boredom.... Today I am going to Vancouver... EH? Vancouver, yes Canada... I've had all my shots and did a quick refresher course in colonial ways. It'll be nice to see some hills and mountains again. The only bumps in the earth that I've seen recently was a bad boob job at the grocery store last week. I'm off to see my old mate Daniel.... drummer extraordinaire for rock sensations Nickelback. Now Daniel is a man who truly appreciates the filth of my limericks and humor although I'll tell you that he enjoys it whilst still on guard.... hehehehe... I think he's not sure of what will happen and is a little scared of what I'll do or say next.....Poor Lad! A most capable sticksman and dashingly handsome chap with a legendary soul patch that's admired by oodles of male fans everywhere.

So I get to the airport and they put me on an earlier connecting flight to Dallas which I happily accept as spending time at my local airport is about as much fun as rubbing ones particulars with a rusty cheese grater. Get to security where I'm asked to step aside as I've been chosen for a random security check and pat down. I don't get the nice brunette for the pat down though, I get the sweaty chubby bugger with the rubber gloves who takes his sweet time with the wand and patting me down with his sausage fingers. He finally finishes and they call me over as they open my camera bag. The young girl opens my bag, and turns to me "are you a photographer?" she asks. Inside are two cameras, four lenses, two flashes, three remote flash triggers, cleaning cloths and a small compact digital camera. I reply that I'm a Gynacologist, smile and wait for her response. I may be wrong but I think that my accent convinced her that I actually was a gyno... Smashing!



Get to the airport in Dallas, grab some lunch and an ale, thank some soldiers being deployed for their service and head to the departure gate. The flight is late...... No plane......the plane arrives an hour late....the flight crew arrive from another flight another hour late.... We're over two hours late, crammed in I have some stupid woman in the seat in front of me that can't bloody well sit still. I can't even put my drink down she's fidgettng that much... Folks, American Airlines are in financial trouble not because of high fuel prices but because they are shite. They're terrible domestic and even worse international..

Get to Vancouver and email Daniel who informs me that he's polishing his kit... OO-ER! Filthy chap. Check in to my hotel and ol' Daniel stops by and we go for a few pints and a good catch up on happenings. I perk up when he tells me that they have Mars Bars in Canada. Shite! The hotel gift shop is closed and I KNOW they have candy!



He drops me off, pats me on the bottom (kidding!) and I head off for a good nights kip. Big day tomorrow.

Ahhhh....Sunday.....day of rest right? Wrong! With a paw on the head and a lick on the nose with a raspy little tongue Daisy Buttons spoils my one chance of laying in today.

Head off up the road later to San Antonio for a photo shoot with the mighty Judas Priest. Actually it's with the three guitarists KK Downing, Ian Hill and Glenn Tipton for an EMG Pickups ad. Am kinda worried though as the rain has been bad the last few days and is threatening to drench us yet again in this afternoon. It's not a bad drive there, only a couple of hours but the South Texas landscape between where I live and San Antonio leaves a great deal to be desired.

Get to the venue and pick up my pass and call up Weasel who's KK and Glenn's tech. He arranged for me to park backstage by the tour bus and meets me as I pull in. Really nice guy who took pity on me not having an assistant by helping haul my gear from the Jeep. Usually at this venue I set up and shoot outside by the tour buses but being that the sky is slate grey and mocking us with beads of precipitation I set up under a big tent that's backstage. It's not ideal by far but when you're faced with no other option and a shoot with some rock legends then you have to pull the odd white rabbit from your camera bag from time to time....

Weasel is an old hand at this business. I ask him when he started in the biz to which he replied "1971".... hey, the year I was born! Needless to say he knows what he's doing and all of the guitars were tuned and ready hours ago so he continues to help me out setting up and posing for test shots. Super bloke! I've been very fortunate to work with some great folks that work behind the scenes for various bands. All too often they're the unsung heroes that save the day and the concert more often than not.

I'm supposed to get 15-20 minutes with guys so I know I have to work fast today... This is pretty much standard when a band doesn't know you and I've only ever shot them live once before back in �05. Ian Hill comes out first and we chit chat a little and get started. He's a really nice guy, not at all as I imagined. I ask him if he still lives in England and it turns out he does and not far from his roots... Get what I need of Ian with his Spector bass and KK and Glenn appear with their guitars at the ready. Shoot the three of them together which is really quite hard on this shoot as I can't back up any further. My mate and fellow photographer Gary takes a few shots of me working with guys, he's a rare breed is Gary, one of those photographers you meet in the pit that doesn't look down their nose at you because of what kind of camera you're using or even worse...just because you're there! Those types, and they are there at all levels are wankers... Ones that give photographers a bad name. Anyway, I try giving directions to the fellas but Heaven and Hell who are mid set as I work are so bloody loud that they can't hear a word I'm saying. They're good sports about it though and know what they're doing and I know when I have what I need so Ian departs and I finish off shooting KK and Glenn. All done in almost ten minutes, this has got to be a record for me so far! That and I didn't make a band groan with one of my limericks :O)



The admirable Weasel appears once again and starts helping me break down my gear and load it into the Jeep. People outside are being eaten alive by mosquitoes the size of sparrows! Everyone is being nibbled on and bitten except me... Some girl walks up and asks why they don't bite me.... I tell her that they don't like foreign food and she looks blankly at me... Humor bypass surgery will do that you kids ;O) Truth is that I made a humongous chicken curry the night before with two huge white onions and tons of garlic..... The mossies HATE both... My curries are legendarily hot.... So lip burningly hot and twice the heat coming out..... Hehehehe... More for me!

August 15^th- Got a nice surprise in the mail today from my buddy the very talented Todd Sucherman. Todd is the very snazzy drummer for STYX. His new HD Instructional DVD arrived at my place along with one of my pics bang on the middle of the front cover and also on the interior. Cheers Todd!

My old mates Hinder roll into town today. They're on tour as main support with Staind. I didn't have anything set up other than shooting them live and hanging out with some mates but I did bring along some studio lights and ended up doing an impromptu shoot with them by the buses. Had a great laugh with the guys telling them dirty limericks during the shoot as I had them leaping in the air and working up a sweat. You can check out the pics in the "Studio Gallery".

As usual they put on a great live show although the stage was a pain in the arse to shoot bands on as it's so high. A lot of the times you end up with "Booger Shots" when a stage is too high and mostly what you get are shots angled looking up the artists noses... I get up onstage with the guys and get some nice shots of Cody on the drums and looking out to the crowd. I end up staying and shooting Staind who put on a good performance. The music isn't really my cup of tea but the band do perform well and the crowd are more than pleased.

See the Hinder guys on the bus afterwards and then head home for a spot of Aberfeldy.....OO-ER!