It’s kind of hard to know where to start as so many things have happened that have made me laugh or just look at in astonishment.  OK so the flight in on BA Heathrow to Washington, Dulles was average.  It must’ve been an old plane as the entertainment was sticking!  I mean you couldn’t even pause the film to take a break !  PLUS you could only watch one film, then when it was finished you had to wait about 15 minutes before the next set came on.  So truly bizarre and one that I don’t want to do again !  I watched Thor on a small screen, a bit crackly with a popping sound every so often. Next time I will go with my Virgin methinks !

Landed, through customs etc and to find my purple haired beauty waiting for me in arrivals.  You see, I’ve never met Tina, I’ve talked to her on Facebook etc scouted her pictures so I knew who I was looking for but it’s always a worry that you might miss them !  HOWEVER, Tina has got purple hair, so I was pretty safe in not missing her.

So we started the trip back to her hometown which is named is perfectly for me and well a couple of things took my attention.  Firstly, there is A LOT of corn.  By this I mean Tescos/Sainsburys/Morrisons, you name it, would be stocked all year round !  So there started the scene for my film, it truly was an epic piece I was conjuring up which I felt was being confirmed by Tina’s “O yeah, most definitely”.  I could see it, running through the fields in the black of night, camera on night version, deep breathing, basically shi%ing myself, lacerations abound, whilst chasing my prey (yet to be decided).  After about 10 mins we decided that the possibility of my getting lost in said fields was yielding a high percentage thus having to call out the heat seeking helicopter to find me, no doubt in the middle, foetal and talking to myself rocking back and forth!  A good first impression I thought for Tina

The second said attention grabber was merely a lone boy on his bike cycling towards us.  OK so that doesn’t sound very exciting but it was what was jutting out of his rucksack that made me double take and stare.  At first what I thought was a fishing rod turned out to be a gun.  Ok, now I know the US has guns but this was weird !  Like “Hey mom I’m just off to play with Petey”, “Ok hun, don’t forget to pack your very big gun” !!!  Whilst that was running through my head Tina confirmed that it was just a pellet gun which is harmless enough, so it kind of took the edge of my mother/son scene but nevertheless still had me thinking ! (sorry about all the exclamation marks!)

Finally we get to the greatly named hometown of The Morans.  It was cool, just like out of a movie, porch, chairs, beer cooler (ok minus grandma in the rocking chair) mail boxes in a row and potatoes in trees.  Potatoes in trees? Not just any old potatoes but these were noisy ones.  I later found out that these were actually not potatoes but secadas, so I was a little disappointed.  I was introduced to Gavin who is Tina’s teenage son and a lover of the video games and killer zombies (maybe an extra for my corn film?). What was to follow was an OMG moment for both Gavin & Tina as I presented them with a small red box of treasure.  Said treasure was to be looked upon with great delight and held in the highest accord.  To put it bluntly “America, how the f**k can you deprive your citizens of Maltesers!?” Yes, maltesers, those chocolately covered honeycomb balls of goodness.  How they both sucked upon those chocolately balls O YEAH! Unfortunately a box only goes so far so it didn’t last that long hence the shipment coming out soon.

(ok so a long time has lapsed since I started this blog, pretty much 5 days!  with a trip to Vegas and now in Phoenix! Currently at Bad Kitty HQ whilst the boys and girls are outside chillin and me inside trying to work out how to switch the channel as “Seed of Chucky” is on !)

“Tries to remember 5 days ago!!!”

On the friday & the saturday I had shoots booked at the wonderful Chic Physique studio, a very welcoming and aura-fab place to be.  The girls were fab and we pretty much rocked some fantastic shots out !  Tina and I hooked up with Karri Mae for lunch and a drink and good ol general chit chat about pole, pizza and pretty much everything else in between !

Now again I have to say, this is supposed to be a Pole blog but there are small things that take the spotlight !  The first one is the Pesto Sauce.  Now this is no ordinary pesto sauce, this is the freshly home made pesto sauce of Kevin Moran !  The man is a true super duper in the kitchen.  This pesto delight was like nothing I have ever tasted in the realms of pesto-ness!  It’s a shame that this cannot be tasted world wide, through out all the shops in the world!  I have tasted many a pesto sauce and not one could compete with this.  All hail Kevin Moran !

Saturday night we hit the Body Building/Fitness competition which was rather entertaining.  Now I have nothing against the big toned muscles on either the boys or girls but it’s the scary assed colours that they come out with from the so called tanning sessions they have. The guys look as they they have been rolling around in the dirt and the girls just look like too many dark shades of orange/brown.  I think the only way you could tell what their actually colour was, was to look behind the ear !  Orange oompah lompahs some say..

On the sunday I was at Pole Pressure with the superb Jessalynn Medairy (thanks for the lift Karrie!)  The last time I saw J was at the Pole Convention in Miami, which she did such a superb job with.  So it was nice to take a little time out to have a chat about future plans and shoots together.

Monday I was at Divafit (again, thanks for the lift Karri!) for an afternoon of shoots !  I have to say, all the girls I have met and had the pleasure to do a photo shoot with have been superb and so nice.

It was on Tuesday when it all got a bit crazy !  I was doing a shoot at Chic for Tina and Karri when the world literally moved !  But before it shook let me set the scene.  Tina was recreating her Bambi on Ice scene for the shoot with her 7 inch heels when the floor went a bit wobbly !  OK it went 5.9 earthquake wobbly !!!! If only our reactions had been filmed, we just looked at each other and said “WTF was that !?!” Whilst Tina was gathering her balance on the 7 inchers, I went downstairs to find Karri outside and the rest of the street !  I had just experienced my first earthquake.  It was a weird strange sensation, like a truck passing by, but it defo went on for far too long !  It was time for a drink, so the Union Jack was blessed with our presence.  The quake was the biggest one that the Washington area had had for over 100 years so a few people were slightly freaked out by this, the bar woman being one of them !!!  Once we had put away a cool beverage we went back to the studio to finish off the shoot with Karri.  Afterwards, a few games of pool later (yes I lost !), it was time to head back to the ranch.

Now, if Kevin wasn’t trying to seduce me with the Pesto sauce he got me with the banana and choc cake !  OMG I am taking him home !  I can’t describe it, I won’t describe it as I would not do it the slightest bit of justice.  So you will just have to visit them and try out the goods !

So that was my visit to the Maryland/Washington area.  We had pole shoots, pesto sauce, moonshine soaked cherries (phew!) earthquakes, cornfields, lions, tigers and bears o my !

So I really should blog about Vegas, but you know what they say about that ….

Over the last week or two there has been an increased interest in whether Pole Dancing should be included in the Olympics or not.  I have sat back reading peoples views and verdicts as to what should or shouldn’t happen and I have to say, it’s been interesting !  To date there seems to be more people for it, but as time moves on more people are seeing the reasons why it shouldn’t be included (and those who think it’s just a stupid idea and would never happen!!)

A few people are leading this campaign, with one saying ‘After a great deal of feedback from the pole-dance community, many of us have decided that it’s about time pole fitness is recognised as a competitive sport, and what better way for recognition than to be part of the 2012 Olympics held in London’. Ok now I’m not one to be negative (if you know me then you know I’m a positive young chap !), but this will never happen! 2012? Cricket & Squash never made it, Baseball got thrown out after 2008, so it would seem a long shot that Pole Dancing would be included in these games.  After Barcelona in 1992 the IOC even stopped allowing “sports” to do test or demo events to prove their worth.  So what is the way forward?  It seems to date that the only thing that is moving forward is the petition with over 4000 names on it.  Not a bad feat but would a petition really help in this case?  Would the IOC consider it when that list lands on it’s desk or would they simply just push it aside with a puzzled look?

With being in the industry for 7 years it helps knowing what it’s all about and the reasons why people are pushing it forward.  Of course it’s nice to be accepted (which we are), it’s great to show the world how hard pole dancing can be (which is it) and to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the worlds other top sports.  But is it a sport?  It’s definitely a skill which requires endurance, strength, stamina, and choreography.  Is it different to gymnastics?  Actually no, not that much.  BUT there is one huge difference, and that’s the history.  You just can’t escape it.  No matter how hard people pitch this as fitness 100% through and through, there will ALWAYS be sexual connotations. Is that such a bad thing? NO! Some people love that the fact that Pole Dancing can make you feel good about yourself, and you don’t have to have the figure of an 18yr Polish Vault goddess.

So there really is no sitting on the fence with this one.  Whilst there is the gathering support of the petition there are also the voices against this pitch.  No matter how hard people try to explain and demonstrate the pure fitness element, the exotic soul will still be attached.  I am not saying it is wrong to try and change peoples minds, or let them see another side to the story, but for me, you can’t have the black without the white.

Others will compare Pole Dancing with what is already accepted, gymnastics. What “we” do is very gymnastics based, or at least a part of it is.  Even if Pole Dancing was to be accepted, some of the industry’s best would not compare to the transition a “gymnast” who has trained since she or he was 3yrs, would make.  So if this is the case, what have we achieved?  There is no doubt that Pole Dancers, as with any industry has their factions and at times I feel that we try to undo each others shoelaces, so how can we move forward?

I have included 2 links, the for and the against, so people can make up their own minds: (I hope using these links are ok)

Pole Dancing FOR the Olympics (The best link I’ve found so far)

AGAINST the Olympics (The best link I’ve found so far)

Here is the link for the petition also (I like to house both sides of the story)

http://www.petitiononline.com/polympic/petition.html

Over the next few weeks it will be interesting to see other peoples views and opinions on this,  Is it a valid pitch to join the Olympics?  Is it free publicity for the spokes person?

I’m sure this blog will carry on for a while yet (original blog was March 2010!!!)

Mixing The Arts – Pole Dancing and Photography

If you say “Pole Dancing” there are two groups of reactions, perhaps three.  The first reaction is generally a male oriented, uneducated, grumbling manly “Yeah baby.”  Those are the ones that probably have never seen true pole dancing.  Then, next you have the ones who gasp, cross themselves in prayer and turn their heads in shame at even the idea.  Yet there are some who truly understand and even love the art and imagery of pole dancing to be something beautiful and amazing.

Before you begin to view the art of Pole Dancing and understanding the photography of it you have to look at the people who perform it and understand why.  There are always the dark, dingy, dirty places that smell like stale smoke, sweat, booze and unwashed bodies.  They may call themselves “Pole Dancers” but they are no more a true pole dancer then, as the say goes; “You standing in a garage makes you a car.”  Simply put, they make a mockery of a true art for the sale of sex, which sells for some pretty decent money if you’re putting it out there.  This is where the “art” is scoffed at.  This is where the photography would be laughable.  These are places where the art is not taught nor do they care.  Patrons pay to see nearly naked women who are untrained in the art of pole dancing, simply utilizing a pole to grind on and shove everything they can in “clients” faces.  These are not the women of the art, nor are they what the art of photography would consider to be worthy of photographing.  Most of these women would probably not even be in good enough shape to actually do some of the true and actual pole dancing moves that are a part of the art.

Pole dancing is an art form that takes strength.  Any true, trained pole dancer will tell you that the strength in their arms alone will prove to you that it is not for the weary.  Carmen Electra’s Video utilizing the art of pole dancing to “get in shape” is probably one of the most well known pole dancing videos around.  Still selling today, with updated versions, Carmen Electra combines the art of pole dancing with the true strength required to do it.  Yes, it can be a sexy art and there is nothing wrong with that.  Dancing in and of itself can be a sexy art.  Adding the pole to the dancing makes it almost a combination of dancing and gymnastics.  Beginners who start learning the art of pole dancing will tell you it’s much more than just grabbing a pole and moving your body up and down it.  If you will notice in some of the shots on this website, you will see an amazing amount of strength holding up the dancer’s entire body weight.  You will see amazing angles, contortions, bends and movements that border on the edge of impossible for most.  Simply pulling one’s entire body weight up, even a foot off the ground, let alone then contorting the body into mysterious and amazing angles is an achievement that says “this is not just something someone off the street does.”

There are particular moves, styles, poses, and stances that pole dancers use.  There is no way you can attempt the art without firming and toning muscle and even creating muscle if you began without much.  You are responsible for not only utilizing the pole to create a beautiful flow of dancing and movement with your body but to hold your own weight in various poses and stances that require concentration and strength.  So if you’re thinking that pole dancing and photography are two arts that simply cannot blend without being “tacky” or “disgusting” perhaps you need to take a closer look at the beauty of the style.  The way the photographer can grab symmetrical shapes and poses.  The use of lighting to highlight angles and accent areas of the photograph to create shading creates a beautiful picture of an exotic art.  Much like belly dancing the art is meant to show the beauty of the human body by creating moves that highlight the body’s ability to move in a swift, free-form style to create a certain look.  The fact that both belly dancing and pole dancing are considered an “exotic” art only compliments the fact that both are enjoyed by photographers.  Appreciating the art, perhaps takes the art of another to show its beauty.

Either way, take the time to appreciate the combination of both of these art forms as they meld together to create beautiful pictures of the human body in action.  Get past the stuffiness or the bad taste left in the mouths of people that haven’t had the option of seeing pole dancing in its true art form and take a moment to view it as it truly is; an exotic art of the human body.  Photography gives you the chance to do this.  Combining the two arts as one will only bring you to view the human body as it is, something beautiful to behold and seeing the dance as it is meant to be, taking that human body and flowing it beautifully in forms that are meant to show its beauty.

Here’s Skateboard Deck Concept Design #1

Let me know what you think ?

and remember … You Have All The Weapons You Need … Now FIGHT !!!

Should Dodgy Dingo be an

a )  Extreme Sports Apparel Brand

b)   Extreme Lifestyle Apparel Brand

Let me know your thoughts

and remember … You Have All the Weapons You Need Now Fight !

To launch the brand will be a video concept combining the sexy sassiness of Teta -Maria-Stone one of the Fuel Girls, a band (Harlikings?) and a skate park !  This will be the first in a series of videos helping promote the brand and spreading it far and wide.  There will be a competition to star in each following video also as an interaction tool.

- update:  I have asked for quotes regarding websites but have been looking at Shopify.  Has anyone got any feedback on this service?  Ultimately it would keep startup costs down and will free up more money for apparel design and production.

I have also had some cool designs and ideas through for womens workout gear, racer back crop tops and hot pants that can be used for the gym through to kicking ass at kick boxing !  What are your thoughts?

If you like the idea of all this then please use the share/like buttons on the side !

and remember .. You Have All The Weapons You Need .. Now FIGHT !

Adam

Roll on 2011 and the Dodgy Dingo idea is back lol but I suppose I have a little more knowledge (in the words of Paul Daniels tho “not a lot”).  Luckily the domain name was available, obviously noone else has seen it’s potential lol so I snapped it up “again”.  I imagined the brand to be more geared towards Extreme Sports, i.e. skateboarders, bmx, free runners, kick boxing etc.

Now the first thing people will say/have said “there are a huge amount of these kind of brands out there, the market is huge!” this I know  I suppose I just wanted to do a small side project away from Pole Photography and Mobile Apps (thought at some point I’m sure something will cross!) something different to get my teeth into.

So the first thing was to get the logo, after about a week these are the logos :

These two will be the main logos used throughout the brand, but through different designs of apparel there will be slight manipulations to suit.  What do you think ?

So what’s my next step?  That will be the website and COOL video which I’ll tell you about tomorrow.

Adam

Remember :  You have all the weapons you need, now FIGHT !

We all know image is everything, and if you don’t, you should.  We judge the vast majority of our life on image, people, cars, jobs, houses, holidays, clothes and so on.  So why does image 1st constantly tell us image is everything? because they are telling us that self image is very important, especially if you want to land that job, pick up that dancing role or capture that special moment.

I truly believe that what they offer, no other studio (especially in London) comes close to.  They will go the extra mile to find out what you want from your photoshoot, they will give you the time  (no silly rushing around getting images within 30mins, slap dash thank you, actually, no thank you!!!) and the confidence.  We all need a confidence boost now and then don’t we, and true to their word, image 1st deliver.

I have the privilege of saying I worked at the best studio in London with the best team.  So why don’t you check out their website or give them a call on 0207 250 1313 and see what they can do for you.

Social Media is huge and is getting bigger by the day; and Linkedin is no exception.  If you are in the corporate game then you should know that a killer headshot is the way forward to get noticed.  image 1st are experts with a proven track record.

So if you’re a dancer, a model, musician, performer, a couple looking for those treasured pictures together or a corporate business looking to arm their team with the best headshots then image 1st should be at the top of your list.

Don’t call it a comeback – DG

If you like this post or your think someone may be interested in hearing about it, then please use the like/share buttons on the left

So things that have happened in the last few months :

I’m now concentrating on the Pole Dance aspect of photography, with studios in the UK and overseas. In August I am going to Washington DC, Vegas, Phoenix & Vancouver for 3 weeks then  a 4 week trip in Australia in October.  During this time I am hoping to blog (see first paragraph?!) more often !

Pocket Pole Studio is still going well, gad a wee update last week but I am looking at doing a major update in November after I get back from Australia.  So please let me know what you would like to see.

Pocket Pole News has been developed for the iPad (been a long time!) but I think I might wait to release it with the iPhone version.  PPN brings together feeds from dedicated Pole Facebook pages, pole specific twitter hashtags and a blog feed.  This will be a free app.

I have a new app in the pipeline but can’t disclose anything until I have had a meeting with my wingman within the next 6 weeks

Aside from the Pole Photography and Apps I have also started a new brand called Dodgy Dingo.  This will be an apparel brand aimed mainly toward boarders, bmx, skating etc and will consist of hoodies/tees/beanies/trainers etc.  The website should be up and running within the next 6 weeks hopefully.

In the next couple of weeks I will be doing a shoot with James & Ola Jordan, two of the dancers from BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.

So that’s pretty much the update.  Hopefully (again see first paragraph) I will be writing more often !

Adam

Remember “You have all the weapons you need, now FIGHT!”

Met Lou Landers at Miami International to then get a ride on the Tri-rail to West Palm which took about 1hr 40mins. A bit long but hey for $7 I can’t really complain.

Got to the Marriott, checked in, knock at the door and there they were, the boys from the hood, Jack & Tommy from Bad Kitty. After a loooooonnngggggg man hug we proceeded to the bar where for the rest of the night it was a case of chatting with other people who had also come in a couple of days early. Bug shout out to my boy at Mighty Grip, Joel Bretan, who finally got his vodka I had promised him for months ! Cheers!

On the Thursday I had a shoot with Fawnia Dietrich (who is one of the most loveliest girls I know) back up at South Beach. We were shooting with Daniela Baumann & Loft1 at their new exclusive studio over looking the bay. Things didn’t start off to well as the 2 xstages we had were a wee bit too tall for the room ! So as a back up we called my mate Danny from image 1st Miami who had a Platinum Stages Star Standalone from a shoot he had done a while back. Problem solved though I have to say the quality of the Platinum Stages pole is far inferior to that of the xstage, but hey we had no choice at that point.

The shoot went well and I felt I got to know Fawnia a lot more and I truly hope I get to work with her more in the future, a true professional and a legend in the pole industry.

In the evening there was a night hosted at BB Kings but the ice hockey was on and I couldn’t pass up the chance of Tommy talking me through it and explaining what was going on ! Anyway to cut a long story short, the Bruins lost but took the Stanley Cup a few days ago.

Also it would take me an age to name everyone I talked to over the days I was in Miami so if your name isn’t mentioned I do still love you

I have to be honest I wasn’t feeling it on the saturday. It was the first full day at the convention and I wasn’t in the game. I have no answer to why, it just wasn’t there. That is until I started watching the performances on the saturday afternoon. A-maz-ing ! I could feel the mojo flowing back into me and by the the time saturday evening performances came I had my game face on the performances were out of this world ! Performances by Lou Landers, Marion Crampe, Justine McLucas ( who was injured but still gave an outstanding performance, PROUD girl!) Estee Zakar, Jamilla, Zoraya Judd, Karol Helms, Jenyne Butterfly, Rafaela Montanaro and Felix Cane. What made it spectacular is that every performance was so different, awe inspiring and jaw dropping. I am so glad I was there ! Check out some images from that evening …….

Another definite highlight was the performance from Torwa Joe and her girls !  Those girls can shake it !!! and they defo laid the smackdown on me after !!

My main man Joel from Mighty Grip treated everyone to a lush cocktail after the event which gave people the chance to reflect on what they had just seen and also to have a picture with the “Stars” at the X-Pole Media Drop with Sam Green.

Sunday got off to a slow start ( I’m sure some people were hungover!! ) but soon picked up pace. I managed to fire off a few shots here and the but didn’t really go gung-Ho ! My main reason for going to the convention was really to network and to meet the people that I have talked to so often on Facebook.

For me Sunday was by far the best evening. Jack & Trisha invited myself, Tommy, Lou, Karri Mae and Claire out to dinner as a thank you and OMG it was like the best steak I have ever had ! The dessert wasn’t too shabby either! What do you think ?

We then went on to the Opa bar or something like that where we chilled, danced on tables, was joined by another 15 odd people, chucked napkins in the air and just kicked back and enjoyed the last night. Not to mention the aerobics class outside the hotel at 1am ! To all those there that night, thank you for making it awesome !

On the Monday we had time for a quick spot of lunch before the Tri-rail back to Miami International and all the goodbyes.

So where do we go from here, was it a success, was it worth going ?

Firstly, thanks to Jack who was adamant that I should attend, without him I may not of made it. Again thanks to Jack, Trisha & Tommy for making me feel like part of their family, both personal and business. Thanks to my roomie Lou who didn’t snore and was infact not that messy thanks to Fawnia and Daniela for the shoot in south beach making it a fun day ! Thanks to Danny for breakfast and being mine and Fawnia’s superman and saving the day ! Thanks to Jessalynn for organizing a kick ass convention and I look forward to next years in more ways than one I also have a new respect for Stacey who despite our ups and downs in the past, I think does an amazing job and truly hope to work a lot more with in the future. A big well done to Justine for her performance, I was very proud to call you a friend that night, and yes next time I’ll save you that seat on the plane though it’s up to you whether you sit there or not

I made so many new friends this Convention and caught up with a lot of old ones.

If you have a chance to go to next years convention then do everything you can to make it, I promise you will not regret it. The chance to meet people who are passionate about the same thing and to meet those “Stars” you thought you would never meet.

Everyone I met in Miami, onstage and off, are all STARS to me.

Thank you

ps it’s only a plane ride