Starting to feel the pressure, one work in progress, an exam piece and dissertation hand-in are bearing down on my future weeks. It should all start to come together soon, at the moment it’s all mixed around my brain slushing amongst the swill of information intake. I’m frustrated with this wordpress blog, I think i’ll move over to a tumblr once the site is relaunched, sick of having titles for all posts and the clunky back-end. I don’t usually post others work here but its not that I have some kind of agenda against doing so, it’s just there are so many other blogs doing just that but take a look at Marek Wykowski’s work, saw it this morning from a link someone posted on twitter, google the name for more info, thats your end of the deal.

I’ll be posting various out takes from my last trip as I go through the scans and make some kind of initial edit. These are my ‘no’ pictures though thats subject to change.  I’m going again for a couple of days this week to meet and interview a man that worked in the Dinorwig slate quarry, hope to pick up a few more portraits too while I’m there.

Oliver – Llanberis Path.

The Llanberis Pass.

Dinorwig Power Station, Eldir Mountain.

I had my Snowdon film back from the lab this morning, can’t really tell until I begin to scan but looks promising. I need to get back out there for at least another week before the middle of January, I sure hope it thaws soon. I seem to have a problem with landscape projects and snow/ice. The conditions conspired to thwart my attempts earlier on this year.

Looking back on this year its been a mixed bag. I made some desisions early on which for better or worse altered how I approached the rest of the year. Leaving the financial security of my job wasn’t easy, but even though I have been at times desperatly broke I wouldnt change it. The freedom to be able to work on projects and have the mental space has been invaluable. I bagged a few tearsheets and shot things I wouldnt have thought about previously,  made lots of mistakes and learnt a fair few lessons, all good preperation for 2011.

I’m not one for setting unachievable goals or resolutions, I have some ongoing personal aims and I’d like to think I know how i’d like to go about achieving them. To the three of you that actually read this once in a while, merry Xmas and happy new year, see you on the other side.

Paul Graham

As I passed Downing Street there was a group of around 100 or so school kids, chanting about the removal of the EMA. I stayed there for a bit and once the group had swelled in numbers to a few hundred followed them down past the houses of parliment. The police were quick to block any route to the Lib Dem HQ and after a while this group headed back towards Trafalgar Sq. Once at trafalgar the main Uni student march began to arrive and make its way down Whitehall until it reached the line of police waiting to contain them.

The numbers grew and grew, about 5000 or so at a rough guess. The mood was still peaceful at this point. I guess the tempting placement of large fences for the roadworks was pretty much impossible to resist and before long the throng had these toppled, minutes later joyous rage ensued as kids started smashing up a bus stop, as it turned out, this bus stop was the luckier of the two.

I somehow then found msyelf at the entrance to the foreign office/war rooms where some scuffles were breaking out, people surged and threw stuff, cops cracked heads. This went on for a while, I think everyone realised what was actually happening, in that they were being kettled and were trying to break through the police line but it wasn’t working. The police were also nice enough to leave everyone a van to destroy, which they did. This was to serve as justification for the rest of the day/night.

I knew that the police would kettle everyone and keep them contained for a while. I didn’t expect it to be as long as they did. Darkness fell, fires were lit to keep warm. Rivers of piss flowed along these famous streets. The scene was apocalyptic and the containment did nothing for people’s attitudes. Rage was palpable at this point, the only way out was via  a press card or if you could prove you were 16 or under. I had left my school uniform at home and even though I got ID’d for rollies last week I still cant pass as 16 any more. In my opinion all the ‘containment’ did was fuel everyone’s anger and the group that was kicking off continued to burn whatever they could and smash windows of the foreign office. Poeople were searching for ways out, I was so cold I couldnt be bothered taking photos, there were enough people doing that at this point. All I wanted to do was get out of there have a sit down and get my bus home.

6:30pm came and went, I realised there would be no making of the last bus home for me, the hours ticked by, the sound system blared out piky rave pendulum hippie calming vibes. I couldn’t see an end in sight. At about half nine there was some talk of people being allowed to leave, it turned out to be true and in true facist style we were hurded into a crush and let out 3/4 at a time. I got out at about 9:30pm but not before I was stopped and searched, the reason, anticipated violence. Apparently I may look like or be similar to someone who may or may not have been invloved in violent protest. I hadn’t, I had been taking pictures, the copper was sound enough and I couldn’t be arsed to argue so after he realised I wasn’t a pysco hippie anarchist nutter he let me go and I got a cab to paddington to get the last train home.

Here are some photo’s, the rest are at my Flickr.

edit: Here is a link to a much more eleqount article about the day which perfectly sums things up, I am not much of a writer and have tried to put things as simply as I could above. I have my own opinions on the situation and for the most part agree with what is written here >>> New Statesmen article