Big news in the BlackLOG household , The Beast (Nikon D700) has a new sibling. He has been joined by The Behemoth (a Nikon D4). For anyone who knows about cameras they will realise that while The Beast is a serious bit of kit, The Behemoth takes seriousness to a whole new level. Think of the un-funniest thing that you know and then subtract the last vestiges of humour left and you are part way to how serious a camera this really is. I count myself a very lucky boy, while I had been planning to get a D4 for some time, my savings plan still had it a good few years (possibly decades) away. Queue conversation with Mrs B about holiday plans...
Mrs B - "I really want to go on Safari this year"
Me - "I do as well but don't want to go until I get a new camera"
Mrs B - "Well get it then..."
it arrived the next day...
Now how do I get that Nikon 800mm lens....it's only £18,000...Oh Yeah, that would be in my dreams .... Besides, most Safaris seem to have a 15 Kilo limit on luggage.
The Behemoth's first task was a real baptism of fire - sneaking into this year's V-Festival.
Saturday 17th July
It was a strange V this year - in previous years the crowds start out quiet and gradually build as the day readies itself for the headline act. It was a huge shock to find ourselves early on Saturday afternoon having to fight our way towards the third stage (The Arena) to start our weekend off with the lovely Nina Nesbitt...
Nina Nesbitt - Arena
Fantastic start to the weekend - the girl sure can rock..
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| "Way in the word" |
Came across as a bit squeaky, the jury is still out...
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| "The Power of Love" |
Still going strong
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| "Sit Down" |
Having seen Paloma a number of times I have never been disappointed - not only does she put on a great show but she has the songs and voice to back it up...My highlight of the day
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| "30 minute Love affair" Is certainly enough time while waiting for a Beyoncé set..... |
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| "Do You want the truth or something beautiful?" Hmm, Since the truth can often be quite ugly I'm clearly going to have to opt for something beautiful..." |
Surprised to discover they were Icelandic - think Bjork only with talent and lacking the annoying voice....
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| Piano, backing vocals - Steingrimur Karl Teague (Touring member) |
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| bassist - Kristján Páll Kristjánsson |
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| Lead singer - Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir |
Hadn't heard much by him/them so pleasantly surprised
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| "Express Yourself" I did - it almost got me arrested..... |
A bit poppy but did exactly what it says on the tin, they certainly were fun.
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| Nates Ruess likes to hit those high notes |
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| "Carry On" he certainly will |
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| Nates does his impression of a Golden Retriever with its head hanging out of the car window while been driven along at speed.... |
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| "Some Nights" you just have to whip your band mates into shape... |
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| Liam James Fray "Good times are calling" Are they? I must be going deaf in my old age... |
Now, before any of you die-hard fans out there get over-agitated, remember the following is only my opinion.........
We made our way to the main stage to catch a bit of the headline act.....only she could not be bothered to turn up on time so we could not be bothered to hang around. Did she miss us?...I suspect not. Did I miss not seeing an over-hyped diva? Certainly not...Mrs B would liked to have watched her show on the highlights of the V-Festival catch-up on Channel 4 but even then the jumped up Prima Donna (No, not Mrs B - how very dare you) decided not to give permission for any of her set to be broadcast...Hmmm. To me it smacks of someone who doesn't want to be found lacking on the talent front. All I will say is that chickens often come home to roost and there is only so much that the majority of fans will put up with before they go off and find someone who is more giving and less self centred.
I think you will agree I managed to capture the essence of her show in my non-picture above.... If not the 5 outfit changes, which I heard managed to eat up most of her remaining set...I guess if you only have a couple of good songs you have to paper over the cracks in whatever way you can....
Photo Finish
Some of the faces in the crowd - the unsung heroes (i.e. us mortals who pay for the whole shebang...)
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| Mrs B makes a new friend, Ben, during Paloma Faith |
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| Kati (probably wrong spelling - sorry if it is) I suspect you got more out of Beyoncé then we did - sorry to diss the Beyonc but life is way too short to pander to Divas... |
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| Not as many costumes on show this year.. Perhaps Beyoncé had bagged them all... |
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| Making this guy the stand out performer... He was carried from one side of the main stage to the other, striking poses as he appeared to float across the crowd. The poor sod carrying him gets my award for unsung hero of the weekend... |
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| Mrs B relaxes between finding new friends... |
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| Mrs B gets carried away with the festival spirit... I leave her for a couple of minutes and she is adopted by a new family. It was touch and go if I was going to get her back... |
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| Mrs B demonstrates symptoms of early onset Stockholm Syndrome, |
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| Zyana and friend who were certainly more attracted to The Behemoth than to me... Just as well I managed to win back custody of Mrs B I don't think they were looking to adopt me any time soon.... |
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| Kath - thanks for negotiating Mrs B's release... |
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| Can't remember her name but anyone who can dance the Charleston is OK in my book... |
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| Look no Camera - A rare shot as the other 99% of the time it was glued to me like a second skin.... "Mrs B can I have it back now? I'm suffering from withdrawal symptoms " |
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| "Walk like an Egyptian..." I'm sure the Bangles didn't play this year's festival |
Tune in next time for day 2....
I went to the first Virgin V Festival in Chelmsford. I still have the T-shirt... Pulp on on the front, Chelmsford on the back.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have bothered with Bouncy.
Qx