JADE TILL PHOTOGRAPHY

Today, a LOT happened for me. a lot of big changes + achievements that are going to change the path of my life as of now. it’s scary when you look at it like that. change is über scary.

now on an average day a down for me would be;
waking up super late for work,
breaking something,
having an argument,
financial troubles
or just not getting my cup of tea in the morning…
today, my big down was going into work for the last time, it was a big deal for me. I’ve been working since I turned 16, in fact it might have been just a little before then. either way I have always had at least 1 job to fund my own ways. I’ve known for some time now that the shop I was working at would eventually close. I figured something would
have come up work-wise by now, but it hasnt… I’ve made good friends through working there, had some laughs, had some crys too. but i honestly don’t think I’ll have a job like that again where I would get away with as much as I did there. And now I’m jobless. Unemployed. it’s a scary status to be in, especially in this day and age. Sure, I move to leeds in 2 months to start Uni, but what do I do for money until then? some people won’t understand this but my parents can’t afford to pay for shot for me or bail me out. not because they don’t want too but because they can’t afford too. it’s a state I don’t want to be in when I’m their age, to still have such financial difficultys in like 20-30 years time would crush me. I can barely hack it now! it’s sad that I don’t really know
anyone that can afford to have a good standard of living and still be able to afford a couple of luxuarys they want a month. instead, everyone I know is trying to scrape their asses through to next week. I hope things don’t say like that forever….

So that’s one major depressing/scary/uneasy change in my life.

The next is the high part of my day (and why not end on a high after all the depresso dribble?!)

A usual high part of my day would be;
Being early for work,
finding something I thought was lost forever (usually my glasses or camera equipment - something important, yanno!)
having a nice chat with someone lovely who I maybe havnt seen in a while,
getting paid/paying off debt
getting 2 cups of tea in a morning.

Now today my high was something I thought would NEVER happen, or at least not for a good few years, but probably never. and I know I’ve banged on about this for a while now but this was BIG to me!! blink-182 are one of
my favorite bands, and while a lot of people like to pick at their faults, they just make me smile. No, they’re not the definition of a perfect band, I’ll admit that and probably quite a few other things about them… but I still love them to bits. the pure simplicity of their songs and childish humor just slaps a big ‘ol smile on my face. Everyone knows a blink song, and The Rock Show will forever make me want to smile, cry and dance all at the same time (well, maybe not ACTUALLY at the same time…) when they broke up, I cried. I did! mainly because I’d never gotten to see them live, Tom had gone insane, and the whole bitterness of how they broke up was just heartbreaking. when they reformed I was like ‘oh yes, I can finally see them!’ and I did, 2010 at leeds festival. I stood in that pit for hours waiting for them, I loved every second. a few months later I got started with my band photography and thought I was kinda good at it. I started photographing bands I’d never really never thought I’d ever photograph, but they where all small scale in comparison to blink. I made a joke last year that I wouldn’t even have to pay for blink tickets soon cause id be photographing them. I never believed it would happen.

in fact it was super last minuite when I even attempted to get a pass, I just disregarded it as ‘not ever gonna happen’. untill I thought, well, you don’t know if you don’t try! so I tried, and after a few emails, a little help and a little bit of patience I got the email of approval - I could photograph blink! I bought my dad a ticket to the show as
a bribe to drive me as it would work out cheaper than a train + hotel. all the way down on the drive tonight I was
convinced my name would have been forgotten to put on the list. but nope, it was there! only issue was I had to be escorted out of the venue after the 3 song rule. I was obviously devistated but I still got to photograph them… better than anything. when the lights went off and the black curtain was seconds from being dropped, I was shakey as hell. I swear I could feel
my heart in my ass. the curtain dropped
and I went into pro mode. it was fine when I was looking through my lens, but looking away and seeing them
in front of me with my own eyes took me back abit. it was amazing. I got
some eye connection from Tom who did a little pose and kept pulling draft faces at me, and mark leant down rich into my camera for a good 5 seconds, when he got up I checked my camera and looked back up at him to see him
smiling and mouth to me ‘did you get it?’ I nodded and smiled back and got the smiliest grin back from him ever. it was so heart warming! as the last song came to an end I took once last glance before being ushered out by security. they where being really pushy while
I was putting my camera away and ten I tried to explain my dad was still in
the arena but it was no good. so, like. typical girl, I cried. I cried and cries
and mumbled some shit and cried some more. it worked. the head security came over, took pity on me and told the others ‘she’s fine’ and let me back in the arena so I could go
watch the rest of the show with my dad :) was SO worth me loosing my manhood and getting the waterworks on.

so this blog has ended a little longer than I thought it would. I should really get sleep. but really the point I was getting at with this is, when one really shitty thing happens, it only leaves room for a really amazing thing to happen. and although I’m jobless and
moneyless and everything looks so bleak right now, I can look back and see what I thought I would never achieve with my photography,
and I have managed to fulfill my childhood dreams and beyond. now I just got to stay positive and try hard to get myself out of this financial rut. I can do anything though, if I try hard enough, I can.

So tonight shit has been going down between Frank Turner and Nicki Minaj’s loyal fans on twitter. All because Frank tweeted something earlier about the way he’d seen/heard Nicki treating some stage crew at a festival. (apparently she was being quite rude and a little diva-ish) This is more than likely to be true, but obviously upset Nickis fans who took it as a personal offence and started to fight back at frank about ‘who was a better musician’. Personally im finding some of the replies hilarious at just how ridiculous they are. But then it got me thinking about how many people I know say they hate a certain musician/band/music genre. 

Now im not saying its wrong and everyones entitled to their own opinion, of course. I just find it a little strong to totally disregard a whole genre of music or an artist just because it dosn’t ‘fit in’ with what you usually listen to, or what others would expect you to listen to due to the way you might dress. I’m a bit of a hypocrite for saying all this, because yes, in the past I have said I hated certain bands or genres. But that was when I was a young, naive little ‘mosher’ kid who would only listen to Green Day and anything that was on Kerrang! and mainstream chart music was the enemy. Again I was a hypocrite for thinking this because Green Day have been in the charts on a number of occasions and I actually loved Pink + The Black Eyed Peas! (obviously my fellow ‘mosher’ friends where not to know this…)

But as i’ve grown up i’ve learnt not to form a complete opinion on any artist or band based on its genre, and its opened up a whole knew world of music for me! If any form of music makes you feel some kind of emotional connection, why not accept it and embrace it? Wether its lyrics connect deeply with a time or thought in your life or the beat just makes you want to get up and dance, you enjoy it and like it so admit it! I think enjoying a variety of music leads to a happyier lifestyle, especially if music is such a big part of your life as it is mine. (the people i cannot understand are the ones who say they dont enjoy music or listen to it that much… explain yourselves!)

So to go back to what i began with, i find it insane to see people comparing an artist like Frank Turner to one like Nicki Minaj. They’re hardly a pair to be compared, each both have a totally different approach to music and a different sound, one may have a majority fanbase but that dosnt make one better than the other based on those facts. Her fans are all retaliating with comments such as

‘Nicki has more followers than you, and is therefore more tallented than you’ll ever be’ 

‘Nicki has sold more records than Frank will ever sell’
 

I’ve never understood the thought-process that because a particular artist sells more records that makes them better than someone who sells less… base your opinion on the sounds, not the numbers!!

I’m not expecting this blog to change anybodys mind on the way they view and have an opinion on music, but it would be nice if some people where just a little bit more open-minded some times. i’m not even sure if everything i’ve said makes sence, but i felt like saying something about the matter as this is something that has bugged me for some time!

And as a conclusion I quite like Frank Turner as well as Nicki Minaj’s music. Shoot me!

I’ve been lazy, again. 

I really should get my arse into gear and be consistent if i’m ever going to get a good name for myself as a photographer. Currently been too wrapped up in my own personal life and working life to  really get anything going with my photography, but the termination of my employment in 2 weeks should mean plenty of time for me to be a lot more photography-active! Well, inbetween job hunting in leeds and sorting out my mountains of uni-related stuff *sigh*

Anyway, so i’ll be planning on uploading some reviews + pictures about recent gigs and escapades, such as the 5 Less Than Jake gigs I went to the other week, Hit The Deck fest, Groezrock, Slam Dunk + other things! I’m also forcing myself to create a  website. Flickr is great but I have so much stuff on there now, the stuff i’m really proud of gets lost in all the average and not so good stuff. I need a place I can showcase my good stuff which makes me look professional, im also thinking business cards, maybe? why not. if anyone can give me any help/pointers with the business cards + website stuff i’d appreciate it a lot! Remember i’m an unemployed now, so cheap and cheerful ideas, please!
I’m also writing/contributing stuff to an awesome new local (hull)  zine called Crass Nouveau, which has been organised and put together by my lovely friend Jesse Casey, if your interested in independent creativity stemming from the Hull area then follow/like them on…

tumblr ( http://crassnouveau.tumblr.com/ )

twitter @crassnouveau

+ facebook! http://facebook.com/crassnouveau

its only just the beginning but im expecting good things to come from this, they will be a lot from me + others for the music enthusiasts aswell as lots lots more.

Seen as i’ll be unemployed and have LOTS of spare time and £0, i’m going to be offering my photography services to anyone or any bands that want promo shots doing, obviously because i’m wanting to persue this as a career, I will be charging, i cant give out freebies forever (something every artist must realise at some point) although my prices wont be steep as i know times are hard and im hardly a well sought-after proffessional. But if yourself or anyone you know wants some photography work doing, of ANY kind (i recently just did a set of prom photos for a family friends daughter) get them to drop me a message - jadetillphotography@hotmail.co.uk

So i’m going to try and keep myself busy with that lot untill September where i’ll be FINALLY moving to Leeds, to go to Uni. Although last year i was 99.9% set on never going to Uni, I figured I got the best grades I could get at college, so I must be good, plus just being a working girl has pushed my creativity down to a minimum, not exactly what I was hoping for. I want to be back in the creative zone again, and have the opportunity to learn new things, too! I am also DESPERATE to get out of hull and finding out that my job wasnt going to be secure for much longer + not wanting anything else in hull, all these things pushed me towards Uni. I get to live in Leeds, closer to a lot of my friends, much better opportunities  MUCH better bands/venues/ nightlife (obviously important) and 3 years there studying Visual Communication should be enough time to find my feet in leeds and i’ll hopefully make my move out of Hull permanent. 

 So, in not so-much of a nutshell, thats a quick update on my life + plans so far. Hopefully i’ll be blogging a bit more frequently now, and getting some work out there…

watch out for me!

 - Jade x

go ahead and check my stuff out, theres a pretty decent range of work on there, mostly band work and some own experimental stuff :) have a look and reblog if you like it! <3
http://www.flickr.com/photos/greendayjade/