In this issue:

- DIY Job offers.
- Camera freezes at -12°, and wind threatens to abort job.
- Lunch with Gordon Burns.
- Deaths at dusk - Falling debris and steel threatens lives of two photographers.
- Company registers in Link-Up scheme.

* New Websites - NOW LIVE*
Accolade Photography, Official Photographer, Photographers-UK, Rail-Photography

Newsletter brings interesting DIY 'job' offers from customers...
When we sent out our Valentine mailer we didn't quite expect the response it promoted!! All the people we work for have a good sense of humour (..and it's got nothing to do with needing one because of the work we produce!.). Some decided to reply to our mailer to join in the fun.. some agencies enquired how to 'do it' themselves, and one agency wanted to 'do it' to us!! 8-) ...What sort of 'job' did we want?? was the enquiry!! If you missed the mailer you can still check it out here. The 'job' in question? - We'll leave to your imagination...

One web designer was fuming however. Apparently, our light hearted attempt at humour met him on a bad day, and after a telephone call to complain we were told ..'your silliness has reached new heights.... ***** me it even had music on!' - Oops - Sorry....

On a serious note - if you are having a bad day and like our webdesigner 'ex' friend do not want to recieve these mails you can remove your address from our list by sending a mail, Orjust telephone us to do it for you.Thanks.

part of the dusk 360 panorama

location, location, location.

It was 28mph. The air temperature was -4° and the windchill factor made it -12°. What a great day to go up a pole and take some photographs!!

At 30mph the job would be off for H&S reasons - (high winds tend to blow people off mobile platforms) - so it was with some trepidation that the panoramas at Fort Dunlop in Birmingham actually took place.

Everyone has seen the building - a great monolithic Gotham city like structure next to the M6. Previous home to the great industrial manufacturer of the same name and to one of the biggest advertisment sites ever seen.

Theres development proposals under consideration by Urban Splash and as part of these proposals they required 360°, 270° and 180° degree panoramas of the proposed views from various floors. Shooting through the scaffolding was impossible, and 360° views from the roof, impossible too.

On this occasion a 'baby' 36 metre platform was used, although more commonly we use a 72m platform which can give the equivalent view of a 14th floor apartment - this site had the privilege of shelter from one side, whereas normally we're just suspended in free space. With these conditions at 72m - now that would really get the wind up!

Lunch with Gordon Burns

Part of our service to clients includes providing Internet access to images through our Official Photographer websites. This facility was the main reason why we were chosen by NOW network to be the Official Photographer at their awards lunch. The awards were to acknowledge special achievements by people in various aspects of personal development and awarded over 20 people for their efforts. Most people will know Gordon 'off the Telly' and in this unfortunate shot you can see him entertaining using his lesser known magical talents.

Brown Trousers and Safety Helmets- Debris and falling steel threatens the lives of two photographers.

Two of our photographers narrowly escaped death after an incident on site resulted in them being showered in metal debris and falling steel from a runaway crane..

The photographers who were stood beneath a crane were showered in steel and debris after 70mph winds broke one of two 250 ton cranes free from its moorings. The runaway crane travelled over 300 metres gathering speed and the subsequent collision with a second crane smashed it through its safety buffers scattering steel and debris all around. Moments earlier, the photographers were stood on an access platform checking the possibility of a night shot of the yard below. The very platform on which the photographers were stood was the final restraint which prevented the collapse of the cranes onto the photographers below preventing almost certain death. The site safety officer who was 50 metres away at the time of the collision was shouting at the top of his voice for the photographers to get out of the way, however , due to wind noise no warnings were heard, and the photographers continued readying their equipment. The officer admitted that he was relieved that the platform had protected the photographers, since in his own view the speed of the maverick crane and the position of the photographers below was almost certainly going to cause fatalities.

'The noise of the collision above and the falling debris had us running for our lives.....' said one of the photographers after the ordeal. 'Only afterwards did we really know how lucky we had been... only a minute earlier we were stood on the access platform to the crane evaluating the possibility of the shoot, and within a minute we would have been there again. In that two minute span, if we had been on the platform we would have been crushed. The timing of the event was such that over 4 hours earlier we had planned to be right there in that specific location at that very time. Who would have known that this was to happen ? We were very lucky.'

Back On The Rail Again.

Accolade Photography is now registered as a Sponsoring Company on the Link-Up scheme, meaning that we have qualified as a supplier to the rail industry in the specific group of 'media support services'.

Not just a PTS qualification - this registration qualifies Accolade Photography to be a sponsoring company for it' photographers. Following this qualification, renewal and training to obtain the PTS certification has been completed and continues to be maintained. The PTS certificate is a necessary requirement for anybody working on the railways.

Although the actual course only spans a two day period, in order to qualify for the course an individual needs to have a drugs and alcohol screening and medical examination before being sponsored by a company. For the company this has meant vetting, Company qualification, NCCA registration as well as the regular medicals and qualification by staff.

Some rail samples are below, and further examples can be seen at our rail photography site .

Telephone: 0870 75 74686