Personal – life thru photography

My Top 10 favourite 80’s movies

Ian Read — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 15:00:14 +0000

[vc_row margin_bottom=”60″][vc_column][vc_column_text]So, just for fun, I thought it would be a great idea to try and show you what I consider to be my favourite 80’s movies of all time. These movies are the ones that I grew up with, and although I might have been too young to watch them at the time, it didn’t stop me (or my parents) in viewing them. This list was really hard to narrow down, and to be honest, I’ve probably missed out some movies that I totally forgot about (no doubt this list will be changed in the future!).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row margin_bottom=”60″][vc_column]

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10 Howard the Duck

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This will probably be one of the more controversial movies to have on my list, as it was panned by critics and movie goers alike. However, Howard The Duck brought a nice mix of comedy, animatronics and stop motion video bringing a fun movie to the home screen. At the time of seeing the movie for the first time, I was around 6 years old. Although some of the adult content whizzed straight over my head (the naked female duck in the bath and the condoms), it became a cult classic to me leaving a nice fuzzy feeling after watching it. The music score wasn’t that memorable (other than the opening title sequence), but the special effects were something that left it’s imprint. Most memorable scene: When the Dark Overlord’s are being beamed over to earth.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row margin_bottom=”60″][vc_column]

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9 Big Trouble in Little China

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This was one of the first John Carpenter movies I watched, and loved. Jack Burton is probably one of the most recognised characters from Mr C’s movies, as well as his one liners. I was always fascinated by the martial arts, the weird spiritual lore, and the old fashioned ‘get the girl and be the hero’ storyline. The music, for me, is memorable from the opening titles, to the little ident’s to remind you that this isn’t a traditional American movie, but a Chinese folk lore story, coupled with western elements. Most memorable scene: The ending where the monster’s hand jumps out and it starts to push it’s way out of hiding in Jack’s truck.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row margin_bottom=”60″][vc_column]

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8 The Thing

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This is the second of the two John Carpenter movies on this list. This one freaked me out. The first time I saw this movie, I must have been around 12 years old. I’d recorded it onto VHS when it was on telly one time (remember having to set the recorder) and I sat to watch it in my bedroom one night. I can tell you I didn’t sleep well at all after that! After viewing it recently the special effects are still brilliant. I’ve watched the behind the scenes, and this has somehow broke the magic of it all, but still brilliant. Music is dark and eerie, and still sends shivers when watching it. Most memorable scene: Two specific scenes for me, the first where the dog’s face splits open and spews out tendrils to eat the other huskies. The second scene has got to be where the stomach rips off the medic’s arms. Gory![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row margin_bottom=”60″][vc_column]

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7 Ghostbusters

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis are geniuses. This piece of comedy horror was one of the best and most identifiable movies of the 80’s, spawning a sequel and a popular kids tv show. Ghostbusters, for me, showcased how special effects define a movies success, even with a good storyline. The recent reboot of the movie highlights that CGI is overdone, and doesn’t portray the horror style of the original. Comedy wise, the funniest moments in the movie are when the characters are actually being serious. For example, Dan Ackroyd’s character saying the line “Listen! Do you smell something” is hilarious, but is acted in such a way that the character is deadly serious. The opening sequence to the movie, as a kid, gave me the shivers, as faces changing in the library with ghost was something I wasn’t expecting. Other than this, it’s an exceptional movie for it’s time, and hasn’t aged a bit. Most memorable scene: Sigourney Weaver being dragged from the living room in her chair by Zuul.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row margin_bottom=”60″][vc_column]

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6 Labyrinth

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]”You remind me of the babe”, “What babe?”, “The Babe with the power!” – Just utter these three sentences, and those who have watched Labrinyth will go into a full rendition of David Bowie’s lyrics of the song, Dance Magic Dance. This magically wonderful story takes you into your imagination, giving you puzzles and creatures galore. Characters like Sir Diddymus, King Jareth and Hoggle make for a fantasy story like no other, creating friendships and an adventure to rescue Sarah’s little brother. The inspiration for some of the scenes are from the mind of M C Esher which lure you into a world where directions don’t really exist. Jareth, the Goblin King, is by far the most alluring character of the movie, with his singing, comedic elements and juggling of crystal clear glass balls. The movie leaves you wanting more though, and a sequel would have been welcoming to all who enjoyed this movie. The music is by far one of the greatest soundtracks, with David Bowie’s rhythm and lyrics having the popular effect of staying with you after watching it, even for the first time. Most memorable scene: Sarah trying to enter the Labyrinth and meeting the book worm in the wall.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row margin_bottom=”60″][vc_column]

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5 Predator

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Apart from the typical Arnie Quotes, “Stick around”, this film, for me, doesn’t show it’s age. The music tries to portray an ethereal quality to try and give the viewer that the antagonist is not of this world. The story line is simple, effective and the effects are just as good now as they were back in the 80’s. The vision cut scenes provide the viewer with the feel of the group being hunted, without revealing certain elements of the predator, such as when it picks up the scorpion, all you see is the outline of the predator’s hand. The filming style of this movie is quite epic, with the close up shots of characters, their face’s showing their emotion, and the claustrophobia setting; being hunted in a jungle as long as it is wide, but not being able to hide from that which is tracking you down constantly. Most memorable scene: The true reveal of the Predator, when confronting dutch, removing his mask.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row margin_bottom=”60″][vc_column]

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4 Alien

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This horror gave me such a fright when I was younger (6 or 7 years old), but intrigued me to watch it when I was 13. Again, another movie that I recorded from TV, I remember watching it on a Sunday morning in bed after waking up. By this point, I remember that I had already seen certain bits of the movie, such as the chestbuster scene. But the new points to watch left me with a love of the whole Alien franchise (yes, even the crappy ones that made it stupid). However, the horror elements in this movie came when the alien either jumped out of the darkness, or slyly crept towards it’s unsuspecting victim, before breathing like a growling dog whilst extending it’s inner mandibles. No one can imitate or reproduce the ‘inner heroine’ like Sigourney Weaver did with Ellen Ripley. Ripley was the one true female action hero from the 80’s that can never been copied. The soundtrack from the film replicates the eerie and darkness of the movie. Most memorable scene: Chest Buster disrupting the dinner.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row margin_bottom=”60″][vc_column]

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3 Robocop

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This movie I watched at my Nan’s house when I was 7. The blood, gore and violence wouldn’t be something I let my own child watch, however this obviously didn’t phase my parents at the time! I think that, at the time, I didn’t really understand the storyline to Robocop due to it’s heavily influenced political element of it, but as a young boy, I was far more interested in a man that becomes a robot cop. The visor and computer head’s up display was fascinating, a gun that hides away inside Murphy’s leg, and to top it all off, he fights crime! Of course, that wasn’t the only thing that I loved about this movie; Huge bipedal robots protecting municipal buildings, fights between robots, and toxic waste that melts a man. Ok, that last one’s not really something that I loved when I was younger, but the gory person inside me loves this scene now. The music is very 80’s; the synth emanates throughout giving the futuristic feel to the movie. It also resonates through you when a bad guy is stood there, and the main theme starts to play, you know they are going to get justice served to them! Most memorable scene: Boddicker’s last scene before RoboCop stabs him with his data access spike.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row margin_bottom=”60″][vc_column]

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2 The Terminator

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]I know what you’re thinking – another robot movie. Well yes, yes it is. I think, by now, you’ve realised that this list is mainly a set of movies that have aliens, creatures, robots or space involved. And that certainly wont change for the top spot! The Terminator gave me my first look at a dystopian future of the world, that’s overrun by gun toting robots, who won’t stop until the human race is over, including imitating human skin over their exoskeletons. The music is mainly synth as the movie came out in the early eighties. This gave it it’s bleak future feel, as well as the T800 hunting down Kyle Reese. The sequel gave a more fluid sound to the music, keep the same tune, that fits with the T1000’s hunting down the Connor family. Most memorable scene: the T800 gouging it’s defective eye out of it’s socket.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row margin_bottom=”60″][vc_column]

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1 Empire Strikes Back

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]By now, you should know that I’m a huge Star Wars fan. As this list was for movies that came out in the 80’s, I couldn’t include A New Hope on the list. I could, however include Empire Strikes Back. The first time I watched this was at home. It was Christmas, and it was on the TV (ITV to be precise as I remember the adverts). The exploits of the force kept me hooked into the series and then eventually a Star Wars fan. This would be the first time we encounter Yoda and his funny eccentric old man living on his own persona before showing his true self to Obi Wan Kenobi. Music wise, John Williams has always been a favourite, and can be identified to whichever soundtrack he composes as his style set is so unique. Originally, this would be the first time we hear the Imperial March that is now so iconic, it’s recognised the world over. It gave Darth Vader a further darkness that instilled fear to future young viewers. Most memorable scene: Darth Vader revealing his true link to Luke in Cloud City.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row margin_bottom=”60″][vc_column]

[/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row margin_bottom=”60″][vc_column][vc_column_text]These movies made my childhood, and more than likely built my love for things Sci-Fi. There were many more movies, those that are popular with others, and those that appear quirky to some (unwatchable even) tend to be the ones I love most.

I can (and normally do) watch these movies over and over again, and have had these on multiple formats, from VHS over to Blu-Ray and digital. Sometimes, I even find something new in them, a theory or possibly some action in the background that I never noticed. That’s why I love to watch them.

What are your thoughts, is there something on this list that you think trumps one of the other movies? Make a comment below.

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My life with the Apple Watch

Ian Read — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 17:52:25 +0000

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Hey fellas. Hows it going? Was hoping I could enlighten you on my new Apple Watch.

The delivery

So my Wife, who is beautiful and very considerate, decided to buy me an Apple Watch for my Birthday (and Christmas combined…and the following Birthday and Christmas combined). So how’s it holding up. First impressions was the box it arrive in. Wow, it was chunky. I didn’t expect that from Apple. I assumed that the box would be teeny-tiny and have the watch face and strap in one of those them there boxes like you do when you get a new watch from Argos.

The FitBit

Previously, I had a FitBit Charge HR. This was something I purchased myself, to which wife replied “You’ve spent how much on a watch?!”. Yeah I know. It was a big thing and it took me all of three weeks to decide on getting a FitBit. But it was money well spent. After purchasing the FitBit, I lost nearly a stone and half just because it encouraged me to walk. But will the Apple Watch do the same? First off, it counts steps, heart rate, distance, GPS tracker and everything the FitBit did (apart from track your sleep).

The Design

The Apple Watch is beautifully designed. The sleekness of the watch face, and the lightness of it made me think I no longer wore a watch compared to the FitBit. The FitBit had it’s downfalls with it’s design. First of all, I was on my third Charge HR simply because the banding peeled. For a tracker that cost so much, it was hard to not get angry about it peeling after 6 months of use. The band also irritated my skin. The solution from FitBit? Take it off for a couple of days. But this was a vicious cycle. The Apple Watch doesn’t mean that’s it’s perfect too. The crown dial on the Watch side keeps activating SIRI when I do push ups – the back of my hand pushes the crown when I bend my hand back. So this has been deactivated.

Summary

To sum up, the Apple Watch is really nice. However, I’m afraid that I would damage it when brushing up against a wall, or something rough. And although I know it’s interacting with my phone, the additional features don’t feel like it’s worth the additional price tag. Maybe at the moment, I’m not utilising it for all of it’s potential, however it’s been good to cancel a call in another room when my phone was upstairs. So far, I like the Watch, but need to see what else I can do to use it.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Website Maintenance

Ian Read — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 18:12:01 +0000

Hi All!

It’s been some time, but over the Christmas period, I’ve begun to re-design the layout of the website, and how each page works. So at the moment, the media section of the site is down, as I’ll be uploading new content and linking in Facebook and Twitter.

Please let me know if you have encountered any issues with the site so I can iron things out.

Hope you’ve all enjoyed your time over the Christmas period, and had a great new year!

Enjoy!

Ian

New Look Website!

Ian Read — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 11:17:01 +0000

Well, it’s been nearly two weeks since I took the old site down to have it upgraded. It’s taken some time, but the new website is now up and running. There’s a few tweaks to go through, such as re-uploading all the photos from previous shoots, but it shouldn’t take no more than a few weeks to get that done.

In the mean time, feel free to take a look round and see what’s working and what’s broken. If you manage to see something that doesn’t work, then please let me know.

If you need to see where to login to view your photos and you are on your mobile device, then there’s a little arrow right at the very top of the webpage. Simply click on this to show you the option of View My Photos.

Finally, I’m hoping to have some new content with hints, tips and advice for weddings, portraits and other fun stuff. If you have any tips for submitting, please let me know and I will see if I can incorporate them into a blog post. And keep an eye out for special offers and deals throughout the year!

Keep in touch…

Ian

Local school shoot!

Ian Read — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 08:50:58 +0000

Just getting ready for yet another school shoot!

TGV travel

Ian Read — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 15:09:20 +0000

So I’m now on a train ready to depart from Gare Montparnasse in Paris. It’s a scary thought to be travelling on your own (I’ve done it before, but never outside of the UK). Right now, I’m heading to a small town called Agen ready for tomorrow’s wedding. I’m getting slightly excited now, and I’m hoping my clients are getting just as giddy.

It all started a few weeks ago. I gathered enough information to ascertain where I was going to, how to get there and what resources I needed for each leg of the journey. First, Disneyland! The blaring discount of 2 days and 2 nights free where enough for me and my significant other to arrange a nice holiday for the three of us! Next, the train ticket was booked along with the EuroTunnel ticket. First Class travelling on the TGV though – no other way! With free WIFI and my own personal seat, who could grumble at this four and a half hour journey in First Class.

Next thing to book – hotel and hire car. Making sure that I have the budget for this cost, I decided to go for a smaller budget hotel (IBIS Hotel). But what I didn’t realise was that this would set me back a bit more, as I would need to book a taxi to get there (dumkopf!).

So now that they are all booked, whats next?

First stage – Travel from Sheffield to DisneyLand Paris. I placed the appropriate details in the Sat Nav – how to get to the EuroTunnel – and found that the first leg of my journey would bring me to getting up at 12:30 in the morning. This is not good !

I’m a heavy sleeper and tend to like my sleep too. Trouble was, knowing that I had to get up at this time in a morning, I had no choice. I couldn’t sleep. Thoughts ran through my head. What if this happens, what about the tunnel crossing, how were I supposed to know where to get the train etc.

I knew the Sat Nav would take me there, but it’s a whole different world when you realise you’re going to have to bite the bullet and do this.

Luckily for me, this part of the journey went smoothly. We got to the train on time (albeit via the whole of London – somehow I managed to state I didn’t want to go through any toll roads and added an extra 30 mins to the trip).and before we knew it, we were in France.

Now this is where it got a bit hairy for me. First of all, I don’t like to rely on the Sat Nav. Call me old fashioned, but I like the old style maps and stuff, however I let the trip be in the Sat Nav’s hands. Got to DisneyLand without a hitch. Darling daughter didn’t even know we were going there, and so when the Sat Nav decided to blurt out the name of the place, we decided to switch it off. That being said, we were already at the park anyway.

Now the next bit of the journey – travelling from DisneyLand to Gare Montparnasse. Sat Nav in tow, along with equipment, I decided to let fate guide me again. However, this time, it decided to trick me. I found the car park, after I got back on track, but I wasn’t very happy that it didn’t warn me about the turning off I missed!

Now, I’m sat here, I’ve travelled some distance. Maximum speed achieved (at the point of writing this) was 178 mph. Don’t know if this will be any bigger, so I will have to wait and see.

Tune in for tomorrow’s tale of arriving in Agen, and picking up the Hire Car!

Scheduled Maintenance

Ian Read — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 08:45:05 +0000

System maintenance is scheduled for Friday, January 10th, between 09:00 and 13:00. Service to view your photos may be inaccessible or slow during that time. I apologise for any inconvenience.

My Apologies – late orders

Ian Read — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 21:25:24 +0000

With the rush of the Christmas period, I realised, in my error, that I failed to follow up on some orders I had placed before the holidays truly began. For this, I apologise profusely, as it has only just come to light today when the orders were finally delivered. For this error, I will be providing the products free of charge to those who ordered prior to the festive season.

I will contact clients for those whose order hasn’t been fully processed yet. If you think you have been left out, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

So in response to this issue and with the lessons learnt, I apologise to my clients for this lapse in error.

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014!

Ian Read — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 14:36:06 +0000

Well, hasn’t it been a funny old year?

Of course, as home life changes, work life has to adapt. Therefore I want to apologise to my customers who have not seen me on my top form this past year. The wife has taken a university course for teaching, which means I’m currently concentrating on making ends meet and .looking after the little one, but it’s not all bad.

As a fledgling company, it wasn’t a wise idea to think that I’d be able to live off the fruits of my labour (well not just yet). busines is certainly booming, and everyday I keep getting new queries and prospective jobs for the furture ahead.

In 2014 alone, I’ve already got my hands full with weddings (a booking in France included), not to mention the portraits still coming through, even though I’ve left the studio in Eckington (which I am grateful for the folks at Eckington to let me use on an Ad-Hoc basis).

However, this year is for full steam ahead. The full time job will, in due course, finish it’s term and I will be back on the wagon with all sorts of fun and fantastic ideas. Keep a look out for those brilliant special offers.

And I do promise I will keep you all informed of the work ahead. I promise to make sure the web site is updated every month with work that has taken place as well as some of my own personal experience along the way. And I promise that you will have my undivided attention throughout this year towards making your experience something to remember.

To old times we reminisce, to new futures that await and to great friends, family and clients I will meet along the way.

Happy new year all!

New Year, New Website

Ian Read — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 13:47:21 +0000

This is going to be a good year, I can feel it in my waters!

First of all, I want to let you all know about the website refresh. It’s taken a while, but after some careful tweaking and consideration, the new refresh looks fantastic. Certain pages at the moment aren’t viewing as they should, and there’s a lot more content to put up online. As soon as these pages are up though, I will put a post on to let you all know.

It’s already looking good for bookings this year. The new Bump2Baby letters will be going out each month to those who have registered in the area. Keep a look out for these as there’s a fantastic offer for Mother’s to be (keep checking the portfolio pages for samples of work, as new photos will be posted regularly).

Finally, don’t forget to follow life thru photography on Facebook and Twitter. Information, bookings and special offers will be posted on there weekly, so grab yourself a bargain!

Take a sneak peak of this Bump 2 Baby photo session: