Silverstone 2013

Fresh from my weekend at Silverstone, I thought I would write a blog about my experience as not only was it the 2013 Santander British Grand Prix, but it was also the first weekend of shooting Why Do We Do It! 
This was my seventh British Grand Prix at Silverstone and I never tire of it! I look forward to this

weekend more than any other in the year and it has now sort of become an annual pilgrimage for me and my brother. This year was going to be slightly different for two reasons; one was that we would be doing only the Friday to the Sunday, whereas usually we would travel down Thursday and head back on the Monday and two; I would be technically working as it was the start of my shoot for Why Do We Do It.  
We set off bright and early on Friday morning at around 5am and headed straight to Silverstone, arriving at around 8.30am. It was raining, of course it was, it's Silverstone after all and after the deluge of last year the feeling was all too familiar. My brother and I drudged through the damp and the puddles up to Luffield Corner, laid out our seats, erected the umbrella and waited for the action to start. The crowds on Friday are usually pretty small due to it only being a practice day and the rain wasn't helping the attendance either, so I decided to use it as a practice day myself. As well as my Pentax K5 and K200d, I had also recently purchased a three lens set for my iPhone 4s which I wanted to try out. Unfortunately, due to the fact I was using my phone as a sat nav and our fridge was plugged into the cigarette lighter, my phone was extremely low on battery. I still managed to get some shots, but nowhere near what I wanted too! Lesson learnt; better preparation required.
I also used the Friday as a chance to test out my new Manfrotto shoulder rig. I loaded it up with my K5, my Rode mic and lenses ranging from 135mm up to 300mm. Even with these lenses it remained brilliantly stable and for the price I felt I had a good deal, my only issue with it is that it is made predominantly of plastic and I'm not sure how long all the components will last under continuous wear and tear. All and all the Friday was an okay day. I didn't manage to get all the footage and stills I wanted, but I had tested out my equipment and felt confident the next two days would bring what I needed. 

That evening we headed to Bo Peeps caravan park, where I have stayed the previous 5 times I have been. Before we found this brilliant site me and my older brother Mark thought it would be a good idea to travel to and from Norwich everyday to the track, turns out it wasn't and the second year we stayed at a site nearer to the circuit, which was less a campsite, more a field with a porta potty in and as many people you could cram into a small space as possible. Bo Peeps however is a great place to stay, it's quiet, relaxing and a great base to get to and from Silverstone as it is only about 20 minutes away.
We set up our site and I did a timelapse of us putting up our tent on my iPhone, as I wanted to use this in the film I was shooting. As we settled in for the night, I made a plan in my mind as to what I wanted to achieve tomorrow. I was conscious of striking a balance between work and enjoyment, after all I was there on holiday too! 

The next morning we awoke at around 5am and prepared for another day at the track. However, today wasn't any ordinary day, it was Armed Forces Day and I was wearing my uniform and flying the flag for the Armed Forces. Having come from a family that has a big Military contingent and being in the RAF myself, I am very proud to wear my uniform and in the wake of recent events, felt that it was important to do so. We got to the track at 7am and this time head to the Village section of the circuit ready for the days qualifying session. When we got there I was greeted by a Spectator Marshal who came over to shake my hand and explained that he was ex Army. I had a photo taken with him and wished him well for the rest of the weekend. It's always great to meet fellow members of the military old or current as their is a great sense of camaraderie that you don't get anywhere else. After setting up my kit the action started and I began moving around to get different shots on all my cameras both stills and video. Here was a good spot, there was a good spread of crowd and also some very good action shots with the backdrop of the pit straight stadium. The sun started to shine and the day began to heat up as did the action on track as Lewis Hamilton guided his Mercedes AMG Petronas car to the front of the grid to cheers from the home crowd. I knew tomorrow was going to be nothing if not exciting! Me and my brother then headed to Club corner to watch the first two races of the

weekend and whilst there I decided to ask the marshals for a photo with my flag, to which they agreed. These guys work very hard over the weekend getting to the track early and having to deal with annoyed racing drivers when they crash out or retire. I was extremely grateful to these guys for taking time out for this photo and it is one that I will cherish. Before we left the track I wanted to get one more shot with the flag and that was with the newly introduced "Race Makers". Off of the back of the success of the Olypmics' "Games

Makers" this team of volunteers were introduced this year to hand out maps, information and ear plugs to all the punters throughout the weekend. They were always enthusiastic and ever helpful and I hope that they will become a permanent fixture in the future. That night we returned to the campsite burnt, but happy and full of excitement for the Sunday.
4.30am Sunday we rolled out of bed and began collapsing our tent. This for me is the worst part of the weekend; one because it means it's nearly over and two I hate packing tents! How did we get this damn thing in the bag last year!? Once we were all packed away we headed to the track arriving at 6.50am, which may sound early, but when we arrived at Luffield corner we soon realised we were a little late. There wasn't much room left at all and luckily we managed to find a gap to put our seats and settle in for the day. I only wanted to use my iPhone and K5 today and mainly shoot crowd videos for my film. With Hamilton being on pole I knew it would be the perfect opportunity to get some good stuff with good emotion. The support races came and went and the Red Arrows did their annual display and

then it was time for the race, but not before my day was nearly ruined by 3 examples of ignorance! Due to the rising cost of tickets we had to go general admission this year, which meant that we weren't in a grandstand, but had to make use of the grass banks and public viewing areas. We had done this before and really enjoyed it as it is a chance to muck in with everyone and have a good laugh and chat with fellow F1 fans. This year however I found myself in disbelief at some people. As mentioned earlier me and my brother had arrived at 6.50am to the track and considering gates opened at 6am this was late. We had sat there all day and were actually sat by a walkway allowing people access to the rest of the viewing area. Next to us were two lads and a Mother and her son of around 10-12 years old at his first Grand Prix. With about an hour to go before the race two 25 year old guys turn up and stand directly in-front of the young lad and his mum (unfortunately I didn't see this) and claimed his spot from him. The mother politely explained they had been there since about 7.30am and her son could no longer see. Their response? "I don't see his name on the spot." If I had seen or heard this, I would have found it very difficult not to personally eject these two yobs over the rail and down the steep drop behind me! This however wasn't the only incident. The race begins at 1300hrs; here is a timeline of ignorance:

• 1215hrs - A man arrives and stands directly in front of me, not only blocking my view, but also the walk way the EVERYONE is using. 
• Me: "Excuse me mate, are you planning on standing there for the race?"
• Him: "Yes is that okay?" 
• Me: "Well no not really as I can no longer see and you are blocking a walk way! Me and my brother, along with everyone else here arrived at 7 this morning!"
• Him: "That's not my problem I was somewhere else"
• Me: "Well that is your problem, you can't rock up an hour before the race and expect to get a space!"  

Luckily for both me and him he moved, but he wasn't done their! Twice in the race he got up and had a cigarette and the second time, he was pretty much smoking it into my brothers ear! My brother told him to stop and he duly did!

• 1245hrs  Two young chaps turn up and again stand directly in front of me, this time wearing back packs!
• Me: "Excuse me chaps, are you planning on standing there for the race?"
• Them: "Yeah is that okay"
• Me: (Sigh) "Not really guys, we've been here since 7 and you've turned up with 15 minutes to go before the race and stood right in front of me!"
• Them: "Oh sorry we didn't realise, it's our first year."

To which the mother stood next to me chips in and says "ours too!"
And finally..

• 1255hrs Yes that right FIVE MINUTES before the race starts! Two gentlemen pitch up and stand again, directly in front of me. I ask the usual question and their response;
• Them: "Yeah cheers"
• Me: "Well I'd rather you didn't as I can't really see. I've been here since 7 mate."
• Them: "That's tough ain't it. I didn't want to get here at 7! Anyway I paid to stand here!"
• Me: (Biting my tongue) "Well all of these people got here early to get a good spot and for you to rock up FIVE MINUTES before the race starts is a bit stupid! I've paid for my place too mate!"

These guys stayed for about half the race and then luckily cleared off. I had to try my hardest not to really go at them and I was shaking with anger! I couldn't do anything after all I was flying the Armed Forces Day Flag and I didn't want to ruin the day for my brother and everyone around me, needless to say though I was pissed! 
That aside though the race was amazing! The drama provided was first class and the roller

coaster of emotion from Lewis winning, to blowing his tyre to fighting back to fourth was incredible, but cheer of the day had to be for when F1 Panto villain Sebastian Vettel broke down with 10 laps to go! The roar was unreal and you could hear it over the cars all around the circuit!
After the race we got chatting to the couple in front of us about the race and the ignorant people (so at least they agreed with me) and then we were privileged enough to walk on the track, before heading home.

So what will I take away from this weekend, well technically, my equipment works and is good! The iPhone stuff especially surprised me and is a great addition to my kit. 
Personally I will never do Silverstone that way again! It was too short and very tiring, with no time to relax! Next year I will revert back to the Thursday to the Monday!
Finally, some people are just inherently ignorant and disrespectful. I would never do that t someone and if the area had been full when me and Ben had arrived, we would have gone somewhere else. There is plenty of room on the circuit for everyone, you just have to get there early. 

I have already posted my photo's from the weekend on my website gallery, so head on over and take a look and today I will be posting my iPhone video on my YouTube page so stay tuned for that.

For the rest of this week I will be emailing the cast of Why Do We Do It regarding their parts in the film and also putting together a shooting schedule. I am still on the search for a person being tattooed and a Long Jumper so please if you are or know anyone who would be interested, get in touch at contactme@danielherrick.com.


Thanks for reading.

Dan

Where It All Began

Where did it all begin? What made me become a photographer and a film maker? 
Well my Grandad was a professional photographer who was also in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and my Father is a keen amateur photographer, so they both inspired me to this path. However that was my photographic background, what about my video beginnings. Well they really started in 2006, in Berlin with a family holiday. 
For Christmas the previous year I was given a Casio Exilim camera which had video capability. I did some short little videos on it, but mainly took pictures. In 2006 my parents moved to Berlin for a year and me and my elder brother visited them on occasion so during the summer of '06, we went over for a two week summer holiday and I decided to use the video on my camera and see what I could shoot. With inspiration from music videos, documentaries and sporting videos I decided to make a sort of video diary of my two weeks and then once I returned to the UK I edited into a little film. Here is the result - Berlin Holiday Movie 
I would be interested to know what you think. Obviously the quality isn't great and the editing is very simple, but what are your thoughts on the structure and story? 
I recently found my Exilim again, unfortunately it no longer works and I was going to throw it out, however my Dad persuaded me not to saying that it had great sentimental value not only to me, but to him. It was the starting point of my career really and shot the video which we as a family can sit and watch to reminisce about out time in Berlin. 
The other reason I wanted to show you this is to show (hopefully) that it doesn't take top of the range expensive equipment to shoot a film that has substance and matters to people. 

I will be shooting the majority of my film "Why Do We Do It" on my Pentax K-5 digital SLR camera, which I used to shoot the 'American Football Test Shoot' as well as a Go-Pro Hero 2 to get some shots from different angles. These are expensive cameras that shoot full HD and I will be taking both to Silverstone Circuit this weekend for the Santander British Grand Prix, however, to prove my point I will be shooting a video of my weekend on my iPod. Their are some great apps now fr shooting and editing video, so I will use ONLY my iPod! Stay tuned for the results of that next week.

So I am only now two whole days away from beginning the shooting of "Why Do We Do It" at Silverstone. There I will be shooting mainly cutaway shots for the crescendo scene at the end of the film, however it is still vitally important footage, as the atmosphere at Silverstone is electric and I really want to portray that! I will be updating you with pictures, videos and over social media all weekend so keep up to date on all my outlets to see how it's going!    

Below are a few links to videos I have shot using different equipment as well as a video by my directing assistant Graham Taylor. Please go and take a look and let me know what you think.

Berlin Holiday Movie

Go-Pro BBMF

Graham's Go-Pro



#whydowedoit
#2daystogo

The Cast

This past week has been very exciting in the pre-production for why do we do it. I believe I have managed to cast all, but two parts in the film and the cast is one that I couldn't of dreamt of! It is pure A-List and I couldn't be happier with the plethora of talent that will be taking part. So to being you up to date, here is a who's who of the confirmed cast so far!

Loretta Livingstone - Poet/Narrator

 

Loretta wrote her first poem at school aged ten. The subject was a haunted house and such was the vividness of Loretta's poetry, she managed to scare herself to death at bedtime for weeks!

Deciding not to go into further education, to the dismay of her teachers, she went into work and never found herself out of a job until she was diagnosed with M.E. some years later.  

The poetry took a back seat for a few years, but revived itself further down the line.

The book "Hopes, Dreams & Medals" was inspired when Loretta watched the world championships in 2011. So impressed was she by Team GB that she wondered if it was possible for her to write about athletes, and events. The first poem written for the book was "The Girls of Team GB", but because of copyright infringements it was renamed "The Girls of Team UK" for the book. That particular poem was inspired by the passion seen in the likes of Hannah England and Louise Hazel as they strove to become the best they could be. She produced a book which captures the emotions from the different perspectives of the competing athletes, parents, retired athletes, and spectators, and the atmosphere of both summer and winter games. 

Loretta's husband also regularly works out, and has competed in Tough Guy twice, so she understands a little about how and why people push themselves to achieve things which sometimes seem crazy.

As well as "Hopes, Dreams & Medals", Loretta has written two other books which are not about athletics, but this one is something a bit special.

Loretta's poetry is the life of this film and the spine holding it all together. Her amazing words will get the goosebumps going, so I hope I can do them the justice they deserve!

To buy any of Loretta's books visit http://www.treasurechestbooks.co.uk/ 

You can also follow Loretta on twitter @L_Livingstone1

Graeme Crowston - Triathlete

Growing up, 31 year old Graeme used to swim, play rugby and play golf, a few times for his county. He went on to University in Loughborough, where he really learnt about competitive sport and he began Kickboxing, gaining his black belt and competing around the country up until around 2009.

After marrying 4 years ago, he decided to take a break from kickboxing, but without his sport he started putting on weight.

In late 2009 he had a moment f clarity and decided to try a new sport to get back into fitness. Triathlon had always appealed t Graeme and having a 

swimming background, he guessed he kind of had a head start on other beginners and he set himself the goal of completing the Ironman triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 bike, marathon run). After getting a level of fitness back, he entered the UK 2011 edition of Ironman, completing it in a highly respectful 11 hours 36 mins!   

Since then Graeme's fitness levels have been high and last season noticed he was towards the top end of races rather than just taking part.  This drove him to train harder and in a more focused manner and he will be competing in Ironman Sweden in August with the aim of completing it in under 10 hours! He is also hoping to get selected for a sponsored team for next season so his results this year are even more important.

Training for ironman has taught Graeme a lot about how nutrition, training effect the body in preparation for his competitions and also what the body is actually capable of, both physically and mentally, as well as meeting some pretty interesting people.

He currently swims for Team Luton and belongs to Hemel Cycling club and Corley’s cycle club training with Luton cycling club.

In summary, he just loves sport and loves talking about it.  Four years ago the thought of getting up at 5am for a swim session or doing 5 hour bike rides was ridiculous, but triathlon has turned his life upside down and completely changed Graeme's outlook on life.  He often asks himself "why do I do it?" and this is why he is perfect for this project.

Follow Graeme on twitter @GCrowston

Ottilie Quince - Cyclist

Ottilie Quince had a life saving kidney transplant from her mum in 2007 after a life threatening condition. She used to be a 3rd national level footballer in women's football and now cycles for the Great Britain Transplant Cycling team.
Her amazing success means she is currently the double British, European and World transplant Cyclist in both the 20 mile road race AND 5km time trial disciplines. 
Next month will see her competing in the world championships in Durban, South Africa and has been track racing in the national series at Herne hill and Welwyn the last couple of weeks.

To have such an inspirational and hugely successful athlete on the team is a huge honour and a privilege! 
To find out more about donating organs visit 

http://www.organdonation.nhs.uk

To show her your support and help her on her way in Durban visit 

http://www.justgiving.com/Ottilie-Quince 

and donate so she can retain her titles.  
Also follow Ottilie on twitter @OttilieQ

Chris Swallow -Soft Tissue Therapist

Chris Swallow is the lead practitioner at CSSMART, a mobile soft tissue therapy clinic operating around Lincolnshire.
He has extensive knowledge and experience in public and private sectors working with a broad range of clientele from non-sports people to international athletes and national governing bodies.
His applied experience includes working with British teams as part of training camps, professional football, korfball, rugby teams, sports medical companies, a range of event work and is also regional director for East Midlands as part of the Sports Massage Association (SMA). He believes on educating and informing clients to improve their body awareness and physiological knowledge to reduce the chances of future re-injury, and through interaction is able to agree an appropriate plan of action for treatment depending on aims and objectives. 
Chris is currently completing his MSc in Sports Science as a part of developing his skill set and is theorising research into “The professionalization of Soft Tissue Therapy and Sports Therapy: perceptions and analysis of the current UK approach.” It is only the second study to be completed on this theme and he is hopeful it will be published in the near future. He is also keen to complete further academic research on a number of topics which have become prevalent through applied and theory based practice. 


Having Chris aboard with his huge bank of knowledge, not only in his field, but in sport itself, is brilliant for the film!

Follow Chris on twitter @Cs_SMART

Jasmin Taylor - Skier

Jasmin is a 19 year old Telemark ski racer competing on the FIS World Cup tour full-time. During the winter she lives in Chamonix, France in the shadow of the great Mont Blanc mountain. She is on the GB Telemark ski team and have been since 2011 with great results including becoming British Champion, overall French Cup Champion and a World Junior Championship Bronze Medal. She spends the summer's at home in Ipswich, Suffolk training and keeping fit by running, roller-ski/skating, skiing on artificial slopes, cycling, climbing and training in the gym, as well as being a personal trainer!

Jasmin's zest for sport and for life make her perfect for this project and although her role in the film may not be a big one, she will certainly be an important asset to the team!

Follow Jasmin on twitter @jasmintaylor
#LetsGetTelemarkOlympic

To find out more visit www.taylorjasmin.com

Andy Pilborough-Skinner - Martial Artist

Master Andy Pilborough-Skinner is a 6th degree Master Black Belt in Kickboxing and Freestyle Karate and has been training and competing for over 15 years.

He formed Templar Martial Arts (TMA) 7 years ago and became a full time coach and instructor, currently teaching 19 classes a week. TMA has students aged between 5 and 63 years old and are one of the largest and respected clubs in the country, it is affiliated to the World Kickboxing Association (WKA) and works in schools and for community organisations in addition to TMA classes in gyms and martial arts venues.

The club has fighters regularly competing in both full contact and light continuous competitions and they currently have 9 fighters in the WKA England squad who will be competing in the World Championships in Tuscany in October. Last year their 4 representatives brought home 1 Gold and 3 Silver medals. Andy is also a recognised International Coach with the organisation.

Within TMA is Bailie Aliriza and Andy Rudol. At only 13 and 70kg Bailie Aliriza is British Champion and brilliant! She is a member of the England team and winner of silver medals at the last two world championships. 

Andy Rudol - Martial Artist

Andy Rudol focuses on jiu-jitsu and kickboxing and has 22 years of experience, currently holding

a first degree black belt in jiu-jitsu, and a fourth degree black belt in kickboxing. Andy coaches students to a high level, with teaching and passing on his knowledge being his greatest passion.
He is still competing in kickboxing and, in 2012, won gold medals at competitions including the ISKA British Championships and WUMA English Open, and a bronze in the WTKA European Open Championships.
Andy has recently returned from Holland, where he represented England at the ISKA Amateur
World Kickboxing Championships. He spent the best part of a year preparing for the competition, which is one of the most important in the kickboxing world. He was unfortunately injured in the semi-final so was unable to compete in the final, but still he came away with a silver medal in his category.
Andy wants to win the gold medal at the World Championships next time, and he would also like to compete in the US Open in Florida, but his main aim is always to be the best that I can be,
and give 100% in every training session and competition – this is the advice that he gives all of the youngsters he teaches.

This group of dedicated and highly talented individuals are just what I wanted when I set out to do this film, so to have the Templar Martial Arts team on this project is a brilliant success! 

Nemesis Allstars - Cheerleaders

Nemesis Allstars, formally Tees and Wear Valley Cougars (TVC) were formed in 2004. The name change came in 2008 when head coach Sarah Burke took over. Sarah lead us to many competition victories from 2008 to the present day, the most notable being in November 2009 at IDTA's Northern Championships where we placed first, in one of cheerleading's hardest categories, senior unlimited co-ed level 4. The squad has had a huge shake up this year with some of its most well known and longest serving members leaving for university and they are currently rebuilding with a whole host of new talent. Some of the original members remain including Sophie-Jean Richardson, who joined the squad aged five and is one of our most accomplished soloists for cheer and hip hop. Other squads won't know what to expect with the new look Nemesis after such amazing routines from the girls in the past.

I can't wait to work with this hugely energetic group of gymnasts to hopefully raise the profile of this somewhat forgotten sport. 

Ellie Stevens - Runner


Ellie Stevens is a top ranked middle distance athlete from Derby.

She was briefly ranked in the top five women in the country over 1500 metres indoors and was regularly pushing towards the top 10 overall before her problems began.
In the summer of 2006 the day of the national championships and expected to produce a medal she was struck down with mumps.
Recovering from that she suffered from post viral fatigue which hampered her training for the rest of 2006, determined to get back to form she recovered and was placed second in her indoor national championships in February 2007, believing this was a freak illness Ellie continued on her journey and committed training regime for the forthcoming outdoor track season, unfortunately “normal training” was becoming increasingly more difficult for her to carry out and again a very similar condition returned, diagnosed as mumps but again putting her out of the 2007 season.
She was then hampered by firstly a stress fracture of the foot, after again working her way back to fitness, then by the skin disease impetigo, she was then finally diagnosed after a long fighting journey with the chronic fatigue illness M.E in 2008, causing her to write off  that season and then the  following 2009 season.
It is a remarkable catalogue of misfortune hampering an important 5 years of her progress, but Stevens says it has left her more determined than ever to reach her potential as an International Athlete.
The 2012 London Olympics was always going to be too soon, although Ellie
did compete and win races for both England and UK at the start of the year.
Her sights are firmly set on the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and then the Olympics in Rio 2016 and representing Team GB.

She is currently training Part time for the middle distance track disciplines as the remainder of her time she has to hold down a part time job. Her main focus is the 1500m but competes in all middle distance disciplines both Indoor and Outdoor events all over the Country and the world.

She has recently left her native club in derby and signed to Birchfield Harriers one of the UKs top athletics clubs. She has also been linked and is working closely with one of the Top UK Athletics coaches. Progressions are coming on well as they are working together on both her all round fitness and also the more specific aspects of her training that she hasn’t worked on before, these in turn will give her the best chance at making the GB teams for the coming championships.

Her team are currently seeking financial and product aids to help her develop and continue her training so that she can ultimately step up to FULL TIME  for a possible Rio Olympics 2016 Team GB place.

To have Ellie as part of my team is brilliant. She has had to overcome so much to put herself in a position to be going for Rio 2016. Her determination opitimises what is great no only in sport, but also the human spirit.




I'm sure you will agree that the cast is a preverbial A-List and I cannot wait to begin working with them all! Once the other parties have confirmed their part in the film, I will add their bio's on here too!
Their are two roles left to fill, that is one for a long jumper and one for someone being tattooed. I have volunteers for the tattoo person, but I am looking or something very specific, so if you know anyone who would fit those roles or you yourself think you could, then please contact me at whydowedoit@danielherrick.com and send me a bio of yourself and a small picture. I am also looking for small parts for fill in of ANY sport, both competing and spectationg, so please please get in touch if you are interested!
Then of course there is the book! I now have my blank book to take around to get your stories and I will be interviewing LOADS of people for excerpts. 


In summary there is lots to be getting on with, so I will sign off here and get cracking.


Dan

From portrait to protest!

It is days like these which are the reason I became a photographer. The variety in this job is brilliant and today is the perfect example of that.

This morning I had scheduled in a family portrait for a colleague on camp. They wanted a nice relaxed
portrait for their family album and relatives and I was happy to oblige. This took around 30 minutes to do and they were very happy with the results, walking away with a print to hang on their wall. Whilst I was shooting, I received a text from a friend of mine, Phil. He told me that there were to be a series of protests in Lincoln over the building of a new mosque in the city. I went online and did a bit of background research and discovered that it was a faction group of the English Defence League (EDL), called the East Anglia Patriots (EAP), but as well as this group marching, there was also to be a counter protest by the group, Unite Against Racism. 
This was too good of a photographic opportunity to turn down, so as soon as I had finished with the portrait, I went straight into Lincoln. 
When I had reached the city centre I drove past the start of the march by the EAP, just as they left the train station in the centre of the city. The first thing I noticed was that the majority of the marching party were kids! No older than 16 and some as young as what must have been 12. They were mixed in with the older people of the group, some of which were carrying beer cans and a lot were waving English flags and chanting English football songs. I couldn't help to be anything else, but shocked by this.

I drove on to Phil's house, picked him up and we drove back into the city centre and walked in. We headed up to the centre and all was quiet. The only people around were shoppers and a large number of police officers, so I asked one of them the location of the protest and she duly pointed us in the right direction. 
I decided I needed to shoot both to give balance to my images so we headed to the EAP site where there were a handful of people holding banners and the cross of St George. One woman in particular caught my eye, she was holding a banner reading "Stop the invasion Stop the mosque" and wearing British themed clothing. She was smiling and seemed to be enjoying herself, she was happy for me to photograph her with the banner and actually welcomed the attention. Some of her counterparts however were not so keen. On several occasions throughout the day I heard comments from the EAP contingent ranging from "I'm gonna steal your camera" to "I'll shove that fucking camera up your arse if you photograph me" and the rather blunt, "I'm gonna kick your fuckin' head in!" I just ignored the comments and continued about my business, but I did make sure that I was always within sight of police and did nothing to draw any more attention to myself, I was merely there to document the day and not as a propaganda photographer for either side. Two things caught my eye in the EAP protest. One was the
number of children involved who were being encouraged to wave flags and get involved in the chanting by their elders. I wondered if they knew what they were protesting, if they knew why they were there and what they actually thought of the whole complex situation. I feel it is a dangerous precedent to push beliefs on people that young. The other thing that caught my eye was the diversity in the group. Not only was it the 18-35 white male there, but there were men, women, kids, the elderly, punks, rockers, blacks and whites. This may be a naive insight on my part, but when a group has self proclaimed itself as one that is the saviour of the white English middle aged male, it was a very interesting dichotomy of people. 
I then took a walk to the UAR site to get the other side of the story. Their site was smaller, but no less vocal. They were talking from a megaphone to the gathered numbers and had a witty and interesting array of banners on display. Here too there were
children amongst the group and I still don't believe these are things for children to be getting involved in. I'm a firm believer that children should be allowed to play and come to their own conclusions on the world in their own time, not have them forced on them by pushy parents. 
The one conclusion that I made from the whole day, is that the two groups aren't that unlike each other. Both passionately argue their points and both firmly believe they are obviously in the right however, they both preach against hatred whether it is the "hatred" of Islam and their "war on our streets" and "killing of our people", or the hatred of "ignorance" and "bigotry" of organisations like the EDL, but in their arguments they let themselves down by saying that they "hate" Muslims, wishing hurt upon them and their families, or that they "hate" the EDL and offering each other out for fights, so how can anyone follow these two hypocritical views and organisations? To preach against hatred by encouraging and preaching hatred makes both of these arguments fall down.

In closing I feel that there is ignorance on both sides. Both need to formulate their arguments so that
they do not come across as hypocrites, because this is where they let themselves down. If they want to seriously pursue these arguments and advertise their views, the best way to do that would be through government and not on the streets. The locals seemed more annoyed that these demonstrations were going on and local business' were certainly hit hard by toady's events. I don't think either side has come off better than the other.

For more images from toady's events, visit www.danielherrick.com

I would like to thank Phil for all his help today and for watching my back.

Why Do I Do It?

As part of my project I have been asking you for your reasons for doing and loving sport, so I can use them as inspiration for the storyboard of my film and for excerpts for my book. I have received a few and they are great and tonight I was reminded why I myself love sport so I decided I would share in the hope it would inspire you.

Tonight was my first time in a gym since dislocating my shoulder back in April. I was a little apprehensive as I didn't want to damage it further, but was ready to start working on my fitness and building strength again. I wore my favourite workout shirt, a green Philadelphia Eagles t-shirt bought for me by my cousins one Christmas. I stepped into the gym and began working out and was quickly sweating and feeling the rust fall off. My muscles were aching and I was lifting light weights like 10kg, whilst everyone else was lifting weights far exceeding that. I didn't care, I was back in the gym, I was working out again and it felt great! 
The reason the Eagles t-shirt is my favourite, is because it inspires me and reminds me of my Lincolnshire Bombers team mates and my American Football heroes like Ray Lewis. Seeing that Eagle on my chest makes me think how hard they work and the training they endure to get to the top, to be the best they can be. I will never become a professional sportsmen or get to the top of any sport, but I'm sure as hell going to give it my all and aspire to be the best I can be so I can help my team to win, not for me, but for them! I hope one day I can re-take the field to feel the heat of competition, to fight for my team mate in the trenches and know that if I don't do my job the team suffers and I thrive on that pressure. I hope one day to feel that all again and to help my team to win.
So that's the reason I love playing sport. Why do I love sport? The drama, the passion, the excitement. I love to stand and sing my heart out at football games, shout and cheer as my favourite formula one driver flashes past and be blown away as I watch displays of amazing sporting skill. The noise of a crowd gives me goosebumps and when someone says or sings something against my team, I take it personally, because it's my team and I love them! When an underdog over comes or a Brit triumphs regardless of the sport popular or not, it gives me a lump in my throat and I beam with pride. I love sport and all the pageantry that goes with it!  

Hopefully this inspires you to tell me why you love sport and maybe you could be in my book.

Look forward to hearing from you at whydowedoit@danielherrick.com  

Video Test

Yesterday I carried out a kit test to get to grips with all my equipment prior to commencing shooting of 'Why Do We Do It'. I wanted to see how my Pentax K-5 DSLR camera held up in bright sunlight and what features there were for shooting video; I also wanted to practice using

the camera and identify any additional equipment I may need to buy to make shooting easier.

To test my kit I went the the Lincolnshire Bombers training ground in Lincoln and filmed their Sunday morning training session. This would all be uncontrolled action, which is a challenge to shoot due to its obvious unpredictable nature. When I film 'Why Do We Do It' all the action will be directed and controlled by me so I can get the best possible shots and make shooting as smooth as possible, but for a test of my equipment this uncontrollable session would be perfect and would push the equipment to the limit. I decided to shoot with two lenses, a 28mm 1:2.8 prime and a 135mm 1:3.5 prime, which are old film lenses that have vastly superior quality to the majority of the modern day cheap equivalents. I have more lenses, however these are my two main choices. Both worked well, but I had issues with focussing as these aren't auto focus lenses and all focussing has to be done manually. This isn't usually an issue as I always focus manually during filming, however due to the fact I had to view the action through the 2.5" LCD screen and not through the viewfinder, it was difficult to determine if the picture was 100% sharp. As a result I have identified that I require an LCD viewfinder mount so I can look closer at the screen and focus easier without any glare on the screen; problem one overcome.

 

The second issue I had was the skipping of the exposure during the shot. You will notice this in my scond video diary "Video Test". This will obviously become distracting during outdoor filming, but I have already over come this issue by locating the Auto Exposure Lock (AE-L) button. So far so good!

 

The only other minor issue I had was the comfort of filming and keeping it steady. I have tripods

and monpods which I will use for shooting, but hand held shooting is awkward so I have decided to invest in a shoulder mount as I want the fluidity of movement from hand held shooting, but I also want stability in my footage to make it watchable!

All in all it was a succesful test. The only other piece of equipment which is a neccessity prior to shooting is lighting which I shall be purchasing in the coming weeks.

 

If you would like to see my footage from my test click here, and please keep up to date with all my social media and email me your reasons and stories for doing sport to whydowedoit@danielherrick.com and they may be used in my book.
If you would like to learn more about the Lincolnshire Bombers American Football team, visit www.lincolnshirebombers.com.

Why Do We Do It

The first of my video diaries for "Why Do We Do It" has been posted on YouTube and my website. 

"The Beginning" outlines the pre production process so far and asks for you guys to get involved with the film by telling me your sporting heroes, best sporting moments and also why you love sport and put yourselves through the emotional roller coaster. Email me your stories to:

whydowedoit@danielherrick.com

And you could be part of my film, or as I announced exclusively in this episode of my diary, part of a book which I will also be producing. This will include your stories and also photographs portraying the emotional side of sport. That's why I need you to get in touch with me either via email or social media and tell my why you love sport, so I can make this project the best it can be.

Since shooting the diary I have done some further research by watching the DVD of the Olympic Games last year to soak up the atmosphere of what was an amazing sporting event and spectacle.

I also searched YouTube for last minute goals and found myself watching and listening to the crowds. I love the roar of a crowd when a goal is scored, especially when it's last gasp. I was also drawn in by the commentators. Great commentators show their emotions and get drawn into the moment whilst also remaining coherent and unbiased. I'm loving this project! It's really making me fall in love with sport all over again and I know that I am going to pour everything into it!

Tomorrow I will be going and doing some photographs and test video at the Lincolnshire Bombers training session, which I will post tomorrow to give you an idea of the sort of things I want to do. 

It will also give me an opportunity to properly test out all of my kit, especially my Pentax K-5 which I will be using to shoot the film. I can see if I will need any special filters or more lenses.

Stay tuned to here on my blog and all my other media sites to keep up with Why Do We Do It.

Tweet #whydowedoit to spread the word!

http://youtu.be/RWGbmbcM0o0