Monthly Archives: January 2013

iPod Meets Grumpy Old iMac

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This tickled me today…

Whatever I work on, I can’t help but go to the nth degree to make sure it’s right for the recipient — even if it’s an eBay listing!

40GB iPod Photo

I’ve been enjoying a bit of life laundry recently through eBay, the perfect method for recycling instead of disposing.

All those years ago, I was so excited to receive my very first iPod (above) for Christmas one year but the time was right for it to find a new home.

As you might imagine, I keep the boxes and original documents for most things — the makings of a good future eBay listing.

The lucky buyer of my iPod was very pleased, so much so that she took the time to write this glowing feedback, which I thought I would share with you (and with the buyer’s permission, of course):

“Just wanted to say many, many thanks for the iPod! Loved the listing, the perfect packaging, the “open other side” on the box — in fact, by the time I had sliced through all the sellotape with my scalpel it actually didn’t matter what was in the box!

“I knew the iPod and accessories would have every little piece of protective packaging in place and I wasn’t disappointed. The iPod is the perfect companion for my grumpy old iMac, they bonded immediately via Firewire and plan to live happily ever after. It is the 40th birthday present that I wanted but… yes, I am that old.

“eBay Feedback couldn’t possibly reflect all of this and maybe that’s a good thing, not everyone sees the world as we do.” — a happy eBayer

That kind of recognition for my efforts just makes my day, especially in the knowledge that a much-loved item has gone to a happy home…

Devon Cummings; Binx

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My friend Julian Calverley pointed my in the direction of Mark Tucker’s blog at the back end of last year.

If you love the roots of photographic and analogue processes, such as these beautiful Wet Plates, then it’s certainly worth following Mark’s Journal & Notes…

The Jazz Café, Newcastle’s Parisian Corner

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Following on from my post last week, you are now among the first to be able to view Duncan Davis’ tribute to his old mate of 35 years, Keith Crombie.

Last Monday, Newcastle came to a standstill as Keith’s friends joined him on his last journey from Pink Lane, through the city centre — a tiny bit of which he transformed into his own corner of Paris, the Jazz Café.

Perched 130ft atop Grey’s Monument in the icy weather, I was honoured to be able to help Duncan film the extraordinary funeral procession.

So, it’s Sunday morning…time to pour your favourite hot beverage, take your seat at the Jazz Café and settle down to enjoy Duncan’s tribute to a Newcastle legend.

 

Hunter S. Thompson: The Edge

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“The Edge… There is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over. The others — the living — are those who pushed their luck as far as they felt they could handle it, and then pulled back, or slowed down, or did whatever they had to when it came time to choose between Now and Later.” — Hunter S. Thompson

I know what he means and I expect many of you do too…

This fine short by Piotr Kabat came to me via the superb brain pickings.

Crombie’s Last Stand

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I didn’t know Keith Crombie.  I’d been to his famous Jazz Café once, a long time go.

If nothing else, I gleaned this much about him — everyone seemed to have an opinion about Keith and he certainly seemed to have an opinion about everyone.

Keith Crombie's Jazz Café, Newcastle upon Tyne, on the morning of his funeral

The closed doors of Keith Crombie’s Jazz Café in Pink Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne, on the morning of his funeral…

Over the last year or so, I’ve been keeping tabs on a beautiful documentary my ol’ pal Duncan Davis has been been making about Keith (you might remember Duncan from this post).

Duncan had an acute awareness that making this film should be a priority, not least because Keith was knocking on in years.  Then, on 29th December 2012, Keith passed away at the age of 74.

News soon started to filter through that there was to be a horse-drawn funeral procession through the city.

There seemed to be a gentle buzz of excitement.  Everybody seemed to know about it (apart from the police, it would seem).

A fitting farewell seemed imminent for Keith, to stop Newcastle in its tracks as he slowly passed through with a jazz band and dedicated crowd following behind…

Photographed from the top of Earl Grey's Monument, Newcastle upon Tyne, Keith Crombie's funeral procession passes through the city centre.

As seen from the top of Grey’s Monument on a snowy day, the horse-drawn coffin, jazz band and crowd makes its way along Grainger Street…

A fitting end for Duncan’s documentary too and I was flattered that he asked me to help film the last sequences of Crombie’s life.

While Duncan worked in and around the crowds, the perfect perching place for me this morning was surely atop the 130ft Grey’s Monument, smack bang in the city centre.

So, with the necessary permissions gained, I was allowed to climb the 162 spiral steps to capture a unique perspective on the procession.

Photographed from the top of Earl Grey's Monument, the snow descends on Newcastle after Keith Crombie's funeral procession.

The procession is over and the snow descends on Newcastle…

The views were extraordinary, of course, and the weather was icy.  The memories of seeing Keith’s horse-drawn coffin pass slowly through town to the tune of the accompanying jazz band, along with hundreds of folk, will stay with me for a long time.

I can’t wait to see the final film, which is being cut by Duncan as I write — I hope to be able to share it with you here some day soon…

— More Views from Grey’s Monument

North view towards St. James' Park from Grey's Monument, Newcastle upon Tyne, by Jack Lowe

North view towards St. James’ Park from Grey’s Monument

South East view towards BALTIC and the Millennium Bridge from Grey's Monument, Newcastle upon Tyne, by Jack Lowe

South East view towards BALTIC and the Millennium Bridge from Grey’s Monument

South West View from Grey's Monument, Newcastle upon Tyne, by Jack Lowe

South West View from Grey’s Monument

Spillers’ Downfall: New Prints

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It’s been a busy first week of 2013 in the studio, not least putting a lot of love and attention into the release of my new Spillers’ Downfall Print Collection.

Today, now satisfied with the eight specially selected prints, I have enjoyed signing and embossing the first set.

Spillers' Downfall, The Demolition of Spillers Mill, Newcastle upon Tyne by Jack Lowe

Embossing and signing the Spillers’ Downfall Collectors’ Portfolio (No.1-4)…

I have taken a slightly different tack with these images, making them smaller than the prints in my other Collections.

The Spillers’ Downfall prints aren’t numbered but they are made, signed and embossed by me.

You will see by clicking here that the prints are available individually or in sets of four — taking the form of my Collectors’ Portfolios.

— The 9th Print

To mark the launch of this Collection, there is in fact a ninth print!

This can be found in the new Collectors’ Edition of Spillers’ Downfall.

Spillers' Downfall, The Demolition of Spillers Mill, Newcastle upon Tyne by Jack Lowe

‘The Crow & The Kestrel’ signed and embossed for the Collectors’ Edition of Spillers’ Downfall…

I hope you enjoy these new additions to my work.  Please feel free to leave comments or contact me to share your thoughts…

…have a great weekend!