Friday, December 10, 2010

Getting the money shot....

What a fantastic adrenaline rush the photographer must have had in Leicester Square yesterday when he realised that he was the only press photographer on the spot at that historic moment when Charles and Camilla were caught up in the chaos caused by the student riots. I really wish I'd been Matt Dunham of Associated Press at 7-20pm yesterday (that was the recorded time on his camera when he snapped his money shot. Those five pictures that he had the presence of mind to capture have already gone down in history as capturing an amazing moment. They say a picture speaks a thousand words well, perhaps, these speak a million more. What do they say about the role of Charles and Camilla being uselessly trapped in the middle of it all and yet representing the establishment? and what do they say about the increasing fury of Britain's young population. Is his picture capturing a pivotal moment in our country's history? Time will tell. What a fabulous picture. I've been meaning to treat myself to that digital SLR for some time now as I did used to be a fairly keen photographer myself. I even toyed with the idea of having a go at being a pap! Perhaps now's the time to nip down to Jessops in the Pavillion, Tonbridge to eye up that Canon EOS 500D unless Santa already has his instructions....

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oder online for collection in Tonbridge and you may get a better price line - the 5% diecount code JESSOPS5 - see myvoucher codes.
You could always ask for a discount in store though.

Paul Bailey said...

Never mind the photo TB, what about the appalling behaviour of the rioters, who as well as trying to attack the heir to the throne and his wife, defiled both the statue of Winston Churchill, and the Cenotaph - the monument to those who gave their lives in order that these morons might enjoy the right to "peaceful protest"! To add insult to injury, they tried setting fire to the Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square; the tree which is a symbol of peace and an annual gift from the grateful people of Norway for the help we gave their country during the last war.

You talk about the increasing fury of Britain's young population, well I for one am furious that we allow such disgraceful behaviour on the streets of our capital city. Water cannons at the very least should have been used against these people, who's behaviour has further tarnished the image of Britain around the world.

It's about time people realsised there is no such thing as a free lunch. The country has been living beyond its means for far too long, and unless steps are taken to reign in public spending, we will end up stony broke like our neighbours across the Irish Sea!

There is no God given right to a university degree, and when some of the newer "Portakabin" universities are handing out Mickey Mouse degrees in subjects such as media studies, Golf Course Management, David Beckham Studies and other joke courses, there is precious little point in going anyway.

I could go on, but forget about "money shots" TB, and get real. This is NOT a pivotal moment in our country's history, but instead just "rent-a-mob" running riot again, just as we saw at the G20 Summit a few years ago, and the Climate Change Protest before that.

Callum James said...

That picture is fantastic, its almost a comedic expression of shock...

Canon EOS is a great camera, have you looked into the Nikon D20 Mr. Books?

Paul, I agree with alot of what you said, although I think we all have a right to a university education, seeing as we need a skilled and talented workforcce for the future. I don't condone the methods used by the protesters though, Winston Churchill is a national hero, its pitiful they'd deface such an iconic figure.

I think there should be more oppertunities for young unemployed people to learn, I myself am in the sports and leisure business and I wanted to go to university starting January to do Sports nutrition and Physiotherapy but the governments turn on tuition fee's has ruined this prospect for me.

Again, I think you raise some very very good points though.

hallum said...

Paul refers to 'the heir to the throne and his wife' being frightened in the car. I love all these ruritanian titles. Charles does not call himself the duke of cornwall (although he is) and the press have been forcefully instructed not to call his wife the princess of wales (although she is) because it might upset the middle aged neurotic worshippers of the previous holder of that title. As for the car, some say that the parading of such conspicuous consumption when the poor are being asked to bail out the rich, demonstrates the arrogance of such unearned priviledge. Perhaps to speed up the coming of age of britain, the next time an incident of this kind arises, Camilla could lower the car window and shout 'let them eat cake'

Tonbridge blogger said...

PB: You're obviously very passionate on this subject and you had me up to the WATER CANNONS bit! Come off it isn't that going too far? Isn't that what separates us from some of our less tolerant European neighbours? Most of the students were probably as high as kites anyway, so unaware of what they were doing! Not that that would excuse their behaviour but basically I reckon most just got carried away by the heat of the moment. When I said pivotal moment all I meant was that these images tend to capture the mood of the nation and, for years to come, it will be used as a symbol of Cameron's arrogance just as the poll tax riots did for Thatcher even though, actually, they were by no means the only thing which brought her down. So all I can say to you PB is this: We don't need no education; We don't need no thought control, etc.....

Tonbridge blogger said...

Ano: Thank you Jessops PR department!

Tonbridge blogger said...

hallum: All I can say is Vive La Republique!!

Anonymous said...

I don't know why people treat Charles and his dreadful wife with this cringing. It's not as if any of us voted for him or was even given the choice. If the students set fire to his car that's OK with me. Personally, I think that's exactly the sort of freedom my remote ancestors fought the second world war for but since everybody involved is long dead it is very hard to say for sure. It's time we stopped remembrancing the war anyway, as now it's just an excuse for the tabloids to ramp up blood lust for foreign adventures. Like Banksy said, the only time anybody notices these monuments in Whitehall is when somebody sticks a traffic cone on top of one.

Anonymous said...

Tonbridge blog, you do need to keep an eye out for those camera bargins. Maybe Jessops/Cannon will give you one!
Currys seem to be having pre xmas cuts including a samsung E65 ereader cut from £199 to £99 although it can be had for £169 elsewhere. I may give it a punt for that price.

Anonymous said...

As to paying for university education, most of the high earners in this country (including bankers who brought about all our financial problems in the first place) probably got a free university education, so why don't we raise the upper rate of income tax (& clamp down on tax evasion) so that they can pay for it now?

Anyone seen any flying pigs recently.....?

Paul Bailey said...

Thanks for your comments, fellow Tonbridge Blog followers.

To come back on a few of them, I am not huge fan of the Royal Family, but to see anyone trapped and threatened by an angry mob,in such circumstances, makes me extremely annoyed.

Second, I would not wish to deny anyone a university education, but there has been a lot of myths and half-truths grown up around the recent increases in tuition fees. No-one is being asked to pay this money up-front, and no-one will be asked to start paying it back after they have graduated, until they start earning a salary in excess of £21,000.

As for water cannon TB,a good soaking, especially on a freezing cold day, would certainly dampen the enthusiasm of those who seek to riot, or otherwise cause mayhem on the streets. (Our "less tolerant European neighbours" use more even more extreme measures, such as CS gas and large sticks, and I am not condoning the use of these.)

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