From the iPhone: Cricket

Recent shot showing the festive goings on one evening in the West End. Only in London...

Recent Publication: Lido Cabaret

I seem to have let the blog fall into a bit of a state of inactivity of late, well aware that this hiatus has lasted since July. It's not been the case that I haven't been busy, I just seem to have got out of the habit of adding new posts which I'm well aware is a bit of a sin when it comes to having a blog.
I can't help but feel a little guilty at the lack of recent posts but as the French say 'C'est la vie' and I've made a note to myself to not let another blogging quiet spell happen in the coming year.
Anyways, enough of the 'C'est la vie' and how about a bit of the 'Oh la la' - this is the phrase that came to mind when I found myself photographing the famous Lido Cabaret in Paris last summer for a travel guide. It's a venue on the Champs Elyeeses that has the same format of dinner and (slightly titillating) dance show which the Moulin Rouge and Crazy Horse in Montmartre are known for.
I arrived at the venue and was warmly welcomed by the the head of the venues P.R (nice suit/white teeth/perma-tan/general look of a game show host) and was shown to my seat. I had what was obviously the press seat right at the back of the venue but this was not a problem as I was shooting with my 70-200mm lens on my Canon 7D which gave me an effective focal length of 170-300mm due to the smaller sensor in the camera.
After having a wander round and taking some general venue shots while people ate and the warm up band played I returned to my seat and got myself comfortable waiting for the main event, a waiter came over and offered me a drink on the house, and then another, which was most welcome especially as I overheard the the tables infront of me ordering bottles of champagne at prices which were quite frankly eye watering


So, after not too long the lights went down and it was obviously showtime. A breathy female voice came over the tanoy and announced "Please do not use cameras during the performance, the Lido can not be photographed - it can only be imagined" which made me chuckle and acted as an indication to the kitsch spectacle we were about to witness.
I have to say I was impressed, not only with the dance routines (and dancers) which were pleasing to watch but also with the different sets that were involved with each routine, at certain points there were fountains that appeared up through the stage, a clockwork elephant that strutted about behind the dancers, a live horse prancing about aswell as a huge pyramid that grew out of the floor.
I carried on snapping away until I knew I had more than enough shots to fulfil the shoot and then just settled in and enjoyed the show, helped in no small part by my friend the barman who provided a constant flow of free booze throughout the evening...