keith

I assume they have been so busy with all the organising of the GMEX Show since the C10 Show ended that they just have not had time to upload any images to the gallery. They certainly had the photos from C10 over a month ago, but like I said, theyve had a lot to do since then.

Jason, I assume the link you were sent was from a forum linked to another show coming up a week before C10. If it was not, you should check it out as by the looks of his postings there, master 007paul007 is a real ....how can I put it politely....$h!t stirrer and has a real downer on anything and everything to do with Showmasters' shows. So you'd be surprised that he's remotely interested in coming to future ones bearing in mind and I quote from his post at the other forum "...no sorry I've just read more of his posts and he's just a real to$$er slagging off any SM event, so WHY come on here? I guess he just has NO LIFE and wastes time antagonising people on the net.

When you get the queue going you'd be surprised how quickly you can do them. I heard of one photo shoot were they got 1000 done in an hour! With the very greatest respect, I would suggest that is complete rubbish. THREE AND A HALF SECOND per pic ???? To say it would be a production line job is an understatement. Yes, you could easily shoot a line of people 'machine gun style' with a fast pro digital SLR, but the problem is people don't move fast. Unless you really want to manhandle people like cattle and really pi$$ them off leaving them with an experience they will want to forget, that just cannot happen. And at 3 1/2 secs per person, that does not even give the photographer a chance to check each image. No, sorry thats fantasy land and an absolute nightmare if anyone really did try that on. It would be a horrible experience for everyone concerned - you'd barely have time to blink....and if you did blink, you'd hold the production line up and completely screw up the timetable. No, sorry 1000 in an hour...... KEITH

In fact its not 'odd' at all. It has now become a standard size as it is 'full frame' ie does not cut off any of the image. 35mm images and Digital stock from SLRs are always in that format, thats why 6" x 4" became the norm taking over from the smaller 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" prints. With 8" x 6" prints you lose the top/bottom of an upright image or the left/right of a horizontal shot. So for example if you have a full length shot of a bride/groom at a wedding, with 8" x 6" you run the risk of cutting off the top of a head or feet, with full frame ie 6x4, 9x6 and 12x8 you get the complete image. Same goes for group shots - you dont really want to be the one on the end in a photo that gets cut out of a picture printed 8" x 6" do you? Go check out your nearest Boots/Jessops/Tescos - they all do 9x6 prints now. KEITH

Depends whether you are expecting to collect a PHOTOGRAPH...or some cruddy INKJET/LASER print. Sure some are quite good and last a couple of years, but they are NOT A photograph. I know some guys who do these Event photos and the fact they own a camera, take photos and get paid, does not mean they are a Professional Photographer. We call them 'weekend warriors'. Can be adequate sometimes, but from what I've heard and seen of standards of 'event photography' at other shows, well you get what you pay for. But the absolute MUST, is that the photo you get is a PHOTOGRAPH, Developed/printed in a lab, be it Boots, Costco, Jessops or wherever. That will last for as long as you want to keep the photo for. And if you get it signed, the signature will not disapear into the paper as happens with a lot of sub par psuedo 'photo paper'. A lot of on-the-spot event printing is done with 'Dye Sublimation' machines which are better than inkjet and laser, look almost like a photo. Those machines normally run out at £5000 plus and each print costs around £2 per sheet. It looks like whoever Showmasters are getting to do the photography intend to get the photos PROPERLY printed at a lab nearby Earls Court, which is a good thing and will guarantee that the quality of your print will be good. I know thats what I'd do. And speaking as a Professional photographer, YES There is for some reason a big difference between getting a 10" x 8" print done and smaller prints, a SUBSTANTIAL Difference in price. After all, its not like they are being sent away to Bonusprint or somewhere......Just try going into your nearest JESSOPS and asking for a 10" x 8" print, done and ready in an hour, how much ? £4.98, now go ask how much a smaller print is....And the problem you have is not many high street labs do 10"x 8" prints on the premises, but most will do 8" x 6" or 9" x 6" KEITH

....and I've replied Emma

If you like your Twins, looking hot, sweaty and most of all WET (it was pouring with rain most of the afternoon!), I've just put photos of the boys in action at Sunday's SOCCER SIX tournament played at West Ham's Upton Park ground http://www.mypiccies.com/spotlight Which is a stupid link which does NOT Work so dont waste your time clicking it. For some reason, I put in the correct link and it comes up as 'mypiccies' which is rubbish. So if anyone wants to see them, email me at spotlight@easy.com Sorry about that obviusly some kind of filter has been added to the forum so nasty horrid people like me can't post link that might actually direct you to photos that you might just like to look at. KEITH

OK So one of the themes of this Autographica is a 'Sharpe Reunion'. Great for Sharpe fans and fantastic if Sharpe himself was to be there ie SEAN BEAN. And if he was there...great for 007 Fans too and Lord of the Rings etc etc But, I'm guesing that despite good intentions maybe Mr Bean might be missing so..... HOW ABOUT BERNARD CORNWELL ?? - The creator of the Sharpe books He does do talks and book signings, so I would have thought he'd be agreeable to turning up for at least some of the show Any thoughts ??

As we are in 'dr who' mode.... Recovered from 'C9' yes, but definately not from 'K9' yet

It was the night of the MI 3 Premiere and I drifted down to the Theatre Royal afterwards. People like Claire Sweeney, Alan Rickman and Kacey Ainsworth came out the front entrance around 10 ish with the rest of the audience. I saw some of the ladies who regular crew at Collectomania events there hoping for autographs. I did not even know David was due to attend (knew about Rickman and supposedly Patsy Kensit), but myself and around 3 or 4 other photographers went to the Stage door to wait for Judi Dench. Rickman came out then Kim Medcalf and DT. There were about 8 autograph hunters/dealers lying in wait and David must have signed about 30 autographs so they did very well out of it. The photos were taken (hold on while I check my original image files) between 10.45pm and 11pm. KEITH

A few people have asked me about some pics I took of Dr Who, DAVID TENNANT recently, so I've uploaded them to a gallery here http://www.mypiccies.com/spotlight KEITH

Speaking solely as the photographer who might actually have taking a photo of members of the public and having been a professional photographer fror 20 years.... You are in a public place, at a public event, you might get in the way of a photo, you might be the subject of a photo. That photo could be used by Showmasters on the website, on flyers, in advertising - it also might be used or found in the local newspaper (not taken by me). I'm sure if for any reason you objected it would be removed. The 'paper bag over head' is a very good idea to avoid getting your face seen. BUT Without being flippant, quite seriously if you attend an event - a gig, a signing, a garden fete even, some snapper might focus on you, either intentionally (because you are very pretty and wearing something attractive) or just as a general crowd pic. It might be the photographer for the local paper. It might be a London Agency photographer just shooting 'atmosphere' shots. It might be someone working with the organisers, sponsors PR Company or whatever. Either way, a photographer will be fine taking your picture as it is NOT infringing on your liberty, as its at a public event. However, if you see me hidden in the bushes in your garden, shooting you sunbathing in your scanties, PLEASE PLEASE have me removed and returned to the asylum where I belong. Hopefully though over the 4 days of the event I've not taken too many pictures of really ugly people who would not grace the image gallery for C9. If I have, dont worry, when I edit the 1000 plus images, I'll leave you out. KEITH

I know that a lot of people use PHOTOBUCKET, but another good site which has a couple of very important things in its favours is www.fotopic.net You can have a FREE Gallery with up to 250 megabytes of space The site is based in the UK and its customer service is second to none. If ever you have a problem, Joel will always email you back, usually same day. You have a choice of a variety of backgrounds for your gallery and if ever you run out of space you can buy - inexpensively - entra MBs of space (although probably easier just to set up a new account. But they are highly recommended Another one to look at would be www.webshots.com KEITH

According to Devon's website he says he's not coming to C9 "Hi guys, Just a quick update. I'm at the studio so my time's limited. I've been hearing all kinds of rumours that I'm supposed to be signing at Milton Keynes in April so I'd just like to set the story straight. I am NOT signing!!! I've already got plans for that weekend & never said I was gonna be there. Gotta go for now, Back to work, Your friend. Devon " http://www.devonmurray.net/events.php?home=ok

Trouble is how to you prove to someone that an auto is a fake if that someone does not want to believe something is a fake? You - the buyer - do not want to admit you've been hoodwinked and made to look stupid. While the seller is certainly going to give a ton on plausible explanations as to how and why and where - despite the signature being obviously fake. Why do you think unscrupulous sellers pitch up on ebay? Its easy and very little you a buyer can do about being ripped off. If you buy from a proper recognised dealer, you will pay - mostly - a fair market price. A price that reflects the fact that an item is genuine. On ebay, a seller puts up a multi signed Lord of the Rings items and starts it off at £5. Sorry, if that was GENUINE, would you risk it selling for just a few pounds. Certainly not if you were a dealer. If you are a fan and maybe managed to get a spare autograph from celebrity A at an event - you know its genuine, but that signature might be a scrawl, it might not quite look like the ones you've seen of that celeb before. BUT You KNOW its genuine, you KNOW it was signed by him - but I guarantee no amount of 'cert of authenticity' will enable you to sell that for anything like its real value. Because it does not look real. So if you are faking something, you are going to copy something you think is real or easy to copy. The thing that makes me laugh on ebay are those sellers who sell 'pre prints' - copies - of fake sigs. And then always beware those sellers that ONLY Sell popular, current, stars autographs. Just how many Elijah, Orlando, Viggo, Sean Bean, Sean Astin signatures are there on ebay? How many Dan, Emma, Rupert sigs from Harry Potter are there? Well, you can guarantee they'll all have COAs and that 95% will be fake... By the way, I remember one seller on ebay who, after Elijah appeared at Collectormania, had an unlimited amount of Elijah signed photos for sale. His auction details shows a pic of Elijah signing - so they must be genuine, surely. EXCEPT that the photo was taken THROUGH THE WINDOW outside the event! But I would know that, I was there...someone in Redneck City, Arizona would not. KEITH

There are GENUINE Dealers, like Mick at MSPG and the dealers who will be at Collectormania, Aurographica and LFACC, BUT....there are also far far too many currently on ebay and the like who make up fantastical stories to justify their fakes as being authentic. The COA scam and the 'pic of celeb signing' just play straight into their hands. The losers are always fans in mid america and small towns in the UK that could not hope to get to London, New York, LA and can only take the word of some low life ebay seller who - at worst - will get rumbled, suspended, thrown off ebay, then strat up again withing days with a new name. GENUINE Dealers dealing in GENUINE items cannot afford their good name to be tarnished by selling anything thats not 100% kosher

But what's stopping, say, me from putting my camera on autofire and take about 50 different shots (by moving it around) while he/she's signing, and then selling those photos to the different places that sell fake autographs so they can say, here, we have pictures.... look at all the different pictures of the big name signing all these autographs we had him sign for us, Just so we can sell them to you... Aren't we great? 942974[/snapback] I'm afraid that is what happens. One seller on ebay - a different one to the one I mentioned earlier - states that with his signed photos he will include a photo of the celebrity actually signing. ACTUALLY SIGNING... yes, but when, where etc. This particular seller has each and every week for the past TWO YEARS, listed signed photos of SEAN BEAN, ELIJAH WOOD, ORLANDO BLOOM, DANIEL RADCLIFFE, EMMA WATSON - some of the most popular forgeries there are. Everyone knows how they sign so very easy - too easy - to forge. Ah but that signing photo?? Yes and how difficult is it to find a photo of Daniel Radcliffe signing for the crowd at some Premiere or other on any one of 50 HP sites, same goes for the LOTR guys. Just any old pic taken by a fan from the crowd - and that proves that the 150 or more 'genuine signed photos' this guy has sold in the past 6 months are real. More like proves they are fake, because ANYONE on this board who has ever been to a Movie Premiere in London knows that if they are very lucky they might get one picture signed by a star - if they are very good they might get 2, 3 or 4 stars to sign - but no way on earth will they get ANY actor to stand there while they bring out a box full of photos and say "can you sign these 125 pics for my friends back home" See my point?

A Certificate of Authenticity is not worth the paper its printed on. It is merely a trading tool, so that if you are getting autographs to sell on, the buyer feels more comfortable that what they are buying is genuine. BUT I could point you towards a TON of sellers on ebay, many with huge feedback numbers, many are powersellers, who offer a COA with all the fake 'personally signed' items they sell. So what does that prove? Even if the signature is quite obviously a fake...it has a COA, so that means.....its not a fake? How so I found a VERY poor faked photo of the 3 Harry Potter characters at the weekend on ebay. How poor ? Poor enough that all 3 signatures were nothing like what they should be like and.....Daniel Radcliffe's sig was spellt danie.....no 'l'. I think the poor kid knows how to spell his ownm name. So I raised this with the seller - who provides a COA to confirm its authenticity. His reply - "We weren't present for the signing of this item. It was purchased from another dealer. It is possible, that when Daniel was doing the signing where sometimes hundreds of autographs are given, he did not complete the signature properly. When we obtained the photograph, we inspected it and compared it with others of his and it is our belief that the signature is authentic" Obviously a fraudster trying to appear like he's gone an ounce of honesty - yet quite obviously if he examined it, his guide dog must have been out of the room at the time! So, COA - Worthless, absolutely W O R T H L E S S And, as previous posters have said, if you are coming to Collectormania or LFACC, meeting the person themselves, watching them sign in front of you - what on earth do you need any kind of COA for?

I have photos of both Matthew and Robert that I took at the GOF Premiere in London and in NYC I also have photos of Robert taken only last Monday at the Empire Film Awards in London, plus others of Dan, Emma and Rupert who were also there. KEITH

Yes, of course that all you need - spend a few quid on a digital camera and there you are A PHOTOGRAPHER. If only it was THAT easy there would be no need for professionals. I know, I'll go to B&Q tomorrow, go buy some saws, a chisel maybe, some overalls and ply my trade as a Carpenter. Gotta be easy, cutting up bits of wood and sticking them together....? Yes I'm being fascetious, BUT What you are paying for with a PROFESSIONAL in anything ....is TRUST. Just suppose you attend a show with photo sessions and you REALLY REALLY want to get your photo taken with the one celebrity you've ALWAYS wanted to meet. You TRUST that opportunity to some geezer who bought a £100 camera the day before and has some crappy inkjet printer or portable (meaning the size prints are 6" x 4") 'photo printer'. The photo he takes is rubbish....flash never went off, or if it did it bleached out your faces...or is way too dark...or is blurred for whatever reason....or you have your eyes shut....or...or.... Yes, sure, you might be lucky, but hey take a CLOSE look at the vast majority of fan photos posted after events. Do they look 'professional' ? Sorry, but NO. They are sufficient to put on a website, sufficient to give you a memory of the time you met so-and-so. They are free, taken yourself, so because of that they're OK. But if you want a PROFESSIONAL 10" X 8" photograph, you need a proper photographer, taking a sharp image printed on digital photo equipment....dont you? Trouble is as other posters have said, if you take a celebrity away from their signing area, their TIME has to be paid for. If they are a popular celeb like a CHARISMA, SHATNER, CARRIE, ELIJAH, MASTERS etc - they would sign maybe 200 autos in the hour that they would spend posing for photos at a photo shoot - thats 200 @ £20 each = £4000. So do the maths. You line them up for a photo shoot with '£100camerageezer' ...can he work quickly, professionally and accurately. I guess not if what I've been told about other such shoots that happen. Can he line up 200 fans for photos with the celeb? Fans, of course that will all expect a PERFECT photo for their money and no doubt shake the hand of the celeb, say hello etc. Does not leave much time AND if that was going to work as well (as much profit) as celebrity signing an already done photo, you would have to charge AT LEAST the same as it is for an auto to cover the costs of printing and assuming '£100camerageezer' did not have to be paid too. And dont take into account the ADMIN - that is assuming photos would be ready later in the day/weekend. Someone has to make sure ALL the photos are printed, all satisfactorily and all labelled, packaged to go to the right person (dont forget it could be 200 people waiting for photos)....and thats just for ONE Celebrity. Whoever takes on the job of '£100camerageezer' must be a masochist to want to do it. Being a PHOTOGRAPHER is NOT just standing around taking a few photos, you are holding the memories of PAYING customers in your hands. The boys and girls who help out at Collectormania and LFACC events snapping pics of fans with guests with the fans own cameras do a great job - for free. But if ever you have had a photo taken with your camera at a show which has not been as you'd hoped, you know how disappointed you were. Double that disappontment, treble it....and more, if you'd paid £20 for a picture with the celebrity you'd dreamed about meeting and it was crap. Would you TRUST '£100camerageezer' with your onceinalifetime moment? Anyway, just me trying to put in perspective the pitfalls of operating photoshoots - QUALITY photoshoots at conventions. And if anyone wants some Carpentry work doing........? (No really I'm crap at that stuff) KEITH

That sounds familiar alright ! The gaffer is a bald guy, maybe late thirties ? They do a lot of posters as well .... What about those black and white ones with the complete cast disembodied heads ? They do each Trek, SW, Red Dwarf, Dr Who etc - dunno if there is a Lost one though ? 906241[/snapback] You are talking about BIG SCREEN who attend all SM Events, even the Cheshunt ones. Earl is the Boss (with the bald head) nice guy, very helpful. If he's got it fine, if he's not, he;ll get it for you if its available. Also sells on ebay under name '299photos' I believe. They are revamping their website, but if you go to http://www.bigscreenus.com/ it does have a telephone contact number.

I can give you ALL the info I know about the Photo CD. The photographs that were taken over the weekend, Saturday, Saturday night at the reception and dinner and into the wee small hours at the casino, plus more on the Sunday are now delivered to Showmasters on a DVD. I assume they will put together a Photo CD which will be going out to Diamond pass holders (part of the Diamond package), but obviously not ALL of the photos that were taken. I'm sure it is the celebrity pics that any recipient will be interested in, not the crowd pics, dealer pics and general scene photos. All these things take time of course, just as it takes time for the photographer to go through the 1400 images taken and whittle them down to a more manageable level before delivering them to the organisers. I know absolutely nothing about about how 'joe public' gets hold of a Photo CD, if not a diamond holder, but then how would I know, I'm just the photographer. KEITH 893130[/snapback] Keith anynews on the CM8 one 893132[/snapback] That CD is with the Autographica one. I had intended bringing that with me to London, but a) forgot! and b- thought it was a good idea to have forgotten cos it would proably have been left somewhere. But they are both with the organisers, so I guess that means Andrea 'burning the midnight oil' in transferring my images to a million CDs (OK I exagerrate a tad, but all these things take time) KEITH

I can give you ALL the info I know about the Photo CD. The photographs that were taken over the weekend, Saturday, Saturday night at the reception and dinner and into the wee small hours at the casino, plus more on the Sunday are now delivered to Showmasters on a DVD. I assume they will put together a Photo CD which will be going out to Diamond pass holders (part of the Diamond package), but obviously not ALL of the photos that were taken. I'm sure it is the celebrity pics that any recipient will be interested in, not the crowd pics, dealer pics and general scene photos. All these things take time of course, just as it takes time for the photographer to go through the 1400 images taken and whittle them down to a more manageable level before delivering them to the organisers. I know absolutely nothing about about how 'joe public' gets hold of a Photo CD, if not a diamond holder, but then how would I know, I'm just the photographer. KEITH

Really...DON'T get your hopes up. I did say that Alan is filming and would NOT be in London, he will also NOT be at the evbent of Nov 9th According that is, to his assistant, Melanie Parker. She has confirmed he is in LA and says: "...Alan is shooting Nobel Son and it was his first day on set Oct. 31] It’s not clear how long he’ll be there just now, but it should be completed sometime towards the END of November. He certainly WON'T be able to attend the London premiere of Harry Potter, nor will he be attending Shared Experiences 30th Birthday Celebration on Nov 9th. I can’t imagine he could get to the NY premiere of Harry Potter either as things stand at the moment." KEITH Thats the latest news I can give you - hope you all have a good time at the Premiere and that the weather (forecast for which looks decidely dodgy) holds. For me too, as the Press photo pen is very much out in the open!

Alan Rickman is currently filming NOBEL SON in Los Angeles, while Jason Isaacs is in Rhode Island USA, also working on a movie. Neither will be at the London Premiere and both are very unlikely to be at the NYC next wek, although of the two, Jason is closest ansd I'm told 'may'' attend the NYC Premiere