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Have I just invented a new word? Anyway, have to get it off my chest as I’ve been glancing at this tiny story in London’s Evening Standard since Friday when it was published. Despite its lenght, it annoys me immensely. Here it is, page 2, last Friday: The headline says “Estelle’s cousin spared jail over drugs”. In other words, someone you never heard of got stopped by cops, went to court, got off lightly, didn’t go to jail. End of story. Worth the space on page 2? No. What do you do to make it sexier (as you do with news nowadays)? You dig deep into their family connections hoping that the six-degree separation rule will link them to at least a Hollywood A-lister. No such luck here, but hey, we have a Grammy winner, let’s stick her name in the headline instead. And voila! I know that we live in celebrity-obsessed times and unless something is endorsed by some mediocre girl-band singer-cum-talent judge or shagged by a footballer, it’s not worth mentioning. But this little piece should’ve been relegated to nibs (or “news in brief” for the uninitiated), somewhere on page 14. I’m not saying it’s not woth mentioning, I’m just saying it doesn’t deserve the space it was given and the celebrity treatment it didn’t need. (“Estelle was not present at today’s hearing” – you don’t say!). It’s not just the Evening Standard, everyone is doing it. A few years ago another evening paper published a short story on a stabbing in which a young man died. It was 2007, teenage stabbings in London were at an all-time high, so how do you think that story was sold? Yes, that’s right, the stabbed boy was a certain well-known singer’s “close friend”. The story was illustrated with her picture. She wasn’t even quoted. Such treatment at best shifts the focus of the story and at worst distorts the news completely. It’s unnecessary. Not everything needs to be popular or sexy. Certainly not in news. #celebrity #news

And not always by design. But – to use a cliched saying – ‘change is good’. Even though it may not always seem welcome at first. But I’m jumping ahead of myself. The beginning of the year was relatively quiet. And I’m talking here about my photography and video. On the editorial side of things I was a bit too stressed as I was overseeing a huge editorial project for a US publisher. On the creative side of things, for the first few months I was still exclusively relying on my trusty 5D Mark II to keep me company everywhere: from bleak Dartmoor to sunny but cold Beachy Head But then – some time around April/May – having spent weeks and weeks reading and fantasising about it, I bought the awesome Fuji X100S. I had seen the images, I had read the reviews, but what really convinced me was a post on Strobist called “Cuba: Traveling Light, Chasing Light”. I was blown away by the quality of the images David Hobby managed to take with this camera in Havana. But more importantly, I was inspired by his decision to leave his entire gear behind and go to Cuba for almost two weeks with nothing but the Fuji X100s. No interchangeable lenses, no second bodies, no filters, external flashes or heavy bags to schlep. Just one camera. I also wanted to try. I also wanted to experiment. So I did. Whether for pleasure or professionally, like most photographers I always carry a heavy bag full of lenses, flashes or other equipment, so switching to one light camera and doing things differently was refreshing. It took me a while to get used to it. There were many bad and blurry pictures to begin with. But soon I started enjoying the freedom and accepted the challenges resulting from the limitations a fixed-lens camera has. I started using the new camera almost exclusively, while my big DSLR gathered dust. From capturing my favourite subject – urban isolation: to editorial assignments and portraits: From landscapes and architectural shots: to – obviously – holiday snaps and social events: The first time I followed in David Hobby’s footsteps and decided to travel without my DSLR kit, I hesitated a bit. But I soon learned to enjoy the freedom the Fuji gave me. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t make a complete switch. I still use my DSLR extensively, mostly for video and assignments where I need interchangeable lenses or external flashes or simply more flexibility. And speaking of video, that was another big change. Just around the time I published my Crossing Paths video, I decided to launch Meehow Media, my new venture, focusing primarily on editorial and promotional video, but also on editorial photography. The beginnings were humble. But the feedback and support I got plus the interest in my services many people expressed gave me the much needed confidence. Soon after I started I was lucky enough to film with Gok Wan and began working on new video concepts, including an educational project in north London. Gok Wan for National AIDS Trust from Michal Dzierza on Vimeo. So obviously I’m hoping to grow Meehow into something much bigger in 2014. The focus will still remain on video and photography, but something tells me there will be more… And here comes the (hopefully not-so-hard) sell: if you need a video, or a photographer I’d love to hear from you. Head over to meehow.co.uk or just use the contact form on the right. Or drop me an email: michal {at} dzierza {dot} com. There are 12 very exciting months and a million ideas ahead of us…. #2013 #Canon5DMarkII #fujix100s

Yesterday was Gay Pride London day. I planned to film the parade – and I did (editing the footage as we speak) – but I couldn’t not take any pictures. (And I didn’t want to rely on screengrabs from the video footage). And as always, every option, every colour and every age was represented – from bears carrying dead foxes on their shoulders to drag queens and sex workers. From those who’ve seen it all – and are probably happy they can now manifest their sexuality openly – to those who manifest it here because their native land still sees homosexuality as sin. Here are some more pictures from yesterday, make sure to click on the Flickr gallery at the bottom for more. http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=104087 #LondonGayPride2011