Joe Akka

Uh-oh! The Joe Akka devil has been on my shoulder again!  There I was, perfectly happy getting the train from Manchester into the Lakes or North Wales every weekend, but no, for the Joe Akka devil in me, that is no longer enough.

I have now; wait for it, booked a photography holiday.  Yes that’s right, in a month’s time I will be flying out fromManchesterAirporttoPortugalto do a week’s photography course specialising in nature photography.  I really can’t wait.  Although I would say I have learnt a great deal, mostly from the internet, as I have gone along, there is nothing like having an expert hold your hand and say, ‘Joe Akka, why don’t you try x,y,z, at this point?’

I don’t know what possessed me to do such a thing really.  I’ve always been quite happy with my weekend jaunts out of Manchester, but since I’ve got a new camera, the Joe Akka devil inside me has taken hold!

I found the holiday on the internet, and as usual had to spell my name about twenty times when I rang up to book it.  It probably didn’t help that the woman booking it was Portuguese. ‘Joe Wacker?’, ‘No, Joe Akka- A-K-K-A. ‘Ah, Tom Akka?’ ‘No JOE Akka!’

It’s always the same when I try to book anything; sometimes I wish my name was John Smith!

Not to worry though, because this time in four weeks, I’ll be on a plane from Manchester airport heading toLisbon, to indulge for a whole week in my favourite hobby.

For me, photography, and nature photography in particular, is the ultimate panacea in life, so why not go on a photography holiday?  After all, I deserve it! (See, there that Joe Akka devil in me raising his ugly head again!

My interest in photography started like most people, when I was bought a little instamatic camera which took instant pictures as a child.

That was a long time ago now, growing up in Manchester, and like most people, I soon realised how expensive they were to run and so got a little brownie camera, one of those where you buy a separate flash and stick it in the top. From there my interest grew and grew to such a degree that I have thought about opening a Joe Akka photography studio.

For me, taking pictures is the ultimate panacea.  To be able to pick up a camera and go aroundManchester(one of my favourite cities) taking pictures of people and architecture is all that I, Joe Akka, could ask for in life.

Lately I have extended my interest into what I call aqua photography, and for that, I do travel far beyondManchester, up to the lakes and over to theNorth Walescoast.

My partner, who I think is getting a bit fed up of so many pictures of water, calls them ‘Joe Akka’s Aqua’s ‘, and to be honest, there is hardly a wall in our house that doesn’t have some sort of aqueous picture on it now.

She’s always saying to me,, ‘Joe Akka, if you come back here with one more aqua picture, I may have to drown you!’, but I can’t help myself, I absolutely love it.

I’d love to have an exhibition of Joe Akka Aqua’s.  In Manchester especially, there are so many up and coming galleries with work from the latest photographers, and I often dream that one day, one of those exhibitiosn will be advertised as a Joe Akka Exhibition.

I’ve got a long way to go until that happens though, so in the meantime, this Joe Akka will be sticking to the day job to keep the money rolling in!

I’ve just got myself a new Canon EOS 550D and to say that I am excited in as understatement.  I had no intention of buying myself a new camera, but I happened to be shopping in Manchester and saw such a good offer for it in a camera shop that I couldn’t resist.

Well, actually, I did resist for quite some time.  I wandered around Manchester virtually talking to myself, saying ‘Joe Akka, you do not need a new camera, the one is have is perfectly fine’.  Then the devil in me would kick in and say ‘Look Joe Akka, you work bloomin hard, you’ve been at this photography business for quite a while now, so why not treat yourself to a new camera?  You deserve it!

So after a good three hours of wandering around Manchester, I finally relented and returned to the camera shop- the devil in me having won out.

Now I think, why not?  Yes I do deserve it.  For me, Joe Akka, there is no better panacea than taking myself off on a Saturday into the lakes to capture some stunning photography.

I think I’ve drawn my ambitions back ever so slightly though.  I think that without an awful lot of dedication, the chances of me ever having a ‘Joe Akka Photography Exhibtion’ are fairly slim.  I would love it though, and I’ll keep it at the back of my mind, as the idea of my very own Joe Akka Photography exhibition is a really good incentive to keep improving.

So, next weekend, I’m going to take myself off to North Wales- I’ll probably get the train fromManchester, and then see what my new camera can do- I can’t wait.  There is something really understated about the beauty of Snowdonia National Park- I just hope that Joe Akka and his new camera can do it justice!

I have been inspired even more in my photography by an exhibition I went to last week in Manchester.  It was by a local photographer, who (a bit like Banksy), chooses to remain anonymous and goes out and about taking shots of local people in and around Manchester City centre.

It made me realise, that in many ways, humans make the very best subjects that a photographer could focus on.  I have become a bit obsessed recently with aqua photography, even flying from Manchester to Cornwall to take photos, with this vision of one day holding a Joe Akka exhibition.

I now realise however, that such obsession is probably narrowing down my development, so over the next few months, I will do a human focussed project.

What I found interesting about these guys who stay anonymous, is on a basic level how do they start out?

I mean, if I go to someone and say, ‘hello, my name’s Joe Akka, I’d like to exhibit my photography please’, then that’s fair enough, whereas what do these guys do- ring up with a muffled voice on the phone??

Also, how do they get paid?  My bank account says ‘Joe Akka on it- surely Banksy’s bank account must have a proper name on it as well so that people then know who he is??

Anyway, I’ve gone slightly off the point here, the main point being that if I, Joe Akka, wish to improve my skills as a photographer, then I have to develop my all-round skills much more than I have done so far, other wise I’ll never be given the opportunity to hold a Joe Akka exhibition.

So, for the next couple of months, do not be surprised if you find me, Joe Akka, lurking around your street if you live in the Manchester area, it’s nothing sinister- promise- just building up my skills!

I have just had the most brilliant week away with my partner down in Cornwall and probably taken some of the best pictures of my life.

It came about a bit by accident really.  I am signed up to one of these daily deals websites and last week when, as I do with these things everyday, I received a message saying ‘Joe Akka, you have mail’, I was just about to delete it when I spotted this deal at the bottom.

Normally, I receive offers for hotels in Manchester, Liverpool orLeeds, but to be honest, when they are close by, why would I want to stay there?

This one however, caught my eye because it was in Cornwall, somewhere with my new found interest in aqua photography; I have always wanted to go.

I then rang my partner, who replied’ Joe Akka, if you think I am going to sit on a train for six hours from Manchester to Cornwall and then spend the weekend sitting on rocks in the wind whilst you taken pictures of crabs, you have another thing coming’.

However, the reaction mellowed somewhat when I told her that a) we could fly from Manchester to Cornwall and b) there was a fantastic spa at the hotel- don’t ever believe that Joe Akka isn’t prepared for all eventualities!

So, before we knew it, we were at Manchester airport, headed forCornwall.  I still find it strange that you have to show virtually no ID at the airport- how do they know, without seeing a picture of me, that Joe Akka Exhibition up and running! I’m really Joe Akka?

Anyway, apart from a bit of confusion at the hotel, whereby when I checked in as Joe Akka, they had me down as Joker!, we had a fantastic weekend, and I can’t wait to get some of the pictures on here to show you.  It really proved to be exactly the panacea that I needed and has spurred me on even more to get that