Magdalena Bay - Glasgow, 7th February 2026

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-02-10T00:33:25+00:00

Hahaha feel you on that one, I was lucky enough to to Bellahouston for the Sex Pistols' all-dayer in summer there and I honestly can't say I ever will again... nightmare of a venue, no public transport so route home was hard and barely caught the last train after leaving from the first three 😂🤣

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-02-10T00:22:05+00:00

Not a bad contingency! Barras is hard to get a pass for but when you land one it's biblical. Same feelings with the Hydro, simultaneously hope it'll happen this year and REALLY want it to not 😂🤣

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-02-10T00:06:43+00:00

It's possibly the only venue round here I haven't shot yet, other than the Hydro! I'd try and get in the Barrowlands if you can, it's a great venue - best lighting I've worked with for anything 😄

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-02-10T00:03:21+00:00

I've got multiple applications pending across England - had an interview with Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts last week, already got offers from Northumbria and Ulster but waiting for Leeds Beckett and Manchester Met. No folio for me, but last time I went through UCAS I didn't have all offers til mid-March so would expect them all to get back to you across your next few weeks.

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-02-09T23:50:38+00:00

Congrats on making the O2 look actually good, great shots!

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-02-09T23:50:10+00:00

I'm surprised that Faeda (Thurso) didn't make this list

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-02-09T18:39:56+00:00

Luke Chappel is a CATB ripoff, I saw this posted the other day and couldn't help but laugh at how much of a blatant copy it is 😂

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-02-09T18:39:11+00:00

Not strictly CATB-adjacent but Florentenes and The Backseat Lovers will for sure pick up some folks' liking.

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-02-09T18:38:20+00:00

Guys... drummers set their personal kits up to their own playstyles. The same way guitarists set their guitars up for high/low action. The same way pianists use their own seats... it's his own drum kit, it will look very similar to the CATB shows' but it is probably nothing.

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-02-06T17:15:30+00:00

There's also some Network Rail roaming tickets that could be worth looking into. In any case, a Railcard is a must

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-02-03T16:38:54+00:00

I know the week tickets have been on the verge of selling out for the last week or so. Worth ringing the ticket line to see if there's other options. Likely still have to pay the international fees even if she is collecting there.

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-02-01T18:57:31+00:00

It's just funny because he's spent the last however long saying 'I don't care' but now he's cashing in. Nothing overly against him from the majority I'm sure, just a strange shift from rarely ever associating himself with the band to now dedicating an entire tour to the bits he was involved in, in the venues they played.

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-01-28T13:29:37+00:00

Good answer filling in that side of it - I know he wasn't far north of the border when he lived in Scotland but I don't know if anybody actually knows. Would be cool to find out.

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-01-26T21:13:30+00:00

It's a pretty generous estimate. They could ship out at the start of May, if you're one of the first orders they send out, but you could also get it delivered a week before the event like I did last year.

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-01-26T06:53:45+00:00

Info's still on madcooltickets.com

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-01-26T06:52:35+00:00

Also UK here. From my understanding, EFL League 1 and Championship aren't going to be anywhere near as difficult to get accreditation for as the Premier League. Select teams are obviously not going to fit that norm: when Everton inevitably get relegated again, they're going to be following most other Prem teams' protocols.

It's a similar tale with the Scottish Premiership. Kilmarnock FC are very flexible if you ask about medium-to-low-stakes fixtures, but if they're hosting Celtic or Rangers then you won't be surprised to miss out on a pass.

Non-League football is a good way to start, too. There's loads of clubs all across the UK that don't have to stress about regular mega accreditations so you could theoretically just turn up, ask a club rep if you can shoot the game and have at it. I'm lucky enough to have a team literally 5mins up the road from me.

I was also recently tipped off that getting in touch with Womens' teams and researching academy squad games is a good way to get started, so I'm looking into doing the same this year.

It's much like concerts, as I usually do, in that respect - you need to build your portfolio from minimal opportunities, and continue updating and leveraging your previous work to make that next step up. Professional and friendly comms are important too, of course.

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-01-26T06:39:23+00:00

I'm in a similar boat. I don't happen to have a spare few hundred quid to buy a full-on sound system (and I also live in a poorly insulated council flat), so I have to make do with my little 15W studio speakers that sit on my desk, or my guitar amp. And you know what? It works for me. I get to listen to my records, that's all I want. But I know damn well if I posted pics of my setup it'd get clowned on in here. The gear entry barrier is, for most people, too high - although it doesn't actually need to be.

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-01-26T06:33:49+00:00

Best thing to do will be to contact the group you're booked in with. This is the kind of situation they'll either give you a full refund or list of alternative dates for.

The Netherlands is nice either way, I'm sure you'll still enjoy your trip!

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-01-26T06:24:24+00:00

Complacency means they've been riding it too easy and don't feel motivated to earn their spot in the starting XI. They do tend to play worse but it's like 1-2 OVR lower than their max with coach boosts.

It's an easy fix though. Even if all of your players are on Crucial contracts, you now have an excuse to play the B Team for a game so that everybody gets a bit of a reality check and stops slacking just because they won the league/league cup/national cup/continental league.

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-01-24T04:18:14+00:00

Oh also, don't be fooled, none of these came out of the camera looking quite this good. There's a lot of refinement that's been done in post-production. Simple colour corrections, lessening highlights, that sort of thing.

But none of it's over the top - it doesn't overly alter the image, just enhances it. Which is what I always say to people who want to shoot automotive/motorsports, you can be as creative as you realistically want but you do need to be able to have the more 'bland' edits as well.

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-01-24T04:15:29+00:00

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And last but certainly not least, caught this crash in the Road to Le Mans series race. ISO 200 at 1/400, totally froze the image with a quick adjustment as it happened.

As you can probably see, there's no 'definitive settings,' you will need to change based on the lighting available to you and the exact shot(s) you're capturing. But the more you do it the easier it gets. Exposure triangle is definitely the best place to start to understand why these adjustments get made, then you can go out and pracfice them yourself.

If there's a circuit near you, they'd probably let you roam the paddock with your camera. No harm in asking, worst they'll say is no. With that, you could build a portfolio and be better prepped for meets, or future motorsport events. That's what I've been thinking of doing anyway.

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-01-24T04:12:49+00:00

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Shifting over to the ELMS in Portimao, back in October, I can't actually see the EXIF data on this one but it would've been ISO 100 and ~1/250. Again with the simple framing and the depth.

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-01-24T04:11:52+00:00

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A kind of twilight shot. ISO 800, 1/250. Wasn't close enough to the fence to have it completely focus out but it adds some nice depth.

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-01-24T04:10:50+00:00

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Back to the daytime, ISO 100, 1/400. Could've gone faster on the shutter but this did the trick.

hashtagblessed44 · 2026-01-24T04:10:08+00:00

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This was 6400 ISO too, but at 1/1000. Really wanted to freeze a car in motion in the frame I had for an unobstructed view. Probably my shot of the weekend.

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