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Birthday Weekend in Paris

As some of you may know, May is my birth month.

This year, I decided that I would spend it in Paris.

So here is the thing, I am a fan of Rugby and particularly, Rugby 7s. So around my birthday, the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series final two legs (Paris and London 2017) happen in May right around my birthday. Last year, two things did not allow me to travel to Paris.

One – my visa expired the weekend before.

Two – I had deadlines.

So, I vowed to myself, that the following year, come rain or shine, I will find myself in Paris and here we are. A year later and I got to celebrate my birthday in Paris doing what I love most, travelling, photography and rugby.

This goes to show, with determination, you can make things happen.

Whenever I could, I documented my experience as a TWO-PART vlog for my YouTube channel.

Part One

Part Two

I hope you like it and if you do, please…

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#BirthdayMonth

EK13 | The Blog 2016 in Review

Happy New Year People!

What a year 2016 has been. I bet most of you would like to see the back of it and hope that 2017 will be much much better.

Well, the last time I did this review, I was under the assumption that I would attempt to blog as much as I would. I guess I should stop ~~talking~~ typing about it and just get on with it.

I know, I know. You are supposed to review what you have blogged about in 2016. Truth be told, I have only put up like 9 posts in 2016 and I will be including some if it in my review. So I thought I just put up what I have actually been up to in 2016 with a few insights here and there.

With that said, I have actually had a busy 2016, much of which I have shared on my Instagram feed, but I will share some of those highlights here with a few new images.

It is kind of a long blog post as I will be covering all 12 months of 2016 (even if I did nothing photographically that month).

So here goes…

January 2016

Whilst in the studio working on a project that never saw the light of day, I got a chance to photograph Aster, who is also a photographer. You can follow her on Instagram or check out her work here.

Aster, 2016

It was whilst working on the project I mentioned above that I made a conscious decision to spend a lot of time in the studio just getting to learn more about lighting, what works and what doesn’t. Basically, I and a few friends were on a mission to build our studio lighting confidence in a way, like this image of myself taken with the help of my photographer friend, Michael Tubi.

Elsie, 2016

Also, this gave me a chance to work on my people skills whilst taking their picture. It is not an easy fete, making someone feel comfortable in front of a lens. It also made me learn a few things about myself as a photographer and what I enjoy doing.

My time in the studio also gave me ideas on how to work towards my final project my degree and future projects moving forward. 2016 was definitely looking up.

February 2016

The sporting calendar or should I say, my sporting photography calendar for the year started in February with the Rugby Six Nations tournaments kicking it off.

I managed to get access to a few of the England Women’s matches that happened at The Twickenham Stoop and Twickenham Stadium.

London, UK. 27th February 2016. A lineout during the Women's Six Nations match between England and Ireland at Twickenham. England won the match 13 - 9. Credit: Elsie Kibue / Alamy Live News — **London, UK. 27th February 2016. A lineout during the Women’s Six Nations match between England and Ireland at Twickenham. England won the match 13 – 9. Credit: Elsie Kibue**

On top of this, I was busy researching, planning and working out my final year project (FMP) for my degree. So anything I did henceforth formed as part of my research.

March 2016

By now it was already settled that I would be focusing my FMP on ‘Women in Sports’ and I was experimenting with different concepts. This image I took of some of the University of Westminster netball team before they got ready for a match at the campus sports hall.

UniWest Netball Team, 2016.

At the same time, when the opportunity arose, I was back in the studio building my portraits portfolio. I got to work with a singer, songwriter, Vicky Sola in collaboration again with Michael Tubi.

Vicky Sola, 2016.

April 2016

London Marathon month was here and I again got access to cover the press events leading up to marathon day itself. I always enjoy myself when I am out and about photographing sports athletes. This year, one of my images ended up being used on the front cover of a newspaper in Scotland. My first ever FRONT PAGE.☺️ One of the highlights of the year.

Newspaper Usage / Tearsheet

May 2016

May is always a busy one for me as it is my birthday month and the London Rugby Sevens Series comes into town for its final leg. A weekend of rugby sevens usually takes its toll on me that it takes me a few days to recover after the tournament. I thought I do something different from the norm and I ended up taking the Kenya 7s team photos with my Instax Mini 8 camera and they got featured in the Instax UK HQ Instagram account.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFon7YsiBr2/?taken-by=ek13_photos
I suppose this is where it all started, my ongoing project of getting instant portraits of athletes and they get to sign the image as soon as it is printed.

Also, a few of my images were turned into illustrations by an artist based in Kenya, Dennis Muiruri.

Willy Ambaka – Actual Image & Illustration

Biko Adema – Actual Image & Illustration

June 2016

This month was one hectic month. It was the month that was full of mixed emotions. It was the month that the Degree Show happened. It came and went by so fast, that the months leading up to this felt like a weird blurry past.

My ‘Women in Sports’ project was complete.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHE8y63jCDb/?taken-by=ek13_photos

I was actually gutted by one thing though…the prints refused to stay up on the wall. It was a good and bad thing. No one foresees such circumstances, but you just have to roll with the punches and exhibit the best way that you can. So, they ended up on the floor.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHJI3I5jP4b/?taken-by=ek13_photos

And this is how when the Travers Smith staff came by to see our work, found them and something about my project made them pick it for the CRS Art Programme their firm started in 2015. Boy was I beside myself when I got the news that my work was selected. It had been an emotional few months leading up to the exhibition as I was really struggling to come up with a concept/project that I would be on going beyond my degree.

My work was also featured here, here and here.

My continued collaboration with Frenglish (French & English) Artist & Producer, Man Like Nells happened. We went back to the studio to shoot some more images for promotional work.

The second image ended up being used in an interview Man Like Nells had with MOBO later in the year in December. You can read the whole interview here.

July 2016

With the rollercoaster that June was, I just decided to enter a photo competition, enjoy the summer, my kids, prepare my prints for Travers Smith and wait for the Olympic games to begin really. I unconsciously ‘put away’ my camera.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIF0qGbDDif/?taken-by=ek13_photos

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIMvFFIDXc8/?taken-by=ek13_photos

August 2016

This is the month that literally was taken over by the Olympic Games and dissertation planning/writing strategies.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJFnjjOjtrl/?taken-by=ek13_photos

September 2016

The academic year in the UK starts and I am basically planning my next few months of writing schedules and what I can also do in-between to keep my photography mojo going. So I organised a few photo shoots with the Men’s Basketball team from University, but this ended up happening in October once all the freshers were settled and teams finalised. So, I didn’t do much photography wise other than a store opening in my area…

October 2016

Visited the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair in Somerset House, saw some artwork and also researched for my dissertation as I would be writing on African Photography. I also managed to attend the official launch of the England Women’s Rugby Team, aptly named the RED ROSES.

London, UK. 04th October 2016. "ALBUS" by Justin Dingwall. 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair set to open in London this week. The fourth edition of the fair taking place in Somerset House 6-9 October showcases carefully selected and diverse presentations by 40 world leading galleries specialising in African contemporary art. © Elsie Kibue — London, UK. 04th October 2016. “ALBUS” by Justin Dingwall. 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair set to open in London this week. The fourth edition of the fair taking place in Somerset House 6-9 October showcases carefully selected and diverse presentations by 40 world leading galleries specialising in African contemporary art. © Elsie Kibue

London, UK. 05th October 2016. (l-r) Former England international Maggie Alphonsi, England stars Emily Scarratt, Natasha hunt and Sarah Hunter at the media briefing for the unveiling of the new vision for women’s rugby in England as part of Women’s Sport Week (3 - 9 October 2016). Also present were RFU Director of Rugby Development Steve Grainger and RFU Professional Rugby Director Nigel Melville. © Elsie Kibue — London, UK. 05th October 2016. (l-r) Former England international Maggie Alphonsi, England stars Emily Scarratt, Natasha hunt and Sarah Hunter at the media briefing for the unveiling of the new vision for women’s rugby in England as part of Women’s Sport Week (3 – 9 October 2016). Also present were RFU Director of Rugby Development Steve Grainger and RFU Professional Rugby Director Nigel Melville. © Elsie Kibue

It was also the month the winners for the MyAfrica Photo Competition were announced. Unfortunately, I did not win, but my submitted image was one of the few selected to be featured in the Mo Ibrahim Foundation competition gallery.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKQV2nSDPIg/?taken-by=ek13_photos

October 2016

Other than the pressure of writing a 10k paper, I managed to squeeze in a few days of photo shoots. As planned, the University’s photo shoot went ahead as the UK continued to bask in an extended summer of sorts.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLuHi55AikB/?taken-by=ek13_photos

November 2016

The month the World Rugby Awards came into town as well as the World Rugby ConfEx.

London, UK. 13th November 2016. Alhambra Nievas (Spain) and Rasta Rasivhenge (South Africa) awarded World Rugby Referee of the Year at the World Rugby Awards held at The Hilton London Metropole to honour the world’s greatest players, coaches and legends of the game. © Elsie Kibue

London, UK. 14th November 2016. Eoin McHugh moderates (l-r) Katie Sadleir (General Manager Women's Rugby, World Rugby), Fiona Coghlan (former Ireland women's captain) and Bill Pulver (CEO Australia Rugby) during the discussion panel for 'Growth of women's rugby' at the World Rugby Conference and Exhibition held at The Hilton London Metropole. © Elsie Kibue — London, UK. 14th November 2016. Eoin McHugh moderates (l-r) Katie Sadleir (General Manager Women’s Rugby, World Rugby), Fiona Coghlan (former Ireland women’s captain) and Bill Pulver (CEO Australia Rugby) during the discussion panel for ‘Growth of women’s rugby’ at the World Rugby Conference and Exhibition held at The Hilton London Metropole. © Elsie Kibue

I took the opportunity at the WR Awards to continue on with my Instax project. This time shot using the Fujifilm Instax Mini 70 that I bought so I could gift the Mini 8 to my son.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMySgD9A-Dy/?taken-by=ek13_photos

December 2016

Not much happened in December as this was and still is my current mood…(throwing in parenting into the mix).

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNK2nCnggAQ/?taken-by=ek13_photos

I decided to ‘chill out’ and plan for the new year. So I will end this review with the gem I created with my heartbeats. After all, I do consider myself a mumtog (a mother and photographer).

2016 has certainly been interesting, but I am really looking forward to what 2017 has in store.

What would they like to see more of in 2017? Please let me know by leaving a comment below.

Thank you for reading this to the end and I wish you all the best in the year to come.

Have a Blessed and Happy New Year. 🎉🎆

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#Bringon2017

Wk2: My Favourite Highlights of the Rugby World Cup 2015

By: EK13 September 29, 2015September 28, 2015

Rugby World Cup, Sportsnamibia, New Zealand, newham, olympic park, Pool C, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, rugby, Rugby World Cup 2015, RWC 2015, Sports, stratford, The Stadium, Webb Ellis Cup, World in UnionLeave a Comment

Well well well…this was the week I was waiting for.

After all, I had tickets to the New Zealand v Namibia match at The Olympic Stadium and I wasn’t going to miss it. This is one occasion I was close to tears for sports sake. My childminder cancelled on me at the last minute and I had two tickets so that I could enjoy the experience with hubby dearest. It wasn’t to be the case.

As I am the rugby fanatic in our house (kids following suit), there was no way I was losing out on watching at least one rugby match with the World Cup literally at our doorstep.

So, I called a very close friend and we went to the game together. It was an experience I will never forget. For me, it was a bitter sweet match, because if Kenya beat Zimbabwe at the qualifiers, then I would have been there supporting two teams – defending champions All Blacks and my home team Kenya, but it wasn’t to be.

Last time I was at the Olympic Stadium I was actually on the field of play 3 years ago opening and closing the olympic games. So it was nice to be back. It certainly looked different. To be honest, I can now see why West Ham want to move here.

This was my first ever international rugby match and I didn’t know what to expect. The atmosphere was certain one I have never experienced and I can say that I have ticked this off my bucket list – watch New Zealand play live. Well the rest is history. New Zealand definitely won and I can now enjoy the rest of the world cup at the comfort of my sofa, but if I was to get a ticket to the final, I wouldn’t refuse.

Ohh…I had to sneak one or two pics with the Kenyan flag.

That random Kenyan rugby fan at the RWC 2015.

Anyway, this week saw 11 matches being played and here are the results.

I have to admit, I hardly watched all the matches this week as I was busy doing stuff, but I managed to catch a few either on the first or second half and of course going to watch the All Blacks live. The one that was interesting and still being talked about, is the England v Wales match. I think Wales has got to be the unluckiest and luckiest team this week. They have had the most injuries and yet, they still managed to come up tops and ruin England’s day with this awesome kick by MotM Dan Biggar:

And, there was a player from Romania proposed to his girlfriend at Wembley Stadium after their match against Ireland :

So my teams for this week are Wales and Ireland, with New Zealand still up there as tournament favourites. Again, let’s see if this will change next week.

Videos: World Rugby’s Youtube Channel

Images: Own pictures and screen grabs via the RWC2015 Mobile App

Kenya Sevens Team in London

By: EK13 May 12, 2013May 12, 2013

Rugby, Sports7s, Fiji, irb sevens, IRB Sevens 2013, irb sevens london, Kenya Rugby, rugby 7s, rugby sevens, sevens, Sports, Twickenham, Twickenham StadiumLeave a Comment

Kenya 7s Team — Kenya 7s team after beating Fiji in the 2013 HSBC Sevens Series at Twickenham

Rugby: Marriott London 7s Launch

Event: HSBC World Series – London 7s Launch
Venue: Barn Elms in Barnes, London.
Date: 08th May 2013

Captains take part in a HSBC Sevens Series official Marriott London 7s launch photo-call at Barn Elms in Barnes, before the tournament starts on 11th and 12th May 2013. The series is a globally recognised event featuring 12 international teams in the London leg of the series.

Gallery Access