Former Cleveland College of Art & Design student Lucinda Grange in her studio
AN extreme photographer has been making extreme friends – among the world’s most notorious football fans.
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ORMER Cleveland College of Art and Design photography degree student Lucinda Grange found herself in the middle of Brazilian fans who had been banned from their ground for firing rockets at their own players. “The Cruzeiro of Belo Horizonte fans were so friendly – once we got someone to explain what we were doing,” said Lucinda, of Hartlepool, who has a studio in Church Street. “One woman thought we were paparazzi and covered her face because she worked as a babysitter for a footballer, but when we explained, she was fine.”
“What we do is so extreme and you have to have complete trust in each other, which makes friendships very strong. You have to trust them and you share extreme experiences, which makes for strong bonds.” Lucinda Grange The Brazilian assignment was the latest in a career
that sees Lucinda scaling the heights and plumbing the depths in a bid to take extreme photographs. She joined celebrated Cumbrian football photographer Stuart Roy Clark as they continued to chronicle the world’s football fans for a book. “It’s amazing that the further you travel from England the friendlier and helpful are the fans,” said Lucy, who has also worked in strife-torn Mali, had her pictures featured in a Budweiser advert and her amazing story told in American GQ after they heard she had climbed the Shard in London. The 24-year-old has come a long way since she secured an Ogden’s Trust scholarship to study physics at Durham High School for Girls.
Former Cleveland College of Art & Design student Lucinda Grange
Lucinda Grange on location
“The great thing about physics is that it helped me learn about light,” she said. “I love maths too; the fact you are either right or wrong and yet I ended up going into a career which is exactly the opposite.” Other climbs in her extreme collection include the Manhattan Bridge, Tour D’Afrique in Mali, and a suspension bridge connecting Florianopolise to mainland Brazil. When she is not up high she can be found down low including the Paris Catacombs or the sewers of Antwerp as part of an extreme underground movement. “You tend to meet the same people you have previously climbed with in other parts of the world and I have made loads of friends,” she said.
Other climbs in her extreme collection include the Manhattan Bridge, Tour D’Afrique in Mali, and a suspension bridge connecting Florianopolise to mainland Brazil. For more information on CCAD courses contact (01642) 288888 or visit www.ccad.ac.uk
“What we do is so extreme and you have to have complete trust in each other, which makes friendships very strong. You have to trust them and you share extreme experiences, which makes for
View from the Manhattan bridge by Lucinda Grange
strong bonds.” Her talents earned her the Canon and Times Young Photographer of the Year award with her portrait of globetrotter Mike Perham, winning her a camera for her troubles. The timing couldn’t have been better as while in Spain, recceing the King’s Walkway, she fell prey to the country’s thieves who stole all her possessions, including her treasured Nikon D300. Closer to home she is working on a commission from Hartlepool Council to capture elite sportsmen and also seeking sponsorship. But her curiosity and passion for extreme experiences could see her turn up anywhere in the world, anyplace there is something extreme to photograph.
Visualsoft design manager Adrian Foster, centre, with CCAD students Jamie Simpson, of Middlesbrough, and Robyn Wright, of Darlington
THE writing is on the wall for a group of talented students who have successfully completed their first professional brief for one of the country’s most dynamic companies.
“The results have far surpassed our expectations.” Visualsoft design manager Adrian Foster
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A graphic communication students from Cleveland College of Art and Design were set the challenge of coming up with artwork for the walls of a rapidly expanding internet business Visualsoft. The company has just moved to new premises in Stockton and needing artwork for its walls laid down the gauntlet to students at the leading arts college. Hartlepool-based students spent weeks working on their designs, with the best of four of 21 being chosen to adorn the walls of the Visualsoft headquarters in Stockton. Winners were Lindsey Hill, 20, of Ingleby Barwick, Owen Smith, 21, of Hartlepool, Jamie Simpson, 20, of Middlesbrough, and Robyn Wright, 19, of Darlington. Visualsoft specialises in the design, development and marketing of eCommerce websites and has over 500 clients from around the UK. The growth of internet shopping has seen the business grow quickly and it now also has offices in Newcastle and London and employs 120 staff. Design manager Adrian Foster said: “We have a number of staff who trained at CCAD and we like to do anything we can to help nurture talent. “We are so busy that we didn’t have any spare time to come up with ideas for the walls and thought it would make a good live brief for the students. “The results have far surpassed our expectations. We were really pleased with the work and could not have been happier with the results.” Lindsay used a montage of iconic Teesside images in her work, which was limited to the corporate
Owen Smith, of Hartlepool, works on his design
colours of the firm, white, red and black. “This was an important lesson for me because I love colour but was limited to just three,” she said. “It made me realise that you have to work within the restrictions of the brief and can not have a free hand to do what you think is best.” Jamie added: “I really enjoyed the challenge. Originally I had studied mechanical engineering until I realised that life is about finding a job you are going to be happy doing until you retire. I love the idea of people looking at my work on the wall.”
Cleveland College of Art & Design creative film and TV production student Scott Thompson, 24, of Hartlepool, who picked up the Red Dreams video editor of the year award
A BUDDING cameraman has got the x-factor after picking up an award for his work filming the hit ITV show’s winner James Arthur.
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LEVELAND College of Art & Design creative film and moving image production student Scott Thompson was presented with the video editor of the year accolade at the Red Dreams talent awards after producing a film of one of the region’s most prolific music festivals featuring the X Factor winner’s band. Scott, 24, of Hartlepool, said: “Being quite a shy person I felt a mixture of emotions when I was nominated for the Red Dreams award, but I was extremely proud that people felt my work was worthy of recognition.
“It was great getting up really close to all the performers and I even had girls screaming at me and trying to pull me into the crowd.” Scott Thompson “I was a bit panicky on the night, waiting for my category to come up, but when my name was called out it felt just like being at the Oscars.” Scott was among six student camera operatives from Cleveland College of Art & Design who were chosen to film ‘Pitch Invasion’, a music festival at
Hartlepool United’s Victoria Park ground, organised by the charity Red Dreams. The organisation supports young people between the ages of 11 and 19, offering mentoring and coaching for bands, singers, songwriters, actors, musicians, artists, writers, film makers, and editors. “There were about 6,000 people at the festival who had come to see more than 60 acts perform over the two days,” said Scott. “Our job was to film all the acts across two stages including my brother’s band Hostage Rescue Team. “It was great getting up really close to all the performers and I even had girls screaming at me and trying to pull me into the crowd.” Below: The James Arthur Band at Pitch Invasion
After filming the event Scott asked Red Dreams if there were any further opportunities for work experience and was offered the chance to edit the final video.
“I always thought that I wanted to be a screen writer but this course has been so good that I’ve now found that I’m quite good with all of the technical aspects of film making that I was hoping to avoid.” “I’d never edited a music video before and at first it was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done,” said Scott. “But after a while I found that I was getting quite good at matching the visuals to the music and started to enjoy it. “It wasn’t until after I’d finished the editing and I was watching the X Factor that I realised James Arthur was one of the performers who I’d filmed on the day which was quite surreal.” Scott, who is studying creative film and moving image production, also writes his own scripts. “Coming to CCAD has
left me with a bit of a problem, albeit a good one,” added Scott. “I always thought that I wanted to be a screen writer but this course has been so good that I’ve now found that I’m quite good with all of the technical aspects of film making that I was hoping to avoid. “CCAD has opened up a whole new array of career choices for me, which I never thought I’d have and winning this award is hopefully just the start of my dreams of having a film premiere at Cannes.”
CCAD programme leader Di Fletcher said: “We are thrilled with our continued relationship with Red Dreams and the opportunity this has provided our students. “Scott is a very tenacious student who has done a fantastic job for the client. “He has come on leaps and bounds with his work since winning the award and his confidence has really grown.” For more information on CCAD courses contact (01642) 288888.