Luca Sage

Some of you may know a few months ago I was having zip problems, major ones, with two of my old bags from another leading brand that will remain namelowe. 

Well I'm very pleased to say that you can all stop worrying now because I have switched to ThinkTank Photo bags and I am over the moon with their build quality. I'm not trying to be funny when I say that I've literally been purring over my new Acceleration V2.0, it's a beauty! I picked it up just before Christmas and excitedly filled it with all my camera goodies like it was a gift from Santa.

It's a strong sturdy bag, exactly what I demand from a bag that's going to carry all my precious (and often expensive) gear. It even came with a brilliant laptop case which fits perfectly into the Acceleration V2.0 and is lockable for that extra bit of security. Having a £2000 laptop in any public space is always a worry but especially when all your concentration is busy looking through the viewfinder and not at who might be eyeing up you equipment.

Right, I need to go watch the football but I'll be posting up a little film of my new Think Tank beauty real soon, hopefully from somewhere in Africa.

'Ivory Coast United' has been selected to be part of Daniel Cooney’s 2012 Emerging Artists Auction. Daniel runs the Daniel Cooney Fine Art gallery in New York that specializes in contemporary photography.

The online auction runs from January 16th until February 2nd, click here to have a look at the whole set of brilliant work included.

Just a quick post to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year. All in all, 2011 has been a very good year for me, hopefully for you too and here's to an even better 2012!

I'm delighted that 'Jamestown #3' has been selected for ONWARD '12, judged by Todd Hido. The show be initially shown in Philadelphia and will then travel from America to be shown at the Ring Cube gallery in Japan in the summer of 2012.

"Somehow Todd Hido managed to narrow the astounding 2434 submitted photographs from a total of 25 countries down to just 57 photographs from 50 photographers."

I recently shot a CD cover in Naples for the very talented people at Draft Audio. Naples was full of great pizza and imbibing, as Peter Dench would say. I can't show the finished articles yet but I can share a few snapshots of my Italian journey.

I have just returned from a weeks commission for Brussels Airlines in Abidjan. Peace has returned to Cote d'Ivoire and it was great to see! I also shot some work for the BBC and ARISE magazine, to be published in 2012. 

I just came across this negative that hasn't really seen the light of day. Well, it has, when I shot it, but you hopefully know what I mean. It's been tucked away in my studio storeroom, one of those images that didn't make the cut the first time round but on second viewing it deserves a chance.

Malawi is a great country with fantastic people. Though economically it has one of the lowest GDP's in the World, it might well lay stake to having the highest Gross National Happiness (GNH). Malawi doesn't manufacture very much but one of the items that it does actually produce itself is the infamous 'Chibuku Shake Shake'. It's an opaque kind of beer, quite mild and very drinkable. A mix of Sorghum and Maize, Chibuku has to be shaken before you open the carton to mix up the 'sludge'. It really is a good taste but then again I don't really drink beer, more of a Gin man myself, so you better not trust my judgement on the fineries of beer. The carton's used to have a great design on them, like the cardboard milk cartons from the 80's but now unfortunately they have changed to plastic bottles. Not great for the environment, nor for the eye. 

Chibuku Bar, Malwai, 2006

This image was taken the morning after Arsenal had beaten Villarreal to go through to the Champions League Final in 2006. I'd gone to another town to watch the match and almost died on the way back when my seat less minibus careered off the dirt road and down a ditch. Amazingly for me and everybody else involved the driver managed to steer it back onto the road. Apart from a few cuts and bruises we were all okay. Luckily the woman who was travelling with a 50litre container of petrol decided to get off the bus after this, made me feel a little safer, not much but a little. I digress, on my return to the village I noticed this bar with beautiful morning light coming through the entrance. Simple places, full of Chibuku laughter and the odd scuffle here and there, but generally good humoured with a great vibe. If you ever travel to Malawi, be sure to sample some of the 'Shake Shake' goodness.

Just came across this picture from the AOP Private View 2011. You might recognise Laura Pannack and Stuart Harper, not quite sure why I'm holding both beer and wine though. It was a great night, even caught up with a few old friends from Uni who announced that they are expecting a baby. Congratulations to Mikael and Bridget, a lovely couple if ever I saw one. 

 The Crane Kalman Gallery is now featuring a selection of work from the Foto8 Summershow 2011, 'Ivory Coast United' is part of the print selection available. Happy to say that some fellow photographers and friends of mine are also featured, Nick Ballon and Stuart Harper.