NEIL MASSEY PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG

BMX, Goths, Gaye Bykers On Acid and Reading Rock Festival 1989

We knew Nick from the local alternative music scene. Nick was still young but got himself a caravan and set up with a community of New Age Travellers on the outskirts of Fleet in the surrounding countryside.

Berkshire College of Art campus was on the back lot of Reading Tech College. My sister's old mini was long gone, I was now driving a red Renault 5. It was a 30 minute ride to Reading. I was made up, I had my own wheels and I was studying photography. The BTEC National Diploma in Photography was a practical course. Over the next two years I learned how to work in the photography studio - how to use studio lighting, medium and large format 5x4 cameras. Initially we (photography students) would photograph each other.

I didn’t have much kit - just a camera, film and lots of curiosity about the world around me. I was always asking my friends if It was ok to make a portrait, or if I could bring my camera along to a gig. Me and my friends were fresh out of school, we were going to 6th form college, we felt all grown up. We had survived school and were now discovering these newfound freedoms and meeting like minded souls.