Labour leader Ed Miliband addressed crowds in Hyde Park and the main march organised by the Trades Union Congress passed off peacefully.

But small groups attacked shops and banks with a stand-off in Piccadilly. There have been 214 arrests and 66 people injured, including 13 police.

Ministers say the cuts are necessary to get the public finances in order.

In the largest public protest since the Iraq war rally in 2003, marchers from across the UK set off from Victoria Embankment to Hyde Park, where TUC general secretary Brendan Barber was first in a line of speakers.

“We are here to send a message to the government that we are strong and united,” he said.

“We will fight the savage cuts and we will not let them destroy peoples’ services, jobs and lives.”

In the last two years, increasing numbers of my web design clients have been photographers and most of those wanted me to integrate their blog and Photoshelter archive.

Over time, I have been won over by the power and flexibility of Photoshelter. Based on what I was able to achieve for my clients, I found myself continually recommending something I didn’t even have! Meanwhile, my old photography site was gathering dust as every time I wanted to add new pictures, it felt like a small web design project; it was just too much effort. I finally bit the bullet late 2010 and got myself a photoshelter account, made a new website and did what I have done for many of my customers – integrate them seamlessly.

Whilst developing my website, I was talking to Photoshelter about the possibility of becoming a consultant and now in early 2011, both of these labours have borne fruit, as I now blog about becoming a Photoshelter Consultant on my new website!

So what does this mean?

I am now one of only 3 Full Consultants accredited by Photoshelter and the only based one in Europe. So as well as being able to advise on all regular web design issues, I can also handle any part of the Photoshelter workflow that your too busy taking pictures to do yourself.

If your interested in hiring me, you can also read more on my web design site, which specialises in web design for photographers and photoshelter integrations or simply contact me here and ask any questions you may have.

The moment I left Leicester Square tube, it was clear I had underestimated the size of celebrations which took place in Trafalgar Square, Shaftesbury Avenue and pretty much everywhere in-between. Roads were closed to cars and instead filled with crowds carrying balloons and rabbit toys.

I left Trafalgar Square and headed back towards the traditional heart of Chinatown – in the distance I heard the beating of drums and quickened my pace. I had anticipated what would be the highlight of  my day and surely everyone elses, the Lion dance. This is a traditional dance where the lion visits the houses and shops in the community one by one and in doing so, brings good luck.

The Lion wends its way across the packed Wardour Street to visit more shop keepers…

Finally I tracked down the source of the drumming, now taking a well earned rest…

Well that was the end of my Chinese New Year Celebrations. Hope you all have a happy, healthy and prosperous Year of the Rabbit, 2011.

Welcome to my brand spanking new website. I hope you like the design which features my photography (just moved into it’s new home at Photoshelter)  and a blog, which represent my first baby steps into the blogosphere.

Building a blog centric website and integrating with Photoshelter is an approach I’ve become familiar with as I am a web developer who specialises in web design for photographers. More and more of my clients have requested such sites and I have become sold on it as the best website a photographer can get right now.

As a developer, it allows me to use the right tool for the right job. Right now, that means using Photoshelter for all things photography and WordPress for the blogging side of things. Crucially, these  different tools work together as a cohesive website rather than the disjointed blog/website combinations of yesteryear.

So as well as showcasing my web design skills, this approach gives me greater opportunity to easily publish my photography and hopefully get me taking more pictures as a result. Enjoy!