I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve been absolutely useless updating my blog. As you can probably tell from my portfolio, I’ve been very busy with the camera, and to be fair, this is what has taken up most of my time, which I suppose is a good thing! Owing to the timing of this post, you will also probably gather that one of my New Year’s resolutions is to be more active on the blog, so here I am! (And unlike the vast majority of my resolutions this one I intend to keep!).

Right, back to this week’s image! I’m a big fan of architecture, whether it be modern or old, so I was very pleased to have the opportunity to shoot around Manchester (NW England) during the Christmas break.

Being a ‘Northerner’ I have always been fond of Manchester, and rate it as one of my favourite cities. The city has a very rich history, being built largely on the back of the 18^th Century Cotton Industry. The North West of England benefitted from a number of characteristics that made it ideal for the cotton industry, namely the wet and damp climate, abundance of fast flowing Pennine streams, locally available coal, and the proximity of various ports for exporting the processed cotton.

As a direct result of the cotton industry major towns and cities in the North West were able to flourish, and became very wealthy. Sadly, and as is often the case, circumstances changed and cotton production eventually went overseas to a detriment to the local economy. Despite this protracted and painful economic decline, throughout these northern towns, past wealth is still evident, especially in the local buildings.

The photo below is of the ‘The Printworks’ which was originally constructed in 1873, and whilst not directly related to the Cotton Industry, I suspect its construction was largely funded on the back of the city’s new found wealth, and is a fantastic example of the decorative, and ornate building style typical of the period. As you can probably gather from the name, the building started out as a printing office for the Daily Dispatch newspaper. The building was used for the printing of various newspapers, until it was finally closed in 1988.

The building remained vacant for a number of years, before being redeveloped as a leisure venue in 1996, following the Manchester bombing. For those of you who are interested there is a great little website documenting the history of the site HERE.

With respect this shot, it was an absolute pain to capture, as it was absolutely chucking it down, which meant having to try and shield the camera with my brolly, which is never easy. Also, to further complicate matters the only way I could capture the full building was by dashing into the road when the traffic lights were red. Never easy!

I deliberately processed the shot to have a slight grungy look to it, in an effort to capture the mood of the day which was wet and horrible, as is often the case up north!

Anyway, as ever, if anyone has any questions on the photo, or the post processing then be sure to leave a comments and I’ll see what I can do to help!

 Until next time!

So, this is my first post since moving to Bristol. The transition went very well and I am now 99% unpacked. I say only 99% as i constantly seem to find things in boxes which need unpacking, so I don’t believe the job will ever be finished. I’m also currently without a sofa which is a bit of a pain, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers.

I have managed to get out with the camera and went shooting a few citycsapes at the weekend for a big composite I’m working on (which includes a robot!). I’ve also been busy hitting the streets working on my ‘Stranger Awareness’ project, the results of which can be viewed HERE.

The purpose of this project is to simply capture people going about the daily lives and and to create something visually pleasing from these moments. Unlike some of my work these shots are subject to only minimal post processing in order to maintain a RAW feeling to the scene (the majority of these shots are taken from the street).

Here is  the latest addition to my project, stranger number 18 who I christened ‘Tiny’ on account of the guys height – he was really tall! 

I’m hitting the streets again this coming Saturday so expect to see more Stranger Awareness images soon!

Here I am again with my forst post of 2011. Despite my pledge at the back end of 201o to try and post more often, my efforts have already gone awry, with this post being way too late. Oh well!

It’s quite an exciting time for me at the moment because as of tomorrow I will be a citizen of Bristol, UK. Whilst I’m only moving 40 minutes down the road, it’s going to be a massive change, and for the first time I’ll be a residing in a ‘proper’ city. And I can’t wait. Aside from the obvious benefits of  access to all the wonders and delights of a city, what really excites me is the potential to improve my photography.

The city is just an organic amalgamation of steel, concrete and glass, bound together by the people. It really is a photographers paradise and I can’t wait to throw myself in at the deep end. The results of some of my early forays into city photography can be seen on my Stranger Awareness Project and I’m so looking forward to adding to this collection. I’m also looking forward to meeting like minded artists as Bristol has a real bohemian character so I’m absolutely convinced that my photography will benefit

Anyway, enough of that, lets get down and dirty with a new photo.  Whilst not having time to post as regularly as I like is a bit of a downer, one of the plus sides is that I’m now spoilt for choice in terms of which photos to share with you. It was quite hard choosing selecting this months post, but I’m so excited about this image I couldn’t wait any longer!

One of the great things I’ve really started to appreciate in Photography is the ability to make the tiniest seed of an idea and seeing it evolve and develop into a picture before your eyes. When you can make it look just as you imagine it is the best feeling ever!

Right less talk more picture:

(Incidentally please don’t ask me where i get my ideas from, I truly don’t know)!

This shot had a nice simple lighting setup, being lit with a single strobe high camera right which was fired through a softbox. For fill I used a reflector which is just out of shot camera left.

The RAW was edited in ACR6 before being seriously worked on in CS5.

As ever if anyone has any specific questions on the image then please ask, I always try and help!

Until next time, happy snapping

I’m back again with another  cool photo for you!  I’ve basically had the idea for this shot pinging around inside my head for absolutely bloody ages, so I was really pleased to get a chance to shoot it! It was also great getting to work with a new model, and also inside my new studio!

Well, I say studio, it is actually a big brick basement underneath a double glazing shop here in Tewkesbury, however it’s a massive well ventilated space with stacks of room for all my lighting gear. I really am chuffed to bits! The only downside is that it has no windows, but for when I need a dark and sinister space for a shoot it’s perfect!

Ironically enough, whilst the basement is a great place for shooting, you can’t actually see any of it in this shot. For all those lighting afficonados, this is because I had a hair light right behind the models head to create a few specular highlights around the side of her face. Therefore I had to mask out the light (which would have been way too distracting), along with the rest of the basement wall and drop in a new background. Forunately I’m currently working on two other images taken that day, so I promise you’ll get to see some elements of my new studio!

Right, that’s it for now, I need to get a dew zzzz’s!

 Hope you’re all well! Right, I thought I’d get the ball rolling this week with a quick update as to what I’ve been up to recently! For a while now I’ve been trying to locate an appropriate studio space for my work, the catch being that it needed to be quite dark and grungy to reflect my work. A lot harder than you imagine!

 Anyway, I’ve managed to locate somewhere local and it’s literally a five minute walk from my house! The room in question is a massive window with a cracking brick roof which is higher enough for me to stand up in with at least 1m clearance (I’m 6’ 4”). So, over the weekend I had my first shoot using a couple of models sourced through Model Mayhem. I already had a good idea for the shoots and ended up getting a few really cool shots one of which will be the subject of next week’s post!

 I’m now in the process of organising a different shoot at the basement and this one I’m particularly looking forward for as it will be the first time I work with a Makeup  Artist, very very cool!

 Right, back to the now! Again I’ve noticed quite a few dark and broody portraits works recently creeping into the blog, so I thought it high time to liven things up with a nice landscape, yeah!

 The shot below was taken last year when I was on holiday in Greece. I have a very awkward approach to my landscape images, as I have a tendency to pre-conceive what the final image should like. So, if I turn up for a sunrise and it’s not quite right, and then I’ll be back again the next morning, and then the next until things are just rights.

 This approach is great as when you hit the jackpot, as you end up with a great image, albeit as a result of lots of extended effort. I do periodically review all my RAW images and more often than not I find an image which had been discarded for failing to meet my expectations, only to then rediscover it’s potential.

 This specific photo is one that was ‘re-discovered!’

Right, that’s it for this week, until next time

Well, I’m back and here is my new website which I absolutely love!

Sorting out the website took a lot longer than than I originally envisaged, especially getting the styling and look of the site right but I think I’ve cracked it!

Whilst physically building a website may be fairly straight forward, getting the look and feel of the site right, so that it sings in harmony with your work is a lot harder! Anyway, as I’m sure you’re sensing, i’m absolutely chuffed to bits with my new website and i think it’s just right for my style.

Right, back to the good stuff, photography! Whilst sorting out the website I’ve been mega busy snapping away and have got loads of great shots to share with you, starting with these below which were a recent commission by the indie group Kafka.

My commission was to produce a series of  promotional shots along with album art, and with only a minimal brief i had green light to get creative!

The first series of shots were taken at Gorthorpe Hall, north of Manchester. The hall was a great place to shoot, with extensive grounds, so there was plenty to work with. The only downside were a group of chavy little kids who were intent on hurling abuse. Oh well!

The three below are my favourites from the day, and as you can probablly tell from the last shot, I couldn’t resist having a play:

Wayne the lead singer also wanted to have a close up head shot taken, so i obliged coming up with this little number. Whilst I probably ended up with about thirty processed shots at the end of the commission the headshot below took longer to process than the rest of them put together.

It took days to get the image looking like this:

With regard the actual album art, my brief was to simply incorporate a snowglobe!  Hhmmm, this lead to some collective thinking and it wasn’t too long before i came up with the idea of a grungy hand holding the globe for the front cover as I thought it would create a nice juxtaposition between the childs globe and the dirty hand.

Right, that’s it for this week, as much as I’d like to stay and chat I can’t as I’ve got loads of photos to process so until next week!

Wow, it feels as though I’ve been away for ages! I’ve basically been working flat out trying to get my website sorted, and unfortunately it’s proving really difficult and is taking up way too much of my time! The main template for the site is finished now, and I’m basically sorting out the final stylising. I know that a lot of effort has gone into the site, so I’m sure that when it is finally fiinished it will be well worth the wait!

Rest assured, amidst all the website shenanigans, I’ve still been mega busy with the camera and have a load of cool images to share with you, starting with this one, which is the first of two images (the second is in my long list of shots still waiting to be processed):

A nice big version can be viewed HERE

Right,  to be absolutely clear, this shot was a freaking nightmare to pull off! The shoot took place in yet another basement, so cue dark, dusty and cramped conditions, not the ideal situation for undertaking quite a complex lighting setup.

The objective of the shoot was to recreate a horror movie scene and so we came up with this idea: basically the image would take the viewer into the lair of the ‘psycho’ whilst also showing him at ‘work’! The main focal point of the image was to be the workbench and associated paraphanalia, with the actual Psycho taking a more background role, thus the reflection in the mirror.

The main problem that i had was angling the various flash to illuminate the subjects and also the work bench, without having any light reflecting in the mirror. This obviously meant no lights facing in the direction of the camera, so everything had to be angled backwards to avoid any light spill.

Here is a lighting diagram to give you some idea:

Also, having to direct and shoot part of the image backwards through the mirror also added to the headache! Anyway, all the effort was well worth it and i’m really pleased with the finished image!

Right, that’s it for this weeks post, and I really, really hope that when I make my next post I’ll also be able to share with you the new website, whoop whoop!

Hells teeth, it seems ages since I have posted on the blog! The delay’s aren’t without good reason, as I’ve been busy with my first exhibition in Cheltenham which has just come to an end (had excellent feedback) and I’ve also been working on a new website. The latter has been a particular tortuous process as I’m very picky and the websites I’ve had created to date just haven’t cut it. As a result I have had to re-commission the project so I’m hoping for the site to be up and running within a couple of months – hopefully sooner!

Despite this hectic schedule, you’ll all be pleased to hear that I have been active with the camera, and have a collection of brand new images to share with you over the coming weeks and starting today!

Those of you who are familiar with my ramblings will note that since spending more time focusing on portraits, I have encountered the major problem of model shortage! Well, I seem to have found a temporary end to this drought, with the oasis that is Model Mayhem.

For those of you not familiar with ‘MM’, it’s basically an online community where models, photographers, makeup artists etc, can get together and do things creative! It really is a great resource and serves extremely well in bringing creative individuals together. The other great thing about MM is that most of the members I have encountered to date are happy to work on a Time for Prints/CD basis which really save on the financial front!

If you are interested in joining as a photographer, then it is worth noting that registration is by invite only, and subject to your photos being considered an appropriate standard. I don’t personally mind this as it does ensure a high quality of membership.

Anyway, back to today’s photo. The shot below is of a model I met via MM and who lives locally to me. Lee sure does love his horror movies and wanted to do a ‘darker’ shoot, which suited the mood I was in so I was happy to oblige!

The idea was mine, and the basement location Lee’s (I did have a friend with me on the day of the shoot, and Lee likewise. I think shooting with a chaperone is a must on shoot’s like this, in terms of safety and creating a more relaxed vibe). The basement did create  a few problems as the celing height was about 6ft, and I’m 6′ 4″ so by the end of the shoot my back was killing me! Also, just to complicate things one of my strobes failed, not good in a dark basement!

Despite the above issues, the shoot went exceptionally well, and we managed another series of shots, this time creating a scene Lee had thought up (the results will be posted in due course).

The above shot was lit by a single strobe fored through a softbox camera right. It had been my intention to have a strobe fire on low power behind the model as rim light but this failed!

As you can probably tell, the shot was processed in CS4…with lots of layers!

Until next time!

I hope this post finds you all fine and dandy! Well, I’ve been at this blog lark for a couple of years and it’s been intreresting watching how different photographic styles have been doing the rounds. One particular photographer who has a particular style that has garnered particular interest on ta multitude of  forums is Dave Hill.

Dave has a great illustrated look to his work, and zillions of people havebeen trying to figure out how he does it. Whilst Dave Hill can’t be credited for the look, he is certainly the person who is associated with it. To this extent it should come as no surprise that at the end of last year, Dave Hill updated his portfolio. Whilst his old high contrasty images are still there, it is refreshing to see that he appears to have refined his style, with his new work having a cinematic feel to it. A look which i personally prefer over his older stuff.

As with his old work, the look is down to careful use of off camera flash (although I suspect he uses less flash on his new work), followed by plenty of photoshop!

Anyway, as I’m in the process of compiling my first formal portfolio, I noticed that a lot of my images were pretty dark and sinister, so i thought i would add more colour and beauty to my portraits, and as i love the feel of Dave’s new work I thought I would use that as the basis for my new style.

Here is the first image to drop off the production line:

Must be viewed BIG here

It was a really hectic shoot as the weather was absolutely atrocious, however we had just enough respite from the elements for me to grab a series of shots!

The subject was lit with just one large softbox camera right and backlit with the sun. The nicely lit subject then formed the basis for extensive work in Photoshop to get that cinematic feel.

Anyway,  I really love this style, so much in fact that I’ve got another shoot planned for this week which I intend to post process in a very similar vain.

Right, that’s it from me.

Until next time!