Bak To Skool

One of the things I really love about photography is that there is always something new to learn and even though I feel I have come quite a long way in the last few years I’m very aware that there is still a long way to go.  With that in mind I signed up for a workshop with Leeds based commercial photographer Jay Mawson held at Banana Studio in Newcastle. I had been an admirer of his work for quite a while now and was really looking forward to the experience.  It turned out to be a really interesting day during which Jay shared his philosophy on lighting techniques and getting the best from the people you are shooting.  Perhaps the most refreshing aspect were the stripped back set ups, utilising single strobe and reflector, natural light and on camera flash, allowing the photographer to concentrate wholly on the image and the models expression / pose.  During a series of demonstrations and discussions Jay outlined his workflow, supplemented with the odd pearl of wisdom from Steve Robertson, this was  followed up with ample opportunity to put this into practice with the five models on call using different sets around the studio.  It was also good sharing your thoughts and ideas with the other photographers on the course who were great company throughout the day.  At the end I came away feeling really enthused about the whole thing and with lots of food for thought.  Big thank you to Jay and Steve for a stimulating day, Eric and all his staff at the studio who rolled out the red carpet as usual, models Kirsty, Louise, Shonagh, Abbey and Sarah and last but not least to the other photographers who took part on the day.

 

Sunshine On A Rainy Day (Well A Little!!)

This week I took delivery of a new piece of kit that I had been scouting around for for quite some time, a Bowen’s Gemini strobe together with a Travelpak.  I’d been keeping an eye on several of these over the past few months but they always seemed to attract a high price on EBay.  They say patience is a virtue and it certainly was in this case as I managed to pick up a set in great condition for a really good price so I was a very happy chappy 🙂 .  As a guy with a new toy I was dying to try them out and was lucky enough to have a shoot with Eve set up for the following weekend.  I have worked with Eve several times now (link to last shoot) and I’m always delighted with the images we produce and this time proved to be no exception.  We headed for the coast on what proved to be a rather dull and overcast day and quickly abandoned the bikini shots we had in mind (this is the NE coast of England!!) and Plan B was to shoot something a little more commercial / fashion style.  During the course of the morning we shot at 3 different locations, interspersed with get warm and bacon sandwich stops.  There was a bit of a breeze blowing in from the sea so I was extra careful to make sure that the light stand was well weighted down with some strategically placed rocks to prevent the whole thing blowing over.  With a 1m 10cm Brollybox attached I was able to shoot at about f5.6 to f8 with the 400W strobe on about 3/4 power.  Recycling time was pretty good at about 2 seconds and the power meter had hardly moved after shooting a couple of hundred shots, so all round I was really happy with the way it performed and the quality of light it produced.  As always Eve was an absolute pleasure to work with, great fun but also totally professional.  I really like the feel of these images and look forward to using the kit again on future projects I have planned for the summer, considering adding a second strobe too for some ideas I have.

Tripping The Light Fantastic

Sometimes in life things just seem to fall into place and just work, Tuesday this week was a prime example of this for me.  Siobhan (better known as Bob or Roberto!!) had been trying to organise a shoot with me for some time but as we wanted to do something location based we really wanted the weather to be right so we had several abortive attempts to make it happen.  The weather was so good this week that we just decided to go for it and despite a few spots of rain on the drive up to Tynemouth it turned out to be a gorgeous evening and the light was just fantastic.  Bob is such a creative soul,  she had a range of outfits prepared and a set of inspirational images to work from, so that despite the short notice we were pretty well prepared for what we wanted to achieve.  We did a recce up and down the beach at Tynemouth and planned a few different areas where we wanted to shoot, after that it was pretty full on making the most of the location, light and Roberto’s extensive wardrobe!!  We worked our way along the beach, climbed like mountain goats along the cliffs and used the old outdoor swimming pool that had some great backdrops.  Three hours later we were finished with a real sense of satisfaction of a job well done.  The only let down was  being kept going “please just one more set!!” by the promise of the best fish and chips in the area which were conveniently forgotten when we had finished 😛  To be fair her boyfriend did come to the rescue with a tasty burger which really hit the spot.  Lots of good images still to come from this shoot, please come back to this post as there will be further additions to the gallery.

Boho Calendar Shoot

I recently had the pleasure of shooting an image for the Boho Model Agency Calendar.  A total of 12 photographers and 12 models were there for the day in what turned out to be a very positive experience, there was a great sense of support and collaboration from all involved.  It was also good to meet up with people whose work I had seen on line and finally be able to put a face to the moniker. The theme for the whole calendar was white, I was teamed up with model Jenny Clewlow for the shoot which was great as we had already worked together and had a good rapport going.  The shot involved several different elements which would hopefully come together to make the final image, a dynamic pose, strong backlighting, smoke, wind and metres of flowing material!!  As you can imaging this wasn’t a one take deal and it took us a while to get the shot we wanted, but looking back I’m really happy with the result.  Big thank you to all at Banana, the models and togs involved who all contributed to what proved to be an excellent day.

Eric Murphy Exhibition, Banana Studio, Newcastle

On Sunday I had a drive up to Newcastle to see the latest project of Banana Studio’s main man Eric Murphy.  Despite the weather there was a good turn out and it was good to catch up with a few familiar faces.  His latest project was a series of portraits of some “colourful” people from the area, shot in their natural habitat.  The results were an eye catching range of images that were full of interest and character, there was lots to admire in the creativity and  technical ability that had gone into the making of these images, the processing was really cool too.  If you want to see more of the images from the day click here.  All images copyright Eric Murphy.