Author Archives: Paul

Winter Fashion

Posted January 20, 2013 by Paul

The intention had been to shoot some Winter Fashions in January 2013. I had hoped to take advantage of the crisp winter mornings with perhaps a bit of mist gently rolling in the distance.

Unfortunately what we were presented with was mud, glorious mud, lots of it. Standing puddles and soggy leaves…not quite as envisaged but as professionals we worked round it….

Stacy is a very versatile local model with a good range of looks as well as being very professional and happy to take any challenge thrown at her.

Clothes Show Live 2012

Posted December 17, 2012 by Paul

This year was I think my 7th or 8th year of shooting the event and is pretty much one of the highlights of my catwalk show year. This year was somewhat different from previous years as I knew a lot of the models and dancers in the sequences. This whilst giving me an extra link to the show bought along it’s own problems. Not only was I shooting for my news agency and getting overall shots that they could sell for me but I also wanted to get images that the people in the show that I knew could use for there portfolio. If you saw the show you will realise how fast paced it is and how they take care to ensure that the action encompasses all of the stage. Quite often my subjects were on different sides and also shooting with two camera’s wide and telephoto led to a number of fast camera changes and awesome panning skills. Actually that part is a lie, I shot the show over about 15 performances to make sure I covered everything my client and I required.

I also managed to sneak a few words with some of the models between shows, and it was nice to receive thanks from them that I was capturing them in a way they could use. I think this connection came out in the images, of which I can only show a few as the rest have been released to clients.

Pin Up and Hot Rods

Posted November 3, 2012 by Paul

A number of things have all conspired, yes conspired – not inspired, me to attempt this shoot.
There has been lots of talk about how we should, as photographers or other creatives, adapt with the times and embrace new technologies. To an extent, I would agree, but we as a society risk loosing so much of our heritage in the blind pursuit of modernism. If we look around us at the the landscape and it’s architecture we see castle’s and manor houses that are hundreds of years old but are still functional and impressive. Admit it, all of us at one time have wanted to live in a castle! Compare this to the buildings of the last century, these were build to meet a need, often quickly built and embracing new technologies (mmm concrete – so sexy…) Which one of these designs has lasted better I ask you?

Now look at our transport systems…which looks better steam or electric trains? Which would you rather travel on – now be realistic, if you are on a commute to work it is going to be the electric train. However this doesn’t mean we should discard the old technology but we accept that each has it place.
With shooting pictures there is a huge fight to have the latest, fastest, biggest mega-pixel camera we can, People sell kidneys and distant relatives to always keep up with the latest trend. We now have camera’s that can take pictures in almost pitch darkness and boast sensors of 18 or more mega pixels that can record a gazillion colours (shame our eyes cannot isn’t it?).

Look back through pictures that have defined history for us, they are shot on 35mm camera’s or the bulkier Medium Format or even Large Format field camera’s. Am I advocating that we all step back to this technology? Not at all, but we should perhaps look at the images we create. So we can now create an image the size of a small house with eye watering sharpness and a veritable rainbow of colours, the question is do we need to? Surely we need to consider the QUALITY of the image we create, not it’s technical quality but its aesthetic qualities, does it work as an image? will people see it and understand what you are trying to achieve?

So when I shoot the pin up shoot I will be using a vintage car, I may shoot some of it on film, I will shoot most of it using the Canon 5d2 as it allows me to instantly see what I am doing and also is more cost effective. I will be lighting it using modern flashes / strobes. Do I want a technically perfect image from it? Not really, I want the viewer to look at it and think nice car, gorgeous model – rather than them remarking on the wide gamut of images, the fact you can zoom in and see the eye lashes on my model……..it’s not about the finer details it is about the whole image. It is a reminder of the 1950’s as they never were…..yes I am creating a fantasy but I also want to create a reality that almost was…..

Behind the scenes of a Band Shoot

Posted November 3, 2012 by Paul

I was recently invited along to a band shoot for a local band called the Guttercats. They were having promotional pictures shot for an upcoming EP and had asked Andy McGeechan to shoot it for them. It has been a fair time since I shot any promotional material for bands, think the last time (excluding gigs) was for The Satin Dolls.
The shoot was organised at Fargo Village which is situated in Far Gosford Street Coventry, a world away from the image of a wild western town. Fargo Village is part of a large redevelopment and revitalising what was a run down area of Coventry. It has for years been an area that is home to students and migrant workers and has quite a transient diversity. The development differs from so many in the past in that it does not seek to eradicate what was there and start with a new look, rather it seeks to return the area to a glory it once new. Old buildings rather than being revamped are being sympathetically restored, hidden timbers are now on show and large airy windows replace the thick steel mesh that held out vandals. There is definitely a community feel returning to the area with a new found pride.

Medium Format

Posted September 23, 2012 by Paul

When I was younger and playing with different types of camera’s there was a huge range of formats to play with for the general user. We had the tiny pocket sized 110mm cameras, we had the 127 film sized which were almost camera sized and we had a huge range of 35mm cameras, from simple point and shoot to ones that were either fully automatic or fully manual.

I think the first camera that I ever owned was purchased on a family holiday to Butlins. It was a black plastic camera and the shutter was fired by a little metal lever at the front. There was no focus, no metering and it was all mechanical. It was back in the days when you would put them film cartridge into one of those envelopes they had in every magazine for Bonus Print or Supa Snaps and a week later they would return the prints and another film cartridge for you to use.

If you were extremely impatient then you could pop to the local chemists and if you were lucky they would develop and print for you either over night or while you waited, Either way it was quite expensive.

The first real camera that I ever purchased for myself was a Canon EOS 35mm camera, it was quite a basic model but served me for a good few years. You could set the shutter speed and it would automatically meter and set the aperture for you. Although the fastest lens I had at the time was a f4.5 to 5.6 zoom! However that aside it did what a camera should do and took pretty decent images. Not sure why I chose Canon as my dad shot using a variety of 30mm camera’s, a number of Russian made range-finders Zenit and the like, and latterly a Minolta which he only finally sold a few years ago. He has now developed a love of 3D imaging and is looking to return to film as he has found the limits of the Fuji FinePix 3D digital camera.

For a number of years I neglected picture taking and then bought myself a point and shoot digital camera and rekindled the love of taking pictures. At the time digital was very new and exciting and I saved up and purchased the Canon 300D digital camera…perhaps the worlds first affordable SLR camera. Although at just short of a grand I am not sure how accurate that saying was!!

From there I leapt to the Canon 1D2N which is an incredible camera (even today), each year at Focus on Imaging I would wander along to the Hasselblad stand and look at the camera’s there and drool over the medium format bodies there. Medium Format had always lived in the realm of the working professional rather than dedicated hobbyist and with digital backs starting at around £15k even then. It was never going to happen. Although the recent price drop by Hasselblad will allow you to enter into the range at less than £10k.

Recently I got access to an old Yashica Medium Format TLR camera to use as a prop in some images and there was something magical about the feel and weight of such a robust camera. The shutter was broken on this one but was a relatively easy fix but the cost outweighed the value and so as a prop it remained – but who knows one day?

However the seed was planted and I then acquired a Mamiya RZ67 Pro II. This according to some is the ultimate studio camera (or was in the days of film). It is built like a small battleship and weighs about the same. The lens are pretty much all prime for this camera and with no metering and manual focus the studio or perhaps landscape are it’s playgrounds. You are not going to be shooting action with this. However get caught in a riot with this and you are going to have a very effective club!

There is something very retro about peering down into a huge bright waist level viewfinder and hearing the resounding clunk as you fire the trigger. However with only 10 images per roll it is not the cheapest and developing costs in this country are somewhat prohibitive if you want the images scanned. However after watching Framed Network I contacted Richard Photo Lab in America who will develop and scan for a very reasonable price.

I am looking forward to seeing the results of scanned images as thus far have only used some polaroid through it which was not the sharpest image (not that it was ever supposed to be) and one roll that I had developed by Jessops. I wasn’t happy with the way they developed nor the results and so wont be trusting them again!

Not quite what it seems…

Posted August 13, 2012 by Paul

What can possibly go wrong…

I had been invited along to a group shoot at the nearby Heart of England Conference Centre. A very strange location in that geographically it is pretty much as far from any sea that it is possible to get in the UK but boasts its very own beach!

Now I have to admit that I always have mixed feelings about Group Shoots, you know the scenario 300 photographers paying , 5 models attending for free, however this one was different and intrigued me. It was a real TF shoot, no one was paying and everyone was being treated equally. This had to a good thing and it had a beach! Oh and an 8am start……(luckily just before the actual day the venue advised it would need to be a 9am start – so an extra hour in bed!)

Unusually for a group shoot the drop out rate was very low with only two of the models failing to make the event (a good opportunity missed). Arriving at the event we had a small room laid aside for us to use with a large table full of make up, accessories, a rack of clothing – this was looking ever better!

There had been a few themes mooted around, faeries, weddings and the like, and I had bought along an amazing wolf head mask that I had from Ghoulias Peculiars who are a truly amazing prop makers and well worth a look.

So did anything go wrong? Well, yes of course it did……….. It rained (this is England) and we had maybe a whole 15 minutes where it was slightly damper than we anticipated. My very trusty pocket wizards decided they didn’t want to play properly ( a search on google tells me that me trying to be creative wasn’t going to work and I should have left the metering in evaluative and dialled the flashes down rather that spot metering!).

Pictures, you want pictures?

Witley Court Fashion

Posted July 8, 2012 by Paul

Recently I was fortunate enough to shoot with the very lovely Lauren Ritchie who is a local singer and upcoming new model.

I have to give an incredible amount of thanks to Witley Court for allowing us to shoot there, on a bank holiday and unannounced. Stunning location and definitely worth a day there to look round, we spent a few hours there and noticed quite a few areas we had missed as we left.

Lauren did her own make up and styling for the shoot and whilst she could be classed as an inexperienced model this certainly didn’t show at the shoot. She was perfectly made up and took direction incredibly well. Although the venue was pretty busy, she took this in her stride and was the perfect professional.

Urbex

Posted April 7, 2012 by Paul

These are a few images from an explore of an abandoned farmhouse. A criminal waste of a lovely property that has been allowed to fall into disrepair. It currently teeters on that fine line where in a few short years it will be beyond repair.
My model for the day was the lovely Stacy. The shoot was two fold in that I wanted to see how the property photographed for a future shoot and also I wanted to test with Stacy with a view to a future biker style shoot we had discussed.
The morning had started off with lovely blue skies peppered with fluffy white clouds and as we arrived at the shoot location this had been replaced by grey overcast skies and a significant drop in temperature matched by a gentle breeze…
Today marked the death of a second of my 7dayshop umbrellas, however it’s death was not in vain as it cushioned the landing for the flash heads and pocketwizard that was behind it!
One day I will learn my own lesson that no matter how light the wind seems an umbrella is perfectly made to form a very effective kite!!

By Water and by Rail

Posted April 1, 2012 by Paul

Pretty much the first day of Summer saw Charli and I heading to Birmingham to try and take advantage of the weather. The light was pretty unforgiving it was harsh, bright and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. One of those days when you envy photographers who have the huge scrims and portable shades – the ones you only need for 5 days a year in England and today was one of them!
We started off at the Canal Basin behind the Mailbox, and took a couple of quick snaps:

As the light was getting harsher and harsher we dived into the nearest subway for a quick bite to eat and a throw away comment lead to us heading to Coventry Railway Station, yes the backdrop to many an expensive fashion shoot…..

Whilst we were shooting these we were approached by the station staff and asked if we were shooting for Virgin Atlantic as Charli was ‘wearing the uniform’