Successful Exhibition Entries to Keele Open 2012

Two pieces entered into the Keele Three Counties Open Photographic Competition have been accepted and will be exhibited from Wednesday 29th Feb for a month.

If you are interested in photography, please visit The Chancellors Building at Keele University Campus (well signposted on campus). Details of the opening times and dates can be found at the following link.... http://www.keele.ac.uk/artgallery/

These are the two pieces I have successfully entered, but typically there will be around 60 to 90 pieces across the exhibition and by some fantastic photographers, in many different styles and genre's, well worth a free day trip to enjoy.

Many thanks for the views and comments and encouragement that I have received through this blog. Knowing that people take an interest, have valid comments to make, and understand what I am trying to do has really inspired and pushed my work since becoming a photographer, it makes all the difference.

Entries into the Keele Three Counties Photographic Competition 2012

I first entered this prestigious local photography exhibition two years ago and none of the three (maximum annual entries) pieces made it through. Last year I got one of the three into exhibition and this year, who knows, I am hoping for two, but it could easily be one or none. Anyway, below are the three I've chosen for this year, all printed in 18" x 12" colour and framed in black with a cotton white mount and a total frame size of 24" X 18".

Today's Specials

Shot on a miserable day in Tenby where the colours, vibrancy and sheer excess of choice made this something which stopped me in my tracks and which I had to make into a photograph. I am planning another trip to the seaside shortly and want to try and work with making this into a series of exhibition pieces, referencing traditional British Seaside conventions, but with a focus on the colours, the competitiveness of seaside business and the sheer gall of offering such abundance of food options.

Naturesphere #1

A photograph produced on a day when written work was overwhelming me and I was suffering chronic late stage cabin fever, which forced me out of the house with my camera, a 50mm lens and the desire to find something genuinely interesting to photograph. I don't know the name of this species of plant, but it stood several feet proud of the ground and its leaves, on a very narrow step. Light was poor and I could really have done with something to stand on as I was right on the edge of the minimum focal distance for the lens, making me stand on tiptoes and try to be very still. It was dull but I was able to bounce a little light back to the flower head (which was fully in the shade) with a pop up reflector (always worth carrying). Something I plan to return and re-photograph again this year with the benefit of a box to stand on. The difficulty will be catching the flower at the same moment in its development. I am told that these open out into a large pom-pom shape, but this pregnant moment before it burst out of its cocoon was what drew me to it in the first place.

Suspire

Not a posed photograph but rather a stolen moment during an otherwise planned shoot. This is the husband of a lady I was photographing at 34 weeks into her pregnancy. We wanted a shot of them together but the husband was actually suffering a very bad migraine, had already been physically sick and needed to get back to bed (the shoot was at the clients home where I used just an off-camera speedlight and a reflector for lighting). After a few frames, the flash was too much for him to bear with the migraine and he suddenly looked of and let out a sharp sigh of pain and distress, at which point, realising the opportunity, I hit him with another single flash and captured the above image (the guilt on my part subsided once I viewed and printed this photograph).

The Wedding of Sandra Chapman and David Griffiths, 1st October 2011

Photography for a wedding client. Sandra and David were wonderful to work with, we had an excellent consultation a month before the big day, ensuring that we knew the details and schedule for the days events. My assistant and I visited the locations prior to the day and discovered attractive areas and backgrounds to use, which paid dividends on the day itself.

Below are a few shots from the ceremony itself and from the following hour that we had with the happy couple.

 

Demon's Dell

A quick trip out to Demon's Dell, a lovely and very hidden place in Derbyshire, close to Bakewell. I have been here many times, but this is the first time that it has been a dry gorge rather than carrying a small stream. Beautiful place, wonderful autumnal colour, even is such poor and flat light.

Baby and Toddler Shoot to come - Register Interest Now

I am organizing a weekend long baby and toddler shoot. Many families have asked me to do this and I will set it up for a Saturday and Sunday with September 3rd and 4th looking like the best choice at the moment. Please email me or contact me in any way to register or confirm your interest.

Please get in touch so I can make this happen as soon as possible :)

An hour in Tenby

"Moving from Wales to Italy was like moving to a completely different country"
                                                                                                                       (Ian Rush, Footballer)

Just a few quick snaps taken in Tenby. A beautiful Welsh coastal town, even in the typical coastal gloom.

Work for 'Pen People' Magazine

I was commissioned to visit the Borough Museum & Art Gallery (The Brampton to those of us who know the area) to get some detailed shots of the piece of ancient calligraphy shown below. The client had previously visited and taken the shots he wanted for the Pen People magazine, but was not happy with the quality. Therefore, I literally had a rough copy of the article and was tasked with simply retaking the exact same shots, but at a professional level.

The majority of the time was devoted to using angles, a giant blackout sheet and a shutter release in order to remove reflection after reflection from the pictures. The frame was not level, a cabinet stopped me getting perfectly central, there was mixed lighting, a flash ban, and the paper was not flat, so it was a challenge to make the most of it.

As we were leaving, we were pulled back indoors in order to help the museum staff who were dealing with a sudden and severe water leak. We rolled up our sleeves and helped them to empty the upstairs museum rooms, where old artifacts in mock shops were getting drenched. We found out the day after that a child's ball had blocked the exterior drainage causing a massive backlog and an immense amount of damage.

These shots are yet to be edited for the publication as the client will be selecting from the shots and will want close ups of key areas.

Pen People is an enthusiasts publication for calligraphers of all levels. For more information check the link below.

http://www.penpeople.org.uk/

Manor House Wildlife Park

After a busy day shooting a wonderful wedding at Manorbier Castle, it was a lazy Sunday exploring the local area. Manor House Wildlife Park was a bit of a surprise really, cheap to get in, the animals seemed really well cared for and you could feed the Wallaby's and walk amongst the Lemurs. A really relaxing day and a beautiful part of Wales.

http://www.manorhousewildlifepark.co.uk/