photography
She wants my job !!!!
Every time she goes out she sneaks out the camera and indulges in a spot of street photography and she is very good at it. I did photograph the ladies working in the burger van outside the plastics factory, but Amy did everything else. One of my favourites as a simple, but effective image of a man's shadow on the pebbled floor. Great work Amy. See more at the Streets of your town web site. x.
I have not done much this February with Street photography, but Amy has done stuff a plenty and its not bad. What is more she enjoys going out and meeting people to take their pictures and looking at the world through a photographers eye. is doing well and I am encouraging Amy to do more everytime she goes shopping. Viewing things around her Enjoy Amy's work here and on the Streets of your town site.
I have purchased an old digital camera that has had an Infrared filter added (or subtracted – I can not remember!) cheap digital camera see the full gamete of light including the infrared scale that our eyes do not see. Normally they have a dampener in the camera to ignore this, but here it has been changed to allow it. This then not only gives the old camera a new lease of life, but allows the photographer to take some weird looking stuff. I tried it in the studio to mixed results, but found it works best when shooting landscapes and vegetation. We used a local park to test it out and it turned all the trees and grass to a bright pink. I like it – I think it is interesting - and so will be doing more as and when I can. So here is a new project to show off the results as well as show some very old Infrared images taken decades before digital using the long defunct and sadly missed Kodak HIE 135-36 Hi-Speed Infrared Slide Film. Pictures taken are from locations as far apart as Cornwall and the West Coast of Scotland. I hope you enjoy this new project.
This month I was / had planned to do an improve shoot with Marie Jean Saxton at the Boardroom Studio in Derby. Sadly she was not all with it and gave her apologies that she could not make it on the day. A professional model (take note Kay Carter!) we had enough time to find a replacement model. It was only a two hour shoot with no makeup artist. Just the model, Amy and myself. With the valuable help from studio owner Phil Lynam he saved the day and pushed the lovely Iyisha Rose our way. She was brilliant. Such a great natural woman who looked great in front of the camera. The theme of the shoot was really to test out a few looks with different lens filters so most if not all the pictures are blurred. By design rather than an accident. The filters used were a UV filter smeared in vasoline. Another filter used was a Tiffen Black Pro Mist ¼ and a Lensbaby Velvet 28 Lens, all to good effect. Also in the galley are some oddly coloured images that were taken using an old digital camera, chipped to do only Infared shots. The results are odd. This might be best used on landscape.
I would love to work again with this great model and give her the full works, the four hour shoot special complete with Shadrine the makeup artist. So watch this space and thank you to all involved in this shoot.
Just a few random things I photographed this month like hard boiled eggs and a cheap Coca Cola novelty camera from America to add to the project. There is no rhyme or rhythm about doing these, they were just there and available so I snapped them. Although I do have an idea to see if I am allowed to do a few snaps of an old greasy spoon cafe in town that might be interesting. We will see. Watch this space
I have been steadily getting bits and bobs together to build up my commercial section of the website. This entails a lot of watching short reels on Instagram about product photography and how to do it. So far so good. It is actually more fun that you might think, as well as the fact the unlike models product does need a fag break or paying. Here is a small offering for this month with thanks to Amy and Ebay.
Fern was great to work with and a true professional. Pregnant at the time of shooting, she turned up on time and was great. We did have an accident with the ballet boots when the heels dropped of, but that was more to do with the cheep and nasty way they were made than to Ferns moves on set. Like Monalisa, she found it near impossible to stand up let alone walk in them, but they make a great picture.
So thanks to Fern for all her hard work and hope to see you again in the New Year.
Model: Maryna Sedin
Music: 'Soulful Strut' – Young – Holt Unlimeed
First off let me apologies for the lateness of the blog this month. I got bogged down with some editing and other stuff, but here it is and we kick off with a fashion shoot featuring new model (to me) Xenia Model and fan favourite Monalisa Moyo with some melanin magic.
I know its hard this month trying to be positive when there is an unnecessary and ugly, brutal war going on in the Ukraine at the present. But life still goes on and the World turns despite having the sword of Democles hanging over it.
A big thanks to all the usual subjects this month Chris and Wendy at Flowers To Yours and Brambles Florist. To Shadrine at Kavour Beauty and Phil Lynam at The Boardroom Studio in Derby. And not forgetting Amy for her help, ;love and support.
Enjoy this months blog
Only one this month and like the Architectural Metaphor gallery it is taken at Rushden Lakes shopping centre. Please enjoy
Collected here are the results from a shoot long planned and in the making with fashion model Marie Jean Saxton. And what an amazing model she is. You could not take a bum picture of her, she is the master of her craft and great to work with. The original idea was to shine 1970's advertisement pictures on her, but sadly that did not pan out. I could have added them in Photoshop, but again it did not look right and confused the picture. On top of which, come the day of the shoot. my angina starts playing up and doing all sorts of strange things to my heart and breathing. Yet we all got it done and on time. … well just about. So here they are, a 1970's inspired shoot with thanks to Marie, to Shadrine at Kavour Beauty for her hair and makeup. Plus a shout out to Phil at The Boardroom Studio, Derby.
Something different this month for the still life / fine art. I used flash to give me a very hi-key look for these pictures and then completed the effect with photoshop. Thanks to Amy for her help amongst my many swear words and curses.
We got there in the end.
Only a handful of still life / fine art this month and again with the theme of decay. I made some new backgrounds, hopefully give them a more harder edge this time around. Thanks as always to Brambles Florist and Flowers To Yours for last months (now gone over) flowers.
A few new pictures for this project, this month. A drawing of my wife that hangs on my living room wall. A fan. A door latch to the back door and some fetching marigold gloves. I know, not the most exciting stuff, but it is supposed to be a gallery of the everyday in black and white.
October is the start of what I call the silly season leading all the way up to new years eve and the big belly flop that comes after it on January 2nd. Our government has put us all into a Covid-19 lockdown again, so there will be no photoshoots in November or flower shoots either I would imagine.
Bummer !!
On a more happy note the Lens Culture, Black and White Photography Awards that I entered has now closed, but before they did they sent out this advert below to get more people to enter and kindly used my picture in the top left hand corner. Does this mean anything? Proberbly not, but it does tell me someone, somewhere in summertime likes it enough to use it in an advert. Which is something positive I suppose.
I would just like to take this chance to say a fond farewell to Sir Sean Connery who’s films were a big influence on me as a child and young person growing up.
Please enjoy this months updates..
I was commissioned by studio owner / photographer, male model and star of my competiton entry, Lee Henshaw to do him some new fashion pictures he can take to the agencies and use. Here they are. I am pleased with them and would like to thank Lee for modelling and Amy for all her help that morning.
We have not seen Tanya (who eagle eyed views may recognise her by her other names?) for a long while, but it was good to see her modelling again … if only briefly. You looked great Tanya x
Thanks once again to the model, and to all who helped create these images.
