Commercial

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Just outside and around the corner from Sywell Aerodrome near Northampton is a huge garden centre called Beckworth Emporium. Its an awesome place with a farmers market area deli and really cool restaurant. They serve this ice cream called Spaghetti Ice cream, that despite its name is not made using pasta, but is truly to die for. Every time I eat the stuff I fall in love with it and serious thought to settling down with the ice cream, marrying it and starting a family with it (?) Its that bloody good. So here are a few commercial food pictures of the Ice cream add a first course, some cheese and spring onion sandwiches. Lovely !!

Still Life Update

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There is a bit of a fruity feeling to this selection of Still Lifes. Amy and I set the camera up to take a snap of one of my fathers big tomatoes. Then giving it a highly saturated look in photoshop..The tomato was taken using only natural light and textured wallpaper as it backdrop.

Here also are snaps of pairs and a vine of tomatoes, once again made to look more in your face with colour and loosely inspired by Andy Warhol's pop art pictures of Marilyn Monroe and the such.

Project – 'Landscape' - Updates

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Going down to Northamptonshire is one of the few chances I get to explore the countryside and practice landscape photography. Its quite a flat county, not being a million miles away from the flat lands of the Fen country in Cambridgeshire. But if you get lucky, there are still some views worth venturing out for. All black and white, I hope you enjoy this offering and thanks to Amy for her help and Mum and Dad for taking us around.

Project – 'Infrared' Update'

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Seeing as how its Summer, it was a good excuse to brush off the cobwebs from my two Infrared Chipped Nikon's and have a go at taking some strange picture colours. Some of the views are taken of my parents garden, as you can see their conservatory in the background, but most were taken of the Northamptonshire countryside. One of my favourites is the colour Infrared picture taken of a stream running under a bridge, from the bridge looking down. You can see the read moving in the current and its has an unearthly beauty about it. I have put the image as the first one to see in this gallery. I made a cock-up with the black and white infrareds as I had not got the camera set to RAW, only jpeg. So limiting what I could do in post editing. Never mind. I will not make that sloppy mistake again.

Munira Model Third Shoot

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Coming close to the end of the month for a shoot we were blessed to have lovely Indian model Munira in the studio with us. This is our third shoot together and was based on inspiration from the Paul Weller song called 'Amongst Butterflies' which I hope you have just listened to on the slide show above. The butterflies are not real of course, but they are colourful and with hair and makeup by Shadrine at Kavour Beauty they look great. Thanks then to all there that day at The Boardroom Studio in Derby.. Munira will be back again in December for a two model fashion shoot with Mercybongo. Cant wait !!!

Project – 'Abstract' Update

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Abstracts taken mostly in my parents downstairs toilet, as well as a prop from the Boardroom Studio in Derby. Can you guess what they are?

Project – 'Architectural Metaphor ' Update

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Just a few of the back end of Beckworth Emporium (the place with the spaghetti ice cream to die for) in the garden centre bit with an angry looking sky behind it.

Project – 'Noir et Blanc' Update

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Something new for this project gallery with a theme we have already covered before, but what the hell … I wanted to do it again. The coffee and teas and food on the table at Magazine Heaven shop and cafe in Rushden Lakes shopping centre. Sitting behind us was the old disgraced ex Tory MP for Wellingborough, who normally has a lot to say or just likes the sound of his own voice. Mr. Peter Bone, He looked all forlorn and rejected. I don’t like to kick a man when he is down (after all, we have all been there at sometime or another), but in hindsight he probably should have kept his trousers up and not been such a bully!

How the mighty fall.

Random Stuff !!!

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Just a few random things I snapped while being at Mum and Dads. It got to the golden hour and this beautiful light was streaming through the front window, gently lighting up the scatter pillows on the settee. It seemed to pick out the fabrics textures and subtle colours which I liked. There for a fleeting moment, then gone all to fast. I also took snaps of a glass of orange juice with metallic straw against a black glass outdoor table and a riot of colours from the garden in the background.

Flowers – The Garden 3

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Both Amy and I took a whole lot of images from my parents garden this month. I never normally get to see it in August as its June that Amy and I normally visit. So its great to see the garden in its late Summer glory. And here they are for you …

August Flower Updates

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We got a bumper crop of good flowers to photograph this month, which took a longer time to do it but I was able to put some away for a future showcase (banking the images as I call it) if times get hard again like Covid. So thanks then to our friends at Brambles Florist and Flowers to yours for all their help in picking out interesting specimens. Thanks also to Amy for her assistance.

That's it for this month, I do hope you have enjoyed this Augusts offerings and come back for more at the end of September

Bye for now X

July Updates,

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Welcome back to my piece of the web for July 2024, I wish you well and pray that you enjoy this months offerings.

Its only been a matter of two weeks or so since I last updated this blog, but this month I am on cue with everything. Trouble is that not really very much has happened in the intervening weeks.

I have however been working on new ideas for shoots coming up for the second half of the year. Leading the way will be a shoot idea called 'Amongst Butterflies' featuring Munira Model in August. It will be a beauty shoot with lots of creativity and makeup. Mercybongo will also be back with what I will call the 'Gold Shoot.’ We also have a new model that I have not worked with before to be announced for the September fashion shoot. So watch this space, things are cooking as they say.

My wound is scabbing over nicely, the EVRI man has not been at my door since his last fake chirpiness self popped up. And America looks like its having amnesia and forgetting about the last time they let the anti Christ loose on the world. So for all our American cousins with bad memories, look over this great video and song from Barbara Streisand called 'Don't Lie To Me.'

Its not too late people …...

… And on that all it leaves me to say is please enjoy this months blog.

Still Life Update

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In this months Still Life there are a mixture of fruits and vegetables like sweet potatoes and cherry's with satsumas. Most of the images have a distressed overlay given to them to make the impression of an old appearance to them. There is also the Arum lily from Junes flower shoot in a vase, interesting I think because of the kink in its stem. I shall hopefully do some more this next month.

Digital Art – Update

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This months Digital art based picture is an odd one. I made what supposed to be a ghostly face using the bottom of the drinks holder from McDonalds. I normally get a milkshake on a Saturday as a bit of a treat and because we have to carry them, the staff give us a double cardboard holder to put them in. If you turn it upside down and look at it, it can look like something out of a horror movie. So adding 'Monster lighting' from below and a textured overlay in Photoshop, I made the picture..

Its not really scary like a picture of something demonic or a life sized picture of my fat hairy arse, but its a close enough.

Project – 'Abstract'

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Here are a few bits and bobs I photographed around the place in an abstract manner. Most of them should not be too hard to guess. There is one odd one, think Dr. Who and the …. to get it.

Please enjoy.

Model Sin Yu Chan Photo shoot

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This month I went for a couple of hours for a shoot with lovely Asian model Sin Yu Chan who had popped up for a shoot at the Boardroom Studio in Derby. I had none of the team with me that day so it was a one man show. Originally from Hong Kong I believe, Sin Yu Chan was great, with some professional moves that set the shoot apart from just a simple stand and smile job. I would be happy to work with her again, and hope that she might come to a shoot at my parents house next Summer (If they permit it!!). So please enjoy these shots from our session together.

Model Mercybongo 8th Photo shoot

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Can you believe its our eight shoot together? I know Mercy has some way to catch up with Monalisa at thirty photo shoots or Tyler Dyce at fifty six shoots, but she is on her way with two more set before the close of the year.

This month we all went on location at the tunnel and an old Victorian mill factory site. It was an itty bitty day with the weather, but in-between showers we got some positive work done. Yes I know I have used the locations before, but there is a certain amount of repartition in any photography project you do when you have been at it over thirty years as I have been doing. But they are good locations, and worth another go when the weather is allowing.

So thanks then to Mercybongo and Carl for putting themselves out on the Sunday as well as a big shout to Amy for her help.