I was walking through Seven Dials only yesterday doing a job when i happened across this lovely couple walking up Monmouth Street having their wedding photographs taken!! The photographer was using flash close up with them, and i knew he was missing out on all the beautiful ambient light and reflections... so had a cheeky word and asked the couple if they minded if i took a quick shot of them on the Zebra crossing!! :-)
I hope they get in touch so i can send them the shot .... i think you'll agree, the light is beautiful and it makes for a great shot! :) Good luck to them both!
Royal Ballet Photography
This week I am working at the 'World Travel Market 2012' at ExCel in London as 1 of 4 Photographers providing all the images for the world press. WTM2012 is the leading global event for the travel industry. As part of this amazing Global trade fair, the WTM team organize many cultural events for the various heads of States and Ministers in attendance. I was lucky enough to be selected to go along and photograph the Ministerial Dinner at the Mayors official London residency - Mansion House in the City. A truly amazing building and venue. I have to say, this is the sort of event photographers love! Fabulous interiors, great lighting and wonderful subjects. This was capped off by the Royal Ballet Company performing as a finale to the evening. I myself have never seen Ballet live, let alone ballet by the very best performers in the world. It was breathtakingly beautiful and elegant! The poise and grace, is truly mesmerizing. I hope you enjoy the photographs and hope to be able to do more of these if i can make further inroads now! Watch this space :)
This is why i love my job! Always different, always challenging and a lot of the time a privilege!
[gallery columns="4" orderby="post_date"]
London Landscape Photography
This is why I LOVE my job! My brief - 'Shoot some Iconic London Landmarks and Cityscapes along the London Soutbank'. NICE DAY AHEAD! Although i had to rise at 5am to get down to Tower Bridge to catch the sunrise, it was worth it! Every time I have to do a job which involves getting up and out in the dark, I am reminded that there is nothing better than being in London as the sun rises. it really is the best time of day to be in London! Still, calm and truly beautiful ... until the hoards arrive and the buzz takes over again. So, as I was going to be walking around all day long, I didn't want a trailer load of backbreaking gear with me, so opted for my evermore popular choice of kit - my Fuji X-Pro 1 ... in a tiny bag with 3 lenses and a spare battery, a very small Manfrotto tripod and I'm done! LOVE IT! discreet and light allowing me to crack on without feeling depressed each time I know I have to pack up and move on! I started by shooting east towards Butlers Wharf from St Katherine's Dock at sunrise and then spent the day strolling and exploring the Soutbank from Rotherhithe to Westmisnster Bridge...
I'd never been up the OXO Tower and had this in mind for the end of my day. It was thoroughly worth it. I was a bit worried about rocking up there in my jeans and North face photographer kit! ... but the staff were very lovely and guided me to their free public viewing balcony outside - where I was able to wait for the light to drop and the magic of the city lights to come to life! I wasn't sure how the Fuji X-Pro 1 would cope with long exposures on its small sensor ... but i am very impressed with its clarity and low light noise levels. Not to mention again its sooooooo small! Chuffed!
I hope you enjoy the images as much as i enjoyed my day taking them! :-)
[gallery columns="4" orderby="post_date"]
New Year visit to the Seaside
Ok, so Christmas has come and gone again .... and the New year is here... After spending a lovely time up in North Yorkshire with my family, I got back to London on New Years day. My lovely lady and I decided to make the most of the last day before 'normality' kicked in again, and after seeing the sun shining brightly that morning, decided to jump in the car and head for the seaside!
We didn't have too much time, so it had to be somewhere around an hour away.... a quick buzz up the A12 and we were in Frinton on Sea. The weather was absolutely perfect! Clear blue sky, sunshine and a crisp breeze.... perfect for a stroll along the seafront! I was only armed with my little Lumix Snapper and my iPhone, but as some of you will already know, I'm a big 'Instagram' fan so was quite excited by the landscape and colours leaping out at me. My iPhone died a rather quick death (the battery doesn't last long at the best of times but with the cold hitting it, it was like watching an egg timer go down!) so I reverted to my Lumix at the end when we took shelter in a small pavilion on top of the green, overlooking the sea. Here we met the loveliest old lady. She was 92 and as bright as a button. I unfortunately didn't ask her name. Some people really do show their character in a picture, and i think she does to a tee... there is a cheeky glint in those eyes ;) What a great day! :-)[gallery]
Food Glorious Food at 'One Blenheim Terrace'
Sometimes my work, just really isn't work!! ;) I had the pleasure of shooting the very swish and new restaurant 'One Blenheim Terrace' in London's St Johns Wood this week. Owner, head chef, and top guy 'Ed' was there with equally top guy and sous chef 'Stuart' to prepare some amazing dishes for photographing. The restaurant itself has a beautiful, elegant and calm feel... It has a huge glass roof to the frontage making life for me much easier with an abundance of natural light available... I have to confess, i did have a few nibbles and got totally stuck into the Wellington!!! It was STUNNING!! .... Hope they need me back there again very soon to update the new forthcoming site!! ... enjoy and go visit them, you will be very pleasantly surprised.
[slideshow]