Well ... 'Hello'

“Food photography for Pied-a-Terre restauarant feautured in Hello Magazine”

Chuffed to see my Food Photography featured in a double page spread in Hello Magazine today. Head Chef Marcus Eaves of the wonderful 'Pied a Terre' restaurant serves up some favourite seasonal dishes from the fine French eatery. #FoodPhotography #Pied-a-terre #HelloMagazine

Pied-a-Terre-hello-magazine
Pied-a-Terre-Restaurant-hello-magazine

To Lightroom or Not to Lightroom.... this really isn't the question....

I was out shooting an area guide for another property company recently.... with my beloved Fuji X-Pro1 and my even more now so (sorry X-Pro) Fuji XT-1. Whilst out, rolling around on the floor (for sunset shot below!) in Brockwell Park, south London, trying to get a nice sunset shot, a chap came upto me and started chatting photography. I always have time for a chat about anything photography with anyone! I love, that people LOVE taking pictures, and we are all trying to learn and get better at doing it!

Rolling around on the floor in Brockwell park.... either gets you collected by an ambulance or a nice picture :)

Rolling around on the floor in Brockwell park.... either gets you collected by an ambulance or a nice picture :)

 

His first question was regarding contrast.... "I've bought a little canon G15 and everything is really contrasty. the sky blows out and the shadows just fill in. Its not as good as i was hoping for" ... I had to laugh in an 'I hear you mate' kind of way .... as this is the main problem with digital cameras.

I asked him what software he used to develop/ process the images and he looked at me stumped?? I then went on to explain that out the can, most digital images are way to contrasty.... even a £5000 Nikon D4 is still has about 11 times less sensitivity than the good old human Mice Pie! (Eye for anyone north of Watford)

I explained that a simple 2 mins in Lightroom will transform what you see in the camera (especially if shooting in RAW!)

So, if you want better pics (even from your iphone).... get them on your comp and have a fiddle....

These 2 images below are the Same file. The one on the TOP is the RAW unadjusted file. The one UNDERNEATH is the 'Lightroom Tweaked' one!

Unprocessed Raw file from Fuji XT-1

Unprocessed Raw file from Fuji XT-1

Processed and Tweaked JPG from Fuji XT-1

Processed and Tweaked JPG from Fuji XT-1


I rest my case :-)


A Mod approach to Retro

My latest post here shows a recent shoot for none other than the very talented people of Hair - Mr Nic Davis and Charmaine Piche-Baker of Simplicity Remastered Hair Studio in London's Fitzrovia.

Nic and Charmaine had the idea of showing some cuts from the mod era, with a modern twist .... Bikes were loaned by some very generous and helpful enthusiasts and i think you'll agree, look amazing!

Thanks to all involved for their help on a very hot day! especially my amazing assistant for the day - Gabriel Harvey! ;) 

Feel free to comment, like or share... and if ever near Charlotte Street, get yourself an amazing hair cut ! 

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!

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An 'ExEvent' for a Rendezvous

My good clients ExEvents got me down for a great job last night!! .... The Chambord Rendezvous 2011 The venue; One Mayfair! Built in 1825, One Mayfair has recently reopened its doors and is set to be London's newest and most spectacular venue. After years of neglect this historic Grade I listed building has undergone months of refurbishment bringing it back to its former glory. As one of the largest event spaces in the Mayfair, it has already attracted a range of high profile events.

Guests were wowed by the excellent transformation the space took on under the expert handling of the ExEvents team. The winning drinks were served throughout the evening along with a wonderful dinner, again with the winning chambord recipes. I unfortunately was working ... but then even when i'm working its not work! The guests were great and it was good to be in amongst this happy crowed ... DJ Philly was on hand spinning up some excellent tunes before Comedy act Mr Russell Kane introduced the evenings events. BBC Radio 1 Celebrity DJ Edith Bowman then took over on the decks and things really hotted up ... drinks were flowing and butts were shaking! My trustee Nikons were also working their own little butts off as you can see from a selection of the shots here. Enjoy!! :)

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