2019 seems like such a long time ago now. It’s history and by looking, I’m looking back. I find that I don’t do that as much as I used to. Possibly because I now prefer to look forward. What was quite nice though was to look back and see what I had experienced throughout the year. It was certainly very busy and to look back at some of the imagery brought the pace home.

We do quite a lot of portraits here, although I use the term portrait quite loosely. Many of them a little more than passport photos, we get the chance to be a little more interesting. Working in both the studio and on location a big part of the job as a photographer is dealing with and portraying people… or pigeons.

Sometimes you see a character that just draws you in. Often at the most surprising times, like the man who came dressed as a poppy on Remembrance Sunday in Banjul, Gambia.

I do love a good expression. In this image, the situation is not obvious at all, but the look on the young mans face tells a story, especially with his right hand lightly touching the bar, I can feel the tension.

Photographers get the chance to experience life outside of your normal boundaries. The annual Gurkha Dashain festival, is, by all accounts very different to the event back in Nepal, but when held here in the UK, they are vibrant colourful and great fun to experience.

It’s not all about bullets and bangs, there is often a subtlety in play when you have to try to tell a story in a visual way.

It’s hard to do a wedding standing on your head.

January 15, 2017

From the Archive, Promotion, travel, Wedding

2 Comments

Now, I do enjoy a good wedding. I particularly enjoy shooting one, which is one mentality I want to keep long term. You would be surprised, or perhaps not, just how many wedding photographers don’t enjoy covering weddings. One reason may be the volume they have taken on, the constant pressure of turning them round with increasingly short deadlines.

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As a photographer, I am hired, not just to take a few ‘snaps’ of the day. I am hired as a photographer, I have a particular style, my eye looks for certain things. I am probably not the most creative and inventive photographer out there, but I am skilled and competent. I think I am more than that, but what I think is not all that important. Anyway that is not important now.

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So going back to the title…

Why would you do a wedding standing on your head? Of course you don’t, literally.

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I had been approached to photograph a wedding this year, which in itself is not that unusual, this time however, there was one major problem. The wedding was going to be just outside Christchurch. The one in New Zealand. Now, this is a big deal. As a photographer in the Army, any wedding I undertake is a BIG commitment. I am acutely aware that my first priority is for the government. They call, and I answer, no questions.

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But, I really like to shoot weddings. So immediately, I cleared the dates with work, put in my leave, booked the flights and waited…. with anticipation.

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Oh the anticipation.

As the date got closer, slowly, I had to wait a year, I started to consider what differences a wedding in New Zealand would have to a wedding in the United Kingdom. Both Western cultures, but spread by a hemisphere, there would undoubtedly be differences. Not least being the weather…

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Actually as it happened, the differences were not to great, the weather not so different, apart from getting sunburn in February that is.

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The hardest part was the adjustment to the time zone. I think we were about 14 hours out, and they do say that it takes one day for every hour. No I didn’t spend a fortnight in preparation… I did allow a week though.

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I have considered in the past, perhaps in a fleeting moment, to follow the perpetual summer, working weddings in Europe during their summer and then southern hemisphere for their summer. I love travelling but looking back, this would be tough, especially for my family. No I need to be more realistic I think, although I know I need to be more bold.

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Back to the wedding. Allowing a week to get as used to the climate (bit different to a February day in the UK), and it was really worth it. The odd early morning jog seemed to help too.

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Shooting a wedding is always a challenge, they are never the same, the people are different, the locations may be similar, but the technical challenges will change also. You can never, in my humble opinion, just go through the motions. I think that shooting a wedding is like a champion boxer taking the fight. Lose respect of your opponent, and the fight will likely go horribly wrong. Never take the wedding for granted, after all for the happy couple, it is their wedding and after the day, can never be redone. There is no re-shoot’s.

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One thing I did really take advantage of on this one was the New Zealand beaches, they were amazing, especially first thing in the morning, with the thunder of hoofed feet and the gentle crashing of waves. It was well worth the early start……and the jet lag.

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Landscape – I like the summer but mornings get too early.

April 11, 2016

Landscapes, travel

2 Comments

Landscapes. I dabble, I will be honest, I don't spend the time on them that I should. Commercially they are quite hard to make any profit from them, unless you happen to be called Peter Lik (Google him). Worst of all, though, is that as the summer gets closer, the mornings get even earlier. So every once in a while, when work allows, I will get out there and capture a landscape or two, or just go and look for a possible future image for when the light is better. Mark-2016-04-04--42 I know I should do more, I know I should, but that is where we must try to balance our lives. There are times that I wonder how some photographers manage to make their photography the sole purpose (or certainly give the impression). Life does not seem to be in the way for some. 22608538936_448323f4e3_o I contemplate offering framed landscapes to clients who book a particular wedding package, but struggle with this too. Who would want one of my Landscapes on their wall? Lets face it, I don't even have any of my own hanging up. [caption id="attachment_1949" align="alignnone" width="3000"] British Army assist the Environment Agency with floods.

Bookends and a year of imagery

February 27, 2015

From the Archive, Military work, Sport / Action, travel

1 Comment

I realise that in the last couple of years I have not fulfilled the commitment of a BLOG properly. Now I could make every excuse in the world, but who am I kidding.

I sometimes wonder what is the point of this blog? Am I trying to reach anyone? No, not really. This is much more of a diary really, an opportunity to put some thoughts down, ideally thoughts I don’t mind others knowing about, that is.

So after a relatively poor show for some time, where do you go to try to kick it all off again?

The last twelve months have been busy with one thing and another. There have been some really interesting trips away, a lot of mundane work, but then that is the lot of essentially being a staff photographer.

Here are some images taken pretty much in the last year, I will add a notation explaining them.

The year has tended to start with covering the Divisional championships in France.

An unusual trip to Cyprus and the last European divided city, here the tour piper uses the solitude of the roof to practice.

The military do occasionally do this kind of thing from time to time.

The summer saw the spectacle of the Queens birthday reception in Hannover, with all the pomp and ceremony you could imagine.

Sport and competition is and always will be a big part of the military experience, this was from the British Forces Germany athletics finals.

The final pomp in the small spa town of Bad Oeynhausen.

Army restructuring brings with it new training opportunities and part of that is seeing exactly what the kit is able to do.

Poland has been a big part of this year, with two exercises being covered.

‘Green eyes’, or Night vision can make for an interesting shot.

This year has been a whole lot of ‘last one’s’, here is the last British Army Polo competition in Germany before the withdrawal.

A second visit to Poland saw our largest armoured deployment for an exercise for decades.

The feet on the ground, every conflict needs them.

A soldier moves as quickly as he can over open ground during the exercise.

A British Challenger 2 can move very quickly over rough terrain, one of the fastest.

Army boxing is in good form and an amazing experience to see.

The last bookend, back to skiing, this time an Army snowboarder makes some shapes against a dramatic backdrop.

Exposure

July 21, 2013

Development, Military work, Opinion, Sport / Action, travel

2 Comments

I am sure I have mentioned before how time is our worst enemy, although as a photographer it is one of the most important factors we work with.

Creativity never comes with guarantees, but you have to keep trying and keep your options open

Time threw another curve ball yesterday with a gentle reminder of how quickly time had gone by.

You find shots you like but it is always great when a client sees your vision.

Being a photographer is a strange existence at times. Very few of us lead repetitive lives, you can’t take the same photographs day in day out, so you are always meeting with new people and looking for the next shot. Let’s be honest though how many of us re-create the wheel at all in their lives let along every day?

Some moments are longer than others and that is never more obvious than with photography.

With the general understanding of the term ‘professional’ (which actually has nothing to do with making money) skewed, my goal or ambition is to be as professional as I can be. Not always easy when we juggle so many different balls. But it is out there, my goal.

One thing that experience gives you is a grounding for capturing an image or at least working out the mechanics of capturing an image under most circumstances.

One of the key motivators for me is the learning process, I love to try out new things, new [for me] ideas, more opportunities to attract fresh clients. The best way to do this I have found is to keep up with what people want. There is still usually enough room for your individual flair though.

No photographer likes to sit still, there are always more challenges ahead. A new market place to enter, more clients to please.

One of the more important things to keep in mind also though is that not everything goes to plan but this should not worry you, but just keep you on your toes.

The technical aspects of a shot are not always clear to see, but this does not mean the shot was simple to capture.

These images on today’s blog include some military work and some personal work but shows some of the variety we are faced with on even a weekly basis.