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Bookends and a year of imagery

February 27, 2015
From the Archive, Military work, Sport / Action, travel
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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.

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

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

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

300th Anniversary of the Personal Union

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

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

British Army says farewell to German town

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

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

UK COMMITS TO MAJOR POLISH EXERCISE IN SUPPORT OF EASTERN EUROPEAN ALLIES

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

UK COMMITS TO MAJOR POLISH EXERCISE IN SUPPORT OF EASTERN EUROPEAN ALLIES

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

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

British Army Flexes its armour in Poland exercise.

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

British Army Flexes its armour in Poland exercise.

The feet on the ground, every conflict needs them.

British Army Flexes its armour in Poland exercise.

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

British Army Flexes its armour in Poland exercise.

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

Throwing a spanner in the works

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

Inter-Service rivalry hits the slopes of France

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

One model, three looks.

April 3, 2013
Development, Portraits
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Lighting in the studio is simply never ending, there are so many possibilities.  Different intensity, direction, modifiers, sources and on and on.  The opportunity to play with the D800 for the first time in the studio was a big motivator too.

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I enjoy working in the studio for its control-ability. The only way to learn is to practice and play with the light.  Some of the things you can do with light is simply amazing.

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Most of my lighting set-ups are either one or two lights and getting the simple lighting to work is the most difficult.  As you begin to understand how the light will work, you learn to manipulate it the way you want to.

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So with a couple of hours, a willing model and having some ideas before hand, you can come out with some decent results.  Now how can I get it better?

The cheek of the job!

March 7, 2013
Military work, Portraits, Sport / Action
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Just a quick one today.  As I wait once again for the computer to keep up with me, it is an ideal opportunity to post some images from a recent Skiing competition I was covering.

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These images are only a few, please enjoy, some of them highlight the great humour of the British soldier….

1Div-2013-002-9864 1Div-2013-002-8954-Edit 1Div-2013-002-9106 1Div-2013-002-8966-Edit 1Div-2013-002-6028 1Div-2013-002-6233 Soldiers from Germany and the north of England compete and train in the French Alps 1Div-2013-002-9339-Harris 1Div-2013-002-9000 1Div-2013-002-9447 1Div-2013-002-9727-Grove

Others are those type of skiing shots you may be used to seeing.

Finding the time, a photographers lot

October 19, 2012
Development, Portraits
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Well many of you may be aware the last few weeks have been a blur, but a happy one.  Now I am starting to move on and as a photographer, there is always a difficulty balancing the work with real life.  Any working photographer lives and breathes photography, and I find it gets worse the longer I go on.  Understanding light is probably the hardest thing with photography and it takes time.  There are no shortcuts here and learning to identify and use light is something every photographer constantly works with.

As I understand light more and more, I see opportunity and inspiration.  I suppose it feels a little bit like staring at the screen on ‘The Matrix’, you just start to see photographs everywhere.  That said seeing images and capturing images are two completely different things though the more I see light and its subtleties I base it on images I have taken.

Now I like working in the studio with controlled light.  There is a sense that anything is possible, if you can just control it as you need.  I really love photographing people but the most difficult part is ‘the people’, getting them to do what you want, no, need them to do.  A sitter does not have any idea what is going on in my head (probably a good thing), and I am working towards an end product that nestles in the outer reaches of my muddled head.

There is no substitute for working with people, it really is the only way you get to know the craft of lighting.  I can play with new ideas on an inanimate object but translating that to people is something that can only be done with people……

….and no two people are the same.

So there we have it, this post is no more than a plug, I need you to improve and you need me to take your portrait, so there you go, no excuses any more…

And here is to the weekend, all good in moderation.