On meeting Martin Parr

October 18, 2014

I will admit that before I actually went to meet and photograph Martin Parr, I knew very little about him. I knew of some of his work, I know he is a “Magnum” photographer. Apart from that I knew little else.

Martin Parr? Who is Martin Parr? I know some who read this will not have a clue. Now having met him, I have a better idea.

He is pleasant, a little distant (until he gets to know you a little), pretty scruffy, well actually he is very scruffy. What does that even matter.

His photographic work is quite recognisable, he tends to use direct flash, and was a pioneer in the use of colour film on the ‘art scene’. He then started to develop using a ring flash with amateur film creating very saturated detail shots.

The upshot was he was eventually invited to join ‘Magnum’, the photographers group which started post WW2. He funnily recalls the fact that he is the only photographer to be accepted into Magnum twice. He explains that to gain access to this prestigious club, you need approval from 75%. He was awarded access by one vote, only for a latecomer to then vote ‘No’. He was out again. The ‘Yes’ campaigners then rallied around and found one of their own stuck in hospital, so a quick visit, another ‘Yes’ vote and Martin was again voted in.

Martin had been invited, well commissioned actually by the Sprengel museum, in Hannover to compile a body of work for an exhibition looking at the British influence in Lower Saxony, a large county of the German Bundesrepublic. The county has been strongly linked with the British for centuries, especially after the Royal links with the house of Hannover. On his travels for the project he was introduced to the British Military, a force he was not expecting to be too influential for the project, but turned out to be a major contributor.

Anyway, I digress, this is not about the exhibition, this is about him. Oh and me ;).

How do you approach a subject like Martin Parr? Love him or not, he has built a life out of photography, he is in Magnum for f*@$ sake. In the plain for photography, I am on the foot hills where as he is at the top of an Alpine peak. I wanted to get some portraits that included the exhibition. I won’t say I was overwhelmed, I felt ok. I knew he has a lot of portraits of people that do look awkward, it is a style thing with him (possible over simplified). I wondered if I could do the same. In hind sight I think I could have done better but then is that not photography?

You decide. What I will say though, if you are near to Hannover and have some time, go and see the exhibition. Having spoken to the photographer, perhaps I have that extra dimension, but it is great to see these images in their prime. The quality and vibrancy will never be as good in print or on the Web. It is always better to see art in the flesh.

http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL5357TF

Autumnal Landscapes

October 24, 2013

Landscapes

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I don’t really get to take too many landscapes. I feel you really need to be out looking for them constantly and the reality is I will see a potential but the weather is either wrong or it is the wrong time of day. So I make a mental note and go about my business.

I have been eyeing up this location for a while, the leaves are turning and in the evening light these colours will simply pop.

On the way home today, I stopped…… and explored.

There is not much more I can say about that.

The ‘SCURGE’ of photography and a client education

October 18, 2013

Opinion, Portraits

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As I write this I have just discovered that another good friend of mine has been ‘ripped off’ by a so called professional photographer. Why am I pissed off? Simple, because every time this happens the effect is felt throughout the whole industry. I have been a professional photographer for over ten years now and I do not know all there is about photography. It has taken years to build a reputation, a style and a direction. There is no short cuts for this,

There have always been con men and women, that is nothing new, but the recent progress in photography has made this a breeding ground for minimum risk chancers. It is easy to set up a website, operate for a few weeks and then vanish.

Everyone is aware of the massive increase in photographers available and offering you their skills. This is both good and bad. Good because it has removed much of the elitist attitudes and competition is always good. Bad because most clients know little or nothing about the industry and how it should operate to be able to make an informed choice.

The papers are always telling stories of a bride and groom duped into giving away their hard earned money and being heart broken when the resulting images are not at all what they expected.

So how can I help?

I am going to give prospective clients 5 tips to reduce the risk.

1. Do your research. Visit the photographers website (no website should set alarms going), check their galleries. Is their work of a quality you would be happy with? Are the images of a similar style? Are they creative images? Visit their Blog (most have them now), do their blog entries match their website in quality and style? Look for endorsements but don’t trust them out of hand, anyone can write a few words. Be more trusting of personal recommendations although this is not always possible.

2. Speak to the photographer and meet them before any booking. Check the quality of their work on their walls, again, does it match the website for quality and style? Ask to see any other imagery that they have done that is not on their website or blog. Always ask to see a complete wedding if that is what you want to hire your photographer for. That could be either a digital display or a copy of the wedding album. Be cautious if they refuse, why would they?

3. Make sure the photographer has insurance. This should mean that you are protected to some degree. If your wedding photographs are ruined then this insurance will cover for this.

4. Get an contract. This should be an agreement like an email identifying what you should expect may suffice in many cases. I have had instances as a photographer where a client has said to me ‘but I thought I was going to get A, B and C’, the contract is there to protect the photographer as well as the client. Make sure you read and understand what is written.

5. Be cautious with up front payments. Most photographers will charge you some kind of sitting fee, this is to be expected. Make sure you know what you are getting for that. You should however expect to pay up front for a wedding (this is standard practice) so seeing as much evidence of the photographers work as possible is a must.

These simple suggestions will not remove the risk completely, but may minimise it. Photography is subjective and in any dispute, if the images are well composed and exposed correctly, you might find any judgement does not go in your favour. Make sure you actually like the work you have been shown.

A photographers web site should only contain images that they have taken themselves or within a larger company, although there have been instances where photographers put stock imagery on their page, so their website has professional imagery.

These points are not an exhaustive list but a mere five suggestions that will help minimise your risk.

It’s all in the exposure, and a day out with my daughter

September 27, 2013

Development, Portraits

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Photography is as popular now as it has ever been, with many households in the west owning at least one reasonable SLR (or so it would seem). The instant viability of the image means that if you miss the first shot you can adjust your settings and have another go (in many cases). We take many more photographs than we used to and probably as a result this has actually devalued the image. We can simply take another shot, means that getting it right first time is not important…

The number of people I speak to who tell me that photography is actually not that easy, they went out and bought a really great camera that has all these buttons and hey, “why can’t I get the background to blur?”, or “my photo’s were too dark”, to name a couple.

Whilst it is true that the newer cameras are technologically advanced and will continue to be so, there is a skill, a skill that is totally reliant on knowing the principals and more importantly being able to and understanding how to manipulate them.

I have been toying with the idea of dabbling with film for some time now, and have recently bought an old large format ‘Speed Graphic’ or press camera from the 40’s and 50’s. It is a big beast (not the biggest), and I have yet to find the memory card slot, let alone the playback screen.

The fact of the matter I plan to work on some portraiture and possibly the odd landscape, and the exposure needs to be spot on. So I decided to play around with some exposure techniques. The first I tried was a rather clunky and simple method, where I take a spot meter reading from the lightest part of the face and then for my daughter I over exposed the whole image by 1.3 stops. The exposure alteration will vary depending on the lightness of the skin. The reason for this is the light meter will try to make your selected area mid grey, but for my daughter that would make her look too dark. There is an element of trial and error to start with but as you look at your subject you will get to know what adjustment to make.

Any way back to the subject, I had decided not to view any of the images until I was finished and my daughter was eating her promised ice cream. Although not the same as film I wanted to add that little bit of pressure to the process as it was not that easy to re shoot if they had not come out. It’s all part of the mind set needed for film.

The images in this entry are those from the walk and as you can see I did not get too many. But the exposures were exactly what I wanted and apart from a little split toning or desaturating in Lightroom, they are as they came out of the camera.

These images were taken on a D800 with a prime 105mm f2 lens and manual focus.

SLOW DOWN AND GET IT RIGHT FIRST TIME!

It’s not real, is it?

September 26, 2013

Military work

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Charging through the forests of Germany, being thrown about the back of one armoured vehicle or another, it would seem that there is not a flat driving surface anywhere here. This exercise seems to be calm anticipation with periodic madness, blink and you will miss it. No pressure…

This is a joint exercise with British and German units training along side each other. It is armoured, so there are Tanks and AFV’s (Armoured Fighting Vehicles) rolling all over the place. The safety staff are beginning to HATE me, as I dart around from one shot to the next, so what? If I get run over, I probably won’t even feel it… As a photographer it comes with the territory to have a good all round awareness. Gone are those early days when all I did was look through the viewfinder, now I feel like my photography is more about instinct and premonition. I am sure that is not entirely true but hey!

I have covered these type of exercises before and come away with very little as the action is not really easy to pinpoint. You can spend your day around a group of soldiers who may not actually be involved in much. Reality…

Photographically at least, this one worked perfectly, we ran around like seemingly headless chickens, knowing the kind of things we wanted to capture but not confident that they would present themselves. It is an instant that is at times one of the more frustrating parts of the job but also gives you some excitement. Will I or won’t I?

The great thing about these kind of days is they tend to be as much training for you as the others. Trying to interview (getting a few words) young guys who are as alert as they can be on their surroundings.

Yes it is fair to say that days like this make me happy as I search for the images.

I hope you like them…

Pushing yourself and putting yourself on the spot.

July 10, 2013

Sport / Action

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Yesterday we had a sporting event here in Germany. Chances are few people heard about it, there was not too much advertising certainly outside of the field.

Every year there is an athletics competition, in the town stadium in Herford, near Bielefeld. The only people that probably get to know about it are those units that are invited to field a team. Many of the athletes are probably selected little more than a couple of days before it happens and in some cases, the athletes are actively taking part in their [chosen] event for the first time on the day.

As awful as that sounds, the reality is that for many of these competitors (although not all), their level of experience is largely irrelevant. The truth is that competitions like these are not really about the level of skill or the ability of the competitors. These contests are in plain terms military competitions rather than athletic.

They are about guts, determination, team work, effort and overcoming yourself. So the opportunity came up to photograph the event, not because we were tasked to but because we could. In the absence of a formal request I decided it would be a fantastic opportunity to use this as a training day. Try some new things free from the usual expectation that can lead you to the safest route.

Photography is subjective as I have said before, and this is not an excuse to show the crap and try to market it as art. I invited the other two photographers from over here to join me with a brief to submit only five images from the day. Their choice, but they should mean something to them.

Now five images is not a lot but it can be plenty. Once I had been through all the images choosing the final images was not all that easy. The ones I chose would probably not be the choices of others but that is the point. This day was about observation and thought.

My final choices are those in Sepia as when it came down to it I felt I wanted to unify them in some way. There is one colour image though. An image I liked for its use of focus but when converted to sepia, it lost some of its elements. It stays here though because it’s my blog and I can do what I want.

The truth of the matter is that when you push yourself, photography is never easy, after concentrating so long and hard, I went hope tired that day……..but content.

Mood, mood, mood and more…….. mood!

June 20, 2013

Development, Landscapes

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I have talked about Landscapes a few times on here and openly admit that to do them justice (for the vast majority) you have to invest time and effort. Sometimes you have to see an opportunity and try to find a way to make the most of it.

On my way home today the weather rapidly changed. My cameras were sat on the front seat and I spent the next few minutes looking more at the sky than the road. I had already decided that I was going to stop, but I just needed to find the right place.

Surrounded by fields with varying crops, I settled on a strawberry field where locals were busy picking and eating the crop. The sudden darkness did not seem to bother anyone.

Enjoying the fresh breeze that you have craved all day on a day like these, I rushed to select lens, ISO, shutter, Graduated filter, tripod, I had to work fast as the clouds moved so quickly. I managed to make a few exposures before I had to move on.

This one is my personal favourite.

Revisiting the past and the affirmation of your choices

June 13, 2013

Afghanistan, Military work, Portraits

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We make potentially life changing decisions on a regular basis, we react to our surroundings our experiences and try to make the best choices we can.

When I joined the British Army all that time ago, I joined as the Royal Military Police (there goes half my readers), I had an amazing introduction to Army life and the life has changed me so much in a positive way I no longer remember the shy timid person I was. Anyone still with me?

I am now a photographer with the Royal Logistic Corps (there goes the other half), and the job I do has an essential need for this confidence. I don’t think I am an overbearing person, well not until a couple too many sociables… er hello?

I look back on my RMP days with pride, I still have many friends in their ranks, although ever being replaced with young people who are obviously too young to even be in the Army. I have nothing but great memories even patrolling in the Arctic circle in -40. It is fair to say I even miss it from time to time. It’s all gone very quiet in here.

Do I have any regrets? Well the really honest answer is no, why would I. I can put my hand on my heart now and tell you I quite possibly have the best job in the Army, in fact if Heineken……..

As you can see from these images I covered a recent parade in Germany as part of the withdrawal from Germany. A sad day because after such a long time, ties with the local community are inevitable and once we depart they will need to much more work to try and keep them alive.

Now I do try to keep in contact with quite a few of my old mates, so this does mean I have on occasion socialised with RMP, although I am now talking to myself now. I accept I miss being with a bunch of guys that do a great job and yet receive little recognition (nor do they crave it). That said, I now have new skills that enable me to show them off a little now, although not often. I enjoy working with them and I hope I do them justice.

I guess all I am trying to say is this. Life is too short to have regrets, look back and smile, look forward and focus on whatever you see ahead. Oh and don’t live in fear of the unknown.

Seeing opportunity and getting of your fat @rse!

June 8, 2013

Landscapes, Opinion

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How many of us drive around, see something interesting and stop to take a photograph?

In these days of being so busy, it is not always that easy, is it?

I carry my camera around with me most of the time, and after a recent visit to a Peter Lik gallery, I have been invigorated by the landscape around me.

The reality is that we are mostly rushing around towards the next deadline that is simply to close. What is the answer? Leave plenty of time to allow for opportunity or change your mind set so that time is really not all that important.

Now the German landscape in my immediate vicinity is not the most dramatic and certainly not the kind that Peter Lik visits for his landscapes (sounds like excuses I know and perhaps they are).

The reality is that to do landscapes justice, you have to dedicate time and effort, more than most people (myself included perhaps) are willing or simply able to give. It is sad and a little depressing to admit but like most photographers time is our enemy and quite profound as it is one of the primary parameters we work with on a daily basis. We are always either fighting it or trying our best to manipulate it.

Now I am by no means a landscape guru by any stretch of the imagination but sometimes it is fun to get out on your own with a camera and a 4 x 4 and simply look for the opportunities. There is a convention that says decent landscapes should be taken at sunrise or sunset and really most of the time these are the best times as you can get some amazing light but quite often these times can give you a pretty cliche’d image. That is not to say a bad image, but for me they can lose impact if you feel you have seen them before.

We get so bombarded with imagery these days as there are so many cameras clicking away all the time, there ends up being some fantastic stuff out there but sadly often they are hidden among the mundane. A quick look on flickr searching for landscapes and you will see what I mean.

Germany is a stunning country in so many ways and I plan to try to capture more of this, I will of course share with you too.

There are some more examples of my Landscape work on our website http://www.LIMEfotographic.com Please feel free to visit.

Another homecoming parade, how many left?

May 3, 2013

Afghanistan, Military work

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This week saw me attending another Homecoming and medal parade here in Germany. I have lost track of how many of these I have covered over the years. They are always great opportunities to capture some great images although this time for some reason, it got me thinking.

With the imminent return home of British troops from Afghanistan in 2014, these may well be a thing of the past for a little while. Of course this is great news when you consider how many soldiers we have lost during the conflict, but I can’t help feel a tinge of sadness.

These parades are always great events supported by the soldiers and their families. They are a show, a celebration, in many cases an opportunity to reflect and for some a way of closure. But more than that these signify the end of a job well done.

The British Armed forces are there to do these jobs, love them or hate them, these roles seem to come up all too often, usually when you least expect them. These parades are significant as they mean the members of the Armed Forces have been doing a job they have trained hard for.

I do not mean to be disrespectful as the conflict in Afghanistan goes on and there will in all likelihood be more injured or even killed, so we cannot afford to look at the end with too much comfort.

One thing I am glad of is how this operation seems to have brought the Armed Forces closer together. In the past the fierce rivalry used to alienate certain cap badges or trades, but such is the nature of this conflict that every job out there has risk and danger, it is not just the infantry who are risking their lives on the front. I think this conflict has shown the strengths of our armed forces as a whole and that should be commended.

The opinions stated here are simply the opinions of the author and do not in any way necessarily reflect the stance of the Ministry of Defence.

All the fun of the fair and getting your balance

April 22, 2013

Portraits, Uncategorized

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Being a professional photographer comes with pressure. Probably mostly from within. Not always though. Do I want to see any bad images out there to reflect my skill or lack of it?

There are always times when photography should come second. Family time is precious and there are few times as our children grow up that we can spend that quality time together…….. but I must take my camera…… I must…… you never know when that killer shot will show you an opportunity.

True.

Fairgrounds are so much fun, especially as a child (we had three kids with us), the colour is amazing, the speed, the screams, the laughter, the food. They are great fun to shoot too, but quite challenging. I wanted to take a few images but still keep the balance with spending some of that quality time together.

A scatter approach and the continuous search

March 5, 2013

From the Archive, Military work, Opinion, Portraits

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This week I had been asked to put a few words together for a biography on our work Facebook page. Actually not the easiest thing I have done if I am honest! Harder still was the effort (and time) required to go through my back archive to find some images to include. With ten years as a working professional, you inevitably gather a fair collection and even when you concede that half of that time was working with the more secret aspect of the military (and therefore have no imagery to show for it), I was surprised just how difficult this was.

This was one of those situations that is surreal, I captured this shot before understanding what had happened. At the time there had been a couple of shootings by Iraqi troops and this was taken on a training day. This guy was keen to point his AK-47 at me for the photo and there is a magazine fitted, I never knew if he had live or blank ammunition in it. I was lucky I guess.

I think at times it is good to look behind you, to see and consider what you have done in the past because the reality is the past is what has shaped who you are today. I am a believer in the acceptance we are really only the sum of our experiences, they shape us, they mold our character and personality.

One of the things we like to try and do is get the story in one picture. This was the Hajj pilgrimage, and the first time since the conflict that Basrah international airport had been open for the pilgrims.

As I have stated before, Buddhists believe that life is suffering, and we all endure hardships in life, some more than others granted but it is there. The real test is how we come to deal with these tests, and in this case I mean the emotional response rather than the physical one. How we look at a situation will inevitably affect how we deal with it, but any response will also involve a measured adjustment too. What I mean by this can be illustrated by nature. Two male lions fight to take control. A fight ensues that could easily mean the death of one of them. Both probably begin the fight with the same kind of emotional response and aggression, however pretty soon one will realise they are probably going to lose. How do they respond? Well they have a choice. They can continue or flee, if they continue they could get lucky (if they are thinking rationally) and if they flee they may survive. Is either response wrong? Probably not but they are worlds apart. You could even consider that the weaker one may have entered the fight without really expecting to win but understanding that to fight is expected.

Sometimes it is simply about an aesthetic, during a military music show, this one soldier was lit by a spotlight as he shouted his commands, I just liked the shot for its controlled lighting,

Life in the military has a reputation of being tough and much of the time it is, however humour is also so important. The bi-annual ‘Red nose day” provides opportunity.

The longer you consider the situation you can start to see different motivations or responses. These days as human beings we are not exposed to these kind of choices, but the reality remains.

It’s all about the lighting and finding a way to tell a story. This shot, taken at sunset is a simple story of water being dropped in the middle of a desert for an operation. A tiny bit of flash was needed to bring out the boxes of water, otherwise they would just have been silhouettes.

There are times when you are just in the right place at the right time. This shot was taken as the sun set on New Years Eve 2007. The Lynx was coming in to land fast and I had the time to capture this shot.

Anyway I kind of digressed there. To have the opportunity to look at my past work was good and bad. I remembered some of the experiences and cringed at some of the images. Any creative process is simply that, a process. I see images today vastly differently to what I did ten years ago. But I do that because of the experiences I have been through. My experiences are my own and each of us have had completely different ones. I feel now that the past has improved me and I only hope that it continues to for many years to come because this is the future and it excites me that the best is yet to come…

This is one of those shots that is technically dull but it is the details in observation that make it work.

This shot was taken on a routine patrol outside Basrah, looking for rocket rails. This shot was just a part of a selection used for a bio slideshow of trooper Whittfield that can be seen here; http://vimeo.com/26632974 This shot did also end up used by the Guardian to illustrate a story they did on budgets in the MOD. You can never control the use of your images I suppose.

Bring on that warm fuzzy feeling.

I loved this shot for what it stood for rather than the breathtaking quality (ha ha), this was a common sentiment from the Iraqi troops, they were generally proud of their involvements.

This shot does need some explaining. This is a drill (not real), the injured soldier is made up to give soldiers the realistic chance of dealing with an horrific injury, one they may expect to come to deal with. All I really remember now is the sickening smell of the fake blood, it smelled of overpowering make up.

Thank you for listening.

So then, why the title? Having just read it back it seems a bit of a tangent and perhaps it is. I was actually referring to this blog. I have been struggling with how to follow my last entry. What on earth do you follow an article on Belsen? Then I looked further back. This blog is personal, that is a fact, I am sharing my experiences and as an Army photographer I can deal with the full range of things. The horror of Belsen one minute, to soldiers skiing the next. They are not connected but as I experience them they are all important to me. I want to approach each situation with professionalism. I only hope this comes across.

The worst of human nature

February 24, 2013

Opinion

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Life is not all smiles, in fact if you believe Buddhists, life is suffering. I think we all have periods of our lives when we can relate to that.

We experience bad things, this is only natural, although who can say that they experience pain (physical or psychological). This week I decided to go back to a place I went to as a child and never really understood, Belsen, one of the Nazi concentration camps of WWII.

Now to put this in context, I used to live near to Belsen as a child growing up in a forces environment, but as a child you should not understand these things (sadly this is not the case for all children). Going back to the new museum (since I was a child), I was initially shocked by the museum, it felt cold, impersonal, forbidding. As I spent time in there, the more I understood it.

My wife’s Grandfather served in the Royal Engineers during the Second World War and was one of the first to enter Belsen. As a keen amateur photographer who had his own kit, he was requested to take some photographs of what he saw, such was the dis belief of what they did see, there must have been a real fear that the outside world would simply not believe it. Sadly he suffered the effects of what he witnessed for the rest of his life. Many of the photographs and negatives were destroyed on the advice of a psychiatrist in the 60’s or 70’s. A few did survive and were given to the Imperial War Museum together with the camera they were taken on.

On reflection as you see the exhibits, the photos, the artifacts later discovered, it becomes clear. How can you soften this place, no matter how uncomfortable you make the museum, it CAN never be as dreadful as it was for these inmates.

I will always remember the story told to me by my Grandfather in law, on entering the camp there was a young girl, sat near the abandoned gates, malnourished and to weak to even stand. By the time he walked past her again a couple of hours later, she was dead.

Part of the exhibition (that does not feel like the right way to describe it), the memorial, is a video exhibit filmed by the AFPU (Army Film & Photography Unit), the fore runners of our existing trade of RLC photographers. The video is harrowing to see, as it shows the reality that made me a little uneasy, watching the dead being dragged around in ceremoniously by a limb only to be dumped in huge ditches. I am realistic enough to understand that due to the sheer scale of the problem, it had to be dealt with so quickly as the stench of death must have been almost too much to bear.

Sadly it would be at least a little bit comforting to know that as a result of these atrocities, similar events would be avoided, but alas, this has been proven not to be the case.
Even more disturbing I think is the groups that deny that these events have been fabricated, they never happened. I don’t understand that even with the weight of evidence in still and video imagery, there can be any doubt, but it makes me wonder what motivates this denial, or the continued refusal to accept the worst in human behavior. Whist that continues, should we continue to accept these situations? How do we, as a species stop it?

Teaser in the snow

January 31, 2013

Military work, Sport / Action

2 Comments

While I wait for my computer to catch up with my obviously speedy working habits, I thought I would take the time to give you a teaser of an ongoing job.

These guys move quickly and they hit the gates really hard.

Keep watching there will be more to follow soon.

Getting known and trying to break the norm.

November 28, 2012

Development, Portraits, Promotion

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Any photographer will tell you that one of the biggest journeys for them to take is the attempt to do something new, so find their own USP (Unique Selling Point). More often and not these days it is a certain look done in post production (after the photo has been taken). An example of this is the Dragan effect (google it). The thing is with PP is that it is quite easily replicated. Once someone comes out with a catchy look, its just a matter of time before everyone is doing it. That USP then becomes dull, it loses its impact.

I have decided to undertake a couple of projects over this Christmas period working at charity events and a Christmas fayre.

Why?

Well simple, I decided I needed to do two things. Firstly be seen for what I do (taking portraits) and secondly to capture something that makes people go wow, which is not that easy. I also wanted to make people go, “I like that, can I book a family shoot or a portrait session from you?”

A standard set up for this kind of event is probably a two light set up, maybe three. A main light, fill and either a background light or hair light. The idea being that this set up is versatile as the sweet spot can be organised to be quite large.

Well I decided I didn’t want to do that as although you can get reasonable light it will not suit everyone. There is not really any set up that will suit everyone, so decisions have to be made. I chose to use a ‘clam shell’ set up which has the main light as a 1.2m Octobox directly above the subject, and very close. The fill light is under my feet and I shoot through the gap in between. The problem is that to get this really amazing soft light the subject is close to the light and the sweet spot is quite small. I can only fit (carefully) two subjects.

Ultimately here lays the problem. I do not directly make any money from this shoot which as a business I have to make money to survive. There will always be people that want a certain shot and it is difficult to almost alienate yourself from anyone, but I have to look at the bigger picture. I want you to see that I can get some amazing pictures of you guys and in a studio with all my kit at my disposal and a couple of hours to spare, we can come up with same really memorable shots that you will love.

Looking at it that way, its a bit of a no brainer really…. What I particularly love about this is the options that remain in PP, like in any lighting situation I suppose.

In the thick of it and always experimenting

November 19, 2012

Development, Portraits

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As a photographer one of the best parts of the job is the sheer volume of options. I love the fact that I can always learn new techniques, be it composition, lighting, style or… well the options some times feel pretty limitless. #

The only limit to a photographer is their imagination.

I love playing with lighting, the studio is a great place when things are going well and the most frustrating place when they are not.

Lighting is, in essence quite simple, even the most complex of lighting set ups should look simple, but simple is great to look at and natural.

After setting up a stand at a recent charity fashion show, I thought it would make a great opportunity to try a simple clamshell setup. I have to say I have never used this one before and I really have no idea why. It is an amazing light and with post pro can suit men, women and children.

For this one I had a 1.2m Octabox as the key light, with a simple shoot through brolly as the fill from the floor. The lights were no more than 1m from the subject so I used a wide lens for most of them.

Another set up in the bank.

Building books and the tangible truth

October 22, 2012

Afghanistan, Military work, Opinion, Portraits

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If there is one aspect of digital photography and the internet that I don’t like it is simply the lack of necessity to print your images.

There is nothing quite like a decent print, and trust me it is never simply a case of hitting the print button. So in the last six months or so I have been responsible for producing 4 photographic books, and all I can say is wow. Although the books have been limited run or one offs, the sense of achievement you get after all the work of putting them together and handling it is second to none.

I now have the printed book bug.

A reflective image is so different from a back lit image, that seeing your images feels like seeing it again for the first time.

There are some amazing companies out there that can produce these books and some of the software you can use to complete the books are very straight forward. All I would say is don’t feel the need to over complicate the layout.

Photo books should ideally, in my humble opinion, be about an image at a time, although that is not always possible. There is certainly a skill in putting a book together and I feel myself getting better each time. There is a lot of work, in particular when you are trying to include other contributors.

Another important effort is to do your best to create a narrative, to make the images inter connect and flow from one to the other and at times, even if you have a cracking image that misses the narrative, do not shoehorn it into the book just out of hand. If you need to add another section to the book to fit it in, then try but be your own worst critic.

The end result is worth it though.

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.

Award winning, does it really make a difference?

October 12, 2012

Military work

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I write this blog in somewhat of a state of shock. I have just been told that I need to get myself over to London next week to pick up a couple of prizes from the Army photographic awards. This image was taken at 0500 using available red light on a high ISO and shows us packed like sardines into the back of a Chinook about to go on an operation.

This year was only the second time I have entered in ten years for one thing or another, and after being runner up last time, the improvement was great. This macro shot was taken with a macro lens and was supposed to be an observation of religious prominence within the military and more so with the Americans. What is does not show however is the levels of religious diversity that we have now.

If I am totally honest, I didn’t really hold out much hope as much of the last 12 months was doing video, and if I am even more honest, not to a great standard. Military equipment – this was one of my favorite portraits from Afghanistan, it shows an attitude and toughness that belies the old equipment they operate with.

So back to the competition. I am obviously very pleased for the recognition, but I really don’t think it means all that much at the end of the day but what we can do to raise the profile of our small group of individuals who work hard to show our colleagues at their best. This is not down to me being disrespectful to the other entrants in this particular competition, just the fact that winning competitions may be a skill but also requires a lot of luck. After all three judges look at the images subjectively and pick their favorite and on another day with different judges, the results would, I am sure, probably be very different. This military portrait taken in the studio is intended to show a diversity within the whole port folio. It is a standard portrait with a little twist.

I had no idea who was judging this competition, not that knowing that would have made any difference. The simple fact is that photography is purely subjective and what one person loves another simply can’t stand… the Marmite thing I suppose. In the absence of a perfect boxing or skiiing shot (not much of either in Afghanistan), I wanted to demonstrate a little bit of the British soldiers sense of humour… unfortunately there was no lake in sight.

So what did I win? Well rather surprisingly, the Professional port folio award and the best Professional image. Wow, now I am speechless. From the harshness of Afghanistan to the grandeur of Hannover town hall for the Queens birthday celebrations, a city that has close ties to the royal family.

The port folio was a simple case of choosing eight images, each one fulfilling a single criteria. Operational image, Sport, Macro, Black and white, portrait, military equipment, Interior and Public relations image. So the portfolio was always going to be a mismatch off images rather than a coherent collection of images to support a narrative.

Which ever way you look at it, there will be controversy and disagreement, as everyone will see different things from the images submitted. So there we have it for another year, I only hope that we as a photographic trade can make the most of this and promote ourselves as the self motivated, professional individuals we are.

The image selected by the judges as the winning image, taken just before the officer at the front of the picture screamed at me for not being where I should be.

Territorials are dead, long live the reservists

October 5, 2012

Military work

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The Territorial Army or TA, have been around for longer than I can remember, and since I joined the British Army ‘Regulars’ they have taken the brunt of the jokes.

These part timers or weekend warriors have over the last decade had a resurgence fueled by an ever increasing involvement in Afghanistan.

The name ‘Territorial Army’ is no more, replaced by the simple ‘Reservists’, many of their numbers have now served more operational tours than some of their regular counterparts. Probably a minority but this fact is one aspect that has transformed reputations.

There are still ways to go, but the momentum is there and with more and more ambitious training exercises going on, I feel the reputation will improve.

As the government places more and more emphasis onto the reservists, the future looks bright for these soldiers and their future looks assured.

Viable and sustainable? Well really only time will tell, but with so much being laid on their shoulders, can they afford to fail?

Any opinions or points of view expressed in this blog are not the views of the British Army or the Ministry of Defence, but of myself and should not be viewed as official comment.

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—The mastery of life, work and Photography

The eye sees what it sees, the camera sees what you ask it to and the rest needs to be discovered.

Archive

Tag Archives: Germany

On meeting Martin Parr

Autumnal Landscapes

The ‘SCURGE’ of photography and a client education

It’s all in the exposure, and a day out with my daughter

It’s not real, is it?

Pushing yourself and putting yourself on the spot.

Mood, mood, mood and more…….. mood!

Revisiting the past and the affirmation of your choices

Seeing opportunity and getting of your fat @rse!

Another homecoming parade, how many left?

All the fun of the fair and getting your balance

A scatter approach and the continuous search

The worst of human nature

Teaser in the snow

Getting known and trying to break the norm.

In the thick of it and always experimenting

Building books and the tangible truth

Award winning, does it really make a difference?

Territorials are dead, long live the reservists

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