Guest blogging - Emulsive and World on Film

Just a quick post today to basically say YAY and Hurray as I share the news that I am appearing as a guest contributor/blogger/waffler on the amazing film photography website Emulsive! here's a link to my first article and hopefully the first of many more to come -a huge thank you EM from Emulsive for accepting me into the fold, it's a great website with loads of fantastic images and stories from around the wold so I am mighty pleased to join their ranks :)  Take a look HERE

You'll recognise the images from a street shooting trip to Leeds last summer with a Rollei 35S and some Rollei Retro 400S film.

And double yay becuase I've also been featuured in World on Film which you can see HERE a this one was another street shooting advenutre to wildest Sheffield! huge thank you to Stephen at World on Film - it's a greta resource with some amazing photographers sharing their stories and I am delighted to be part of that! More to come!

Fear not - I'll be back very soon with more Camera, Lens and film review goings on and also an update on some of my recent commercial projects too that help pay for all this film photography tomfoolery!

The Ineffable Pathos of Ruin....

I flipping love a good ruin, don't you? I also love hiking and film photography - if you like those things too then today's blog will be right up your street, or path or moorland, whatever - you're in the right place!

Raistrick Greave is an ancient derelict farmhouse atop Heptonstall Moor in West Yorkshire - these photos were taken on a walk in 2017 but the roll of film has been languishing in the fridge since then (i keep film in the fridge - it's a thing, honest) but no longer, the images have been awoken from their icy slumber to tell the tale of the haunted ruins of... RAISTRICK GREAVE!!! (que thunder sound effects and scary music)!

Not only do I love a good ruin but I flipping love an open moorland too, the seemingly endless expanse of sky and undulating sea of grass - I can't resist the urge to stick my walking boots on and head for the horizon, which sounds like a really polite way of telling someone to bugger off doesn't it?! These photos were taken on one of my all to infrequent jaunts out into the wilds, on this occasion accompanied by my mate Dom who had discovered the ruined farm house on a previous walk and suggested we take a look.

On the approach to the site the first traces of human occupation appear - the remains of rough stone walls sunken into the ground tracing the boundary of what must have once been grazing or even farm land but is now very definitely open moor - this just adds to the sense of dereliction and dissaray.

It is difficult to obtain much detail about the history of the place except for it's name Rasitrick Greave and that it was (obviously) a farm house - when I say difficult to obtain I don't mean that the information is hidden away behind myriad booby traps in an Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom kind of way, just that having spent, ooh... litreally minutes on google I couldn't find anything - anyway myself and my esteemed Colleague Mr. Dominic Ranson Esq reckoned it to be 17th Century ish and that's good enough for me - alternative suggestions are welcomed!

Looking back at the photos now It's difficult not to get into a reflective mood -  this was once a home, build to withstand the elements and provide shelter and warmth, a place to live! People lived here, the buildings were... alive....host to all the mundanities of daily life, the hustle and bustle, the highs and lows, the births and the deaths....but now fallen silent, deprived of the one thing that brought them meaning - life! Home now only to the wind whistling through the cracks in the wall

I wonder how many people sat around that hearth warming themselves by the fire after a hard days work in the fields,how many times did they sit at the window and take in the views, what were there hopes, dreams and aspirations? All that's left are these tumbledown stones, monuments to forlorn hope. I wonder if in a few hundred years enough will remain of my own home for some itinerant soul to ponder....

I'm feeling far too reflective to bang on about the film gear used to create these images suffice it to say that they were shot on Rollei Retro 80S on my trusty Olympus OM2n and developed in Adonal which has once again prove itself to be a great means of creating images with contrast, depth and sharpness.

Shooting 35mm film in the studio

Using film in the studio is a really enjoyable experience, I was fortunate to be asked to second shoot my friend and fellow Photographer Ruth's fashion shoot in her studio a while back and had the opportunity to grab a few shots of very awesome model, Zivvy. All of the black and white shots were taken on Fuji Acros 100 film on a Canon EOS 3 camera, all the colour images on a Canon 6D DSLR.

I love working in the studio - it's a real treat, most of the time I shoot on location which requires some flexibility in your approach to allow for all sorts of variables in lighting and the general randomness that comes from shooting on location (although that is part of the fun)! However in the studio YOU are in full control!  In these images there are three studio strobes - one either side and another overhead, with a fourth light providing a backlight to the white background so there's a lot to take into consideration, it's an exercise in balancing and shaping light to achieve a certain effect depending on the look you're trying to achieve. I take no credit for coming up with the concept or the lighting arrangements for this shoot - that was all Ruth!

It can take a while to get your lighting and composition worked out even when using a digital camera with the benefit of being able to instantly review  your shot, the process becomes slightly more protracted when using film, which is why I recommend using a combined approach - shoot film AND digital!

Back in the day photographers would often use a polaroid camera (or back for their medium format camera) to assess how the light was falling on their subject, polaroid is still available but it's expensive stuff, you can also get flash meters but they're not cheap either so I used my Canon 6D DSLR to meter the shots and judge the lighting - think of it as a digital polaroid! :)

Zivvy, Gav and Ruth reviewing the mood board and deciding on final styling

As second shooter I took some behind the scenes photos on my 6D as Ruth, Zivvy and Gav the Hair Stylist did their thing - I really enjoy shooting candid, reportage images like this as it shows the hard work that goes in to making the final images - it's normal to spend a long time getting ready for even a simple shot and it's all part of the creative process that often gets missed out, behind the scenes shooting allows you to tell that story.

Zivvy trying out some vintage bling

The key to a successful model shoot is not lighting, or kit it's....wait for it.... team work! Your ability to communicate, collaborate and ultimately create with the stylist, model, hair and make up artist is fundamental, I was fortunate in that Ruth had put together a great team and concept (and also put her make up skills to good use), Zivvy is a very talented model and the hair stylist Gav was also awesome, having a good team of people working together towards a shared goal is much more important that a whizzbang camera or lens or whatever (although of course they're nice to have too) ;)

In order to integrate my digital and film sets ups when working in the studio I used a Canon EOS3 which has exactly the same mounts, inputs as the 6D so i could use the same lenses and flash triggers switching between film and digital as required, nice and simple it's no good spending ages faffing about trying to get ancient film gear to talk to modern studio lighting whilst the model, Hair and MUA, stylist et al are waiting for me to figure it all out, I like to shoot quickly and keep the energy going as I think this translates to the final images so having a fully integrated set up is a real bonus.

All of the black and white images you see here are Fuji Acros 100 35mm film which I semi stand developed myself in Adonal (on reflection probably not the best developer/process for the job as it's known to bring out the grain of the film and Acros is renowned for being smooth - next time I'll use something else)! I love the high contrast though!

After the shoot I had a couple of frames left so I used them up around the studio.....

Fuji Acros 100 is a lovely film, I kind of wish I'd been more patient and bought some more appropriate developer/used a more appropriate process but I was impatient to see the final images! Don't get me wrong though I love the images and am very happy with them I just think that a developer like Xtol or D76 would've made for a smoother finish perhaps - oh well! live and learn!

Of course I wasn't just metering with the 6D - I enjoy digital photography very very much also, here are a few of my digital shots...

So that's it then - I hope you've enjoyed this latest blog post. I'm really looking forward to working with a combination of film and digital cameras in the studio again soon :)

Rollei 35S review - shooting from the hip!

Today we'll be getting to grips with the Rollei 35 S pictured here with a 50p next to it for scale (50p being the internationally recognised unit of scale) and really just to make the point that this thing is TINY!! I mean really tiny.... look at it.... next to the 50p and everything... tichy...

I was VERY fortunate to have been gifted this camera by a friend of a friend and I am very grateful especially so since I absoltuely love this camera!! At first glance I thought it might be something special and whilst I hadn't heard of a Rollei 35S before I was familar with the brand Rollei as they manufactured the legendary series of 'Rollei-flex' cameras and also some of my favourite 35mm film Rollei 80S (they really like the designation 'S' don't they)? which i have banged on about in a previous blog post HERE so I had high hopes for this camera - and a after bit of googling I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this is a very highly regarded piece of kit. Even without the internet's say so it's apparent from the build quality - this thing is very solidly built and feels well put together with the body being mostly metal, although still fairly light.

The other thing I noticed on closer inspection was the lens - a 40mm f2.8 'sonnar' lens.... again this is something i have heard of, Sonnar being the designation of a Zeiss lens design... Zeiss being the name of the supremo German lens manufacturer who are basically super awesome....so in short this thing is 1: tiny, 2: VERY well built and 3: has a super sharp lens on the front of it.... that my friends is a win, win, win!!

In practice the control and use of this camera is quite unusual - in fact at first i was a bit put off by it, I'll attempt to explain but take it from me that having shot a couple of rolls of film through this thing now, it's actually really easy to use and it's probably more complicated to explain, or at least it'll probably sound more complicated but trust me it's not really complicated....oh god it already sounds complicated and I haven't even started yet, right.... here goes....

The lens is not connected to the view finder so you have to focus the lens by judging the distance between yourself and your subject and then using the scale on top of the lens to set focus..... so that means that you have to read the numbers of the dial around the lens so looking at the image below we can see that with the lens focussed thusly then at f16 I'd have everything from about 4 feet to about 10 feet in focus -with the centre point being 6 feet - a top tip when shooting with this camera is to keep the aperture small, i generally didn't go below f8 so that you know you've got enough depth of field to compensate for the lack of fine focussing ability and guesstimating the distances (unless you want to go around wth a tape measure and literally work out the distance)! so it took a bit of getting used to but as I said it's actually more difficult to explain than it is to actually do! 

the dial on the left of the pic above adjusts shutter speed and the on on the right of the image does the aperture - it's actually very ergonomically designed and easy to use and adjust settings, the meter is untested as they don't make the batteries for this anymore but my trusty i-phone app is more than up to the job so it's no bother. (I might do a review of the app soon).

As I mentioned using the depth of field to help focus is key to successfully using this camera,  the images above demonstrate - on the right is an aperture of about f4 so only the front portion of the wall is focus whilst the iage on the right is about f11 so a really small aperture and therefore most of the image is in focus - simples!

Becuase the focus is done in this manner and the lens isn't linked to the viewfinder makes the Rollei 35S perfect for street shooting becuase you don't have to hold it up to your eye to focus, it's tiny size also supports this stealthy approach - I've always been a bit self conscious when it comes to shooting street photos and these days folks don't really take too kindly to having their photos taken which kind of kills the 'documenting life as it happens' ethos of street photography - but no longer! with this I can snap away completely under the radar..... it opens up a whole new realm of creative possibilities which I find very exciting!

Enough techno babble! more photos! I've shot two rolls of Rollei Retro 400S with this camera - the first on an afternoon in Leeds City Centre and the second back in what is seemingly becoming my fave street shooting destination... Dewsbury! I developed both rolls of film at the same time using a semi stand development process and I have to say I am very pleased with the results, really great contrast and detail with a good grain texture - it has a painterly feel to it in some of the images which is really appealing....this is my fave development technique not least becuase my time is so limited these days that it's just easier for me to throw the film in the developing tank and get on with something else while the Rodinal does it's thing! Sorry - that was even more technobabble! ENOUGH!

And now on to Dewsbury - different conditions it was quite overcast vs the bright sunny day I spent in Leeds with a much darker feel, I like!

Fomapan 200 35mm film review

Film photography is a dear doo, don't let anyone tell you otherwise - if it's not cameras, lenses or film then it's developing kit or just random bits of film related paraphenalia all of which takes it's toll on the old bank account! So it can be very welcome to discover some relatively cheap film - enter Fomapan 200...but is it any good? well if you can't be bothered to read the rest of this review then the short answer is YES! Hopefully you'd like a little more insight than that, and hopefully I can oblige!

The first group of images were taken on a photo walk around the fair city of Bradford in West Yorkshire on my Olympus OM2n and trusty Zuiko 28mm 2.8 lens - I wax lyrical about this combo HERE,and the second group of photos were shot with the same camera and lens many months later in the fair town of Dewsbury West Yorkshire with a couple of shots in Hull and Huddersfield for good measure - it's like a tour of all the most glamorous towns in the world!!

I started my Bradford photo walk in the National Media museum - hoping to catch the National Photography collection before it was pilfered (sorry I mean transfered) to London... as sods law would have it I missed out by two days and was presented with nothing but this snazzily decorated staircase leading to a locked door :( whilst i was gutted to have missed the exhibition I was quite impressed how Fomapan 200 handled the dimly lit scene, helped along no doubt by my chosen development process of Semi Stand developing in Adox Adonal (Rodinal) for 1 hour (with 3 inversions at 30 mintues) at a dilution of 1:100 - this is my go to sem stand process and as you can see from the results here the Fomapan 200 responded very well to it, I was slightly nervious first time round for two reasons 1: at that point 200 speed film was the fastest film I'd semi stand developed and 2: Fomapann 200 is a 'Tabular' grain film (in the same vein as Kodak Tmax and Ilford Delta) formulations which traditionally do not respond well to stand development. Your mileage may vary but I think it works great in this developer - there is a grain texture which looks more like a classic old school film grain rather than 'Tabular' grain which is inherenlty smoother but for me grain is a good thing, when I shoot film I want it to look like, well - film! I've recenlty bought some developer specifically for Tabular grain films so I'll be interested to compare the results some day.

Fomapan Creative 200 (to give it's full name) is manufactured in the Czech Republic by long standing film producers Foma, there aren't really that many 200 speed films around most manufacturers offfer a choice of 100 or 400 films but Foma in their infinite wisdom have provided for those who would like a little more flexibility - in fact they claim that the film can be rated anywhere between 100 and 800 ISO but I've only ever shot it at box speed so I can't comment on how it performs when pushed/pulled in that way, what I can say is that on photowalks in varied lighting in and around busy city centres, inside buildings and the like it performs wonderfully!

They do a good line in 60's architecture in Bradford - here I've used the perspective to enhance the brutalist vibe of this civic building, the home of some truly brutal bureaucracy no doubts!

I find that the tonal range is very pleasing with rich blacks, smooth greys and clean white areas, look at he mod scooter above! very smooth image with a nice texture and finish - proper two tone! BELL BOOOOY!!!!!

The following two images are from Bank Bottom Mill - a semi abandoned building near where I live, I was just using up the last couple of frames on my roll after my visit to Bradford - again a great balance of tones, quite high contrast and nice detail and grain throughout.

We leave Bradford behind us and our travels now take us to Dewsbury - same camera, same lens, same make of film, same bottle of developer and guess what..... same outcome! Very balanced images with perhaps a touch more grain in than the roll I shot in Bradford - this could be from the development process maybe I introduced some extra inversions (which encourages grain) and of course the two rolls were shot months a part from each other so lighting was totally different, either way once again I am very pleased with the results so the first roll wasn't a fluke!

I've walked past this doorway so many times I can't remember, it's amazing how having a camera in hand encourages the eyes to pick out previously unseen details and generally be more open to your surroundings....in this case my eye was drawn to the faded paintwork where a Christian Cross was once fixed...suddenly this dilapidated old doorway was transformed, it had a story to tell - one that spoke of a once proud heritage but no current sense of purpose, a forgotten place echoing with the ghosts of finery long since faded... or something like that, whatever... either way cool doorway eh?!

Change your perspective and see the world afresh! For me this is part of the enjoyment of  photography, how do you show a subject (in the case above a building) in a new light, how do you generate interest through form and structure - it's a constant challenging to your composition to make the most of your surroundings within the confines of a 35mm frame, and of course you dont get to look at the results until you've developed the film! It's also one of the many valid reasons for shooting with a fixed focal length/prime lens - if you want to change your perspective then you need to move your body! it's a more physical and therefore meaningful experience - this is a lesson I need to translate into my digital work more and stop relying on telephoto zooms to do the work for me!

I suspect that films are NOT developed there anymore, in fact last time I cheked this building was covered in even more scaffolding so perhaps (unusually for Dewsbury Town Centre) it's about to be redeveloped - I'm not bashing Dewsbury although I think anyone would agree that it's a bit rundown - this makes it a great subject for street photography as many of the buildings have an evocative (if somewhat forlorn) sense of what used to be which I find quite visually appealing "the ineffable pathos of ruin" indeed! Having said that I do hope things start to change for the better for the town!

We leave Bradford and Dewsbury behind and head East for the next image which was snapped whilst on the train to another fair City - Hull, capital of culture no less - and what better subject than the Humber bridge, I really must go back and shoot this properly (i.e. whilst not on a train) it's an amazing structure - looks so graceful in the distance spanning the Humber estuary, for those who are interested in it's history have a look HERE

Photographically speaking (this is a photo blog after all) I quite like the reflection of the train lighting in the image and the blurred foreground which gives a sense of motion and direction to an otherwise static image, the shot was literally from the hip before the view was obscurred by trees and stuff so I was pleased it came out as well as it did.

A big yorkshire sky filled with cloud (it's default setting) underpinned by the Emley Moor Mast which is the seventh-tallest freestanding structure in the UK, fourth-tallest tower in the EU (sorry brexiteers) and 24th tallest in the world! At the risk of this turning into some sort of public information service about the buildings, bridges and towers of Yorkshire (that would be a niche website) there's a link for more info about Emley Moor Mast HERE

I like the simple composition a thin band of landscape and the tower piercing the huge blanket of sky - this image just presented itself to me as I was driving along one day, my view of the foreground obscurred by a wall and I literally abandoned the car in a grass verge and jumped out to see if I could match the image that originally caught my eye - and I did! The number of times I've been out and about without a camera and seen sweeping vistas, tiny details and all manner of scenes that I would have wished to capture are imeasureable.. all these moments are now lost, like tears in the (yorkshire) rain...

We've seen lots of buildings on our tour of Yorkshire with Fomapan 200 but what's it like on other subjects - portraits and the like? well the above photo taken in the fields behind my house attests to the loveliness of the film (and the horse)!  great contrast and level of detail and that grain structure that by now we've come to know and love too. it also works on people - here's a shot of my son when he was about 6 months old :) in it he's doing a great impresssion of one of those old Soviet propognda photos like he's a baby Kosmonaut or something!

So in summary then I am a huge fan of Fomapan 200, it's versatile, works well in mixed lighting, gives great contrast and high levels of detail, works well in a semi stand development process and ultimately it's very reasonably priced - you can buy 3 rolls of it for £14.99, which these days is pretty bloomin good! I heartily recommend this film, it's lovely, there is no compromise in quality in my experience and it creates a really useable alternative to all those 100 and 400 speed films out there, give it a whirl!

Pentax Spotmatic F Review

I'm gonna get a bit of camera geekery out of the way and walk you through the controls and features of the Spotmatic F and then we'll get in to the more important business of sharing some images taken with it.

The controls are well laid out - there's a shutter control dial (pictured below left) which incorporates ISO setting and next to that is the film advance lever which is well positioned and ergonomically curved with a smooth action and quick return so it's easy to rattle off a few shots in quick succession, on the opposite side of the camera is the film rewind lever and a helpful dial which you can set with details of the film loaded (B&W, Colour, Tungsten number of frames on the loaded film) this is just visual guide in case you forget what film you've loaded it doesn't control any settings in the camera.

The thing that sets the 'F' model apart from other cameras of it's age is that it also includes the ability to use 'open aperture metering' when used with Pentax own branded lenses (which are in themselves legendary) this means that it can be used as an Aperture Priority camera thanks to the the built in light meter - what's that? Yawnsville Arizona you say??! how VERY dare you! I'll have you know that this was ground breaking stuff back in the day!! ;)

On mine the meter is slightly out of whack by a couple of stops so I usually use my iphone light meter app to double check exposure and then just correct it whilst im shooting. If you wanted to use non brand M42 mount lenses on this camera you can do but without the open aperture function - in the second image from the right (above) you can see on the side of the lens mount a switch which you can use to activate the stop down metering function.

Looking through the viewfinder the classic simplicity continues - you get an elector mechanical needle read out on the right hand side which tells you if you are under/over exposing the scene and a focus screen with a circular etched centre to allow you to visually check focus and that's it! nothing else to clutter the view and get in the way of your eye and the subject - lovely!

They just don't make em like this anymore....it's as silky smooth to operate as the day it was made (although obviously I have no way of double checking that unless i can literally go back in time - maybe it was even silkier and smoother back then). The design is simple with classically understated clean lines which I like very much but it's the superb construction, fine handling and top notch build quality that really sets it apart from the crowd.

I picked mine up for a measly £30 on evilbay which included the amazing Pentax SMC 55mm 1.8 lens and is therefore a complete bargain!! the low price was due to the very visible dent on the prism viewfinder casing but it doesn't affect the use of the camera so whilst it would be nice to have a mint copy I don't want to pay £100 for one! it is otherwise in mint condition though and mechanically excellent with a very satisfying 'schtick' shutter sound.

t's so nice to use that in the first couple of weeks of owning it I burned my way through 8 rolls of film which is something i haven't done before with any of my film cameras (and probably won't again as it's a very dear doo) but the Spotmatic F is such an enjoyable camera to use that it kind of makes you want to shoot more and more!

It's a little heavier than my OM2n and whilst it's only a bit of a difference after a day lugging it round you do notice so on long hauls I would probably go with the Olympus if only for it being so light - the reason that the Pentax is heavier is becuase it hails from a time when no expense was spared on the internal moving parts of the camera which are therefore predominantley brass as opposed to the plastic of the slightly later OM2n so whilst it adds weight it also adds to the smooth handling and feeling of quality.

The lenses are totally amazing also - i was dimmly aware prior to purchasing the camera that the 'Takumar' range of lenses were very highly regarded by the internet (which in real terms means basically nowt most of the time) but I am very happy to report that it is indeed true! these are very very very good lenses - so much so that I very very very quickly added a 135mm 3.5 lens and a 35mm 3.5 AND most i just the other day added the almost legendary 50mm 1.4 lens to my collection. So yeah I could probably pontificate on the pentax's perfect performance inperpetuity - but leaving my alliterative allusions aside...I won't - I'll save the lenses their own mini reviews for a future date as I'd like to get them involved in some digital action with the old SONY NEX3n as well.

So in summary then I flipping well LOVE this camera it is quite firmly on my list of cameras that I would never part with, it's a very well made and very simple camera with no bells and whistles, it just does what you need it to do without getting in the way which is what all the best cameras should do, if you have the chance to try one or even better own one then I heartily recommend you do it! 

All of these images were shot on a visit to Brighton earlier this year on the Pentax Spotmatic F (of course) on Fomapan 200 and Ilford FP4 film (except for the one below which is Fuji Acros 100) and using either a Chinon 35mm 2.8 or an SMC Pentax 55mm 1.8 lens.

Walking and Meandering Round A Bit - Canon 70-200 f4 L lens review

I've shot loads of events with the Canon 70-200 F4 L lens and it's totally awesome in this capacity, but I rarely use it for recreational purposes so i thought I'd give it some time off for good behaviour and see how it handles the wilds of West Yorkshire....

My normal choice for a walkabout lens is a wide angle lens as it can capture the rolling landscapes etc but I'm always looking for opportunities to challenge myself photographically and swapping from a wide angle (which allows you to capture a broad sweep of things) to a zoom lens (which is designed to bring subjects in the middle distance into sharp focus) is a great way to literally change your perspective on things - in this way I'm able to challenge my eye to seek out the details rather than the big picture - it's all very philosophical....

The 70-200mm lends itself so well to events as it allows me to hang back and shoot away without intruding on the shenanigans, it is amazingly sharp and versatile in this role in fact (HUGE statement alert) I'd say it's my favourite lens!! being easily on a par with my prime lenses in the sharpness stakes but having the focal length to be really flexible - that's why i wanted to see how it handled outdoors on a sunny winters day walk and I'm happy to report that it was a great experience!

The 70-200mm is many things but subtle it aint!! If you're one of those folk who feels a bit conspicuous toting a DSLR camera around town then you'll feel decidely self conscious weilding this beige drainpipe! (I have no idea why Canon made this lens beige.... I mean, beige for gods sake)!  Fortunately for me I am long since past any hang ups about gadding around festooned with photographic contraptions so it really doesn't bother me - it's also relatively light so it's no bothers on the weight side of things, the construction is really very very solid since all of the moving elements are inside the lens and of course it's one of Canon's posh 'L' series lenses (which stands for "Fucking L" when you find out how much they cost)! ;)

Even with the zoom lens my eye was drawn to the horizon to create these minimalistic landscapes with the bright winter sun blazing away over head. Initially it was a bit of a strugge to overcome the muscle memory of composing the shot and for my eye to start searching out scenes that were suitable but that's the whole point isn't it? 

These two portraits of my fellow Wanderers were not intended to be cheesy "int the outdoors brilliant" type images- they just came out that way! And of course the countryside is bloomin brilliant...so get lost! :P

Our third travelling companion was less enthusiastic.....I missed focus on the shot of this sheeps skull - operator error - as you can see the rear edge of the skull is in sharp focus

I loved taking the 70-200mm f4 L Lens out of it's natural habitat and taking it into a natural habitat- it's actually a lovely focal length for a walkabout lens and I'll definitely be using it again on my travels

Conscious Hour - Huddersfield Speaks out!

I was delighted to photograph Conscious Hour last week, an evening of spoken word organised by Conscious Youth CIC a Huddersfield based Social Enterprise which empowers and supports young people to turn their visions and aspirations for themselves and their community into action, they're an amazing organisation that creating meaningful opportunities for lasting change in community life - my kinda people! For more details click HERE

Set in the amazing Hygge Tipi (basically three massive wigwams with a bar and a fire in the middle - it's ace) the venue is part of the 'Winter Wonderland' organsied by Huddersfield Live for more details check out their website HERE

The evening itself was an eclectic mix of talented  performers using the power of the spoken word to convey a combination of funny, emotional, deep and heartfelt messages - it was an amazing experience! If you haven't been down to the Tipi yet then make sure you pay a visit over the festive period as it's only around until the 1st Jan.

Supporting organisations like Conscious Youth is really important to me, helping them to spread the word about their amazing work and creating images of the inspiring events that they organise - a huge thank you to Sophie and Serena for organising the event and also to the amazing performers for sharing their stories with the world!

Review of the Olympus OM Zuiko 50mm 1.8 lens on the Sony NEX3n mirrorless camera

Another week, another photography blog! I know what you're thinking.... "he was prattling on about the Sony NEX3n last time wasn't he.." and yes I did review my new mirrorless camera last time round, I've enjoyed shooting with it so much that I wanted to share some more images with the NEX3n and the Olympus OM Zuiko 50mm 1.8 lens, all of these images were taken a couple of days ago out on a stroll with my little lad Harrison as we made the most of the last rays of summer sunshine.

I love the almost dreamlike quality of the Bokeh (background blur) in this image and also the double rainbow artefacts caused by the suns rays which really adds to the image IMHO of course!

The Olympus OM Zuiko 50mm 1.8 lens is the standard basic kit lens that was often shipped with Olympus OM film cameras back in the day, I got mine attached to an OM20 film camera but the lenses can be picked up on their own for around £10-£20 - don't be put off by the 'basic kit lens' label though becuase this is one very very capable lens with a lovely contrast and tone to the images and excellent sharpness.

I have to say that the ability to easily be able to use my classic film camera lenses on a digital camera is a revelation to me! in the image below you can see the Sony NEX3n and the adaptor required to mount the Zuiko 50mm1.8 - whilst it basicaly doubles the length of the lens in practice it's no bother at all

One really useful feature of the lens is the front mounted aperture ring which makes it really easy to adjust and worked perfectly coupled to the NEX3n which i shoot in aperture priority mode most of the time. the lens is the multicoated version so it's pretty good shooting directly into the sun although this does cause some flaring as you would expect and actually creates some really cool visual artefacts (the kind that people pay money to fake using photo editing software)!

I am mightily impressed with the Olympux OM Zuiko 50mm 1.8 lens - I knew it was going to be good but I'm actually blown away by how good it is, it's helped a long by the small size of the cameras sensor so in effect we're dealing with the centre portion of the lens in the frame but without going down the technobabble route it's enough to say that if you're in the market for a portrait lens on your mirroless camera then combining a £10 lens with an adaptor which cost me £13 and you have an awesome piece of kit on your hands... in practice I doubt very much you'd see much improvement unless you were spending about £500 (decent glass for Sony mirrorless cameras is expensive)!

One feature of the NEX3n is the flip screen which allows you to take selfies more easily - it's a great feature and allows some interesting creative choices - with the Zuiko 50mm mounted the small sensor on the camera actually means your shooting about 80mm so it's a good portrait focal length, unfortunately my arms are not long enough to hold the camera far enough a way for a proper headshot so these will have to do!

This is my best 'concentrating trying to get focus' face... augmented by my 'haven't had a solid nights sleep since my son was born' bags under my eyes.... the NEX3n and Zuiko 50mm do a grand job of accurately rendering my knackerdness! :)

And here he is, fast asleep! Little Baby Harrison, light of my life, stealer of sleep and cosy companion on my meanderings :)

I am mindful not to spend the whole blog prattling on about gear and specifications etc - photography's much more about seeing and feeling than anything else - the gear is just a means to an end after all so let me set the scene and you can tell me if the images transport you there or not......A beautifully bright Autumnal day, the early morning sun bathing everything in it's golden glow, we walked through the once solid mass of green now studded with yellows, reds, browns and pools of dappled light...

Anybody else see a Guillermo Del Torro esque Tree monster in the above image?! no? just me then.... kind of creeps me out but then it looks like it's doing a dance and I can't decide if that creeps me out more or not...

One thing i wasn't expecting this camera and lens combo to be any good at was wildlife photography, and to a certain extent that's true - but i was pleased to be able to catch a couple of butterflies doing their thing which just shows the ease of the manual focus assist feature of the camera, if anything i found the screen on the camera to be a bit limiting as it's not particulalry Hi-Res so when reviewing these images in camera I thought I'd missed focus but when I loaded them on to the computer they were much better than I thought, I know that higher spec models in this range have better screens but I guess Sony don't want to give all of their whizzbang technologies away in the base model camera now do they - gotta give the punters a reason to upgrade at some point i guess....

So congratulations for making it this far (if anybody actually does) I thought I'd finish off with a general 'Hurrah' for the Sony NEX3n and the Olympus OM Zuiko 50mm 1.8 - bloomin brilliant travel camera set up, it's always the sign of a good combo when you come back from a relatively short photo walk with loads and load of images that you really like to choose from - this weeks mammoth sized blog is testament to the awesomeness of this combination! I've got quite a few other old lenses which are compatible with the NEX3n through adaptors and I'm really looking forward to trying them out but for now I'm more than happy shooting my old Olympus lenses - see you next time!

Sony NEX 3N Camera with Olympus OM Zuiko manual focus lenses review

I've been after a digital camera that I can take with me on my travels and finally found one that fits the bill - my requirements were 1: it has to be small (see above pic) 2: it has to be capable of great image quality 3: it has to be relatively cheap.....after much ummming and aaaahing i found the Sony NEX3n and i flipping love it!

The best camera is the one you have with you - a well worn but entirely correct saying, often these days the camera I have on my is my iPhone and whilst it's certainly an improvement on having nothing I've been looking for a small (but still capable) digital camera to take on my travels - digital being the operative word as I am currently sorted for pocketable film cameras (the topic of a later blog I promise) In fact bringing things bang up to date with a mirrorless camera - introducing the Sony NEX3n ta daaa! Look at it! Look how small it is! Aw! Bless it!! 

The camera itself has a 16MP APS-C sensor - for the uninitated let's just say that this is the exact same size and spec as you might find in a mid range DSLR, so in short it's bloody good! especially in a dinky camera like this.... the key is that it's Mirrorless i.e. it doesn't have a mirror inside making it a different proposition than a DSLR which is findamentally built on a 50 year old design principle in that you have a sensor (or some film) a lens and a mirror through which you are able to view/frame your subject.... anyway without going all technical on you the Sony NEX3n ain't got one hence the term 'mirrorless'

Having amassed a small collection of old film cameras I have also got a small collection of lovely old film lenses, now the beauty of a mirrorless camera is two fold 1: there is no mirror for the lens to hit (a major sticking point to using them on a DSLR) and 2: becuase you use an electronic viewfinder on a mirrorless camera then focusing the lens becomes very easy

So I was keen to test out the combination of very modern Camera body with circa 1970's lenses - to make this happen a £12 little adaptor makes it all possible! I thought a good intial test would be a moving subject to test my ability to achieve decent focus so enter.... Harrison! aw! look at his little face! :D

The feature which helps with manual focus lenses is an amazing piece of wizardry called 'focus peaking' which visually highlights the areas that are actually in focus - negating the need for an old school split screen viewfinder -  it's all very 21st Century!

I'll allow the pics to do the talking in a second but just wanted to give my views on the camera in practical use - if you can't be bothered reading through all of that then the short version is 'I think it's fuckin ace' if you'd like slightly more context than that then read on my friends....

In practice using the camera is a doddle... it's the entry level model of the Sony NEX line which means they designed it to be easy to use, and they were successful in this regard, but don't be fooled by the entry level status this thing packs a big punch - the image quality at high ISO is fantastic, I mean really impressive as is the aforementioned focus peaking and manual focus assist features, for use with a manual focus lens it's best to stick it on aperture priority, manually control that on the lens and let the camera work out the shutter speed... simples, it's how I normally shoot film cameras, you can go manual if you wanna do some specific stuff too so you have full control when required.

One final thing to say is that the process of using a manual focussing lens is slower and that's a good thing! By slowing down it gives me pause for thought on my composition and framing etc - all good stuff....all of the images in this blog post were taken with either an Olympus OM Zuiko 50mm 1.8 lens or an Olympus OM Zuiko 28mm 2.8 lens on a business trip to Wales (in fact I'm still on the visit while I type this) i think you'll agree that these lenses which are about 35 years old are bloody brilliant!

Colne Valley Museum - Part 1

It has been a very busy Summer with a lot of events, weddings and even a few portrait jobs on the go, but there's been a major project I've been working on which I haven't really mentioned before - it's been my largest project to date and I've been dying to tell y'all about it....

I've been working with Colne Valley Museum on this project for about 18 months and I wanted to share some of the images that I've created during that time with you - as you might expect there are loads so I'm going to break this up into a few seperate blogs, the first being a load of old cobblers..... equipment! 

Apologies - I honestly started out thinking "no crap jokes - this is serious" but clearly I just can't help myself...

I did some work for Colne Valley Museum a couple of years ago at which time they were about to undertake a major Heritage Lottery Funded refurbishment project and wanted a few photos taking for promotional purposes; as you can imagine I was like a kid in a sweet shop with the opportunity to photograph the inside of a Museum full of interesting items, arterfacts, machinery and stories.

The Museum were so happy with the images i took first time round that a lot of them have been incorporated into the visitor information boards, displays and signs in the newly renovated building! :D not only that but now that the renovation work is complete they've invited me back to work with them again - this time to create some photographs of the newly renovated museum and also to help them create an online catalogue of arterfacts and costumes.

These images show the interior of the Cobblers workshop after it's renovation work - it really is a joy to be allowed access to such a space, a veritable treasure trove of artefacts, arcane machinery and gadgets, a cornucopia of textures to feast the eyes!

I'll share more excerpts from the project as things develop!

Pen Y Ghent - Photo Walk

Today I took a walk up one of the famous 'Three Peaks' Pen Y Ghent - a much needed opportunity to blow some cobwebs away after a busy few weeks running some photography workshops with young people, run my two businesses and helping out with my little lad (as well as generally running about like a headless chicken which is v important too).

It was also an opportnity to reacquaint myself with shooting my digital camera for fun! I shoot lots of jobs for clients on my trusty Canon 6D but often choose a film camera for my personal work these days so it was nice to give the 6D a break as well and take it for a walk up a big hill - as is abundantly clear I decided to render the final images in contrasty Black and White - this might be the influence of all that Black and White film I've been shooting...

We set off from Horton in Ribblesdale - a hamlet clustered around this beautiful church and a less beautiful (but more appealing) pub. Here you can see Pen Y Ghent looming in the distance - speaking of which let's check the internet for some info about the name of that thar hill.... Ah yes here we go..."In the Cumbric language, exactly as in today's Welsh, Pen meant 'top' or 'head', and y is most likely the definite article (the), exactly as in Modern Welsh Y. The element ghent is more obscure, however: it could be taken to be 'edge' or 'border'.The name Pen-y-ghent could therefore mean 'Hill on the border' Alternatively, ghent could mean 'wind' or 'winds' – from the closest Welsh transliteration, gwynt ('wind'). Thus it might mean simply 'Head of the Winds'. It is also possible that ghent may have been a tribal name and that the hill may have once been an important tribal centre. It is also acceptable to write the name as Pen y Ghent rather than Pen-y-ghen"  (Ok then - there we have it....erm - thanks Wikipedia)!

So basically the internet isn't sure what the name means - 'Head of the Something or other' it might well have meant 'head of the winds' today as it was blowing a chuffing gale on top of the peak!

The Head of the winds/Hill on the Border - it's a steady walk up, we took the long way round the base of the hill and walked across the top of the peak - it was perfect hill walking conditions with the sun shining and a strong wind blowing so it was warm without being too hot when struggling up the steep incline.

Been seeing more and more of these balanced stones on cairns recently - I like them very much!

I think the above shot is probably my fave of the day - I wonder how long the small tower will last on top of the winds swept slopes of Pen Y Ghent?

Steel City: Olympus OM2n Rollei Retro 80s review

I had a meeting at Sheffield Uni recently (not about photography - i do other stuff too you know)! so there I was a few floors up in a meeting room prattling on as is my way and all the while my eye was being drawn out the window and across the street to what I can only describe as a gigantic borg cube doing a relatively crap impression of being a building... all i wanted to do was get outside and shoot some photos of it!

These were taken a few weeks ago now but what with the lag in shooting a whole bunch of film, sending it off, getting it back and then scanning it's taking me a while to work through the images so I'm only now getting chance to share these with you.

I remember when this building opened - it was the pop music museum or something daft like that, anyway suffice to say it didn't last very long and it ended up being boarded up for a while but it's a pub now which of all the possible uses for a building is a pretty bloody good one in my book

This weeks blog is courtesy of my lovely Olympus OM2n with a zuiko 28mm wide angle lens shooting some Rollei Retro 80s film which I bought from the lovely folks at Nick & Trick Photo https://ntphotoworks.com they also developed the film for me and I think you'll agree that they did a pretty awesome job - go check them out!

I think that the film works best in high contrast scenes as can be seen in the image above - the lovely deep, rich dark tones - yum!

I flipping love these images!! it was a beautiful bright spring day with hardly a cloud in the sky, conditions that were clearly ideally suited to the Rollei Retro 80s film - I love the tonality and depth of the shadows, I've done very little/nothing to these images in terms of post processing so these are basically 'as is' (or for the pedants out there 'as the scanner sees them' but you know what I mean) I am definitely going to get a few of these developed in a proper dark room and make some prints - i like them that much.... if only I had the time.....

well done to any eagle eyed readers who said "that's in Leeds not Sheffield" yes I was left with a couple of frames on this roll of film which i used up on a subsequent visit to Leeds, very pleased with this shot in particular

Who knew that the Tyrell corporation had it's HQ in Leeds? ;)

On Brighton Beach.... with a Pentax Spotmatic F

It's been a very busy couple of months with some exciting work opportunities that have taken me far and wide, and since I always carry a film camera with me today's blog is dedicated to my recent visit to Brighton Beach.... (insert quotes about Mods, Vespa's, Zoot suits, 'faces' and 'bellboys')

An English summer holiday - the beach setting really lends itself to these minimalist compositions, I love that this photo looks like it could've been taken at any point in the last 100 years, just two people in deck chairs looking at the sea.... in reality they're probably both staring at their smartphones....

The Pentax Spotmatic F with a few of the other rolls I ran through this amazing machine recently, my new fav camera to shoot with, I mean it!

I've recently acquired a new film camera which I like very much - I like it so much that it will get it's own blog post praising it's virtues....suffice to say for now that it's a Pentax Spotmatic F and as usual it is now my favourite camera - I managed to burn my way through 7 rolls of film in about a week with this thing so it's fair to say that i REALLY like using it.... it also means that the focus of the next few blog posts will no doubt be the results of all this film photography tomfoolery......obviously I was then left with a ton of films to develop and since I have very little time to do it I decided to send the films to the lovely folks at Nick and Trick Photo (thanks guys)! who are my go to people for film purchases and now also film development too! Go and check them out!

6 shades of grey....I love how black and white film accentuates these tones....

I took two rolls of film with me on this visit, a roll of Ilford FP4 and a roll of Fomapan 200, both films which I've used before and both films that I particulalry enjoy shooting - the day was really warm but actually a bit overcast and therefore well suited to these films which give a nice balance of grain, speed and contrast, of the two I think I prefer the Fomapan but only just....I think it's got a bit more punch/bite to it... obviously these are completely non technical/subjective characteristics so make of that what you will.... I just like it better.... I took the Pentax 55mm 1.8 lens which came with the camera and is lovely and also an Auto Chinon 35mm 2.8 lens which I already owned and considering it only cost me £10 performed amazingly!! Anyway enough techno-babble! I'll let the images speak for themselves....

the burned out shell of Brighton's West Pier.... it's an evocative structure and whilst it would be great to see it restored to it's former glory, it's current state makes for a compelling photographic subject so maybe just leave it as it is?? Fomapan 200

being based in the rolling hills of Yorkshire the beach and seaside present an entirely different compositional challenge - my eye was drawn to the silhouetted figures and the simple dividing lines between land, sea and air which make for a strong composition (IMHO of course) again with Fomapan 200

love the contrast between the 'black' beach and 'white' waves - in reality both were a mucky brown colour but that's the joy of black and white photography innit - Fomapan 200

Land, Sea and Air

obligatory shot of the remaining Pier - I still prefer the burned out one as a subject

under the board walk...

A modern classic: Canon 5D Review

Today's blog is dedicated to my Canon 5D 'classic' as it is now officially being retired from active service.....it seems a bit daft to be talking about a camera from 2005 as a 'classic' but given the rate that technology changes it's positively ancient, try and remember what mobile phone you were using in 2005 (a Nokia 3210 since you ask and i bloody loved that as well.... ah nostalgia)!

The original Canon 5D is often described as the 5D 'classic' or (rather unimaginatively) 5D 'original' in part to differentiate from the variants which have been released since but also in recognition that it is actually a bit of a 'classic' having earned it's place in photography history as the first full frame camera that didn't require a mortgage to purchase.

It has a 12 Mega Pixels sensor which just happens to be the same amount as my current iphone camera boasts.... i'll let you all into a little secret....Mega Pixels mean exactly chuff all in the grand scheme of things, it's just an over hyped marketing gimmick. The actual physical size of the sensor is what's important not how many MegaPixels the boffins have managed to squeeze in there and of course it's not what you've got it's how you use it that really counts ;)

So the Canon 5D original or 'classic' is getting on a bit now but that doesn't mean that in our throw away consumer based 'next big thing' society it can't totally kick ass and for the budget conscious photographer, under the right conditions it's the best bang for your buck out there... still don't believe me? OK I'll let the pictures do the talking....

As an event photographer it's kind of routine for me to gad about with two cameras - one for wide angle and one for zoomage - this gives me a lot more flexibility to cover the action without the farcical process of swapping lenses mid flow. The 5D classic has served me very well initially as my first and only camera and then eeking out a quiet 'half life' as a 2nd Camera which was used predominantly (and here's the rub) with a flash or in fairly decent available light where I can shoot below about 400 ISO..... above this and/or without flash it's kind of useless really as the images are riddled with digital 'noise' (not to be confused with film 'grain' which is a thing of beauty and a subject for another blog post me thinks) anyway I've really been finding it a bit of a limitation as an event camera and since a large proportion of my work is events - well you get the idea.....

HOWEVER! as a portrait camera, on a fashion or product shoot or basically in any situation where you have control of the light it is still WONDERFUL!! let's not forget that this camera was my FIRST AND ONLY camera for about 6 months and in that time it was more than up to the job as these images attest - in one sense it helped me develop as a photographer having to work with the limitations of the equipment but after a while that was getting to be a bit well, limiting..... but I soldiered on until the little old 5D had earned enough income for me to invest in my current main camera - the amazing/kick ass/low light assasin Canon 6D!!

Keeping it in the family - from left to right EOS 3 (film camera) - 5D Classic, 5D Mk2 and 6D can you see the resemblance?

In many ways shooting with the 5D classic is a lot like shooting a film camera - the controls are basically limited to shutter/aperture/ISO, the menu system is BASIC (like sony mega drive basic) and the screen on the back isn't the best (even by 2005 standards it wasn't brilliant) but the build quality is solid and it's lack of bells and whistles and digital shortcomings are kind of what makes it a 'classic' - no convaluted menu system to get in your way, no zooming in to a million percent and reviewing your images in camera, no over hyped gimmicks, no GPS, WiFi, horizon indicator, no Histograms or highlight clipping blah blah blah...... adjust aperture, shutter, ISO and that's it -pure and simple.... this is one of the great things about the 5D classic - under the right conditions (and in the right hands) the sensor renders BEAUTIFUL images that do have a film-ic quality.... the caveat being as long as your below ISO 400 above which they still retain a film like quality it's just that the film is not a very good one!

So in short I've bloomin well loved using this old Camera and I hope you'll agree that the imagery it has helped me create are pretty bloody good as well! however time marches on and I'm very pleased to have upgraded to the thouroughly modern (circa 2008 - wow) Canon 5D MK2!! a much more refined piece of kit which has now entered active duty as my number 2 camera! the 5D original lives on though and will be coming to an ebay auction near you very soon!

The Social Network - a people persons guide to running a photography business Or How to make friends and photograph people

Obviously all you need to run a photograpy business is a camera, right? Maybe it would help if you knew how to use that camera (maybe) but other than that you're good to go! Well that was a quick blog post...... good luck in your new venture!!! :)

If only it were that simple! A photography business is after all, a business and if you're serious about making a success of it then there's a ton of stuff like marketing, planning, financial management, customer service and all sorts of 'business' type stuff that needs to be in place however I'm assuming that you knew all that already as it's not exactly rocket science - and I'm not about to sit here and lecture you on the basics of business (or rocket science) "so what's this flippin blog about then" i hear you cry! Good question....let's see where we end up shall we....

a great way to network with people is to offer to photograph some networking events - it's a double whammy - you get to network with people AND build you portfolio up at the same time....

I'm a people person and for me one of the most enjoyable aspects of photography is being able to meaningfully connect with people - not just potential customers, but all sorts of people - in fact taking all of the practicalities of running a business into consideration I'd say that your ability to engage people is a a fundamental compenent of any business.

You can always team up with your mates and work on projects with them too - thisis my best mate Will James who is a magician/mentalist/mind reader - he was looking for some promo images and i was looking for willing victims to practice my photo-ing skills on! Win Win! we made some cool images that we can both use to help our businesses :)

I'm a firm believer that the more people you are connected to the stronger your business is going to be and a great way to do this is by intentionally building a network of people - i don't mean some surface level/speed networking thing - but a series of real, reciprocal and lasting relationships, partnerships and friendships!

In doing so you are increasing the number of people who are going to positively support you, refer you on to friends and colleagues, involve you in interesting projects and all sorts of cool stuff.

from my first TF shoot - i was mega nervous as it was also my first fashion shoot but the experience gained and the images themselves helped me secure some pid gigs later on. and the images themselves are not too shabby are they?

So having a great network of people is one thing but being a photographer is obviously a visual medium - it can be difficult to know how to start off.... where and how to build your portfolio of work, again it's about connecting with folk....

Another great aspect of being a photographer is the opportunity to work with other creative bods such as models, make up artists, hair stylists and designers, working together to create images that you can all use to build your portfolio, there's a short hand term for this 'TFP' which in ancient times stood for Time For Print - harking back to a bygone age when people actually 'printed' images (i know, strange innit) therfore it's more commonly shortened to 'TF'  however the premise remains in that everyone commits their 'Time' in exhcange 'For' some (hopefully) great images! TF projects are another great networking resource and way to build up your business contacts too - I've been refered on to loads of paid work by people who I've met through TF projects.

i use this image as the home page for my site - i love the impact, the motion, the setting, the pose - all of it!! this was a TF shoot for some fashion students taken at The Hepworth Galler Wakefield - we had free run of the building! an amazing space to shoot in and a great experience all round. it grew my network of contacts and this image alone has helped me secure business so it's a win win, erm win!

I hear a lot of photographers complain that "i do loads of TF work and it never leads to any actually paid work" well i say to those people that you must be doing it wrong then!! People who work with you TF should be in a position to help spread the word about your business and how great it is working with you to others in the industry and I gladly undertake TF projects if i can use it as an opportunity to create images that will emebelish my portrfolio (which for a photographer is basically your shop window) or to try out new techniques which i might use on a paid project later on.

So the trick is to be discerning about who you collaborate with on a TF basis so that you are all going to benefit from the images - i think a common mistake some photographers make is to only work TF with relative newcomers to the industry and in that sense of course the project adds little to your portfolio and doesn't give you any traction with other potential clients.

Events are another great source of experience and networking - I was very happy to support local charity events as it's a great way of building up your portfolio, raising your profile and meeting new people and have fun too! It can often lead to paid opportunities too

Another great source of TF projects is events - if you're wanting to get more events work but you don't have enough images in your portfolio then you should approach some charities or local businesses who are running events, they'd bite your hand off for photography! again it's creating a win-win situation they get some good images and you get some good images out it, you will also meet people at the event and market your photography services at the same time - I offer Charities and Community groups free/heavily discounted photography services because a: I like to support good causes and just generally get involved in community stuff and b: it helps me refresh my portfolio and network/promote myself... oh and c: it's bloody good fun! :)

I shot some promotional photos for a Social Enterprise 'Conscious Youth' who run some amazing projects for young people to get involved in - very inspiring!

You need the ability to create some strong images and working on TF projects is a great practical way to make sure your techncial abilities are on point without the pressure of money being involved - people are a lot more forgiving if you're offering time for free! Also sometimes the only way to develop those photography skills is by getting out there and shooting - and a great way to start out is by working collaboratively with other folks and getting that Win-Win situation..... A lot of my techniques for professional work have been developed on TF shoots, paying clients aren't paying you to learn how to shoot their projects they expect you to have this sorted already (quite rightly)!

You may have seen my recent blog about photographing the Slaithwaite Moonraking Festival - it was a pleasure to sponsor a local community event in this way, offering to share my skills to help promote a great community get together (and of course adding to that portfolio all the time)!

I see a lot of photgraphers starting out on the basis that once they've bought a decent camera that they are basically good to go but it's so much more involved than that.....there are of course many other factors involved but here we've focussed on building a network and your portfolio - two vital areas for photographers! there's other important stuff like marketing and deciding what you're going to specialise in (or not) maybe that'll be a future blog....

Going back to TF projects my biggest commercial job to date came about as a result of doing some TF work so there it is definitely a worthwhile exercise- i think you've got to be able to produce string images that people will value In future posts I'm going to take you behind the scenes on that particular job and also on a relatively recent TF shoot too - you lucky, lucky people!

London Calling...

Last week I was in that London on a (non photography) business trip and on the off chance that in between meetings I might spy a photo opportunity or two I took my 'posh' camera along for the ride....

As will become fairly immediatley clear I was based in the Docklands for the duration of my stay and these locations lay in between my Hotel and the venue i was attending - not a bad walk to work!

I love the contrast of the derelict and abandoned spaces stood cheek by jowl with spangly new buildings - the warehouses of yesteryear replaced by fancy hotels (or in my case a travel lodge)!

As i meandered alongside the river I was moved to ponder how much longer these mills would be left to fall into decay....

Let's party like it's 1899! The amazingly dillapidapted 'Millenium Mills' I wonder what the people who built it would make of it's current state of repair? I also wonder what the Millenium Dome which is literally just round the corner will look like in a hundred years....

The above is Victoria footbridge - it is tip top of my list of favourite footbridges - not a huge achievment seeing as there is only one thing on that list so far but at any rate as foot bridges go, it's a pretty bloody good one, cool design and an amazing view to be had atop it.

I returned to my favourite footbride later on to feast on a brightly lit London skyline - not bad eh? I still wouldn't live there tho! :)

So i guess the moral of todays blog post is if you're travelling away somewhere its definitely worth lugging your heavy expensive camera along for the ride......or buy a phone withREALLY good camera.....

Moonmentum!! the Finale of Slaithwaite Moonraking Festival

It's been an eventful couple of weeks since I photographed the Slaithwaite (Slawit) Moonraking Festival during which time my son Harrison was born !! hence this blog post is a little late getting to press - I've been otherwise engaged!

always wear protection folks....

Its been a real honour to have been the official photographer in support of this years Moonraking Festival - as always my camera has granted me privileged behind the scenes access, created an opportunity to meet loads of amazing people and even a couple of cheeky beers on the house into the bargain! ;)

The weather did it's level best to dampen spirits and as the day wore on I was increasingly concerned about my camera gears ability to survive the potentially rain soaked proceedings - neccesity being the mother of invention I was not to be detered and after some intense planning and research I came up with an inventive solution (a plastic bag and some cellotape) it actually worked quite well but it was kind of annyoying and thankfully I was able to ditch my (now patented) camera protection system after the first hour as the rain eased off.

After a week of activities including a fundraising music and poetry night and of course lantern making workshops the grand Moonraking Finale took place beside Globe Mill in the centre of the village, where the story of ‘Raking the Moon’ was acted out and followed by a huge procession of lanterns and music.

This living legend is a celebration of living in the Colne Valley and has been taking place in Slaithwaite for 30 years. Moonraking stories are centuries old and are connected to many communities around the country that have a waterway – Slaithwaite is one of these and this inspired local group Satellite Arts to create the current contemporary revival.

One of the stories tells how a band of smugglers would hide their illegal bounty brought in by narrow boat under the canal bridge. On the night of a full moon, they took their rakes and went to fish out one of the barrels of rum, but they were caught in the act by the militia. They avoided arrest by claiming to be out ‘Moonraking’, the reflection of the full moon being clearly seen in the water!

So now, on a wet February evening, the village gathers by the canal; music is played and songs are sung and a giant lantern Moon is floated along the canal on a raft. Women with rakes attempt to pull it onto the bank. Comic gnomes with long beards succeed in landing the Moon by using a crane. Once lifted out, the gnomes carry it around the village accompanied by a procession of locals carrying their own candle lit lanterns.

The magical parade climbs the steep Bankgate rise, to Hilltop. The Moon is danced along the streets to the sound of samba drums and jazzy bands. People wave from windows and come out of their houses to cheer as the lantern carnival passes by.

With the main street closed and bands, performers and lanterns everywhere it was all I could do to keep up with proceedings - eventually I just allowed the event to wash over me and hopefully I managed to capture the essence of what was a really fun, inspirational community experience - if you missed it then make sure you come along for the next one in 2019! I'll see you there and I can't wait to bring my son along for the ride too!

Light up your lantern, light up your light

Remember your friends on this cold frosty night

The Moon she has fallen out of the sky

Take her round Slaithwaite and hold her up high

Peace to the village, peace to the town

Peace to all cities all the world round.

It was an amazing experience from start to finish - the panic over the terrible weather and whether this would put people off to the relief that folk turned up in their hundreds despite the rain - the procession, the bands, street performers and of course the villagers and the village itself contributed to make the evening an immersive magical experience and something I will never forget!

Slaithwaite Moonraking Festival - Light your lanterns!

The street lamps and houses look like glow worms, resting on the hillside, clusters of warm twinkling lights. On one night, every other year, they are joined by many beautiful lanterns. These are carried down to the Huddersfield Narrow Canal for the Slaithwaite Moonraking.....

Light up your lantern, light up your light

Remember your friends on this cold frosty night

The Moon she has fallen out of the sky

Take her round Slaithwaite and hold her up high

Peace to the village, peace to the town

Peace to all cities all the world round.

As we edge ever nearer to the Finale of Slaithwaite Moonraking Festival (it's tomorrow)! I visited one of the workshops to see families hard at work creating some amazing lanterns which will form part of Saturday nights procession. In a side room hundreds of lanterns hang suspended from the ceiling drying off and testament to many hours of effort by local people....

 .....while in the main room people are busily constructing even more lanterns ready for the finale.

I met with Gill who is one of the organisers of the Festival and we discussed the details for the photography of the Finale and I was struck by how important events like these are for communities - it's a real opportunity to come together and share in something positive and uplifting.

Now don't tell anyone but I've never been to the Moonraking Festival before (shocking I know) so I'm really looking forward to seeing the main event which will include some huge firework displays, aerial art installations and live music - can't wait! If you're nearby on Saturday night then you should definitely come along too it starts at 6:30 Saturday 25th Feb

Tunes & Tales: Slaithwaite Moonraking Festival fundraiser

I'm supporting this years Moonraking Festival in the role of official photographer so i was delighted to attend 'Tunes & Tales' an open-acoustic evening of music, songs and words with local talent hosted by Jenny and the Goodmen. 

Slaithwaite Moonraking Festival was started 30 years ago by Satellite Arts with Slaithwaite Community Association. The festival now takes place every two years (in the odd year) and has grown and developed into an exciting celebration of creativity, crafts and storytelling.

Now an independent, charitable organisation run by local people, the Slaithwaite Moonraking Festival has embraced a role in profiling the uniqueness of Slaithwaite as a place to live, work and visit.

February is a dark time of year; by the end of it we are all ready for a ‘lift’ and the Moonraking Festival provides a welcome diversion from the winter gloom. At its heart is a week of lantern making workshops, where people of all ages create wonderful willow lanterns of all shapes and sizes. This is interwoven with storytelling, music workshops and performances building to the finale day.

Tunes and Tales marks the beginning of this years celebrations with an awesome display of music, poetry, comedy and song provided by local folk of all ages and food and drink provided by The Cure - fine charcuterie.