Sunset at St Ouen's, Jersey

I was so happy to be able to sneak a few days to go and hang out with my family in Jersey last week.  It's my family home and I don't go back nearly enough.  The house is always full of people and there is constant noise and energy.  My parents had me up at 7am every morning for a long walk around the cliffs.  Here are a couple of pictures from one evening at St Ouen's.  I'm not so big on landscape photography as I prefer to just enjoy the grandeur of a sunset with my naked eye but I got quite excited at how the light changed every second during this sunset and towards the end the light picked up beautifully on the sand.

An exciting new adventure in Kenya

I am very lucky to have a number of people in my life who act as mentors and guides.  When you work alone as a business sometimes you need a little push and encouragement, someone to tell you are doing the right thing - or the wrong thing.  Someone to bounce ideas off and offer inspiration and guidance. One of these people is Samir.  We met when he came to Electric House to give a small talk to a number of small business owners in the creative sector on Creative Business Mentoring.  They ranged from PR to dress makers.  It was a small and intimate gathering and gave us all the opportunity to ask a few questions.  At the end of the session he kindly offered further help should we want to follow up.

Samir has a fascinating career history, with a masters in mathematics, was CEO of an airline company at 29, worked for the Ministry of Defence, guest lectures at Oxford and King's LSE, founded several successful companies including Debut Contemporary, worked with Bosnian refugees and other charities such as Repossession.

Never one to miss an opportunity to engage with someone inspiring of course I followed up and at our first meeting one of the most provocative things he said was that I needed a manifesto for life (he pointed me in the direction of Vivienne Westwood).  I needed a purpose and to give something back.  I went away with this very much on my mind.  Maybe a week later Keith, the brother of one of my very dear friends from Kenya, contacted me to say that he had set up an volunteer organisation called Gap Creative to provide art, drama, music and photography programmes for a number of orphanages near his home town of Nakuru in Kenya (coincidentally the same small town that my father was brought up in!) and asked if I would be prepared to get involved in setting up the photography arm of this.

'No' is not generally a much used word in my vocabulary, particularly when it comes to travel, adventure or photography - and particularly those three in combination.  So, my flight to Nairobi is booked for a week Monday.  I am booked in for my jabs.  I have had pledges of over £300 from kind friends and family to purchase some cameras, printer and inks and will be setting off to spend a week with Keith in Nakuru meeting with the orphanages, talking to the kids, devising a workable programme for the volunteers who start coming out in January and making a short documentary about the work that will be happening out there.

I'm meeting Samir next week and can't wait to tell him all about it.  But as he sagely said; when we open our eyes and mind to opportunity it comes knocking.

Photographing People

When I look at why I love photography I can clearly see the subjects that I am drawn to; people.  Whether that is people captured unawares expressing joy in a crowded party, a corporate portrait to help a person find a way of clearly representing who they are in a business capacity in a way that builds trust with their clients; a young family capturing the early moments of their life together or a woman bravely embracing her natural and honest beauty in a boudoir shoot - either for herself or for her partner. For me there is nothing more satisfying than have a client look at a picture that I have taken and knowing that they have shown a little part of themselves to me for maybe just a fleeting moment and recognising themselves in that.

I have had the privilege of working with so many fascinating people.  For my final college assignment years ago I chose to photograph people I knew in the arts, in their home or working environment.  Here are some of the pictures I took.  Some are more obvious in their vocation, others more subtle.  I hope you enjoy them.

Stevie & Stuart's Engagement Shoot at the British Museum

Sometimes the terrible British weather can bring fortuitous results - such as a previously arranged engagement shoot at Virginia Water being moved to the British Museum as a wet weather alternative.  I am always very happy to try alternative locations for shoots and this was somewhere I have been wanting to shoot in for a while.  The light is beautiful, the backdrop stunning and on a Thursday morning not too busy - other than a few bus loads of tourists and school children.  After a while I think Stevie and Stuart even forgot they were in a public place and we just enjoyed the space and freedom of this incredible place.

Hayley's Pregnancy Shoot

It's such a personal stage in a woman's life and it was a real privilege to have the opportunity to shoot Hayley only one day before he was born.  She was absolutely glowing and beautiful and we did the shoot in the comfort of her home using mainly natural light and the lovely space of the house.  Congratulations to her and Wes on their new arrival. I had the pleasure of shooting a heavily pregnant bride, Amber, in the summer at a gorgeous central London wedding.  For how to maintain your glamour whilst in the second trimester see the blog post here!

Help me to photograph David Beckham!

I don't usually enter competitions, although I should, but I was tempted by this one currently being run by Adidas.  They are looking for someone to photograph David Beckham - what's not to like?  I prefer shooting women to be honest but I guess I could handle having Mr Beckham in front of my lens.  I've only been able to enter one picture and I chose one that I took of Jax on the recce shoot we did in Formentera recently.  The theme of the competition is 'Take the Stage' and I love the sense of freedom in this picture as Jax is taking the stage in a very intimate, expressive way. If you like the picture please help me have a chance in the competition by voting for me here before the competition closes on 27th May - you don't need to register, just enter your email address and dob.

Thanks!

Lee Renee Jewellery Shoot

I couldn't resist posting a few pictures of yesterday's jewellery shoot for Lee Renee's new jewellery range at Studio 25 in London Fields.  Lee's new website is going to be up and running soon and I'll do a full blog posting with a link in a few weeks but here is a taster... My favourite piece was the stags head necklace in the first pictures.

A few hours in Luxor

I haven't blogged at all this week and that's mainly because I have spent the bulk of my time, since Monday, on an aeroplane on a crazy route that has shown me (or at least seen me touch down in) Jordan, Ethiopia, Israel, Portugal, America and finally I am on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.  I didn't get much time for photography but I did steal a few hours in Luxor, Egypt and made a visit to the temple ruins at Karnak, on the edge of the Nile. Whilst I love the architecture, for me the people give these places character and provide a context for a story, a history and point of interest.  After I left the temple I walked slowly back to the hotel, enjoying the street.  It's pretty quiet in Luxor at the moment, the hotel was virtually empty, because of the recent troubles in Egypt.  I found the people very friendly and warm and overall receptive to my camera.

Boudoir Shoot

I spent most of Saturday at Pout Studios in London photographing the beautiful Ruth for a boudoir series.  Whilst Ruth is obviously an experienced model, boudoir photography is becoming increasingly popular for pre-wedding shoots for brides-to-be, or as a present for partners or even just for women to have a beautiful keepsake of themselves.  It can be a hugely liberating experience and lots of fun to be pampered by hair and make-up artists before being shot tastefully in a series of gorgeous outfits.  These shots were taken in a studio but shoots can take place in your own home, or a hotel.  If you are interested in booking a session please email me for details.  If you book a session before Christmas (a great stocking filler...) then I am offering a complimentary album filled with your pictures.

Shooting dancers

A new challenge last week - facing November temperatures and shooting a couple of dancers outside.  I met Emelye at Camp Bestival in the summer - she gave me some wellies (she was working for Shuh) and I was working for Monkey Shoulder.  We swapped numbers and finally managed to meet up in Portsmouth for a shoot with her friend James. Pretty early in the shoot the police rolled up to say they had received a complaint from some locals about people 'prancing in their underwear'.  The police obviously didn't waste much time in coming to have a look.... once we promised that Emelye wouldn't be stripping down any further they let us continue without concern for further risk.

We started off at Knowle Village - a community village built around the old hospital buildings then ended up at Titchfield Abbey, the ruins of a 17th century abbey which was a gorgeous location.  Hair and make up by Tori Harris.  Delicious cupcakes for eleveneses baked by Emelye.