Model Team/Scot Campus behind the scenes

Over the last year or so Cathy at Model Team has been brilliant at letting me use the new models on her books for test shoots so I was more than happy to help out when she asked me if I would photograph the Fresher's Week winner of the Model Team & ScotCampus Magazine model search. This was the first opportunity I had to work with Alan Drummond who is going to be assisting me at a wedding at Glenskirlie House in a couple of weeks.  He was fantastic to work with and I think we are going to make an awesome team at the wedding.  He even took a few shots behind the scene at our shoot which I have borrowed as a sneak preview of the main shoot which I can show you once it's gone to print in Scot Campus Magazine...

All images by Alan Drummond.

Katherine Bryan video promo shoot

A few months ago my friend Scott Mackenzie at Mackenzie Films in Scotland asked if I would like to get involved in a promo shoot for Katherine Bryan who is an amazing flute player, and has been principal flute with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra since she was just 21.  Her accolades and  achievements are too many to mention here but it was a real pleasure working with her and the team.  Make up was by Jacqui Connor.  We shot at the beautiful Playfair Library in Edinburgh.  Thanks to Mike Byrne for kindly lending me his backdrop (which just about fit in the back of a black cab). So I just received the link to the video and was slightly alarmed to see how heavily I feature - bit weird seeing myself at work, but a great piece of work from Scott.  All stills are mine from the shoot on the day.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1jYduJBfq0&feature=youtu.be&hd=1]

Portrait Post Two: Lucy

Lucy and I met at school in Somerset in our early teens and were friends for a few years before she moved away from our school. I have many happy memories of spending time at her lovely home. Unfortunately we lost touch and by the time she picked me up at her local station in the Cotswolds we calculated that it had been 17 years since we had last seen each other! We were soon reminiscing over tea and cake about school, people, her old cat Cherry Plum. Lucy is now a handbag designer and founder of Milo & Saint, and had me gushing over how gorgeous her bags are – they are all so very British in quality, style and even named after London streets. We took a few pics of Lucy then were quickly distracted by the love of her life her cat Woody…

The following images of some of Milo and Saint's handbags are taken from Lucy's website:

Back to the beginning

I get asked a lot how I got into photography and I was recently sorting through my files and found my first publication.  It was a series of happenstances that has got me to this point but it was an idle idea about 4 years ago, at the height of the recession and when friends and family around me were all losing jobs, that the thought flashed through my head; if I get made redundant I'd like to be a photographer.  I'd already signed up for a photography holiday in Morocco with Creative Escapes when the inevitable happened - my company had a massive downsizing and all the middle management were made redundant.  I knew I should have been upset, but secretly I was thrilled.  Although I really enjoyed my job as a marketing account director working on amazing brands such as Jack Daniel's, Lynx, New Look and Paramount, I just wasn't excited by it any more.  However, despite being thrilled, initial money concerns made me worry that dashing off on an expensive photography holiday was probably not sensible.  I tried to cancel or at least postpone and in response had an email from an old colleague and photographer, Colin, who was now teaching on the course, which persuaded me to go anyway. So, the trip was fantastic - better than I could ever have imagined.  I learnt enough in those 10 days to skip a year of college, which was what I decided to do on my return, and met inspiring friends whose ongoing support has been invaluable (thanks Dawn).

As the icing on the cake, at the end of the trip we were asked to submit some of our pictures to support an article that a journalist had been writing about Morocco.  I didn't get around to it but they found my pictures anyway and when I opened the PDF of the article I was stunned to see that one of my portraits had been used as the leader image (taken as a result of spending an entire day photographing the stinking chicken yard and sharing tea with the chicken men). And so that was the beginning.  Since then there has been 2 years of college, awful waitressing jobs, endless unpaid photography work, many collaborative test shoots and now finally, feeling like I have made that fleeting thought a reality.

Portrait Project One: Kunle

Over the summer I undertook a personal portrait project.  On the back of my own transition from a career in marketing into a more creative world I was intrigued to explore some of the more creative people amongst my friends.  I was fascinated by their working environments and the spaces which inspired their work. It was a fabulous journey of discovery, as well as a delightful opportunity to hang out with some of my nearest and dearest plus get to know some more casual acquaintances better.  All were wonderfully hospitable and patient with me. I thought rather than do one post about all of them I would pick out a few and highlight the amazing creativity they have.  Today I’m going to talk about L. Adekunle Salami. One of the reasons I love London is that you never know where you might end up of an evening.  A few months ago I was passing through London and was finally able to take up frequent invitation from my friend Richard to attend a poetry night that he DJ’d at in Camden called Beat (Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation" in 1948 to characterize a perceived underground, anti-conformist youth movement in New York).  So I found myself on the streets of Camden on a warm evening in a pub, Charlie Wrights, that from all outward appearances seemed to be shut, but no, inside was a handful of poets and faithful followers (not numbering more than the poets) and after a wait to ensure that everyone had turned up the first poet took the stage (more of a mini platform).

From a psychiatric nurse drawing on her experiences to another poet talking about a bi-polar bear, angst and psychiatric illness were frequently delivered through humour.  The venue seemed entirely appropriate; dark, dingy, with squashy sofas to sink down into clutching cheap wine.  Kunle came on last and played 'She said sorry'.  Just his voice, his harmonica and his guitar in the darkness and his words sent chills down my spine and I desperately wanted to photograph him.  We met up a couple of weeks later, strolled down the embankment, drank whisky in Soho at 11am and ended up in the basement of a music shop on Denmark Street.

Mar Hall

I always like to check out a venue in advance of a wedding, to ensure that I have a chance to meet with the wedding coordinator and look at all the best locations for the bride and groom shoot to speed up the process on the day.

I have a wedding coming up at the beginning of October with Hannah and Danny at Mar Hall in Glasgow and so jumped at the chance to do a test shoot with my friend Sam.  She works as a model (she is in some of the pictures below), stylist and her mum makes beautiful headpieces which feature in the shoot.  The hair and make-up was done by Natasha Dardas.  It was the first time I had worked with Natasha and I was so impressed with her work - I'm looking forward to collaborating with her next week on a shoot for Model Team.

It was a pretty blustery day so we shot mainly inside but now I can't wait to shoot Hannah and Danny's wedding - it's going to be gorgeous (weather permitting - and Glasgow in October can do anything!)

Wedding Photography Ibiza || Amante Beach Club Wedding || Mark & Gemma

I had the pleasure of photographing at Mark and Gemma's Ibizan wedding back in June.  They met there one evening in Pacha nearly five years ago and knew immediately that they had met the one.  A courtship followed with a commute between Gemma in Wales and Mark in Surrey until they moved into a flat in Notting Hill a few years later. After an engagement in Cuba, Ibiza was decided upon as the only proper venue, and 50 friends and family gathered for a weekend long celebration.  The wedding itself was held in the evening at The Amante Beach Club, set in one of the most beautiful coves in Ibiza.  Overlooking the Sol D'en Serra bay the resort is surrounded by dramatic rocks and lush greenery.  The guest seating was laid out overlooking the sea and Gemma made her entrance down the steps wearing a beautiful Jenny Packham gown and beige Jimmy Choo heels.

Gemma had thought of every little detail and the whole day was utterly beautiful and elegant.  It was truly wonderful to watch the sun setting over the mediterranean sea as the party continued into the evening.

Beautiful new albums!

I'm really excited because I've just put in an order for a sample copy of one of these gorgeous art albums from Folio Albums.

Not only do they have impeccable green credentials, they give images a vibrancy and clarity that traditional photographic prints can't match as they are printed on fine art paper. Hand bound and encased in natural leather they open out flat with an almost invisible crease so that each image is beautifully showcased. All of the albums are square and either 10"x10" or 12"x12" with a range of leathers. They all come in a cosy little bag and box, and smaller companion albums covered in fabric can be ordered at the same time. I also offer a range of photobooks and albums to suit all tastes and budgets.

Here are a couple of spreads from Rachel and Simon's Norfolk wedding: