I was recently commissioned to make a portrait of triathlete Steve Faulkner for Triathlete’s World. Anyone who takes up the challenge of swimming, biking or running competitively gets my nod, but doing all three in a triathlon is on another level. Mix that in with Ironman challenges, representing Great Britain in the Vancouver World Championships, studying for a PhD at Loughborough University – oh and beating an aggressive type of cancer diagnosed at the age of 16, and you have one seriously determined man.
You can read more about Steve in October’s edition of Triathlete’s World.
Donations to Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research at justgiving.com/Steve-Faulkner0
Not been into the woods for a portrait shoot for some time so got together with model Ellen for a test shoot to try out some new ideas and lighting setups.
Leicestershire is packed full of great woodland locations and its not too hard to find a nice area to capture some fantastic images.
We chose a day when it rained almost non-stop, but the tree canopies helped shelter us from most of it, although the soft wet ground caused us some difficulties navigating through the wood.
Although I am no longer a wedding photographer, I have been known to accept an invite to shoot the wedding of a friend or help out as a second shooter. Recently I did just that when I was asked by the mother of the bride if I could take a few shots of her daughter Lisa and groom Fabien on their wedding day.
The wedding was a truly international affair with Fabien being French and some of his family and friends coming over from France. The day turned out to be the swansong of summer 2010. The light was fantastic and the leafy Great Glen in Leicestershire set the scene beautifully.
Good luck to you both
Did another shoot with Helen after our successful first session last week.
We started the prep work by searching for a location that had a totally different look to an urban shoot. Leicester has been undergoing massive urban redevelopment leading to a lot of derelict buildings waiting to be pulled down. We were hoping to find an easily accessible building to use on the shoot, but during our search I found a fantastic derelict stone tower in the heart of Leicestershire’s countryside which looked ideal for what we had in mind.
We had to navigate over stone walls and embankments to get to the site but it was well worth it and we managed to create some fantastic images. Definately a site to use again in the future as there are lots of features at the site we did not have time to use.
I took family and friends on a nice but very cold walk at Bradgate Park in Leicestershire last Sunday to wind down from the hectic season and kick start our own Christmas celebrations. Bradgate Park is run as a trust and was the birthplace of Lady Jane Gray and is now home to herds of deer who have the run of the place. It is a very popular place for Leicestershire residents and recommended to anyone visiting the area.
The walk got our circulation going and I managed to grab a few photos without my hands freezing to the camera. I am now ready for Christmas and the new year and I hope you are all to. Seasons Greetings – I hope you have a good one.
I had a free Sunday last weekend so took the kids out to Swithland Wood on the edge of Charnwood forest in Leicestershire to scout for new portrait locations for the Autumn season. It was a fantastic day with no rain and a comfortable temperature. Swithland Wood is well covered with large tree canopies which really softens the light as it comes through the top down to the floor level. With the lovely yellow and red colours from the fallen leaves on the ground there was plenty of photo opportunites every few yards.
I brought my lighting stand and shoot through brolly for some off camera flash with my SB800 flahsgun to help the photos come to life. My eldest daughter Bethany is now wise to me and my camera so rarely smiles when the lens is pointed in her direction, but I managed to capture this moment towards the end of the shoot which really made my day.
The school prom season is really in full swing now with last night’s event for Etone College with my sister company Event-Pics the start of 2 weeks of proms to attend to photograph. Event-Pics set up a mini studio at the event with a white backdrop, studio lights and a viewing station for immediate printing of photos for attendees to take home with them. The setup and style of images are proving very popular with proms and our customer base is growing year on year. Last night was one of Event-Pics busiest ever and it was hectic but fun all night. Check out the Event-Pics blog for more.