Behind the Scenes - 'The Debonaires'

Yesterday afternoon I was very kindly emailed a few photographs from Trudi (Dave The Double Base players' good lady) that showed 'behind the scenes' of The Deboanires photo shoot last weekend. I thought it would be a good idea to post some of them up here on the blog to show what the location was like where we were working ... certainly not your plush studio environment with seamless backdrops, comfortable sofas etc ... Quite the opposite in fact, what with it being a storage room above a workshop, but hey, it's not what you've got but what you do with it as I was always told (or am I thinking of something else ?)

Anyway, here's some of Trudi's photos along with a few more of the ones I took.
Enjoy ;o)



** Please note that despite looking like I'm losing (lost) my hair, this is clearly a fault with Trudi's camera.




** The group shots were a little bit of a challenge because of the enclosed space we were working in and that all the walls were covered in light grey plasterboard.

A quick 'Shot'

Last week when I was working down at Heathrow Airport (again) I was asked to take a photo of one of the guys who was retiring that very same day after being a policeman for some 31 years. Now with that kind of achievement, you can't really refuse so it was out with the a couple of lights and then dragging the reluctant model, Pete Valvona infront of the camera.

Once I'd take a handful of formal shots, as per usual I ended up clambering all over the floor to get something different and this is the result. Gotta say, how lucky was I to have an aircraft fly by at that exact moment ... or was I ???? :o)

We ALL have our 'dark' days !!!!!

No matter who we are and what we do, if we're honest, we all have our 'dark' days. Days when we don't feel motivated; days when we feel a little low and days when we just feel like throwing the towel in. It's times like this that we need, more than anything, to know that what we're feeling is natural and that everyone goes through it at some point.

A fellow photographer & friend recently made a short video that has created a buzz across the internet like no other for quite some time. In the video, Zack Arias, a truly gifted photographer from the United States lets his heart loose in such a way that you'll be left thinking he's talking about you, the viewer.

Incredibly powerful stuff that I urge you to watch.

Nuff said ;o)

ps> Despite the start, this is NOT just about photography ... it's about life.

The Debonaires

Starting with a photo shoot last Sunday which set me up on a bit of a 'high' it's been quite a week. The only disappointment for want of a better word was that the BMI cover shoot has had to be re-scheduled, but hey these things are sent to test us and I'm a firm believer in the phrase 'everything happens for a reason' ;admittedly finding a reason can be a challenge sometimes, but you know what I mean :o)

Anyway, getting back to last Sunday ... I was over in Daventry, Northamptonshire with a group of musicians collectively known as 'The Debonaires'; a truly great bunch of guys who were real fun to work with, and who incidentally make AWESOME music. The three guys, namely Dave, Dave and Mick are a 3 piece 50's style band and we were taking photos for images to be used as art on their soon to be released new album.



The photos were taken in a room on the first floor of a workshop which to look at wasn't the ideal location but with the use of several Nikon Speedlights and an Alien Bees 1600 we managed to darken everything down and hide all the heavy bits of hardware being stored in there. (Photo of set up to follow)



I think music is vital on a photo shoot as it helps to set an atmosphere and relax everyone, and it usually comes from my iPhone and a portable dock but this time I was treated to some live sounds from the guys and it was bloomin fantastic; there really is nothing like live music to get everyone relaxed and as Madonna said 'into the groove'; nothing at all to do with the "JD" being consumed (not by me I hasten to add ... professional to the end you see :o)



Anyway, I've attached a few samples of photos taken which you can enlarge by clicking on. Once I've finished editing all the photos from the shoot I'll post a music video on here for you to see, fingers crossed with a backing track from the guys; I'll also keep you posted as to when the album is released ... not one to miss believe me.

Enjoy ;o)

More odds 'n' sods ...

Having had just about every 'season' possible this past week, the drastically changing weather has meant a number of photo shoots being put back a few days. Well I suppose it was quite alot to ask those I was photographing to stand out in minus something or other degrees temperatures, but to stand out in blizzard like conditions, followed by torrential rain, thunder and six inches of snow would have been pushing it maybe a little too far.


This week I've been working down at Heathrow Airport again and as always, like to use it as an opportunity to take photos that I wouldn't normally have the chance to take. The photo attached is of a guy by the name of Tony Wong; another of Heathrow's Armed Police that I convinced to 'just stand there for a moment' whilst I proceeded to pull out all sorts of camera equipment to the point that it looked like he was on the set of the new Terminator Movie :o)

Anyway the weekend is upon us, so to give you an idea of what's going on over the next few days ... I'm with a 50's band called 'The Debonaires' working on photos to be used as artwork on their new album (being released I believe at the end of March) and also I'll be spending a day with BMI (British Midland Airline) putting together some images to be used as front covers on their 'in house' magazine.

Rest assured I'll keep you posted, but in the meantime .... enjoy ;o)

A visit from Mr Snowman :o)

A little late maybe, but this evening we had a visit from Mr Snowman. He only stayed a short while ... just long enough for me to take a photograph, and promised that he'd have a word with Father Christmas about dropping off a Hasselblad Phase One and some Profoto lighting kit. Now ... where's my medication ???? :o)

Daddy's Girl

One thing I think that's great to see is when parents have a really close, loving relationship with their children; it's just so incredibly important for obvious reasons. This past weekend I was photographing a delightful little girl called Amy, aged 4 and a half ... daughter of Stephen Dabinett who is one of the guys I photographed in the "NYPD Blue ... well sort of" post below (second from the left).


The relationship between them is just how a relationship should be between father and daughter, and you can see in Steve's eyes that Amy is 'EVERYTHING' to him .... very special indeed!

Amy was a little Angel and couldn't do enough to help, which made photographing her a breeze. Anyway, here's a few of the shots from our short time together ... enjoy ;o)

NYPD Blue ... well, sort of :o)

Group shots are notoriously dreaded by photographers for a number of reasons ... lighting and getting everyone in the shot to look 'good' all at once to name a few. However, group shots will always be asked for, so I try to make them a little more interesting rather than the traditional line up, cos let's face it ... they can be about as dull as dishwater.


DVD covers, TV magazines, Movies and the like are great resources for 'inspiration' and that's sort of where I got the idea for this shot ... an old photo of the crew of NYPD Blue, taken by Michael Grecco, ontop of a building looking out across the New York skyline. Now admittedly New York this isn't but the top floor of Car Park 1a at London's Heathrow Airport was the best we could manage :o)

Thanks to the 'Safer Airports Team' at Heathrow and to Lee Piper (Management BAA Security) for dealing with all the 'red tape' (permit). At the time of writing, I understand Lee now has another bout of the flu, which I take full responsibility for, for making her stand outside for so long during the shoot ... it's the least I could do.

Enjoy ;o)

Family Portrait

Well the weather this week has certainly had an impact on planned photo shoots, but hey I guess it should be expected living in the UK ... but that being said, there's always the indoors :o)


Here's a few shots from a family portrait shoot this week (Gill Hawley with her daughters, Eleanor & Anna) ... all taken in their living room using a couple of Nikon SB800 speedlights and a collapsible backdrop. For some time I've been planning a photo shoot with Eleanor and Anna, but the weather has been against us so we got together this week to get some shots of them all together as a 'dry run'.



More to come from this week, but right now it's "way too early o'clock" and I gotta run ... :o)

The week ahead ...

With a number of shoots planned during the coming week I'll be posting a few images up here for you to see, but in the meantime I thought I'd leave this one with you. The expression on Johnny's face, I have to be honest was 'out of the box' ... moody he isn't ... shattered from working full time, coaching an International Rower and having just finished training he is :o)

Cheers Johnny (you moody b&$%£r! ... only kidding :o)