Oct
02

Willow Weaver

I often find that my background in retouching as well as photography is a huge benefit especially with the unpredictability of location shooting.
This week I returned yet again to Willow growers PH Coates here in Somerset to capture Willow Weaver (well that’s what I call it) Matthew Godfrey.
I was drawn to this dark but atmospheric room on my last visit a few weeks ago and asked if I could return to create the image shown here.
I knew supplementary lighting would be needed to capture Matthew but I also wanted to retain the mood of the room from the blown out glows of the single window to the dark floor covered with pieces of discarded willow.
This is where hard earned knowledge and decades of experience of capturing the best quality camera files and the solutions available in post production come in to their own.
As a result the image came together within a very short space of time in post production and more importantly retained the vision I had for the scene from the time I first saw it a few weeks before.

 

Willow Weaver, Matthew Godfrey

Sep
11

Somerset Strippers

Back in April  I wrote a post titled “A Late Harvest”  where I visited local withy growers PH Coates & Sons here in Somerset and captured the late withy harvesting after the devastating winter floods.Whilst looking around on my last visit I was attracted to an area where the withy is boiled then stripped ready for weaving.

Not the most picturesque areas but I knew it would be a great backdrop to photograph the guys Dave Tottle and John Dyer going about their work of stripping the bark from the withy with the relevant machines.

The first thing I noticed on arrival was the smell of the boiled withy that some say smells like Jam but to me it reminded me of a Jalfrezi curry and quite pleasant although I’m sure if working around it all the time that might change!

I’m always pretty conscience not to get in the way or take up too much of peoples time if they are working but both Dave & John where more than accommodating and took direction very well as I composed them into the scene.

 

Lifesep2014willow-0001

 

 

 

Jul
10

“July” Snapshot Of An English Summers Day

I was asked to do some teaching the other day which I rarely do much of these days and I was explaining how important it is to learn the fundamentals of photography.

I also very quickly added that once you have learnt them that really anything goes ..if something works for the intention of the image you are creating then it works end of the story.

This kind of applies to this image as I rarely would ever create any serious imagery in the middle of the day especially in the height of summer.

The sunlight (if we have any) is harsh, contrast and for the most part pretty uninteresting and if shooting landscapes everything tends to be a little too green with little colour contrast between anything.

Having said that I’ve always maintained there is no bad light it just depends on what you are trying to achieve in the image.

I had the idea of creating a cow image for a while and for me they remind me of Summer with yes you guessed its green fields and deep Mediterranean blue skies.

Apart from having to be careful with the vast contrast inherent in the scene it all went together well with an appropriate Somerset landmark of Burrow Hill in the distance.

 

Cow-in-field-somerset

Jun
12

“Rubus” King Of The Moor

You might remember Rubus from a previous post I made about the fun shooting him for a campaign last year.

This particular image is an outtake from the same shoot which was not used so I decided to have some fun and place Rubus into a landscape fitting of his stature.

Apr
25

Recovery

It’s been a bit of a tough year both personally and for the area I live and love that is still recovering from the recent floods.
This week I took a break from a hefty amount of marketing to do some walking and take some therapeutic snaps while I was at it.
Pointing my camera without any plans to what I wanted to specifically capture is not something I do a lot of these days so it was a bit like yoga for the creative muscles to just follow my nose.
I decided to head a few miles from the Studio to the edge of the Somerset Levels at Hambridge where just a few months earlier was several feet underwater and the road totally unpassable at least by car.

I’m glad to say I found a drastic change to the area since my last visit and everything appears to be returning to some kind of normality.
That is not to say that the signs of the devastation where not evident in fact I came a cross everything from flattened rotting withy trees to dead Deer (although that was probably due to a car than the flooding).
Although many fields still looked saturated with water and mud a few did have some signs of growth in them along with hedges blooming with Blackthorn

 

Apr
02

Mind Games With Jet The Raven

A few weeks ago I did a couple of posts about photographing the devastating floods from Burrow Mump in Burrowbridge and some capturing beautiful old trees in Dorset.
Both these where shot for a new image I had wanted to create as part of my personal project “Life In A Somerset Landscape” and to represent the severe floods that had hit Somerset this year.
The only element that I had left to find was a Raven or something from that family of birds which I had always wanted to photograph.
I had nearly exhausted all my options for sourcing one locally and not one to compromise easily I decided to place a post of Facebook to see if anyone knew of one..even a stuffed one was becoming an option ! To my surprise one of my oldest friends replied within minutes saying his tattoo artist called Brendan had a tame Rook and I should call him.
After a couple of days I rang Brendan who indeed had Jet a fairly young and fairly tame Raven I could happily pop along to photograph.
Despite photographing several animals for this project already I’m by far a wildlife photographer and knew nothing about Ravens apart than they where a bigger version of a crow !
Brendan explained how incredibly intelligent these birds where (more than dogs) and although my concern about having my eyes pecked out was very unlikely due to their friendly nature I would definitely find Jet to be very inquisitive.
I turned up with a car full of gear (you never know what you will need on location) but I soon realised the avery was too small for any kit apart from hand holding the camera and a speed light for some fill in flash.
The other things that quickly came to my attention was how big and hyperactive Jet was ! This was going to be a tough shoot but that was to become an understatement!
You remember how I said how intelligent these birds where ? well it seems they also like to play games with tubby photographers trying to photograph them.
Each time I raised my camera to my eye he would fly, I could watch him all I wanted in fact he would do this little display to impress me (or take the piss as I saw it) but as soon as I raised the camera past my chin off he’d go off again…the little bastard was playing with me and winning!
Anyway not to be outdone I decided I would just have to set the camera up the best I could and shoot blind holding the camera at chest level.
I could have possible set the camera up and shot via a radio trigger but the concern was Jet would fly onto the tripod and knock the whole lot to the floor and I did not fancy explaining that to the insurance company less than a week after a £700 repair for it rolling down a hill!
With 140 frames shot I managed to capture enough usable frames to choose from which had correct perspective and interesting angle.

The image is titled “A Perch Above The Flood”

 

Feb
25

It Don’t Rain It Pours !

After some careful planning I today decided to venture out towards the heart of the severe flooding on the Somerset Levels.
I headed to a spot I’ve visited many times called Burrow Mump at Burrow Bridge where the floods hit very hard.
I wanted to capture some images for a new image I have an idea for and also document the severity of this major and devastating flood.
I arrived on the only road that is currently open, parked up and navigated the muddy field at the base of the hill.
The climb up was a bit precarious and I did not look forward to the journey back down which I was sure would be predominately on my ass !
The view from the top of Burrow Mump is always impressive and although the flooding had receded a fair bit in places it was still an incredible sight especially as the storm clouds gathered yet again ovehead.
After several shots of the incredible light over the flooded fields I decided to move position to try another angle, as I bent to grab my bag the tripod complete with camera toppled down the hill smashing the £1700 lens that was attached !.
It’s been a difficult few weeks as I have previously mentioned and maybe due to this I just looked at the heap of electronics on the damp hillside packed my bag and headed home.
As my mum would have said “It Don’t Rain It Pours” she also used to say things often happened in threes but I’m hoping this time that is not the case !

Jan
16

Dry Path To Muchelney

You can’t live in the UK without having heard about the village of Muchelney in South Somerset which has recently become an island after the severe floods.
I live a few miles from the village and have managed until today to resist all temptations to venture out onto the Somerset Levels with my camera.
The two problems for me are firstly that the Somerset Levels are where I learnt my craft and they even after all these years are still one of my favorite places to go and shoot.
Secondly although I’m certainly no adrenalin junkie or risk taker I’m fascinated by extreme weather much to my wife’s disapproval and this means I can’t resist getting safely close as possible to explore & capture what I find.

The floods had receded just enough that some roads are now passable so today with stormy skies still overhead I ventured to a couple of places I thought might be safe and give me some great views.
This image titled “Dry Path To Muchelney” shows the severely flooded River Isle on the right and flooded fields to the left with a elevated path bank heading towards Muchelny.
The gentleman I met walking with his dog said how in 40 years he had never seen flooding this extreme in the area.His dog seemed less bothered by he water and more interested in the wildlife as there where lots of mice and other animals on the bank seeking safety from the waters.
The rains came in again giving some wonderful skies and I decided to shoot one more image before heading home.
As I mounted a gate to reach the flood line in a field I somehow lost my footing and ended up head first with my camera luckily on top of me !
It must have looked hilarious but must admit as I sit here writing this I’m pretty bruised and not getting any sympathy from the wife !
I hope for those hit hard by the floods in Muchelney and surrounding area that the water recedes soon so that the clean up can get started.

Dec
06

Protexin, Stop Motion Company Video

For several months this year we worked on a large project for a company called Protexin.
Protexin manufacture and distribute worldwide Probiotcs for human & animals consumption and where looking for a new way of showcasing to their international customers their impressive state of the art production line, staff and premises.
As we had been keen to work with them for quite a while we set up a meeting and proposed shooting a video using thousands of still frames (and some motion) to showcase their company in a contemporary and engaging way.
After shooting using the technique at one of the many exhibition that they attend  (see Protexin A Engaging Video Solution ) they decided to expand the project even further to produce the finished video below.
After a fair amount of pre production and planning not to mention many many hours of processing, colour grading, a pinch of after effects and plenty of video editing the project was finally finished.
Protexin where extremely happy with the finished product and we have since worked on several other albeit smaller Photographic projects with them.

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