Nikkor 85mm f1-4G

Mic Clark

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Portrait session with Mic Clark.

Mic Clark is a Scottish singer/songwriter. We met briefly years ago when I was photographing his dad, Chris Clark, another accomplished musician. Last autumn, however, Mic got in touch to have some images taken for his own project. We shot at Basement49 and thereabouts and had the brilliant Michelle Watson on styling duties. Enjoy!

GEAR
Nikon D850
Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Profoto B10
Profoto OCF Magnum Reflector

Diamond Days

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Photography, Video AND artwork for Brooks Williams’ recent album “Diamond Days”

I’ve worked with American singer/songwriter Brooks Williams on various projects over the years - solo shoots, collaborations with other musicians (Rab Noakes, Boo Hewerdine), as well as behind-the-scenes stuff and it’s always a pleasure. Last summer Brooks was in Wales at Martin Levan’s Red Kite Studio recording his new album “Diamond Days” and I was invited to film and photograph the sessions.

It was my first time in Wales and while the 8-hour, 3-train journey from Glasgow was rather stressful, it was worth it in the end. Set in the deepest Welsh valleys, Red Kite Studio was a dream space to photograph in and the hospitality of everyone involved made the whole experience a highlight of 2023 for me. See below for the photos, music videos as well as album artwork (I was responsible for that too).

GEAR PHOTO:
Nikon D850
Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Nikkor 35mm f1.8
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filters

GEAR VIDEO:
Sony A7III
Sony 35mm f1.8
Sony 85mm f1.8
DJI RS 2
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filters

Fashion Editorial with Barbra

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FASHION EDITORIAL WITH BARBRA

I’ve known designer Barbara for a few years now. We’ve collaborated on several occasions (here for example) and became friends along the way. Earlier this year I decided to carve out a day every month for personal, creative work where I invite various people to collaborate and take some photos just for fun. It allows me to experiment, and try things I don’t get to do with paid clients. It also gets me excited about photography again. Barbra’s been on the list of prospective collaborations for this and lucky for me she was up for having some photos taken. We shot a lot with hard light that day, something I’ve always been scared of but I am scared of it no more thanks to how this shoot turned out. We were going for retro vibes - some Old Hollywood, some 1980s. Have a look below.

Hair, Make Up & Styling: Michelle Watson
Studio: Basement49

GEAR
Nikon D850 + Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filter
Profoto A1 x 2
Profoto B10
120cm Octabox
Softbox 3' Octa
Softgrid Octa
Reflector

Justyna Jablonska's Lost & Found

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LOST & FOUND: A CELLIST’S JOURNEY

This was probably one of my favourite projects last year. Performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in August, Lost & Found: A Cellist’s Journey, was a rumination on Justyna Jablonska’s personal and musical journey from Poland to Scotland after finishing high school in her hometown of Łódź. It mixed cello, electronica and video projections to tell the artist’s story.

Justyna and I have worked together on several projects in recent years and it’s always a joy and a challenge. For Lost & Found, my task was to take promotional images, design the artwork and produce a trailer for the show. Justyna wanted everything to have a vintage, analog feel so most of the images were shot on film and I tried to incorporate that aesthetic in the promo artwork and video.

While Justyna is based in Edinburgh, we took the main promo images in Glasgow as its industrial history and vibe are closer to Łódź, where Justyna is originally from. Have a look below:

Promo Poster for the Edinburgh Fringe

GEAR PHOTO
Nikon FM + Nikkor 100mm f1.8
Kodak 400TX

Nikon D850 + Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filter

Sony A7III + Sony 85mm f1.8
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filter

GEAR VIDEO
Sony A7III + DJI RS 2
Sony 35mm f1.8
Sony 85mm f1.8
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 FilterS

Marissa Keltie

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Portfolio shoot with Marissa Keltie

I’ve known Marissa Keltie for a few years and have worked with her several times as part of The Eves duo. However, this was the first time I photographed her alone. Aside from being a talented musician, Marissa is also a commercial model and a voice-over artist and was looking to update her portfolio. I love how these images turned out and I think Marissa is pleased too cause this is what she had to say about this session:

 
“Kris Kesiak is such an amazing photographer who I have the pleasure of working with regularly. He always manages to get the shots I’m looking for and always has a smile on his face, singing and dancing - shoots with him are lots of fun!”
 

I’m blushing although perhaps I should cut down on the singing, I’m not that good! Aaaanyway, the shoot took place last month at Basement49, an East End studio I use a lot and you can see some images from that day below:

GEAR
Nikon D850 + Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Tiffen Black Pro-mist ¼ Filter
Profoto B10 + Profoto OCF Softbox 3' Octa
OCF Softgrid Octa
Reflector