Blog Reboot

OK, I think it's time to re-boot this blog. I mean, my last post was in August and that's just embarrassing. In my defence, when I started this whole blogging idea I still had a full time job which combined with shooting over the weekends/in the evenings and editing till late at night left little room (let alone inspiration) for writing. That's one side of the coin. The other one is that I've admittedly been struggling with the concept - who, in all honesty, cares about my latest photography commission? Turning this into a kind of photo advice blog is not gonna work cause that's just not me. Focusing on the technical aspects of the photos would bore me to death and I'd probably burst into tears if I had to come up with those lighting set up diagrams. Plus, there are people out there who do it already and with more competence than I could ever hope for. I keep reading online advice about how your blog should be SEO friendly, have meta here and bollocks there and while I'm sure it's all very important I simply cannot write having all that as my main focus. I used to keep a regular online journal a decade ago (before the word blog entered our collective lexicon) but that came quite effortlessly and I truly enjoyed it at the time. So I've decided to hell with trying to be Google-friendly (not like that was working anyways, let's face it) and write for the fun of it. Well, that's the idea anyways. Cheers to that then and Happy New Year!

Christine Bovill's Piaf

I went to see Christine Bovill's much talked-about "Piaf" show at the very beginning of its run at this year's Fringe Festival in Edinburgh and I was floored - by the artist, her performance, her voice, the theatricality and last but not least The Famous Spiegeltent setting. How could I not come back and try to photograph it? I met Christine for coffee in Glasgow's West End, she kindly agreed to let me document the concert and I came back to Edinburgh to photograph the penultimate performance of this year's "Piaf" run. It was quite an unusual setting for me - the only instruments were the piano and the violin (and Christine's voice, of course), The Famous Spiegeltent is a very intimate venue which combined with an incredibly attentive audience made me feel quite aware of my presence there. You don't want to disturb anyone and draw attention to yourself and I did the best I could given that I'm 6' 4" and the shutter on D700 is a rather loud one. Here are some photos for you to see. I have no idea if there are any plans for future "Piaf" shows but be sure to see one if you get a chance, you won't be disappointed!

Sean Kennedy

Sean Kennedy is an up and coming Scottish singer-songwriter with whom I did a shoot last summer (you can read about it here). The results of that first session ended up on the cover of his debut EP "Love Don't Live Here" (as seen here) and I was looking forward to working with him again. This time it was an indoors shoot and we used Contrast Studio in Glasgow's city centre. Since the studio we used had plenty of natural light and it was a beautiful, late spring evening (something you don't get in Glasgow that often) we decided to split the shoot into 2 sections - one for shots with available light only and another using studio lighting. Huge thanks to Laurabelle, my light assistant supreme.

Stella Bartram

I've recently found myself being asked to do more and more fitness-oriented photoshoots. It's quite ironic, really, given my close-to-none interest in sport - I used to do yoga and pilates and now swim regularly but that's more to do with me turning 30 some time ago and desperately trying to rip my body from Mr. Gravity's persistent hands rather than any competitiveness or huge desire to be fit. Still, I found photographing athletes very interesting and quite different from the usual portraiture sessions. Apart from the technical aspects (lighting to emphasise the physique, etc) there's definitely more awareness of one's body and posture as well as confidence that come with a lifetime of training and making a living out of being fit. First fitness-oriented shoot I did was for the 2011 Ladies Handball Team Calendar but apart from the subject matter itself I wouldn't say these pictures could necessarily be classified as fitness ones. In terms of light and set up this was really a portraiture session which was meant to capture 13 beautiful girls who happened to be handball players. I wasn't trying to highlight how toned their bodies were or such. Things were different however, when the fantastic Neo Marketing send Stella Bartram my way. We had several meetings to discuss the concept and feel of the images she was looking for and after each of them I'd spend hours scratching my head, reading articles about fitness photography and considering cancellation (not necessarily in that order). Sometimes though, you just have to bite the bullet and that's what I did.

That first session with Stella Bartram happened a couple of years ago, we both enjoyed the experience, the images have been very well received and we have been talking about doing another photoshoot ever since. She's a very busy lady however (what with running her fitness empire, whipping celebrities into shape and promoting healthy lifestyle in general) and it wasn't until this February that both of us found the time to get some pictures taken. Rainbow Room International very kindly agreed to let us use their space as well as take care of Stella's hair for the 2 different looks we envisioned, I had my lighting assistant extraordinaire Laurabelle by my side and off we went.

We are already planning another session, something a bit more gritty perhaps. In the meantime though, I managed to catch Miss Bartram doing what she does best - training. I was asked to take some pictures of Stella's Metabolic Mayhem workout in aid of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research UK at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum in Glasgow. It was a beautiful albeit rather chilly early spring morning, people turned up in dozens and I got to witness firsthand why the Bartram brand is so successful:

I certainly know where to head once I start losing the battle with Mr. Gravity and some laps in the pool won't be enough to keep my butt from hitting the ground anymore!

2012 Revisited

OK, I realise that it may be a bit late for 2012 summaries but we've already established that I'm constantly behind with this blogging malarkey so there's really no reason to dwell on my shortcomings any further :-). It was a pretty intense year for me both personally and professionally but also a very rewarding one. Here's a collage of some my favourite shots from the past 12 months:

And since next to photography music is another huge passion of mine (and I get to work with quite a few musicians) I thought it would only be fair to compile a list of my favourite albums and songs from 2012. It's something I do every year cause a) I enjoy making lists; b) it's interesting to revisit these choices in a couple of years and see which of these albums/songs stood the test of time. Here is my 2012 selection (in no particular order):

SONGS:

Madonna Love Spent

Jessie Ware Wildest Moments

Frank Ocean Forrest Gump

M.I.A. Bad Girls

Usher Climax

Miguel Adorn

Solange Losing You

Macklemore Thrift Shop

Elle Varner Only Wanna Give It To You (feat. J. Cole)

Big Boi Apple of My Eye

ALBUMS:

Solange True EP

Miguel Kaleidoscope Dream

Madonna MDNA

Jessie Ware Devotion

Frank Ocean Channel ORANGE

The Weeknd Trilogy

Kindess World, You Need a Change of Mind

Bobby Womack The Bravest Man in the Universe