No email today. It's broken. Sorry.

It seems I can send but not receive email. Just thought I'd let people know.
I asked my providers a question, I got an incorrect answer from them and now they are trying to ignore that and blame me for not having the right package. Crap service means BYE BYE from me. This is their chance to fix it............double quick.

iPhone pic of the day

Once the location has been exhausted, build a set in a storeroom. This particular storeroom has been nicknamed 'the black hole of Calcutta' as it's dark and after many long days in there you start to get cabin fever!
On the plus side, it's not in Bristol and the photographs are lovely. That means client and photographer = happy.

Post production software

It's another (just about) pre-dawn start today. Family errands have all been done by 07.30 and I'm procrastinating over an image I shot yesterday that I promised to do some clever retouching on. Procrastinating means surfing the web, updating social networks, checking my sock drawer is tidy - you know the sort of thing.
I did however come across this from Adobe. CS5 or something must be just around the corner as this pre-release video shows off an amazing new feature.
Post production for the point and click generation. Can't imagine how complicated something like this is when the interface and usability is so easy.
Watch and be amazed!
 
Adobe blog

In the meantime I'd better get on with this retouching..............

I'll be back

An iconic saying that doesn't really count here as I've only been away for a week! The long days and hefty commute give me little time to do anything other than shoot, process and sleep. Not complaining, just stating the facts. Loving the job, shot some lovely images today....trying to persuade client to let me post some on here soon :-)
Shooting back in Bristol next week so hoping to get back online more often. See you soon.

Defeated by tech this morning

I got as far as writing the title of this post before the iPhone defeated me and I couldn't post from the mobile. Wouldn't let me put an image into it either. Must be an easy way to do it. Anyone got any ideas?
It would really help with the 'iPhone pic of the day' strand I'm trying to get going!!
Busy couple of weeks ahead so some mobile blogging would be a great asset.

iPhone pic of the day

With the weather set to sunny I think all the photographers in Bristol are out trying to capture something. I was walking through Clifton Village this morning, on my way to a job, and I spotted this car. I shot it in a disused quarry in the middle of nowhere. The mobile studio I set up kept trying to blow away and it was freezing cold. At one point my fingers could barely press the shutter release. (note to self - TAKE GLOVES) How quickly it's all forgotten once you see the image in situ.
At 2 metres wide I think it's almost lifesize! Have also spotted the cars cutting a dash out on the road too.

iPhone pic of the day

Supposed to be having a break this week! As a result I loaned my lights to a great agency so they could shoot a web ad whilst I gave lighting tips from 'holiday'.
The video looks great - just saw a rough cut. One of my lights blew half way through though....... It looks like the bulb just melted away from the screw thread. Never seen that happen in nearly 20 years of shooting.
I'm going to try and post an image a day from the iPhone once I'm officially working again next week.
In the meantime here's what's left of the bulb.

You can't buy everything on the Internet.

Two things have struck me about the web over the past few days. Firstly, it's easy to forget that, for many people, the internet may not be a priority. I was reminded of this on Sunday when I gave a talk on photography at a local gathering of glassmakers. I was chatting to a lovely lady afterwards and I mentioned some online resources to help her get started in photography. She told me she hadn't actually been on the internet yet. I have to admit I was stunned. I know that's more to do with my assumptions than anything else but I guess I did think that everyone 'did' the internet. I gave her YouTube as a resource and her response was 'what's that?'. Nothing wrong with not prioritising the web. This lady was a dedicated craftsperson and was focused on her work. She had no need for the internet. If I'm honest I've spent hours wasting time online when my time could be more productive. Perhaps I should take a leaf from her book and focus on taking more pictures!
The second point about the web is that it's easy to be seduced by low prices, next day delivery, and getting the next bit of kit. However, you can't often buy the personal touch and offer fabulous customer service online. I made a complaint yesterday about my treatment in a retail store. I felt offended by the manner of the salesperson and after leaving the store (and taking a few deep breaths) phoned to explain how the experience made me feel. After some explanations on both sides the staff member apologised and it felt genuine. I got home to an additional phonecall from this staff member apologising again and offering to personally deliver the items I was after, to my home, for free - by way of a proactive apology. I did of course agree to this (never one to turn down free stuff). He duly arrived, he handed over the goods, we shook hands and it all finished amicably.
I felt much better at having been listened to and apologised to so quickly. He felt better because he was offering a great experience so soon after a bad one.
It's that level of service and customer interaction that is difficult to source on the internet. Low prices don't give us the whole picture!

And now it's time for........

I put a slideshow on youtube - just trying to increase my presence on the web.
Can anyone guess the music? If you are based in the UK, are of a certain age and had a TV when you were a kid you will probably get it. No prizes, just for fun. Leave your answers in the comments box below this post.

The Envy girls

Some time ago I had an email asking if I'd like to shoot a bunch of girls who were aiming to break into and make it big in the music world. Errrrr, no brainer, of course I would! We met up, discussed some ideas and met a couple of times to shoot. They went through one band member (Hmmmm, seem to think the Sugababes were an influence!) so we did some more images with the new girl. I think we all had fun and they were delighted with the shots. They even said they liked me because I wasn't 'perving' over them like some of the other photographers they'd used. I took that as a compliment!!

I'm still waiting for the call to say they've made it big and they want to fly me out to Barbados to shoot their latest promo pics.......won't be holding my breath.
Anyway, thought you might like to see a photograph taken at the studio in Bristol. We had builders doing a huge renovation job at the time so it was shot in a makeshift studio in the front room. You wouldn't know though.

PS. The builders thought Christmas had come early. I think the girls were used to handling the  attention of blokes 'perving' though and soon put them down a peg or two.

Confidentiality

Shot some great images today. Don't know why I'm telling you 'cos I can't show an example or tell you too much until it's all been published. How boring is that?! Fair enough for those involved, commercial advantage and confidentiality agreements stop leaks and can give you an edge. However, As I'm impulsive and love the last picture I took I'm impatient and want to post on them now. By the time the job is all signed off and published I'll have moved on to the next thing.
Can someone remind me to post images from this shoot please? Give it a couple of months......
In the meantime here's an image to look at.

A pic by Jonathan Bowcott