American Crew Face Off - Hair Photography

Last September I had the honor of shooting some models for the American Crew Face Off 2009 Hairdressing Competition, for one of my favourite clients- Harper & Quinn of Wilmslow. Both Paul, one of the owners, and top stylist Jonathan (who incidentally did my last haircut- ta :D ) entered the contest and, thanks to their great talent combined (I like to think!) with my photography Jonathan was in the Top 20 shortlist and Paul was one of the 3 winners! He won a trip to LA, sans his photographer :( and national recognition as a top stylist.

So this year I was obviously asked to return and shoot some more entries for this years contest. We went a little moodier with the lighting and I think the results are some of my strongest work to date. Hopefully the judges will feel the same!

I'm an Uncle!!!

So my sister gave birth finally last friday (after a near 2 day labour ordeal!) and I was able to welcome my new neice, Poppy, into the world. I packed up my bag with an excessive amount of camera gear and took a trip to the hospital with my grandparents, to introduce myself as I meant to go on- slightly hungover.

The feeling when I first got to hold her was pretty special. A loving devotion, along with the realisation, that theres another human being here that I now have a great deal of responsibilty towards. Magic!

Then I got to crack my camera open. The room was a bit dark and my new muse refused to open her eyes for the entire time but I was pretty happy with the results I got. The first of many shots, no doubt, and maybe a new avenue for my photography.









This post is dedicated to you Poppy. xxx

Charity Shoot - ITV Fixers

I was asked, by a friend of mine, Mike, who is a cameraman, to shoot at a charity event on the 24th August this year. The event was organised by a local lad, Akeim, along with the charity ITV Fixers, as an event for the youth of inner city Manchester to come together and celebrate their GCSE results as well as promoting unity amongst the local youngsters.

The night went ahead, despite certain people & groups trying to disrupt the organisation, to great success with DJ Silva spinning some excellent UK Funky & Garage and a special guest appearance from Kieran Murphy from TV's Shameless. Theres some pics below & i've embedded the video - blink and you'll miss me (2.41 & 2.45!!).

Youth United from ITV Fixers on Vimeo.

Sophie in the Photographers Playground

A couple of weeks ago I had an (ultimately unsuccessful) interview with Doubletake Studios in Manchester. This interview led to my being invited into the studio for a trial. I had to get somebody in to use the studio with and my friend Sophie gratefully obliged!

The studio itself was a cornucopia of different backdrops & environments to shoot in. There was an amazing variety & every corner gave us something different to work with. We had a good laugh for the 40mins of our shoot and, if nothing else, came out with a few great shots for my portfolio (especially the one on the tubes!).

Incidentally, Sophie and her boyfriend Paul have just got engaged so many congratulations to them both!

Screaming Citizens - Shock & Awe - Out now!

My good friends, a band by the name of 'Screaming Citizens', have just released their debut album, 'Shock & Awe'  to great acclaim from their fans. I've been lucky enough to know the guys for years and have seen first hand how much effort they put into their music, something which definitely deserves reward. They also have an awesome live show - and its not often that a band is so much better live than on a record - which I insist you check out given any opportunity.

You can get their album on iTunes now. Just follw the link.

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/no-time-to-lose/id389647559?i=389647697&tduid=03fd30f36e1addd1bd5bd7a0f186016a&affId=1474288&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Heres some shots of them live too, stay tuned for a full promo shoot coming soon!

 

The Bloody Beetroots - 03/09/10

Last Friday, The Bloody Beetroots played at Club Academy in Manchester. It turned out to be their only UK date in their touring schedule. I was lucky enough to obtain a photo pass for the gig and was even luckier to be the only photographer there, giving me exclusive coverage!

There was no pit for photographers so I had to get stuck into a mosh pit full of sweaty teenagers to grab the majority of my shots, leading to alot of  camera shake & arms in the way!! Still, it was really fun and brought back some memories from metal gigs of old...

Sanctuary Festival - 28/08/10

I spent August Bank Holiday weekend shooting at Sanctuary Festival at Catton Hall, Derbyshire. Its a pretty hardcore festival as far as dance goes. Im pretty sure the Metropolis Tent I was working was about the most chilled out and thats saying something!!

Still, I got to see Jack Beats, who I've been dying to see for ages and they didn't disappoint, they took the roof off the tent! Also got to give a special mention to Break, who also rinsed it with a filthy set! The security were brilliant (for once @ a festival!) and I had so much access I could go anywhere. The lighting was very good and the pics did me justice (I think!).

Top to bottom: Sanctuary Crowd, Toddla T, MC Serocee, Skream

Beauty Photoshoot

I did a shoot with a makeup artist friend of mine, Louise Bannell, recently. It gave us both some new experience & Lou had the great idea of getting the models in a bath with a load of flowers, as well as some more traditional shots.

I loved the simplicity of the shoot. No fanciness, just great models, great makeup & good lighting.