Project 42 ... 43

Meet Jerry,
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D200, Tamron 17 - 50m f2.8,

SB800 in reflecting umbrella camera left,

Vivitar 285, gridded, behind.

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Jerry has worked for British Airways all his life and when we got permission to shoot in the new BA Headquarters I was beside myself with excitement! The building is an architectural masterpiece based around the idea of a street with six buildings laid out on either side of a 'street' that is enclosed in a vast atrium. There are shops, banks, all you would ever need during a working day; no need to leave the office!

The shot above is Jerry in front of a model of the famous Concorde; a classic plane beside a gentleman. Thanks Jerry for setting up a great shot and to Katy for being my invaluable assistant yet again! I must also say thanks to British Airways for allowing us access to their wonderful building.

Here is another of the shots we took.
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D200, Tamron 17 - 50m f2.8,

SB800 in reflecting umbrella camera left,

Vivitar 285, gridded, behind.

Notice Jerry is smiling in this one ... I'm just sayin'...
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And here is the set up shot. This is how I start up my portrait shoots; the SB800 into the umbrella and the Vivitar, usually gridded to give an accent or rim light. Both the flash guns were on manual and triggered by the now famous Ebay CTR 301P remotes, that have been brilliant. I then tweak the light position and output or the f-stop to get the desired effect.

Thanks again, Jerry, by the way, those wheels to the left are  the wheels from a 747 Jumbo Jet, full size. there is a corresponding set on the other side of the 'street' at the correct positionwhere they are on the actual plane!

Project 52 ... 42

Meet Indiana Jones Peter,
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D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.8, SB800 silver umbrella to camera left,

Vivitar 285 behind Peter

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I have known Peter for too many years now! We first met during the last recession when he and his wonderful wife, Muriel, gave us many a Red Cross package, they are also God Parents to our son. A champion weightlifter in his youth, now, Peter is a bit of a modern day Indiana Jones, globe trotting all over in search of adventure. Here he is in his study with artifcacts from every corner of the world. Whether it is in the African bush or the Far East or South America, there is always a story to be told and a little something to adorn the walls of his study.

Peter is lit with an SB800 in a silver reflecting umbrella to camera left and behind and on the floor I have a Vivitar 285, both on about half or quarter power. The camera was set at f5.6 and 1/200. The room is tiny and with the umbrella, Peter and myself there was hardlyt any room to move at all.

I don't like 'busy' shots as a rule, but this one works because it mirrors his travels and also says something about the world getting smaller. Thanks for being such a good sport, Peter, and do tell us where you are off to next!

Miss Scarlett... Celebrating Cluedo's 60th Anniversary

Cluedo has been around for 60 years! The game has inspired many a 'whodunnit' on the big and small screen throughout those sixty years. I remember many a day spent chasing the murderer from the library to the kitchen and through the secret passage ways!

D200, Tamron 17-50 f2.8, SB80 in shoot thro' camera left,

Vivitar 285 gridded camera right

At  recent shoot in Ashton Court, the theme was loosely based around the great board game. I had been shooting with the Nikon CLS system and decided to switch back to manual triggers, I set up my two light linear system and waited. I turned around and there was Miss Scarlett, or I should say Jess.

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D200, Tamron 17-50 f2.8, SB80 in shoot thro' camera left,

Vivitar 285 gridded camera right

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We had about five minutes to complete a handful of shots ( I think Jess was looking for Colonel Mustard in the library...)
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D200, Tamron 17-50 f2.8, SB80 in shoot thro' camera left,
Vivitar 285 gridded camera right

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The lighting set up was a simple linear one; the two lights in a line and Jess in the middle and then I just varied the lights to give the effect I wanted. I was shooting at around 1/200th at ISO 100 at f5.6 or so. Jess was a great model to work with and just got it right first time! Thanks Jess and thank you Cluedo!
 
Oh, and Hanleyman did it, in the Music Room, with a D200!

Project 52 ... 41

Meet Alan...
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D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8, SB800 shoot thro' camera left,

Vivitar 285 gridded camera right

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I have known Alan for a couple of years now; a plumber by trade, he is a partner in Kings Brother Building Contractor's, at least he was until recently. He is emmigrating with his wife to Australia in December to be with their daughter. What a life changing adventure! We had a great time taking this shot in the arches in Windsor early one October morning. The set up was my usual linear setup with Alan in the middle. The camera was set to manual , 1/200th and a stop or so below ambient. I triggered the flashes using the ebay CTR 301P triggers - they have not let me down yet!

My thanks to Martin for setting this shoot up - he did all the hard work of arranging and making sure that everyone was there. He also bought the coffee's! (but no bacon sandwiches...)

These shots were taken to celebrate Alan as part of King Brothers. So we took a few shots for posterity...

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The King Brothers... Graham, Mark and Alan

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Good luck to you and your family in your new life Alan, but watch out for the spiders and kangaroos and snakes and sharks and the climate and ... did I mention spiders and sharks...?

See more of the shoot after the jump...

Hannah

This is Hannah.
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D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.8, SB900 camera left bare flash, zoomed,

SB800 camera right in shoot thro'

I shot Hannah with two other photographers, Pat and Adam at a recent 'Bristol Strobist' shoot in the magnificent Ashton Court Mansion in Bristol. We had a great day's shooting. Hannah was no stranger to modelling! She was fantastic throughout the day. We only had a short time shooting her but it was great fun. Thanks again, Hannah.

This shot was taken using the Nikon CLS system for controlling the flashguns. Both Pat and Adam had used it in the past, and as we were all Nikon users, that was how we started. Being used to manually controlling the flashguns at source - not the menus back of camera, I could not get to grips with it and found it taxing. But we got some good shots - I was, however, glad we switched to manual triggers later on

This was the best shot I took of Hannah, here are some more...
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Project 52 ... 40

David wears shirts... lots of 'em and not just ordinary ones at that!
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D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.8, SB80 bare flash camera right, 1/2 power

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They are all patterned and flash and sometimes loud, but very 'on trend' as my ten year old daughter would say. David came to work with us for a few weeks; stayed for a few months and is a valued member of the team, but is sadly going to a more permanent position in the near future. When I approached him to take his portrait, it struck me that getting him to wear one of his famous shirts was the way to go. Well he didn't just bring one, he brought half a dozen!

David is lit by a single SB800 at half power or so to camera right just out of picture. I dropped the ambient light by about a stop, set the camera to manual at 1/200th at f8 and started shooting.

Thanks David for being such a good sport and I wish you well for the future, (and you might notice, David, that the brick coursing doesn't align with your shirts either! - you had to be there)

Project 52 ... 39

This is Ben. Ben joined us as a Year Out student in Architecture this summer.
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D200, Tamron 17 - 50mm f2.8, Sb800 shoot thro' umbrella camera left,

Vivitar 285 gridded behind Ben

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We take in students most years during their studies. Ben has spent a lot of the summer doing door and window schedules and drawing up plans on the computer.

Thanks Ben for being a good sport!

To learn more about brick sizes...

Project 52 ... 38

This is Pal.
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D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.8, Sb 800 camera right

Pal is a Shotokai College instructor in Shotokai Karate. On Saturday mornings you can find him sharing his knowledge, wisdom, wit and experience with children. A difficult task, he has the ability to bring the best out in his students and is always finding new and exciting ways to progress. A huge asset to the karate community and I know I am not alone in hoping that he continues to teach. Here he is practising kata.

A kata is a series of moves strung together and practiced in a set way. On a superficial level a kata is a physical exercise to learn to string together various moves; on a deeper level it is harmonizing the body with the mind and all around it.

A simple shot. I had an SB800 flash, no modifiers, on a VAL (voice activated lightstand - Katy, thanks Katy) to camera right and out of view. I dropped the ambient about a stop and then lit Pal, tweaking the power output on the flash until i was happy with the result.

Project 52 ... 37

Say hello to Ann.

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D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.8, SB800, shoot thro' camera left,

Vivitar 285 gridspot camera right

I have known for a short time but in that time have come to know how much she does for the local community. Here Ann is doing a jigsaw puzzle, no big deal, right? But it is when you add the next one and the next one and then find out its so that when they are sold on in charity shops they are full and correct and thats all thanks to Ann! She must have the patience of a Saint! A lovely lady she is always there with a smile and is also a great hostess.

For this shot I set up the SB800 in a shoot through umbrella to Ann's left and a Vivitar 285 with a gridspot to her right.

Thank you Ann, for having patience to sit for me, but I suppose if you have the patience to do jigsaw puzzles then me taking twenty minutes to set up and photograph you is a dawdle!

Project 52 ... 36

This is Bill.
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D200, Tamron 17 -50, f2.8, SB800 shoot thro' camera left,

Vivitar 285 gridspot camera right

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Its hard to believe that this is the 36th portrait I have taken on this journey! I feel I am on the home straight. I have known Bill for a little over a year or so and I am happy to be able to call him a friend. Retired, he is a pillar of the community and well liked by everyone. I took this shot just before he and his lovely wife, Anne, were off on holiday.

The set up was a simple linear one that I find so quick and easy.

Thanks Bill for letting me take this shot.

Project 52 ... 35

Meet Matt,
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D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8, SB800 shoot thro' to camera left, Vivitar 285 behind and gridspot

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I first met Matt some years ago when he tried to get me involved in the Catenian Association. At first I wan't buying, but I came around (after a bit of subtle selling...) and have met some fantastic people along the way, some of whom I have photographed here.

I photographed Matt with his daughter, Morag, see here, a wonderful girl going to devote her life to mathematics... To shoot Matt I used the same set up as Morag, simple and easy.

Thanks again Matt, for badgering me!

Project 52 ... 34

This is Morag.
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D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.8, SB800, shoot thro', Vivitar 285 gridspot for hairlight

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Morag is a beautiful young lady with a bright future in ... Maths and Philosophy! Great subjects! She starts her university course this month, rather her than me! To mark the occasion we took a series of shots one Saturday morning of Morag and her Mother and Father. This can only be a difficult but very exciting time for both Morag and her parents.

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For this shot we had an SB800 in a shoot through umbrella to camera right, Morag in the middle and a Vivitar 285 to camera left and behind Morag giving a hairlight separation, and a nice bit of flare... This linear approach works very well and is very quick to set up.

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I want to thank Morag and her parents for being great people to photograph; we had a great laugh taking the shots. Morag, I wish you all the success and hope you enjoy university life! Oh, and don't forget... never divide by zero.

Project 52 ... 33

Say hello to Ria...
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D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8, SB800 shoot thro' camera right, Vivitar 285 to rear

Ria joined our office for the summer to help out on our ever increasing workload... A great young lady who became a valuable member of the team. We shall miss her when she goes back to university.

She is seen here holding a wake board, not something you use after a funeral, but part of the extreme sports set and it has these strange boots fixed to it (no high heels...)! I am always amazed to see these surfers throw themselves around on boards that barely float and dice with the waves! Amazing!

The shot was taken with an SB800 in a shoot through umbrella, partially blocked to form the main light and a gridded Vivitar 285 to give the hair light. Thanks Ria for being such and  extreme sport...

Project 52 ... 32

Meet the lovely Mel...

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D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8, SB800 bounce umbrella, Vivitar 285 + gridspot

I first met Mel many years ago; she wasn't in a mini at the time, she was wearing leather trousers! Here she is pictured in her pride and joy; a soft top Mini Cooper. A wonderful lady, always smiling (even at my jokes...), Mel was easy to photograph.

I set up an SB800 in a bounce umbrella to camera left and a Vivitar 285 to camera left and behind Mel. Both triggered remotely. For the whole of the shoot Mel was more or less in the middle of the two lights. The biggest problem was the reflection of the SB800 in the bodywork of the mini. Being curved and metallic I had to be very careful indeed.

We took a lot of shots and had a great laugh! A big thank you to Mel for being such a good sport.

More shoes ... well boots ...

This is part of a project of photographing my wife Catherine's wonderful collection of shoes and boots. This is the first shot I have taken and this was to decide how to progress the project. I want to create an sense of drama.
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D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8, SB800 grid, Vivitar 285 grid

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Lighting is all important in these shots and adds to the film noir mystic. Flat lighting will do nothing and leave you wondering why you bothered.
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As you can imagine, there are a lot more photographs to be taken ...

Project 52 ... 30

Say hello again to Heidi.

I photograph Heidi every year when I return to Ireland on a family holiday. With her lovely smile and long shining blond hair Heidi always looks good in a shot. I photographed her previously here.
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D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8, SB 800 in reflecting umbrella

This shot had to be taken indoors as the Irish weather was asserting itself; as I posted earlier, rain. Fortunately the hall in Heidi's house is rather large and lent itself to me setting up an SB 800 with a reflecting umbrella. The quality of the light from it was wonderful. As before everything was set to manual, the camera and the flash and I was shooting at 1/200th. I simply tweaked the f-stop until the photo looked right. Simple. Then you just shoot away. In a sequence like this I find it better to take a lot of shots because facial expressions change constantly and you wound not want to miss the best one!

Heidi's two friends are holding her hair up to give this fun shot. Thanks Heidi for being such a great sport and putting up with the hair pulling!

Project 52 ... 29

Meet my little brother, Paul.
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D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8, SB 800 shoot thro' umbrella, Vivitar 285 + gridspot

I have wanted to shoot Paul since we were kids... only kidding. He is the best brother a man could have. Here he is holding a samurai sword called a katana that was awarded to him on receiving his First Dan black belt grade in Wado Ryu karate. He is also sporting his yakuza style tattoo. Paul and I first started learning karate in the 70's when the Bruce Lee phenomenon hit the big screen. You couldn't get enough of Kung Fu or Karate. It was everywhere and everyone wanted to be a part of it. We both kept it up, Paul studying Wado Ryu in Ireland.

I wanted to make this photo a gritty hard edged one to show something of the karate-ka that is Paul. Unfortunately this cannot show you the blood, sweat and tears that goes into the dedication required to gain this level of achievement in karate, but believe me its there. I lit Paul with an SB 800 in a shoot through umbrella level with the camera to camera left and a Vivitar 285 directly behind Paul and about 10 feet away from him with a grid spot to control the light. I also draped the umbrella with the black/silver cover to limit the spill of light through the umbrella. The lights were in a linear formation; with Paul in the middle forming a straight line.

Both flashes were triggered with CTR 301 P, Ebay remotes, which have fired every time for me so far! Thanks Paul for a wonderful meal that night and for having the patience to sit (stand) while I took the shot.

Project 52 ... 28

This is Art Droid Ross...

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D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.8, SB 800

I have known Ross for quite a while now. he is a local Artist, I should say a very gifted local artist. He can turn his hand to so many things from sculpture, drawings, restoration and I am sure many many more. I was delighted when he agreed to sit for a portrait. Naturally, it had to be in his studio. And what a studio! Surrounded by banks of wide screen monitors, electronic writing tablets, books (and a drawing board) it was an experience! I was overwhelmed. His artwork has graced the pages of magazines, comics and the film industry, and I like his way out futuristic style, he was also an Art Droid on 2000AD, a comic I was hooked on as a kid. You can see more of his work here.

There was a lot of mixed lighting in the studio - small low voltage lights in the ceiling, the monitor lights and daylight coming in through the door. I set the SB 800 with diffusion dome to camera left and set the camera's white balance for tungsten. I tweaked the final image white balance a bit.

What struck me as a huge coincidence is the disparity between this shot and the last of Roger, here, Ross uses a tablet to draw on the screen, Roger uses a drawing board.

Thanks Ross for giving me a glimpse into the life and studio of an amazing artist!

Project 52 ... 26

Bow your head to Sensei Rolf...

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D200, Tamron 17 - 50, f2.8, Vivitar 285, SB 800, both gridded.

Rolf has dedicated much of his free time over many years teaching karate to children, specifically Shotokai Karate. The club is in Winkfield, you can find out more about it here. Rolf has a great way with the children and they progress at a fantastic rate with his teaching and understanding of this amazing martial art. Sadly he is leaving the country to pursue his career. He shall be sorely missed on Saturday mornings!

I had Rolf sit in seiza for this shot. Not a posture I am comfortable in myself, but Rolf was very patient when I set up the strobes. I had both flashguns at camera right and left respectively, both gridded and both about 3 feet higher than Rolf's head. I killed the ambient and then tweaked the aperture / flash power until I got the shot I wanted. Thanks Rolf, and good luck!

Heidi and Helga

These two great girls, Heidi and Helga are drama dedicated in a big way. they are always in some production or other and they always excel!

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D200, Tamron 17 - 50 f2.8, SB 800

This shot was set up as a bit of fun one summer evening in the south of Ireland, yes we do have summers there ... sometimes ...

The shot was lit with an SB 800 in the Guinness umbrella, fired by the SU 4 super slave built in to the flash. A great fun shot, thanks girls!