Photoshoot - Emily Pilton

Dorset on a very wet, dreary and dull day...That is until Emily turned up and rocked her shoot come rain or shine. Ducking in and out of the car at various locations to try and minimise how wet my equipment and Emily might get, she still protested she's never been infront of the camera. A true natural with a great smile, creates what is probably my favourite photograph to date:

With the white balance set at 3400 kelvin, a 580EXII speedlite with full CTO gel rigged inside the umbrella via a Manfrotto Superclamp it produces this stunningly vibrant picture. The colour balance gives lovely cold tones, whilst the gel makes Emily look natural and warm.

A gallery of Emily's shoot can be found here. Huge thanks to Emily for being so willing and motivated during this shoot despite the adverse weather conditions. :)

Kit Bag - Clamps

The ability to light any frame, in any location and at any time of day is a big part of the way I work. Which is why i'm often found lumbering around locations with bulky lightstands in order to rig my speedlites. This can be a pain when it comes to post processing, because if you can't hide the lighting stands out of frame, and still in line of sight (because of the ST-E2 Transmitter) it means additional work cloning them out.

Incomes my new little addition to the kit bag. A Manfrotto Superclamp and WexPro Clamp with Spigot. These brilliant little pieces of kit allow me to rig a speedlight in unseen and new places. Both have great build quality, and the superclamp states it can support up to 15kg, which is amazing considering the size of it. If your interested in ordering a Manfrotto Superclamp, be sure to remember that they come without a stud (unless stated) as I found out.... :o

Event - Damien Lovegrove: My Photography Unraveled

'Turn the world, into your studio' was something that stuck in my head from tonights seminar with Damien Lovegrove. One of the most influential and entrepreneurial photographers I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. It's the way that he works and conducts his shoots which enthrals me. Everything is fast-paced and formulated, with the results speaking for themselves. With a wealth of knowledge he is renowned for being one of the forefront trainers in photography offering a wide range of training workshops, DVDs and books. The seminar showcased 120 of his favourite portraits, most of which captured his 'punchy' portrait style proving that a simple lighting rig can provide dramatic and effective results. On an 'adhoc' basis, everyone was free to pitch questions throughout the seminar about his various shots/style etc whilst he described how each photograph was shot and lit. You'll have to excuse the iPhone picture!

Having watched the DVDs (and just ordered the book solely on how impressed I was after the seminar) it was a real eye-opener, and has filled me with even more enthusiam for what I  love doing. I highly recommend checking out his blog site Prophotonut or his company website Lovegrove Consulting.

Location - London Eye and Aquarium

The London Eye was completed in 1999 weighing 1,700 tonnes and is hailed as the largest Ferris wheel in Europe. Towering 443ft high into the London Skyline, the Eye has 32 capsules (one for every London Borough) each holding upto 25 passengers. Rotating at 0.6mph, it allows passengers to take a view over London by day or by night. Having seen the view from both times of day, I can highly recommend taking a trip up at dusk to see the city glowing with light.

Just beneath the London Eye is the Sealife - London Aquarium. First opened in March 1997, and after recent £5m refurbishments the aquarium now has a glass tunnel, shark walk and a large pacific ocean tank. A vast array of creatures feature here, ranging from crocodiles to sharks!

Aquarium

Event - BTCC Brands Hatch

I'm guessing the torrential rain on the M25 whilst heading to Brands Hatch was an indication as to how the day may pan out. Never the less my brother and I made it to the circuit to brave the inevitable downpour. Realising we had taken two umbrellas which didn't work (?!) and underestimating just how drenched we would become, I managed to shoot 5-6 frames of the Porsche Carerra GB Cup before stowing it safely back in my bag. Utterly soaked and frozen, we retreated home to watch the remaining events in the warm infront of the TV! Heres Michael Meadows on a charge up to Druids Bend :

Kit Bag - Orbis Ring Flash

Orbis is a quarterly American journal on international relations and U.S. foreign policy... Wikipedia is wrong, it's an awesome light modifier :) Damien Lovegrove has recently written a few blog posts about the so called 'Orbis Ring Flash', and given the results he has produced with the 'one size fits all' ring flash, curiousity got the better of me. I purchased one through his site and within 24 hours its sat on my desk infront of me as I write this post.

The idea of the ring flash is to create even, simple shadowless light and as such is commonly used in high-end fashion/portrait magazine photography. Designed to fit to your existing speedlites the Orbis is affordable and well built using mirrored prism reflectors to produce even light. The unique way a ring flash renders light produces a distinctive shadowy halo around the subject.

Typical ring flashes are attached to the end of the lens, but with this being off-camera (and fully compatible with ETTL systems) it has greater versatility, for example acting as a small off camera beauty dish/softbox or fill light. Can't wait to try this out!

Kit Bag - Shooting On Location

Product shots are generally shot in an abyss of white space, but like many other aspects of photography I like to work differently. With the help from my brother (a Nikon shooter, ironic huh?) we set up this quick shot to give you an insight to some of the gear I carry about with me on location shoots. It's always important to plan the kit you need for a shoot, as you'll never want to be without that vital piece of equipment which you clumsily forgot to pack.

The lenses cover a focal range of 24-200mm and the 2 speedlites always give me the option to light most scenes should I need, with the ST-E2 transmitter coming in handy by not only controlling the speedlites off-camera but doubling up as an AF Assist.  The above picture shows what I carry most of the time on a day-to-day basis.

Preperation is key, and each shoot is planned carefully. Having  the correct gears means your able to maximise the available time shooting. If your interested in a complete kit list feel free to click here.

Location - The Blue Pool

'The Blue Pool' is a lake which lies on the site of an old clay quarry in Wareham, Dorset. A vast 25 acre heath woodland now makes this one of the most peaceful and tranquil places i've ever visited. 'Purbeck Ball Clay' was once extracted here back in the 17th century, which is why the pool gets it vivid changing colour. There are tiny particles of clay suspended in the lake's water, which defract the reflected light. With the light being refracted differently, it means the lake can change colour from grey right through to a turqoise blue. The below picture is straight off the camera, and has no photoshop trickery involved. The water is actually this colour and could fool anyone to think this wasn't taken in the UK! Idyllic setting for a one on one or couples outdoor photoshoot.

For the full gallery of the Blue Pool, please feel free to click here.

Location - Corfe Castle

Corfe Castle dates back to the early 11th century. During the Civil War the castle came under seige twice by the Parliamentarians. The fortress was impenetrable, until during the second siege when it was betrayed by  a member of the garrison. Once captured, the castle was planted with explosives to ensure it could never be used as a stronghold again. These ruins still stand today, run by the National Trust located in the Purbeck Hills (Dorset). This weekend, with the summer weather well on it's way we took a trip up to see the magnificent structure.

Over the years the castle has undergone various restoration projects, to ensure that each year the hundreds of thousands of visitors can enjoy what was hailed as 'one of the most important castles in England at the time'. Below is a picture of Corfe Castle Village taken high in the castle.

For a full gallery of Corfe Castle, including abit of fun with off camera flash high aloft the castle please feel free to click here.

Event - BSHA Grass Roots Horse Show

Neeeigh! Horses...Not exactly my area of expertise having never photographed them before, however I'm always game to try my hand at shooting new things in order to increase my portfolio and skills. Otherwise, how do you progress? After my recent purchase of the 70-200 F2.8 IS L lens it seemed like an ideal opportunity to test it, and with that in mind I headed to Addington Manor Equestrian Centre to photograph the BSHA Grass Roots Horse Show.

The sun was shining all day, and I thoroughly enjoyed shooting horses (not literally :)). With that in mind, you can expect to see more equine events covered in the future!

For the full gallery of the BSHA Grass Roots Show please click here. Be sure to check out the British Show Horse Association website where i've received a mention, and get in touch if your interested in any of the images. Thanks!