Parents, the real workers
By nealejames | June 1, 2007
We’re not as yet blessed with the patter of little feet, but fear not ‘Mother in Law,’ our plans to keep you occupied of a Saturday when we’re out as husband and wife photographing weddings are underway! We clearly spend a lot of time in the company of children, as the family and schools side of our business is a strong part of our operation at Breathe. The wife and I, sounding like I’m at the starting line of a wedding speech, would like to think that we’re the hardest working adults on the circuit. But nothing reminds us quicker that the juggling practised by parents is a step up from where we stand today, when we watch our friends with their bundles of delight. Sam’s good friend Sophie dropped by for a couple of days Thursday through Friday with her three young lads! When I say dropped by, I fear I actually mean ‘invaded.’ If the energy of three lads aged 15 months, 4 and 7 could be harnessed in some fashion, government policy on green issues would be assisted immesurably. Joking aside, fab to see you all - and we even had a chance to grab some pics at the studio. Here’s Morgan, the eldest, enjoying a few short seconds of quiet. When children depart from the scene of devastation, they leave little presents. I’ve realised why I’m shifting so uncomfortably in my seat this evening. That’ll be the toy laser gun then.
Topics: Blog journal | No Comments »
Little Alfie Agar
By nealejames | June 1, 2007
Congratulations to two dear friends, Andy and Sara Agar who have just welcomed their little boy into the World. Alfie Agar, weighs, well something or other, you know that us chaps are not too hot on retaining information like that. He’s doing well though and Andy’s no doubt already regailing his son with the rules of the house; “Thou must support Tottenham Hotspur,” and similar instructions. About three weeks ago I photographed a series of images featuring Sara in her last month of pregnancy; some beautiful silhouette images. There are nine in the set and they now sit proudly in one of the rooms at Agar Towers. So, great news guys, and welcome, Alfie.
Topics: Blog journal | No Comments »
Naomi House Hospice
By nealejames | May 22, 2007
In the course of a week, I have the pleasure to meet and work with a diverse set of people, commercially and privately. Today we photographically supported an event in our hometown for the Naomi House Children’s Hospice. Set up in ‘92, NHCH opened to provide respite, terminally ill care and bereavement support for children and families across the south of England. But don’t be confused about the NH abbreviation. This is not a government financed initiative, there is no statutory funding available. And don’t get me started on the politics of where we do manage to channel the finances of laziness and ill gotten deserved gains from our taxes. It costs two million pounds per year to keep the hospice doing what it does so well. The lottery provided 1/8 of this in the last set of accounts, the rest coming from a host of fundraiding events and voluntary income. Fortunately, charity exists and there are people who work hard in their own time to see that establishments like Naomi House can see children and families through the good, difficult and sadly - the last days of their lives. In this case, a huge amount of praise should be heaped upon Sarah Arrowsmith, one half of the husband and wife partnership that deal with us on a day to day basis with our photographic printing, for organising a fundraising fashion show in their own backgarden! I know Sarah, you certainly didn’t organise this event to receive personal praise and recognition, but the job you did today was nothing short of superb. Thanks too should go to Liz McCann of the Naseby Collection for supplying the fashion and of course the models. Around one hundred guests this afternoon managed to raise a combined total of £10,000. The phrase ‘charity starts at home’ was certainly applicable and in evidence today.
Topics: Blog journal | No Comments »
Silchester with The Slatterys
By nealejames | May 5, 2007
Boy does it feel good to return to the venue that hosted our own wedding reception; Silchester House in Berkshire. It always feels like we’re returning home and that’s a special emotion. So it was a real pleasure to follow Jennifer Newport and Martin Slattery through their day, from St. Joseph’s Catholic Church on Saturday morning, to the reception at S.H. There is a particular location within the house I absolutely love, for the following reason. I was mentored at the start of the year by a highly acclaimed Australian wedding photographer who encouraged a room full of enthusiastic professionals to start seeing light differently at venues, to put down their flash units and use ‘The Force.’ If Obi-Wan had been a photographer I imagine this is exactly how he would have worked. Downlighters are fabulous sources of light. Many are really quite powerful and in all respects, become mini flood lights. Forgive me for the technical shooting data, but since this appears within the ‘techniques’ category too, indulge me please. 800 ISO, just under the threshold where Nikon gets a little noisy, a shutter speed higher than the focal length of the lens and a nice sexy hip and stretch pose; this is the result. This also appears in the ‘Wedding day tips’ cat, only because as a couple, sometimes as you look round your venue, you’ll no doubt spot fresh photographic opportunities. I don’t expect couples to look with a photographer’s eye; after all, that’s why they are employing us. But I’m never offended if you see a prop or a light that you think could add a fabulous page to your album. Congratulations to two very special people, it was an honour to spend the day with you.
Topics: Blog journal, Photography tips and techniques, Wedding day tips, Wedding general | No Comments »
SWPP and BPPA Award
By nealejames | May 3, 2007
You know what they say, nobody thinks awards are important until they win one. I’ll be the first to admit that’s been my mantra for many a year professionally. I cringe slightly you see, when I see websites boasting of a million and one awards, ahead of the proof of what they do for their customers. And this is partly because my late father instilled in me a modest security that being confident in what you do, far outways the need to feel loved by surrounding oneself with cups, plaques and platitudes. Besides, we don’t currently have a mantlepiece to pop ‘em on in our apartment. Personally, I have picked up various accolades from time to time, but it’s fair to say I subscribe to that school of thought that feels at Breathe, we’re too busy ’doing stuff,’ to be ‘entering stuff.’ Having said that, he says with a high degree of irony, we won a little recognitition today! Very much appreciated, and a nice way to start a Wednesday. The Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers and British Professional Photographers Association run a monthly awards scheme to rate their members’ work. I popped in one of our body and face painted projects - and roll me over with a light dusting of achievement if it didn’t win Madam. I’ve just received a Fine Art Award. I have to admit to being slightly chuffed at that, modestly of course Dad. It was a picture that took hours to light and retouch. Now, how do I go about building that mantlepiece?
Topics: Blog journal | 1 Comment »
Michelle Lucas
By nealejames | April 23, 2007
Business and life coach Michelle Lucas visited Breathe today for commercial portraiture. The photography brief required quite tradition head and shoulder shots, although with some creative cropping and off camera eyeline focus, I think we’ve achieved a less contrived tone. I took some time to check in with Michelle’s online assessment of my career path and personal potential. A series of dropdowns rates how much you love your work and whether you feel you have reached your full potential, although the latter seemed to be judged by academic criteria. Having spent two decades in a touchy feely creative role, I felt a little at sea, searching the dropdown for something that related more fully to me. See, my talents were not in applied mathematics or physics. At school, I excelled in art. My piece de resistance being an interpretation in clay of the Venus de Milo. Sadly I hadn’t popped breathing holes through the base into what was in effect a large air chamber. If you’ve ever seen the kiln results of a ’clay air bomb,’ you’ll know what happened next. An entire fortnight of 6th Form work in one firing was systematically destroyed. Having said that, after my recent visit to the Tate Modern, the rubble that emerged that afternoon from the oven could have prompted an interesting contemporary art exhibit. I never became a Master Potter.
Topics: Blog journal | No Comments »
Award nomination for ‘Katie Ella’
By nealejames | April 17, 2007
Annabel Williams is recognised in the UK as a tutor to thousands of aspiring photographers and those already working professionally seeking mentoring in this highly competitive industry. I’ve not personally had the good fortune to meet or work with Annabel, but entered her recent awards initiative to gain some feedback for some of our signature images. So I was delighted to receive a nomination for ‘Katie Ella,’ a photograph taken of my Goddaughter some time ago. The furry coat was a simple studio prop we just draped over her head and shoulders for a few moments. As Katie stared out, her eyes frankly pierced the composition and this was the result. It remains today, one of my favourite images - a simple technical moment too; one flash head and very low camera angle.
Topics: Blog journal, Photography tips and techniques | No Comments »
South African wedding day 6: Frick’s Farm
By nealejames | April 4, 2007
Roads. More roads. More long long, very long, extremely long, straight, never veering, long roads. South Africa is vast, so yes, it does make sense to be quite matter of fact and A to B, but the odd turn and twist does make for a more interesting journey. I’ll never criticise Basingstoke’s collection of roundabouts again. Our witty and knowledgeable Africaan guide Coen more than made up for the hours of direct routes taken along SA’s network of straight roads however and upon leaving Shorty’s breeding farm, I machine gunned him with a series of questions reminiscent of my years as a broadcaster. Coen’s background includes military service and so obviously I was anxious to know how he felt about SA’s years in the international wilderness of apartheid. That covered we talked about crime, social structure and the merits of owning ABBA back catalogue. There is excitement about the next FIFA World Cup in 2010, although a nagging degree of doubt whether it’s a realistic proposition the country can pull it off. We passed one site in particular that, with three years to run, has not even been cleared of debris to allow building to begin on one of the new stadia required to host football’s greatest world event. There are more than one or two politicians who accept the suggestion, it may yet fall by default to the second host in line; the UK. Shall I book my place at Wembley now? Oh by the way, we’ve arrived at Frick’s Farm. We’re close to Botswana. I think. Time for a team photo.
Topics: Blog journal | No Comments »
South African wedding day 5: Shorty
By nealejames | April 3, 2007
To redress a little balance for a moment. Reviewing the blogs from this assignment in South Africa, you’d start to believe that you’re witnessing the dawn of my animal photography career. I didn’t get the chance to pop up a picture of Shorty in the last blog. So here he is. A diminutive chap, (now what gave that away?) Shorty shows the scars of a life breeding the most dangerous hunters barring man of course. His stories include facing out an adult Lion, that allowed to wander the house as a pet, one day found his natural urges somewhat stronger than the tame variety. “Never turn your back on one of these beasts,” Shorty growled in his harsh Africaans inflected English, as he dragged from his woodbine. “That’s why I am still alive today.”
Topics: Blog journal | No Comments »
South African wedding day 5: Shorty’s
By nealejames | April 3, 2007
Now I have to admit to being more than a little disorientated having spent half the day in the back of a Mercedes Vito, drifting in and out of consciousness. Usually on my travels I’ll have a geographical outline in my head of where I’m going. But in that the itinerary was organised by someone else, in this case the groom, I sat back and simply enjoyed the view. And so we headed south. The long tarmac roads lay before us, long, very long, very very long and injested by heat haze. It’s no wonder so many people simply nod off at the wheel on these roads and my own determination to see as much as I could before falling asleep wasn’t helped by the fact our driver and guide; Coen, liked country music. Thank God I wasn’t driving. Did I say the roads were long by the way? Early afternoon we arrived at Shorty’s, one of twenty or so big cat breeding farms in the Free State. Shorty (Durand?) has bred the most majestic of cats all his life, from what I could ascertain. His relationship with these animals is one of respect and commercial transaction. On the one hand he rescues Lions and Tigers from establishments that have failed to value their prizes and on the other, he ‘rehouses’ his stock with breeders, enthusiasts, zoos and… I never did get a straight answer on the hunting question. Some of the cats are hand reared and upon our visit, I sat in the bar/living room of Shorty’s house, with a Cheetah cub clawing playfully at my footwear, pulling at the laces and toying with the family’s Jack Russell. Later on, I appreciated that it would only be a matter of time before this little chappie would be behind steel netting. I was invited into a caged environment to photograph the adult version from five or six feet. I can’t say it was the most comfortable five minutes of my life.
Topics: Blog journal | No Comments »
« Previous Entries Next Entries »