I was recently asked to shoot some winter party fashion for Leeds Guide Magazine, the location was the Malmaison Hotel in Leeds. One of the shots made the cover, you can pick up a copy in your local newsagent in and around Leeds…

I was really happy when I dropped into Folio HQ to pick up Michelle & James’ Wedding Album yesterday, a little surprise was waiting for me! A new mini album sample. A perfect 6 inch copy of the larger 12 inch Folio Albums they are perfect for parents, or even a hand bag copy. Here are a few pictures…

I’ve not set pricing for these albums, which must be ordered along with it’s bigger brother. They come in a selection of covers, and are printed to the same high standards as the larger albums. I think they are really special.

Don’t worry if you have placed an order for an album it’s not too late to add it on, just get in touch and I’ll sort it out. Let me know what you think…

A few months back I was lucky enough to be invited along by Ben at FTAV to shoot a Behind The Scenes video for local band Kasiuss. Ben was the lighting designer and had set up an impressive stage in the main hall at the Harrogate International Centre. An amazing crew was all in place who could can briefly meet on the video. The day was loads of fun, as you will see…

You can see the full and final video on various TV channels at the moment, or here on YouTube…

If you  like this track you’ll love the 2010 EP, which you can download via the Official Kasiuss Website, iTunes or Amazon. I can’t wait to hear the new tracks in the new year, I think 2011 could be a massive year for Kasiuss !!! Spread the word !!!

I had really hoped to get on with updating the blog and playing catch up, but the work I have I been doing at Heathrow T5 hasn’t let up all week.

I thought I’d post a quick update just before I go back out again this evening. Here is a quick shot I got this morning while looking for Time Lapse angles for the video project I am working on…

Shooting at Heathrow can be amazing at times, and it can also be frustrating. There are lots of hoops to jump through and just because one person says it’s ok to work there doesn’t mean it won’t upset someone else. You need permits, insurance, security clearance, more permits, the right clothing…… The people are all great, but not being able to stand where you want is really frustrating for a photographer.

I have shot quite a bit of timelapse, and you can see a couple of examples of what I have been upto this week…

and some of the construction site itself…

It makes a nice change to photography, and it’s pretty amazing to be allowed so close to the planes with a camera, but I think the smell of Jet Fuel is getting to me

Whilst really busy with weddings and the like, it’s always nice to take a day off and head for the studio for a fun day of messing about and trying new ideas. I had recently seen a video shot by Lee Morris of fstoppers.com fame (a most excellent place to hang out for us photo geeks), that really got me thinking. Lee took the equipment he already had and set out to prove to himself that he could create great images using gear that at first thought may not be up to the task. He chose to shoot with his iPhone rather than his DSLR!

I loved the idea, and even as I was still watching the video I knew I had to try something similar myself. I already had the studio time and Mike, Stef, Cara and Lauren were all up for giving it a go. I’ve been using an LED Video Ring Light from eBay while working on VideoJunkie projects with Stef and thought that this could be a chance to use it in a new way with my spanking new iPhone 4. I also have the luxury of having a Profoto Proring available so I could shoot similar shots “with the proper gear” and see how they stack up.

On the left is the original iPhone image (just cropped a little) and on the right is the edited version, I’ve not done too much to these images, just basic Lightroom adjustments and a few tweaks in Photoshop.

This is one of my favourite shots out of the 80 or so we took. We only spent about 30 minutes on the day as we had other things we worked on, but I found shooting with the iPhone really easy, I was left wondering why I couldn’t do touch to focus on my 5D Mk II in video mode I have uploaded the full resolution untouched version of this picture, you can download it here. If you want to have a go at editing it yourself please feel free, post me back your images and I’ll put them up on here for all to see.

I found that sometimes the metering was a little slow in the uptake, but I like the effect that gave. Focus was very quick as Stef moved around. The images are lovely and sharp, I think I am right in saying the iPhone 4 is locked at f2.8 and doesn’t even have a traditional shutter mechanism, impressive stuff in such a tiny space.

So we moved on and shot with a similar setup but with Profoto gear and the 5D Mk II. I was using a fresnel lens off to one side as well as the ring. mainly at first for focus assist but I liked the effect so we kept it on. It was in place for the iPhone shots too, but the ring light is very bright even on it’s lowest setting so you don’t really see it as much.

So, can we all see the difference when shooting with the “proper gear” ??? Of course we can, I’d be bloody upset if I couldn’t !!! I don’t think I’ll be rushing out and shooting weddings with my iPhone, but it has been fun to see that you can get some amazing images from something you carry about in your pocket all the time. It has also taught me that I can manage with the gear I have, and no impressive purchase can hide the fact that it’s the concept, lighting and model that make the shot, not how much you paid for your gear. So I recommend that you get your camera phone or point and shoot out and give it a go.

Check out the video we shot for videojunkie.co.uk for all the low down…

For those of you interested in what I was doing with the iPad, I am using the WiFi grip for the 5D MkII to transfer the images to an app called ShutterSnitch. No other access point or PC/Mac is needed the file is transferred from the camera direct to the iPad, very cool! It’s something I’ll continue to use with commercial clients and kids photography, it worked flawlessly all day, the battery life on the iPad is immense. To edit the images on the day we used Photo fx Ultra, I can’t say I picked that for any other reason than it’s price point and the fact it was in the top ten when I was looking on the iPad apps store that day. It works really well for a quick and nasty edit.

I thought I’d share some more images taken during the day of Cara, quite new to modelling and certainly new to the Ring Flash, but I love the jumping shots we got…

So there you have it, our fun day in the studio. A massive thanks to the whole team, great effort guys

I am slap bang in the middle of the busy season right now, I have so much to blog but so little time!

I used my day off yesterday to squeeze in a little bit more shooting for videojunkie.co.uk This time unfortunately without Stef on set with Kasiuss for their new Rock Video of their awesome track Wonders Prevail. They had an impressive crew and wanted to document the whole process, it was fantastic to be a part of it.

I know it’s going to be a few weeks before I get the chance to see the final video and edit together my Behind The Scenes, so here is a little preview to wet your whistle…