It has been an amazing year, the busiest ever! Never quite happy that I am busy enough some of you will know I am setting up a professional firework display company with my brother, part of that is gaining experience in such matters. A couple of weeks back we were asked to go and help set up PDC Fireworks Charity Christmas Display in Peterborough. We were more than happy to go along and see how a pyromusical is set up and run.

So to spread the festive cheer here is the video I shot of it, with the kind help of Justin Bedford who provided and extra angle

Enjoy the festive season and I look forward to an even busier year ahead…

Video by Justin Bedford, Nick Matthews and Me
Soundtrack supplied by PDC Fireworks
Pyromusical Firework Display by PDC Fireworks

The very best thing about being a photographer is that I get to work on some pretty cool projects. While I really love doing weddings it’s always nice to work on something different. Last weekend I was asked by Ben @ Vida Media if I could bob over to Harrogate for a couple of hours to shoot a couple of studio sessions with the amazing Kasiuss.

Kasiuss had gone away for a little while, you may remember I shot a Behind The Scenes for their last rock video Wonders Prevail. Well now they are back with 2 brand new tracks and a new line up too. Things were kept really simple for this shoot, Ben sorted out the location (a Church Hall normally used by the Brownies – Rock’n'Roll !!!) and the lighting, I just turned up and shot what I saw happening during the session with Ben to an excellent job on the other camera.

You can see our simple set up in some shots Ben took on his point and shoot…

I’m really please with the results from just 2 hours filming and an edit turnaround of under 24 hours…

At the end of the session we shot a quick promo still for the release, taken with just one light in a spooky graveyard, it was freezing…

Here we have from left to right Joe (Drums), Biz (Vocal, keyboards & acoustic), Dan (Bass) and Adam (Lead Guitar). Great chaps to work with and I think they have produced their best work to date with these two new tracks. Keep an eye on their website for live dates etc…

Some of you may already know that I have been working on a new venture with my brother Nick. Ever since I can remember we have loved fireworks, and always looked forward to the annual display at the Shrewsbury Flower Show. Earlier this year we went on a course to learn how to work with professional fireworks. At the end of that day, over a pint, we decided to go into business together and Matthews Bros Pyro was born !!!

We have been working on things over the past few months, and while the website is still not quite ready I thought I’d share the finale from a show we did last weekend…

A proud moment for both of us as everything went to plan. If you are interested in fireworks for your wedding or event get in touch. We will be doing some fantastic offers to get us started

Two if my mates, Ben & Jason, have set up shop in aid of Saint Michael’s Hospice. They are being human mannequin’s all week long, and I mean all week long! From 6PM last Sunday to 6PM this Sunday they are living in a shop window on Parliament Street in Harrogate, 24 hours a day !!! Maybe a deceptively simple challenge, it is real hard work and the lads are holding up on about 3 hours sleep a night. I’m not sure I’d be able to last the distance !!!

It really is a worth while cause and if you are in a generous mood you may want to head over to their JustGiving page, or even better bob down and pop a few quid through the letterbox. You can follow their activity on Facebook too.

I was happy to go along last night and film the fantastic Annie Drury doing her thing in the window. All week talented up and coming local artists and businesses have been supporting Ben & Jason by putting on gigs on the smallest stage in Harrogate, or providing activities for the lads to do. All very amusing, and it has attracted quite a bit of attention as you can imagine. Here is my little contribution…

So, as I said head over to their JustGiving page to help them smash their target…

I don’t normally endorse other wedding suppliers, but sometimes you come across one that just stands out. We first saw Helter Skelter at Melissa & Matt’s wedding in Ilkley and we have seen them a couple of times since. Most recently was at Lyndsey & Craig’s wedding at Sand Hole Oak Barn (soon to be blogged). When we had finished for the night I thought I’d try and capture a bit of what Helter Skelter do…

Each time we have seen them they get the dance floor full and play a great set that covers almost every musical taste. Wedding bands are funny things, it’s not often that we come across one who really put on a good show and are really into what they do. Graeme and the boys will even do the DJing for you between the sets.

They also invited along last Saturday night to one of their Heros of Rock & Pop Through The Ages nights, after one of the most amusing starts I have ever seen in a live show (council worker caught napping and forgetting to open the curtains) they rocked out over 4 decades of hits covering a very wide range of tastes. Really great. So if you are looking for a band, look no further than Helter Skelter !!!

Recently I spent a couple of days with my mate Hayley Ruth, we went into London for the day to meet up with some other photographer buddies and to practice a few things we had been thinking about for a while.

One of the things I’ve been playing with is time lapse, and I thought this would be a great time to try it out. This is only a short clip, as after about an hour stood there watching a camera clicking away we got a bit cold and a bit hungry. But I thought it was worth sharing anyway…

What was quite surprising was just how much they stopped and started the wheel. When you are on it you don’t feel it but the time lapse shows how it doesn’t really spin very smoothly. I changed some settings and you’ll see the second half of the clip is a little smoother. We had a great time, and now I have even more ideas I want to work on !!!