A shoot with Lauren, more Phoenixing, and the Rhumblerama Auditions

So far, January 2013 has been a busy time for my camera!  My shutterbuggery (it's a word) got off to an early start with a day in the studio with model and fellow photographer Lauren Freeman, where we were working on a test shoot for something a little different that we're planning to do with the Manchester Phoenix.  I can't give any details about that at the moment, so as not to spoil the surprise when it happens, but I can show some shots from the rest of the day's shooting - we shot several themes using Lauren's flash heads, including these shots of Lauren in my hockey kit:

I've shot under constant light in the studio before, and I've shot using flash heads, and there are pros and cons to both.  I guess in simplest terms, it depends on what kind of effect you're looking to get.  With these shots, it was important to me to get a substantial depth of field (or DOF), with all of the subject in focus.  To achieve this requires a mid to high f-stop (I think I was shooting around f7.1 to f8) and a shutter speed of 1/160th of a second, at ISO 200.  The flash heads weren't particularly far away, but were turned down low, so the coverage of light was nice and even - the dominant light was camera left, the fill light camera right.

In previous shoots where I've wanted a shallower DOF, sometimes the flash is too much, even with the flash heads moved further away.  The intensity of flash heads, even on a low setting, is much brighter than the constant light LEDs that I use, so sometimes constant light is the best option.  Shooting at f1.8 or f2.2 will give a shallower DOF, which gets shallower the closer you get to the subject, and this can give some great images.  But, for this shoot with Lauren, a deep DOF was needed, and so flash heads were the logical choice!

The set of photos from the shoot is still being added to, and it's viewable here: Lauren F. Shoot 2


We're just passing through the middle of the EPL ice hockey season at the moment, so the games are still coming thick and fast.   The response that Lauren, Yolanda and myself get to our photos is mostly positive (one or two trolls aside) and shooting the games is still fun.

At the last game, Lauren and myself had the opportunity to shoot the players as they come onto the ice, from a shooting position on the ice.  It's a shoot I've attempted a couple of times in the past, and the results are hit and miss, but when they hit, they hit!

As we go along, we also like to shoot some 'behind the scenes' shots - these tend to be shots not of the players, but the people around the games, as well as us setting up and working at the games.

More photos from the Phoenix matches can be seen on the Official Phoenix Flickr page here: Phoenix Flickr albums


This past Sunday, Lauren and myself were doing a different kind of portrait shooting for a good friend of mine, Andy Carson.  Andy is the director of a new independent film entitled Rhumblerama, a drama/comedy about a group of no-hopers who build a new career for themselves as professional wrestlers.  The film is at the casting stage, and so Lauren and myself were in attendance at the auditions, taking headshots and bodyshots of the auditionees to help with the selection process.

Essentially, our job was to take three shots of each auditionee.  One with them holding a clapperboard with their name written on it (for identification purposes), one headshot, and one bodyshot, which I then combined in photoshop to make one 'photosheet' per auditionee:

The whole experience was certainly an eye opening one!  We saw some incredibly talented actors and actresses giving performances that were worthy of casting.  We also saw, er, some other people....

A quick note here, if I may, to all budding actors and actresses out there:
Crying is not acting.  It's crying.
Doing an improvised monologue about one side of a relationship break up isn't acting.  It's still crying.
Yelling and shouting aren't acting.  They're yelling and shouting.
When you're auditioning for a drama-slash-comedy, doing a monologue about murder / rape / suicide / death / psychosis / torture is not really in-keeping with the theme of the film.
Acting involves adapting another personality to your own.  Being a chav and attempting to play a chav isn't acting, it's being a chav.
I hope this has been useful....

From a photography point of view, it was a relatively straightforward process.  Once we had set up and got the lights set correctly, we developed a system whereby I would photograph the taller candidates and Lauren would shoot the 'more normal heighted' auditionees.  Much of what we did that day was watching and waiting, we were sitting off to the side whilst the auditions took place, so we were in a good position not only to watch the actors but also the faces of Andy and his fellow panel members.  Watching them keep their faces straight for some of the auditions was also a good lesson in acting!

More info on Rhumblerama can be found on the official Rhumblerama facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/RhumbleRama

Thanks for reading!

Road Trip, An Afternoon with Harry, and a Trip to the Beeb

My camera has been pretty busy since the last posting!  First up was a pre-Christmas road trip weekend, to watch the Phoenix play in Slough and Peterborough.  Following the Phoenix means that we get to go to all the glamorous locations!

The staff at Slough were just as welcoming this time as my last visit a couple of seasons back, we were greeted at the door with a smile, and I was given permission to shoot from the penalty box between the two team benches.  It's a great vantage point, very close to the action - much closer than at other rinks I've shot in.  The sight lines are pretty good, and the aroma... well, the less said about that the better... close proximity to hockey players is never a fragrant treat....

Peterborough the following night was a more conventional affair, shooting from the back row of the away block.  Again the sight lines were good, and the staff were welcoming, especially the guys from Phantoms TV who were more than happy to take part in Ben Knight's Phoenix Podcast before the game.  The game itself was a cracking end to end affair, with the Phoenix making it a four point weekend!

However, the photographic highlight of the weekend had to be our trip to the Warner Brothers Studios at Leavesden to take the 'Making Of Harry Potter' Tour.  I'm 40 years old and don't mind admitting that I was like a kid in a candy store, the whole thing was an amazing experience.  As both a film-maker and a Harry Potter fan, I got a double whammy of fun!

Not only were there props and sets on display for the public to look around, but there were plenty of  behind the scenes exhibits including an animatronic Hagrid head, which was a tad creepy but still fascinating!

The main exhibit, a truly breathtaking piece, was the scale model of Hogwarts that was used for the exterior shots in the films.  It was massive, and the detail was just stunning.  Yol and I were lucky enough to encounter a rather nice man who took our picture standing in front of it!

The full set of photos from our visit to the tour can be seen here: Harry Potter Tour


Last Friday evening, fellow Phoenix snapper Lauren Freeman and myself were invited to appear on BBC Radio Manchester during Ian Cheeseman's sports show, to discuss minority sports in the Manchester area.  Accompanied by two representatives of cycling and two from the world of local basketball, Lauren and I were given the opportunity to promote our sport and give a plug or three for the Phoenix as well.

After the show, we were given a quick tour of the building as well, which included a visit to the set of BBC Breakfast which is surprisingly smaller than you'd think.  We not only got to sit on the sofa but we also had the chance to mess about in front of the weather map!

The full set of photos from our visit to the Beeb can be seen here: Lauren and Richard at the BBC

Cheers for reading!

A Paperwork Lesson Learned, Working with a Keen Model, and Lauren's Centrefolds

Whenever I shoot a model in the studio, I always get a Release Form signed.  It's pretty much standard practice, and it covers both the photographer and the model in terms of what's agreed and what's expected on the shoot.  So far, all of my shoots have been done on a 'time for images' basis, in that neither I nor the models are paid for the shoot, but the agreement is in place that we can both use the images for our own promotional purposes.  I like to think of myself as a fair person, so I have an additional clause in my Release Forms that promises the model a share of any profits made should an image be sold (either in print or in rights).  I see that as the correct and fair way to do things.

Back in September, I was approached by a model to do some shots for her portfolio.  No problem there, seemed pretty straightforward. But when it came to the Release Form, there was one stipulation that I agreed to do differently this time around, and that was to give the model the right to approve the shots before I could use them for my own purposes.

With hindsight, this was a mistake. 

Now, as a courtesy to the fine models who have given me their time in the past, I have always shown them in advance the photos that I plan on using, and ask if they have any major objections to the shots.  I've never had a problem with doing this, and the models have never had a problem with it either.  This time, however, I had to wait until the model gave her consent for the shots to be used.

So, I waited.  And waited.

Several e-mails went back and forth, trying to get the consent for the shots to be used.  More waiting.  And more waiting. In the end, I invited the model to come along to where I work, and look through the shots with me, one by one, saying yes or no to them.

Finally, the meeting took place, and after a long conversation about the shots, she eventually gave her consent for me to use twelve of the thirty finished shots that I had supplied her with.   It could have been worse, she could have point blank refused.   But the whole experience has taught me a valuable lesson, and that's to always stick to the initial Release Form stipulations!


Anyway, onward and upward!  Over the past couple of weeks I've been developing some new themes for a shoot with a model I've previously shot with, the very talented Jen Latham.  Jen's also a photographer, so she's got a good mind for creativity and for developing themes, and this week we're doing a test shoot to explore a couple of themes and costume ideas.  So far there's been plenty of brainstorming, and a little bit of shopping too - outfit materials and props have been on the shopping list!

Here's a photo of Jen from our previous shoot that I'm particularly proud of, and here's hoping that we can raise the bar with our next shoot!

As per usual, I've been shooting for the Phoenix every weekend, and we've been trying new things there too.  A couple of weeks back, the head photographer Nick Ogden stepped down and I was given the opportunity to step up and take over the position.  Nick's stepping down coincided with a new photographer starting with us (the two events were not connected), and that new photographer was my better half, Yolanda Amor!  So the photo team at Phoenix now consists of myself, Yolanda and my long-time photo buddy Lauren Freeman.

One of the new projects that we're working on this season is an idea that Lauren is heading up; pull-up posters for the centre pages of the match night programme.  So far the posters have been very well received by the programme-buying public!   The shooting for them has to take place on a match day, and so far Lauren's been shooting three players per week.  My role on the shoots is to help set up, and to handle one of the lights when it comes to moving them around.  Whilst all this has been going on, Yol has been shooting away behind the scenes!

Of course, the shoots are being carried out with the utmost seriousness, as this shot by Lauren clearly demonstrates:

More behind the scenes photos can be seen on Flickr here:  Phoenix Photographers Behind The Scenes

Thanks for reading!

A Return to Gauntlet, and three weeks of Phoenix

Earlier this summer, I took Yol to the Gauntlet Birds of Prey centre for a birthday treat, and for my birthday she returned the favour!  Yol had booked me onto a half-day photography workshop, which took place on the morning of Sunday 9th September, and here I am three weeks later still smiling about it!

The course was split into three sections, the first of which was photographing birds on outdoor perches.  There were about seven or eight snappers taking part in the session, under the guidance of a Gauntlet bird photography expert who was giving tips and advice to anyone who wanted it.  The first bird out was, by pure chance, the first bird that Yol had handled on her Owl Experience - Yoda, the Little Owl! 

I was shooting most of the outdoor shots with my 70-300mm lens, at the far end of the scale.  The advantage in using that amount of zoom from a relatively close distance was that the depth of field was pretty shallow, as demonstrated in the shot above.  At first I thought I could shoot with my 18-105 lens, but that didn't give me enough zoom even from that close range, so I went to the 70-300 and got some results that I'm particularly chuffed with!

The second part of the session was indoors, and utilised flash heads and model lights.  Once again, I was 'reunited' with one of our favourites from Yol's Owl Experience - Humph, the White Faced Scops Owl!:

To say that I have a soft spot for Humph is an understatement, he's excellent and so sweet too!  Although he did spend a great deal of time during the photoshoot seemingly fascinated by something on the ceiling...

Humph was under the model lights, which are constant light sources rather than flashes.  The first bird under the flash heads was Roy the Harris Hawk, a rather magnificent bird:

He was followed by Frodo, a baby Malaysian Wood Owl who was taking only his second turn in front of the cameras.  Still with some of his baby feathers, he looked simply adorable!

Slightly less adorable, but just as fascinating, was Frank, the Saker Falcon, who was having his dinner under the model lights:

Shooting the birds under the model lights required the use of a tripod to get the best results, as I didn't want to push the ISO up and lose quality in the images.  So I used a remote trigger to limit camera movement, set up the tripod, and shot that way.

The third part of the session was the trickiest - shooting birds on the wing!  This took place outside, and the photographers were invited to take shots from wherever they wanted between and near the two take-off and landing points, so I shot from a variety of positions to get some alternative shots:

For any photographer with an interest in shooting wildlife, I'd thoroughly recommend Gauntlet.  I had an absolutely thrilling time, and came away with some shots that I am truly proud of!

The full set can be seen on Flickr here: Gauntlet Photo Workshop

That day also marked the start of the Phoenix's home campaign, with a visit from the Steeldogs for the second leg of the War Of The Roses.  Having shot in Sheffield on the Thursday, I'd sort of found my hockey-shooting legs again, albeit from ice level, so this was my first chance to shoot from the stairs and re-find my mojo!

Shooting with the D90 is an absolute blessing!  My trusty D40 got me some very nice results, but having the D90 has given me an extra set on the ISO scale, which in turn means less post-producing and better noise reduction.  Also, I can shoot at a higher shutter speed and get clearer shots.  Plus, having two camera bodies now means that I can be one of those poser pillocks who carries two cameras! But at least I can legitimately do it!

A few weeks back, my photo buddy Lauren Freeman and I shot the portraits for the team, and a couple of weeks ago we shot the volunteers too.  Thanks to Lauren's expert lighting (and Yol's patience) we were able to get some cracking photos of the people who make the match nights work at the Phoenix, and in amongst those shots we naturally had to capture the likenesses of ourselves!

The Phoenix match nght photos can be seen on Flickr here: Manchester Phoenix Flickr feed

Cheers all!