I’ve now joined the World Photography Association, a great organisation which exists to promote the photographic industry, and also promotes the Sony World Photography Awards. Check out their website www.worldphoto.org for more info

Another enjoyable day as kinetic hosted some members of the Cheltenham Camera Club. Had quite a challenge setting up a backdrop wide enough as they were shooting a BMW touring motorcycle, which was considerably bigger than I’d expected. The group got some really stunning low key shots of the bike, and model Katrin was great to work with, although there did seem to be a little more jostling for position when she got on set! Put our wind machine into action to give the image some speed and movement, and also made great use of the massive lighting boom we’ve got in the studio.

I’ve done a few shoots with a friend of mine James Ellis. James is a personal trainer and in great shape, so we have been shooting a series of athletic poses which we can get a bit creative with. Here’s what we achieved from our last shoot. I’m keen for feedback – this shot seems to polarize people’s opinion!

Had a fun evening this week sharing the studio with a Creative Photography group. My graphic designer buddy Matt met the group on a course in Evesham and they still meet regularly. What a lovely bunch! We ran through some basics on studio lighting, and then we set up a few shots that the group had questions about. Great combination of a high key shot of a polished silver pig and a low key shot of a bottle of red wine! Really pleased with the results we got, here’s the low key shot of the wine bottle and glass. Off for a drink myself now…

Had a great time this week in the studio with a couple of family photoshoots in addition to our usual commercial and advertising jobs and my athletes portfolio work. Here is my favourite shot of the two girls from Friday’s shoot.

They were proper little characters and we had a real giggle during the shoot ) I’ve steered away from family portraits in the past (didn’t want to be another Venture clone), but now really looking forward to getting more families into the studio. I get the opportunity to create some really special memories for people, and working with kids is always fun!

You may remember I made a contact with Kim Chang from the RELAYS project? Well, I had a great shoot today at the studio with Jason Gardener, one of our all time greatest sprinters, Thanks for putting us in touch Kim! Jason won olympic gold in the 4×100m relay in Athens in 2004, in addition to a string of  european and world championship medals. More than that though, he is a truly lovely bloke! We had a laugh on the shoot and I’m really pleased with the results. In particular the head shot we got. Steely determination…

On the way back from London where I’ve just spent the day with Scott Kelby, an American Photoshop guru. Really useful tips he shared on workflow and making the editing and retouching process more efficient. Also some great easy HDR techniques I’m going to try on some of my landscape images.

Great day today at kinetic as we hosted the Umberto Giannini team for a hair cosmetics shoot. Claire, the MD, was charming and loads of fun to work with, and the team of stylists, hairdressers and makeup artists at times resembled a formula 1 pit crew as they descended onto the models and created their transformations. Can’t wait to have them back!

Very excited about a contact I’ve just made. Kim Chang from the RELAYS project has been in touch. He’s seen my article from the Gloucestershire Echo which also appeared on the thisisgloucestershire website, and he’s keen to support my Olympic athletes portfolio work and integrate it into the cultural olympiad framework. Watch this space!

Very excited today as my new camera has arrived. I’ve invested in a Canon EOS 5D MkII, a full frame digital SLR with the same 21.1 MP sensor as Canon’s flagship EOS 1Ds MkIII. Decided to upgrade a while back after I had some prints blown up to 10ft x 3ft for a building graphic at yogahaven in London.
It’s a truly stunning bit of kit. I’ve made a few test shots and the resolution and detail is quite frankly astonishing!