Farm Rebellion
A selection of unit stills photography taken during filming of Farm Rebellion Ep 5.
Now that it has launched, I’m proud to be able to share some of my images from Farm Rebellion.
I was brought on board by MegaHurz production to shoot the stills for episode 5, here in the UK. It sounded like such a great project that I jumped at the chance. I love documentary work, and love shooting unit stills, so getting on board with the Farm Rebellion crew was a no brainer.
Our location for the day was to be the Knepp Castle Estate, often referred to as Knepp Wildland or simply Knepp, a pioneering rewilding project located in West Sussex, England. The project was initiated by Sir Charlie Burrell and his wife, Isabella Tree, in 2001. It is one of the most well-known and successful examples of rewilding in the United Kingdom and has garnered international attention for its innovative approach to land management and conservation.
As well as spending the day capturing unit photography in such a beautiful location, I also got to listen to Charlie, Isabella, Rina and Benedict talk about their passion, expertise, and experiences with rewilding and nature in general.
All in all it was a wonderful experience capturing BTS and production stills with an amazing crew. During the day I was able to pull the four of them aside to shoot some portraits.
Farm Rebellion is available to stream on Disney +
To see more unit stills work, head over to the gallery here
Mabley Green exhibition
The photography exhibition of the Mabley Green project is now on show at Yonder, in Walthamstow.
2023 has started off with an exciting bang.
Yonder, a climbing gym and studio space in Walthamstow is playing host to my latest photography exhibition.
Launching on the 9th of January this year, the show comprises of 16 prints from the Mabley Green: Class of ‘21 project. The show will be hanging until the 6th or March, so make sure you get over there and take a look.
Selecting the prints for an exhibition is always hard, even more so than doing the book selection. I’m very happy with the final choices though, and it’s great to see my work hanging in the flesh again. Thanks to everyone that has supported the project along the way, and all the kind words that have been offered up.
If you don’t know about the project yet, head over here to read more about it.
It was photographed during the November lockdown in London, and documents a community of rock climbers that grew around a large boulder on Mabley Green. It tells the story through text and images, exploring what the boulder meant to the people using it, and the symbiotic relationship that developed.
It was a dream to photograph, being able to combine my documentary style of work, and love for climbing.
The exhibition is open to all, and free to view.
Yonder has a lovely cafe on site where you can grab a coffee, cake, or even a pint on tap. They are located at
4-6 Hookers Road
London
E17 6DP
Jump on the tube to Blackhorse Road, and its a 5 minute walk from there.
The book, and prints from it, are available to order on the website shop
Concrete Highlands
Concrete beast in the Scottish Highlands
This January I had the privilege to get up to the Scottish Highlands and shoot some portfolio work.
Along with summiting a few Munro’s, we hiked up to the Cruachan Dam in Argyle and Bute.
I adore a lovely lump of concrete, stone, or anything brutalist. It’s something that has always inspired my photography, living in London.
When I can find it interacting with the natural world, I’m in utopia.
Anyone who thinks that the dam looks familiar, may recognise it from the latest Star Wars series ‘Andor’. The dam was used as by the Empire, and subsequently raided by rebels.
Unit stills in the urban jungles
I always like to hear from production companies and film crews coming in from overseas. It’s nice to know my unit stills photography is making its way outside of the bubble that London can sometimes be, and it’s a chance to work on something more global.
I always like to hear from production companies and film crews coming in from overseas. It’s nice to know my unit stills photography is making its way outside of the bubble that London can sometimes be.
This enquiry came in the form of a request for a unit photographer for a pilot episode of a new Youtube Kids show. It’s titled ‘Maddie’s Urban Jungles’, starring the one and only Maddie Moat.
Two days of filming, with the first around central London, doing a few ‘to camera’ pieces The second day would be exploring the green lands of Richmond Park.
Maddie’s Urban Jungles is set in cities around the world with Austin, and London playing host to this episode. The idea is to show urban kids that there is a world of wildlife right on their doorsteps.
The pleasure of working on documentaries is that you usually have a bit more time with the talent than you would on a feature film. I was able to borrow Maddie and the kids between filming, to go off and shoot some extra promo photography. Having this option, as well as shooting along side the film crew, during takes is a dream.
Above is Toby Edwards, who works as a sound designer, engineer, and composer.
For Maddie’s Urban Jungles, Toby was brought in to let the kids listen to the noises made by insects burrowing beneath the earth. Using special microphones and recording equipment he is able to hear the sounds from above the surface, without disturbing their habitats.
Having a lovely location like Richmond Park always makes the job a little easier, presuming the weather holds out. Having a great crew and cast on top of that just tops it off.
On this one I had free rein to grab my shots during takes, between takes and plenty of BTS images of the filming as we went along.
Head over to YouTube and take a look
I’ve loved working on more documentary projects this year and hopefully will be sharing some more of the imagery for the others, once they are released.
Stay tuned…
Happy New Year
Last year I had the pleasure of working with clients old and new, capturing people, places and the moments in-between.
After what has been an interesting, weird and taxing year, 2022 is upon us.
Last year I had the pleasure of working with clients old and new, capturing people, places and the moments in-between. It’s had its challenges and various restrictions, but the silver lining being more shooting outdoors than I have even done before.
Here’s to more of this. Some of my favourite selects and outtakes from the year…
Wishing everyone an amazing 2022
Mabley Green Boulder project
I’ve been wanting to shoot a story on bouldering and rock climbing for quite a while and having witnessed the community that has developed and grown at the local Mabley Green boulder during the pandemic, I decided this was a good focal point.
I’ve been wanting to shoot a story on bouldering and rock climbing for quite a while and having witnessed the community that has developed and grown at the local Mabley Green boulder during the pandemic, I decided this was a good focal point.
In 2020, just before Christmas, the UK went into yet another lockdown, this time, for a very scheduled 4 weeks. I took that onboard as my deadline and spent most days taking my exercise and the inability to work from home as a photographer as the catalyst to document the boulder, it’s surrounding space and the wide range of people that adopted Mabley Green as their daily escape.
When it was first installed, a sculptural piece by local artist John Frankland, 13 routes were figured out, taking you from the ground to the top via various combinations of holds.
The route count now stands at around 47, some totally new, others just a variation of previous lines. Quite a few of these new lines have gone up during the pandemic as it’s visitors explored the surfaces in greater depth and creativity.
No matter you opinion on the current global situation, you have to agree that it has been a unique time and I hope the book will stand as a visual record of the importance the Mabley Green boulder has had during this time.
Keep an eye out here or over on my Instagram for updates on the book’s progress.
Tales from the pandemic
Now as much as I do enjoy the technical artistry of still life, my photographic soul is definitely in social documentary and story telling. The thought of being stuck indoors with nothing to work on was shocking and for the first week or so I shut down, taking a break that was much needed and resetting the mind.
So it’s been nearly two months since I was last out on a commission, the longest time since I started out working as a photographer. On top of that we are currently on a nation wide lockdown, limiting the time spent out of the home.
Now as much as I do enjoy the technical artistry of still life, my photographic soul is definitely in social documentary and story telling. The thought of being stuck indoors with nothing to work on was shocking and for the first week or so I shut down, taking a break that was much needed and resetting the mind.
I started shooting ‘Tales from the pandemic’ mainly as a way of keeping myself busy and trying to stay motivated. It’s a kind of visual diary of ‘life in 2020’ which has now grown into a project with a life of it’s own full of moods and feelings, moments usually lost in the hustle and bustle and new ones brought about by the new forced pace of life.
Tales from the pandemic is a currently ongoing project which I will wrap up when I feel the time is right. I would love for people to be able to enjoy the images and eventual body of work so maybe a book release and local exhibition will be on the cards. Let’s see. The main thing for me about this project right now is it’s disconnection from a monetary motive. It’s a meal to feed my soul and stoke the fires.
Please come and join me over on Instagram to follow the project as it continues and share it with anyone you know who may find it interesting. I have been posting daily images for people to enjoy although if I’m honest I miss the odd day here and there. I think that’s all part of it, slipping off the hamster wheel and understanding that it’s fine to sit and catch your breath………
You can find my Instagram by clicking on the social link or heading to www.Instagram.com/12clicksaway
Lockdown…..
So here we are, bang in the middle of a global pandemic.
Firstly I hope you are all keeping well and safe out there.
So here we are, bang in the middle of a global pandemic.
Firstly I hope you are all keeping well and safe out there.
Secondly, as time goes on I hope you are all finding things to do whist stuck in isolation.
After everything had shut down and the diary was unavoidably empty there was a sudden suggestion that we should all utilise this time off to be super productive and get loads of cool work done, develop new business plans and generally carry on as normal.
For some people that seemed to work but for me, and I am sure a lot of you out there as well, I couldn’t get my self into that head space. It’s a weird time and a weird situation and to expect your self to be able to roll on as usual, straight off the bat is unfair.
So I gave up with that idea and I fed my soul.
I played computer games that I had be meaning to.
I sat in the garden and painted a water colour with my kids.
I made a new hang board and began to really train for my rock climbing.
I got out my production equipment and sat down to make some music for the first time in about 6 years.
None of the activities had a goal, monetary or otherwise except enjoyment and it felt great. I highly recommend that you do the same if it’s possible. Use some of your time stuck at home to just do things that you want to and usually feel there isn’t time to do. Feed your soul and it will feed you back.
The wonderful guys over at Hancock & Handsome have been setting their photographers a weekly challenge to shoot something to a theme and this week opened it up to everyone. The theme being a self portrait.
I haven’t shot one in years and haven’t felt like shooting since we locked down but after feeding my soul I was inspired to join in. I like telling stories and have been trying to do so with images I have managed to grab whist going on shop runs. But I wanted to tell a story of me. We have all begun a new, non-voluntary story in our homes.
I have two kids (8+9) and although we have enough space to not be under each others feet all day, home schooling them and keeping them occupied whilst keeping my own sanity and getting things done makes the days drag on sometimes.
I call this one “Five minutes of peace”
Where do you go to hide out for five minutes?
Stay safe
Panoramic and branding imagery for the NSC
At the end of last year I was contacted by the National Saturday Club with a request for creating a panoramic image to be used on their handouts at the annual London visit.
At the end of last year I was contacted by the National Saturday Club with a request for creating a panoramic image to be used on their handouts at the annual London visit.
The group had been granted the use of London’s iconic City Hall and wanted to print out a view of the skyline (north side) which could be annotated for visitors to know what they were looking at.
I discussed a few ideas and options depending on what would work with their print dimensions and then got to work. Oh, did I mention we only had 30 minutes access to the viewing platform that day due to a film crew arriving? No time to check and review files as I worked . It’s times like that you have to fall back on your experience and be confident in your knowledge.
The final image is a beast with a file size of nearly 2GB! You can zoom right in and see people on the deck HMS Belfast.
I also helped cover the London Visit itself, capturing some key branding imagery for the NSC for use on their social channels and publicity material.
If you have never heard of the National Saturday Club, they work very hard to give 13-16 year olds free access to weekly Saturday clubs all around the country, where they can study their favourite subjects and learn more about making their way into those industries.
Go and check them out at https://saturday-club.org/
Ablum cover shoot for Cores’ latest release “Ego Trip”
A while back I was approached by amazing musician, producer and engineer Alex ‘Cores’ Hayes about creating some imagery for the cover of his upcoming solo album Ego Trip.
A while back I was approached by amazing musician, producer and engineer Alex ‘Cores’ Hayes about creating some imagery for the cover of his upcoming solo album Ego Trip.
Having worked with some of the biggest names in the business, Alex was now taking on the hardest task of releasing his own, long awaited project. As an artist I knew all too well the struggle of knowing when your own material is ready for release, and even more so actually putting out there for the world to enjoy. So it was a privilege to be asked to shoot this for him and a task which i didn’t take lightly.
Alex brought the concept to me and we then began to form a plan, book the studio and get ready for the shoot. The results hit the nail on the head.
Here are the behind the scenes images showing our set up for the day. The neck chain that was actually more of a leash was positioned specifically to lead out into another photo planned for the left hand side.
Below is the final image used for the ‘Ego Trip’ cover. It was decided to have the chain leading up out of the frame rather than to the left to further carry the message when the photo was used on it’s own.
We initially had planned for the main image to link into a couple of other shots for single releases. These would all work as stand alone images, with a wider shot showing them all together in the same frame. Here is a sneak peek at those two images along with a mock up of the full frame image for the inlay card depicting the ego trip….
‘Ego Trip’ by Cores can be streamed on
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1zUNxSr44P0BH0nv8c4g8J
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/albums/B07YW2XG6B
and more: https://ditto.fm/ego-trip
Titan Watches new "Create Your Moment" campaign
Recent client Titan Watches have launched their new advertising campaign titled "Create your moment”. It comprises of a short video advert and stills to run along side it.
Recent client Titan Watches have launched their new advertising campaign titled "Create your moment”. It comprises of a short video advert and stills to run along side it.
I had the pleasure of joining the team and being tasked with capturing hero images for the campaign.
Shot over three days, the concept comprised of five separate actors in different locations, each representing a different character creating their own “moment”. The campaign is for launch in the Middle East market and so a couple of the situations were based around the female characters taking on new roles within that region. We had a dancer taking a stressful exam, a female driver venturing out on her own , a musician taking to the stage, a rock climber tackling a solo assent, and a young business women addressing a male dominated board meeting. The later of the list being eventually dropped from the final cut.
The most taxing of the locations was obviously the rock climber who we shot on location at Stanage Point, a very famous rock climbing haven in the Peak District.
We had a dedicated team of rope access climbers to help us rig up the ropes and keep us safe through out the shoot but as you can see from the behind the scenes shot, our actor Tai still had to brave the elements and scrabble out over the edge.
Well worth it though.
A boardroom in the always beautiful Barbican was the setting for our business meeting
The Royal Academy of Dance in Battersea play host to us and our dancer for a day, providing wonderful daylight balanced out with the help of some HMI.
The product shot that the video team had framed up looked great in motion, however once frozen in a still just didn’t translate and began to look very posed. As is always the way, you need to be ready and willing to walk away from a plan and pull out something new instead of flogging a dead horse. I managed to convince production that I needed the actress for 5 minutes between takes and was glad I did as it let me capture something that worked much better for the stills campaign and still tied in with the video work.
Richmond park was to be the stand in location for driving in the Middle East believe it or not. Top of the list was keeping trees in the background to a minimal and tackling the problem of the right hand drive car. Nothing that a little colour grading and retouching couldn’t help out with but the low evening sun and amazing Marta Razza made it all come to life.
Finally we had Gidon at the Rudolf Steiner House to tell the story of staircase to stage
Woodgreen Animal Charity - Website branding photography
I recently had the pleasure of working with the Woodgreen Animal Charity along side PMA Digital design agency, providing reportage style imagery for the rebrand of their website.
I recently had the pleasure of working with the Woodgreen Animal Charity along side PMA Digital design agency, providing reportage style imagery for the rebrand of their website.
The brief was to capture not just the animals but specifically their interaction with the staff that love, care and look after them out at their Godmanchester site. Trying to tie in their branding along the way for use in banner images and possible advertising and publicity useage was also a part of the challenge
With the number of animals they take in and care for on a daily basis this was no small feat and involved a lot of rigorous time keeping through out the day. We photographed everything from ferrets to large dogs, friendly pet rats and tiny new baby kittens.
It’s always a pleasure to be commissioned to shoot work for such deserving charities and see the what goes on behind the scenes. Plus, you know, cats! Who doesn’t want to work with cute cats?!?!
Artists bolt hole in the heart of Hoxton
For me, the character that comes with a place like this is priceless, and something that is getting harder to find in this day and age of clean lines and tidy desks.
Long live the artists studio………
Last year I had the pleasure of working with the artists at Standpoint Studios and the New North Press, capturing their beautiful work space and it’s lovely character.
The studios are run by the artists and house a beautiful traditional letterpress printing studio, as well as screen printing and ceramics.
For me, the character that comes with a place like this is priceless and something that is getting harder to find in this day and age of clean lines and tidy desks.
Long live the artists studio………
