Torch-er

 I love photography!

I love its intimacy. I love its simplicity and, at the same time, I love getting into all the technical aspects - such a huge part of the art.

But, occasionally, I find the best way to pass a few hours is just to play.😁

So, it was a wet, grey day, and I wasn't going anywhere. I came away from the window and a vase in my sitting room caught my eyes; it was a pretty basic thing, light blue in colour.

I picked it up and examined it for a while. Then I cleared a little space on the dining room table and placed it there.

With still life objects, I usually take an LED torch I carry and run around it just to see how the light plays on it. Then, if I see something that interests me, I'll set up backgrounds lighting, etc. But on this occasion, I simply made an infinity background with a dark jacket. Then I set the camera on a tripod, set it to manual, and dialled in the settings to lose the ambient light. From there, I put the camera on a timer and began playing the torch over the vase.

I was done in under two hours and was really pleased with the results.

Camera, coat, torch and vase. Simplicity itself.

I took the first image, above, and added a few textures in PSP, and got this.

Please feel free to comment.

You can find more in my Flickr page.  flickr.com

Pause

Pause I don’t know how to see this day,

 I’ve never felt a day this way:

never seen the skies so tall,

never felt myself so small. 

All the clouds seem bled of dreams, 

and their ceaseless passing so demeans

my still surveillance from the ground, 

where life has never seemed less profound. 

 And …… so – 

 Beyond the measure of day’s light, 

into the torment of the night, 

I cast my dreams on sterile ground 

and walk through years without a sound 

where, master of my needless life 

and heedless of the reaper’s scythe, 

I pause to wend an hour away 

in wondering how to see this day.

 

Alan & Cheryl tie the knot.

I can occasionally be guilty of being a bit blasé about weddings; I attend a good few in any given year and, unfortunately, have found that they are not all blessed with the much vaunted hallmark of the ‘perfect day’.

There are many tell-tale signs that things are not quite going to follow the prescribed plan for the day: a Bride who has breached her stress threshold and will spend much of the day in tears; the broody bridesmaid who’s corsage has turned from pink to an almost fluorescent green; the best-man who hasn’t made up with the bride following the tongue-lashing he received when she took him to task for his disastrous handling of the Stag-night. And it’s not all down to individuals; there are, just occasionally, times when you can sense undercurrents of anxiety emanating from whole groups within the larger wedding party; that sort of thing is almost inevitable – it’s not every family that gets on, and occasionally, despite the best efforts of the Bride & Groom, the wedding can appear a little flat.

But, on the whole, weddings – by their very nature – create their own light, joyful ambience; an ambience which can get VERY decidedly lighter and a LOT more joyful as the afternoon turns to evening; the music gets faster, and the bubbly begins to flow.
At best the wedding day will be remembered as a happy, carefree event which exalts the coming together of two people whose love for each other is such that they feel compelled to declare a life-times commitment to one another before family and friends. Weddings are also supposed to be about dressing up in your best finery; about sharing a meal with your nearest & dearest and inviting your wider circle of friends to join with you in joyful celebration. So far as friends and family are concerned, a wedding offers the betrothed an opportunity (too seldom realised in the busy lives we lead these days) to call a gathering together of family members who might not have seen each other for months, or even years. At the very least, wedding are supposed to be about good, old fashioned, fun!

Well, I had the good fortune, recently, to be asked to shoot the wedding of Alan & Cheryl; an event that ticked all the right boxes.

My first stop of what I knew would be a full day was a visit to Alan at his parents house. Unceremoniously decanted from the comforts of his own hearth & home on the evening before by a soon-to-be-wife who was determined to observe long venerated matrimonial conventions, Alan was having trouble enough piecing together all the unfamiliar bits and pieces of his full highland dress, without having the cyclopic eye of the camera track his every move. But I’m nothing if not persistent.
Moving swiftly on, I then descended on that haven of peace & tranquillity which was the Bride-to-be’s house; a refuge from the terrifying contagion of Wedding Day fever –NOT!

At first it appeared as though some strange sort of I.E.D. packed with all the accoutrements of a wedding had gone off in the kitchen. However, as I picked my way carefully past shoes, shopping bags, boxes of flowers – as well as children, family members, make-up artists and hairdressers accessories - I was directed to enter the lounge. This was, apparently, the source of the primary explosion! Here, among the remnants of what I reasoned was probably a fine room – before the advent of the IED - I found a gorgeous bride whose ivory-white, beautifully detailed dress contrasted succinctly against the light, powder-pink gowns worn by her three lovely bridesmaids, only to be complemented, once again, by the shimmering white of three of the cutest little flower girls I’ve ever seen. Collectively, they made a stunning ensemble, and I quickly ran of a series of frames of what would – for me - become one of the ‘picture-moments’ of the day.
The nuptial ceremony was lovely: family & friends had gathered from far and wide to witness a sweetly understated affair where Alan & Cheryl’s relationship was turned from ‘partnership’ to ‘married couple’. I was especially touched by the fact that, during the service, Alan & Cheryl occasionally stole quick glances at each other, as though perhaps a little embarrassed by all the unfamiliar attention they'd brought upon themselves. Though not a word passed between them while they listened and, in their turn, responded to the official wedding narrative, those shared – almost comically clandestine - glances spoke volumes.

The weather conspired against the newlyweds when the first few glasses of bubbly were downed and it came time to capture the traditional wedding party pictures. Cheryl had chosen the gorgeously landscaped Kirkton Park as the backdrop to her wedding group pictures, and I was particularly looking forward to spending some time alone with Alan & Cheryl in order to capture some more intimate images in a number of excellent situations which the park provided. But the rain put a decided dampener on my artistic aspirations though, and we instead made straight for the wedding breakfast venue.

In 20 minutes I managed to construct a small ‘set’ in an unused, but well appointed room, where I then shot a collection of group and individual pictures. Before following the Bride & Groom through to the function hall where, before the wedding breakfast itself was served, the Best Man served a well chosen menu of quips – mainly at the expense of the groom himself.

I stayed in touch with Alan & Cheryl over the course of the next few weeks as they reviewed their pictures and chose the prints which, I hope, will always remind them of a great day spent with family & friends. And I have to admit that I was a little sad when it came time to wishing them farewell. Though I have a sneaky suspicion that I might get a call sometime in the not too distant future to shoot a family group; that would be something to look forward to :-)

Alan & Cheryl.

Master Connor .... and Mum.

Some portrait sessions are more fun than others, and I was treated to a fantastic shoot with this handsome little chap who brought his stunningly gorgeous Mum - former Miss West Lothian winner - Claire Molloy, along for company :-))

Brian & Sam's pre-Wedding shoot.

I had the great pleasure of welcoming newly betrothed West Lothian couple, Brian & Sam to the studio recently.

Brian popped the question to Sam at the end of last year and, since then, Sam’s thoughts have been focused on their July wedding. Now, with the date getting closer and closer, things are starting to move – a welcome distraction to all brides who have to suffer that becalmed period which seems to fall over everything when all the initial arrangements have been made and you’re then just waiting for things to start happening - in ‘real-time’ 

So, having previously booked in for my pre-wedding package, both Brian & Sam were keen to come to the studio – both for the shoot itself, and to chat about final arrangements for the wedding itself.

The primary reason for arranging the shoot was to capture a picture of Brian & Sam which could be displayed at the wedding reception venue. The picture is enlarged and printed at A3 size. It is then sent off to be professionally mounted. Then, on the day of the wedding, it will be set on an easel and family and friends are invited to add their signatures and best wishes to the couple.

While we are essentially looking for a very warm but informal image to display as a sort of 2D guest book, the secondary reason for staging the shoot is to have the opportunity to get back together with the couple again before the nuptials are performed.

Chatting with the couple about the wedding allows them to relax and feel at ease, and presents an excellent distraction for them as they contemplate their big day. It’s also a great opportunity for us all to get to know each other a bit better prior to the formalities of the day, when the opportunity to share a few words, a few laughs, and a bit of casual banter might not present itself again until after the ceremony is over, the formal pictures are captured and the cake is ceremoniously cut.

Fortunately, Brian and Sam are a fun-lovin’ couple; very at ease with themselves and, as such, the shoot itself went really well. We enjoyed a few cuppa’s while, in between sets, we fine tuned some of their ideas for the day in respect of the photography.

All that’s left to do now is for Brian & Sam to choose the picture they want to display at their wedding which, for all of us, can’t now come fast enough.

West Lothian Couple, Brian & Sam.

Vamping it up

I was fortunate to be invited to work with up & coming Model / MUA, Teri, recently when she suggested that we turn one of her friends into a vampire!

Now, those of you who know me well will realise that those rumours you hear of my being able to metamorphose –at will - into a bat or wolf are simply not true; and, having explained to Teri that there was no way a bite from me was going to send her friend out in search of fresh blood, she decided to opt for a make-up induced reinvention of her friend – rather than the more permanent, vampiric sort.

Terri’s friend and Model, Cara, agreed to take part in the shoot – though she did ask to bring a couple of crosses, a sharpened stake and a mallet along with her (models can be a strange breed – they usually bring water and a fruit salad?) – and Teri duly set about remodelling her cheek-bones, eyes and lips to effect the ghoulish look she was after. I thought the results were quite stunning.

The entire exercise was set up so that Teri could add a few prints to a portfolio that is to be presented to her college tutors as part of her attempt to secure a place in the next stage of her education; leading, eventually, to what she hopes will be a career in theatrical make-up artistry. By the looks of this transformation, she shouldn’t have much trouble convincing the academia. Of course, if they don’t agree with her, she can always send Cara along to bite them. Mwahaaaaaahaaaa.

Countess Cara :-)

Weddings are such fun, and Nikkie & Neil’s special day at Haddington presented the very best of what wedding days are all about: a simple ceremony attended by close friends and family where the atmosphere was just charged with abiding aire of happiness and goodwill.

Haddington is a fantastic town with a long and interesting history, and the registrar’s office offers a great venue for weddings; the ceremony room is well appointed and spacious – with lots of room for the photographer to get around without stirring up a fuss. Outside the office, a garden – specifically designed for weddings – offers any number of excellent backdrops before which to gather the wedding party for their photographs. It was my second wedding in Haddington registry office, and I can’t speak highly enough of it as a venue.

Here’s wishing Nikkie, Neil and their family all the very best of luck n’ love for the future.

Metja is our featured model at FSM

If you ever happen across Metja - finding yourself sitting beside her on a bus, perhaps; bumping into her in a café or just seeing her walk bye on a street, you’ll know you just got lucky, for Metja has that ‘thing’, that aura, that special quality, that indefinable ‘presence’ that somehow makes the people around her feel a little bit better about being where they are.

So, you can imagine how it felt – not only to meet her for the first time – but to have the opportunity of photographing her on behalf of the Miss West Lothian competition in which, at that time, she was just a contender and hadn’t yet been awarded the highly prized laurels; I have to admit to having been a little star-struck.

But Modelling isn’t just about looking pretty in front of a lens. It can be an exhausting and laborious enterprise. It can take hours to build a set, test for lighting and get hair and make-up sorted. So, before you know it, the model has already been there for three hours and she then has to be briefed on what the shoot is about and what the stylist is trying to achieve – and it’s not easy to take spoken ideas and turn them into a story through modelling. And, after all that the lens cap STILL hasn’t come off the camera. The entire shoot has – by this time - lost that exciting immediacy, and THAT’S when you find out that, in Metja, you have a model who knows what’s wanted and, most of all, knows how to deliver: her need for direction in the actual modelling of the shoot is minimal, her repertoire of learned poses are contemporary, editorial, high fashion and apparently inexhaustible in their variety.

The camera loves Metja; that’s simply an inarguable fact. She has that natural understanding of her own posture, lines and curves which allow her to interpret what the camera sees from the other side of the lens and, with just the slightest inflection of a facial expression or posture, to deliver that sustenance which the camera lives off; aspect, aura, comportment, spirit, air or art – whatever that certain ‘thing’ is that she certainly has. At such times it can actually be difficult keeping up with her!

With all that said, the picture you should be getting is that of a wise, time-served, professional model. But what you’re actually presented with is a 17 year old girl who never consciously decided to try to be a model.

FSM: So who did convince you to try modelling: your family, your boyfriend, your favourite mirror?

Metja: Erm, let me see … No … no … and … what mirror! (laughs) No, really, it wasn’t something I ever really tried to get into. I don’t know, it just sort of happened. I was asked to do a few shoots and I really enjoyed it. Then I was encouraged to go into the Miss West Lothian competition, and I was invited by the competition organiser, Eddie Anderson, to take part in some promotional work. That’s where I met Duncan Bennett of db-images. He invited me to his studio to do a fashion shoot. Then he and his business partner, Nicola, invited me to join First Step Models. There was no kind of conscious focus on my part. One thing has just sort of led to another.

FSM: Do your family support you in your modelling ambitions.

Metja: Oh yes. Very much so. But they know that it’s really difficult to make a career of it and that I shouldn’t be hurt if I don’t make it as far as I’d like. I’m planning to go to college or university to study Business law. If a modelling career comes along then I’ll continue to study. Modelling is also a pretty short career, so whether I’m successful in that or not, I want to have something else behind me.

FSM: So what’s it like to be voted the most beautiful woman in West Lothian?

Metja: Ha Ha! But WOW! Winning Miss West Lothian was such a shock, honestly. But I was more proud of myself just for having the guts to enter in the first place. I’d recommend it to anyone. It’s been so great.

FSM: What sort of modelling work excites you, and what scares you?

Metja: Everything about modelling both scares and excites me. I’d like to experience all aspects of the profession, but the thought of being on a runway in front of hundreds of people – or shooting for a famous brand would be both exciting and terrifying.

FSM: Would you like to do the whole holistic thing that a lot of models do now: from runway to recording studio to Hollywood?

Metja: Hmmmm … Well, yes and no... because, for a start, I want to get in to modelling to experience working with different people, and modelling sometimes offers opportunities across the globe. This means I’d get to do a job I’d love and travel around the world. As for recording studios and Hollywood … well, I wouldn’t say no if the opportunity came along but it’s a bit early for me to consider that.

FSM: Have you signed an autograph yet?

Metja: Erm …. No …. But I’ll send you one personally when I feel the time is right (laughs)

FSM: What makes you smile, what makes you scowl and what makes you cry?

Metja: I smile when I see people being nice to each other – it’s such a simple and lovely thing to do. I scowl when I see people using their teeth to take of their gloves – it gives me the shivers. And I cry when I’m angry.

FSM: Have you enjoyed being signed to First Step Models?

Metja: Yeah. It’s been fun. Everyone is so nice to each other and it’s given me some great experience.

FSM: Will you remember us when you've made your first million?

Metja: Oh definitely … I’ll send you that autograph I promised (laughs).

Metja

Young Model of 'my' Year Award

Having spent a number of years working in both youth and senior football, I can say that almost every 13 year old boy I ever met wanted to be a footballer. Now, having worked as a full-time photographer for the last few years, I find that almost every young girl I meet wants to be a model.
For most, it’s a pipe-dream born of being attracted to the perceived glamour depicted by countless tv shows. But, for others – and a fair number it has to be said – it’s more than a passing fad; it’s something they actively pursue.
So, it was a great pleasure for me to be introduced to Sian. Sian, wants to be a model, and so much so that, when her Dad asked what she’d like for her 9th Birthday, Sian opted for a photo-shoot.
As a photographer, it doesn’t really matter what age your models are, what really determines how successful - or not - a session will be, is the aptitude of the model; directing every detail of a shoot, from pose to presence to facial expression can make for a long, frustrating session. That wasn’t the outcome in this case though; Sian already had a repertoire of learned poses which she animated with just the right sort of looks and expressions. At 8 years and 364 days, this young lady showed real promise, and I’ve no doubt that she has a real chance of making it as a model – she certainly has the determination.

Sian

….. and then there’s Teri.

I met Teri for the very first time at a Miss West Lothian photo opportunity being staged at the, then, relatively new Debenhams store in Livingston. She couldn’t have been more than 15 years old at that time but, with strong features, fathomless eyes and a natural, olive–oil skin which she inherited from her Italian forebears, she was already a strikingly good looking girl. Add to that heady mix a slightly shy but respectful temperament, and an obvious attentiveness to the job in hand (modelling & catwalking a series of new ranges from Debenhams affiliated designer) and the promise was clearly present.

Fast forward a year, and that slight girl has blossomed; her face has matured from ‘cute’ to ‘handsome’ and her figure has realised the classic lines of a healthy, well proportioned young woman.

We seemed to happen upon each other at yet another Miss West Lothian event: the competition final held in December last year, though on this occasion Teri wasn’t competing, but was there to support the aspirations of a friend. She told me that she’d only just heard that Nicola and I had launched our First Step Models project, and she wanted to join us.

So, skipping forward a month, Teri and her chaperone came along to the studio where Nicola did her usual – transformational – make-up, before we did the shoot.
A few examples from the shoot are appended to this post, but they do little to illustrate just how comfortable Teri now was in front of the lens. On our first meeting, last year, I was presented with a giggly, unsure and somewhat uncoordinated girl who obviously wanted to model, but wasn’t really au fait with what the camera was looking for. On this occasion I was presented with a young woman who – though she struggled a little at first – soon found her confidence and was willing to push the envelope a little.

For me, a mark of how well (or not) a shoot turns out, can be measured by the parents remarks and, on this occasion, Teri’s Mum PM’d me to thank me for having given her daughter a good experience of modelling and, as a bonus, a few good snaps to publish on her Facebook page.

I just hope that First Step Models will provide Teri and the other young girls we have in our group with a little lift into the world of modelling. If you’re a photographer and you’d like to shoot with Teri, or if you think this pretty young lady she has the ‘look’ you think could best showcase your products, the please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Teri:

Melissa

Melissa is First Step Models latest signing, and we're especially lucky to have her join the team.

Resident in Whitburn, and just 15 years of age, Melissa is very definite about what she wants and, at the moment, her biggest ambition is to become a model.

Melissa's personal profile is available online at First Step Models website. If you have any photographic, fashion or promotional projects which you think Melissa could help you out with, then please get in touch.

Melissa:

Sam

Don't you just love working with beautiful girls?

Being a photographer has it's down moments, but then girls like Sam walk through the door and you realise that fashion photography is one of the most exciting of all art forms.

Of course, it does help if you can get on with the subject of your 'focus'; Sam was a dream to work with though; a young, shapely blonde with lots of verve and vitality, complete with that magic formula of having a good ear for direction and a determination to shine in front of the camera. And eyes - did I mention eyes? Eyes that burn like glacial fire and, and, and .....well, you have to look into their depths to understand :-))

This was only Sam's second experience of being photographed, but she took to it like the proverbial fish to water. And perhaps just as well, as this pretty youngster is going to be the subject of a lot of attention shortly as she has entered the Miss West Lothian 2011 competition.

Sam has also just signed to First Step Models in an effort to further her interest in modelling. Check out Sam's profile and get in touch with FSM if you'd like to work with this feisty young blonde.