Bex

At the same time as I were shooting Fran, Emma and I were also shooting Bex.
We used pretty much the same lighting set ups on both models;

Clamshell lighting



And Ringflash

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And check out Bex's awesome side shaving!



Bex wasn't so used to being in front of the camera, so I used my patented "talk a lot of rubbish" technique and soon she was throwing shapes with the best of them.

And I still think she looks like Bjork :)

Francesca

Fran has modelled for Emma Carter (who was helping out on the shoot) before, but it's the first time I've photographed her and I certainly hope to work with her again.
First up we set up a 43" shoot thru brolly camera left and a bare flash to blow the background out to pure white.



Then we pulled out my (much underused) boom arm to use some clamshell lighting along with a silver reflector.



Finally we used the Rayflash and a bare wall for some ringflash shots.

Bring out The Gramsch!

It's been a busy few weeks photography wise. First up was a shoot on the streets of Leeds with Graham, who I've known for a long time, but not seen for a couple of years. We shot fast and loose with just one light, and mostly with the 70-200 F4 IS and the 50mm f1.8 prime, which produced some cracking images. After 2 hours rain stopped play, but out of 160 frames or so, I got 98 keepers, which I think is pretty good.
And I got to hang out with genuinely unique and strange (in a good way) individual.

Photographers In Space!!!

While hunting around on the internet looking for an example of the Reseau Plate used on the Hallelblad cameras the Apollo astronauts took to the Moon I came upon this interesting little item, the "NASA Astronaut's Photography Manual". An interesting read, as it not only covers the technical skills needed to operate an manual focus, manual exposure medium format camera in space, wearing heavy gloves and a helmet, but also because it takes time to teach the astronauts the basics of composition, and how to take an aesthetically pleasing photo.
It's available to download Here.

Your Country Needs You!

Your Country Needs You!, originally uploaded by Hellbelly.

I've recently been having a lot of fun playing with Nik Software's Silver FX Pro plug-in for Aperture.

Eleven Days of The Doctor

Coming Soon.........

Derek the Domo's Big Blackpool Adventure

Derek has a steady job. He stands on the counter at Legacy Comics and greets customers as they enter. Derek likes his job, and Derek is good at it too.
But one day, Derek decided that it was time he saw some of the world. So he hitched a ride with me to Blackpool.
Derek did many new and exciting things in Blackpool. He went to the zoo, rode on a tram AND an open-top bus, went to the seafront and stayed in a hotel.
But before long, Derek missed his little comfy spot on the counter, and was glad to come home.

But who knows, maybe Derek will have another adventure someday......

See some of Derek's photos here.