Photoshoot - Longcroft Luxury Cat Hotel

Four poster luxurious beds, locally sourced and freshly prepared ingredients served daily on bone china plates have the critics raving about this luxurious hotel, and it's all for cats. The Longcroft Luxury Cat Hotel located in Welwyn Garden City is one of a kind cattery, bringing the height of luxury to your cat's stay and we were delighted when Abi and Matt Purser asked if we could shoot some promotional photographs of their highly sought-after feline hotel.

Each chalet is individually heated and takes on a different theme with the garden/run area being decorated accordingly. In our short time at the hotel, owners Matt and Abi ran us through a 'day in the life' of their cattery and it's easy to see why the residents are extremely happy being pampered and having their every need attended to regularly.

With such happy residents at Longcroft, it gave us a great opportunity to take some purrfect portraits and here's a humorous one below that's kept me chuckling for days:

If your interested to find out more, please feel free to visit their website and explore the various suites or mouth-watering A La Cat™ Menu! Genius.

Photoshoot - Matthew Masters, PGA Golfer

Weather always plays a crucial part in the planning of any location shoot. This week has been a game of chance, checking weather reports online and waking up at the crack of dawn to see what loomed overhead. Earlier on in the week had been poor weather conditions, but at 6am this morning and a brief look out the window with a call to my client means I find myself heading to Porters Park Golf Course in Radlett, Hertfordshire. Despite being open 12 months of the year, this course is maintained to the highest of standards and it's easy to see why that at 7am there were already golfers queing to get out on course.  

Matthew Masters is a PGA Teaching Professional. Given that Porters Park is such an idyllic setting, it was a fantastic opportunity to capture some shots of the pro in action. The above image was shot as part of a series, with 2 shots following to show his technique.

Last August I posted a review of the PocketWizard Flex system and this shoot is an example of where they really came into their own. Given that a pro golfer can swing a club at some serious speed, sync speeds of 1/200th won't cut it for the shots I had in mind. In comes the use of their Hypersync function, allowing faster shutter speeds (without the use of high speed sync) resulting in quicker recharge times and a longer battery life. The ability to use faster shutter speeds in an environment like this can provide some striking results such as where Matthew tried to shower me with sand (ISO 160, F3.5, 1/1600th @ 85mm):

Testimony to a great golfer, as despite me asking if it was possible to kick up more sand for the purpose of a dramatic shot, Matthew still managed to pot the ball in one shot! Matthew offers a personal tuition service and is currently undergoing a website revamp, but rather than use stock shots that so many businesses seem to use these days, Matthew wanted a more personal approach with images of himself at his home course:

The 18-hole, 6,362-yard golf course had us spoilt for choices in where to shoot, but with our noble steed for the day we set about making the most of various locations. The weather was ever changing which made for interesting conditions, but we managed to wrap up the 3 hour shoot just before the heavens decided to open.   

Everything worked out as planned in the end, and it was an absolute pleasure to shoot Matthew for his new website. If you are interested in training with Matthew, please feel free to visit his website or facebook page and get in touch.

Photoshoot - Mission Nutrition

I seem to be getting alot more corporate work lately, which is fantastic as no photoshoot is ever the same and gives you the opportunity to meet lots of varied and interesting individuals. Mission Nutrition is the latest of which, and I was contacted by Michelle Lake who offers a hands-on approach to the benefits of healthy living. The brief was to capture some candid shots of Michelle  from the initial customer consultation through to the picking of healthy produce in a local market.

Michelle has just had her website re-vamped by WordsandStuff which incorporates some of the shots we took today. If your interested to find out more, feel free to check out one of the above links.

Photoshoot - Most experienced car salesman?

When a PR agency contacted us and explained the story behind Don Burgess, quite possibly the most experienced car salesman still working today, it wasn't a hard decision to wether we'd provide the photography for it (even if we flew to South Africa the next day!). Arriving at the dealership for which Don worked, it wasn't long before we saw his key to success. His passion for the cars in which he sold shone through, and his ability to listen made it incredibly easy to see him as a 'friend' rather than a salesman. With Don complimenting me on my own method of transport, the Honda S2000 we were always bound to get along! :)

It was a pleasure photographing Don at Brayley Honda for his 75th birthday, even managing to sneak a few photographs of his pride and joy, the Jaguar inbetween PR shots. Don't ask us how or why, but Hannah Couzens even managed to get Don leaping in the boot of a CR-V for a fantastic shot, shame it never made it to publication!

The story has been published in various formats, few tearsheets below:

Originally published in "Car Dealer" Magazine and "Institute of The Motor Industry" Magazine

Events - Presman Mastermelt 25th Anniversary

Presman Mastermelts are currently one of the leading recyclers of precious metals servicing the industrial sector. It was a pleasure that Hannah and I were invited to photograph their 25th Anniversary at the prestigious Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel. Whilst guests enjoyed their three course meal at this grand event, cabaret dancers and jazz/swing musicians entertained throughout the night.

The event was a tall order for us, as natural light within the ballroom was in short supply. Not to mention the vast scale of the room meaning quick light fall off. For the formals, clever use off three speedlites and gels meant we were able to bring some warmth back into the room and show off this magnificent location in all it's glory.

I'd like to thank Presman Mastermelts for our invitation to photograph such an event, and we look forward to working with them closer in the future on different projects.

Photoshoot - Honda S2000 GT

Something I haven't done in quite a while, is photograph the other passion in my life. I'm a keen automotive enthusiast, stemming from a background in racing during my teen years. Owning a Honda S2000 GT has always been a dream of mine. Everything about the car appeals to me, from the convertible roof right through to the 240bhp 2.0Litre 9,000rpm screaming F20C engine. Theres something particularly nice about their only being two seats?!

Having owned this car now a total of three weeks, I am happy to say it exceeds every expectation i've ever had of owning one. Truely a superb car which has sparked me into dabbling abit more with my automotive photography. Hopefully I am able to adapt all that i've learnt over the years into producing some cracking shots to show off this iconic sports car.

Photoshoot - EkuiLibriuM

Aspire, Apply, Achieve is fitness trainers Kim and Larry's motto. Based in Hertfordshire their friendly approach to fitness  inspires wellbeing and a healthy lifestyle. I was commissioned alongside Hannah Couzens to shoot some new images of their business in action at their exclusive studio based on Foxholes Farm. The whole atmosphere of the place depicts a healthy and positive outlook.

If your interested to find out more about EkuiLibriuM and the services they offer, then click here to visit their website.

Photoshoot - Drenched...

Not your usual Sunday morning....1:00AM GMT and I'm stood outside. My mother and brother wielding a bucket of water and my 5DMkII. We wanted to get this shot in one take (still not sure why I thought it was a good idea at this time of the morning) to minimise my chance of pneumonia. 40 buckets of water later, and i'm a shivering wreck!

Was it worth it? My brother and mother sure thought so and having just learnt it made it onto FlickR's explore at number #15, i'd agree!

Strobist : 580EX II Off Camera Left, 430EX Off Camera Right. ST-E2 Trigger

Photoshoot - Storm In A Tea Cup Jewellery

Storm In A Tea Cup started out as a hobby for Jennifer, making handmade jewellery in the comfort of her own home. The delicate and intricate jewellery has now taken the market by storm (no pun intended ;)) and as such has been picked up by the reputable "Culture Label" range. Although having plenty of photographs of the jewellery itself, they needed photographs of the items modelled. Upstepped a brave friend of Jen's and we had ourself a shoot on our hands.

If your interested in seeing some of Jennifer's designs please feel free to check out her website Storm In A Tea Cup, or see her items on sale over at Culture Label.

Photoshoot - Osterly Park and the Pitsford's Home Guard

Osterly Park is one of the largest open spaces in West London, with it's original footprints dating back to the 1570's. It's spectacular mansion surrounded by gardens and parkland, made Osterly today's location of choice to chill out and relax in the sun. It just so happend that on this weekend, Osterly was being visited by the Pitsford Home Guard. They hosted a display with barracks, uniforms, rifles and even an old Messerschmidt! The phrase 'Carpe Diem' is one that comes to mind here, and as soon as I saw the Home Guard stood next to the plane, I had to ask.......Can i take your picture!?

They were more than happy to oblige, and after photographing a single member of the platoon, more came over to have theirs taken. Hats off to these guys (or is a salute more appropriate?) for being such good sports! :)

I had a great time doing a real impromptu photoshoot with members of Pitsford Home Guard, and hope they like the photographs as much as I did taking them (Well...they did have rifles after all). I've since learnt that Osterly Park was one of the first locations used for the training of the first members of the Local Defence Volunteers (forerunners of the Home Guard).

If your local and are thinking about visiting Osterly Park it really is a nice day out. Please feel free to click here to see the full gallery from today.