Morecambe Bay Shrimp Fishing
It was Grey, cold and wet on the day arranged to shoot the Morecambe Bay Shrimpers. I was asked to provide images for POS, Display Boards, Banners and Internet page headers in a variety of shapes and formats, but despite the weather I knew there would be some great images ready for the making. [caption id="attachment_342" align="aligncenter" width="492" caption="Morecambe Bay Shrimp Fishing, with reporters and magazine editors around, it wasn't going to be as easy as I thought"][/caption] On meeting the client in a car park after asking him whether he knew if there was a Shrimp Farm nearby (as we'd never met ...
In the Field – in the dark
'We're shooting the picking and delivery of new potatoes.. it happens at 3.00 a.m. but we're going to shoot it at 9.00p.m. the day before'. OK, that should give the same effect, what do you want? 'We need the images for POS, Banners, Header Boards, Internet.. something like this...' [caption id="attachment_324" align="aligncenter" width="492" caption="Artwork visual"][/caption] 'We have a few comments too.. Client comment: Looks good, I think we will need the sky to be pitch black, lots of space for the bright lights of the tractor and then at the forefront of the image Sean and the potatoes... giving the potatoes extra prominence. Our comment: Need to see ...
Kirkwall Airport: 8.00p.m. Be there.
Well, it wasn't as curt as that, and there were quite a few provisors as well, like.. if you get there and the weathers not right it won't be happening.. we've got a time frame of a week.. it's been raining and we've lost 4 days out of the last 5.. and... when can we get the photographs? BTW.. It's a bit dark there. Pretty standard stuff really, except Kirkwall is in the Orkneys, which would mean that at least a flight into the island was required, (yet when?) or a ferry might be more appropriate. From the sounds of things ...
Water Main installation – 55km
'I could hear the sound of some sort of activity but it was so dark down there I could see nothing..' The installation of a 55km water pipe was an interesting project to photograph. After a late afternoon phone call on a Friday followed by an early Monday morning site induction I was ready to go. Despite the amount of works going on along the 55km excavations on the West-East Link Trunk Main, only certain areas were in a suitable condition to be photographed. The first location was a 30m vertical shaft. I could hear the sound of some sort of activity going on down ...
Industrial Photography. Waste Treatment Recycling
With the sweet hot smell of rotting vegetation and humid conditions making camera equipment and lenses drip like something resembling the glass of an ice cold drink on on hot summers day, the challenge was going to be more than the usual logistical problem of lighting, schedule and brief.. this was going to be much more fun! After initially uploading only one of the images from this shoot, I've finally got around to providing a little more on the subject. The smell was sweet and sickly, this was the place that all the garden waste around the North-West tourist region around near Blackpool gets recycled and was a far cry from the ...
The man at the wheel of Stobart
I had the opportunity to photograph Andrew Tinkler a couple of days back for 'A' magazine - the publication by RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects). This was during an interview for the magazine and on a tight time frame as students from his old school were visiting the company as part of their business studies course and their arrival was immanent. Andrew is involved with improving local school resources and has invested a large sum of money in the design and build of two new school buildings in the area which he hopes will encourage students to stay in the ...
DHL Domestic
It's not often we get such a clear concise brief.. [caption id="attachment_92" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="DHL Exchange brief"][/caption] Something like that!! It wasn't quite the brief we were working to but it's surprising just how young art directors are starting these days - especially under the watchful eye of their mothers.. Photographs were required for a marketing leaflet for a revamped service and this photography was located in Hounslow, both in offices and at home. The objective was to document the exchange of faulty goods or goods requiring upgrades in both offices and homes for a marketing leaflet. [caption id="attachment_93" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="DHL Exchange delivery, Hounslow"][/caption] [caption ...
Traffic Officer Training
Working on our motorways as our traffic officers do, leaves little opportunity for any sort of photography amidst speeding traffic and the dangers of the highway. The most was made of a training day for these traffic officers from the Milnrow Outstation on the busy M62 motorway between Manchester and Leeds, by photographing the training for inclusion in future publications. [caption id="attachment_60" align="aligncenter" width="316" caption="Traffic officer radios details of an incident to the control depot requesting recovery and emergency services"][/caption] Taking advantage of any available opportunity pays dividends. It is always the case that when deadlines loom suitable images are never available, particularly ...
Industrial Update
'We're doing an exhibition for the Oil Industry - We need an update on some of our machining capabilities'. Nothing was visualised until we arrived. Just a brief outline of a requirement for a couple of photographs and permission to photograph some large pieces of engineered product. A couple of photographs extends to a few other projects and updates as it does, and the photographs prove really worthwhile for other marketing purposes besides. [caption id="attachment_81" align="aligncenter" width="314" caption="Industrial photography of Mecof engineering machinery"][/caption] 6 light were used on this sample, one can obviously be seen, although variations without were obviously taken. As a ...
Oil separation from water
[caption id="attachment_225" align="alignnone" width="492" caption="Oil separator tanks on Flota Oil Terminal"][/caption] Details to follow
Before and after…
Images to inspire from the mundane and ordinary. This is what I see. You take me on a walk around your site and I will find them, explain them and produce them. Then you use them to impress. Before: [caption id="attachment_288" align="aligncenter" width="492" caption="Before shot of the location"][/caption] And after... [caption id="attachment_289" align="aligncenter" width="492" caption="Industrial photograph of pipe lathe and engineering machine shop"][/caption] Sometimes words seem pointless. Just see what I do. Before: [caption id="attachment_290" align="aligncenter" width="492" caption="Storage industrial building, the everyday scene. BTS."][/caption] Making the most of very limited resources.... before even the resources arrive. It's still possible to create the image to portray your point. After: [caption id="attachment_291" align="aligncenter" ...
Email from client..
Hi Ian,
Just a quickie to say thanks so much for todays shoot, it’s always a bit nerve wracking using a new photographer on a client shoot so it was a huge relief that you were so flexible, personable, professional and generally on the case. I’m really looking forward to getting the shots back and look forward to working again in the future.
Thanks again,
Sally.
Keeping a record of products and showing them in the best possible light is the request of all marketing managers the world over. With delivery deadlines leaving no margin for error, guaranteeing to deliver beneficial results within tight time frames is a regular requirement.
Here we have the case of a 15″ Subsea Full Encirclement Saddle prior to delivery to a location deep in the North Sea.
The requirement was for insertion into a corporate background style. This was provided, along with adding missing components, providing a print ready cut-out eps file and variations on white and the required background.
15" Subsea Oil and Gas Clamp
Print ready files, including cut-outs and more advanced artwork can always be provided if required. Whether the requirement is for a single product or a whole catalogue of images, we’re happy to remove all the stress of having to make your photographic images suitable for use.
Constructing an offshore drilling platform at sea must be a really difficult task compared to the convenience of buildingit on land. The sheer scale of the project and the size of the components would make this a logistical nightmare.
Here, OGN had booked a session to update their records and get some action shots of their build in progress for future marketing use. Convenient as it might be, constructing in parts and moving 300 ton structures to marry together is still no mean feat.
Preparing pipe surfaces for welding on a platform deck
Checking the lift area is clear from obstructions
In the massive sheds, further parts of the structure are taking shape and getting ready to be moved down to take their place on the growing platform in the yard. View the samples below for various aspects of the construction.
From outside the sheds, the scale of the structure can easily be seen.
Construction sheds at dusk
335 Electrical product shots kept us busy earlier in the year. Challenging reflective packaging, transparent covers, needing to be used on white backgrounds and black backgrounds, all products not available at the same time… just like any other regular job.
I had photographed products and packaging for this client before, always with deadlines and always we meet them. Juggling setups and having multiple setups on the go at the same time ensures a consistency in throughout.
Electrical products are no new territory for me having worked for the likes of Volex, MEM, Ashley, Ferranti, GEC and BICC in the past, you could say that from experience I know what to do whatever the challenges are to be faced with this type of product. Ultimately, these products were going to the Ministry of Sound, so they needed to be a high standard.
Heres a sample shot of three products I put together to illustrate the type of ranges we shot. there were different ‘pop’ coloured products which were pretty straight forward which presented no problems for the ‘on black’ ‘on white’ requirement, only the ‘black on black’ or ‘white/silver on white’ would normally cause issues.
With controlled lighting to emphasize the shape and edges, highlights to separate black from black elements and shadows falling to help the 3D effect these worked pretty well.
Electrical Product Photography, Headphones
Typical product pack shot
Shooting roomsets over the summer needed a working space we could leave set up whilst other studio work was being done. There was a likelihood that some products wouldn’t be ready in time for the shoot and a few cancellations on the start date eventually had us starting with still a likelihood that all the products wouldn’t be available in time.
The set was built and painted in good time and awaited product delivery.
When the first sets of products started arriving we dismantled some of the studio lighting to move over to our temporary studio.
Lighting Equipment awaiting transport to location studio
We were using a Barn Conversion for our location studio. Large for its kind of a 5 bay design allowing plenty of shooting space and storage along with a set capable of providing space for a rather wide Double Page Spread A3 image spanning the upper part of a spread, so it was rather wide and narrow.
Location Studio in a 5 bay barn
I was shooting using the Nikon D3x capable of an easy native A3 image size @ 300dpi providing more than enough data for an easy crop along with a full compliment of lenses. Shooting tethered provided on screen confirmation of crop sizes with these crops set specifically for this project. There were two crops being shot, the wide double page spreads and half that width consisting of single page widths. Here are samples of some the 20 pages of images shot, and following are the catalogue pages they were used in.
School Storage and Display Equipment Set
School Storage and Display Equipment Set
School Storage and Display Equipment Set
School Storage and Display Equipment Set
