midlands

Amstreetdam

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A Street Photography Project in Amsterdam

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines landed me on a motorway bridge on the outskirts of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and with a short train ride to arrive at Centraal Station, taking in the track side views of rural, residential and industrial landscapes.

Paul Hands (2018).

Once settled in the hotel, I hit the streets ready to put my new Panasonic LX100 to the test.  Up to this point, i'd only used the LX100 a few times but not under any pressurised commercial situations.  It was only up on writing this blog that I discovered a fast AF setting within the menu's.  I'm kicking myself now because I spent the whole time in Amsterdam, anticipating photographs because I was worried about how slow the AF was.  I put it down to being spoilt using a dslr with almost instantaneous focusing and having owned a Fuji XPro 1 for a short part of its life.

Julie Hrudova (2015).

Julie Hrudova, a street photographer based in Amsterdam became a source of inspiration for me prior to my trip.

Julie Hrudova (2012).

Julie Hrudovae (2012).

When I first discovered the pictures by Julie, I was blown away by her presentation, modernity and classic style of street photography.  I recommend taking a look through her Flickr website.

Jonathan Higbee:

Jonathan lives in NYC and has recently collected the amazing recognition he fully deserves with his coincidental work around New York in what Jonathan describes as his love letter to New York.  I've included Jonathan here because his work is so cool that when I'm out on the streets looking and searching for scenes, backdrops, places and people to photograph, I always have some of his strongest images in the back of my mind but I never ever come across similar.  

I can only put that down to different minds and a different set of eyes.  Proof that it's the photographer that makes the pictures as opposed to the camera!

Don't take my word for it anyway, please head over to Jonathan's website and see how good he is for yourself... https://www.jonathanhigbee.com

Jonathan Higbee

Jonathan Higbee

Jonathan Higbee

I'm currently influenced by many photographers and with all good work, it's informed by others.  

 

So this is my Amsterdam project...

 

Amstreetdam:

I've created this work from a perspective full of influences from street photographers that I've discovered around the world.  Julie Hrudova, Jonathan Higbee from New York City and many of the artists showing their work with the Pure Street Photography collective.  These photographs are intended to show my view of the quirkiness of the streets in Amsterdam, day and night.  I've found myself being drawn to almost surreal, graphic and intimate stories at the side of the canals and narrow roadways.  Amsterdam really is a beautiful city and a giant habitat that just keeps on giving, which ever direction you walk in.  With a good eye for a a photograph, it's difficult not to find something you can make great photographs of.

So this is my visual story of Amsterdam.

Black and White Street Photography

I also made some in colour because Amsterdam is too colourful that I couldn't resist having a play with the beauty of the city.

Colour Street Photography 

I still feel like I've only skimmed the surface of Amsterdam.  There's so much to explore and I only had three days to look, learn, discover, feel the heart of the city and show that in my pictures.

As this was a test for me working with my new LX100, I feel compelled to tell you what I think of it.  Had I discovered the fast AF setting, I may have enjoyed this camera more.  I still enjoyed playing with it and am learning new ways to work the streets with it. I found the light meter to be accurate and I shot in RAW, knowing that I didn't fully trust the camera, I wanted that flexibility.  The manual controls are very intuitive and I found it easy adjusting the iso, shutter speed and aperture to suit each scene.  

The challenge as always with street photography is not so much the technical side, but more the story and visual impact.  You can't just make a good picture, a view of the world develops in your frame and if you're ready with your camera and become part of that moment in time.  It's an honour, especially if you can overcome the initial anxiety of pointing your camera at people on the street.  Breathe and feel the world living.

The photographs that appear in this blog can be made available as artwork and I've discovered new suppliers for my prints, who offer excellent quality.

Prints available poa.

Contact me.

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Art of Photography Workshop

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Since starting the Art of Photography Group, this is the first physical workshop I've ran.  I've ran many other workshops but have improved as a practitioner and have learned how to teach people in a much better way.  So I ran a mini workshop for the group on Wednesday night and it went really well.

This was a rescheduled event because the first date was a wash out, it chucked it down and then I had to try and co-ordinate 9 peoples diaries.  In the end we got there, and it wasn't easy watching the weather on the run up to the rescheduled workshop!

The day before the workshop was terrifying (well maybe I'm being a little over dramatic), the Met Office predicted rain all morning and a little shower in the evening.  The workshop was to take place between 6:30pm and 9:30pm.  On the morning of the workshop, the Met Office said it would rain until midday and be dry for the rest.  Then at lunch time they predicted rain all day and all night, until 2pm when they said it would dry up at lunch and then give us heavy showers between 7pm and 9pm.  

I couldn't take this anymore!  So I didn't look for another hour and they said it would be dry all evening.  That was it, I shut down my mac and accepted that.  It wouldn't change again!

I know from experience of watching the skies as a photographer that rain followed by a sunny dry spell usually gives a dramatic sunset.  This is just what I would have ordered for my group, dry weather and a dramatic sunset.

Some of the people in the group were complete beginners and some were amateurs and all were looking to either improve their photography skills or to learn how to use their camera properly.

Each one left my workshop knowing how to use a camera on manual properly, how to set up their camera to give them complete control over their images.  

What's more important with my photography group is that they all have a common interest.

I run the group in the evening once a month.  It's called The Art Of Photography and we have a Facebook group that you can join if you like.  We share information about photographers, styles, have workshops, will be visiting exhibitions and have artists come along to talk to us about their photography on occasions.  You can visit and join the group by following the above link.

If you'd like to learn more about the group and or my workshops, please contact me here.

A Commercial Film Production To Remember

I was booked by Diabetes UK to produce a commercial film, a trailer and a series of documentary style photographs.  They came to me because they wanted the natural candid feel that I often produce. They wanted a sense of fun to help promote their Type 1 events to the children and parents who have to endure type one diabetes on a daily basis.

I jumped at the chance because I felt that working with such a genuine and helpful charity is how I want my business to be seen.  I always offer a generous discount to charities.  This opportunity was to work a a large group of 8-10 year olds who all have type 1 diabetes and these events are designed to help the children learn to manage the diabetes on their own, and to continue to enjoy a normal, healthy and active lifestyle.

They attend without their parents and love every minute of it!

Shooting this film and producing the documentary is up there with the best commercial project I've been commissioned to do.  The children were an inspiration and genuinely warmed my heart.

I'm currently at the proofing stage and won't be able to release the film until it has been finalised but rest assured, as soon as it is, I'll be sharing it here.

Maybe a sneak peak at one of the pictures...

You can click through the logos for Diabetes to go to their website and learn more information.

If you'd like to enquire about commissioning me for other assignments, please contact me here.

UBL 17 Fight Photographs from The Athena

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Welcome to the home of the boxing photographs from UBL 17 at The Athena in Leicester.

This page on my website has been specifically dedicated to the huge collection of photographs, from the unlicensed fighting that goes on between some of the hardest men in Britain.

To view the pictures, simply click on the photograph, then choose the fight collection that you wish to look through.  You will even have the option to buy and have a bespoke book designed for you as well prints and a dvd slideshow with music.  You can do this directly through my website.  Payments are secured and guaranteed through Stripe.

 

Professional Photographer Leicester, Leicestershire, Hinckley, Nuneaton, Coventry, Birmingham, Warwickshire, Midlands, England, UK, United Kingdom, Great Britain.

Commercial, Business, PR, Public Relations, Landscape, Street Photography and Documentary photographer available for commissions.

UBL 17 Highlights

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Boxing Photographs, Leicestershire, Midlands

What an incredible night of unlicensed fighting.  A large group of hardened men avoid going completely underground to fight on the shows put on by Gypsy Jerry Gorman and Elvis Hopkins who runs Kings Gym in Leicester.

The shows are that good, there'll be no time wasted on idle chat.

Watch this slideshow mother fucker...

Oh, and turn your volume up!

Tough hardened fighting men go to war against each other in an unlicensed night of brutal gloved boxing bouts. Jerry Gorman and Elvis Hopkins of Kings Gym in Leicester put on such a good show that only viewing it will tell you what it's about. So get on with it...

DMU Student's photo chosen as one of the best pics of the year

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This is a nice accolade to start 2017 with.  If you're not aware, I'm studying a photography & video Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree at De Montfort University while running my photography and video business, which is now in to its successful fifth year.

I entered a national student photography competition last year and missed out on £12K worth of prizes by a Gnat's nut.  However, my work was highlighted as highly commendable.

You can read more about my success with this nationwide competition here... 

This was my entry chosen by the judges as significantly good in their opinion.

 

I also have some even more amazing news to share with you.  My wife Lisa and I had a little too much Paella and Red Wine at one of Lisa's exhibitions last year.  This ended with the most incredible experience of my life.

Emma Leigh Hands was born 31/12/2106 @ 17:29 weighing 4lb 15oz.

My world has just turned upside down and my outlook on life is so very different to that of a couple of weeks ago.  It will be interesting to see if this moment in my life has an impact on my photography style and outlook.

So, 2017 promises to bring around a completely different lifestyle for myself.  I'm sure I'll be working even harder this year.  I'm hoping to get some more work creating films like the last two with R-Tech Performance and Gorman's Fight Club.  I'm happy to make commercial styled films that have a backline story and add a commercial context to be different to the typical advertising style.  I like to create documentary styled films that have high impact and hook the viewers straight away.

I'll also be looking for new clients regarding my still photography side of the business.  I'm hoping to be working with many more (PR) Public Relations Agencies, Commercial and Corporate clients as well as potentially get involved with more charities like SSAFA (The Armed Forces Charity).

What is important to note is that I will be graduating from my degree course and will then be applying myself to my business completely on a full time basis.  This can only mean that my clients are truly going to get the best of me from here onwards.

Happy New Year

If you'd like to get in touch with me, please click on this link.

Modern, Deep, Distraction

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This is a a triptych of images concentrating on how the light trails from aeroplanes zip through the night sky like meteors from outer space.  

My intention was to create an abstract series using these light trails to add drama to what would normally be perceived as a boring picture.  

Gazing deep in to the night sky, considering all things universal and with the interruption of human progress and the modern technology of today's transportation, as a distraction.  

These pictures serve as a metaphor for how modern humanity has become obsessed with science and technology. 

 

This link below will take you to the website of my long running social documentary of Hinckley & Bosworth District.