My little honey-pot ..

The end of July, and what a busy bee I've been. Can you believe the studio has now been open a month? Where does the time go? It's had a great start, though, and I'm delighted with the interest it's generated. Caused quite a buzz, you might say! But it's true .. having the physical presence of a studio has really given me a lot more exposure! (Ho ho!) I'm a bit like the bee in this photograph now. In between my usual Wedding, Portrait and PR work I keep flitting any way I can to try to bring in new business. I have some shots of a horse lined up for next month, as well as some photo-restoration work for the local church. I'm also going to be shooting a range of Wedding cakes for one of the other units in the centre and the tuition work has garnered quite a bit of interest, too. Looks like Studio54 is going to be quite the little honey-pot!..

#culchethstudio
www.studiofivefour.com

Crash, bang, wallop ..

God, I'm boring! There we were, Lesley and I, captivated by an incredible film called 'The Bang Bang Club'. It's about four South African Press photographers and their harrowing/exciting coverage of trouble and strife around the world. If you haven't seen it then I highly recommend it, and not just because it's about photography! Anyway, the film had it all. Blood, death, murder, desolation, despair and - right in the middle of it all - a shot to make it look like the film-goer is seeing the scene through the viewfinder of one of the guy's Nikons. 'Oh, wow...' I piped up 'A microprism and split-screen focussing screen! I've not looked through one of those for ages! Did you know that with 35mm cameras you were able to change the screens depending on....' Lesley cast me a menacing glance! Cut to a scene where the snappers come in off assignment, and one of the 'old hands' gets told to show the new guy the darkroom. 'Oh, man.. ' I started again 'That reminds me of going into so many newspaper offices in the past. Did you know about the time I went to the Sydney Morning Herald and ...' Another glower shut me up in my tracks. Finally, the Picture Editor in the film, a glamorous sex-noodle just like we NEVER had at the Manchester Evening News, tells one of the lads that she never dates photographers. 'You keep awful hours..' she says 'You drink too much .. and you're all crazy!'

'Now that..' growled Lesley 'I DO know!...'

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www.studiofivefour.com

Curtain up ..

And so we're back to Monday, and this week sees the curtain-raiser to my latest exhibitions - another chance to view 'I Remember Nothing' - my series of images from the Joy Division Bowdon Vale gig of 1979 -  and 'Down the Line' - a selection of photographs from my archive of 1970s black and white documentary work. They're both on at the funkily-named Deli-Lama cafe in Salford, and are being shown to coincide with Salford Music Festival, coming up in September. I hope you can make it down there!..

Today's picture? Oh, that came from Friday's Wedding at Heaton House Farm, near Leek. A couple of members of staff were just about to part the curtains as the new Mrs and Mrs Angove were announced into their Wedding Breakfast. It was an absolutely brilliant Wedding day! Sunshine, fizz .. cricket! Have a look here! ..

Anyway, off for an afternoon at the studio now and I'll leave you with the worst joke of the century.

Man: Doctor, I keep thinking I'm a pair of curtains!
Doctor: Pull yourself together, man!

Boom, boom ..

(Don't worry, I'm sticking to the photography ...)

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www.studiofivefour.com

Hands off Nigella ..

Off to the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park today so in keeping with the Sunday papers here's a quick picture of Nigella without a bloke trying to strangle her!! Groan....

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www.studiofivefour.com

Bowled over ..

Crikey, blimey, it seems yesterday's Wedding really was all about the numbers, 'cos I put a version of this shot on my Facebook page last night and by this morning it had been viewed by .. 710 people!! 'Owzat?!..

Yes, yesterday's Wedding was an absolute cracker and I'm pleased to say that it all worked out fabulously, despite the long distances between all the venues. We got to Heaton House Farm in plenty of time though, and the highlight of the day had to be the impromptu game of cricket that 'broke out' between the bride and groom, which made some great shots as Jen faced up to the bowling of her new husband as she went in to bat! Two PE teachers, you see! Now that really is a marriage of two halves!

Congratulations, guys .. you bowled me over!

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www.studiofivefour.com

Drive by shooting ..

The sign's in the window and the boy is gone! No time at the studio today as I have an early start on a Wedding over Stockport way. It's going to be one of the more unusual Weddings I'll have done, as there are absolutely miles between each venue. The church is .. wait for it .. 30 miles from where the bride is getting ready, and then we're off to Heaton House Farm, which I reckon is at least another 45 minute drive after the ceremony. Still, it's a lovely day for a tootle in the countryside. I just hope there's going to be time for some photography!!
Laters ..

#culchethportraitstudio
www.studiofivefour.com

A word in yer shell-like ..

I've started bloody scanning again! It was just too tempting! The shelves above me are groaning with prints and slides from years gone by, and I've finally succumbed to their brooding prescence and begun copying them to computer. I'll be about seven years! There are a lot of slides! Lots of Kodachrome, and a fair few old prints from my newspaper days - the negs long gone! Here's an example .. Ian Botham looks about 20 on this shot, an advertising poster going up somewhere in Manchester in the 80s. He's drinking low-alcohol lager, hence the suggestion of damage to his reputation, and when I googled it I came up with this! Bet he wishes he could grow a mullet now! Maybe not!..

I'm off to a local factory again this morning for the postponed recce on a pr shot that requires me to be up high. Only problem is the company's Health and Safety Nazis have decided it's too dangerous for me to go onto the roof! They now think - no tittering at the back - that it'll be fine for me to do a group shot of 200 of their staff .. from a window on the third floor! I'm honestly loath to even try it!
A poor shot like that in front of that many people could seriously damage my reputation! ..

#culchethportraitstudio
www.studiofivefour.com

Here comes the commercial break ..

So now we wait ...

This is the ad I'm running in the new edition of Culcheth's Essential Guide magazine. It came out this week and it's got about 6 weeks to run before the next edition. I can only hope it helps spread the word about StudioFiveFour!

I can't help but be amused by something that quite a lot of people say when they come into the studio. They look at the shots around the walls and ask "Did you take these?" ..  as if I'd just borrowed some other photographer's shots and hung 'em up as mine! Very odd! Maybe they can't believe they're suddenly in the prescence of such genius! Ah, yes .. that's it! They're stunned! Hey, if I can't blow my own trumpet, who will? ..

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www.studiofivefour.com

The waters have broken ..

Ah, this is more like it! The rain pounding on the roof, and the thunder rumbling off into the distance! I'll soon be back to shooting Weddings in a deluge, getting shots like these two guests arriving at a reception earlier in the 'summer'!
I just thank God this downpour didn't happen on St Swithin's day!!
Actually, I've loved the hot weather - although I'm not fat, wheezy or old so I can't complain - though, irony of ironies, I've not had a single Wedding to shoot in the heatwave. No chance to wear my shorts to a Wedding! (You should see some of the reactions I get from guests when I turn up to a Wedding in shorts! Disbelief followed by .. envy! It's great!) Anyway, next irony, I'm off to a factory this morning to do another recce for a PR shoot coming up next month. I've got to shoot about 200 people shaped up on a car park to spell out the name of some project that the company is about to work on; the irony being that we need to see where the sun shines so that we can line 'em up properly!
Ha bloody ha, weather Gods! ..

Stop press: The company has just called to say they can't allow me to go on the roof! Health and Safety! I'm not going to jump off the bloody thing!!...



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www.studiofivefour.com

A toast to the master ..

A 'back-scene' shot for you from my recent Peckforton Castle Wedding. Now, I'll hold my hands up and say that - sometimes - I don't enjoy working with Toastmasters. They can intrude too much on my work with the bride and groom, and can annoy me with their dictation of the timings. Plus, I like to be the one that shouts at the top of my voice when it comes to organising group shots! Having said that, there's a chap I bump into every now and again who really makes my day go with a swing. He's called Stephen Sanders and he'll do anything to help out a busy snapper at a Wedding. Here he is, lugging the bride's veil and my lighting back to the Castle after a photo-session in the woods. (Behave!) The most pleasant of people, he even takes it upon himself to buy me a Guinness after each Wedding we work on together! Anyway, I'm pleased to say that Mr Sanders has now added me as the only photographer on his web-site. Flattery indeed, so I'd like to propose a toast to the dude in the red coat! ..

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www.studiofivefour.com

Hello petal ..

Lots to do today so I'll present you with a few shots I took on the X10 this morning and get on with my day. My Mum's coming this afternoon so .. well, you know .. gotta make sure the place is tidy and there aren't any rogue socks lurking down the back of the sofa! Off to the studio first, though. I have a viewing session with a lady whose grandchild I shot the other day. The pictures are bloomin' lovely! I'm sure she's going to love her little flower ..

PS: Click on the pix to see a larger version!

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www.studiofivefour.com

Set in my ways? ..

I have absolutely no reason to show you this picture today other than I really like it! I reckon I took it in about 1978 and it sort of reminds me of the August Sander 'Faces of our time' portraits from the 1920s. Good honest grafters, captured for posterity by an artist. I know it's one of my old bugbears but it feels more and more like people don't appreciate photography as 'working'! The 'anyone can do it' ethos seems to be hardening. (Yes, there's my cement connection .. forgive me!) Yesterday a lady came into the studio and told me her grandson was a Wedding photographer. I asked if he was busy. "Oh.." she said, mildly horrified "He's got a job, as well!"..

That came about an hour before I was turned down for a job by a company who'd budgeted to pay less than half the amount I'd quoted for a shoot almost 100 miles away! And that on top of a lady who wanted to book me for a birthday party this Saturday - two hours work, all post-production and a CD of all images .. and pay me fifty quid! On the plus side, I've made a great connection with a fashion importer, of all things, and there are great vibes that I'll soon be shooting all their new ranges for their website. Fashion, eh? Who says I'm set in  my ways? ..

#culchethportraitstudio
www.studiofivefour.com

As long as it takes ..

A pal of mine brought up an interesting point after yesterday's blog. He said I shouldn't have made such a to-do about the fact that I got such great photographs in such a short time. But why not? Not everyone likes to spend a long time posing in front of a camera and, with my 35 years experience of press and pr photography, I can make sure they don't have to! If, on the other hand, people want to book in and enjoy the full hour long experience of a shoot at the studio, then bring it on. I love a good session as much as the next guy .. and think how many more great shots we'd get in that time!

Talking of time, it's taken all morning so far for me just to design and get this montage on line. I feel I need to stress to people that the studio isn't just .. erm, a studio! It's also my shop-front! My chance to display and sell my 'other' work .. the black and white documentary photography, the Joy Division, Smiths and other music work and, of course, my Florescence flower photography with its great range of framed prints, coasters and place-mats. It won't catch on just like that, but I'm happy to wait as long as it takes..

#culchethportraitstudio
www.studiofivefour.com

I'm all ears ..

 June is a lady with a unit a few doors down from my studio in the CPS centre, and yesterday she stuck her head around my door and said "Can I just get a quick shot with my grand-daughter?" Well, folks, here's my definition of a 'quick shot'! The meta-data for these files shows there are just two minutes between the first and last shots that I took of the two of them! Two minutes! That quick enough for you?

I was delighted yesterday that I had my second enquiry about shooting head-shots for a newly-qualified actor. (This was actually from a young lady but it seems you can't say 'actress' anymore, but anyway ...!)

Another lady asked about a new portrait for her Linked - In profile, too, and I'm pleased to say there's a real buzz starting now about the studio. I was so excited on Saturday to hear how many people in the pub had heard of my new enterprise. I know I'm in it for the long haul - people won't all suddenly pile in wanting new mug-shots - but, only half-way through my third week, it's great to know the message is getting out there.

So, let me know if you or anyone you know is looking for a new portrait! I'm all ears ..




#culchethportraitstudio
www.studiofivefour.com

Breaking news ..

Well, literally!..

Me zip's bust! I'm going to have to splash out £230 on a new backpack 'cos the fastener's gone on my old one. Mind you, I'm not surprised, the amount of stuff I squished into it! Never mind 3 bodies and everything from a 500mm mirror lens to a 10.5 fish-eye, I was going through the pockets the other day and found a roll of cellotape, a rain mac and a whatdyamacallit of solidified foundation make-up in there! Poor bag! As Scottie might have said .. "She canna take it any more, Cap'n.."

Actually, the real breaking news is that I've just had four of my music photographs selected for new clothing designs in Tokyo. Well, T shirts and a baseball cap, don't ya know! Oooh, I've never had me shots on a hat before! How to get ahead in photography, eh? I'll have a bag of that, any day...

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www.studiofivefour.com

In the picture ..

I'll admit I was a little disappointed this weekend when I was 'turned down' by a bride who's booked a different photographer to cover her Big Day. More than that, though, I was annoyed! Annoyed at the reason she gave for going with another snapper. She said that, as she was 'only' having a small Wedding, she didn't think my 100 image package was 'realistic', as she didn't think there'd be 100 photographs to take! What? Missed the point, completely! Brides to be .. take heed! The guests at your Wedding are ONE SHOT ! Doesn't matter if you've got 400 guests .. or four! They are one picture, and the rest of the day will generally pan out in exactly the same way at every Wedding, with tons of fantastic photographs to take of you and your husband on what is always a fabulous day.

So .. spend the money! Get those memories! Oh, and to the photographer who got that bride's gig .. Good Luck!

#culchethportraitstudio
www.studiofivefour.com


Stop Press: Well, you get these days sometimes, don't you? I had an enquiry last week about shooting a birthday party, and chased the lady up today to see if she'd made any decision. She had! She'd 'decided to leave it' as she'd only wanted to pay £50 for my services. Fifty Pounds! Fifty Pounds for a professional photographer to cover a 'landmark' birthday party .. on a Saturday night, one-to-two hours' attendance, post-production and all images on CD! I'm sorry, I think she mistook me for a student! Sigh...

Oh, my! ..

Two ladies walked past the studio yesterday. They'd obviously just met up after a long time. "Oh, my .." said one to the other "Sounds like you have a lot of things to tell me!"

Oh, my? When did you last hear someone say 'Oh, my'..? Mind you, 'Oh, my' is exactly what I was thinking after a chat with a lady at the corporate 'do' I was shooting on Tuesday. She told me that her grand-daughter had just graduated in photography after a three and half year degree course, and the only job she could get was as a Schools Photographer! Oh, my! I mean, no disrespect to Schools Photographers (!) but it's not exactly worth all that study now, is it?

And, oh my, I've just read that Nokia are bringing out a phone with a 41 meg camera in it! The theory is, it says here, that the resolution is so good that people basically only need to randomly aim their camera .. oops, sorry .. phone! .. at a subject, and be able to pull out the relevant, needed, part of the shot at a later date. A bit like the chap who stopped at my studio the other day who, on seeing that I did portraits, took out his phone and said "I'll show you a good photo, mate!.." It was a picture of his daughter, in a swimming pool, about 40 yards away! Sigh! One day soon it'll dawn on all the darling punters that technology doth not maketh a photographer. Oh me, oh my ..it doth not!

#culchethportraitstudio - www.studiofivefour.com

Stars in their .. windows!

Just in case anyone was in any doubt as to what I do in the studio! I put this sign up yesterday with a list of my 'services' .. I think I've only missed off pedicures and dog walking, but it gives you a good idea, doesn't it? The whole place is looking so good now, and I can't wait 'til it really gets known and becomes a popular name in the Culcheth and Cheshire area. I'm off there now to shoot .. Wedding Cakes! Yes, how ironic! I've got 18 Wedding cakes to shoot for the website of the Amazing Cake Company. They have a unit a few doors down from me in the CPS Centre, and they'll be bringing across an assortment of their goodies throughout the day. Let's just hope it doesn't end in tiers! Tiers! Ha .. oh, never mind...

#culchethportraitstudio
www.studiofivefour.com

How to get a head in photography! ..

Seemed simple enough! Get a shot of Saul, without a smile, for his new passport! Fine, except nobody told Saul, so we had a great laugh yesterday when I shot the first passport photographs in my new studio. Look at this fab range of expressions and fun .. you don't get that when you go to a photo-booth, do you? Funnily enough, I also took a head shot for an American Visa and when I got back to the Mac ... aha, that's when the fun started! The sizes needed for the two images were completely different. The Yanks want a two-inch square photo, with the size of the head being one to one and three-eighths inches within the frame. The Brit pic was 45 millimetres, with a head size between 29 and 34mm! Cripes, it took me flippin' ages! Still, the templates are made now, and I'm up and running, ready for the mass rush for passports!

I shot a corporate PR soirée yesterday lunchtime, too. It was in one of the venues for the Manchester International Festival, The Glass House, and yes, it did live up to its name, but at least I was in shorts and sandals and not suit and tie like half the guests! Funnily enough, I've always shot summer Weddings in 'cool' clothing - with the permission of the bride, of course - but the summers have been so useless lately that asking if I can wear shorts hasn't even registered on my radar! My knobbly knees at a Wedding? Now there's a passport to glory ...

www.studiofivefour.com
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Don't hang about ..

My Dad would have been 80 today! Flippin' 'eck! Happy Birthday, you old fart! He was very often the 'model' whenever I wanted to try out a new piece of camera equipment or practice with my portraiture. Not a reluctant model, either .. as you can see! I'm reminded of a sign above the bar in the Brown Cow, where we used to drink. It said 'Old age is a privilege denied to many'. I'm not trying to be drippy here, but I suppose all I'm saying is that life is precious, and it's got to be lived to the full ..

Don't hang about ..

Did you see Count Arthur Strong on the box last night? Steve Delaney's a comedian who's managed to turn blundering old age into the most hilarious of situations! For the first time in ages I was wiping tears of laughter from my eyes. I wonder what my Dad would have made of it? ..

On a wing and a sun-bed ..

As promised, a selection of photographs of people who travelled all the way to Lincoln this weekend, spent good money to get into an Air Show then .. went to sleep! I told you I'd find some, and I honestly don't know how they do it! I mean, those jets are loud! Anyway, just to let you know I did photograph one or two of the aircraft but, yes, I generally used the cameras to 'crowd-watch' yesterday - hey, how many flippin' shots of the Red Arrows does one man need? Top show, though, Waddington! Well done ...

Back to the studio this morning, and I aim to have all the blinds fitted to the windows by close of play today.. or maybe tomorrow (Hey it's sunny out!)  My first 'baby portrait' is booked for Saturday morning and I want the place to be fully operational and swinging!

Before that, a quick edit of Friday's Wedding and erm .. oh, yes! Breakfast!
Must fly ..

#culchethportraitstudio

The sun shines ..

I had a great day at Peckforton Castle yesterday - albeit slightly rushed as we didn't get too long between ceremony and soup - and absolutely everybody wanted to say hello and congratulations to Claire and Bobby! Oh, those pesky wedding guests!! I love this shot on the stairwell, though. I just knew the bride was going to hit this shaft of sunlight as she walked down to the ceremony, and got myself ready to smack that shutter as soon as she got there.

I'm hoping there'll be shafts of sunlight aplenty this weekend, as I'm off for my annual 'Jet-fuel' fest .. the air-show at RAF Waddington. The Red Arrows, The Vulcan - hopefully! - and lots of shots of weird people who choose to travel to Lincoln, lie down in a field full of noisy aircraft .. and go to sleep! Never quite worked that one out, but it's incredible how many people you see snoozing on the air-field. I will show you photos on Monday .. just to prove it! Set myself a challenge there, but I know I'll come up with the goods. The sun always shines on the righteous, and all that ...

Dat's what I'm talkin' about ..

I feel brilliant today! If I were in a film right now I'd be on a sunlit patio on a Tuscan hillside, leaning back from a wine-laden table after a hearty, healthy meal. I'd smile smugly, wave my cigar at the scenery and say - in a gruff Bronx Gangster accent - "Now dat's what I'm talkin' about!..."

You see - and I'm sorry if you're just about to spend all day in an office - it's a glorious summer's morning, with clear blue skies and the sun already warm .. and I'm off to shoot a Wedding at Peckforton Castle. A gorgeous couple, a happy crowd, an amazing backdrop and three sizzling Nikons! Oh .. and I get paid, as well! Now dat's what I'm talkin' about!

The writing's on .. the windows!

Bloody hell, that's handy...

The unit that is now StudioFiveFour used to be a cake shop and my friend Gail, the owner, had some opaque transfers made to cover a couple of the windows. They list a variety of events for which she makes cakes .. Weddings, Birthdays, Corporate Events, Christenings .. and so on! You seeing a theme here? Yes sirreeee, they're exactly the kinds of things I shoot as a photographer! It's like the screens were specifically designed .. for me! How lucky is that?

Of course, it's behind those screens that the magic happens, dudes! Curiosity is getting the word out there now, and I've already had both the third portrait enquiry and my third Wedding enquiry since I opened. Actually, make that my first Wedding booking from the studio! A lovely couple called Victoria and Mike came in yesterday evening to have a chat, and booked me there and then for their Wedding next year. Well, when I say next year, I mean in 421 days and twenty hours! That's how long it was as of last night until their Wedding. Vix has an app on her phone that's merrily counting down until the Big Day! Bloody hell, that's handy..

#culchethportraitphotography

About time! ..

Well, there you go! I have my first studio shoot in the bag, and how appropriate that its subject was longevity! It's a picture of a friend of mine with his Grandad's Grandad's pocket watch .. a reassuring symbol that I'm in this for the long haul! (Or am I just reading too much into all of this!?) Anyway, felt great to be working lights, moving backdrops, directing 'models' .. oh, yes .. me likey lots .. and good to know that this shot has had no photoshop trickery thrown at it at all. It's just pure lighting and angle! Ace! Speaking of longevity, I also had a 'walk-in' Wedding enquiry yesterday .. for 2015! Cool! Oh, by the way, you can see a couple of shots of the studio here, and there's a really groovy fact about the it that .. oh, I'll tell you tomorrow .. haven't got time now! 

#culchethportraitphotography

I want jam on it ..

Day one at the studio and the ironic thing was .. I had to shut up shop at lunchtime to go on a half-day PR shoot! How funny! Yes, I spent the afternoon on site at a factory in Manchester working my way through a list of requested shots for the company's web-site! The shot I'm showing you today had nothing to do with yesterday, by the way,  but it just illustrates the variety a booking like that presents to a photographer. Over three locations at the site I had to shoot staff portraits, a group presentation, office shots of staff handling phone enquiries, a factory-based 'repair' picture .. and a studio shot of a clear-glass trophy that the company had been presented with. That's actually the picture that took longest, as I was having such trouble trying to read the etching on the glass whilst hiding all the reflection from the surrounding light. Actually, the perfect shot for a studio! Hey ho...

My first portrait shoot at the studio is at 11 o'clock this morning! How exciting, though I must try not to get carried away and start shooting too many angles! The chap has a job to get back to, after all! There's already interest, too, from a couple of mums who fancy having their children photographed. Won't be long before the studio's buzzing and the word is out about Studio54! Great!..

#culchethportraitstudio

A nation of shop-keepers .. + one!

In one of the weirdest pairings ever, the comedian John Shuttleworth and renowned photographer Martin Parr went off to the Shetland Islands to make a 'mockumentary' called 'It's nice up North'.(Available on DVD from all good stockists!) I mention this today because there's a really appropriate line in the film. John introduces Martin as a 'photographer' but adds "He can't be a proper one, 'cos he doesn't do Weddings and he hasn't got a shop!"

Well, ladies and gentlemen, from today I am officially legitimate, because I do do Weddings .. and I have got a shop! Hurrah.....

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