Normalness ..

Dare I say there's a hint of 'normalness' re-appearing in our lives? I've had my first photo-shoot in the studio since February - the delightful young ladies above - and, last week, I had to photograph the newly-elected Mayor and council for our commune. I've also had enquiries for a Wedding and a shoot at a property ..

Good news on the gîte front too, as La Galerie welcomes new guests today, our first since March ..

Covid 19 hasn't gone away but, thank God, the stark reality of life in lockdown is starting to fade ..

Is 'normalness' a word? It is now ..

Oh, baby ..

It's been a long time since I wrote about portrait photography, so I'm delighted to be able to show you this photograph and say  .. my new studio is up and running!

Some friends popped in yesterday for a quick shoot  .. and a chance for me to get my bearings again after a gap of so long. I thought it was appropriate that my first photographs were of a new-born and I'm really happy with the way things went. Oh, baby .. it feels good!

A quick plug ..

A picture paints a 1000 words, and this one says it all. There can be no clearer sign that we're here to stay in France than this pile of old UK plugs, electrical timers and extensions leads, photographed just before I dumped them all at the tip. No need for any of these any more..

There's been no end of helpful information when it comes to places to visit in our new home country. People are very forthcoming with advice on what to see and where to go. But, do you know what? It can all wait until next year. Next year we'll head north, we'll drive south, we'll eat there, we'll go and see that cathedral but, for this year .. we're staying at home. Staying at home and enjoying our very first full summer in France. Staying at home and tending our garden. Staying at home and welcoming new guests to the gîte. Staying at home and enjoying parties with all our new friends, both French and English. Staying at home and taking photographs in my new studio. Oh, have I mentioned that already?
Oh well, there's nothing wrong with another quick plug.. 

All smiles ..

My studio used to be in a shopping mall above our local Sainsbury's supermarket. Today, exactly one year and three days since I closed it, I got a phone-call from a lady who wanted me to photograph her dog ..

"I'm afraid I've closed the studio down .." I said.
"Oh, have you?", she said "I don't go up there very often" ..
Folks, I almost cracked a smile ..

Anyway, none of this moping about the past .. it's all about the future now, with tomorrow's Wedding in Liverpool being at the forefront of my mind. It's the first Wedding I'll have shot in Liverpool for .. well, I can't even remember, it's been so long. It's a nice challenging one as well, with only an hour to shoot the photographs after the ceremony .. just the sort of adrenalin rush I thrive on.

Folks, I definitely will be smiling ..

Up and running ..

Safe to say my new studio space is well and truly up and running after a great photo-shoot yesterday. The lovely Charlotte displayed the patience of a saint as I fussed and faffed about with my lights, trying out the best places to put them and checking out my different modifiers. My new venue is a lot bigger than the old studio I had and oh, the joy of all that space. I was in heaven! Ok, I was in The Village Club in Culcheth but it looks like I'll be there for a long time to come ..

Don't forget, I have an opening offer of a family portrait at just £20, so gizza bell and get a booking arranged toute suite! Meantime, check out a selection of shots from yesterday. Not bad for a 'dress rehearsal', eh?..

Cold showers ..

Oh no .. not more showers! Hahaha, see what I did there? A little play on words, reference the Great British Summer, seeing as it's raining again as I write this and I'm bloomin' well fed up with it. Anyway, that's not the subject of today's blog ..

Actually, just to put you in the picture, this shot was taken in Greece on my 6x6 Yashica and was part of an exhibition called 'Trace' at the old Cornerhouse in Manchester. They printed me some postcards featuring the shot and if you'd like one just let me know, 'cos I've got about 5 million of 'em left ..

I told you I'd had some good news. I announced on a Culcheth Facebook page that I was closing my studio and, within about two hours, I'd been phoned by a chap at our local Village Club asking if I'd like to use the facilities there to shoot any future portrait sessions. Would I? You betcha! So, the upshot is that I'll be shipping all my gear across there and will be up and running by the end of this month. I can't wait. People coming in for portraits will now be able to get a coffee or a beer, or something to eat, and make a proper day out of the whole photography experience. How brilliant! In fact, I'm getting so excited I think I'd better go for a cold shower ..    

Stexit? ..

In or out, remain or leave? Well folks, it's been a tough decision and I've thought about it long and hard but now, this Monday morning, I can tell you I've decided to leave ..

Oh, sorry .. not the EU, I'm talking about my studio. This week marks the third anniversary of its opening and, to mark the occasion ... I'm shutting it down ..

Yes, tears all round but reality must be faced up to and the cold hard fact is this ..
it just hasn't worked! Quite simply, not enough people have come along to be photographed and it sits there empty, day after soul-destroying day ..

However, all is not lost and, in true EU style, I am about to renegotiate my position and will have some good news by this time next week. I already have a new plan in place meaning I'll still be able to offer studio photography and I'll be able to offer more 'location' photography to the good people of the North West. So it's onwards and upwards and, like a certain other story that's knocking about, I've taken control of my borders and opened up my markets ..   

Let's hear it for Stexit .. 

Come on you reds ..

It's amazing how things work out sometimes. I had a portrait session booked at the studio yesterday morning and I was determined I'd try out a new red backdrop I'd recently bought. Well, who should walk in but a lovely redhead .. in a red dress! You can't make this stuff up! What a fab shot, and what a great debut for my backdrop. Hey, perhaps it's a sign. Maybe The Reds will come up with the goods at Wembley next Saturday. I certainly hope so .. 

After dark ..

Excuse the rather grainy camera-phone image, but I wanted to show you what my studio now looks like at night. I've had some new canvas prints made and the two in the window are a portrait of a little baby and a shot of a bride who married at Peckforton Castle. I've rigged up a couple of lamps to shine through them with the aim, obviously, of drawing people's attention to the fact that I'm up there.

I'll be up there most of today actually as I have a lovely family shoot to do, as well as two appointments with prospective 'Brides-to-be'. After that, funnily enough, I'm back at Peckforton Castle. Not to shoot a Wedding, but to enjoy afternoon tea as part of a family birthday celebration. I'm thinking it'll be after dark by the time I get back home again .. 

Here comes the summer ..

Right, that's the Shortest Day out of the way, and off we go towards summer.
I swear it got light a little earlier this morning!..

As you can tell, I'm not the biggest fan of wintertime, and my idea of heaven is being able to grumble at the cacophony that is the dawn chorus on a spring morning when it's already getting light by five. However, you make the most of what you've got, so my flash guns are charging, ready to light next Sunday's Wedding..

Last shoot of the year at the studio this morning - tomorrow's has been cancelled due to tonsillitis - but what a way to end 2015. I had the most awkward two-year-old I think I've ever had in the studio today, and I know I can say she was because Grandma agreed! She just would not play ball .. and then blew me a kiss as she left the studio! The kid, not Grandma! It brought a ray of sunshine to the morning..

Squeaky Pig Man!..

Well, I've never been called that before! "Look.." said a lady, as she brought her baby into the studio today "It's Squeaky Pig Man!"..

She wasn't being rude of course, she was referring to one of the many toys I use to catch the attention of youngsters that I'm photographing. In fact, I've become quite adept at using my camera one-handed as I juggle with a glove puppet on the other! Hey, I've got no problem doing whatever it takes if it puts a smile on the face of a nipper. In fact "You should be a child entertainer.." is something else I hear in the studio quite often. Well, if ever the photography dries up .. oink, oink ...!

Calendar girl ..

Hello, hello, what's going on here then?..

Well nothing actually, it was all coming off .. ha, ha .. but all for a good cause, I promise you! Yes, I forgot to tell you about a little Boudoir shoot I did at the studio recently with a very nice lady called Janice. Actually, I didn't forget! She just made me promise not to say anything until now, as the shots are for a charity calendar she's organised, and it's not being released until this week...

Well now the wraps are off, so to speak, and I can show you the two images I took for it. Apparently it now seems only one is going into the calendar but that's ok - I used to work for the Manchester Evening News, I'm used to having my work chopped!! ...

Boudoir shoots are something I've always offered although, I'll admit, I've not had very much interest from the ladies. Recently, though, I launched a service offering brides-to-be an opportunity to give their new hubbies a nice framed Boudoir print as a Wedding present, but it occurred to me that the guys might want to do the same thing for their ladies, too, so I named the offer 'For His/Her eyes only'. I should get my copy of the calendar this Friday. I wonder how many of those shoots I'll be marking down in it .. 

Two today! ..

Two today! Culcheth Photo Studio has been open for two years exactly!..

Well, what can I say? The honest answer is .. I'm amazed I'm still here! I'll hold my hands up and say it hasn't been quite as busy as I'd have liked, and I've been on the verge of closing down quite a few times. However, it's lovely to have 'a place of my own' and I intend to keep it on as long as is economically viable. I thought two pictures of other 'struggling' brothers - taken on my travels - would be appropriate images for today! Here's to the next two years...

Landscape v People ..

Back from a quick break in the Cotswolds. Walking, hills, sheep, ye olde pubs .. all that sort of thing! Had a great time although my shots will confirm I ain't no landscape photographer. Well, that's 'cos I ain't interested in being a landscape photographer, and I've never really seen another photographer's landscape photo that's made me feel like .. wow!..

So, I stuck to what I do and took photographs like this one. It's quite amusing, actually. There I am, in front of an 800 year old church - rooks squawking on the gargoyles, steeple clock clanking out the half-hour as it's done for God knows how long (Well, he would, wouldn't he!) .. and I see three bins lined up next to three tombstones! Picture! Ha ..

Anyway, I've seen enough grass to last me now, so it's studio head back on today and a heap of print orders to get out before I shoot another family portrait tomorrow morning and a christening on Sunday.
Landscape v people? People, every time!..

Getting shirty ..

Now I'm not exactly Richard Branson, but I am a bit of a one for self-promotion. You may have noticed! Anyway, some geezers were flogging off these shirts on an online Photographers' group, and I just knew I had to have one! Keep calm and let the photographer handle it! It should be my mantra for any new Wedding bookings. Especially for the brides who worry I may not have been shooting them long enough! Thirty-six years long enough? Oh, that reminds me : I'm meeting another new bride at the studio this morning. Better crack on! Now, what shall I wear?..

Summertime ..

I seem to have been taking it a little easy this week - work's not exactly been stretching me these past few days - and then there's been football, nice weather, Stella Artois, gardening, gin and tonic..

.. although, when I think about it, I have been quite busy! I've been manning the studio, doing my accounts, calibrating my printer - so much so that I've used up all me bloody ink! - shooting a commercial portrait, booking a couple of new shoots, spotting pimples off a portrait of a teenager - and fake tan-coloured arm-pits off another! - meeting new brides, contacting PR companies, adding new images to my archive - see above -  .. and now I'm gearing up for Saturday's Wedding!
See? There's always something to be done when you work for yourself!
So - actually - I think I am due a little more me time in the garden!
Laters..

Spot on ..

Now and again I'll wake up with a spot on my chin or my nose and think 'Brilliant! I'm still young!' .. and I laughed at that thought this morning as I ploughed my way through a photoshop zit-fest, trying to remove all the purple unpopped pimples from a shot of a pasty-faced teenager!
Ah, memories! I must have kept the Germolene factory on overtime when I was growing up!

That particular portrait is one of quite a few that have suddenly dropped into the lap of the studio this past fortnight, giving me a good run of really fun shoots and topped off with an email that came in last night from two of the sitters. "Absolutely delighted!.." they say "The photographs reflect what a lovely morning we had" ..

Now that, my friends, is spot on..

Posing the question ..

Trumpets! Fanfare! Mucho celebration! My studio's been open for a year! Hurrah! I made it! I'm really pleased!..

With today's anniversary comes the end of the 'Free Portrait Shoot' promotion that I was running, and I'd like to thank everyone that took advantage of it. I'll confess it wasn't a exactly a rip-roaring success - the floodgates didn't exactly open - but it was worth the effort and there are just that many more people around now who know about the studio.

I do feel that it's time for some kind of a reality check, though. When I opened the studio a lot of people told me that portrait photography was dead. The camera-phone is king, and all that! Hmm ...  what to say to that? Well, I think it's got a slight cold, that's all. Portrait photography is feeling a bit yukky but, once its nose has stopped running, it'll be back. Stronger, fitter .. and looking for a great acrylic framed black and white image for the front room! That's what I think! Eventually, and as the economy improves, it'll dawn on people that the camera-phone just doesn't cut it. Actually - re-wind - the camera-phones these days are bloody good, but the lighting and scope for posing that a studio offers are always going to be better than anything you can do on your Samsung. That's when I'll be ready, Nikon in hand, and with the confidence that a year of running a studio has brought me. Will I still be here in another year? Now there's a question! Happy Birthday, StudioFiveFour!...

  

Concentration ..

I'm starting today's blog with absolutely no idea what to write about! Trouble is, there's too much to write about, so I really need to concentrate! Hmmm .. subjects! Well, there was my Uncle's funeral yesterday - a sad occasion of course but, like all these events, a great chance to catch up with the relatives and an opportunity to vow to strengthen family ties! Then there's been the World Cup, the First Communion shoot, the 50th birthday party, the latest Wedding album I'm designing, the stirrings of a really interesting new project that actually doesn't involve photography - it involves music - hint, hint! - and the fact that, next week, I'm going to run a fantastic portrait competition to celebrate .. wait for it .. my first year in the studio! Jeez! I'd better stop writing .. and concentrate!

Oh, the photo? It's from a school prospectus shoot I did last month. Love this shot and I'm quite sure I just looked exactly the same as I typed out this blog!...

Slice of the pie ..

Subtitled : Where there's a web there's a way!
Yes, it seems that photography for websites is the way forward for me, and in just the last couple of months I've taken the pictures for a school website and the sites for a luxury country cottage, a delicatessen, a cheese factory, a shipping company, a pub and a museum! The studio's also been busy with the internet stock photography for, of all things, a model railway company! Now how's that for variety? Looks like I'm getting a bigger and bigger slice of the pie!..