It is dedicated to photography for business. It has examples of my photography that has been used in a business context (Marketing, Web, PR etc.).

If you would like to see it in the flesh why not get in touch or  if you can read an ePUB file you can download it here http://bit.ly/Ab6g7Z

Here are a few images of the book

Many years (20!!) ago my driving instructor said to me that because cameras (film in those days) where so good that photography was all down to luck. You can be lucky with a photograph, but to get repeated ‘luck’ you really need to know what you are doing, that is why, then as well as now, there is still need for a pro photographer.

I own a pen it doesn’t make me a writer (as you can probably tell by my short blog posts!!).

He was an odd character, confident and nervous(??), almost like a little boy, very weird. So here are a few of the out takes of him pulling faces. Childish, I know, but fun.

He is as you probably already know from one of my previous posts the same age as me,I thought he was in his late forties. I think I have aged better.

Anyway here are the pictures

The SUN awards is a showcase  for the best professional photography in the North of England.

I would like to thanks all those involved in the SUN Awards and the judges for picking one of my images. It is much appreciated, I am delighted and well done to Jonathan Oakes the winner.

Here is my image and and the online book

I was originally going to launch this in September but I have had some good news over the weekend that is likely to clash with the launch.

So here goes

The idea behind the project came about after hearing that Preston Bus Station is going to be demolished to make way for the Tithebarn project. I once hated this building, I thought it was ugly and smelly and old fashioned. How my ideas have changed. As readers of this blog will know I am a huge fan of 1960’s architecture, not all of it ,but there are some gems out there that are works of art. They have been unloved for years and are looking grubby and as a result people want to get rid. Preston Bus Station is one of these buildings, lets us not be too hasty in destroying what we consider ugly today which we will no doubt regret in years to come. I realise that towns and cities have to move on and there is no use in preserving the past just for the sake of it but when something is clearly unique then surely it warrants preservation.

Admittedly Preston Bus Station is not looking its best, it has been neglected, some might say deliberately to call for it demolition. It just needs a bit of TLC, not a lick of paint but a sympathetic renovation. This was once a brave vision of the future, clean modern, efficient albeit in the wrong part of town. Lets keep it.

I hope my pictures show some of the wonderful shapes this building creates against the skyline.

Here is the link

http://www.padams.co.uk/preston-bus-station-lancashire-photography

Any comments would be very welcome

I think there is a realisation that to get good photography takes time and money. It is worth it (well I would say that). Give the photographer space and time to develop ideas and you will get much much better quality images. Expecting photography to be done as quick and therefore as cheap as possible is counter productive, we are not plumbers on an hourly rate. One thing I am now indicating to clients is that they are not buying my time but buying a license to commercially exploit the images I produce. There has to be a time element involved but that is worked into the fee along with usages and any expenses.

So long may this busy time continue. I hope mentioning it has not brought about it’s demise.

Bye!

PS Just had a job cancelled on me, damn!!

I have know Carlton for around 15years and we have worked on projects together many times. Carlton is a photographer in his own right and runs the his succesful wedding photography business and produces personal work for his website Skin Storm.

The idea behind this shoot was to ‘balance’ his head in the bottom right hand corner of the frame. As you can see the only light source is window light from the right hand side. I already had planned that it was going to be in black and white.

When I first shot this I was not entirely happy with the result and set up another set of images which I was very pleased with, however I revisted this image and started to prefer it.

Often is the case that images can look better weeks after the shoot, at the time you can be too close to the image and not see it for what it is.

Here are the alternative rejected images

Debra is a kind and fun person so after much I thought I decided it would be interesting to photograph her on a swing. I suggested the idea to her and she was up for it. During the planning of the shoot Debra suggested getting Andrew Greenwood from The Dove Company involved who has a business letting of doves at weddings etc. I thought why not give it a go, it wasn’t in my plan but it would be a fun thing to do even if I did not use the picture.

We set a date for the shoot and met at Debra’s house. The shoot was to take place in the park across the road from Debra’s house.

It was a beautiful warm summers day. I had a clear idea on how I wanted the image to look and needed to overcome the bright sunlight, so I set up my lighting gear at set to work.

We decided the first shoot should be without the doves.We had to do many test shots just to get Debra at the correct angle for the shot I wanted. It was one shot at a time as the lighting kit was on full power to overcome the sunlight, so no chance of using a high frames per second.

It took some time just to get it right. I did a little post production just to darken the edges and get the shot I wanted.

The dove shot was a different matter all together, we only had 9 doves, we used one at a time for the first 5 test shots. We had to time it so the doves flew past Debra at the correct point in the swing, we then had four takes with the next four doves to get it right. I think we got there in the end but it not what I had originally had in mind but is was fun anyway.

Here is the chosen shot and one of the dove shots.