The Movement Movement

Finally the first edition of the Movement Movement has been released and I shot the cover story last summer. The piece is about a English professional rugby player Poppy Cleall . What a jokes shoot, we didn’t havePoppy for long but we made sure we got the shots we needed and had a laugh doing it. 

Running backwards whilst Poppy is charging towards me is challenging definitely took some skill not to fall over and to stop everyone from laughing. 

Just watching xxx train with her fellow team mates had me in awe, you could see the skill and dominance she has, she really looked like she was on another level. she’d put me on my arse in a match I’m sure of it. An absolute pleasure to work with Poppy and Ellie on this piece. 

Be sure to grab yourself the first copy of the Movement a movement Here.

Also, the magazine features a piece on The Southwark Stars Woman’s team. Now this was a great day. Anyone who knows me and my work, know that I have worked closely with Southwark Stars FC over the last two years. 

Seeing the team being represented again and this time in print really does make it all very rewarding. Such a sweet bunch & their manager Louis is an absolute legend. 

We shot this piece during the hight of summer, probably on the hottest day of the year. It was the first time the woman’s team had played a competitive match. It wasn’t the easiest day for them, the lack of female players in the disability league was telling this day. With the team coming up against very well drilled and physically big and stronger players, I think the pictures tell this story. 

Saying that, the women held their own and scored a few goals, even getting a win in one of their matches. 

We really captured some beautiful images that day and everyone had a laugh, ending the day meeting MC Harvey from So Solid Crew. LOL!

Head over to the People & Places section to see more images from this day. 

Jack Williams - Backyard BBQ & Grilling Book

I recently shot my first cook book with TV chef Jack Williams. It’l was a real pleasure working with Jack over several days, both on location and his home kitchen. 

It’s funny when you turn on the TV & see the book and supporting images being broadcasted.

Jacks a top bloke and look forward to producing more work with him in the near future. 

Head over to the Food section to see more images & click Here to order the book. 

Thanks again to Jack, Gyles & Sarah at The Riverside 

Ecoligi - Offsetting our business

I’ve thought about this for sometimes, how can I make the business more sustainable and eco friendly? I try and recycle as much as I can on shoots, bringing my own water bottle, coffee cups, cutlery etc… but I want to do more.

So I’m happy to announce that I have signed up to Ecoligi

It’s a small start, but hope that it’s the start of something good. I’ll also be looking at local events benefiting the local environment, such as local clean ups of areas in and around London.

Flamingo Advert

My latest work for Flamingo has just released, both the advert and original image can be found under Still Life.

Personal Projects, work in progress or one to forget?

I have made many Instagram posts over the years saying that I’d write about my experience when shooting Mochimno between 2016-2018, but have yet to write post any BTS let alone write about my experience and how one project and it’s failings turned into what would evidently become Mochimono, a series of still life images documenting the personal effects of people who were either displaced or died during the Great Tohoku Earthquake of 2011.

As the end of year hard drive merging and clear out begins I was going through some old files I took in 2018 on a trip to Japan, similar region to where I shot my initial project. I’ve always wanted to document the remains of the towns that were left to rot following the melt down at the Daichi Nuclear Power Planet in 2011.

For me the biggest issue was access, transport and potential punishment from the local Japanese authorities. As Japan is somewhere I visit yearly and don’t wish to be bared from visiting. Now that I have the access to a car, I feel that such a project could gain some ground and be a little more realistic, regardless of access.

when I shot Mochimono and even the ground work of the images and experiences I will be discussing here, it was all done on foot. I would travel as far as I possibly could by local means and then walk from there. This way of working had it’s up downs. Being able to go off the beat and track and access places not possible by car were essential to the trip. Where the latter I’d find myself standing in the pouring rain lugging an over filled backpack in the back end of winter in the middle of no where and restricted by bus/train time tables.

It’s nearly 2022 and two years since I’ve been to Japan [due to this pandemic*]. Two years is a long time and even when visiting North Eastern areas during 2016 -2019 I would find that a lot would change. I’d be curious to visit some of the areas that I had previously taken photos and see how different they are, not for a photographic perspective, but just out of curiosity.

Untitled, 2018. An abandoned car in the ‘No Go Zone’.

The key thing here is time, how much has it changed? I know there is still plenty to document, I’m sure of it, but as with the initial ground work of Mochimono, which was going to be a landscape project, I found that upon visiting the areas I researched, they had changed greatly over five years. This is a whole post in itself, so I’ll save that for the long over due post about that series, but to say the least I was ‘disappointed’, if that’s the right word? Long story short it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing and being ground level wasn’t the way to document the now baron areas.

I wish I posted these images at the time of taking them, this is something I’m very bad at. Even now I’m yet to post them on my website, let alone Instagram and other social platforms. I like a handful of images from the time I spend exploring these areas. I find it difficult as visually it was very interesting and as I wasn’t sure what type of images I was intending to create, I would therefore shoot various things, from still life to architectural landscapes.

Looking back, I now know how I’d shoot the project. Maybe it’s the nostalgia of looking back fondly at these images and the days spending just wandering care free, but there is a part of me that wishes to actually get this project off the ground.

Untitled, 2018.

One of two abandoned supermarkets I found on my travels. The smell was revolting, this was likely due to animals finding their way in and having their way with the place, hence all the brown.

Geek Corner - APSC and going forward with the GF system

I recently traded in my GFX50R to upgrade to the GFX100, as I saw a deal that I just couldn’t refuse.

At the time of trading it, I thought I’d receive the camera next day, but that wasn’t to be. A commission came in and I’m without my GF system.

I opted to use my XT3 for the [still life] shoot. A system I got for video and I think I’ve only ever shot actual work on it, and that was 10 days ago. The video quality is still incredible and something I really need to make more use of.

I’ve always been a little apprehensive with shooting anything commercial on and APSC camera, video fine, but It’s always best to offer the best possible quality file and I fee APSC can’t touch Medium Format [and even the latest full frame tech], wether that’s Fujifilm or Phase, in terms of image detail and quality. 

Granted you’re paying significantly less for a APSC Fuji than your are a GFX or a medium format flagship. But going from Medium Format back to APSC, I just can’t warrant shooting still life/food on such a sensor size. Sure when you post it on a website or socials, you’d probably be hard pressed to tell what system it’s been shot on.

But in terms of detail, crop-ability and the latitude in the file in post, APSC just can’t compete. APSC is fine for your prosumer/everyday person, and some commercial work, but I’d always reach for my GF system, even opting for an R5 over an APSC for commercial purposes.

With that said, I love my X100V & XT3, and the image quality, colour is perfect for shooting everyday life & any of the more documentary/reportage football.

For my needs the 50R, in terms of image quality is far more than I need. Though I felt the 50R’s performance and handling was feeling a little tired, I noticed this on a job recently.

Outside of shooting on a tripod the camera isn’t that comfy to operate for long periods, especially with larger lenses. Walking around taking occasional shots is fine, but to do a full blown shoot [hand held] is very uncomfortable, but that’s not what this camera is made for.

Saying that, the form factor of the 50R does lend itself more to travel shooting. I could easily put in my bag & with no real issues and not draw too much attention to myself. The 100 on the other hand resembles a flag ship DLSR, and there is no chance I’ll be taking that away with me, unless for work/personal project.

As I can now switch from stills to video on the GF system on a shoot, opposed to using the XT3. I have started to ask myself if I’ll move away from the X Series of cameras?

I’m really waiting to see how APSC sensor technology develops. There is talks of a 40+ APSC system coming sometime in 2022. At this time the XT3 is more than enough for the kind of work I use that system for and I don’t ever see myself using the APSC systems for still life/food anyway [unless for video].

I did start writing about future sensor tech, but this is for another post. It’s far too technical [boring] for most peoples tastes.

At the time I was pretty happy to part ways with the 50R, but it hit me that I do in-fact miss this system, and that it’s the reason I decided to even write a post about the 100. Ultimately I hope Fujifilm release a 100MP or even a 50MP + sensor in the R series but with phase detect auto focus & useable video as it really is a lovely system and one I will sorely miss.

And just to round things up, here’s are the pro’s and cons.

Pros

• Imagine quality is unrivalled at its price point.

• 4k 4.2.2 10 Bit - The 50 series were just unusable when it came to video

• Handling - More comfy than the 50R

• USB C Charging

• E-Ink screen is nice, but will miss the dials

• Histogram on the top/back screen

• Larger lenses are better suited to this body

• IBIS - first camera I own to have such a system

Cons [More Dislikes, there’s no bad cameras these days]

• I can’t see myself taking this system away with my on non job related trips, just too big and ‘pro’ looking.

• The lack of dials, but then again this is a work tool, nothing more. The 50R & Subsequent Fujifilm cameras will be the fun cameras.

• Probably the worst paint job on a system, love the colour but the application is so poor.

• Silly to complain, but the sheer quality and detail will cause issues.

• File size is ridiculous

• Port flaps, I prefer the more ridged doors on the XT3

Studio 59 | New Studio

I moved to Studio 59 in E2 recently.

Directions

Travelling from Cambdrige Heath Overground Station is only a 7 minute walk. Google map directions can be found here.

Travelling from Bethnal Green Tube Station, Google map directions can be found here.

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Food & Drink [Coffee]

Three doors down you’ll find The Common E2, a cute little cafe & coffee shop.

NPLH 7 N16FC

I have some new images in this issue of NPLH

Andrew | Two Sticks Forge

PowerBloc - Macbook pro, Monitors, Lights and more

I’ve recently decided to switch my existing HyperJuices Batteries to V-Lock batteries.

But why?

I’ve been running HyperJuice 222WH batteries for several years now, and even been able to adapt them to power the latest Macbook USBC laptops. But I feel like all HyperJuices, including the latest 100WH ones are very limited in their uses.

• Charge a Macbook [with the extra £50 USB C charger on older models]

• Charge a USB devices

That’s it… Maybe I’m being harsh.

As some form of social distancing seems to be in place for the foreseeable future. The use of wireless monitors and other devices seem like a must have on shoots. I’m needing to find alternative ways of powering said items other than a HyperJuice.

The reason for V-Locks is that they are much more versatile than a HyperJuice.

They are universal & are industry standard [in video] and depending on the shoot, I’m sure you could borrow one in an emergency from a video crew, maybe...

Also 99% of [good] rental houses stock these batteries globally.

Power Laptop, Laptops, Phones, Cameras, LED lighting, Monitors etc…

NineVolt PowrBloc [PowerBlock]

There are alternatives to the PowrBloc, including hyperjuices, but as I’ve already invested in Ninevolt, both in the digiplate [Inovativ respectively] & IQ Tether cables, I feel that it’s good to continue supporting a company that are producing new and interesting products, regardless of the high shipping costs & Import Tax… ugh.

A Few Test

It’s hardly a benchmark test of a real world performance on set, though I’d thought I’d run one and see how it fairs. I was able to stream footage [football] over wifi for over 3 hours and 30 minutes through chrome, which is known as a CPU hog. The footage was streaming at between 720p & 1080p on full brightness.

In relation to a real world shoot, I can’t really say how this would be comparable when hammering the shutter & processing files. This is something I will just have to try prior to a real world shoot. Typically I don’t machine gun things on set, but some do… Though Wifi & streaming are typically actions which drain a lot of power, so I feel this is a good starting point for testing.

As they are rated around a similar power spec to the latest HyperJuice USB batteries, I would expect them to have a similar draw when used on a shoot.

The cable & Powrbloc is actually supplying 100W of power unlike many cables and other USB C batteries.

It’s a piece of kit I’m looking forward to using on future shoots, feel free to get in touch if you’d like to hire for a shoot. I’ll be building a 4-6 battery kit in the near future for more heavy location jobs, so check back soon.