March 23 News

Anyone a Happy Valley fan?  Here are some of West Yorkshire’s finest. This was a photoshoot and videoshoot organised by The Mill Group as part of the campaign for ‘Graduate Workforce Bradford‘ which is led by Bradford University. There is a gap in the progression of graduates of the BAME community compared to other graduates and the GWB is seeking to narrow this gap. They are also seeking to address the absence or low rates of the BAME community in some sectors.  For this part of the campaign, we focused on police officers of a BAME background who were telling their stories. I had lots of fun hanging out with them and exploring the police station.

I ventured down south for this Asda commercial photoshoot to High Wycombe and Watford with the Mill Group. I do quite a few photoshoots with Asda and this time we were focusing on the healthcare side. The videographers and I were tag teaming so we were basically following each other around and trying not to get in each others way. We managed to get lots of ‘back of the head’ volunteers to be ‘customers’ and one very brave man who was happy to be photographed whilst having his jab.

It was inspiring to meet Juli, in York, and hear about her struggle to recover after being thrown from a horse.  She broke her back in four places and was told she would never walk again. I photographed her with her horse Peggy (not the horse that threw her – that was someone else’s horse) and although she was still unsteady on her feet Juli is improving continuously. Peggy was very gentle around Juli and the bond between them was heartwarming. I also photographed Juli with her shetland pony, two goats and three dogs which was pretty chaotic! It’s virtually impossible to give goats any kind of direction!

I traveled to Birmingham for this commercial photoshoot for Activate Accident Repair.  I’ve done several shoots for AAR but this time I had a more specific brief – to concentrate on the staff working on the commercial vehicles.  It’s amazing watching the work being done – there is a lot of artistry involved and a major amount of attention to detail.

I’ve started shooting for MCS and this was my very first shoot for them. MCS is a renewable energy certification company. I love working with these guys because they are working hard to improve and advance the renewable sector and they are also a really nice bunch of people. This lifestyle photoshoot in Chorley was to form a case study to illustrate a family who have had a ground source heat pump installed. To feature the engineer and how the family use the energy it provides in their home.  Really lovely family who made us all very welcome.

I photographed Alison in her garden on a boiling hot July day. It was roasting! Both Alison and I kept having to stop and dive into the shade and drink icy water. At one point we found a little windy spot and took turns standing in it. I photographed Alison for an editorial feature – about gardens (if you hadn’t guessed) for the Women’s Institute magazine, WI Life.

A lovely editorial photoshoot for Woman and Home magazine, in Preston, for a feature on a family of four generations. We planned a white, cream and blue theme so everyone co-ordinated together – which I think they pulled off very well.

This was a big Christmas shoot for OK magazine with Adam and Taya (and their gorgeous dog River at their home in Doncaster. Adam and Taya met on the TV show ‘Married at First Sight’ and have actually stayed married and are genuinely very happy together. A really nice couple. Photoshoots like these are a big affair and we had make up artist Sally Rowe looking after hair and make up two stylists, Kira Marie on the Christmas decs and Ryan Kay on fashion, plus a videographer, Christopher Wood. This shoot was ages ago and the couple have gone on to have a gorgeous baby girl.

Lastly, a corporate photoshoot in Leeds for asset management company Sanford Deland. As with a lot of companies today, it’s difficult to get everyone in the same place so taking time out while everyone is gathered for a meeting for a quick photoshoot is a great idea. A really nice bunch of people.