Nov '15 News

Hello everyone, hope you are all keeping well.  Here is my Nov ’15 news looking back six months up to April and starts with a shoot for ‘VIP’, the Pets at Home magazine.  I photographed Michelle Turnbull over in Blackpool for a feature about her business ‘The Barking Bakery‘ where she makes healthy amazing looking treats for dogs.  Michelle sent me home laden with her baking which brought a new meaning to the term ‘doggy bag’ 🙂

Over to York next to photograph Vicky at Compello gym for Fit and Well magazine. Vicky has lost loads of weight doing a cross fit regime. I was amazed at the weights Vicky could lift and felt rather feeble struggling to move the ‘props’ around the room!

This was a great shoot, quite different from my usual commissions – in fact my first ever ‘lads mag’ photo shoot for FHM magazine.  It was at a nightclub called Funktion in Hull on a freezing January night.  It was packed, deafening, really dark and way past my bed time!  But I got to meet and photograph DJ Danny Howard from Radio 1 and Phillip George (‘wish you were mine’). Brilliant fun. The video for ‘Wish You Were Mine’ is super cute (in a cool way of course!).

A corporate style photography shoot for Asda life magazine over in Ashton under Lyne, covering one of their staff meetings. It’s a lovely change to take a step back and watch and wait for the right moment instead of directing all the action.

One of my shots of Gaynor Faye found a new use and was on the cover of Saturday Magazine. This wasn’t shot with a cover in mind but fortunately, it worked well – thanks, Chilli Media.

I did finally manage to impress my son when I came home saying I’d met Mr Bloom from CBeebies. He was sooo excited! I was covering the event CBeebies Dancing into Leeds for the BBC. Presenter Alex Winters was doing a fabulous job reading ‘Bear Hunt’ to a huge group of enthralled children. I now find myself trying to read it in a really dramatic way to my own children (night after night after night…)

I didn’t have to venture far for this Huddersfield job for Elder Studios, a software engineering company.  Rebecca the office manager did a sterling job getting everyone to wear a nice light bright shirt.  It makes such a difference having a decent set of corporate head shots for a website. I think these guys look really smart.

TV Extra magazine used my portrait of Emmerdale actress Isabel Hodgins:

My portrait of comedian Peter Kay appeared on the front cover of TV & Satellite magazine, with another featured in the inside spread of TV Times. It was all in aid of promoting his new show, Car Share, on BBC One.

I have to admit, it’s been a little while since I did this shoot with Peter. However, I still remember what a bizarre — yet fun — experience it was. I arrived at a hotel somewhere near Lincoln, along with the journalist, to meet Peter and his agent. However, after waiting around for ages with no sign of them, we started to worry.

Eventually I got reception to phone his room – only to discover he was still asleep! Half an hour later he was downstairs looking freshly showered (still dripping) and apologising. Then the interview. Peter was so chatty I don’t think the journalist knew what hit him – or could get a word in!  It was the funniest interview I’ve ever had to sit through. Three hours after we arrived, I finally started the photoshoot!

Bye for now. Claire x