And I might add yes she is naked in that pool!

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is London

The dark cold alleyways,
The cold cobbled streets,
The hum of the city,
This is London

As dawn breaks slowly,
And lights the dark city,
Civilians rush about in a hurry,
This is London

The blaring of horns,
The air of fumes,
The smell of dampness
This is London

The tourists flock from all directions,
Getting their memorable moments captured,
Big Ben towers over the old tired buildings,
This is London

Double deckers rush by
As do taxis
People running, always running
This is London

The Eye glares slowly out across the river
Buckingham guards carefully over the Queen
The chapels in Kensington packed to the rafters
This is London

Beggars lie in the street
Half heartedly cupping their hands
Booths with advertisements for all kinds of action
This is London

Never a dull moment
Never a quiet one
Not here where people are running
Always running
London

Silent Dogwood

Back in 1999 I was one of the early adopters of shooting digitally shot model portfolios in London when digital cameras came in. Its funny looking back now the resistance I had from the model agencies against digital and how now the industry thinks nothing of using digital but back then it was contact sheets and film which previously had been around for years. I just pushed and pushed digital as a model testing medium and finally and slowly I managed to break one agency and then it took off.

Shooting film you didn’t really have to do that much retouching and the trick was to get great prints from the darkroom as of which having previously been a colour printer it was rather easy for me. Retouching digital was new and I spent near 2 years trying to get it right often over retouching when it wasn’t needed. But that was part the learning process of digital.

I spent the next 5 years predominately shooting model portfolios for most of the model agencies in London when in 2005 I abruptly stopped. Main reason being I didn’t want it becoming like a McDonald’s restaurant churning models out just because I could becoming just a photo factory.

Since then I have only shot portfolios when I wanted too and restricted to only two shoots a week or when time permitted. I’ve seen new photographers come and go churning out the portfolios with no real photographic skills, some photographers were good but most just having brought a digital camera thinking its easy money and a couple of applications in photoshop later their photo is retouched and often over processed with skin modifiers (I know I’ve been there myself). Back then the models came from recommendation from model agencies. Now its photographers trawling Facebook trying to raise money from girls who would have no chance as a model in the real world.

Today I only still work from recommendation for model portfolios and even then I have to see a picture of the potential model before Im willing to shoot.

On our model portfolio page we have created something a little new for those who wish to shoot with us. What we now offer and its thanks to some modern technology is when ordering images you not only get the original enhanced image you also get a black and white one as well as a choice of looks for the third one. (see image above) So now three different versions of the same image for the price of one. Its gone down rather well so far and is proving a hit. Its the initial retouching time for the first image which takes the time and once you have it its rather easy to run a look on the image to give it a different style.

Check out the model portfolio section on this website.

It was about time I had the camera pointed in my direction. Im not a big smiler in pictures often pulling a smirk but thats me. Im a photographer not a model!

Camera was a Contax 645 with the 80mm lens and a Phase One digital back

Contax 645 with a Phase one 21P and 120mm macro lens.

Taken

Another model another boat! This is Simone taken from a Bikini shoot in the Mediterranean. Big white boats on the shady side from the sun give out this beautiful soft white glow which bounces back at the model.

Nikon D2x and 28-70.2.8 lens

This is one of my favourite times of day to shoot just when the sun has gone down and I have the ISO hiked up to 800 and shoot wide open. You simply don’t get it at any other time of day and it lasts only around 10 min’s before its all gone.

Nikon D2x and 50mm 1.4

Our 100th branded image has been uploaded to Facebook today. This being one of my favorites!