Dreams, Reality and Everything In Between

It’s a dilemma I often come across in my creative life.
When you meet someone who shows raw talent is it right for you to help them try to fulfill their ‘dreams’.
Because the reality is that talent isn’t anywhere near enough to ‘succeed’ and that can be a bitter pill to swallow.
Also how do you even begin to define success???
Is it just being good at what you do??? Trying to be as true and original as you can be whilst pushing the boundaries of your creativity or does it rely on making good money out of your craft???
Maybe it’s easy for me to say but I don’t think ‘success’ lies in the monetary value of your work but in the sense of personal satisfaction you get from producing it.
I don’t want to raise false hope. It’s a tough, ruthless industry and there’s no yellow brick road to fame and fortune.
A lot of the time it’s waves of rejection and disappointment before you ever get a ride of any kind and even then you never know how long the ride will last before it dumps you back out at sea – just trying to stay afloat.
I’m endlessly optimistic, passionate and upbeat – both for my own ambitions and also for those aspiring talents I come across, but I sometimes I question the journey we take in pursuit of our dreams.
Not so much for myself as the path I might set others on when the reality is that their dreams are better left undisturbed.

Help For Heroes

Just got back from a fantastic 2 day photographic workshop I was invited to give at Tedworth House in Wiltshire.
Tedworth House is a Personnel Recovery & Assessment Centre for wounded, sick and injured Servicemen and Women run by the world renowned charity organisation – Help for Heroes.
Help for Heroes is exactly that and aims to provide as many facilities as possible to support the recovery process in helping those who have served their country adjust to their injuries and deal with the emotional, physical and mental realities of a new life.
As someone who believes that anyone with an interest in photography can become a photographer it is always a privilege to be able to pass on the knowledge, experience and passion that I have in the hope that it might inspire others.
What was inspiring for me were the characters that I met throughout my stay.
From the injured ex-Paratrooper who loved wide open landscapes and wrote the most astonishing poetry to the quiet guy who said very little and then stunned me and the rest of the group with the raw, natural talent that was literally just bursting out of him to express itself in original photographic images.

Troy, Richard, Mike, Sam, Roli and Alex – I salute you all and thanks for sharing your weekend with me.

Thanks also to Hardy Haase at Flaghead Photographic for generous loan of Quantum Flash and Hedler Lighting Equipment



Crossing the Green Screen Divide

Working with Richard Jobson I got to DoP on my very first green screen for the filming of a viral for the Rolton Group
I’m probably not your first choice ‘go to’ guy when you think of green screen and I admit to being nervous about crossing the divide but if you take a challenge head on and apply your knowledge of photography and instincts for lighting –
it’s amazing how easily you can take the unknown into your stride and make it your own.
Here’s the ‘straight out of the can’ pre light test I did with my assistant using HMI’s for the background and Kino Flos for the subject. I’ll keep you posted on the final edit with the actor and the background visuals cut together…..

guide to dslr film making

Since the introduction of video enabled DSLR cameras some three years ago, there has been a fast moving revolution going on in the converging worlds of photography and motion.
Asked by Digital Photographer to talk technique, tips and kit you can click on the link below to read the article in full.