NEWSLETTER/MARCH’11
It has been a little while since my last newsletter and I hope that the contents of this issue will make up a little bit of lost ground.
Pain for Gain
One important reason for sending this out now is that I’m raising money for Cancer Research UK to help them with their brilliant work. I will be doing a 100 mile cycle ride in less than 7 hours. The Cheshire Cat is one of the toughest rides in the sportive calendar and to add to the challenge of getting around, I really want to raise £500. A couple of quid from you will make all the difference. You can securely donate through my JustGiving web page. Many thanks in advance for your generosity.
Men of Cloth
So now you know what I do for fun, let me update you on my day job. It is remarkable that even after doing this work for over 30 years, I still find a project that gets me excited and inspired. Most recently this has been a series of portraits of local artists (men and women) in collaboration with the Stroud International Textile Festival. A taster of three of the portraits are shown below but the final exhibition and catalogue will feature around 9 artists. I took a slightly different approach to shooting these portraits. All of them were taken with available light (a 60w lightbulb in one case), with long exposures and a sturdy tri-pod. The emphasis was all about the artist’s environment with a hint of the atmosphere of their surroundings. In stark contrast to my usual corporate work, this had an element of experimentation and trial and error. A perfect opportunity to try something different and luckily for everyone, it paid off with great results. The exhibition will be shown at Ecotricity’s smart new HQ in Stroud and will run from 30 April to 22 May. More details will follow nearer the time.
Touch of Light
No less exciting but with a little more gravitas is my continued work for a range of corporate clients. Many of my images will be commissioned to appear in company newsletters, brochures, reports and magazines. The pictures below show talented solar power expert Gudhi Chikoti of Saint Gobain (commissioned by Words & Pictures). The challenge was to bring in a theme of ‘glass’, ‘solar’ and ‘light’. Normally it is a fairly good idea not to show photographic equipment in the shots but in this case it seemed such an obvious way to create a reference. The bright flash light pointing at Gudhi made the point of him as a star whilst at the same time introducing the bright solar element. The multiple reflections of the light in the curved window added to the overall effect.
From the Archives
And finally.. a couple of images from my library taken in Brick Lane, London in 1985. A selection of these are now available as archival prints through my library so please go and check them out – and buy! Meanwhile, I’m going back out on the streets to get more shots of people (with and without leashed cats) to add to the collection.
That’s it for now. You can keep track of me through my Blog or (heaven forbid!) Twitter. I’d love to hear from you so please email or phone me on 07836 571145. Feel free to forward this newsletter on to friends and colleagues.
Best wishes,
Alex.
