Posts Tagged event photography
The Opening of The James Figg Pub in Thame
Posted by Paul in Commercial, For Website on January 5th, 2010
I do like a good pub. ‘No,’ I hear you say, ‘really?’ with just a modicum of surprise.
Yup.
Call me old fashioned but there are few places I find quite so convivial. So comforting. So British. There is nothing quite like finding yourself on a lazy afternoon with a well-pulled pint and a roaring fire listening to the background chatter of one of this nation’s greatest legacies. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you: The Pub.
That being said. I do lament the smoking ban in pubs and bars.
Now don’t get me wrong here, I have never smoked and, not withstanding a suitably apocalyptic midlife crisis, I probably never will. But the smouldering presence of tobacco smoke in a public house or bar always seemed somehow, natural.
I know, I know, I love not going home smelling of everyone else’s smoke and not having to wash my jacket every time. I love not having a sore throat. And I love being able to actually taste my beer.
But, and here’s the thing, I’m a photographer.
And I miss the light.
I used to get so excited about that familiar smokey, hazy, drifting light. Some of my favourite images have been captured so simply with nothing more than a basic camera, a good quality 50mm lens (the staple of all 35mm photography until the new digital formats emerged), some window light and a creamy pint of Guinness. And just a smidgen of tobacco smoke. Sigh.
Still, I digress slightly in that I meant to write about one particular pub I photographed recently: The James Figg pub. The pub (previously the Abingdon Arms) has been in the middle of Thame ever since I’ve lived here but was old and tired (not in a good way) and so it was with some excitement that I was asked by Peach Pubs, who also own The Thatch, amongst others, to create some images of their newest pub for its website and to cover the inaugural night.
And I was right to be excited. What they’ve done is pretty much perfect: a good English pub serving great beer and great food (of the pie’n'chips variety at least).
And I’ve been back since for a quick half and it is still fantastic. The service is truly friendly and hospitable and the place was seemingly full – both of people and of atmosphere.
But, sadly, still no smoke.
Ah, well it’s almost certainly for the better. I just need to find new ways of recreating that wonderful light!
Wow, what a week!
Posted by Paul in Events, For Website on June 26th, 2009
I know people think that photography is a pretty glamorous way to earn in a living and, in some senses, possibly that’s true. At least, if you view being out in all weathers on hilltops, inside darkened studios and sitting in front of a whining computer at all glamorous, then glamorous it most certainly is.
Now don’t get me wrong here – as anyone who has had the misfortune to be within chatting distance of me will attest – I absolutely love my job. I’m just saying I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as glamorous. Not in the ‘OK Magazine’ sense anyway.
However, this week does pretty much qualify.
It has been our great pleasure to provide the photography for this year’s Thames Water “Love Water Ball” in support of Water Aid – a notable charity providing the means for developing countries to have clean and safe water (something we take far too much for granted in this country I reckon.)
The ball was awesome. Now I’ve been to a ball or too but this was way out there. For a start, The Old Billingsgate in London is a magnificent venue with it’s Victorian facade, it’s huge gallery and a wonderfully atmospheric arched basement. Then add on that some unbelievable interior and exterior designs and two A-List acts (Michael McIntyre and Will Young) and you have pretty much a guaranteed atmosphere in which to raise money for an excellent cause. And so it proved to be!
We couldn’t have asked for a nicer client in Thames Water (one thing I’m extremely proud of is our ability to attract and work with some of the nicest people you could wish to meet and the guys at Thames Water – and at their production company for this event, Crown Business Communications – are absolutely amazing!)
For this job, we needed more than just me to be capturing images and so I was really thrilled to be able to add two hugely successful pro photographers – Dan Richards and Kay Young – to our regular team of myself, Kelly (my ever-patient assistant) and Sarah (my even more patient wife and business partner!) And, with 5 areas to cover and 1000 guests, we needed all five of us (and radio headsets – which, as Mr. McIntyre encouragingly pointed out, made us look somewhat like airline pilots!) working flat out to cover everything properly!
And, quite literally, we had a ball!
Though of course, the reality afterward is that we have just spent the past two days, battling the inevitable sleep deprivation, working through the 3000 or so images that we captured to sort them in time for all of the guests to log in (during their coffee-break of course) when they arrive back at work on Monday morning.
So, here just a few images from an absolutely amazing evening in London – enjoy!
Cheers
P.
Waddesdon School Prom at Bicester Golf Club
Posted by Paul in Events, For Website on May 19th, 2009
It is true, you do need a lot of energy for this job. Particularly when you photograph a school prom.
This was the leaving prom for Waddesdon School which was held at the Bicester Gold Club. And it was awesome.
I’m always blown away by the job that the organising committees do in putting these things together – even ignoring the fact that the committee is formed entirely from the guys themselves which means that not only have they had to deal with the pressure of A-Levels and interviewing for universities – which would clearly be enough for most of us – they’ve also taken on the process of creating, planning and delivering a ball for 150 or so eager guests. Awesome. Seriously, this was a brilliant evening and that’s all credit to the guys that pieced it together.
We’re very lucky in that when we’re asked to cover something like a ball (which is not something we specialise in) we’re usually left to do it in our own inimitable fashion. Which is to say, VERY chilled. Actually, I wouldn’t take a ball on if that weren’t the case – the idea of static lifeless photos would drive me nuts. I know, I know, we do still have a huge white background but that’s just to give us a well-lit predictable area in which to mess around. And mess around we do!
The photos from this ball are fantastic. At least, I think that the photos from this ball are fantastic. The guys at Waddesdon were are really nice crowd – excited (who wouldn’t be?! It’s the end of school for good!), enthusiastic (possibly a little overly so in the case of one guy in particular – Sarah couldn’t stop laughing as she filtered the images out as he kept appearing. And reappearing. And then appearing once again. And once more for luck) and hugely amiable which actually makes the job of getting cool images really easy.
Nice way to spend an evening 
Let us know what you think!
Cheers
P.
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