Cat Lane Photographer

Snow 2012

2012-02-06T11:22:00.000Z

I'm pretty much regarding all of these pictures as a bit of a miracle right now - not just because we rarely get snow, but because as luck would have it, I found out the afternoon before that my remote had stopped working and was able to fit in an emergency trip to Jessops to get a replacement in time for the forecasted snowfall!

Determined to get pictures whilst the snow was all still untouched and fresh, I got up at 6.30am to make sure I was out of the door at sunrise, and headed off into the beautiful new world the snow created.

And a few little behind-the-scenes type pictures, me exhausted after 3 hours trekking through the snow and my cat helping me retouch the pictures this morning, haha!

Photo day with Elly Lucas

2012-01-30T11:42:00.000Z

Just over two weeks ago I travelled up to Derby to meet the wonderful Elly Lucas for a photo day - my first shoot of 2012 too! Armed with bags full of clothes (and excitement!), we drove up to a location full of beautiful heather and scenery and spent hours nerding out and taking pictures. I can't thank her enough for not only driving us all that way but also for modelling bare footed in the freezing cold at my request also!

I absolutely cannot wait to pass my driving test and get out there and discover more locations like this - it really was amazing fun and I could have been there for days capturing everything I wanted to shoot.

And finally here are my favourite pictures she took of me! To see the rest of her pictures from the day and to read her thoughts on it, head on over to her lovely blog post HERE.

Want to see more of Elly's wonderful work? Head on over to the links below - you won't regret it! ♥

www.ellylucas.co.uk

ellylucas.wordpress.com

Yogamaya

2012-01-23T11:28:00.000Z

So finally here we have it - the first part of my crazy freezing cold two-shoot day back at the beginning of December (part one HERE) The two shoots thing came about after I found out that this shoot would have to be cut short by an hour or two, so I figured I'd make the most of my train ticket and organise another shoot to go to afterwards. Frantic but ever so much fun, as always!

Model: Yogamaya
Make up: Siobhan Drew
Styling: Myself

And finally, because a shoot blog isn't a shoot blog without a little bit of behind the scenes stuff.. here we go!

Jean

2012-01-13T10:17:00.002Z

My last shoot of last year.. but not the last to come yet! I'm currently under a bit of a self-imposed ban on organising shoots until I've gotten through my retouch pile, but luckily I've managed to whittle it down to one shoot and one photo day left to finish, so I'll soon be back in the swing of things (especially now I've been treating myself to a bit of prop-buying, eek!)

Model: Jean @ Leni's
Make up: Siobhan Drew

And of course, a behind the scenes shot of lovely lady Siobhan perfecting Jean's make up!

Jessie

2012-01-05T10:36:00.000Z

This shoot was a bit of a challenge to organise but great fun nonetheless - it ended up being one of two shoots in a day which is something I've never been brave (or silly) enough to do before. I owe the biggest of thank you's to Siobhan, who stood with me through both shoots and worked throughout the freezing cold and blustery wind!

Model: Jessie @ Profile
MUA: Siobhan Drew
Styling: Myself

Twenty-eleven

2011-12-30T12:11:00.002Z

2011 has been a great year. I've met and had the honour of collaborating with and getting to know some truly wonderful people, graduated, gone past milestones I never thought I'd have the confidence to do and produced work I can honestly say I'm proud of. The last thing I want this to sound like is one big gloat, but it has meant a huge deal to me to finally end a year on a high note and be proud and happy with my accomplishments in my photography as I usually end up hating every piece of work I've produced by the time the year is up!

Ansel Adams once said that "12 significant photographs in any one year is a good crop". Now I'm sure my favourites wouldn't exactly count as significant in his eyes, but here are what I'd consider to be my 5 most significant shoots (12 would just bore you all to tears!)

FOG: For me, this is more than just a picture - it's a memory. There are no woods to describe how much fun Graham and I had going out to shoot this early in the morning in front of bemused onlookers!

ROKIT: I think this is the first shoot where I first truly felt my photography had a place in a commercial sense. It was a wonderful combination of styling, location and great creatives and overall great fun!

ELLA: My first agency test was a massive milestone for me, not only in terms of my career as a photographer but also in terms of my personal development - it gave me a much-needed confidence boost and a jumping-off point into a new chapter of my career.

KATIE: Various photo days this year have enabled me to get to know so many wonderful souls, including the lovely Katie. Words cannot express how much I've loved and appreciated being able to meet up with like-minded people, so here's to a 2012 full of continued collaborations!

TO BE REVEALED: This 3-day shoot for a jewellers was a huge challenge for me but one I'm incredibly appreciative of - an opportunity to develop my commercial portfolio and retouching skills also. I can't share a lot at the moment but as soon as I can I'll be releasing the pictures in a two-parter blog post!

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So here we are, the end of the year. I've decided to take a little break from shooting at the beginning of 2012 to catch up on my retouching and have a good think about my goals for the year, so keep your eyes peeled for a steady stream of new pictures coming your way!

Wishing you all a 2012 full of happiness, prosperity and beautiful pictures, and finally a giant thank you for taking the time to follow my work!

Fog

2011-12-05T11:05:00.000Z

A few weekends back, I woke up to find the most beautiful fog I'd ever seen outside my bedroom window, so the most natural thing to do was to grab a bag of clothes, my camera and tripod, head on over to the nearest lake and wade into it for the sake of my portfolio, haha!

What's the most bizarre or silliest thing you've ever done for your own photography, self portrait or otherwise? I'd love to know!

And some good old behind the scenes shots thanks to Graham!

Jaymie

2011-11-25T11:03:00.000Z

Two weeks back I collaborated with Siobhan again on a test with the gorgeous Jaymie. I've absolutely fallen in love with her look and am dying to work with her again on some editorial work so expect to see a lot more of her face in the future!

Model: Jaymie @ Leni's
MUA: Siobhan Drew
Styling: Myself

And finally, BTS shots featuring a ridiculously tame squirrel which we couldn't resist photographing!

Collaboration with Katie Eleanor

2011-11-15T09:51:00.005Z

Just over two weeks ago a shoot came about that I've been dying to do for months - a collaboration with the crazy talented Katie Eleanor. The shoot came about remarkably quickly as we split the tasks of organising it: Katie organised the model and make up artist, I sorted out the styling and we both chose the location together; and as a result before we knew it we were shooting away with the gorgeous Francesca!

Model: Francesca @ Bookings
MUA: Siobhan Drew
Styling: Myself
Assistant: Lily Fulvio-Mason

And finally, here are some BTS pictures courtesy of the lovely Lily!

Katie

2011-11-02T10:26:00.002Z

A few portraits of the beautiful Katie, taken a few weeks back on a wonderful day spent in London catching up. We also met up last Friday to collaborate on a shoot with a model so keep your eyes peeled for a new editorial on its way soon!

Amber

2011-10-27T11:11:00.002+01:00

A few weeks ago the lovely Amber came over to my house for a good old catch up (and of course, to take pictures too!), and although the weather turned out to be not-so-great we still went home with full camera cards and smiles on our faces. I hope you like the results!

Ellis

2011-10-19T10:41:00.001+01:00

In September I met up with the gorgeous Ellie for our annual catch up and shoot. We've known each other for years, and ever since I started out in photography we've been meeting up every year for a shoot at the end of each summer. She was my first proper model, and the way my shoots with her enable me to see how my style is changing year-by-year fascinates me.

This is also one of the first shoots I've had with my new lens, the Canon 135mm f2 L, and I must say I am very impressed with the results and it's performed exactly how I wanted it to: cutting my model out of the background with ease whilst keeping their body sharp. I'm in love!

Digital Photographer magazine feature

2011-10-06T17:01:00.000+01:00

The first thing I did this morning was race down to WHSmiths to get a copy of this - the new issue of Digital Photographer magazine. This magazine's reviews helped me to decide upon my first ever DSLR and lens four years ago, so to have my work featured by them today in their Reader Portfolio section really does mean a lot!

Better quality copies will be on their way once I receive a PDF from the magazine, but for now here are my terrible scans. If you'd like to see it bigger, just click the image!

Ella C for SYN Magazine

2011-09-30T10:00:00.004+01:00

Words cannot begin to express just how much I have been dying to release these pictures, this shoot means an awful lot to me and I consider it to be a bit of a (for want of a better word) landmark for me in terms of how I see my confidence and work progressing and developing. It's also looking to rank up there as one of my favourite shoots of all time!

These were shot back in July and although I've been spending a lot of time concentrating on commercial work since then, I'm so excited to get back into shooting a lot of editorial again so expect lots of tests coming your way in October and November!

Check out issue one of SYN HERE - it's a truly wonderful magazine and well worth a good long read.

Model: Ella C @ Profile
M&H: Marilee Koegelenberg
Styling: Myself

Here are quite a few shots that went unpublished that I couldn't resist posting!

And finally, a bit of behind the scenes goodness. A big thank you to Marilee for the first picture - I don't think I post enough behind the scenes pictures so I'm always grateful for anybody who takes them!

Equipment

2011-09-07T11:57:00.006+01:00

I've been thinking quite a lot recently about expanding my blog to feature more topical, written posts too - I realised that all of my posts are very similar and it's always nice to keep things fresh! So here's my first one: Equipment. I don't really ever talk about my equipment much as I am a firm believer in the concept that a good camera does not necessarily equal good pictures, but it's probably about time I just put all the information about my kit in one place for people to check out if they're interested!

MY FIRST SETUP

Canon EOS 400D + Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM

My first DSLR setup consisted of a Canon 400D body and EF-S 17-85mm lens. The reason I didn't go with the 18-55mm kit lens was because the version that was out at the time had quite a few not-so-good reviews, so I figured it would be worth spending a bit extra and getting the next best thing. I believe they have now revised the 18-55mm with a new version now, but either way it's always good to read reviews so you know what you're getting for your money.

This is the sort of setup I'd recommend to anybody starting out in photography - a consumer-end DSLR and a zoom lens. Zoom lenses are versatile and suitable for lots of types of photography, and consumer-end cameras can be used regardless of ability level as you can shoot from pre-set modes such as Portrait, Landscape etc right through to full Manual as and when your knowledge increases.

The battery grip shown here was not something I personally shot with, it's something I bought when I gave the camera to my fiancé and it was screwed on too tightly for me to take it off the the picture!

CURRENT SETUP

Canon EOS 5D Mark II body + 3 lenses

After a while it became clear to me that I needed to push my 400D further than it could go, especially when it came to shooting in low light conditions. So here I am now, shooting with a 5D Mark II and a selection of lenses I've acquired over time. Here's a bit of info about each one, going clockwise from the top:

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

I bought this lens about a year before I upgraded to the 5D Mark II, and it's always worked stunningly well on both of my camera bodies. It's my most used lens, and at £300 or so it's a real bargain considering just how often I use it! Beautiful DOF and hardly weighs anything compared to my other lenses, so using it for hours on end is a breeze.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM

For me, a zoom lens is always a must-have for any photographer's kit. Even if you won't be using it a huge amount, the range of focal lengths makes them incredibly versatile and for me, it's always nice knowing I've got one just in case I need to shoot something particularly wide angle, which I can't do with my prime lenses. This lens is a little pricey, but the quality of the shots it produces is fantastic and it's the zoom lens with the widest aperture I could justify the price of!

Canon EF 135mm f/2.0 L USM

This is my new baby! It arrived last week and I've not had the chance to use it properly yet, but as soon as I've got a bit of free time I'll be organising a shoot to test this lovely thing out. Watch this space!

So finally, I now have all the info on my camera kit in one place on the internet! I hope this was useful to anybody who was curious, but again I need to mention that it's not your equipment that makes your pictures what they are - it's you!

What else would you like to see blog posts on? Let me know!

OVL September Edition

2011-08-30T15:18:00.003+01:00

I think this shoot is one of the most hectic I've ever had to organise - sourcing a model, make-up artist, and planning and sorting out all the styling within a week. All of that plus constant rain throughout the day sounds a little bit like a recipe for disaster but I'm so pleased to say that it went well. A giant thank you really is in order to Ashli and Emma for working throughout the terrible weather and for remaining in high spirits throughout the day!

Model: Ashli Rosetti

Make up: Emma Hardware

Styling: Myself

Victoria

2011-08-24T11:14:00.002+01:00

Right at the end of July I travelled up into London to work with two lovely new people: Amber Scarlett on hair and make-up and the gorgeous Victoria Emslie modelling. Recently it feels like I've barely had the time to work with new people so I was especially excited about this shoot.

Although the pictures weren't particularly themed I am so, so pleased with how they came out and am definitely collaborating with these two lovely ladies in the future - keep your eyes peeled!

Rokit AW11 look book shoot

2011-08-12T10:20:00.003+01:00

First of all I think an apology is in order for the amount of time it's been since my last blog post - I have been keeping very busy but all the work I've been shooting is either in the process of being retouched or can't be posted yet for one reason or another. I assure there is lots to come though!

Back in April I was approached to shoot Rokit's AW11 look book by the lovely Scarlet who was not only styling the whole shoot but designing and putting together the look book too, which I must say she really did excel at as I now have a beautifully laid out and presented look book in my hands.

A big, big thank you to an absolutely wonderful team it was an honour to work with, and below are some of my favourite shots from the shoot.

Styling & look book: Scarlet Shillingford-Blay

Hair stylist: Ally Mair

Make up: Eva Bese

Models: Normen Luzinsky / Laurel Blake / Laura Webb

This time instead of behind the scenes pictures, we have a video thanks to David and Scarlet! I really love this idea and hope to do something similar on future shoots.

And finally, thanks to Rokit one of the look book pictures has ended up in the "Vintage Vogue" advertising section of September Vogue - not a feature but still something I am ridiculously happy about!

Phew, that was a long post! For regular and exclusive updates check out my Facebook page HERE - I update the most frequently out of all my online spaces and there are a few sneak previews on there of upcoming photo sets. I'll also do my best to upload more unseen shots from this shoot on there too so keep your eyes peeled!

www.dismantlerepair.co.uk
www.rokit.co.uk

Rebecca De Winter album artwork

2011-07-18T09:42:00.012+01:00

Mid-June came the long-awaited album launch for Rebecca De Winter's album, and not only was I finally able to listen to her wonderful songs on repeat, but also able to get my hands on a copy of my first album and inlay artwork! I don't see myself as a proud person but this is a really big achievement for me and I am incredibly happy with the final result.

Rebecca approached me back in January and since then it's been a real adventure creating these images: we were chased and bitten by guard geese, attacked by wild horses and Rebecca ended up being submerged in a sunken boat for the sake of art.

Rebecca and fellow bandmate David have kindly agreed to let me post the pictures online, so here they are. I hope you like them!

And here is one of the promotional posters, featuring one of my favourites from the shoot:

I highly recommend you listen to Rebecca's wonderful music, you can find album track samples and her music videos over at her Facebook page HERE, and her album is out now on iTunes. Lovely stuff!

www.rebeccadewintermusic.com

Brighter pastures

2011-07-05T10:39:00.008+01:00

For the first time yesterday, I realised my self-portraiture is a bit of a therapeutic thing for me. I'd not done any location self-portraits since I moved house back in May and to finally take the time out and have an hour or two to myself to just go out and do what makes me happiest felt really, really wonderful.

I feel like I've conquered a few silly fears of mine this week and I am feeling a million times happier and more confident about my work for it. This summer is going to be full of shoots and I couldn't be more excited about it!

EDIT: I forgot to add this when I originally published this post - here is the first behind the scenes shot I've taken on a self-portrait shoot!

Katie, Kitty, Cat

2011-06-27T11:15:00.003+01:00

A few weeks ago, Katie Eleanor, Kitty Gallannaugh and I finally met up for our long-awaited photo day. I have been ridiculously excited about this for so long and the opportunity to shoot these two beautiful girls together as well as while the day away with nerdy chats was not to be missed.

Every time I see these two I go home feeling more inspired and happier than ever. They restore my faith in myself when I feel down about my work and inspire me every single day with their own pictures and I can't thank them enough for that. But enough of the soppy stuff, here are the pictures!

And finally, behind the scenes pictures as always. Last two pictures by Kitty!

Kitty's website: www.kittygallannaugh.com

Kitty's blog: heartfuldream.tumblr.com

Katie's website: www.katieeleanor.com

Katie's blog: katieandthemimzy.blogspot.com

A day in London with Amber

2011-06-07T10:39:00.000+01:00

Last Wednesday whilst I was at work, I received a text from Amber asking if I was free the next day for a trip to London! I hardly ever go to London without a super-busy schedule planned well in advance, so I jumped at the chance to go in to just spend time with a friend and mooch around and relax.

(Of course, as always we couldn't help but take pictures of each other as you'll see below!)

And here are a few pictures that Amber took of me, including a few behind the scenes shots!

You can find Amber's blog post which contains all her pictures from the day over at her blog HERE!

OVL magazine editorial

2011-05-28T13:49:00.001+01:00

Back in late February I was planning an editorial and on a whim decided to email a local glossy magazine to see if they were interested in having editorial work shot for them. To my delight they did indeed, and after months of waiting the June issue is finally here!

A big thank you to the gorgeous Felicity Allman for her modelling, the talented Emma Hardware for her lovely makeup work, and finally to Felicity's lovely mum for driving her all the way down to Bedford for the shoot!

Here's a better view of the smaller images (and a few extras!)

And last of all, a quick behind the scenes shot. I really need to start taking more of these!

In the setting sun

2011-05-23T11:42:00.000+01:00

Just another quick series of self-portraits shot in the beautiful setting sun one day. I'm currently wrapping up a few projects at the moment, but when I've sorted that all out and have a bit more free time on my hands I am very excited to go and shoot self-portraits outside again on the regular. I miss them!

Things to come..

2011-05-15T19:06:00.001+01:00

I noticed a few days back that I've really not been posting a lot of work recently - and it's not because I've not been shooting, I promise! I've found that quite a few shoots that I have been doing I've not been able to post online straight away, mainly due to the work awaiting publication. It kills me to keep work under wraps but publication makes it all worth while in the end!

So here's just a little preview of what I've been up to over the last few months that I've not been able to post yet..

Rokit Vintage A/W 11 Lookbook

I am not sure when I am going to be able to post the images, but recently I was approached to shoot a 7 look Autumn/Winter Lookbook for Rokit Vintage. The shoot was great fun and was the biggest team I have worked with to date - 7 people. I also shot my first fashion work with a male model on that shoot - a new experience for me!

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OVL Magazine July edition shoot

Back in March I shot an editorial for a local glossy magazine called Ouse Valley Living. The aim of the editorial was to shoot styling that was available in the shops in the town centre, and shoot it next on Bedford's beautiful river Embankment. The gorgeous Felicity (pictured) travelled all the way down from Norwich for the shoot and I couldn't be more excited to post the results!

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Rebecca De Winter album and inlay artwork

Over two days of shooting in March and a day of shooting in May, I shot my first album artwork with the super talented singer-songwriter Rebecca De Winter. The shoots resulted in Rebecca posing in a sunken boat in a freezing cold lake, our being chased by wild horses and attacked by guard geese. The album is out in June and I am dying to hear more from this talented lady!

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Thirst for Vision editorial: Abby

This editorial was shot back in December. It was more of a impromptu shoot than an editorial, but I was so happy with the pictures that I just had to hold onto them until I found a magazine to submit them to. Issue 5 coming on the 15th June!

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Future shoots and things..

- My favourite girlies Kitty Gallannaugh and Katie Eleanor and I are currently sorting out a date for us to all meet together for a photo day. I am ridiculously excited about this and will be writing the longest, most image-heavy blog post when it's over!

- Katie Eleanor and I will be collaborating on a shoot with a model in the very near future.

- I am assisting Steven Read on a photo shoot in the next week which I'll be posting lots of behind the scenes shots from.

- And hopefully, lots more photo days in general. I plan to pass my driving test in the summer which will help a great deal with this sort of thing (and for my own shoots too!).

50mm 1.4 repair

2011-04-28T08:18:00.000+01:00

About a month ago, my Canon 50mm 1.4 lens suddenly stopped working on me. No auto focus or manual focus, nothing. I was horrified - this is my favourite lens and I use it for nearly all of my work.

So naturally, I went to my insurance company to file a claim. I posted the lens off to them, they rang me back and due to my excess, quoted me £200 for the repair. I got it sent back to me, pretty sure that Canon do it cheaper. And they do. I sent my lens off to them, and got a quote of £105!

So whose fault is this? Do I send an angry letter to the insurance company? Or is it out of their hands as they outsource their repairs? Either way, somebody is making money by taking advantage of peoples' desperation and it's not fair.

Moral of the story: if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, I beg of you to get more than one quote!

But on a lighter note, here is a celebratory self portrait taken with my newly-repaired 50mm..

Bluebell photo day with Amber-Rose Smith

2011-04-26T09:29:00.001+01:00

On Easter Friday I took the train to see my super-lovely friend Amber for the first time in ages. I love meeting up with her - we chat for hours about nerdy things and take photos until our arms ache and our cards fill up!

Amber took me to a beautiful location right next to her home which was just full of bluebells, I'd never seen that many or been more excited to shoot in a location in my life! The light was perfect and Amber looked lovely as always and I am absolutely thrilled to bits with the photos I came away with.

Here are a few of the shots Amber took of me - keep your eyes peeled for lots more from this day on her BLOG and FLICKR!

And finally, a few behind the scenes shots!

Mini shoot with Lizzie

2011-04-20T10:24:00.000+01:00

My sister is entering a modelling competition and at the weekend, as I promised, I shot some photos of her for her entry. I know I am probably being super boring with all the blossom photos I have been uploading recently, but I just can't resist shooting it!

Spring in film

2011-04-14T10:02:00.001+01:00

After being kindly informed by Katie Eleanor that you could by film in Poundland (!), I couldn't resist giving it a go. I don't usually shoot in film a lot because of the expense of processing, but I'm definitely considering incorporating a bit of film work into future shoots after seeing the results of this super-cheap test roll.

All pictures shot with the equipment pictured below, Canon AE-1 and FD 50mm 1.8 and Kodak ColourPlus 200.

Sea breeze

2011-04-04T12:40:00.001+01:00

This is the lovely Charlotte Godfrey, who I managed to squeeze in a little shoot with whilst I stayed in Norwich with my friends last month. The weather was absolutely appalling, but Charlotte was an absolute trooper, she worked through it all and didn't complain once. I am so excited to work with this lovely lady again!

Photo day with Katie Eleanor

2011-03-24T13:28:00.001Z

Last Sunday I finally got to meet a huge inspiration and good friend of mine, Katie Eleanor. I've been following Katie's inspiring work for so long now and it was wonderful to finally meet the lovely lady herself!

Despite being without my favourite lens (the now-broken 50 1.4), I am thrilled to bits with the shots I managed to capture of Katie in between being told off by snotty London ladies for lying in flowers and being asked by tourists if they can have their picture taken with us (?)

And here are some of the pictures she took of me, I especially love the one with the daffodils. For once in my life my freckles look cool!

And finally, a shot of the two of us (I know I can't smile in photos to save my life!)

If you fancy a peek at Katie's gorgeous work, it can be found over at her FLICKR and BLOG ♥

Étoilée Magazine editorial

2011-03-22T10:42:00.001Z

After having this editorial lying around for a while, I was thrilled to bits to be given the opportunity to have it published by the lovely Jodie Andrews, editor-in-chief of Étoilée magazine. Not only has Jodie created this wonderful magazine by herself, but she is also a fantastic photographer too - check out her portfolio HERE!

My image came second in a poll to choose the cover shot for the magazine, and as a result is featured on the cover of the online version of Étoilée, so a huge thank you is in order to anybody who voted for me!

Click the images below to view the magazine and full editorial. Extra un-used pictures from the shoot will be going up on my website as soon as I have the time to update it, so keep your eyes peeled! :)

Bow

2011-03-09T11:40:00.000Z

I am starting to feel as if I don't really have the time to take self-portraits any more, and I can't work out if this is a good or bad thing! My head is leaning towards "good" right now, as I suppose it means I am spending all my time on projects that are probably more beneficial to my portfolio, but I must admit I do get enjoyment out of shooting self-portraits on a whim. Tough one!

Photo day with Kitty Gallannaugh #2

2011-03-07T10:53:00.000Z

I am really sorry if I am boring you all with all of these photo days I've been having, but I just find them to be so, so inspiring and I can't get enough of them!

Yesterday I met up with the lovely Kitty Gallannaugh again for another photo day, this time in a different, but equally beautiful location. She has a real knack for picking the best places! This time I must admit I didn't manage to shoot as many photos as I did last time, but I'm pretty sure that was because we couldn't stop talking!

aaaaand here are my favourites from the pictures she shot of me, and you can see her blog post with her entire set of pictures HERE!

www.kittygallannaugh.com

heartfuldream.tumblr.com

Digital Photographer magazine publication

2011-02-22T08:57:00.000Z

At the very end of 2010 I was approached by Digital Photographer magazine, asking if they could use one of my images and my thoughts on the subject in an article discussing the current trend in photographers (especially younger ones) processing their digital shots to look like film. I was so flattered to be given this opportunity and nearly died of excitement when the latest issue dropped through my door the other week!

The article is called "The Digital Revival of Film" and is published in Issue 105 which is on sale right now.

I apologise for the terrible scans - I always have trouble scanning magazines in and I always get that annoying blurry out of focus bit at the edge! If you'd like to see the articles a bit bigger, just click the images.

Photo day with Rosie Hardy and Alex Cameron

2011-02-15T13:32:00.001Z

At the end of last week, I met up with Rosie and Alex for a photo day. I always love to collaborate and meet up with other photographers, it's always great fun and I love being able to rattle on about photography without making anybody fall asleep!

Due to annoying coach times, we only had a few hours together but it was definitely worth it - we all went home with cards full of pictures and fit in many more outfits and locations than I thought would be possible in the time we had. As always with photo days, it was incredibly inspiring and I can't wait to meet the two of them again (even if it involves me having to pose in a freezing lake again for the sake of art!)

Here are just a few of the shots I took of them - they both make wonderful models. I'm in the process of finishing a few more but I just couldn't wait any longer to blog about this unfortunately!

Rosie's shots of me (click the images to see them on her Flickr)

and Alex's shots of me (click the images to see them on her Flickr)

And last but not least, a few little out-takes and behind the scenes shots!

If you're not familiar with Rosie or Alex's work, I highly recommend you check out their beautiful portfolios - you won't be disappointed, promise!

www.rosiehardy.com
alexandracameron.carbonmade.com

Colour

2011-02-01T12:58:00.000Z

I've never really been one to take sunset photos, but I just couldn't resist this when I was on my way back from the Post Office yesterday. It's weird, but I always find I shoot my best personal work walking through the woods on my way back from posting letters and Ebay items!

And a bit more nature-related personal work (as all my personal work seems to be!) I shot the close up rose shot with the reverse lens macro technique - I don't really ever have much use for it but it's really cool to experiment with!

Lizzie

2011-01-20T10:47:00.000Z

A few weekends ago I finally managed to convince my sister to model for me for the first time in years, and it pains me to say this, but I hate how much better she looks in my clothes than I do!

Blustery

2011-01-16T14:26:00.001Z

Not the most interesting series of self-portraits, but this year I'm trying to a bit more relaxed about what I post online as I think being too critical of my own work has left me uploading a lot less often in the past. What do you think? Is it possible to be too critical of your own work?

Photo day with Amber-Rose Smith

2011-01-12T15:05:00.001Z

Back in September I met up with the lovely photographer and good friend of mine Amber Smith for a photo day, much like I did with Kitty a few weeks later. Amber and I found both a smoke machine and a bubble machine in her garage and it was super fun to work with them! It took a while to get the hang of getting the smoke machine to work how we wanted it to with the wind as it was, but I think we got there in the end!

Unfortunately it gets dark so quickly at this time of year and after all the setting up of the machines I didn't manage to take as many pictures as I'd have liked, but either way I'm really happy with what I shot and it's always lovely to meet Amber for nerdy photography conversations anyway :)

Amber also shot some pictures of me with the bubble machine, I wish I'd thought up this idea myself!

Amber's gorgeous work can be found on both Flickr and her Facebook fan page at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amber-rosesmith
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amber-Rose-Photography/151135721580914

Haze

2011-01-05T11:40:00.000Z

Just a quick series of self-portraits shot in this morning's beautiful light. I am so excited for spring to arrive and for the sun to come out properly!

Snow

2010-12-22T14:39:00.001Z

After all the snowfall we've had recently, I couldn't resist going out to take some self-portraits in the snow. It was far too cold though and I reckon I could have done much better if the cold hadn't got the better of me. Either way, here you go!

And last but not least, a bit more snow-related personal work that I've shot over the last week or so. I've never seen snowfall this crazy!

Thirst for Vision editorial

2010-12-20T09:37:00.000Z

Back at the start of November I shot my first ever fashion editorial, a knitwear-themed series for online magazine Thirst for Vision. I woke up this morning to find that the issue has finally been released and that I'm now able to post the work online!

It was scary as hell to finally push myself to do this and organise it all and there are a million things I'd have done differently now, but I am so glad I did it. I really want to shoot more work like this in 2011 and collaborate with all sorts of creatives (especially stylists!), so please get in contact if you'd be interested in working with me!

Thirst for Vision issue four is available to read online HERE and it's an all-out editorial issue jam-packed with wonderful images, I highly recommend you take a peek!

Model: Lucy Clare

MUA: Emma Hardware

Styling: Myself

Photo day with Kitty Gallannaugh

2010-12-13T14:07:00.001Z

Last month I finally managed to get into London to meet the super-talented Kitty Gallannaugh for the first time for a nerdy photo day! We visited one of her favourite shoot locations and even though it started to rain half way through the day we took pictures of each other and chatted to our hearts content.

Here are some of my shots which I have been dying to show you guys, I wish I'd had the time to blog about this before now!

And last of all, here are some of the photos she took of me! I'm always a bit cautious about other people taking my photo as I am really fussy with how I look in them, but I am so happy with these it's crazy (especially since I had no time to put makeup on that morning, haha!)

And finally, a few silly outtakes!

If you're not familiar with Kitty's work, I strongly recommend you look at her website and check it out - you won't be disappointed I promise! :)

www.kittygallannaugh.com

Continued frost

2010-12-07T11:55:00.001Z

Sorry to spam you all with personal work but the frost we have had over the last couple of days has been too beautiful not to photograph!

Frostbite

2010-12-06T10:01:00.000Z

Just a bit of personal work shot this morning, the frost is beautiful!

More rain!

2010-11-05T17:30:00.000Z

I wish we'd have more frosty mornings than constantly rainy days, but at least it makes for nice pictures! The last shot is a still from a short film I started a while back which I'd love to put online once I've shot more footage for it.

Shrug

2010-10-29T10:13:00.000+01:00

Apologies for the lack of proper updates recently - I've been so busy I've not had the time to blog much, but I've got loads of things to write about so more updates will be coming soon! Just thought I'd update with a couple of quick self-portraits I shot last night, I'm not sure why but I'm really happy with how the top one came out!

Both of these can be viewed better on my Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dismantlerepair

RedRock Fashion shoot #2

2010-09-28T15:01:00.000+01:00

Just before I went on holiday, I did another shoot with RedRock Fashion and although the weather was appalling, I'd say we held up pretty well! I've just finished them in time for the label's debut show in Brick Lane in which the shots were featured and projected onto the wall of the venue. There'll be a blog post about the show coming as soon as I've finished all the pictures from the event, so keep your eyes peeled!

A huge thank you to the fantastic team:

Model: Ashli Rosetti

MUA: Maya Chavda

Styling: Kiran Lall/RedRock Fashion

Assistant: Sophie Mason

And as always, a behind the scenes shot! Thank you Sophie!

www.redrockfashion.co.uk

Blue

2010-09-21T15:21:00.000+01:00

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, I've been away on holiday for two weeks and this is the first chance I've had to update everything properly! Here's bit of new personal work shot recently while I've been away - I've got a few more shots to finish but things are a bit hectic at the moment for me with shoots and events going on. More updates and lots of new work to come!

RedRock Fashion shoot

2010-08-10T19:15:00.000+01:00

At the end of last month I had the fantastic opportunity to shoot RedRock Fashion's new collection in Northampton and work with a great team of creatives. The clothing featured will be available to purchase here very soon, and fingers crossed I'll be shooting more of the new collection in a matter of weeks!

More pictures to come!

Model: Chelsea Tarbox

MUA: Alanda Earnshaw
Hair Styling: Natalie Amodio
Styling: Kiran Lall and Nicola Amodio

And finally here's a couple of behind the scenes shots. For more behind the scenes shots and RedRock Fashion updates, check out their blog!

www.redrockfashion.co.uk
redrockfashionblog.blogspot.com

Sketchbook Magazine

2010-07-26T14:56:00.001+01:00

Last week I was offered the opportunity to shoot in Sketchbook Magazine's pop-up shop in Carnaby Street and spent the day shooting Max C clothing with the gorgeous Claudia and Denisa. This was my first shoot working with a make up artist, models and styling, and I can't wait to do something similar again.

I've found a couple of blogs with behind the scenes pictures and more over at: Adorngirl and The London Insider.

MUA: Karn Kachiko

Models: Denisa Toma and Claudia Ornelas

Clothing: Max C

Commissioned by: Sketchbook Magazine

And behind the scenes.. (photo credit to the lovely lovely Adorngirl!)

I've got a shoot coming up on Wednesday so it looks like I'll be posting lots more images in the near future, I'm so happy to be busy again! And although I've not advertised it properly yet, I am now available for summer shoot bookings, please don't hesitate to get in contact if you're interested!

Enquiries to: cat@dismantlerepair.co.uk, or find me on Facebook!

New camera!

2010-07-19T14:40:00.000+01:00

After being on the waiting list for what seems like forever, my 5D Mark II has arrived! I've had it for about a week and it's taking some getting used to as with the zoom lens, it's about twice the weight of my old camera and much bigger but I already love it to bits!

Unfortunately, all my old spare batteries aren't compatible with it so I'll have to buy another battery soon, but at least my remote still works (even though I'm planning to take far fewer self-portraits now after a bit of a reality check!)

Thanks to Graham for the sad unboxing pictures!

I've also acquired my first piece of L glass, the 24-70mm, and although it weighs nearly a kilo, it really is a fantastic bit of kit!

My first set of pictures shot on the 5D will be online soon - I did a shoot for Sketchbook Magazine in their pop up shop in Carnaby Street earlier this week, so they'll all be online once I've finished retouching them. I'll also blog about it too :)

Fresh air

2010-07-14T14:38:00.000+01:00

I really hope it rains again soon so I can improve on this last shot - it only rained for 10 minutes at the most and for half of that I was working out the best way to capture the rain!

Walk in the woods

2010-07-07T13:26:00.000+01:00

A bit of personal work shot on the way to the post office.

LCC Exhibition

2010-07-02T17:19:00.000+01:00

Apologies for taking forever to write this blog post - I moved back from London about a week ago (probably more, I'm losing track of the days!) and I am still unpacking all of my things.

The exhibition went really, really well and I was shocked at the amount of people that turned up - I couldn't put a number on it but there seemed to be about 10 times as many people there than I imagined there would be! The best part of it for me was finally being able to see the work that my classmates want to shoot and specialise in, as before now I'd only seen the work that people submitted for the projects.

Here was my display:

I was so, so chuffed with how the prints came out, I would definitely recommend Digilab London to anyone looking to get exhibition work printed! The print on the left is a 36x24" canvas, and the smaller prints are crystal archive mounted onto foamcore.

I also used Blurb.com to make a portfolio book that was placed beneath my prints - it took forever but it was definitely worth it! At some point I'll do a video of the book being leafed through if anybody is interested :)

The preparation took forever and I let it stress me out far too much than it should have done - but it was definitely worth it in the end and I think I've learnt an important lesson to try and not worry about things as much.

Uni

2010-02-19T17:23:00.001Z

Okay, I really am terrible at keeping a blog. If I'd have left updating this any longer I probably would have forgotten I had a blog in the first place! I think my discovery of Tumblr is to blame, I find blogging my work and photo inspiration on there much easier than doing it on here. You can find my tumblr here if you'd like a look!

We're coming to the end of the set projects on my course, and I figured I may as well blog the work I've done for them. I'm really looking forward to starting my final project, although I have no idea what we are going to be asked to do! I hope we get to come up with our own theme.

PROJECT ONE: RIVER THAMES

I was quite surprised at how happy I was with the results of this project, as having to do these sorts of shots really makes me step out of my comfort zone!

PROJECT TWO: STREET FASHION

I really can't thank the gorgeous Rose enough for modelling for me for this. I really want to expand my portfolio with more of these sorts of shots.

PROJECT THREE: POINT OF CONTACT

This was taken with a setup consisting of a tripod tied to a ladder - I wouldn't really recommend it if you value your camera! Luckily mine didn't fall, but it wasn't the safest of structures.

PROJECT FOUR: I LIVE HERE

Based around the concept of living indoors - I think this is possibly the weakest shot I have submitted so far. I'm okay with it, I just think I could have shot something a bit better for this concept.

PROJECT FIVE - SELF PORTRAIT 2010

The process of shooting this taught me a valuable lesson - stop worrying! I find if I keep worrying about how the pictures are going to turn out, they turn out bad, and if I don't worry and just get on with it, they turn out alright.

I've got a couple of gripes about course, about the organisation of it and things like that, but overall I'm really enjoying it. I feel like I'm learning loads and part of me wishes it went on for longer. I'm leaving in June and will be going freelance - let me know if you'd like a shoot. I'm also looking for assisting work if anybody knows any photographers who'd take me on !