My New Kit

For Christmas, Santa gave me a brand new AF-S NIKKOR 50mm Lens and a set of 3 ND Filters with a 52 adapter (I had to order a 58 adapter to fit the lens which is just waiting for me to pick it up) for Christmas and I can't wait to try them out. My Dad also gave me his old Minolta XG-M with a fixed 50mm lens and flash-head which I need to get repaired but I can't wait to use. Once I get it fix. 

I also thought I would say that when I started photography I started using a Fuji FinePix S3400, then I moved on to using a Nikon D40 and now I use a Nikon D3200 with a 18-55mm and 55-200mm lens and now I am really happy that I can add all of this new gear to my arsenal.

My Christmas Presents

Yesterday I did a little experiment and did a little Still Life shoot featuring my presents from Christmas including a new 50mm lens and set of ND filters, my Dad also gave me his old camera, I also got loads of clothes, aftershave and chocolates. I might add some self-portrait pictures of my Christmas clothes but either I just thought that I would post and say that the full set is on my Facebook page so please check them out.

Minchella's

I think I may have posted a similar picture before but I have just finished editing and uploading a set of images from my first shoot at Minchellas, where I took pictures of a delicious ice cream with the sun setting in the background. I'm really proud of this little shoot plus I got to eat some delicious ice cream afterwards. Check out the full set of images here; https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.455425647891887.1073741902.323221521112301&type=1.

Behind the Scenes

Earlier this year I did some "behind the scenes" stuff for some other photographers and a few weeks ago I did it again for this shoot with Anth and Melissa. I really enjoy doing this kind of work; as a relatively new and rough around the edges photographer, I really appreciate the opportunity to work with other established and professional photographers. This allows me to take not of their style and approaches to shoots and lets me think of what I do wrong and what I do right and what I can improve on. I post a little folder on my Facebook page and Anth made this great montage from the pictures so I thought I would post it here. Let me know what you guys think.

Windrunner

Here are a few pictures of Amber as Windrunner; a character from World of Warcraft, modelling in Leazes Park in Newcastle (the location for shoot with Sarah and Macara (as Arwen)). I had a great time photographing Amber as Windrunner and I am really looking forward to possibly shooting with her again either as another cosplay character or as herself. I think she did a great job, looking very amused, worried and serious as Windrunner and the full shoot is now on my Facebook page; https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.453980574703061.1073741900.323221521112301&type=3

Amber and Amy (Raven) are the founders of their own cosplay company; Squishy Pandas, which can be found here; https://www.facebook.com/squishypandascosplay.

College Fashion Shoot

So recently I helped some fashion students at my college do a practice shoot for their final projects, however I was ill on the day of their final shoot, however I did a quick shoot with these two students as they also missed the day. So hopefully today I will be posting the rest of the shoot on my page but I thought I would upload some samples to my blog. What do you guys think? Please check out my Facebook page to check out the rest of the shoot, tell me what you think in comments and please check out the rest of my blog. 

Do you think I should do another shoot with these two beautiful girls? I think I had great fun on the shoot and would love to plan my own shoot with them.

Cupcakes

Anyone fancy a cupcake or three? I've just started a Still Life college project that is focused on kitchen utensils or something you would find in the kitchen. So because I had a dozen fairy cakes left over from a party, I brought in half-a-dozen and a display stand into our studio, set up a quick still life table and softbox flash-head and took a handful of pictures for a practice shoot. What do you guys think? More will be up soon.

Melissa and Santa

I just thought I would post this picture of Melissa and Santa as I think it is lovely. I can't wait to do some more shoots with Melissa and I still need to edit the Behind the Scenes shoot and some snaps of Meg who I will hopefully be working with on her upcoming debut shoot. Soon I will be posting a sneak peak of Meg, so keep your eyes peeled for that. Hopefully I will have some more shoots edited soon and I will start planning some shoots for Christmas and 2014.

Ceramic Dress

What do you guys think of this? Halfway through my Christmas Shoot with Fran, a Ceramics students asked me to photograph her dress to enter in it a competition. I think I did quite well considering I only had 5 minutes notice but the student was happy and had some pictures to use and I got a box of chocolates as a thank you so all's when that ends well. 

Melissa

Here's a sneak peak of my shoot with Melissa in Granger Market last week, who looked lovely despite the the cold weather and I managed to get some great pictures including this one which is a lovely detailed shoot which focuses heavily on her eye. Hopefully I will be able to edit and upload the rest of the photos in the next week or so.

Raven

Here's a few pictures of Amy doing an excellent job of cosplay Raven around and under the High-Level Bridge in Newcastle. Amy also added to my Costume and Comics series reading Teen Titans and Trigon. Although she is a first time cosplayer who has never done a shoot before I think Amy did an excellent job modelling Raven; looking very serious and mysterious yet tough and heroic. I'm looking forward to developing my ideas with Amy/Raven and hopefully shooting with her again; perhaps in the studio, using PhotoShop to create the effects of her powers. Something I haven't tried before that would be an interesting and unusual challenge.

Profile Pictures

By Jonathon Keys and Anth Short

This is a first for me; posting someone else's photos but they are of me so I suppose that's alright. These were taken by two photographer I have worked with recently so I thought I would let you all enjoy my ugly mug on the wrong side of the mug.

Enviromental Portraits

This is the final image from my latest college project; Environmental Portraits. Environmental Portraits are all about photographing the subject in their natural environment to make them feel more relaxed and comfortable compared to how they would feel in a harsh and artificial studio. So I shoot my Dad in his office using a 50mm lens (which was my first attempt at using the lens as normally I use a 18-55, 55-200 and 18-24mm lenses) which I initial found tricky since I'm not used to a Manual focusing lens but quickly got used to it. I think this isn't a very photogenic photo but it shows a bit of action and a little insight into my Dad's job.