Quarterly

Has it really been that long since my last blog post? Apparently so. A lot's happened in that time for me, events have come and gone, couples have made their vows and a certain roll of film has made it's shuttle journey across vast bodies of water. The clocks have also gone back, the trees have gotten naked and the temperature is making me want to follow the birds south. But instead I've headed east, to Berkshire, where my office now lives.

Back in sunny Wales though, I had one of my favourite shoots this summer with Droneboy Laundry. There was virtually no time, no plan, a handful of ideas, no locations and no excuses. We got busy.

We spent about an hour and a half wandering the mean streets of Barry looking for backdrops that fitted in with our ideas, shooting as we hunted. There was no time for weighing up pros and cons, just get that spark and shoot. It's time's like that when you're glad you spent so many years making the most ridiculous mistakes over the ins and outs of f/stop this and ISO that, you just don't have to worry any more as instinct takes over and creativity is free to become what it's meant to become.

The above shot of Tom sums up everything about that afternoon really. I'd get an angle or a composition in my head which I would then watch unfold further in front of me as Tom and Dave (owner of Droneboy) just did what they did, what Droneboy represents. A lifestyle that these guys are a part of, or just simply are. It felt more like I was documenting what Droneboy was all about rather than doing the usual commercial thing of plastering pristine white t-shirts awkwardly into compositions that thrust them in the faces of the viewer. It was liberating.

Speaking of liberating, Hospitality at Brixton was pretty cool.

But it's not been all drum n bass. I've had a few weddings over the last month that couldn't have been timed better. It's the same every damn year isn't it? The wonderful British summer never materialises apart from a short bank holiday in late spring and then for a single working week once the kids are back in school. One evening you'll go to bed following this:

And then wake up a few hours later to this:

Lucky for me though, wedding planners are geniuses! No really they are. It can rain all damn day, but just as you get to that slight break in the schedule where you want to nip out to take a few photos with the Bride and Groom, right on cue...

B-E-A-UTIFUL. I guess that marks the end of wedding season. Anyone want me to fly me to some nice snowy mountains for a winter of adventure?