NIKOLE LOWE - WORLD OF WONDER

Nikole Lowe was one of the tattooist's on the documentary TV show 'London Ink'. Since the show she has opened her own tattoo shop 'Good Times' in Shoreditch, London. Nikole is famous for her Japanese style of tattooing. I shot her in Shoreditch earlier this month for the World of Wonder's 20th Anniversary book. Of course i now want a tattoo. A Japanese style one......

John Sergeant - World of Wonder

I am currently working on a series of portraits to be published in a book to celebrate the World of Wonder's 20th Anniversary. The World of Wonder are an LA based indie production company who also have a London office.

John Sergeant has produced and researched many documentaries for the World of Wonder. We had 30 minutes to do 2 set ups in his Brixton flat and came up with the following portraits.

My New Studio Buddy

I seem to have a new friend to spend my studio days with. He appears unexpectedly once a day to flutter around my head...... The jury is still out on how much we like him. At first glance, he seems quite serene but once he starts flying around, it's slightly distracting, especially since he seems to like circling my head. Still it's only for 1 hour a day, I'm not sure what he does the rest of the time, maybe after using all that energy up he has to rest.

I don't think I've ever seen a butterfly in Winter before. I must give him a name. Little flutterbug......

Tu @ Sainsburys Christmas Commercial

Here is the final Christmas TV Commercial I shot for Sainsburys back in October. It aired on National TV the first week of December

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

And here is a seasonal message from myself and the Tu Clothing/ Sainsburys crew:

BEHIND THE SCENES ON THE MERRY CHRISTMAS SHOOT

Here are the behind the scenes from my recent still life 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' shoot, shot for Tu Clothing at Sainsburys and also handily used in my Christmas cards!  

The lettering was great.  We had a huge version of the word 'MERRY' made up so that the clothing would sit perfectly on the letters as though they were pedestals.  We had the 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' made up to sit together (Merry on top of Christmas) in smaller letters so that it would fit on the set and the big 'MERRY' was in post comped onto the smaller letters for the final frame of the advert.

CATS AT CHRISTMAS

Below are Aiko and Harvey, the cats I shot for my Christmas card.  A full day of festive fun and tinsel was had by all to get the below shots.......

CONEY ISLAND

Coney Island is a peninsula, formerly an island, in southernmost Brooklyn, New York City, USA, with a beach on the Atlantic Ocean.

Coney Island became a resort after the Civil War  With the rail and steamboat lines, and access to the beach came major hotels and public and private beaches, followed by horse racing, amusement parks, and less reputable entertainments such as Three-card Monte, other gambling entrepreneurs, and prostitution.

Between about 1880 and World War II, Coney Island was the largest amusement area in the United States, attracting several million visitors per year. At its height it contained three competing major amusement parks, Luna Park, Dreamland, and Steeplechase Park, as well as many independent amusements.

Today the major parks are the late Astroland,which closed in late 2008, Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, 12th Street Amusements, and Kiddie Park.

Three rides at Coney Island are protected as designated NYC landmarks and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

• Wonder Wheel. Built in 1918 and opened in 1920, this steel Ferris wheel has both stationary cars and rocking cars that slide along a track. It holds 144 riders, stands 150 feet (46 m) tall, and weighs over 2,000 tons. At night the Wonder Wheel's steel frame is outlined and illuminated by neon tubes. 
• The Cyclone roller coaster, built in 1927, is one of the nation's oldest wooden coasters still in operation. A favorite of some coaster aficionados, the Cyclone includes an 85-foot (26 m), 60 degree drop.
• The Parachute Jump was the first ride of its kind. Patrons were hoisted 190 feet (58 m) in the air before being allowed to drop using guy-wired parachutes. Although the ride has been closed since 1968, it remains a Coney Island landmark and is sometimes referred to as "Brooklyn's Eiffel Tower." Between 2002 and 2004, the Jump was completely dismantled, cleaned, painted and restored, but remains inactive. 

I visited Coney Island just before Astroland closed.  Coney Island and it's amusement parks have a strange atmosphere but there is something about the place that I love.  Partially dilapidated and partially restored, it is a contradiction in itself.  Behind the beach and the park stands a bunch of high rises making for a most unusual skyline.  The rides that are still open are packed with people while the ones that are closed stand deserted not so far away.  There is a feeling of hedonism and abandonment, people having a great time at the fun-fair, mixed with the dregs that society abandoned.....

TU November '09 TV Commercial

Below is my Tu Clothing ad, shot for Sainsbury's in October and shown on UK National TV a couple of weeks ago......

THE AMERICAN'S ENCOUNTER WITH A BRITISH BULLDOG

My favourite moment from a recent shoot is pictured below.  

The model/ actor below, Austin, was fresh to London from LA for the very first time.  Instead of showing him some of the usual tourist hot spots, we whisked him straight to London's East End, where I was shooting in the rain on the streets around various council estates.  

Walking back to our winebago, I spotted this bulldog tied up in a van.  After asking the owners permission and enquiring into whether the bulldog was a friendly character, I asked Austin to go and acquaint himself.  Nervous at first, we eventually got him in the van where he got well and truly mauled (in a playful way).  My assistant and I were howling with laughter as I shot it.....Austin was a great sport!

TU Clothing - Autumn TVC

Below is my Autumn execution for Tu Clothing at Sainsbury's. This was shown on UK National TV for 1 week in September.......

BEHIND THE SCENES: SHEBA-CARGO SHOOT

I recently shot an advertising campaign for Sheba cat food. This was in association with Cargo and Natmags.
The shoot required me to source 2 Russian Blue cats to use as models (one main one and one back up). I also had to hire a cat handler to look after the cats and to make sure they performed on set. The cats became like mini celebrities on the shoot, requiring their own private green room and a silent closed set when we were shooting. If cats get upset whilst shooting, they 'stop working' (the cat handlers words) and you can't get them back. So the entire set had to be carefully managed to ensure this didn't happen and we could get the shots needed.

SHEBA - CARGO - NATMAGS PROMOTION

Here are some of the tearsheets from my recent Sheba - Cargo - Natmags shoot. The ads are featured in Cosmopolitan, Company, She, Prima, Good Housekeeping and other Natmags publications. They are also Point Of Sale in Cargo stores across the country.