A couple of weeks ago, after landing back to London Heathrow, my phone informed me that I’d been “mentioned” on an unknown app called “Steller“. As is normally the case with this kind of thing, I initially brushed it off as an invite to yet another useless social media/networking tool that will likely disappear after I’ve put effort into using it. However, something grabbed my attention with this one: It listed a company that I’d recently photographed for and […]
Well, that wasn’t a bad little “haul” – 6 images credited in this year’s Epson Pano Awards 2015 🙂 On the list of award-winning images, some of my favourites: “Alone“, gaining a silver award, along with “Reveal” from New Zealand, “Bonsai” from California, “Settle” from New Zealand, “The Morning After” from Sydney and “Financial Freedom” from New York. I guess that makes it a truly International spread of awards, and adds to some of the fantastic […]
Well, that’s it! After 3 long years being based in Shanghai, this is one of the last images I captured of this amazing skyline. In the illuminated cityscapes I’ve now shot so many times, it’s easy to forget about all the problems, issues, health effects and frustrations that come as a downside to living in such a rapidly expanding metropolis – at least the view’s amazing! But stood on top of yet another amazing rooftop location, I […]
“Malaysia, truly Asia” – The jingle on the TV ad, plane intro’s and travel programmes that I’ve been hearing for years and years really did come true last week – and not only for all the good reasons they intended… I’m sat writing this blog beneath bright blue skies and a fresh breeze in Bali – and with all of that above me, it’s too easy to forget the horrendous conditions I left behind in Kuala Lumpur last […]
“Welcome to W Doha, we saw you had a good flight” – was my welcome as I entered this amazing hotel. Granted, W Hotels are unique in the way they really take time to get to know their guests, but I was still surprised. “Oh, we saw your instagram post”, was the response when I looked back at him slightly puzzled. Ahhhh, I get it… Entering in to the lobby (or “Living Room” in W speak), you’re […]
Tokyo – what a truly amazing place. Full of modern innovation, side by side with centuries of culture and history. It’s one of my favourite cities in the world, and despite visiting a few times (I’ve climbed Mount Fuji twice now!) – it was another tick off the list to head back there and capture an iconic image of the skyline before I leave Asia for a while. The standard stereotypes can actually be pretty accurate […]
Well, *I* was back for winter – I’m going to guess the willow trees themselves didn’t go anywhere since I was there last year! For those who remember my shots from last winter – “myst” and “the three witches“, you’ll recall that we were pretty much fog-bound for the window we had to shoot. This time, with the flexibility of our “Jucy Casa” home on wheels, I was determined to get a shot showing the true […]
At the time of writing, this is literally the highest platform that a Phase One system has ever been in the world – pretty cool! Being able to capture the view below in 80 megapixels of definition is amazing, and the level of detail I managed to record (despite the circumstances you’ll soon read about below!) still surprises me. This might even become my new desktop background for little while 😉 Looking down on two of the world’s tallest […]
My first visit to Beijing was a bit of a mixed bag – on the one hand, it would have been “rude not to” visit the capital city, given I’ve been living so close in Shanghai. On the other, it didn’t really impress me as much as I’d expected. Given the effort it took in order to get there, I also wasn’t keen to repeat the visit. However, a random “empty weekend” and a chat […]
Per Aquum Huvafen Fushi – A surreal Maldives luxury resort in the North Malé Atoll. They call this place “a waking dream” – and having had the pleasure of shooting with these guys many times over the past couple of years, I can tell you it’s an accurate description! Not only is the island a hideaway of perfection in the middle of the Indian Ocean, but I can honestly say the guys there are some of the most […]
That’s right – we’re looking for models to shoot a set of brand images in the Maldives next month 🙂 We’re shooting in two of the most luxurious Maldivian resorts in April, and are looking for two faces that can represent each of the properties. Sadly, we’re on a bit of a tight timescale, but for those interested in expanding their book and/or adding a campaign to their portfolio, this is a great opportunity. If you […]
Well this was a trip down memory lane – in more than one sense of the phrase… I last saw Ed Sheeran play live at a realtively small venue – the O2 Academy in Bournemouth. Back then, 4 years ago, he was still playing as a “new act” in many ways and had a growing base of loyal fans who sang along to every song with perfect timing. Also, “back then”, I was shooting a few […]
You may not be aware, but 2015 is the International Year of Light (or “IYL 2015”) – a global initiative adopted by the United Nations and UNESCO to raise awareness of how light and optical technologies can promote sustainable development and provide solutions to worldwide challenges in energy, education, agriculture, communications and health. Along with over 100 scientific bodies spanning countries all around the world, SPIE organised a photo contest some time ago, and to my […]
As they say, there are three types of lies in this world: Lies, damned lies and… weather reports. If I’d actually paid attention to the forecast, I would never have witnessed (let alone photographed) this scene in Xingping, near Guilin in Southern china. Titled “portal”, this image represents a painful 3 days with almost no sleep – so maybe I’m too attached to it – but still, I do love that view. While my inability to speak […]
“Never work with children or animals”, they say. Luckily, the discussion I had with Per Aquum about photographing a 10th birthday didn’t relate to either. Instead, we were shooting memories of the staff at their stunning Maldives resort – “Huvafen Fushi” ten years on from its original opening. They have a lot to celebrate – 10 years ago when they opened, it was one of the most innovative resorts to be launched in the (now aspired to) Maldivian […]
Approaching the city of Auckland for the second time this year, I didn’t hold out much hope for a great set of images. Based on some of the weather “challenges” we’d encountered on the south island during this trip to New Zealand, despite being lucky with a few images it seemed that Auckland’s weather wasn’t set to be much better. Still, when you’ve travelled for 12 hours to get somewhere it would be rude to […]
I was asked last week, as part of a written interview, if I’d ever had to get out of my “comfort zone” in order to get the shot I wanted – the answer, of course, was “yes”, and many times over. The next question was, funnily enough, about how I approach a brand new city in terms of locations and what to shoot. So, what better than a live demonstration as answers to both questions […]
Imagine waking up to this view at sunrise every morning. The crystal blue water, vibrant pink sky at sunrise and sunset, the tranquil overwater jetty leading out to your own private villa (or in the case above, the entrance to the island’s underwater spa). It’s all just “wow” and a memory I’ll always keep with me. Sadly, the web version of these 80mp images don’t really do them justice – but I can assure you […]
A few miles south of the town of Rotorua, on the north island of New Zealand, lies a very special place. Of course, New Zealand itself is home to many volcanoes and much of its stunning scenery has its origins in volcanoes, glaciers and all manner of activity deep within the Earth – but this is one of the few places I’ve visited where you really can get up close and personal with nature… …and […]
As always, the most frustrating images to capture are also the most rewarding. At 7pm on New Year’s Eve, this is the night shot I was taking from a nearby rooftop looking out over Shanghai’s “Nanpu Bridge”. “Over The Rainbow” – print available to buy now The bridge is one of two spans which link the two sides of the city – PuDong and PuXi. Not only is the HangPu river one of the busiest […]
THIS is the Shanghai I see. 🙂 “Shanghai Calling” – Print available to buy now Millions of images exist of the PuDong skyline taken from The Bund, the famous “Oriental Pearl Tower” now dwarfed by the presence of Jin Mao and the SWFC – indeed, I’ve even shot it myself (although granted, from a slightly different angle 😉 ) So, why would I want to shoot a road network? Well, for two reasons: 1) When […]
Many people said : “you’ll love the street photography opportunities in Shanghai” and from looking around the galleries here, I was always certain they were right. The challenge is, as someone who’s never really gotten into that genre, it’s tough to know what makes a good street photo or not. Walking around Xintiandi in downtown Shanghai, you’d be forgiven for thinking the opportunities for any good form of street photography would be limited to shooting […]
Thames Town – according to Wikipedia, has “architecture [which] is themed according to classic English market town styles. There are cobbled streets, Victorian terraces and corner shops.” So, what a nice change from the bustling polluted streets of Shanghai it would be to go and have a look around (besides, it’s always fun as a Brit to see how other countries look at us – take Disney’s Epcot Center for a perfect example!)… On very […]
Within a week of landing in Shanghai, I’d already heard from two people about “The Restaurant”. Owned by acclaimed French chef Paul Pairet and as a sister property to Mr & Mrs Bund, his latest project is known as “Ultraviolet“. The killer? It hosts 10 guests, on 1 table, for only 1 sitting each night. With as much technology involved as kitchen mastery, in an unknown location, and a nightmare wait-list for a fixed tasting menu which […]
