Gu Photography Blog

I recently shot Janice Graham the band in collaboration with Manchester Music. It was a blast to blasting light into the sun for an hour or so, before resorting back to the shade.

An hour may seem rather generous to some, but I always try to offer a few variations for the editor, so they will always have a choice.

While I scouted for “clean” background in a messy back yard, my assistant Duncan offloaded all the lights and camera (yet some say men can’t multitasking?).

Now the technical stuff for the geek who reads my blog (assuming there are 2 readers, 1 of which must be a geek). My primary light source were 2x Elinchrom ranger pack, one with beauty dish, the other on a westcott apollo softbox, plus the setting sun. I used a bunch of pocket wizards so I can trigger the different set ups within ease, time is money. I know this is light weight compared to some but considering we rolled up in a fiesta, the amount of gear we packed is quite impressive

The shoot smooth sailed, these lads were up for anything, including sitting right next to a fire, launching into the air and diving for flaming hot sausages!

After bagged the two variations, I turned off the strobe, ready to wrap up, then I saw some rich green foliage along the garden path. I couldn’t resist to let go of the shot, swapped 135mm with a 50mm, and quickly grabbed everyone for some singles in between their “sausage butty feasting”.

Note to myself: next time shooting a teenage rock band, bring a makeup artist … cleaning spots off their faces took me forever!

Now allow me to proudly introduce: Janice Graham the band (in no particular order), you can read the interview feature here.

I’ve always puzzled by people’s enthusiasm about sea in Britain, as far as my memory goes. Yet I have never given up the hope to find out what drives millions to the seaside towns every year, despite the cold, the wind, the not so great donkey rides and mediocre fish & chips.

So I took a day out to a seaside town that I heard so much about but never visited – Scarborough.

According to the BBC forecast, April Fool’s day was the only day with clear sky and a bit of sun, whether that was a deliberate attempt to celebrate the occasion or not, I could only find out when I get there.

By 8.30am, I got to the sea front, and it was sunny! Great visibility with little cloud, yet somehow I felt the wind was trying to blow me all the way back to Manchester! I knew there was a catch somewhere but wind never crossed my mind …

Here is the only shot I took with my digital camera throughout the day, I did it only to check the exposure because I left my light meter behind

I will share the rest once the films come back from the lab, there will be plenty more stories to come, including an amazing journey of a sand sculptor, who managed to build his entire fortune (7 digits) using two hands, a handful of tools, buckets, water and sand!

Watch this space

It has been a good while since I travelled, now the bug is back and itchier than ever!

Though my current commitment means I won’t be able to do so in the foreseeable future, nothing is going to stop me digging up the archive and plan for the future.

As I go through my past captures, I will gradually put some of them up to share, which I haven’t done so with any of you yet