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.
He was once a pop sensation with Brother Beyond and Worlds Apart, he later managed music talents and produced successful TV show, now he is taking yet another challenge in his career – acting.
I had the opportunity to work with Nathan a little while ago, and it was a great pleasure to get to know someone with a rich background in the show business.
What struck me the most is how humble Nathan is. From the very first client meeting to the shoot, Nathan has made it as easy as breathing, which I was very grateful for. To my pleasant surprise, he is really open minded to my ideas, despite me being an “infant” as a professional photographer. I also thank him for passing on advice without making me look like a tool.
I sincerely wish him a smooth transition into an actor. Especially after my recent discovery of how incredibly challenging acting is as a profession. I certainly look forward to seeing Nathan continue to bring us entertainment in the future.
I would like to thank Emma my agent for setting up meeting in the first place; my assistant Duncan and Jess makeup artist for the hard work, and of course, Mr Moore himself, for bearing the 3 hours that had to put up with me 
I’m tipping my toes into the world of online blogging, hoping to utilise this wonderful platform to learn and share lighting techniques in the photographic world, or I call it the art of shadow puppeteering.
Still learning the ropes of wordpress, plugins, widget, settings, rss feed, spam control, database, blah blah blah … you get the picture … And you wonder why isn’t there an university course on teaching blogging already!
Testing testing testing … then blogging, blogging, blogging!