Friday 30 March 2012

3 simple steps to Great Location Portraiture

More shallow DoF Olympic Golden greats - this one is my Favourite.

It is not fair, and one should not have a 'favourite' but in the whole 'Olympic Golden Greats' series this is mine.

Bob Braithwaite won Olympic Gold for trap shooting at the 1968 Olympics and held the world record for 4years.

All while he was a full time vetinary in rural Lancashire.

He is a wonderful Gentleman.

A life artist.

When Lan Bui and I went to see him to shoot stills and a video, we anticipated we would be there for the morning, we stayed there until way after dark.

Such is the measure of the man.

Have a look at the short video which formed part of the exhibition at the John Lewis Stratford store, sponsored by Manfrotto, it will give you some idea of his philosophy, one could do a lot worse than be inspired by his approach.


I know I was.

This interview was in the days before the Canon C300 and we shot it on a Canon XF305 and a Canon 5dmkII with a 100mm 'L' series Macro.

But where to shoot him?

Bob is not in his first flush of youth, infact he is the oldest surviving British Olympic Gold Medalist, and his mobility is limited.

Bob agreed to be photographed there, in the same Olympic blazer he wore in 1968, when he was in his 40's.

As with all my environmental portraits, the sitter is the very last element I introduce to a scene.

I treat them all very much the same and it is a 3 step process, very much 'jigsaw' like in nature.

1. Identify your 'blank canvas'

Ideally this should be the day before the shoot, but we were shooting in the North of England so this was not practical, so we used Google street view to give us some sort of idea of the terrain on this occasion it did not reveal the exact 'spot' that we would use but it gave us some sort of idea, if you don't do so already use this amazing and powerful location scouting tool.

We did checked the back garden which he was able to get to, but is was not suitable at all.

On checking the front of the house there was a quiet road which curved beautifully away, with a beautiful stone wall running alongside, and a gently sloping hill on the left.

Pretty much ideal for  my Phase One DF with a P65+ back shot at F2.8 on the Schneider LS 110mm.

With every location portrait, I establish my 'blank canvas' which I'm going to put the sitter in.



I like to do this on my own with time to think, analysing the scene in detail, but it's not always possible....

I often find that the 'blank canvas' shot is an interesting shooting it's own right too.

2. Use a 'stand in' who is NOT the model

This is very important

By testing all your your set up of lighting, exposure and pose on someone who is not the sitter you are keeping your model fresh and keen.

We all know how long it can take to set a shot up....getting everything spot on.

I used Lan Bui of the Bui Brothers as a stand in, who shot the video with me, even though he is a year or two younger and a foot or so shorter than Bob.





When I have worked my shot out exactly I introduce my tethered setup on the Gitzo tripod so once I have my 'blank canvas' I don't lose it.

If you use your model for this, they get bored, cold (on this occasion at least) and the shoot loses energy.

And you lose your shot.

This way you can commit to your model spending as little time as possible being photographed.

Using this technique I have managed to shoot many a 60 second celebrity or corporate portrait.

3. Introduce the sitter

By this point all the really hard work has been done and you project the impression of being a 'Pro' and in all probability you will pick up up more work this way.

Who would you employ, a photographer who faff's around eating into your precious time or a shooter who can execute a top quality portrait in moments, with little impact on your day?

The image that we project of ourselves is important, and this should not only be viewed as tool for getting more work.

Better thought out photography means less retouching, more profit and higher standards of your own photography, which is ultimately more rewarding and satisfying.

Interestingly, I initially asked Bob to pose with his Gold medal, which he did reluctantly.......he really wasn't comfortable doing this.





So we shot him without his medal and it made quite a difference to his expression, more relaxed and natural I think.




If you get the chance to 'give back' to someone who has given their time for free do so.

I shot this really quick portrait of Bob, his wife and daughter.



A great little memento of a pretty involved shoot on a cold, cold day.

Finally the lighting.

I wanted to light this shot in a very subtle way, so I used my Elinchrom Quadra with a Chimera Medium soft box at a little more than half a stop over ambient as the key light coming in from camera right.

I also used a super subtle back light way, way over into the muddiest field ever....Lan waded out with the Quadra and a small Chimera soft box and I very carefully talked him in on the correct angle from the position that Bob would be taking.

You can most probably tell that all of this took quite sometime.

Worth it I think.

Thursday 29 March 2012

The Queen of Soul by Justin Sutcliffe

If you only do one thing today please read this enchanting account by Justin Sutcliffe of his once in a lifetime shoot of Aretha Franklin at a private function.

Simply Wonderful.

A great pic too.


Wednesday 28 March 2012

More punch in a smaller and lighter package for the Elinchrom Ranger Quadra

The Quadra is one of those interesting pieces of kit.

When it was first introduced I considered it to be a contender for use on 'one man' quick shoots and I was convinced that the full sized more powerful Elinchrom Rangers would continue to be my mainstay.

As time has passed though, I have found myself using the Rangers less and less, and the Quadra's more and more.

The compact, lower weight and sheer convenience has carried the day on many occasions.

Well there is an interesting upgrade available on the near horizon.

Elinchrom has developed a Lithium Ion battery option for the Quadra, which is smaller, lighter and is rapid to charge too.

Left the current Lead Acid Gel and right the Lithium Ion

Here are the specs


Comparison Chart 
Lead GelLi-ionAdvantage
Flashes @ Minimum Power
(Slow/Fast)
2000/15004800/4200 +240%/+280%
Flashes @ Maximum Power
(Slow/Fast)
150/110320/280+213%/+255%
Recharging Time2hrs1hr 30mins-25%
Battery Dimensions15x8.5x21cm15x8.5x18.5cm-28%
Battery weight1.7Kg0.7Kg-57%

In addition, the Li-ion battery will recharge in 30mins to more than the maximum capacity of the Lead Gel battery!

The good news is that it is you can 'convert' your existing Quadra to accept the LI battery.

Each battery costs £250.00 plus Vat and can be pre ordered at The Flash Centre

I understand that future Quadra's will still be supplied with the current Lead Acid gel battery and that Lithium Ion will be an 'extra'

I will be buying at least 2 of these batteries and will let you know how I get on.

The only fly in the ointment is that some airlines are cautious about letting you fly with Lithium batteries.

Though these batteries are Swiss built to the highest standards, with documentation which shows they are safe complying to International standards, therefore safe to fly with.

But imagine this debate with airport/airline staff.........



Tuesday 27 March 2012

A true Gem of a photograph from Focus on Imaging

I was asked to review portfolios on the Manfotto stand at Focus on imaging this year there were many many good photographs but one stood out to me as being so special and so different that I decided to blog about it.

As readers of this blog will know I like photography that has an edge and communicates something beyond the obvious.

Coltrane Koh bought his folio along for review and this was his opening shot.

It is, I think you will agree, an absolute cracking shot.



A quirky, sensitive, and beautifully lit self portrait with humour in spades.

Coltrane's expression tells such a story.

I will let him describe it in his own words.......

'It is a portrait of my dog, Lucky and myself.

The inspiration for this photo came from two places.

Firstly, my admiration of those old oil portrait paintings in mansion houses.

And secondly, my thought that dog buster collars look just like Elizabethan neck ruffs.

So, 
I combined both ideas and created something (I hoped) is a bit different, and a bit humorous'

A tripple 'A' star plus photo which could yet be my favourite of the year and it is only March.

Lets hope 'Lucky' made a full recovery and is no longer wearing the 'Cone of shame' (Do watch 'Up' if you have not seen it)

Monday 26 March 2012

Medium Format V's DSLR

In the Golden Greats project, all the images were shot on my Phase One P65+ with Schneider lenses.

All that is apart from one.

When we held the private view somebody asked if they were all shot with Phase One?

I said one was not, and asked that person if he could spot it?

I was all too aware which was shot on a DSLR when the prints were being done....and I will come on to that a little later.

But could other photographers there spot it?

Every single one did, and it became quite a talking point, and I found myself, rightly or wrongly, justifying or even defending myself for shooting that one portrait on a DSLR.

Why did Lucinda and I shoot this on the Canon 5d MkII?

Well the idea was to shoot the portrait at F1.2, and this was the very first shot in the series, we wanted to shoot the image on the Phase but time just didn't allow it to happen.

Lucinda was in the Canon camp while I was in the Phase One camp......

We were, and still are, very pleased with the portrait of David Hemery who won gold in the 400 meters hurdles in Mexico 1968, check this YouTube video of his win out and see the margin by which he wins, setting a world record in the process.

I knew there would be a difference between DSLR and Phase One, but I must admit I was taken aback by the gap.






Let me make one thing clear this is not an attack on the 5dmkII.

And I'm not really being totally fair, two different sized files etc

But this is a real world comparison as to how two similar files look when printed BIG

It remains my DSLR of choice(5d MkIII pending, until my credit card gets over the pounding meted out by the purchase of the brilliant Canon C300)

A truly amazing and versatile camera, though don't expect it to hold up compared to a Phase One, particularly if you intend to make a print more than a meter wide.

I know it is not every day that one does this, but when you do what a difference.......

21 megapixels v 60 megapixels, are I believe only part of the story, the rest of the disparity coming from 16 bit capture and those Schneider LS lenses.

I formally used the Hasselblad 'H' System with various different Phase One backs and I made the switch to the Phase One system, a big part of the decision was the lenses, I feel the Schneider LS lenses outperform the Hasselblad lenses on every level, they are smaller and lighter too.

Digital fusion ran a series of tests which make pretty interesting viewing.

How would the Nikon D800 have fared? I would like to do a test at some point but suspect that even with more pixels than the 5D MkII that it would not be close.

Monday 19 March 2012

I'm very happy with this!



When you have a sponsored event, coverage is King.

Not only to get better attendance numbers but giving sponsors the exposure after they have supported you.

It gets no better than this.

The exhibition and project was featured on the Team GB website.

Videos to follow soon, along with more tales of our adventures.

Thursday 15 March 2012

Revving up for Australian Workshops, with an eye on smoke machines.


As the heading says, I'm getting all the stuff together for the Australian workshops, which are filling quite nicely.

What is really on my mind at the moment is the smoke machine.....

No 'Forest' style shoot would be complete without one.

I own a Colt turbo from Peasoup, a truly amazing piece of kit.

Pea Soup are THE go to people for smoke machines and are involved in so many grand projects so they are a mine of information.

For sheer power and reach it is better than anything else I have used.

It is invaluable to be able to 'project' smoke to exactly where you want it, and it has so much power it excels at this.

It does have one drawback though - it is mains powered, and it draws so much current it makes mincemeat out of all but the biggest, baddest generator.

I have always managed to dance around the problem to some extent, the machine can operate for about 15 mins unplugged once it is up to temperature.

You can see how effective it was on my Zebra shoot.



Australia I think will present somewhat of a challenge, so I'm investigating battery powered options.

The Mini Rocket 12V DC 400W battery powered portable smoke machine seems to fit the bill and I'm toying with getting one for the workshops.

You can see it in action here

Seems a bit extravagant but I think it would see a lot of action for some time to come.

More info regarding venues and animals very soon.

Professional Imaging Show - Nieuwegein, The Netherlands

Nieuwegein.

I was there for 3 days and I still can't pronounce it.

That aside I had a great time presenting on the Adobe stage, talking about Location photography, The Olympic Golden Greats and The Descendants.

The Dutch crowd came from far and wide, as ever they were engaging and friendly.

From my perspective at least a vibrant photographic community with a thirst for knowledge.

I would not have been there if it had not been for the talented and prolific shooter Frank Doorhof, whom I shared the stage with, along with Dave Black, who is as talented with people as he is the camera(think of the 'James Stewart' of photographic world and you won't be so very far out)

Here is a short video Frank and his team put together on Day 1



In adition to the shooters the Adobe team were presenting Lightroom 4 to the delegates and was well received.

The super aggressive pricing, half the cost of Lightroom 3 on a permanent basis, will doubtless have an impact on the RAW processing software market and we will have to see how competitors react.

Interest was very strong on the Phase One and Leaf stand too, which following similar interest at Focus on Imaging would seem to back up my suspicions that medium format is very much in vogue right now.

Enough kit talk, what about my fellow speakers?
Frank Doorhof, yours truly and Dave Black...a serious event as you can see

Dave Black is a sports shooter with more than 30 years experience.

Just check out how he does it though, using big and small strobes at spotting events to give him an edge over fellow shooters.

I sat through all his presentations and learned a great deal, he is a pleasure to listen to.

His presentation on light painting really gave me food for thought.

If you would like to know more about how he gets such distinctive and classy shots I strongly suggest you check his blog out.

I know I will.

Frank Doorhof has been shooting for a good few years less but is so prolific it is remarkable.

I reckon he shoots more in a month than I do in a year!

Damn fine work too.

Take a look at this, the very first frame from a live shoot in a packed auditorium.

It is one thing to turn in a shot like this after a long shoot when you are not being scrutinised by hundreds of pairs of eyes, but live on stage it is another matter entirely.

Frank is a lovely guy and he shares his knowledge in a generous and accessible manner on his blog too.

Once again I learned a lot from him, and have dusted my light meter off too but I will talk about how he changed my thinking another time.

As we said our farewells, Frank very kindly gave me a copy of his latest DVD 'Live in Boston'

I will be taking a look at it in the next few weeks and will let you know what I think.

Tuesday 13 March 2012

'Olympic Golden greats' featured in the 'Sunday Times' with a little help from the Fuji X100



The Olympic Golden Greats show in London Stratford centre has been sponsored by Manfrotto and supported by some fine companies.

When you are lucky enough to have attracted sponsorship, it is important to get as much exposure as possible for the project that they have backed.

So, on the Saturday morning after the private view we held a press call, where local school kids could meet Olympic Gold medalist Anne Packer.

We were hopeful that national papers would turn up and we would get coverage.

In the event not one turned up, which was disappointing.

So, it was down to Lucinda and I to shoot some images to submit to the National papers.

I picked up my Canon 5D MkII and to my horror I saw the battery was all but flat....the spare was some distance away too( bad, bad Drew...but as I say to anyone who will listen, if there is a photographic mistake to be made, I have have made it)

What to do?

A change of tack was called for and I switched to the Fuji X100 which calls for a somewhat different shooting style....fast it is not.

Am I complaining?

No way.

It did the job, we filed the pictures and we got a 4 column pic in the Sunday Times.

A PR dream come true.


Saturday 10 March 2012

We did it! Olympic Golden Greats opens at John Lewis Stratford City

It took Lucinda and I two years to pull it together but we made it.

Last night we had our private view of the exhibition which is on show at John Lewis in the stadium suite at Westfield Stratford City until 20th March.

With the passing of my Dad it meant that I had not seen the installed show until I walked through the door 15 mins before the party started.

It was only possible as Lucinda took the helm and with the help of my good friend Justin Sutcliffe, the show was hung in record time.




They did a fantastic job.

Never underestimate how long it takes to hang a show......




After Andy from John Lewis introduced us, I gave a short speech thanking all the people and companies who made it happen.

Manfrotto have sponsored the show and without them it simply would not have happened.

At all.

The images were printed on a Canon LFP printer by Velmex, if you are wondering why Canon LFP you could do a lot worse than have a look at the installed prints.

My good friend Brian mentioned on twitter that this show is a great place to see the difference between medium format and DSLR's

I will be posting specifically about this later this week, but if you go to the show before I do you might like to play a little game.....one of the images is shot on a DSLR, can you tell which one? I was surprised to note that EVERYONE got it right!

Not only are there prints on display but we have 4 videos on giant screens where some of the medalists talk bout their experiences and what it means to compete and win gold.

You will be able to see these on my blog next week.

Lucinda and I were also lucky enough to have 3 Olympic Gold medalists there too.

Judy Grinham, who won Gold for backstroke in Melbourne 1956

Terry Spinks, who won Gold for flyweight boxing in Melbourne 1956

Ann Packer who won Gold for the 800m in Tokyo 1964

Ann also came along to the press call where she spoke to kids from the local school about her achievements.




I will be blogging all this week as time allows, I'm in Holland speaking at the Professional imaging show along with Dave Black, Frank Doorhof and many others too.

I could not think of a more fitting way of closing my speech at the private view than by dedicating it to my Dad, he would have been so very proud.

What next after this two year long adventure?

Well, I have already done it, it's just a matter of when it will see the light of day.

This time I did not sell a car to make it happen, but a house.

The stakes are high, but the glittering prize is worth it.

Wednesday 7 March 2012

Dark Days

My Dad died two days ago.

He was the very reason I took up photography aged 14.

We used to make temporary darkrooms in the kitchen, even a on school night.

Which did not particularly help my performance at school.

But my Dad got it.

He knew.

The most important thing is to nurture interest in your child, and watch the enthusiasm grow and the rest would follow, with luck, opening up whole new possibilities in their lives.

Without his encouragement I would never have been a professional photographer and had such a wonderful life.

As he passed away I told him he was my ladder to the stars.

And he truly was.

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Sights and sounds from Focus on Imaging

A somewhat smaller show than last year.

With a whole hall closed off, no presence from Sony or Panasonic after their large stands last year.

Sunday was a little subdued but Monday was busy.

I had a somewhat hectic schedule on the Manfrotto and Phase One stands so I did not get a chance to look round a great deal, so consider this a snapshot.

I popped along to the Fuji stand to see the X1 pro.

Once again for sheer feel and build Fuji have hit the target, but then again they needed to at the price point, which is quite high.

I'm pleased to report that the autofocus is better than the X100 but by how much it is difficult to gauge just messing about on a show stand.

I am somewhat concerned but the time it seemed to take to write a RAW image to card though.

Perhaps I had it on some obscure setting, but it seemed to take an age.

Because of its interchangeable lenses Fuji has opted for a focal plane and not a leaf
shutter which gives the X100 it's stealthy abilities.

I did consider this to be a deal breaker but it was actually pretty quiet.

I can't see myself buying one of these but that is what I said about the X100 and then I went out and bought one.........

Speaking of quiet Camera's I did get a short amount of hands on time with the Canon 5d MKIII.

And my impression is WHAT A CAMERA!

Ok, followers of this blog will know I haved used Canon forever and know it is my DSLR of choice but from my very brief hands on time with it I did get the idea that this camera is a cut above.

Firstly build quality is in my opinion better than the MKII and that was never bad anyway, it felt a little 'tighter' with no flex whatsover around the memeory card door.

I tried out the AF in both oneshot and AI focusing mode and it was a revelation compared to the MKII or any other AF system I have used. It did not struggle focusing on low contrast and solid black objects, tracked moving objects with great precision. Not that this should come as a surprise at all as it utilises the AF system from the 1D X, but good to see all the same.

I tried the 'silent' setting too and it was really very impressive, not silent my any means but some people will buy it for this feature alone.

Overall one can only be impressed by the sheer responsive nature of this camera, somewhat reminiscent of a 1 series, dubtlessly down to the big fat Digic V processor.

One small demerit point,in some people's books at least, will be the weather sealing which though improved is still not the same extreme spec as the 1DX.

To be clear I have used both versions of 5d's extensively and have never encountered any water ingress issues at all, but I do know people who use the 5D in extreme situations and they would welcome 1 series weather sealing for peace of mind more than anything.
Canon have relaxed a little and finally let 1 series features to be used on the 5D (such as AF, Metering and a decent frame rate.
I just wish they had the confidence to let full weather sealing make it to the MKIII.
Doubtless they were concerned that it could steal sales from the 1dx, but I think they need not have worried, the 1Dx will never be used for the same type of photography.

But Canon should consider that due to its great form factor and sheer versatility the MKIII will see more extreme action in harsh conditions than the 1dx ever will in my opinion.

Drifting by the Olympus stand I saw the OM-D and it looked a tidy little package, though I'm not sure if the styling is quite as sweet as the original.

Finally another product which I have been eagerly awaiting is the Gitzo Systematic GT5562LTS tripod.

Why is that?

It is a Carbon fiber light weight but substantial tripod which will take all the really big lenses so beloved by bird watchers and wildlife shooters with ease.

Nothing special about that I hear you say, but the really clever part is just how small it is thanks to the 5 section legs which means it is a full sized heavy duty tripod which will fit in my small backpack, meaning amongst other things that when you fly you will not have to check it into the hold.

Film makers take note, as it is from the systematic range it will take the Gitzo fuild head (probably others too I suppose) and you will be able use a substantial full sized tripod in places you never have done before.

A game changing tripod like this does not come cheap but it well worth looking at as it could pay for itself in a few flights where you do not pay excess baggage for that tripod bag.


I have had to leave the show a day early due to a family emergency and my very good friend Justin Sutcliffe will be standing in for me on the Manfrotto stand, if you are interested in World Class photojournalism look no further. I'm sure his presentations will be riveting.

Saturday 3 March 2012

Australian Workshops with Shutterclass

In my 47 years I have never been to Australia.

That is all about to change.

In April I will be doing 2 workshops, one in New South Wales, the other in Victoria.



Think girls, animals, smoke and you will not be far off.

These are not going to Drew 'Light' either but each will be a two day download of my heart body and soul which attendees will be able to take forward into their own sphere of photography, what ever that may be.

Think of it as a tool kit to get the best out of your photography.

On every level.

I will be holding nothing back, as any previous attendee's will tell you (I hope!)

Not only will it be a great chance to unlock potential in your own work but L&P will be along and you will get a chance for some time with the simply stunning IQ Phase One system and state of the art Profoto flash.

I apologise for not announcing this workshop on this blog, I see from my Google Analytics I have followers in Aus.

The bookings site went live a couple of days ago and I'm pleasantly surprised by the number of bookings already.

If you want to get my take on taking your photography to the next level and adding a certain wit and sparkle to your photography that your competitors will not have please do join me.

I do not intend to repeat these workshops in Australia at any point in the near future.


Friday 2 March 2012

Canon 5D MkIII announced - Evoloution not revolution


Readers of this Blog will know that when I'm not shooting with a Phase One, my camera of choice is the Canon 5D MkII, a camera which sees such use that I have all but worn the shutter out according to an advisory note from the Canon service centre.

In many ways I regard the 5D MkII as contender for the title of 'Greatest Camera of all time' due to its size, weight, form factor, resolution and ground breaking video capability, all at an accesable price point.

But it did have its downsides, sleepy autofocus(compared to other offerings) a relatively slow stills frame rate and a rather less than ideal video codec, as good as the video is.

I have been keenly awaiting the new 5D in its third ittineration, which made an unshecduled and notable appearance in Kenya some weeks before we were meant to see it.

So let's have a look at some of its key features.

A new 22.3MP sensor - with Nikon going to 31mp with the D800 some may have expected more megapixels from Canon but interestingly Canon refer to it being the 'ideal resolution for shooting stills and HD Movies' I feel that they could well have called this right.

61 Point Autofocus from the Canon 1D-X - Now to be honest this one surprised me, Canon have traditionally retained the best AF systems for the flagship 1 series Camera's but I'm pleased that Canon have listened to feedback from users, in this highly competitive market sector improvement in this area was sorely needed on the AF system which the MkII had inherited from the MkI.

6FPs stills frame rate - I'm not a big fan of fast stills frame rates, but I welcome this, the outgoing frame rate of just under 4 frames a second was never really enough for this fine 'multi role' camera.

Digic 5+ processor - with greater performance demands, the heart of any new camera is the processor, and though I am no expert I expect this to be class leading processing power, which will mean a responsive camera.

8.11 cm high resoloution LCD screen - once again a pleasant surprise in that it again comes from the 1D-X.

Dual card slots - Canon have added an SD card slot, with which you can back the CF card up, or use it as an 'overflow' when the CF card is full.

Improved weather sealing - once again something I never really struggled with, but when you make such a small and versatile package it is sure to end up in some extreme situations.

Shutter life extended to 150,000 cycles - nice one. Would have meant my shutter did not replacing....

Built in HDR - if HDR floats your boat you might well like this, I tend to think that overdone HDR has the look of the Sci-fi end of the world and a bit of a pollutant on Flickr, if this feature can be harnessed subtly it could be very useful.

Locking Function dial - unforgivable that Canon did not include this on the MkII, though it can be retrofitted at a Canon service centre. No longer will you raise your camera to your eye and find it on 'B'....Once again they listened to the feedback.

A new Wireless flash system - excellent! I'm not sure quite how they have managed to navigate all the international frequencies

Headphone socket - this small but significant feature means you can at last monitor your audio if you are a video shooter.

24-60 fps video frame rate - 60p is most welcome, though I have not yet seen if it is 720 or 1080. no mention of the codec either.

Silent shooting mode - lets see just how quiet this is, but any noise reduction will be a boon to wedding and wildlife shooters alike.

You can read the full release here

As my headline said 'Evolution not revolution' and that is no bad thing.

Canon have headed away from ring fencing the best features for the 1 series, and this can only be welcomed, and by not being so afraid of stealing 1 series sales, will give competitors a hard time.

A confident approach.

But I don't think Canon really had much choice.


The Canon 5D has always been an important camera for the company but it has never been more important to them at this moment.

DSLR sales are rising at around 10-15 percent a year, pitch that against a compact camera market which must be severely impacted by the rise and rise of the smartphone, leading one would imagine to a big fall in revenues.




Have Canon done enough to carry the MkIII through its in all likelyhood long product cycle? (Remember the Canon 5DMkII would have been 4 years old this Autumn...)

Time will tell, but I think they have.


Thursday 1 March 2012

Olympic Golden Greats Exhibition Dates

Anyone who knows me will know how important personal projects are to me.

This one more than others as it is my very first joint one, with my partner Lucinda Marland.

Our society is so obsessed by by youth, and we wanted to celebrate the achievements of the often overlooked senior citizens.

So we set out to photograph every British senior citizen who has an Olympic Gold Medal, that is anyone who will be 60 and over this year.

It has been a wonderful experience and we have leaned so much from these remarkable individuals.

The show has been sponsored by Manfrotto to whom I'm eternally grateful.

Please come along and visit the show.

It is running from the 9th-20th March in the John Lewis store stadium suite overlooking the site of London 2012.

It is a spectacular location.

Here is a panorama of the location shot by Lan Bui on an iPhone....



If you would like to know more about the project I will be talking about it at Focus on imaging on the Manfrotto stand.

You can also meet me at the Phase One stand where I will be talking about the benefits of medium format.