Linking in to the earlier story on the 2nd July, Phil and Jeremy sailing in their tiny Wayfarer dinghy Hafren successfully managed to knock 43 days of the previous record for sailing around the coast of Britain.
Hafren Round Britain Celebrations at the finishing line
This is a recent short film combining video and stop-motion (stop frame) animation used for a show reel. I borrowed my daughter Grace’s Sylvanian Families characters as my main talent. She also has a little car styled on the classic British Morris Minor from the 1950s which I thought would also work well in the film. When I picked up the car I noticed it had one squeaky wheel, this gave me the idea for the film. The kitchen in my house was being installed at the time so there was a lot of tools and materials lying around which provided a great location for the story.
Ambient sounds used for this include; the squeaky wheel itself, the engine starting and horn of a 1968 Citroen van, some power tools and hammers, the oil can, a screw on a metal saw, dripping water.
The film combines video, stop frame animation and ambient sound recording. I used a skateboard for the shot of the characters driving towards the camera.
Stop motion animation, when combined with a detailed knowledge of Photoshop can really bring an inanimate character to life. In the video the characters blink at the camera. Since seeing this film Grace hasn’t been able to turn her back on her Sylvanians just in case they spring into life.
Morris Minor drive past – frame from stop motion animation
Our services include planning, filming, sound recording and editing. As an alternative to animation or standard video I also offer photo-films, you can see examples here.
Please get in touch if you would like to know more.
I have provided photography and photomontage services for trade unions and NGOs for over twenty years. The work is varied and interesting and differs widely from one organisation to another.
Photo-montaged images are often used to represent complex topics which cannot be illustrated with a traditional photograph. The types of subjects I have illustrated include, teenage pregnancies, John Major’s ‘Back to Basics’ policy, employment rights and environmental issues. This images often draw heavily on visual symbols and metaphors and can make very powerful images for campaigns, front covers or home pages. Some of my photo-montages have won the prestigious TUC media awards.
You can see more examples of my photo-montages here
Royal Mail privatisation. Commissioned by CWU
Most of these organisations have annual AGMs or conferences and need images of the event. Conference photography typically involves unobtrusively photographing speakers and delegates, taking shots of fringe meetings, team shots and stalls, recording any planned publicity events and forwarding images to picture desks from the venue.
Reaction from the floor- trade union conference
RMT – stewards
Guest Speaker – Dave Smith
RMT Conference delegate
My day rate for trade union and NGO work is based on the NUJ (National Union of Journalists) agreed day rate of £300/day before expenses.
Photomontages can require props and numerous location shots so please contact me for a quote.
Trade unions I have worked for; PCS, RMT, CWU, GMB, NUT, TGWU, UNISON, GPMU,
NGOs I have worked for; Greenpeace, War on Want, Central Americas Human Rights Commission, Prisoners Abroad,
About 12 months ago I was invited to work on a photography project with a difference. Jeremy Warren and Phil Kirk are two highly experienced sailors who fancied a challenge. They thought they would attempt to sail around the UK in a Wayfarer dinghy (a very small but highly stable open boat). The boat is named after the Welsh princess Hafren which is also the Welsh name for the River Severn where the boat is based. I was invited to take pictures of the preparation leading up to the launch itself.
Hafren embarking from Weymouth at start of round Britain challenge
Hafren rounding Portland Bill
Jeremy and Phil sailed the boat day and night, sleeping in shifts on the open deck. For added ‘comfort’ they slept on two thin camping mats , their galley was a small camping stove supported on a home made gimble to prevent spillages. This little boat has had some major upgrades to make this endeavour possible including extra storage for food and water and the removal of an internal bulkhead to provide a sleeping space.
Jeremy (left) and Phil (right) as they start their epic journey
Position of Hafren is updated every 20 minutes via a Yellowbrick transmitter
Hafren round Britain. Nearly home
Hafren Round Britain Celebrations at the finishing line
This image was part of a series of documentary images shot in 1998 of ship breakers on a beach just outside of the city of Chittagong in Bangladesh. The beach is the last port of call for numerous huge ships which are stripped down to their raw materials often with just pure brute force. While the ship breakers were mainly concerned with recovering steel and other metals from the ships they would also have to remove asbestos and other harmful materials from the ship.
While I was using digital cameras at the time I decided to shoot the whole project with the Hasselblad. The images were commissioned by a London based development organisation.
Prints from this series can be purchased from me directly. For more information, visit my print sales page
Ship breakers, Chittagong, Bangladesh
