PHOTOGRAPHERS WEST MIDLANDS

Have just returned from a trip to the USA where the wildlife seemed very friendly…. well at least you could get real close to a variety of animals!

Our first encounter was with the ’smiling’ dear below, I got within 10 feet in a car park where the cars were having to drive around her to leave.

A few days later and just as a storm was brewing we came across this family of bears 60 to 80 feet from the road side. Mother and two cubs, how cute is that…. Needless to say on this occasion I kept my distance..

On a number of occasions we had various types of squirrel after food or playing in very close proximity. Below are two babies from what seemed a very big litter playing only feet from a pedestrian pathway.

A favorite of mine is below because the ground squirrel seems totally unaware or bothered by the person in the background. The squirrel only interested in eating a nut.

Another favorite was this big marmot, I spent ages watching and waiting to get a few different shots of him looking relaxed in his surroundings.

Finally this was a shot taken at a transport cafe near High Wycombe on the way back from Heathrow, so not exactly in the USA. There were a number of Red Kites hovering around the cafe, it turns out the reason being the ladies from the cafe feed the birds every day, quite a spectacle.

Quite a change photographing wildlife for fun and a real challenge with either fast moving squirrels playing or birds in flight. Your technical skill as a professional photographer comes in handy and also being patient to capture the right moment. The marmot was a classic example as I hung around for half an hour or more waiting for just the right moment.

The jobs commercial photographers get! In the middle of the balmy weather we have all been enjoying I get a commission to shoot a Christmas meal set for a pub restaurant Christmas brochure. Thats what I call planning ahead.

Seeing red! A truly amazing poppy field has appeared near Bewdley, in Worcestershire. It has attracted so much interest that the local TV news crew have been down to film it. Every day there is a steady stream of people taking photos, it must be the most photographed field in the country! I guess it’s typical of the digital age - would so many have taken pictures when it was just film, I doubt it.

To capture it in all it’s glory you need to put something in it for scale, also it helps to act as a focal point, hence I have used people in two of my photos below. It’s interesting to see how other photographers tackle a situation like this, I’m sure you would find examples on flickr and other photo websites.

This type of environment allows a photographer the luxury of visiting the site a number of times to experiment and get the best photo. However, with the majority of professional assignments you have one opportunity to get it right, therefore it’s important for a customer to choose a professional photographer carefully.

As a commercial photographer based in the midlands my customer motto is ‘delivering great shots whatever the conditions and environment’

Took a few photos using an iphone app of an old mate playing guitar last night. He was gigging at a Kidderminster pub with his band Trower Power, a tribute to Robin Trower. This app gives an interesting old style instamatic camera look to the images.

I was recently on an architectural shoot down in Woking, Surrey on the same day that Nicky Campbell on Radio 5 had a ‘where have all the Punks gone’ phone in to commemorate the passing of Malcolm McLaren. As I was in the street lining up my camera to take the exterior photograph of a building, mohican man (teenager!) appeared in my viewfinder. I couldn’t let the opportunity pass without persuading him to stop for a moment whilst I captured him and his mane in silhouette! I did get the impression he was too young to have even heard of Malcolm McLaren and origins of Punk….

For all your nationwide commercial photographic requirements, as well as the occasional punk, please call Andrew on 07850 560250

Well I never….. The headline act on a recent commission to undertake photography at a charity ball in Birmingham was the one and only Michael Jackson (MJ to his friends) and I thought he was no longer with us! It’s a bit like seeing Elvis down the local chip shop.

That is one of the interesting things about my job, the places you get to and the people you meet. Flexibility is a key component of successful commercial photography, so one day I might be shooting for an annual report in a factory in Leeds, the next an awards dinner in London, the next shooting glassware in the studio. The important thing is being able to add value through my knowledge and experience with lighting, composition, technical and creative photography know how. All too often these days people think owning a digital camera and some software makes them capable of delivering professional results.

For all your photographic requirements call Andrew on 07850 560250

Our resident pheasant knows when he is on to a good thing, so much so that he now takes the feed straight out of your hand.

First efforts, having hoovered everything off the ground, were from the bird table

Then getting more adventurous coming towards you

And finally, what the hell just go for it…

Another flurry of snow here and the opportunity to capture a couple of our garden visitors.

The perennial favorite the Robin

And the poor old idiot Pheasant - at least this one looks fairly healthy and isn’t being shot at for the moment!

Check out my new single page website at www.worcester-photographer.co.uk - may possibly use this to showcase more of my landscape work in the future.

If you are a customer looking for commercial photography in the Midlands area, I am based near to Birmingham and work across the Midlands and beyond including Coventry, Wolverhampton, Redditch, Leicester, Stafford, Stoke etc

For more information call me on: 07850 560250

Worcestershire Life magazine are using another one of my shots for their January cover, see below. This one taken at dusk from the Malvern Hills in the snow.

Have just returned from an afternoon trip to see the Starlings flocking near Glastonbury in Somerset, one of the amazing spectacles of nature. The display of random formations they make before descending into the trees to roost defies belief. The aerial acrobatics doesn’t last very long and not every returning section of the flock does it, however just to witness it for a few seconds is worth the journey.

Forming a tadpole above…..

An open mouth!

A shirt on a washing line….

Two arms, the one on the left wearing an oven glove….