London Fashion Weekend

This morning, courtesy of Canon UK and Calumet UK, I was able to photograph a catwalk show at Vodafone London Fashion Weekend at Somerset House.

It was a fun experience, as something different to what I normally do. I was surprised when we were told we weren't allowed to shoot with flash, as that's what I normally imagine at these events. I guess it makes sense because the catwalk is so well lit. 

I was lucky enough to get a very central position in the photographer pit so I was shooting straight down the catwalk, which meant I got a lot of eye contact from the models, which made for more interesting photos I reckon.

I won't bore you with loads of photos, as I took hundreds, but here are a few of my favourites. Hope you like 'em.

Late Summer Party

Earlier this month I was at BMA House in London for the summer party of Banco do Brasil. The bank sponsors the Williams Formula One team so there was a motor racing theme for the night. People could have their photo in front of a real Formula One car, race against each other in some awesome F1 simulators, and test their reactions in a test of speed and agility.

Entertaining the crowd were the always energetic and fun London Essentials. They wandered around the party with their guitars, double bass, saxophone and drum, singing brilliant harmonies and busting out some large dance moves. Anyone looking for a band for their wedding reception, I highly recommend them.

BMA House is a great place for a party with a large courtyard and plenty of indoor space if necessary too. I look forward to capturing some more events there in future. Check out some of the photos below.

A Not So Smelly Shoot

Being a freelance photographer, I get to take photos in all manner of places. Some more glamorous than others. This particular shoot was one from the 'not so glamorous' list.

One Saturday morning, mid-May, I went along to Deephams Sewage Works in Edmonton. The sewage works, operated by Thames Water, is soon to undergo some upgrade works, and before that happened, local residents were invited to go on a tour of the works to help them understand more about how it works and how it will be improved. I was tasked with taking photos of the tours and the participants. There were a mixture of adults and children along with them, and some of the children made photographing the tour a pleasure, as they were pretty photogenic and/or cute.

I was pleasantly surprised that even what I was told were the smelliest parts of the sewage works didn't actually smell that bad. I definitely anticipated it being worse!

Thanks to the Thames Water team for taking us around and looking after everyone. Here are a few of my favourite shots from the morning...

Digital Signage by Scala

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a company in Holland who specialise in digital signage hardware and software called Scala. They were hosting their global conference in London, which coincided with an event called the NEC Showcase, an, err...showcase, for all the big players in the digital signage industry.

The Scala conference took place in Timber Lodge, a great cafe in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, which also has a function room available for private events like this. It was a beautiful day in the Olympic Park. The sun was shining with a smattering of puffy white clouds. Following an afternoon of presentations, brilliantly linked up by a Danish magic-performing compere, the conference delegates were led on a tour of the Westfield shopping centre, punctuated with stops to talk about the digital signage technology. I can safely say prior to this day I had never thought twice about screens in retail locations, but when you're conscious of it, you notice them everywhere.

The following day I spent several hours at the NEC Showcase, which was a great event held at the Lee Valley Velodrome, again in the Olympic Park. The showcase took place in the middle of the cycling track, which was cool. Visitors to the conference were allowed, if they booked in advance, to have a go on a bike riding around the track. I was a little jealous, I must admit.

Anyway, thank you to the guys at Scala for getting in touch. Here are a few of my favourite photos from the event(s).