A fun day at the office!

I had a lot of fun photographing this great team on a full day’s shoot at this well-established architectural firm in the city of Nottingham. The directors wanted images for the new website, articles, publications and social media.

Having shot numerous buildings for the practice over a few years now, it was great to finally get to meet the whole team, and to put faces to names. The office is based in an old building that has been beautifully converted over 3 floors into a modern and light contemporary space.

There is a wonderful roof terrace with tables and benches for staff to have lunch or simply take a break with views of rooftops and the city.

I’m so looking forward to photographing future projects for this team in the coming months!          

Breast feeding campaign in Nottingham

Small Steps Big Changes (SSBC) is a lottery funded organisation working with local communities to talk about and encourage breast feeding.  The campaign ‘Feed Your Way’ is a breastfeeding public health campaign designed for Nottingham. It was co-created with thousands of Nottingham families and residents, health professionals and business owners.

 The campaign focuses on the real, lived experiences of six Nottinghamshire families and they currently feature on billboards and banners across Nottingham City, including the City Council House on Old Market Square.

 I covered the launch event of the campaign in the ballroom of the beautiful Council House in the centre of Nottingham. The council are working alongside SSBC to help promote the campaign with a huge banner placed on the outside of the building.

WellSpring Church in Wirksworth Derbyshire

A corker of a job in the lovely market town of Wirksworth in the Derbyshire Dales. I was lucky to find myself there on a beautiful summer’s day and had help moving bits of furniture from the different rooms I was shooting from three very helpful members of the congregation who had volunteered to help me.

 This build is a wonderful example of how to add a contemporary new extension (and modifications to an existing structure) to what was originally a Methodist church built in 1886. The extension houses a new community kitchen and dining area along with new stairs connecting the kitchen to the rest of the church.

 The structure is filled with natural light thanks to the installation of the large windows on one side and the high ceiling over the kitchen area gives a sense of grandeur to the space. Likewise, the dining area is light and open with plenty of space for people to mingle and chat over some food and drink.  

The modifications are in the large community room where children’s and other activities take place during the week and the spacious prayer room in the old church which is so well linked by the main staircase to the new community kitchen beneath it.   

Sobraon Barracks Lincoln - exterior

The exterior shots of the building which is matt black in colour and looking amazing against all the greenery in the daylight.  Again, I showed as many different perspectives as I could, to give a sense of the scale of the build and how the structure presents in its immediate surroundings.     

Sobraon Barracks Lincoln classrooms and vehicle maintenance area

Here I’m making images of the training classrooms for cadets and the servicing area for army vehicles where cadets are taught mechanics and vehicle maintenance. The two classrooms I photographed have great light and could be made into one large open space when the moveable wall separating the two rooms is pushed back.

 The maintenance part of the building beneath the classrooms is so large that it felt a bit like being in an aircraft hanger! When I saw the size of the army trucks parked outside I understood why so much space was needed. The shutter doors were also big and solid and everything around me seemed oversized. Hence lots of work with my wide-angle lenses to show off the different perspectives of all that space in the servicing and maintenance area.

Sobraon Barracks in Lincoln

My first visit to an army barracks! I really didn’t know what to expect but was very quickly put at ease by a very friendly, soon to retire gentleman, with a classic handlebar moustache and cheeky grin with sparkly blue eyes. He’s such a character and had so many stories to tell about the long list of tours he had undertaken, I could have listened to him all day!

 However, there was work to do, so after my cup of coffee and chat I got to work on this new build which the architects responsible for this new structure had commissioned me to photograph. There were three parts to this shoot and I’m starting with the gym.

 These images are of a large, light filled, spacious and well-equipped gym where cadets, reserves and staff members would be using the excellent facilities. The architects requested I photograph the gym with people in it for some shots but sadly that wasn’t possible as the new facility was still waiting for the fire safety certificates to be issued so the gym wasn’t yet officially in use.

 It’s always a challenge to work in mixed lighting situations and tricky to not accidentally photograph myself in the long mirrored walls but I’ve enough experience and practice now to make sure my reflection is clear of all shots.

W Creative Beauty Salon

I had the pleasure of photographing this new beauty salon in Nottingham recently. I loved the colour palette used in the main area downstairs from reception all the way to hairdressing in the back of this substantial space. Upstairs, where the treatment rooms are located has a different feel entirely, with a clean monochrome look but the two areas do work well together.

There’s lots of natural light coming into the building so it makes for a welcoming and airy salon to spend time in. I love the cinema seats in the reception area below those inspiring words and the pink neon on the brick wall behind the coffee bar. Not to mention the excellent playlist that I was listening to while I worked. Clearly someone has great taste in music!

A lovely home in the countryside on a perfect shoot day

I admit I got very lucky with the weather on this shoot. Beautiful blue skies and a lovely part of Lincolnshire to be working in. This home is down a quiet country lane and externally is quite understated. The outdoor space is very generous and the view out of the kitchen is wonderful. You could sit peacefully on the patio looking out all afternoon! A great space for entertaining friends or hosting a large family gathering. The interior was a joy to shoot as there was lots of sunlight streaming through the windows and cosy rooms to settle down in for the evening with wood burners and large sofas. The owners were very friendly and accommodating by clearing surfaces and tidying up so that I could move from room to room easily and concentrate on what the best angles were to make images from. This is a small selection from the shoot.

Headshots for a dream client

When I arrived at the house and Manju told me she had prepared a playlist for our shoot (what a brilliant idea!) I knew we were going to make some great images together. Manju introduced me to some new music (which I’m keen to add to my library!) and we had a fun and relaxed time. It’s always great to work with someone who has a natural warm smile and is full of joy. It’s wonderful to watch someone really enjoy a shoot and collaborate with me to achieve the most authentic representation of who they are as a person. We're both really happy with the results and here are some of my favourite images from the day.