I was recently commissioned to photograph a exquisite collection of bespoke ecclesiastical furniture in Gloucester Cathedral.
 

What commercial photographer wouldn’t be excited at the prospect of a day in a photographically challenging historic building taking photographs of a stunningly crafted suite of quality oak furniture? 

This commission ticked all the boxes for me and gave me the opportunity to craft a portfolio of images that would work hard for my client. 

A special place indeed

Gloucestershire Cathedral is the oldest in the country and was spared destruction in the reformation due to the fact that many of Henry VIII’s relatives are buried there. Thank goodness for that!

Light in the darkness

Cathedrals and churches are photographically tricky due to the height of  the building and the light levels within them. Light casts through the stained glass windows on dull and sunny days presenting a kaleidoscope of  coloured patterns all over furniture and floor. My vast knowledge of lighting a shoot enables me to hit the ground running on a project like this and with impressive results.

Angles and perpectives

I surveyed the scene and positioned myself to achieve the best angles and perspectives to show the furniture off to best effect. I was very taken with the simple curved lines of the furniture, particularly the table and choir pews. The stately symmetry of the cathedral interior fits perfectly with each piece; I’m presuming a deliberate consideration by the furniture designer. The designer’s interpretation of this space with strong lines and simple motif’s throughout the collection inspired me to perpetuate those themes within my photographs.

Creative partnerships

I’m a creative commercial photographer and as such have worked in creative partnership with many artists and artisans providing images for collateral such as web sites, brochures and advertising. Check out my gallery for an overview of the art works I have photographed over recent years.

•          Working Images for craftsmen and artisans
            Show your work in its best light.
            Contact me to discuss your requirements.

•          Working Images for architectural exterior and interior photography
            Traditional and contemporary buildings are one of my specialities.
            Please do contact me to discuss your requirements.

Why commission a Commercial photographer?

Since the advent of digital photography a number of years ago it’s presumed by many that anyone can take a commercially useful photograph. This simply isn’t the case. It’s true that the explosion in digital camera sales and provision of online albums and social media sites have made amateur photography so much more fun. It’s all there for everyone to see and enjoy and has helped to create a sense of connection between friends and families.

Still the difference between this and a hard working image that can be used to promote businesses via electronic and printed media is vast.  From corporates to sole traders, a professionally crafted image can be one of the best investments you can make to promote your business.  Please call Chris Honeywell’s Working Images to discuss your ideas and requirements. 

This definitely reflects the working life of a professional commercial and industrial photographer

How does that help me I hear you ask? 

My vast and diverse experience in the commercial photography arena gives you:

• Images that work for your business -
   I’m very practical, confident and creative in any commercial and industrial setting.

A Window of Opportunity? – Yes!

 I was recently commissioned to photograph an Oxford college building within a building which was a novel experience for me.

As you’ll see from the finished images, the building had recently been subject to an impressive update. 

The architects were very sensitive to the age and historic provenance of the college building, and designed a very contemporary yet complimentary array of practical features and spaces that enhanced the traditional areas of the building to great effect.

 

The window of opportunity in question was a 2 hour  slot (yes that’s 2 hours only) and a once only offer that my clients gained clearance for. It was up to me to set-up, compose and take my shots and get out again before the college personnel needed to go back into the space. 

 

Pressure? No problem – I’ve worked on this kind of assignment before and although I feel the tension of the minutes ticking away, my interior image experience gives me the confidence to get the job done creatively, accurately and speedily.

As is often the case with interior work, the room dimensions prevented me from including the entire scene. 

My post-production skills enabled me to create a set of high quality, useful, representative images.

 

 

 

 

It’s a hard job – but someone’s got to do it…

Oxford is known the world over, not only for its academe but for the river punts and rowing boats that students and the general public can enjoy throughout the Summer season.

 

Lucky me – I was asked to produce a collection of images for a local company who offer punts, rowing boats and pedalos for hire, plus a Punt Chauffeur service for those who just want to languish on the river for half an hour with no concerns about other boats, balance or buoys!

 

Determined to portray a variety of river born experiences, my creative eye was working overtime with the strong verticals and horizontals in the subject matter as well as my ‘models’ so I was dealing with poles, punts and people on moving water! 

 

The river is lovely but to be perfectly frank, the water colour was a bit murky on the day so I needed to find a way to capture the mood without featuring too much green water. The boats are quite colourful so I knew that the reflections of that colour in the water would work to my advantage as shown in the blue rowing boat image. Again in the image of the punts in waiting with the lone punt chauffeur in action, the bright red in the boat and the angles of the objects all heading towards the centre of the two bridge arches capture the overall scene in its Oxford context very nicely. The sky blue reflection in the water fragments the green water to great effect. 

 

The two punts on the water are accentuated by the tree branch in the foreground and the water in this image is almost metallic. The human eye knows it’s water but the colour is silvery creating an ‘arty’ effect. 

 

My shot of a beautiful woman pensively trailing her fingers in the river water  sums up the magic of a being in a punt on an English river. Note also the straw boater in this quintessentially English scene, and thank you to the model for getting into the zone.

 

 

 

 

Industrial photography – a thing of beauty

I like nothing more than to use my photographic skills in an industrial setting, be it in a workshop or manufacturing plant, high or low tech, it’s all great to me.

 

I was recently invited to take some shots of a laser marking machine. The machine is a large one and so needed to be photographed in situ. It was important to keep it in its commercial setting but of course there is usually a mass of distracting background to work with.

In order to make the machine zing out, I use a technique that knocks back the background to grey. 

When in action, the machine comes to life with an interesting array of lights inside it creating a strong visual contrast to its exterior. You can see 3 good examples of the technique here.

 

Please give me a ring or email me through the web site to discuss your project. 

This month I explain about the ‘Photographer’s eye’ and those times when a professional industrial photographer just gets the desire to break out from convention and create some art!

When a client commissions me to produce one or a series of photographs of a particular commercial subject, I bring to bear, what I call, the Photographers Eye; meaning that when I survey the subject matter I can envisage how to bring out the best in the subject matter. This could mean using a specific lens to let the angles and dynamics of a piece of architecture thrust forth and shout about itself, or I may see that some ‘painting with light’ will bring what could conceivably be considered an uninspiring location or subject to life. It takes a trained eye to just know what will and won’t do the subject justice; there are so many variables to take into consideration – you could say it’s akin to hand-eye coordination skills, but this time it’s lens-eye coordination with some good old right lobe creativity thrown in.

This in-depth understanding comes with experience (I’m making this word bold and underlined because experience is a weighty subject), and it’s what a potential client is relying on when commissioning me to undertake their project.

Only when I’m clear in my own mind the best way to execute the photograph and whether I will choose a particular lens or unusual angle or need to employ my sophisticated post production software on the image to make a ‘whole’ out of a collection of pieces, will I begin the photographic shoot.

Examples of these skills can be seen in the two architectural images I’ve featured.

This building is in Blackhall Road Oxford, which is a very narrow road to say the least. I calculated that I could get the entire building into one image by positioning myself at the Keble Road end.  The final picture is a good example of taking the best from what you’re presented with and using post-production to bring it to life!

This is Stream Edge in Oxford. Another good example of the creative photographers eye in action. The choice of lens, the angle of the shot and post-production all combined to good effect. 

Happy days at Hogwarts

I’m very passionate and enthusiastic about architecture, and living and working around Oxfordshire allows me to visit and photograph some of the very best of England’s architectural heritage. The area is literally crammed with photographic opportunities, and sometimes I happen across a place that literally demands my attention.

A good example of a moment when I was gripped by the creative potential was on a visit to the Dining Hall at Christchurch College. I espied the stunning staircase and fan vaulted ceiling which I discovered featured as part of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies.

Its curvaceous sweep appealed to me greatly and the structure and solidity of the hand crafted stonework is truly stunning. The more I looked at it, the more I wanted to add even more to it’s appeal by adding an artistic twist to the conventional view of the staircase.  Have a look at the result of my endeavors – I’m rather proud of it to be truthful and thoroughly enjoyed employing my post-production skills to achieve the end result. It looks like a reflection but in reality it isn’t, it’s knitted together to create that illusion. It’s a fine example of history, architecture and contemporary effects all used to good effect.   I wonder what JK Rowling would make of it? 

The second image I wanted to share with you is the Divinity School (built in 1488) in the Bodleian Library.  Another impressive example of a fan vaulted ceiling, and also prominent in the Harry Potter films. Its more historic claim to fame is that the building was used to store armaments in the English Civil War (1642-1651). I’ve a keen interest in all matters military and I was a member of a Civil War re-enactmment society long ago and produced a book of “war” photographs from the Civil War. 

It may be of interest to you that this image is available to buy mounted on a contemporary wooden surface with stand-off fixings. It’s 6’ x 3 and would adorn a pillar wall or an alcove with aplomb. 

The Image says It all

I was recently commissioned by a design agency in Cornwall to create a series of images to suit a promotional brochure for DHL, who are a worldwide distribution and logistics organisation.

After doing a site recce, and agreeing terms with the agency, I set to work in the DHL warehouse, a hub for initial collection, sorting and re-distribution of all manner of packages from letters to large crates going worldwide. It’s busy, busy, busy!

Challenge? – bring it on!

I love a challenge and this was no exception!

The agency brief was to capture the constant flow and stream of activity in the warehouse space and to make the image balanced and interesting. This could be tricky from a standing viewpoint even though I’m over 6′, so I suggested that we shoot from a medium level gantry looking across and slightly over the scene.

This opened up the entire area visually and enabled me to create the vista in sections.

The panoramic image suited the brief perfectly as you can see in the finished brochure.

Sometimes a photographer needs to break the accepted technical conventions and rules to achieve the right image to fit a brief, producing something creative and technically exciting but also a successful interpretation of the designers idea.

Furthermore the final shot should give the recipient of the brochure a new perspective on what could be deemed to be an ordinary daily work scene. This defines a working image.

A question of balance

An artist just knows when all of the elements and angles, juxtapositions of objects, space and colour all work together to create a balanced composition.

My engineering background helped me to view the warehouse space with an analytical eye, where I could easily see the challenges ahead. With 25 years of photographic experience behind me and my in-depth knowledge of industrial environments and settings, I could assess and calculate what was required to achieve a striking and useful image.

Post-production brings it all to life

The warehouse staff obviously couldn’t be asked to stop working and clear the site while I was shooting (time and tide waits for no man, and never more so in distribution and logistics!), so I decided to use my post-production skills to compose the individuals into the scene as a secondary tranche of work. See the results here.

I also used some advanced stitching techniques to achieve the agency specified panoramic dimensions.

 

Project summary:

Day 1: Site recce and planning. Technical and artistic proposal submitted and agreed with commissioning agency.

Day 2 and 3: On site shooting scene. Liaise with design agency.

Day 4 and 5: From selected scenes, post production work to achieve final result and supply high res images to agency via ftp for design and artwork.

Result: Panoramic image plus set of supporting images.

Happy client? – Yes

‘We chose Working Images for this challenging project as we needed a technical and creative expert to bring our idea to life.

Chris Honeywell’s proposal was compelling. We were delighted with the service we received and end-product alike.

If you’ve got an idea but you’re not sure how to achieve it, commission Chris Honeywell.’