Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts

18 Jun 2015

Equipment Investment | Canon Camera Kit and Elinchrom Studio Lights

I started my career as a North East freelance photographer with a basic kit consisting of a couple of lenses and a Canon 20D camera.Over the last 8 years I have developed my skills working in many sectors including Editorial, PR, Commercial, Architecture, Portraits, Sport, Education, Corporate and Industrial Photography across the North East and Yorkshire areaTherefore over the years I've built up a extensive professional camera kit, now helping me produce the best possible pictures for clients ranging from advertising and PR agencies to industrial plants and local authorities. 

After cameras and lenses, studio lights are the next most important kit. A location magazine photography shoot might take 1-3 hours in total, to set up the right lighting and create the right look and feel – sometimes it could be a simple white or plain background for maximum flexibility. 

I often have to work quickly and effectively so I’ve fine tuned the kit that I use. I have a set of four lightweight portable Elinchrom lights, usually only using three of them, but carry a spare in case of emergencies. I’m often faced with fluorescent light issues which is a nightmare to work with as it gives a yellow cast and a flicker that totally ruins the images especially on the Canon 5D III. I invested in a powerful 1000w and 500w kit that can light up even the biggest of spaces, such as a games hall or a large gym beautifully. This helps me to strike the medium between needing good light and not wanting to battle with the mixed colour balance. 

I have 10 Canon lenses in my collection, from a 11mm extreme wide angle, tele-convertors to a 300mm F2.8 IS lens, giving me optimum flexibility and quality for sport, commercial or architecture work. One of my favourite and my least expensive lens is the 85mm F1.8 portrait lens that delivers fantastic quality portraits. I used the Canon 100mm F2.8 IS lens for commissions such as a recent Teesside photography job to document a jewellery exhibition at the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA).   

The key to creating the right set of camera kit is to build a collection that allows the photographer to work fast without sacrificing quality. I have two camera bodies, a Canon 5D Mk III which delivers high quality performance in very low light.

I eagerly awaited the launch of the new Canon 5DS this year, but it’s proved a big disappointment for me! Canon have gone for increasing the megapixels rather than boosting low light capacity or other elements that professional photographers look for and since the quality remains really the same as the previous model I don’t see any benefit in spending £6600 on two new cameras. The changes seem to be aimed at landscape photographers rather than documentary and PR photographers.




My camera kit is versatile enough to produce pictures with a wide range of types and uses, and at quality levels good enough for large format work such as billboards, and for event photography ranging from indoor awards ceremonies and outdoor sporting occasions through to royal visits and night-time ‘fire and ice’ winter festivals.  

Continuous investment pays off as in most walks of life, but of course it’s not always about the gear, it’s about how you use it (cliche I know). Even a £300 camera can produce great quality pictures in the right hands and in good light. There can be an element of snobbery about what camera kit someone is using, but when you cover many jobs a week you want it to work well and not let you down. 




These days I’m not afraid to admit that I can get excited about camera bags than technical kit. Being able fit all the cameras, lenses, lights and other paraphernalia into two lightweight bags makes me one very happy commercial photographer.


22 Oct 2014

Test Camera Shoot | Fuji X100 in Cannes, South of France

As a busy North Yorkshire freelance photographer regularly doing a 50-70 hour week I find it hard to squeeze in some time off, so a recent trip to the South of France with my family was a real treat.


Most of the time we stayed at St Maxime, not far from St Tropez, but for the last few days we splashed out on a stay at a four-star hotel in Cannes. On the Sunday morning the fun of sharing a family room, I woken very on Sunday morning before dawn had broken (crazy I know) and picking up my new Fuji X100 camera, I set out for a stroll along the beach. 



I was amazed how many people were up and about at that time, including groups of revellers coming home from a night out. I came across runners, fishermen, beachcombers, people sleeping rough – it was a glimpse into the side of life that most tourists would not see and I was pleased to have the chance to take some great pictures as I played around with my new camera.



Being a professional NorthYorkshire photographer working all over the north east regions means I can often be out all day so I’m used to carrying quite a large camera bag with a couple of camera bodies, lenses and other equipment in it, but having a small, lightweight camera allowed me to blend in with everyone else and take some casual shots.





I’m used to working to a photography brief for my commercial clients, so it was really enjoyable to have no pressure to deliver, and just be able to take random pictures. As the sun came up and the light bounced off the sea, subjects from beach-cleaning machines to a group of ants enjoying an apple core all found themselves on my shots list.





I wish I’d paid more attention in French class at school, but through a mix of my broken French plus some gesticulating I was able to talk to people and ask if I could take their photo. I got some interesting close up shots of one hardy middle-aged swimmer who goes down to the beach every morning for a dip in all weathers.













As it started to get hot I could see the attraction in getting your daily exercise done 
early. It could be that we were in Cannes, the home of the beautiful people, but it seemed to me that in general the French take good care of themselves and I was impressed by the number of pensioner-age people I came across walking, running and swimming. My new Fuji X100 camera was a joy to work with and even had a little go on video mode. 



Arriving back at the hotel I realised I’d been out nearly four hours and walked about three miles. My new camera had coped with conditions from near-darkness to bright sunshine and I can maybe see it being a useful addition to my commercial photography equipment range.


2 Jan 2014

Negative and Slide Scanner: Dalbeattie, Galloway Documentary Photography from 1982

My early Christmas present to myself was a top of the range negative scanner, so I can catalogue the thousands of photos I’ve taken in my work as a north east press and commercial photographer over the last three decades.


Mum x                                                                   Dad x


It seems like a long time ago when I first joined a camera club aged 13, in my home town of Dalbeattie in Galloway. I took to carrying my Practica MTL3 camera everywhere, using a documentary style of photography, everything from people and places as I got a feel for the camera, processing films and developing an eye for a shot.


My first SLR: Practica MTL3 with the original receipt 
In the early days of learning my trade as a photographer I used black and white film. Colour film was way too expensive in the days when you had to develop the film before you could see the results, and it was a while before I had built up enough confidence in my skill as a photographer to graduate to it.



I’ve spent 30 years as a press and commercial photographer in the North East, Yorkshire and South West Scotland, and my negative image archive numbers around 80,000 pictures. It was a chance remark from someone I know through a personal group on Facebook that got me thinking about a negative scanner, and how good it would be to revisit some of my old shots, particularly the black and whites, which is a favourite medium of mine.


Although I bought the scanner a couple of months ago I’ve had so many North East press and commercial photography bookings I’ve hardly had chance to use it. The scanner works by digitalising negatives and 35mm slides to create high quality scans, and over Christmas I plan to spent nearly 2 days playing around with it and seeing what it can do. 


The reviews from professional photographer forums were all good, so I’ve been able to scan the depth of colour and quality of the original negatives, the only main issue was cheap lenses on the camera. 


I’m really looking forward to taking a walk down memory lane and looking back at how my career as a press photographer started back in my home region of Dumfries and Galloway, where I worked for the Solway Press Services, John Donnelly Photographic, then freelancing over Dumfries & Galloway.




All my old images have been put away in cupboards for years, including the time I spent working on a kibbutz in Israel and cycling back across Europe to the UK,  I’m expecting the memories to come flooding back.



Depending on how time-consuming it is I may consider offering it as a service to commercial companies and organisations with image archives dating back to pre-digital years. 

There must be so many old photographs of buildings, products and people that need to see the light of day again and could be really effective when used in press, PR and marketing campaigns.



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Direct Website Link to Dave Charnley Photography




18 Mar 2013

Kibbutz Urim in Israel, including Far East & Europe bike ride.


Sorting through some of my thousands of photos recently, I came across the photo journal of my almost-gap year, when I worked as a volunteer in the Kibbutz Urim, Israel in 1989, and then cycled home 3000+ miles across Europe.  

 This was one of the best experiences of my life. Being interested in photography since I was a teenager, I’d gone from working as a Butlins holiday camp photographer to getting a one way ticket to the Middle East. It had all the excitement and buzz of being at university but without the studying.


The Kibbutz Urim was near the town of Beersheba and was home to a mixed bunch of people from all over the world. Like many other news to communal life I was matched with a set of adopted parents who looked out for me.

My job was to help to irrigate the land with a series of giant hoses, all done under the supervision of a rather portly Egyptian Ishtak and Maurice. It was a hot summer and we kibbutzniks combined that with going to events and festivals whenever we could, enjoying being young and carefree and just having fun.

Although we worked really hard we got time off too, which we spent seeing the sights, including visiting the spectacular Negev desert, near Yeruham, which covers more than half of Israel

Before I left Dad gave me some great advice, saying it would be the trip of a lifetime and I should keep a journal. Alongside this I built up a big photo library, armed with my trusty camera.  It was a Olympus OM1n 35mm and also a zoom - nothing fancy, but it did its job and survived the trip. Amazingly, the quality of the slide photos is still good, especially considering they are 24 years old.

Dead Sea and Masada on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert 


Being only 20 miles from Gaza and knowing we had a weapons store on site brought its own worries and we learned to trust our instincts when we left the site. On a solo three-day hitchhiking trip I ended up on the West Bank, where people were concerned about my safety and I sensibly took their advice and made a quick exit!

In those days it wasn’t common to see people with cameras, and I was careful not to flash it about, but the locals were always interested (sometimes too much!) in my gear and happy to have their photos taken. I took roll after roll of Fuji 50asa slidefilm, documenting how families lived and worked and sparking an interest in reportage or ‘as it happens’ photography, a style I’ve since made my own.

At the end of summer one of my friends suggested we extend our trip and cycle home across Europe, and it sounded like a great idea.  I borrowed a girls bike from Matt Carr (above left) ex girlfriend on the Kibbutz and it really was no frills travelling - shorts, panniers, camera, bikes and a tent were all we needed and we left full of excitement and a dash of trepidation about what lay ahead.  We covered Israel, Cyprus, Rhodes, Greece, Turkey, and Istanbul and squeezed in a two day stopover at the Black Sea. 



View of the Bosphorus just before Istanbul, Turkey

Grand Bazaar in Istanbul 



21st Birthday Photo in Greece (top right)
As it was my 21st birthday we celebrated with a bottle of the local equivalent of Lambrini, and at 10.02am, the exact time of my birth, I posed for a photo for my mum back home.  That’s now turned into an annual tradition for me and I’ve built up a photo journal of birthday pictures over the years, which are fascinating to look at.


In what was then Yugoslavia we hopped onto a train as one of the bikes was broken. We got some bad vibes and left the train at the invite of some local police, who waved their guns at us and made their instructions clear. When we continued our stint by train, we ended up bikeless at one point thanks to our bikes going to Italy while we were heading for Belgrade, which was very inconvenient.


Austria was one of my favourite countries and one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. The contrast between lakes, sun and snow was beautiful and I got some stunning landscape photos. All the way across the continent we swam in lakes and camped in forests.  It was a matter of pride never to stay on a proper campsite, even when we got eaten alive by mosquitoes.

In Germany I managed to get into the middle of a bunch of 40 semi-professional bike racers on the road. It must have been a fine sight, them in their sports gear on smart racing bikes, and me pedalling my way through the group on my pale blue girls bike, in my cut-off jeans and with my panniers flapping either side. Mr Bean rides again! (link)


In those days there were no mobiles or email, just good old fashioned airmail letters – when I remembered to send one home. So when I finally landed on my parent’s doorstep my mum hardly recognised me, I was brown as a berry and about two stone lighter than when I’d set off.

It was an amazing experience. I still feel very lucky to have done it, as it opened up my mind to different people and other cultures and ways of life. It also taught me how to use a camera, work fast and put people at their ease. All qualities that have stood me in good stead in my 25-year career as a press, commercial, wedding and portrait photographer.

I’ve still got my old faithful hat and my cycling shorts, and thanks to the many boxes of photographs I’ve got stored in the loft I can easily slip back on a nostalgic journey into what was a fantastic summer in my life. 




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Direct Website Link to Dave Charnley Photography