My commission to photograph The Tuns pub at Sadberge near Darlington and produce a range of commercial photographs suitable for PR and marketing came
about via colleagues PR expert Anna Addison from Stokesley and web guru Alan Foster, based in Newton Aycliffe & Gateshead.
Last year we joined forces (Ignite Media NE Link) to offer small and start up businesses a complete photography, PR and website service, and The Tuns job came about through that route.
A Grade II listed building standing on a busy corner of the
pretty village of Sadberge, The Tuns was re-launched just before Christmas 2013
by its present owners, following a six-month refurbishment.
Landlord Ross Serino, whose family run the popular Santoro’s
restaurant in Yarm, presides over a team working hard to create a friendly,
traditional village pub atmosphere, serving delicious food made with local
ingredients.
My job was to use my decades of press and PR photography experience in the North East to capture the clean, contemporary look of the interior, complete
with its cosy woodburning stoves and gleaming, well-stock bar, and of course
the much-praised menu.
Food photography, especially when you are doing it ‘live’ in
the busy kitchen, is tricky, and you need to work quickly and with confidence. Head
chef Helen Todd from Darlington made it look effortless as she kept service
running smoothly while I darted round the kitchen taking close ups of delicious
prawn towers, hearty pies and a range of mouth-watering desserts destined for
the hungry diners.The dark colours and shiny textures of the mussels were
probably my biggest challenge, but I was pleased with the results when I got
back to my studio in Stockton to process hundreds of shots.
Outside the pub, some amazing chainsaw sculptures on the
green, plus a clever pub sign designed to look aged and shot against the blue
sky lent some atmosphere to the exterior photos and gave a real feel to the
place.
I came away from the Tuns in Darlington, having created a photo library of the clean professional photographs that can be used for PR, in marketing materials, advertising and on new website, and
which will stand the owners in good stead for some time to come.
I was pleased to see my press photography coverage used by several local newspapers, including the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette, Darlington and Stockton Times and the Northern Echo,
who both gave the pub a glowing report (link). It was good to see a formerly neglected
pub given a new lease of life, and I’m sure Ross, his partner Becka and his
family will make sure the ‘new’ Tuns will become an essential part of local
life.