REFOCUS in Stockton on Tees, Cleveland | Freelance and Editorial Photography Coverage

As a North East freelance editorial photographer I am blessed with beautiful locations and landmarks, so it was a pleasure to be asked to photograph a stunning artwork created to celebrate Stockton and the surrounding area.

Arripare is a large scale photographic work styled around a mythical island, which shows an alternative version of some of our region’s best loved landmarks. Unveiled late last year, Arripare was the centrepiece for the launch of REFOCUS, the new biennial Castlegate mima Photography Prize.

Keen eyed visitors will spot many of Teesside’s best known sights in the 38-metre wide piece, which sits on the outside of Stockton’s Castlegate Shopping Centre. Renowned international artist Gayle Chong Kwan created Arripare by focussing on Stockton on Tees photographic landmarks and scenes taken from around the region, including Stockton, Thornaby, Norton, Yarm, Seal Sands, Billingham and Ingleby Barwick. 

She then used a combination of documentary photography, collage and sculptural construction around Stockton to create this amazing piece of work that is constructed to encourage the viewer to see the island as either sitting in the clouds or out to sea. I made several visits to Arripare, to make sure I covered all the angles and in a range of light conditions. Close up, it is full of vivid colours, with extra tiny details becoming apparent at every 

viewing.

It’s an amazing piece of work from any angle, and I photographed it from the Millennium Bridge,Riverside Road and the River Tees. Using my monopod allowed me to shoot it from low and high angles, some of which would have been inaccessible without the monopod.

The resulting set of photos are being used on large format display boards, in marketing literature and press articles and on a range of online sites.

I also covered the official launch in October, which was held at Joe Rigatonis behind Castlegate Shopping Centre, and saw a number of speakers praise Arripare and welcome the effect it will have on tourism.

The launch was a packed event, drawing Journalists, video journalists and photographers from the Middlesbrough Gazette, the Darlington Northern Echo, TFM radio and other media, all as keen as me to get the best shots. I was pleased to be the only North East editorial photographer allowed to go out on a river boat on the River Tees with Gayle and a video news cameraman, and we got some unique shots.

If you get the chance do go along and view the piece and see how many local sights you recognise - it is well worth the trip and really cements Stockton’s position as a thriving arts scene.

Darlington Commercial and Food Photographer | The Tuns, Sadberge - Website, PR and Marketing Package.

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.

North East Architectural Photography: Hospice in Sunderland, Newcastle Police Station to the Redcar Beacon.

My job as a North East commercial and PR photographer takes me all over the region, and every day brings new challenges, whether it’s photographing celebrities and community champions, or buildings and businessmen.

A lot of my time this month has been spent photographing Teesside landmark buildings and construction projects, and one of the first jobs was a commission from the construction company that built the £1.6m Beacon at Redcar, a structure that has sparked a love-hate relationship with locals. I like the building, it adds a splash of colour and forms a focal point for the town. Dubbed the ‘vertical pier’, the Beacon is part of a multi-million pound redevelopment of Redcar seafront, which is now unrecognisable from a few years ago.

At 80ft tall, the cafe area and open roof terrace at the top of its seven floors offers fantastic view over the coastline and surrounding area and a clear day presented me with some amazing photo opportunities. As well as the exterior, which is wrapped in coloured steel and mesh strips, I spent some time photographing the business space and meeting and conference areas that all reflect the Beacon’s clean, modern principles.

One of the biggest challenges of architectural photography is to keep the vertical lines as true as possible. Wide angle lenses give great results but can twist a perfectly straight vertical into convex or concave lines. I use a combination of special lenses and image manipulation software to correct this, which means lots of work back at my Stockton studio.

Another architectural job saw me photographing the opening of the new garden at St Benedict’s Hospice in Ryhope, Sunderland. This is the city’s first purpose-built hospice, and the construction firm has used lots of wood and textured materials, adding a roof garden and lake area which all combine to create a calm and welcoming environment for staff and patients. 

I was pleased to be asked to photograph the ‘old meets new’ architecture of Newcastle’s newest police station at Forth Banks, which is part of the regeneration of the Stephenson Quarter. A sensitive new structure links Kings House with an historic railway warehouse, creating a state of the art 24/7 police station, and is a fine example of how to integrate old and new buildings successfully.

I’m lucky that my job allows me to be out and about with my camera photographing North East architecture; whether it’s an iconic structure or an undiscovered gem, each has its own story.

A commission to photograph the demolition of the Spotted Cow pub in Stockton, the first stage of the re-building of the Victoria Estate behind Stockton High Street and the splash pool, threw up an interesting tale.

As I worked I got chatting to the man operating the wrecker, who told me his dad had planted the surrounding trees when the estate was built 50 years ago, so we were both pleased to find they would be staying in place when 210 homes are built and the old site is transformed. 

Successful architectural photography often depends on sun and weather conditions, and I’m a big fan of an app that tells me where the sun will be at any given time, so I can plan the shoot knowing that I’ll be photographing the building at the best time for the right light conditions. 

Sometimes the weather is against me though, and if the deadline allows I might decide to revisit the site - I want every single picture I take to be original and pleasing to the client, and I won’t rest until all the right circumstances are lined up to create the best possible image, whether it’s for use in print, outdoor or online media.

Photojournalist Video Training in Newcastle upon Tyne

Nothing stands still in the world of professional PR and commercial photography, and that’s nowhere more true than at www.davecharnleyphotography.com.  You can’t afford to stand still in the photographic business, and I always want to be in front of trends, looking for new, fresh approaches and ways to extend my photography services to clients across the North East.

There has been a steady growth in the number of clients booking commissions that are a combination of still and video photography, for instance to record events such as royal visits, award presentations, sports and community activities, and even for website video blogs and ‘how to’ videos. As the price of technology has come down, lots of people are comfortable with doing videos, even if it’s only on their phones. But just because you have the technology, it doesn’t follow that it will make you a professional.

Adding video to my commercial and PR photography portfolio is the next logical step and will open up new markets for my work, and widen the range of services I provide to local authorities and private clients.  Moving images add another dimension – they are so powerful, and can often tell a more detailed story than stills. Instead of a still shot of a company’s Managing Director on its About Us web page, imagine how much more impact a video of him or her talking about the company’s ethos and values would have. 

I’m not a looking to break into news video journalism, although my years as a press photographer working on papers including the Middlesbrough Gazette and the Lancaster Evening Post gave me an insight into the world of newsrooms and picture desks that all comes in handy when I’m working on North East press and PR photoshoots.

I’m doing some intensive training with an experienced ex-BBC video journalist, as part of a small group that includes a Harrogate-based photographer and an ex-picture editor of the Yorkshire Post. One of the most important topics we are covering is planning the storyboard – it’s a vital piece of the jigsaw and one of the many elements to be considered before I even pick up my video camera, which is the same model that the BBC news teams use.

Editing is another specialist skill, and a fascinating part of the process. I’m learning so much, and I’ve even found myself analysing TV and film footage with a much more critical eye, which will help me when I am creating professionally-produced short, focused video reports for use on online news, corporate and community websites.

Just like stills photography, video is certainly not just a case of shoot and go. I spend hours in my Stockton studio, editing hundreds of images from each shoot to make sure they are pin-sharp, and colour references are all perfect. Add to that some time-consuming editing plus adding and synchronising sound, and it’s easy to understand why video editing is such a long and detailed process.

It’s a big commitment and will mean juggling the training with my work as a North East press, PR and commercial photographer but I see it as yet another string to my bow. Styles and trends evolve, new camera equipment is released and new markets open up, and I never want to stop learning. I’m dedicated to delivering a quality service and maintaining the same attention to detail on both stills and video, and using my skills and experience to create the images that keep my clients returning again and again. 

Youtube Link:  http://youtu.be/3bMqGw1jYEM

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Direct Website Link to Dave Charnley Photography

Interior and Advertising Photographer | Sliderobes in North Yorkshire and County Durham.

The life of a North East commercial and advertising photographer is as varied as the days are long, and a recent commission to take some interiors shots for SLIDEROBES® GROUP LTD was a welcome change from editorial and commercial photography in Teesside and North Yorkshire, it often sees me out in the cold for hours on end, in search of the perfect shot for my clients.

The photography locations were near Yarm in North Yorkshire and the other was in County Durham, and I had two houses to visit, and four rooms to photograph. The company I was working for is a well known name, designing and producing stylish made to measure furniture in a wide range of colours and choices.  

The photographs were to be used for a variety of marketing tools, including brochures and online on the company’s website, so my brief was to give the designers a good range of photographs to work within, including different formats to give them maximum flexibility with design layout.

Interiors photography can be challenging, and as the photographer I have to use my experience to help the client tell their story, working with angles and lighting and sometimes cope with restricted space too. I often have to stage interiors photographs, without adding too much detail into the image that would confuse the viewer. 

All the clients' rooms were fitted out in very different styles from minimalist to classic and contemporary according to their occupants and uses, and it was important that the photographs reflected the wide range of choice on offer. 

What I called the white room had been given a fresh, clean look with stylised monochrome wallpaper behind the bed and full size mirrored wardrobe doors reflecting a unique chandelier.

Another bedroom had a wooden floor and full height mirrored robes inset with panels of lacquered glass, housing an impressive shoe collection and all set off by a stylish purple and lilac theme.

The master bedroom was drama personified and absolutely stunning. The smokey black mirrored finish to the wardrobes was echoed in the purpose built dressing table, which together threw up some photography challenges involving the bonus of having reflections to play with while avoiding any light bouncing back into places where I didn’t want it.

The company’s furniture can be made to fit a range of rooms, not just bedrooms, and a craft room at the top of one of the houses was furnished in a light oak finish, with wardrobes and shelving cleverly made to measure to fit the roof apex and give maximum storage for the owner.

Like most interiors photography this was a demanding shoot in the north east, with so many textures and finishes to work with and every photo had to be just right. I edited the photos back at my Stockton on Tees photography studio and had them back to the client within a couple of days, and I’m looking forward to seeing them on the client’s website very soon.