Press Release Photographer | Same-Day Corporate Photography For Hartlepool Stadium Group

As a former Middlesbrough Evening Gazette press photographer I’ve photographed everyone from royalty, senior business figures and media stars through to community champions, children and winners of giant leek competitions. Working with such a range of subjects means your job on the day is not only to capture the perfect image, you have to do it in double quick time too!

A recent booking to photograph Stephen Phipson, the new Chief Executive of the £44m electronics manufacturer Stadium Group in Hartlepool came via the company’s marketing manager, who had seen my work on www.davecharnleyphotography.com

Stacey wanted a same day service, and like most in-house communications teams and PR agencies she had a detailed photo brief ready for me.  This is a useful tool that guides me as to what sort of shots the client wants to achieve, and what they are to be used for, whether that’s to go with news stories for regional and national newspapers and magazines, in-house documents, websites or other communications channels. In Stacey’s case, she wanted a variety of press photos that she could use to illustrate press releases, news stories and interviews with the new CEO.  Some of them were to be in a photography style that fitted with Stadium Group’s existing image library, and she wanted a range of internal and external backgrounds, some branding in shot and a choice of portrait and landscape layouts.

Busy CEOs don’t have time to waste and want the photographer in and out in a flash (no pun intended!), so I arrived early and had a quick look around Stadium Group’s site to assess the possibilities. In the one-hour shoot I worked quickly to capture a range of formal and informal shots of Stephen, using a combination of natural light, reflectors and a remote flash. To get some branding in some of the images I took one picture through a window etched with the company logo, plus a series of shots with Stephen in front of the company’s glass-fronted reception area. 

Working with the light streaming through glass or bouncing off it was technically complex but resulted in some nice variations on the standard corporate headshot. Stephen is comfortable in front of a camera so I was able to add a touch of informality to some of the shots, moving round the room and using different camera angles while he talked to colleagues around a boardroom table.

Stadium Group is a big employer on Teesside so the media is always interested in developments at the company.  The shots have been added to Stadium’s stock library of photos and have already been widely used in the regional and national press and TV coverage of Stephen’s new appointment.

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Direct Website Link to Dave Charnley Photography

France Camping Holiday: Brittany, Bordeaux and Paris

FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND

People often ask me if taking my camera away with me is like a busman’s holiday, but the truth is photography is not work to me, it’s part of who I am.

Our recent family trip to France meant shaking out a tent that hadn’t seen the light of day since last summer.  My wife Lynne did all the organising, we bought a trailer and a roofbox, stuffed in everything apart from the kitchen sink and set off with our two children, armed with my trusty Panasonic LX3 camera and a Michelin map.

Headed off from Teesside very early, catching the P&O ferry from Dover to Calais and taking the obligatory shot of the beautiful white cliffs as we sailed away. Little stop near Calais then drove on to Le Letty campsite, at Bénodet in Brittany in time to get the tent all up and sorted by supper time, and the chance for a well-deserved cold beer. 

This fabulous site was right on the beach, with plenty of sporting activities on offer, including canoeing, tennis courts, and a swimming pool complete with slides.  After three days there the forecast was poor so we headed South towards Bordeaux, arriving at 7pm to find all the good sites were full – yes, we had managed to pick the biggest public holiday of the year to arrive without booking accommodation.  I will draw a veil over where we slept that night, but we were pleased that the car is a good size! 

   

The next day took us on to the Panorama du Pyla site at Arcachon, a tranquil nature reserve whose massive sand dunes, the Dune du Pylas, make it a popular spot for kite flying.  The site is tucked away between the pine forest and the beach, and we were spoilt for choice with swimming, surfing, bike rides, paragliding and fishing just a few of the things that attract people to this beautiful area. 

We also managed to squeeze in plenty of time lying around watching the paragliders float lazily around the sky attached to jewel-coloured kites, set against the bluest of skies.  It was like free therapy, as my wife remarked from her prone position on the beach towel next to mine. 

The number of photos I took made me wonder why colours seem so much more vivid when you’re on holiday, and how we managed before digital photography and the opportunity to take as many images as you have memory cards. 

 

Our canvas neighbours Helen and Rick, who were on holiday with their two sons, sent us a glorious photo of a paraglider coming in to land against the setting sun.  It’s not one of my own pictures but it perfectly captured the essence of our stay at the site, and I’d be very pleased to have it in my portfolio.  

The French are more relaxed than the UK about impromptu roadside camping, and one of the delights of our trip was spotting numerous gorgeous old VW campervans tucked away in the edges of woodland and in laybys. 

  

We rounded off our holiday with 24 hours in Paris, buying a family Metro pass for the bargain price of just 25 euros, and packing in a whistle-stop tour of attractions.  The spectacular glass Pyramide du Louvre gave me the chance to seek out an unusual shot taken from inside, and of course what photographer could resist the chance to take photos from the top of the Eiffel Tower?

Inside the Louvre, people were standing 10-deep in front of the Mona Lisa.  Camera flashes were going off like fireflies in a forest but sadly, most people seemed keener just to record the experience, rather than appreciate the painting’s beauty.

Going past an unofficial shrine to Princess Diana, the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel, was a sobering moment.  We lifted our mood with a walk along the Seine as darkness fell, to the strains of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ – a popular choice for Parisian buskers and a tune we heard several times!

Arriving home I found out we had clocked up around 2,500 miles, and once we had unpacked the car and shaken the sand out of all our kit it fell to me to do what all holidaymakers do - even professional photographers – and sort out all the holiday pics.

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Direct Website Link to Dave Charnley Photography

Teesside Sport and Event Photographer: 29th Redcar Half Marathon

Redcar seafront saw hundreds of runners covering the 13.1 miles route in the town’s annual half marathon. I was commissioned to  do a commercial photoshoot  along with Middlesbrough Evening Gazette and Darlington's Northern Echo press photographers to capture the fantastic event, it got under way by Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jo Jackson.

Professional, amateur and wheelchair racers had travelled to Redcar, Teesside from all over the UK to try and beat their personal bests. Thankfully the weather was mostly sunny for the 100’s of spectators lining the streets to cheer the runners on.

Amazingly this was the 29th year of the Redcar Half Marathon, which was organised by Tees Valley Leisure. A total of 1,550 competitor’s took part in this years half marathon and the first wheelchair racer over the line was Simon Lawson, 29, of Maryport, in Cumbria, who was trained by Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson (pictured above in green) and her husband Ian, who both also took part. Simon, who won the event last year, said: “The conditions were good and I enjoyed it.”

Graeme Taylor, 25, from Jarrow and Hebburn Running Club (No 210) was the first runner over the line in a very respectable one hour 10 minutes. The first woman to finish was 30-year-old Carolyn Summersgill, from Coulby Newham, who runs with Middlesbrough and Cleveland Harriers. “I didn’t expect to win,” she said. “It was a bit warm to start with but then it clouded over and got windy which cooled us down.

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Direct Website Link to Dave Charnley Photography

Redcar Sport Photographer | 'Surfs up' at UK Professional Surf Tour, Saltburn

One of the things I enjoy the most about being a professional commercial photographer in the North East is the variety of projects that I get to work on. So, when the head of the marketing team for TK Maxx contacted me recently I was eager to be involved in their project to shoot the UK Professional Surf Tour in Saltburn. 


On Saturday 14th May, camera at the ready, I arrived at Saltburn eager to capture the energy and action of the day. My brief was to document the tour dates in Saltburn and to shoot lifestyle images of the spectators too. The photoshoot was going really well for the first hour and then, the good old English weather stayed true to form and the heavens opened up! Although Saltburn is an amazing part of the world in any weather the decision was made to come back the next day.

Success! The weather was much brighter on Sunday and the Pro Surfers were 'making some shapes' near the pier. I caught some great action shots with a telephoto lens and a variety of 'scene setting' lifestyle shots* to compliment the set. 
*A special thank you to Laura from Marske who looked fantastic in her bobble hat.

The high-resolution fully edited disc was dispatched ‘special delivery’ to London and was quickly uploaded onto their TK Maxx Blog.

Lets hope the UK Professional Surf Tour event will be a regular feature in Redcar, Cleveland and Teesside. Maybe next time I might even don my wetsuit and get some pictures from the waves!

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Direct Website Link to Dave Charnley Photography