SIRF Photo Coverage | Community Carnival to Fire Artists Cie Carabosse

I’m proud to live in Stockton and was delighted to be the North East commercial and PR photographer commissioned to cover SIRF, the Stockton International Riverside Festival this year.

Now in its 27th year, SIRF 2015 consisted of four days of circus, dance, music and street theatre, all designed to celebrate Stockton Council’s imaginative redevelopment of the town centre. Many of the eight events I covered took place around the stunning new water feature in the town’s central area, which is ideal for outdoor performances.

Arts events photography is a challenging job. It’s a big responsibility to capture the spirit and energy of an event, and use pictures to get across what the artist or company wants to convey.  

Many of the performances took place in the evenings so I was coping with different light conditions and working to bring detail into the pictures.  To add to the pressure I was working to tight deadlines, particularly in the evenings with a 9.20pm cut off for newspapers such as the Middlesbrough Gazette and Darlington Northern Echo, and had nine destinations to get the pictures over to, so there was not a moment to spare.

The SIRF Community Carnival used giant puppets and featured drummers, brass bands and dancers to tell the colourful story of how Stockton became a festival town. There were around 20 groups drawn from all sections of the community, travelling in a two-mile procession down Church Road to Stockton High Street before ending on Stockton Riverside so it was a big job to track them and make sure I didn’t miss any of the groups out.  

The festival proper was launched when the Instant Light circus troupe arrived in Stockton by boat. The troupe led the audience along the Riverside to see BoO, an astonishing trapeze show by French company CirkVOST who used hundreds of bamboo poles in their show. 

These are just a few of the performances I covered: Pelat by Joan Catala: described by its creators as ‘a proposal that erases the boundaries between dance, circus, theater, and performance’, this act involved the artist using a huge piece of wood the size of a telegraph pole. He danced around it, played with it and balanced on it, to gasps of admiration from the crowd. This was a real performance with elements of surprise, humour and even danger at every move, and the crowds loved it, particularly the finale, which saw him put his trust in the crowd as they supported the pole while he balanced on the end of it high in the air. 

451 by Periplum: this open air spectacular created by an immersive theatre company was a real feast for the senses. Depicting a scary world where books and free thinking are banned, it is inspired by Ray Bradbury’s 1953 dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451. Night time photography capturing huge ladders, smoke and flames plus some amazing pyrotechnics was all part of the challenge for me, and produced some stunning pictures.

Flycycle and Submercycle by Pif Paf: this performance was a great hit with the children, involving imaginative stories and special journeys to Dum Dum land on fantastical cycle-like constructions that the children could try out for themselves.

Love Struck by Ballet Lorent: another evening performance, this told the story of love and romance between John Walker, inventor of the friction match and the beautiful circus performer Vesta. It had the audience spellbound, and thanks to picnic chairs, rugs and refreshments everyone ignored the slight chill of the North East evening. 

French fire artists Cie Carabosse: this spectacle of fire, light and music took place in the garden around the disused Trinity church, where artists had transformed the space into a fire garden. I wasn’t the only person to be fascinated by the way lights had been arranged inside Tshirts and hung in the trees, and flaming plant pots hung inside an orb to create a dandelion clock effect. 

Although there was a lot of fire around, the area had been made totally safe so people could get up close and enjoy the spectacle.  I used a tripod camera and remote flash to light up the trees, and one of my favourite installations involved tangles of fine wire wool hung on chains and set alight. Great fun to photograph, these shots were well-used by local newspapers.

The street theatre, dance and music celebration that is SIRF has been called ‘The world’s best international festival of outdoor art’ by the Chief Executive of Arts Council England and I wouldn’t argue with that. Check out the website at www.sirf.co.uk to read more about the performances and see some of my pictures.

Knee Operation leads to Healthcare Photography for Nuffield Health Tees Hospital

It’s not often a knee operation leads to a north east advertising photography job but that’s exactly how a recent two-day session photographing the Nuffield Health Tees Hospital in Stockton came about.

Following my operation (wear and tear and too much running around with heavy camera equipment in my press and sports photography days, if anyone is interested) I had used social media to praise the care I’d had there. The hospital’s marketing contact checked out my website at www.davecharnleyphotography.com and got in touch to discuss me adding to the hospital’s image library with a series of new advertising pictures that can be used for marketing and advertising purposes, some photography also for the website and brochures.  

It was important that the new pictures fitted in with Nuffield’s corporate style, which is fresh and clean and sits perfectly with my own style of documentary photography and a big emphasis on natural light to keep pictures real. 

I’ve seen lots of health sector companies use stock shots in their marketing and while they can be effective, I honestly believe real pictures work better, particularly when it comes to people making a big decision about which healthcare provider to choose.

The shoot was broken up into two days so I would be able to access all areas of this busy hospital, which operates on a tight schedule. After discussing the shots list with my client and adding in some thoughts and suggestions of my own, I was able to access all areas, photographing everything from equipment, treatment areas and the comfortable, well-equipped patient rooms through to some signage and branding, and even the convenient car park set in the leafy surroundings of Norton.

We also included lots of pictures of key staff, both in real working situations and through portrait shots that can be used across brochures, the website and social media, capturing a natural look that sums up the professionalism and cheerful attitude that made them a pleasure to work with. 

Working unobtrusively and with formal patient permission of course we also captured a range of photos showing patients booking in at reception, being assessed by the doctors, receiving physio and other treatments and sampling the beautiful food.

Having been a patient at the hospital it was interesting to see it from the other side, and I was pleased that my client was as happy with the results of the job as I am with my revitalised knee.

North Yorkshire Industrial Photographer | Lotte Chemicals in Wilton

I was pleased that clients DTW agency in North Yorkshire chose me for some industrial photography near Redcar recently.

The job involved an Industrial photography shoot at Lotte Chemicals on the Wilton International Site. Wilton is just 10 minutes from Middlesbrough and is a major process industries complex where security and safety is paramount.  As an experienced commercial and industrial photographer I’ve visited Wilton many times so I’m familiar with the detailed safety and security arrangements that every visitor must comply with, and arrived 30 minutes early to go through the briefing.

Chemical plant photography means being around volatile substances so I also had my camera equipment, including a portable, foldable flash kit, gas tested for safety.

The job brief included taking pictures of the directors and senior staff, the operation itself and a series of shots to celebrate the company’s commitment to young apprentices, and help it recruit more young people. Lotte Chemicals is a long-standing supporter of apprenticeship schemes, being named North East Medium Employer of the Year 2011, and counted among the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers of that year.  

I arrived at the job kitted up with a range of different lenses and lights. I’ve got the lighting and equipment to accommodate any type of job, including a high powered lighting kit that can light up a large factory floor, gymnasium or school hall.

Although I carry a range of lights so I’m ready for any conditions, I prefer to shoot using a mix of natural light and reflectors to keep the images real, over the years I’ve found this always gives the best results.

With the help of people who kindly held reflectors and the flash for me, I was escorted around the plant so I could get a series of shots of apprentices at work in a live environment, studying plans, putting kit away in the lockers and operating machinery and equipment.

A branded pop up banner provided some colour and contrast to the clean white environment. A photographer’s job is to tell the story, and I always like to include some branding and interiors shots to help to explain what a business is about, and give the people shots some room to breathe.

The shiny steel pipework outside gave me a chance to bounce light off it, and in some cases use reflections to frame shots.  Inside, the factory floor colour palette was great, with the blue of the machines contrasting with the pipes. And where I needed a splash of colour, a bright yellow hard hat worked a treat.

Lotte’s meeting rooms presented a light, clean background against which to photograph senior figures in the business. Corporate portrait photography is not always about getting the subject to face the camera square on and smile, if a company’s PR agency is issuing sober news, they need pictures that reflect the tone of the story so I was careful to get some serious as well as smiling shots.

Switching to the close up product shots was fascinating work. I used the back of a whiteboard as a base on which to arrange differently shaped glass containers and some products in the form of tiny  white beads. A member of staff wearing a hint of pink nail polish was happy to act as my hand model, adding some colour contrast to the pictures.

The client was very happy with the three sessions, which generated a good set of pictures flexible enough for a wide range of uses, and I’m looking forward to seeing the photos being used in the media, marketing material and across the internet.   

Early Dawn Industrial Photography on the River Tees in Stockton

In the course of my career as a North East Commercial and PR photographer I’m used to working odd hours to get the right pictures, and a commission to photograph some maintenance activities on the River Tees between 1am and 3am whetted my appetite for some night time photography.

The job involved taking night shots of a huge crane on top of the Tees Barrage on Navigation Way, in Stockton on Tees. This was part of some planned maintenance by the organisation responsible for the barrage, the Canal and River Trust, which is based in Little Venice, London.

Tees Barrage was the largest civil engineering project in the UK when it was built 20 years ago, and controls the flow of the river, preventing flooding in the surrounding area. It also controls the flow of water to the Tees Barrage Water Centre, which is a popular spot for white water rafting, sailing, rowing, powerboat racing and other water sports.

The Trust needed the crane in place to lower a huge temporary dam into the river so the water could be pumped out to allow access to staff carrying out vital maintenance work to the four huge 50 tonne 'fish belly' flood gates. The work was being done at night to cause minimum disruption to the flow of traffic and to the David Lloyd Health Club, the pub and other businesses in the immediate area, hence the night time photoshoot.

The large crane against the backdrop of the night sky made for a range of dramatic pictures and as the sun started to come up on a beautiful July morning, the soft pinks and blues of the dawn melted into some stunning colours as the area started to come back to life.

I was pleased to see the industrial pictures distributed by the Press Association and picked up by regional newspapers such as the Middlesbrough Gazette, make national titles such as the Guardian, and get used in BBC and ITV website news items.

The Dave Charnley Photography byline on the photos led to a crane company getting in touch about future industrial photography commissions, saying they worked with a lot of photographers but ‘hadn’t seen many like you, who’ve got it’, which was very flattering.

The Tees Barrage is an impressive feat of engineering which took four years to build and contains 650 tonnes of steel, and it was a privilege to see it up close and from a viewpoint most people would never see. If you missed the special open day in August for the public, keep an eye on the Canal and River Trust’s website at www.canalandrivertrust.org.uk for next year’s maintenance schedule and you just might get the rare chance to go down 40ft and walk on the bed of the River Tees – a tale to tell the grandchildren, for sure.

Leeds Event Photographer | Teach First Summer Conference in West Yorkshire

The brilliant Teach First organisation aims to address educational inequality in the UK by training and supporting young people to help them become brilliant teachers. My latest job was in Leeds, to do the conference photography for the welcome ceremony at its 13th annual residential training event, Summer Institute, followed a commission earlier this year to track a young Teach First teacher at Thorn Academy in Cardiff and relate a day in her life through pictures. 

The Summer Institute’s Impact Conference is the UK’s largest and most ambitious teacher training event and hosts over 3,000 delegates including Teach First 2014 and 2015 participants, university tutors and school and business leaders. The last two years have seen the event contribute a £5.5m investment to the city of Leeds.

In my work as a North East commercial photographer I work across a patch from Yorkshire up to Northumberland and Leeds is just a short car ride away from my Stockton on Tees base. I arrived early at the venue, Leeds Beckett University, introduced myself to the client contact for the day and did the all-important task of checking the brief hadn’t changed since the booking was made. Clients sometimes surprise me with a change of speaker or running order, and I like to make sure I’m fully up to speed with any new developments before I unpack my camera gear.

The audience was enthralled by a range of speakers, including Teach First’s Founder and CEO, Brett Wigdortz OBE; John Lloyd, the television producer behind Blackadder and QI; and Nicky Morgan MP, Secretary of State for Education.

My brief was to capture the engaging spirit of the launch of the two-week event, with shots of the speakers and audience. Speaker Dave Bunting is an experienced Everest guide and gave a particularly interesting presentation about teamwork and building relationships and trust, all vital skills that teachers will need as they progress their career.

I had taken several camera bodies and some fast lenses so I could work at slow speeds to cope with the dark lighting conditions in the hall, and get a mixture of crowd and individual shots. I’m always looking to add longevity to a photoshoot and as the delegates filed out of the auditorium I used the light flooding in through the open doors to get some generic ‘leaving’ shots that will come in useful to promote next year’s conference – a kind of ‘it’s been great, see you next year’ theme.

Set just off Woodside Lane in the heart of Leeds and close to the First Direct Arena, the campus has some great outdoor spaces for group shots and I even had a bit of fun taking pictures of people taking the obligatory selfies that are now part of every occasion.  

The students were a good-natured group and keen to join in the fun. And of course no student photos would be complete without a picture of everyone cheering so I was happy to add that one to the portfolio.  

Around 1700 delegates were at the welcome ceremony, and everyone left feeling invigorated and inspired. I was glad to have played my part in recording an event set to continue the good work of Teach First and to further its aim to combat educational inequality.