Wednesday, 24 November 2010

Shoot with Si


Working with Si Waite was one of the many music promo shoots i have done this year, I have worked with many artist's but Si been the latest i thought it would be best to tell you about it as many get unseen within my portfolio. Currently in his final stages of his Solo Album Si gave me the oppertunity to come along to his studio and get a sneaky listen to the album. this gave me the insperation for the images. Si originally liked an image i produced earlier this year called 'Loving Angels Instead' of which was pre-selected for the shortlist of photographer of the year. although it never made it through, i still feel i should mention this as it gave me the drive to continue being a photographer after a some what funny year.
but i made it through the year with some pretty successful projects and commissions.
Any way back on to talking about Si's shoot, his music gave me the inspiration to his shoot. he gave me a somewhat creative license to do what i wanted. With his full trust upon me i felt a shoot that had many layers was best. over a 12 hour shoot. We visited many locations to give Si a varied portfolio of work from a multi storey car park to a listed building. as you may of guessed it felt more like a video shoot. but i feel when shooting i don't like to let time get in the way of my creativity so i book one job a day.

At the end of shoot what we got is from cold war themed images to one of the biggest photo-merge jobs i have done this year for a portrait, well it was a mass portrait of Si set in a old room within a well known historical building in Burslem, Stoke on trent.

Damage



A few weeks ago i had the privilege of working for Junction 15 an Emmy award winning film company. I was commissioned to produce the promotional material for the film and i also documented the production of the shoot.
Plot Outline: Having fled from abusive husband, Colin, 40 year old Heather is struggling to cope with life void of the middle class comforts she and her 3 children are used to.Pressure from seeing how miserable her children are and promises of change from Colin, Heather must decide whether to return to the family home.
Damage is a brutal yet unapologetic fictionalised portrayal of true stories as told to the filmmakers during the scriptwriting process. The short film was commissioned by Arch NS and produced by Emmy award winners Junction 15 productions.
Screenplay By: Caroline Coxon
Produced By: Suzanne James, Darren Teale
 
Follow Damage on Facebook....
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Damage-Film/163704963665718?v=info 

Monday, 8 November 2010

November 2010

I don't write that much on this blog, partly it's because i don't like telling about my work without images and on most occasions i have had client's that just cant have work seen on internet.




Something i should of told you about is Pretty Vacant, Pretty Vacant is an arts collaboration between myself and co-artist Christopher Guest.

The project has been funded by The British Arts Council and will see the two artists from differing creative backgrounds coming together to create work in empty shop windows in the locality.

The project will be a celebration of the “Local Heroes” of Newcastle Under Lyme. Local heroes are not the recognised celebrities we all know about, ie Stanley Matthews, Robbie Williams, but rather those individuals who are of unique character and make the Town what is it..and what it is- is not what you read in the national press!

Taking place in a large empty unit in Warner Village, in the heart of the town, the artists will hold regular research workshops around specific venues we have identified- meeting the public and talking through our ideas with them.
In a way this project will be shaped by the public as it will be their character traits and vivacity that will make this project successful.

We will use our respective creative practices in graffiti and drawing, photography and digital media to create large scale projections and cut out forms, inviting the audience to look for the humorous, beautiful and fantastical aspects of those around us.

Over the coming weeks and months we will be posting regular updates on this blog,keeping you up to date with our venue visits, interesting people we have met and also documenting how us as two artists from very different creative backgrounds can learn together.

For more information on Pretty Vacant you can email us at prettyvacant2010@hotmail.com

Local hero, Michael Colley... Stop motion video by myself...

Wednesday, 30 June 2010

Introduction

"I just do what i do, i will not explain why i do it most of the time, i just want you to like it"
Darren Washington, June 2010


Darren Washington was born in 1977 in Stoke-on-Trent, where he currently lives and works.

He left school and worked through most of the 90’s in the ceramic industry, working for Masons Ironstone and after the closure moved to Staffordshire Table Ware.

Darren has been a keen photographer for many years and finally decided to take up photography professionally in 2004.

Darren continues to work within the midlands focusing his work on various defunct industries and the changing environment of Stoke-on-Trent as a city.