Creativity - Extreme!

Following on from my last post, I'm really working on 'creativity' at the moment. Being a photographer, I suppose it's a given that creativity plays a big part of the daily work - but what happens when the pool drys up? Having the web to hand is definitely the place to start to rekindle the flow, to re-invent, to re-dream.

I've followed Chase Jarvis's blog for a long time and with him being not only an AMAZING creative genius, but an evangelist of Web 2.0, I often turn to his posts to find new ways of looking at what I do with my camera. The video above was posted on his site yesterday, and although it's not photography based per se, it reminded me that creativity requires youthful openess, belief in the path and a willingness to explore - often failing miserably to make some progress.

As a Yorkshire wedding photographer, I find insipration from so many sources. What will I take from this video and all the other 'stuff' I find on the web? I'm not quite sure just yet but I am sure I'll ask myself this question time and time again over the winter.

Hope you enjoy the video!

Beating the Winter 'Artistic Funk'

Now that the wedding season is over, what do I do with myself... Don't get me wrong, as aYorkshire wedding photographer I'm still really busy designing albums, seeing potential clients for next year and 2011 and also preparing for the Xmas Event season. But am I really busy doing what I love? As a small business, I do just about everything myself. When the mania of the shooting season calms down and I am left chained to my MacBook, I start to question...

How did I end up here?

Where am I going?

Will I be a better photographer next year?

How will i push myself forward?

Will I have time for personal projects?

I'm writing this now because I know that come January, the 'artistic funk' will rear its head, but this year i want to be ready for it and meet it head on. What is the 'artistic funk'? Well to me it's that sense of inadequacy that I'm sure all creative people experience after an intense period of activity, it's that feeling of isolation as you ponder your work and wonder if it's any good, it's that feeling of 'not knowing'. This year, I want to really challenge these feelings - to meet them head on and shoot through them in a furious spate of self directed personal projects.

The video below has really helped me to get my head around the 'funk' - Zack Arias is such a gifted photographer and teacher and I know he feels exactly the same way I do. When I first saw his movie 'Transform' I felt a massive sense of relief - wow - somebody else felt like this! It was this movie that helped me prepare for the next couple of months and I urge you to take a look, it kicks in around the 1.33 mark, but from thereon in - sit back, relax, be challenged and let Zack Arias help you through your 'funk'!

What's in my Camera Bag?

As a busy working Yorkshire Wedding Photographer, the kit I use has to be chosen really carefully. Ever since I started as an amateur photographer, I have always used Nikon cameras (although I must admit, I did try Minolta very briefly when I lived in the US, didn't do too much for me to be honest). My first Nikon camera was the gorgeous Nikon FG, totally manual, old school - any of you remember film? I then went onto a Nikon F80 and then an F90x which I totally loved. When I came home to the UK about 5 years ago, I bought my first digital camera which was the Nikon D70, I then progressed through the D200 finally to the kit which I use now.

My gear has to be reliable and I need to have at least 2 of all 'mission critical' items. I did have a situation 2 wedding seasons ago when I was shooting the speeches at Danny and Kate's wedding with my Nikon D300, all of a sudden, the autofocus mechanism stopped working. I immediately reached down to my D200 and was able to keep shooting missing only about 30 seconds as I changed cameras and reset.

I use all of the items that you see in the picture above on a regular basis. This is just what sits in my camera bag. I will be posting an article later on in the week about my lighting kits, both portable and studio based sets which i hope the 'gear heads' and 'strobists' out there may appreciate.

So to give you a quick tour around the gear....

A- Nikon D300

B - Nikon D700 (Just love this camera and will be getting another in the New Year)

C - Nikon Sb800 Flashguns x 2 (I also have an Sb28)

D - Extra Battery packs for the SB800s (allows 5 AAs to be used)

E - Nikon Temperature correction Gels for the SB800s

F - Nikon 60mm f2.8 Macro lens (I always use this on the D300)

G - Pocket Wizard Flash Transmitters x 3 - stupidly expensive, but oh so reliable.

H - Quantum Turbo Z Batteries x 2 - great for fast flash recycling

I - Sekonic Flash Meter

J - Nikon 50mm f1.8 - one of my favourite all time lenses.

K - Tokina 12-24 f4 - a little soft around the edges but great when used carefully.

L - Mini tripod for positioning flashes.

M - Home made 'gobo' - prevents light from background flashes flaring into the lens.

N - Nikon 24-70 f2.8 - this lens is my general 'goto' lens for the majority of jobs.

O - Nikon 70-200 f2.8 VR - another amazing Nikon lens, beautiful for portraits.

P - Rocket blower, keeps all the glass dust free.

Q - Honl 'Speed Strap' - used with the Honl flash mods.

R - Nikon SC17 flash cord

S - Cleaning Fluid

T - Quantum cord to connect turbo batteries and Sb800s

U - WhiBal - colour correction card.

W - Xtra Batteries - you can never have enough, I now use Sanyo 'Eneloops'

X - Honl 1/8th Speed Grid - great for restricting light from flashes to a small area.

Y - Strobframe flash bracket

Z - Swiss Army Knife - no photographer should be without one!

1 - Ball bungees - used to secure flashes to pipes/struts etc

2 - Lumiquest Softbox III - great used close in for 'wrappy' portraits.

3 - Various cables for flashes/pocket wizards etc.

4 - Honl Speed Snoot - creates cinematic spotlights.

5 - Wet weather camera casing - now I don't shoot sports so much, doesn't come out too often.

6 - CF Memory cards - about 24gbs worth split between 1gbs/2gbs and 4gbs.

I hope this was useful/interesting and I'd love to field any questions people may have about any of the gear in my bag. Thanks for stopping by!

Sisters (Re-visited!)

A few weeks ago, I blogged about Nikki and Gemma's shoot, sisters who don't get to see each other so often. Well, I spent the night working on their images and I'm really pleased with the results. Dark tones work with lovely frontal lighting to create a soft but dramatic look. The sky over Brantingham Dale worked so well with the off camera flash to produce this look. As a Yorkshire Photographer, portrait sessions like this remind me why photography rules. It's my way of communicating and I can't ask for a clearer voice!

Techno geeks out there - Nikon D700, 24-70 2.8, 24 mm, 800 iso 1/60th sec @ f11. Quantum Qflash camera right, 1/4 power.

Insight Collaborates with the Millhouse SKidby's new E-Brochure

I've recently posted about my ongoing collaboration with the Millhouse Restaurant in Skidby and I am now pleased to announce that owner Mark, has now launched the venue's new wedding brochure featuring images that I created at a recent wedding.

As a Yorkshire wedding photographer, developing long term relationships with venues like the Millhouse gives me an opportunity to shout out about the great places we have in this region to get married. Mark is just coming to the end of a total refurb at the Millhouse and the results are just stunning, he's even installed GHD straighteners in the ladies - how's that for attention to detail!

Fashion Headshots

This year has definitely being the year of weddings for Insight. As a Yorkshire wedding photographer, I have been very busy capturing stories for couples throughout the region but now the season is coming to an end, I start to turn my attention to other areas of photography that I love to do.

Although I probably won't have a great deal of time between now and the New Year to shoot much by way of personal projects, when January comes around, I'll be shooting as much as possible. I had planned on a 1 month trip to Thailand for Jan, but that's not going to happen this year with too many things to do so I'm planning my time a bit differently. The collage above shows some of the headshot and fashion work that I like to work on during quieter times. I love working with models/actors/performing artistes to achieve a really modern, edgy look which they can use for their own promotion whether in print or on the internet.

I like to work with mixed light sources when I'm shooting headshots. Using natural light with reflectors and adding in small flash units (Nikon Speedlights) for the more dramatic looks gives a client a really nice mixture of styles to choose from.

Roll on January when the diary is a bit more free for pesonal shoots!