Meeting The Royal Photographic Society!

Bonjourno!

I feel like I've barely stopped since my last shoot! October has ZOOOOOOMED past and now the countdown to Christmas has begun. Eeeek! England has finally decided it's no longer Summer and I've found myself bizarrely welcoming the cold weather (although my joints definitely disagree!).

Mark and I met last Saturday in South Kensington - one of our favourite London locations to shoot and immediately got into the Christmas spirit filming a video about festive shop fronts and wintery city photography. I was naturally a big fan of the shoot - not just because I got to be excited about Christmas, but also because I got to wrap up in a coat and scarf! I'm a huge fan of all things twinkly and especially matching red and white displays so was all over this beautiful one at The Conran Shop...

 

Beautiful festive delights at the Conran Shop

Wrapped up warm and snug!

Having got thoroughly excited about how absurdly close to Christmas it's suddenly got (and of course telling some utterly appalling jokes) we hopped off to meet Michael Pritchard, the Director General of the Royal Photographic Society (RPS). At this point I was INCREDIBLY nervous - not only have I never done an interview on photography, I was also about to be faced with someone who is ridiculously knowledgeable on the subject. Michael however, is utterly divine and made me feel very at ease with the whole thing (and even like I knew a thing or two!)

We started the afternoon talking about all the wonderful things the RPS has to offer. I'd been geeking up on the history of the society but learnt so much about the international work they are doing with both professional and amateur photographers. Being an avid iphone user, I was also really interested to speak to Michael about his views on iphone photography and how creative people have been with new technology!

If you aren't already aware of the RPS I urge you to go and take a look at all the wonderful things they are doing: http://www.rps.org/ !!

After learning ALL the things about photography, we went on to talk about Michael's new book - A History of Photography in 50 Cameras. I only managed to have a brief look through on Saturday but it's already got me super excited to give it a more thorough read. Learning about the history of photography through cameras seems thoroughly apt as the changing technologies have effected not only the images produced but also who can take them.

To hear Michael talking about the RPS and his new book check out the video on Saturday!

www.youtube.com/weeklyimogen 

Big photography love!

Ix

Return of the Blog

I'm back!

After an absurdly long hiatus I've finally returned to my blog and super excited to share this morning's shoot with you! As some of you who follow my youtube channel may know, I took a brief break for holiday over the Summer and it's been so much fun getting back into the swing of things after some much needed time off.

England has finally decided that it's about time to change to Autumn. Although I feel the cold MASSIVELY (I'm a complete pain on chilly shoots!), I do love the colder months when I can get wrapped up and drink mulled wine with a hot water bottle and fluffy jumpers! For me there's nothing quite like the look of winter and the smell of a crisp, cold morning.

Mark and I met in the AM outside a local church where I play organ twice a month. We whizzed off to a beautiful estate where we'd kindly been allowed to shoot and started to get prepped. Mark is always super fabulous at being totally prepared so fills me in on the way about everything we'll be doing to maximise time spent shooting on the shoot.

Made up and ready to go!

I, as usual, was feeling very chilly and the wonderful Mark had packed me lots of wooly jumpers to keep me warm whilst waiting in between photos and filming...

Today we started off with our biggest video - another lens comparison which I'm v excited to share with you all! We chose a few strong locations and poses and shot each with both lenses to create a direct comparison between the two. Shooting around the estate was absolutely wonderful as there were so many fabulously beautiful locations to create lots of different atmospheric looks.

Not only did the estate have beautiful landscape but it had... ALPACAS! As some of you who follow me on twitter may know, my favourite animal on the planet is the llama. Spotted at one end of the field was a pen with three adorable alpacas and I quickly became too desperately excited to deal with ANYTHING (Mark was incredibly patient...)

Once I'd got over all the alpaca related excitement we went on to film a few more videos which you'll be seeing up on the channel soon! After getting very muddy finding the perfect location for some portraits we trundled back to the car to put the heating on and to my reward - a mint aero! Yummy!

I'm now safely back in London and snuggled up with a mug of lemon squash, lots of fluffy blankets and looking forward to a really exciting week ahead! 

I hope you all have a wonderful one too!

Im x

Saturday Southbank

Hello everyone!

How did February happen? I feel like January whizzed by quicker than a cheetah on speed. If you've been following UK news, this month has started somewhat dramatically with the abysmal weather in the South West and the beginning of the London tube strikes. I'm in an incredibly blessed position in that I can walk to work from my flat, however my heart goes out to everyone having to brave the travel situation today! Although I am in no position whatsoever to expound forth with journey woes, my walk back today was very chilly and blustery indeed (I don't do well with cold as you will see...) and therefore I'm super glad to be back in my nest with a glass of pinot, new candles and dinner in my belly. Yummo!

Speaking of cold and blustery, last Saturday Mark and I embarked on a rather chilly outdoor shoot along the Southbank. I left the nest wrapped up warm and travelled to meet Mark bright and early at Embankment station.

One thing that Mark has had to deal with on a regular basis over the years we've been working together is my absolute inability to deal with any sort of cold weather. I feel the cold incredibly badly, all the colour drains from my skin and I generally turn into a shivering, blubbering mess. Poor Mark should be given a knighthood for dealing with my super cold whinges and working with the short space of time we have every time we step outside to take some shots before I turn blue! One thing to bear in mind, that Mark does exceptionally well, is to plan in time for lots of tea breaks if you're outdoor in the cold because it truly does make all the difference! Below you'll see my very forlorn face on one of these breaks where Mark managed to get the shot we needed just in time before I had a minor break down and desperately ran to the nearest warm place.

We walked along various areas of the Southbank, climbing down to the quieter bay by the river as the tide was out and making full use of all the beautiful London city scapes and wonderfully atmospheric industrial backgrounds which the area has to offer. We truly were blessed with an utterly beautiful day and wonderful light which made working all the easier. Although it doesn't always bear fruitful, as anyone who's worked with UK weather will know, it is worth keeping an eye on the weather forecast as it will give you at least some idea of what you'll be dealing with and plan indoor as well as outdoor locations should the heavens open. We had a truly inspiring, bright, clear winters day (the kind that are my favourite if I'm in a MILLION layers) and I think it really shows in the quality of the shots we were able to take.

The Southbank truly is a wonderfully versatile location to shoot as it gives so many differing outdoor settings within a short walk, so is perfect for more speedy shoots before the crowds descend. Below are a few of the raw pictures from the shoot and I hope you'll all feel just as inspired by the location as Mark and I were!

I hope you've enjoyed getting a sneak peek at some of our work last weekend! Do let me know as well whether you would like me to blog my general musings or to keep purely photography related - I do so enjoy being able to connect with you all!

Ix

Return to the Abandoned House

Hi all!

I'm still in disbelief at how quickly January is flying by! So far 2014 has been full of work, wonderful friends and lots of llamas. For any of you who follow me on twitter you'll know that my obsession with llamas has rapidly excelled from moderate to extreme... However, aside from all the llamas and plenty of the day to day fun, Mark and I have also quickly got back into the photographic swing and have ALREADY done some really exciting shoots that I can't wait to share with you!

Last Saturday we returned to the abandoned house which many of you might remember from an abundance of flickr images and many references on youtube. It was one of our favourite places to shoot due to how atmospheric it had become in its dilapidated state. The bright colours on the walls particularly appealed to Mark due to his signature style of pairing colours together. Infact, I think some of my favourite shoots came out of days spent at the house (even if I complained of being horribly cold at the time!)

However, in the last few months the house has been entirely transformed. In a rapid renovation, the once abandoned property is now a warm, inviting gothic revival family home and Mark and I jumped at the chance to be able to shoot there. We decided to recreate many of the shots we had previously taken, however this time there was an added twist - although the location was fundamentally the same, the look was now entirely different! It meant we had to approach something which was once so familiar with entirely fresh eyes. Below I will post some of the beautiful pictures of the house and you can see just how much it has changed. The interior design and feel is so in keeping with the style I love so it was almost impossible to tear myself away and leave at the end of the morning!

I began the day early in the morning at my family home in Kent. For once I wasn't rushing around from London like a lunatic, so I had the time to have a good pre-shoot pamper with a face mask and lots of moisturiser (I think my skin was very glad!) I opted for my tried and tested make up look of a subtle smokey eye. It's very adaptable as it doesn't look too glamorous but at the same time really helps to accentuate all of my key features. 

Travelling to the location, Mark prepped me on the shoot for the day. We were going to film two videos - manipulating window light and making the most of locations. These were two topics that particularly inspired me as it's such a fundamental part of Mark and my photography. I also love being able to look through the wealth of photos we've taken and to really be able to reflect on all the work and Mark's wonderful vision that has gone into their creation. Furthermore, I was so excited to see the property and beyond that, to take photos there again.

The renovation was so beautiful and completely in my style and it was wonderful to see the difference between the old photos we'd taken and how different the same outfits looked in the new(ish!) locations. The pictures themselves are still very atmospheric but in an entirely different way - now looking far more warm and plush they tell an entirely different story. In the videos we shot on the day we talk in depth about the photos themselves and how we use the different lighting and locations and I'm very excited to share them in time with you all so you can see all the wonderful shots we took on the day. However, for now, I wanted to give you a little sneak peek by showing you some of the raw shots from the day and their comparison with the old pictures...

I hope you've enjoyed looking through some of the photos from our shoot. It's been wonderful to see how the house has been transformed and I hope you find it fascinating too!

Check out more of Mark's photos in the house at http://www.flickr.com/photos/peopleofplatt/sets/72157624572361792/

Big photo love!

Im x

Happy New Year!

Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

This year I've set myself the challenge of blogging about the shoots Mark and I do - giving you some behind the scenes info and photos and also giving you a little insight into my weeks!

We have some super exciting things coming up and I can't wait to share them all with you!

Imogen x