A Cure for Winter Blues

When it's dark already and the rain is battering off the windows what I think we all need is a joyful photograph to lift your spirits.

I have just finished sorting the front of house shots for The Royal Exchange Theatre production of 'You Can't Take It With You'. I think this will fit the bill for cheering up the winter blues.

I got an email today from America. It's the sort I like. 


A publishing house is producing a reference book about the first decade of 21st Century Drama. Weighty stuff.


They have picked out an image of mine, shot for the Royal Exchange Theatre for their production of On the Shore of the Wide World. I've always found this a powerful image so I'm very pleased this has been pick up. For myself and for the theatre, director, writer and actors involved it's great for the play to have been recognised as important. I like to think that access to good production photographs has helped in some way.

It's also nice to have been asked what the cost for use will be… It's amazing how often this is omitted from first contact by a publisher.

A Crack at Moving Image

When the first professional DSLR cameras with HD video capture started to appear I realised this was something interesting that I needed to get a grip of. Not since student days, messing around with expensive super8 film edited with scissors and viewed against living room walls, had I played with moving image. Suddenly it was becoming possible to produce video with equipment I already have, but more importantly to an amazing cinematic standard. The limits now being my own rather than equipment, reminiscent of the time when digital photography burst onto the professional world.


I made a few tentative steps with clients but, as a photographer who has spent years developing my reputation, I did not want to destroy it all with a few dodgy filming commissions.


This was countered by the natural 'can do' nature of being a pro photographer. One of my favourite clients is the Royal Exchange Theatre and I had been talking to them about producing the odd trailer for up coming plays. When they called to see if I fancied having a go at one I didn't hesitate and agreed.


Now I'd done a little and in the process had formed a good working relationship with a couple of very talented people with a lot of  experience in post production and editing for advertising and TV so I felt confident.


My confidence, however, was snuffed out in an instant when I realised the director of the play was Michael Buffong,  a talented and very experienced TV Director as well as theatre.  I wasn't going to be able to baffle with bullshit and my every move would reveal any lack of knowledge.


I have Michael to thank for what turned out to be an exciting and thoroughly successful little shoot. It was a simple recreation of a scene whilst in rehearsal. No real set in place but with great actors and, for me equally important, a director who graciously nudged me in the right direction when he saw my angles may not edit well or made suggestions for close ups when my brain was struggling to cope with all we had to do in a very short amount of time.


This was indeed a baptism of fire. Very limited time, lots of actors with plenty of other things to worry about and the huge technical challenge of low 'house' lighting combined with difficult focusing.


The resulting clip has been on this blog earlier but I have added it again to save trawling through my earlier waffling.


The reason I bring this up now is that I can only assume I did something right as I have been asked to go to Leicester this week to photograph Michael Buffong's latest production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at the Curve Theatre. And absolutely delighted I am to be working with him again.

A face paints a thousand words

Just delivered the finished images for Manchester Camerata's season print.

This is two of them and I'm very pleased with how it's worked out.

It's back to the core of my work. People. Faces. Form and space. It was a strange and intense experience at times but reminded me of the things I love about photography and about photographing people in a studio. It was of course about music and emotional connection. Simple and difficult at the same time. 

The search for belly models #2

In an interesting twist a fellow photographer, AoP member and Tweeter contacted me having seen my Tweet. It was a with a link to their site for belly dancers.

http://www.tasteofcairo.com/

Now there's a resource I hadn't thought of. So now we have a great mix of tweeters, models and a belly dancers.

Client has decided to do a short shoot Friday with a couple of people then do more on Monday 18th so if anyone has come to this late there's still time to get in.

This is usual for this kind of thing...rush...now...rush..oh...hang on we need time to figure out a few things...suddenly there is time to organise after all.

We've toughened up the entry now as we are getting spoilt for choice. Everyone must send a photograph. Nothing fancy, just a pic off your phone is fine. For the other criteria see my post from earlier today.

Thanks to everyone who's been in touch so far. Amazing.

The search for belly models

I have a quick photographic job on. It's for a pharmaceutical company who want to advertise to doctors the wonders of a drug they have to help women undergoing Chemotherapy.

I'm involved in a quick search for models to bare their midriff for the camera. I started with the usual agencies before hitting upon the idea of opening it out to a wider audience, via my Twitter feed @JonathanKeenan . A Twitter experiment.

We need women happy to spare no more than around 40 mins (maybe much less) and get their tummy out for £50. Simple as that.

It's in my Northern Quarter studio in Manchester this Friday 15th July. You'll be photographed individually and maybe even get a brew and biscuit as well (if you're lucky). Only your nearest and dearest would know it's you and they're not likely to see it anyway, unless they are a doctor. Unfortunately it's not likely to end up on billboards around the globe but may be a fun way to spend 1/2 hour.

Here's the details of the type of women we need;

30s to 50s.
Body shape with a waistline but size up to around 14.
No piercings, tattoos or scars as this could confuse what the image is about.

If you're up for it email me

studio@jkphotography.com

It would be great if you could also send a pic, any quality phone pic is fine.

Other contact details are on my web site.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

As You Like It

by William Shakespeare

I have to work on containing a slight internal groan when actors start singing in any play. It's just a personal thing, like I hate it when the Simpsons start doing a musical set piece or those big production numbers in Mel Brooks films which are funny but also leave me wanting them to stop.

This Royal Exchange Theatre production, directed by Greg Hersov, is one of those occasions which prove me wrong.

James Day plays the Balladeer creating a fascinating musical thread through the whole production and is occasionally joined by the cast, punctuating the piece wonderfully. I was mesmerised from the start and it added a great soundtrack to the general weirdness.

Some really outstanding performances in this but it was especially good to photograph Cush Jumbo again. She just looks so good. I loved the way she played Rosalind as a boy. There's something about the street attitude and body language that just worked really well with the dialogue. I haven't yet seen this production with an audience ( just a few crew and staff in when I was shooting) but the humour in this will work even better. Throw in a little wrestling and a rabbit and you've got a top night out.

Cush Jumbo as Rosalind

James Day

Well, what can I say. It worked.