Iceland 2010 - The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull

Back in 2010 I was commissioned to shoot a series of ads for a pharmaceutical campaign in various locations around the world, including Iceland, Bavaria and Morocco.

While we were in Iceland we witnessed the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull. It was an incredible event to witness, with the ash blocking out the sun and falling down on us like hot sand.

Many will remember that the resulting ash cloud brought European airspace to a standstill during the April of 2010, and cost billions of euros in disruption and delays. During the eruption, a no-fly zone was imposed across much of Europe, which meant we were lucky to get home, let alone get home on schedule.

It’s funny too what memories are made while travelling in foreign lands… For me, apart from the stunning and surreal landscapes, I’ll always associate Iceland with hot dogs and chocolate raisins!

Below is a selection of the personal work I was able to make during our down time. Larger versions along with other work made, can be found here.

The work was made on a Contax 645 with 35mm Carl Zeiss T* lens and Sinar eMotion 75 MFDB.

With regards to the ads themselves, for logistical reasons, we shot the locations first, and then shot the models in the studio in London, carefully matching camera heights, angles and lighting.

The blood platelets were created in CGI and then all the various elements were composited in post.

Below is a selection of the finished ads..

Client : Amgen. Agency : CDM. Art Director : Shauna Kealy. Post Production / CGI : Kai Bastard. Producer & Location Scout : Leonora Sheppard. Local Producer & Guide : Bui Baldvinsson.

Lotus Cars - From Norwich to Nevada

Tight timings and impossible logistics often mean we have to be smart when producing images to a brief. This commission for Lotus Cars being a perfect example.

The project involved shooting six iconic sports cars over ten long days in a coved studio in Norwich, close to the Lotus HQ, and then compositing them with various back plates of locations from around the world. Careful attention was paid to match the lighting of each car to the background that each would inhabit, with CGI rendered reflections, studio shot wheel spins and virtual rig motion blur adding the touches of realism that would ensure that each car felt embedded in to it’s chosen environment.

A big thank you to the good folk at ThirdEye Studio in London, for their CGI and post production expertise and to assistants Brian and Steve for their hard work in the studio.

Client : Lotus Cars.    CGI & Post production : ThirdEye Studio.    ADs : Julian Calverley & Matt Haysom.

Below is a small selection of the work produced, with more available to view here.

The cropped imagery below hints at the level of detail achieved when shooting with the high end medium format digital back..

New Work For Delta Air Lines

I was recently commissioned by the good folk at Zero Collective to help create a series of ads for Delta Air Lines.

The agency, stylist and hair and makeup artist for the first round of ads were from the UK, with the models and client being flown in from Paris and the US. We then flew one of the models to the US to shoot a second round of ads with a CGI team from Atlanta, in their bespoke green screen studio. We were then home from the second leg of the shoot on a red eye flight, within 48 hours of leaving Heathrow!

The aircraft interiors were created and ‘lit’ completely in CGI and built out to match the exact lighting, camera heights, distances, focal lengths and apertures that we used to shoot the model. The separate elements were then brought together in post production.

Client : Delta Air Lines. Agency: Zero Collective. Art Directors : Paul Geudon & Greg Davies. CGI : Trick 3D. Post Production : Tom Wheatley.

Below is the rather surreal green screen studio set in Atlanta, where we shot the photographic composite elements that later became the ads that you see above.

Property Bourse Rebrand

Location shoot around various locations in London, for the rebrand of Property Bourse.

The black balloons were created in CGI, and added in post.

Client : Property Bourse.   AD : Pieter van Loon.   CGI : Gary at Mission 3D.

Ad Campaign For Amgen

This Ad campaign for Amgen took us to Iceland, Bavaria and Morocco.

For logistical reasons we shot the various locations first, and then shot the models in the studio in London, carefully matching camera heights, angles and lighting. The blood platelets were created in CGI and added in post.

Agency : CDM London.    Client : Amgen.    AD : Shauna Kealy.   Location scout : Leonora Sheppard.   Post and CGI artist : Kai Bastard.

Below is a selection of the finished ads..