Aston Martin DB4 G.T. Continuation

They're building cars in Newport Pagnell again!

I was recently commissioned to photograph the stunning DB4 G.T. Continuation for Aston Martin Works Service. I spent a day at the original Aston Martin facility in Newport Pagnell, recording the final stage of the build taking place, followed by a test and set up day at Millbrook Proving ground.

"Ahead of its time – and more often than not the opposition – the DB4 G.T. was a new breed of competition car. In modern parlance it was a homologation special, highly evolved from the series production DB4 on which it was based. Blessed with intensified performance and enhanced agility, the DB4 G.T. stole a march on both Jaguar and Ferrari, cementing Aston Martin's position as makers of world-beating GT cars.

Now, Aston Martin Works are making history by celebrating one of Aston Martins greatest cars with a special series of 25 Continuation cars."

I love everything about this stunning car.. the look, the sound and yes.. the smell. 

Client : Aston Martin Works Service.     Agency : Freestone.

The View From The Shard

New work commissioned by the good folk at Rose Design, for The View From The Shard is now live.

We were given special access to shoot at dawn and dusk, over a number of days. The views of London from this iconic building really are truly breathtaking. 

"Designed by Master Architect Renzo Piano, The Shard has redefined London’s skyline and quickly established its place as a dynamic symbol of London.

At a height of up to 800ft or 244m, and at almost twice the height of any other vantage point in London, visitors will experience unrivalled 360 degree views over the city for up to 40 miles on a clear day.

Begin your journey in our extraordinary high-speed lifts that carry you from Level 1 to Level 68 in sixty seconds. Once there, enjoy spectacular panoramic views of the capital from our Level 69 observation deck whilst unwinding with a glass of champagne, or share a moment with a loved one spotting London’s famous landmarks from our open air sky deck on Level 72, where exposed to the elements you can take in the atmosphere and sounds of the city below"

Below are just 3 of the 48 sheet posters from the ongoing campaign..

Client : View From The Shard.    Agency : Rose Design.    AD : Garry Blackburn & Simon Elliott.

Bletchley Park Codebreakers

New work for Bletchley Park is now live, commissioned by the good folk at Rose Design. 

Bletchley Park is the home of the World War II Codebreakers. There’s so much world changing history that’s been made here, it is a truly fascinating place. I’d recommend that anyone with an interest in World War II, coding or code breaking, spend a day here.

We certainly reaped the rewards of the 03:30AM call time, as you can see below. More of the work available to see here.

Client : Bletchley Park.    Agency : Rose Design.    AD : Garry Blackburn.

Chasing Shadows For Land Rover On The Isle of Skye

Back in January I spent a week on the Isle of Skye, and the reason I was there was to shoot the all new Land Rover Discovery 5.

We had a week of suitably wet and wild weather, which of course added realism and drama to the imagery, with the added bonus that the Discovery’s colour, Namib Orange, perfectly complemented the brooding grey skies and rich warm colours of the Scottish winter landscape.

Much of what I shot has appeared in Land Rover’s OneLife magazine, in a 12 page article entitled ‘Chasing Shadows’ which tells the story of my time with the car, and also my thoughts on landscape photography and equipment, it also documents a part of my journey around the island that I’ve come to know and love so well.

Client : Land Rover.    Agency : Spark44.    AD : Dan Delaney.

Below is a selection of spreads from the OneLife article, with larger versions of the images here.

Ash Soan Portrait For Zildjian

I recently had the good fortune to work with drumming legend and all round lovely human being Ash Soan, recent winner of Modern Drummer’s 2017 Readers Poll ‘Studio Drummer’ award, making him the first U.K. artist to win this category since Simon Phillips did so in 1987. 

We shot his portrait for world renowned cymbal makers Zildjian, who look after all of Ash’s cymbal needs.

The cymbals you see in this shot are from the new ‘Zildjian K Custom Special Dry’ range.

Location was Ash’s recording studio ‘Windmill Studios‘

New Work For GE Oslo

New work for GE is now live.

The GE Oslo shoot was a perfect example of a team effort. We were working under reasonably tight time and location constraints, shooting real people in their busy working environments, and so we had to remain as flexible as possible. Working with an experienced and flexible art director meant we could quickly explore visual ideas as they presented themselves, and working with a seasoned production crew meant we could work unhindered, knowing everything was at hand.. and all I had to do was think about making the pictures. It was a memorable shoot, and for all the right reasons.

Some kind words from Seven Stones’ creative director, Justin Earl.. “Working in Oslo with Julian and his team on this four-day shoot was an absolute pleasure. He knew exactly what we wanted to achieve with each shot, shooting in some very challenging industrial spaces. The brief for this shoot was about capturing the characters and stories of real employees and we did exactly that, thanks to the way Julian made everyone feel very much at home in front of his camera.”

Client : GE.    Agency : Seven Stones.    AD : Justin earl.

Below is a small selection of the work we made, with more examples available here.

Land Rover Reborn

I was recently commissioned to shoot a story for Land Rover’s Onelife magazine, on the Reborn project.

Spending two days in Land Rover’s Solihull manufacturing site, surrounded by history and witnessing first hand the amazing restoration work that the Reborn team are undertaking, was a real honour. 

For anyone who has a passion for Land Rovers, seeing these beautiful Series 1 vehicles up close, and understanding exactly where the Land Rover story started, is highly recommended, and you can do just that on a Land Rover Reborn Tour. You can also find more information on the Land Rover Reborn project here.

Client : Land Rover.    Agency : Spark44.    AD : Dan Delaney.

Turner's House In Twickenham

Back in the autumn of 2015 I was contacted by one of the trustees of the Turner’s House Trust, who had read in an article that I was a great admirer of J.M.W. Turner’s landscape painting. He asked me if I was aware of the restoration project of Turner’s House in Twickenham, and would I like to contribute in some way. I immediately thought I could help in my capacity as a photographer, and so a plan was hatched, and in March of this year, just days before the restoration work was due to commence, the Trust kindly granted me the great honour of two days access to the house.

I wanted to approach the work in a simple and honest way, and so decided to work purely with natural light, with the single aim of capturing the atmosphere of the house. Turner’s work, for me, is all about drama and the play of light and colour, and I’ve aimed to capture the spirit of that in these photographs. All the work was shot using available light, on the ALPA 12 MAX / PhaseOne IQ180 combo, with ALPA HR Alpagon 32mm SB17 lens.

“Sandycombe Lodge was built by 1813 to the designs of England’s great landscape painter, J.M.W. Turner, working here as his own architect to create a quiet retreat for himself, away from the pressures of the London art world. It also provided a home for his father, old William, in retirement from his trade as a barber and wigmaker in Covent Garden, and with old William’s declining health and changes in his own life, Turner sold the house in 1826

Turner’s House Trust intends to restore Sandycombe Lodge and make it available for all as a living reminder of J.M.W. Turner’s life in Twickenham and its influence on his art; 2013 marked the bicentenary of this building, a three-dimensional work by an artist renowned in his time and celebrated internationally today.

The house has had unsympathetic additions and is in a run-down condition. Turner’s House Trust intends to restore it to its original appearance and make it a monument to Turner in Twickenham. Once restored, the house will open to the public and allow visitors to explore a small but beautiful building, with fascinating stories to tell”

For more information on the history and restoration of Sandycombe Lodge, and the Turner’s House Trust, go here. You can also find information on Butler & Hegarty’s web site, the project’s architects, here.

Below is a small selection of the work that I made over the two days that I spent in the house, followed by some behind the scenes images. More work can be found here. 

Images shown courtesy of Turner’s House Trust.

Below are some behind the scenes images showing the ALPA 12 MAX with HR Alpagon 32mm f4 SB17 lens combo that was used for all of the photographs. The MBP tethering set up shows Inovativ’s excellent Digiplate Pro set up.

3 month Production for Virgin Media Business

Last year we were comissioned to shoot a library of images for Virgin Media Business. Now the product is launched we can finally talk about it.

The production spanned 3 months in total (60 working days) - from sign-off to final delivery of images.

Casting - we cast approximately 400 models over 3 days, in order to find a total of 68 people (47 adult models, 5 child models, 6 teens, 2 policemen, 5 firemen & 3 extras)

Locations - we scouted and permitted 14 locations over 23 days.. A hospital reception, an x-ray room, a school, 5 x offices with server rooms, a modern house, a civic centre, a recycling plant, an empty industrial space to park our fire engine, a roundabout on an A-road to park the police car, car parks and loading bays to park engineers vans etc.

Styling - the stylist, Natasha Freeman, had to work solidly for 25 days gathering all of the relevant wardrobe & prop items for this shoot. To name but a few...90 different outfits & accessories, server cabinets, computers, telephones, head-sets, plants, garden furniture, desks, tables and much more...

Travel - We hired mini buses, winnebagos, a cherry picker, dust carts, JCB’s, a police car, a fire engine.. oh, and a Land Rover.. you name it, we had it! 

Catering - over 200 mouths were fed over the period of the shoot, that’s a lot of food!

Agency : Design UK.    Art Director : Pieter Van Loon.    Stylist : Natasha Freeman @ LPA/Style.   Hair & make-up : Hannah Marshall @ LPA /Style.    Shoot production : Holly Brooks @ LPA/Production. 

Below is selection of imagery from the shoot, with larger versions here.

The Perfect Bunch For Nederburg

We spent 5 days in the beautiful Sonoma County area of California searching for, and shooting, the perfect bunch of grapes for Edward Dillon and Nederburg.

We shot a mixture of aerials, landscape and close ups.

Agency : Chemistry.  Client : Nederburg.   AD : Nicole Sykes.  Shoot production : Leonora Sheppard.

Below are two of the press ads..