Amsterdam here we come!

On the red eye flight to the wonderful city of Amsterdam tomorrow.  No work set up, just realxation and fun.
Camera is ready as this weekend promises to be a busy and interesting one with the Amsterdam dance Event 2012 taking place (www.amsterdam-dance-event.nl)

100s of the worlds top DJs will be pumping out a huge variety of music for the tens of thousands of party goers in attendance.

Looking forward to getting some great street photography

Check the blog soon to see what I end up with!

San Francisco - Model Shoot

My last shoot was in lovely San Francisco.  The 10 hour flight was worth it as the weather was fine and just slightl overcast - perfect conditions.

I really struck it lucky on this trip as we had the Americas cup, Navy Fleet week and a wonderful model all in one day!

The downtown area in San Fran is not the best area to be running about with expecsive photo gear on display so we headed up toward the old part of town and the classic steep hills and woden buildings that San Fran made famous.

Fellow photographers think I am a little mad, working in all these great places around the world and not capturing the "tourist" backdrops in my model shoots.  To me, the model IS the shoot and should be the center of attention.  Backgrounds add depth and interest but the focus is always the model.

That is why I seem to spend my scouting time looking for textures and plain backgrounds to compliment (not overpower) the image.

Here are a few of my favourite B&W images from the day.

Shanghai - we love you!

It has been a little while since I posted any new stuff on my blog.  This has been down mainly to the amount of travelling around the globe I have been doing lately.

Here I share with you some of my favourite images from my shoot with Model Michelle Smith in Shanghai.

Our theme was "contrasts" and what better place to capture this than the old communist area of Shanghai.  The poverty was all around but the people are some of the most friendly I have ever met!

 
My favourite images from the shoot involved the interation of an old local man and Michelle (see below)

This image just sums up what I wanted to achieve on the shoot - total contrast.

The kids were also curious and wanted a bit of the action so we got them involved - with nice results!

Shanghai is one of my favourite places in the world and I encourage you to get over there and see what it is all about.  It is crazy busy, the food is "different" the taxis are to be experienced but you will love every minute!

Studio Shoot with Actress & Model Louise Veitch

Friday was taken up with a new series of headshots for Actress and Model Louise Veitch (No relation).

Great lighting was essential for these shots as Louise is planning to use them in her new portfolio

I have been playing around with some new lighting set ups and this one will be my go-to set up for future headshots.  The light is clean, soft and is gives a unique catchlight to the eyes.

Hot and Humid Houston, Texas

Had a great shoot last week in Houston, Texas with Model Laurean Lopez  - our outdoor photo studio was an empty roof top car park and a white wall!

Simple lighting using canon 580EXII speedlights resulted in near studio quality lighting.

 Really please with the results and the nice little evening breeze that was blowing.
 Daytime in Houston is not nice - 36 degrees C and 80% humidity...

Grid spots - my new studio toys

Finally managed to get a couple of hours to play with my new grid spots for my studio lights
Really pleased with the outcome & looking forward to more experimenting in the near future
The spots focus light & creates dramatic lighting on the subject
Examples will be posted on the website soon!

New service - Photos for Internet Dating

Today we launch a new service - Photography for Internet Dating

Want to really get noticed on line in dating sites such as Dating Direct?

Elske ™ Photography can help!

We all know that first impressions count… especially in the dating game!

Elske™ Photography offers a great service to ensure you REALLY get noticed in the on-line dating community.

If required, we can enlist the services of a professional hair and make-up artist to get you looking your absolute best.

We then spend time in both our studio and outdoors taking a wide range of different shots in different clothes.

All your images will be expertly created & edited to bring out your true character.

Take action now and increase your chances finding your true love on-line!

E-mail: elske@live.co.uk

Elske Photography - Another delighted customer

Yesterday reminded me why I love photography.
The look of delight on my clients face when I delivered her prints was wonderful
You really can move someone with a picture. The smile and the "wow!, these are great" make all the hard work worth while.
These are the things that keep me pushing the boundaries of this creative art form even further

Elske E-Zine Update 2

The Wee Creative Company (www.weecreative.co.uk) have come up trumps with the cover design for the Elske E-Zine it is looking great!
Some long nights ahead getting everything completed but really looking forward to showing the world what we have created
Writing the content is going well with loads of ideas flowing for future issues already down on paper
No launch date set yet but we are getting closer!

Elske E-Zine Update

My weekend was taken up spending time with my lady, eating good food and editing the Elske E-Zine
The 1st edition just keeps getting bigger & bigger!
There are debates about the future of professional photography, HDR Portrait photography, the Technique section details how to shoot portraits in natural light & we have info on the Help-Portrait Scotland 2012 event I am organising in December!
Adding more content tonight!

Elske E-Magazine takes shape

I got some great advice last night on magazine design from frank@weecreative.co.uk
Frank has decades of experience in national & international graphic design projects & I am delighted that he shared his experience to make the mag look so good
Anyone looking for a great design company to give your work the edge in this highly competitive time should contact Frank now!
www.weecreative.co.uk

PS I don't give out endorsements very often so this is a good one to check out

Forthcoming assignments

My diary for the next month is looking pretty open so far
One or two trips to the USA, a trip to Istanbul and then off to Shanghai in September
This will give me some valuable time to play catch up on my work and allow me time for some creative personal projects. I recently bought some new studio kit from B&H Photo in New York and have not yet had a real chance to experiment with it.
Why is there never enough time to do all the things you have planned in your head...?

Elske E-Magazine

The ideas are now flowing for the first edition of Elske E-Magazine.
The magazine is designed to showcase the projects that are being undertaken by Elske Photography, to discuss real issues in current photography and to educate readers on the essential photographic techniques to allow them to take better images
The initial design is nearly completed & copy for issue 1 is currently being written
The e-magazine is free and will be available from www.elske-photography.co.uk in the near future
Further updates will be posted soon

Back to reality...

Holiday over & back to reality
Editing a family shoot tonight then starting on Elske e-magazine
Really looking forward to getting this e-magazine off the ground to showcase what we do at www.elske-photography.co.uk
Look out for my updates on progress

Thank You Brazil - It was interesting...

My first trip to Brazil was interesting to say the least
16 Million people in 1 city = Madness!!
Crazy traffic
Crazy taxi drivers
Shoot outs between drug lords & cops
Machine gun fire
Burned out buses
Taxi crashing into another car

I will know what to expect on my next visit!

Would I come back to Sao Paulo...?

100% YES!!!

Blog 2 - test from mobile device

Just checking I can also blog from my iPhone

Elske Photography - Blog No1 from Sao Paulo!

So here we go, my first ever blog.
Thank you to all who are reading this - I plan to keep the first one short!
I am currently sitting in a hotel in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  It is nearly 10pm here (1:35am in the UK).
This is an interesting city to say the least... 16 Million people, huge crime problem and not that happy to go out on the streets with the camera (especially at night). 

This is a HUGE problem if you are a photographer...!

 However, I think it is better to stay alive, not get mugged and come home (me and my gear) intact.

We all strive for that "killer shot" but it may be taken literally here!

One more day here then off back home to Scotland.

Really looking forward to getting home as I am (finally) taking a weeks vacation (in France)

My travel schedule has been mad over the past few months so a little down time with the nearest and dearest is long over due.

Loads of cool things going on just now:
Organising Help-Portrait Scotland Event - More on this in future Blogs

First drafts of Elske Online Magazine taking shape - Really excited about this one!
and....  well, you will have to read the next blog for the rest....!


I promise future blogs will be more interesting and I also promise to give something back to you, the reader.

 As always, Comments / Improvements / What you would like to read about here are all appreciated