'Few days in Snowdonia' Part 2

So if you haven't already read part one of this blog go back on my blog tab and check it out. But for those of you who have, thank you and continue.

So with exploring most the area on foot around where we were staying in close proximity, we decided to go for a drive after searching some nearby hotspots. This led us to Ogwen valley. One of the great things about where we were was that there was so many places to pull over to enjoy the views. Pulling over into a layby car park we saw a super calm lake, so clear you could see the reeds in the lower depths. With the edits I played around with bring the colours out of the landscapes to give it more vibrancy. The water was so still that it acted like a mirror to the hills behind.

Walking further down we could see some rapids on the other side of the wall from the road we were walking on. The water rushing pretty fast, through massive rocks making strong currents. Now I’m smart, and when Steve said should we cross I kindly declined. However the rapids went under the road leading to a waterfall the other side. This I didn’t say no too. Hopping the wall and climbing down a rock face with a camera in one hand facing the wrong way, safely say it wasn’t my smartest idea, which I then found out by slipping and landing in a puddle soaking my backside. Great one Charlie!! Now this Waterfall was huge, we didn’t realise how long it went on for. And the answer to that is very long. Slowly making our way down, hoping through boggy marshland, passing a dead black sheep, and seeing a old bunker of some sort. Luckyily we found a easier way back up, on the other side.

Walking down the road a little further we stopped outside a nature centre for a little rest. Following a path we ended up in a canyon. Steve put on his climbing shoes and free climbed about 40 meters to the top. Now if any of you have me on Snapchat at the time you would have seen my lovely uneasy facial expressions as he was doing it. Especially when he decided to foot jam near the top so he can lean back and take a selfie with me below. I followed the path carrying all our bags and stuff meeting him up the top shortly after to find a big river. This one we followed and decided to hop over. Safely I didn’t slip over for once. Go Charlie!! We ended up spending the next hour or so walking around this big marshland hills as the weather begun to worsen.

Making our way back to the van we decided to go for a general drive around for the next few hours trying to find other amazing view like this. Sadly we went towards the more built up areas and found ourselves on private roads and dead ends, but you can’t win them all. Next Day was when we battled Snowdon to the top, read about it in Part 3.

-Charlie Bluck

'Few days in Snowdonia' Part 1

Back in January a friend and I decided to take a little trip to Snowdonia, Wales. We stayed at a little B&B in the town of Llanberis, close to Mt. Snowden. A small little hiking town with not a lot going on in the evenings, due to the fact we chose the one month everything is closed as its out of season, great planning Charlie.

After the drive, when we arrived there wasn't much daylight time left. So we decided to go for a general wonder without a camera just to see what was around and to stretch our legs from being in the van for a few hours. Walking through town to see most things closed being a Sunday evening, making our way towards Castell Dolbadarn. Castell Dolbadarn if you didn’t know was a castle set on a hill on the edge of town. As you can tell I’m not a history teacher so I’m not going to act like one. Explore the area around making our walk up the stairs and onto a wooden balcony. By this time it was raining and this made walking up the slippery spiral staircase to the top fun in the dark. You get a really nice view from the top just a shame your in a birdcage essentially. Nothing much more interesting that evening that just having a beer in a nearby Inn before our early start in the morning.

Monday we started our day off right, full english breakfast complementary of Idan house, which is where we were staying for our duration in Wales. Would recommend for anyone wanting a good/cheap B&B. At breakfast the owner told us about a waterfall to check out on the other side of town. It’s always good to ask locals places to see. So that’s where we started our day. The waterfall was called Ceunant Mawr Waterfall, tucked behind a housing estate. I wouldn’t complain about having that near my back garden for sure. We followed a trail taking us up the top and along the train track of the Snowden train. We really had no idea where we were going and to were to go. We climbed down a ridge near the top of Ceunant Mawr Waterfall, nearly slipping many times. Chilled there for a moment and decided to follow the train track, our logic was this goes up Snowdon and its out of season so we wouldn’t get hit by a train, which is always good I guess. The weather wasn’t the best, as we ascended we noticed that visibility was poor. Considering we wasn’t even far up Snowdon and it was already thick fog for a few meters ahead we decided to find a path and walk back. The Path turned out to be Llanberis Path, which would take you to Snowdon. Failing due to weather we went back to check out the base of Ceunant Mawr Waterfall. We saw ledges at the bottom from the top earlier so we just had to work out how to get there. It was very wet believe it or not, being a waterfall and all that. I was very thankful for wearing hiking boots. The mud was great...... not. After we decided to go see Castell Dolbadarn in the light and with a camera. Actually being able to see things was better than the night before. One of the strangest things was we suddenly started hearing spiritual music from nowhere as we were in the staircase. Was just a random group of people having a look and trying to get into a nature vibe I guess. From the castle we looked across the Llyn Peris Lake to see this massive slate looking mountain, which looked like an idea to climb. As you can tell by this time we did a lot of walking. Our next stop was this Slate looking mountain.

Under the mountain was a massive power station, which was a very weird thought. But we were more interested in seeing what’s up the mountain. Following this slate made path up, we came across a section that was damaged and a dirt detour, which led us to 5 mountain goats. They were some mean looking dudes with horns, which were like a meter long and they didn’t seem happy to see us, so very cautiously we walked around them until they ran away. Death by goat pushing me off a cliff was not on our itinerary. We walked past old derelict buildings, which used to be some pully system for carts up the mountain as well as a mill and a row of small buildings. Passers-by said there wasn’t much up there as they were walking back, so after a while we decided to head back. Clumsy me decided to slip down a large slab of wet slate straight onto my camera backpack. Safe to say I was more worried about my camera than the fact I got a swollen finger and a busted ankle. Luckly nothing seems to have broken as of yet, touch wood. On the upside we got a great view of Llyn Peris Lake. So limping back down the path my friend decided he wanted to check out the Slate museum. Now I can safely say that was one of the most boring experiences of my life. Stuff like that just isn’t my cup of tea. We then decided to head back and explore by van. Country roads by transit are always a great idea.

We had no idea where we were going. We would literally see a hill and be like lets get up there. As you could probably guess, it wasn’t always a good plan. Getting shots of the hilly landscapes and driving around random roads wasn’t a bad way to spend the evening. One of the funniest parts were we took a turn onto the narrow single road along a massive drop, no way of turning round and must have been driving for about 10 minutes down this one road. Then we saw a gate and was lucky enough for it to be unlocked for us to get out but it could have been much worst. All in all, a good first proper day exploring.

Read Part 2 for more on the trip.

-Charlie Bluck

James Bluck October Promo Shoot

Short blog post alert!!

So with me being busy over the past few months I sometimes forget to post about some shoots. This is one of those said shoots. Back in October my brother asked for a quick little shoot for some new promotional content. It gave me a chance to have a play around with my new studio set up at the time. Shot mainly with two flash heads with soft boxes from the front. Pretty simple set up for the great outcomes. Have a flick through them below.

-Charlie Bluck

End of 2016

So here is my final post of 2016, and what a year it has been. Would like to thank everyone who has hired me, worked with me, helped me and given me the opportunity to jump into a career into something I care about. It hasn't been easy believe me and I'm grateful for what I have achieved so far. I'm keeping this short and sweet because if you know me, my pictures are better than words, or at least I hope they are haha. 2017 is looking bigger and brighter and I'm already getting booked up, so please do not hesitate to drop me a message. Below are some of my favourite shots from the year.

Thank you :)

-Charlie Bluck

Comme Moi London Shoot

Back in summer I did some work for the boys in Comme Moi. Comme Moi are a clothing brand pushing streetwear with performance, and this shoot in particular was for the launch of their first product line called 'Ternion'. The shoot was focusing on lifestyle shots and were shoot all over London, From Kensington, to Canada Water to South Bank. I shot the whole shoot on my Nikon D750 and Sigma Art 35mm, great for on the go photography and especially the confined shots in the underground. Have a look at some of the images from the shoot below and be sure to keep an eye out for Comme Moi on social media and check out their website http://www.commemoi.co.uk/

-Charlie Bluck

The Kedge's Cars

This little shoot was for some good friends who are entering a retro car calendar. Was a nice chilly autumn night, with a mostly clear colourful sky. Thinking of locations that weren't busy and would give us the time and space to experiment, was a challenge to find in the area. Originally the shoot started with long exposures to try and get as light as possible without effecting picture clarity. Experimenting with light painting the car, using LED light panel in various ways and phones, then with two off camera flashes also.

First location was behind Farnborough airport, known as Black Bridge. Started on Steve's Maestro on the slight hill, with dusk in the background. Followed by Rob's Maestro van with the Bridge in the background. The main challenges were light and the random cyclists/cars riding in front of the camera with their lights casting light trails. Cheers for that!!

Second location was a car park in North Camp, previously used for Mark's mini shoot over a year ago. Using similar lighting techniques as before, but also used the LED panel to up light from the inside of Rob's van. It gave a nice effect, attracting your eye to the van prominently.

Postproduction wise was spent bringing the colour out of the sky at the Black Bridge location, also airbrushing some of the more prominent rust parts in the driver’s side door panel. Then boosting the clarity to bring the detailing of the cars body.

I will follow this post up with how the Kedge's did in the calander competition.

- Charlie Bluck

Shooting/Playing a gig at Star Inn

I put a show on in Guildford at The Star Inn, with my band Delayed Departure, Veridian, The Alchemy and Streefight Silence. While loading in, sound checking, setting up merch, and general management throughout the night, I managed to find a chance to grab my camera and shoot a few snaps for the other three bands. Sadly at times I wish there was two of me so I can shoot pictures of my band, sadly science haven’t developed that yet.

I have shot the star a few times now and I kind of have a idea how to shoot it in my head now. First up was Streetfight Silence. Now probably my favourite shot from the night was the black and white shot of guitarist Sammy B (seen third below) just the whole look of the image I find ascetically pleasing, I may be biased as a guitarist :)

Next up was The Alchemy, now they had the venue lights off for there whole set, them only being lit by a few blue light bars, was a nice touch. It gave a nice mood to the band which I tried to capture in camera.

Lastly I shot a few snaps of Verdian, shot them from the back of the room on my 85mm lens. Thought I’d try and show the crowd in a few images brings depth to the image with layers of subjects rather than a flat image. All in all, I was surprised with the outcomes. Being ill and busy managing the night, while getting pumped to headline also. It was a great night, always like merging my two interests together. Maybe not doing both in the same night while being the promoter.

- Charlie Bluck

London Boat Party

Hey Everyone!! Been a while since the last post. I have been snowed under with transition between getting another job and other distractions, However...... I'm Back :)

So this is a short and sweet blog post showing a few shots from an evening where I went with James Bluck, basically being a pack horse, carrying DJ gear on the train and to the boat, However I took my camera along as London always has something to offer. I've never shot while being on the Thames before and it was great to get shots from a new perspective. And when I saw the sun was setting I grabbed my camera for a few minutes and went out on the back deck of the boat. Catching the sunset on the water was a lovely sight.

- Charlie Bluck

No Consequence and Monuments @ The Boileroom Guildford

15th October I went down in support of the lads in No Consequence as they play The Boileroom, Guildford with Monuments. It was my first time down at The Boileroom, and what a night to choose to go down. It was packed, and a great responsive crowd at that.

I shot the whole gig on my Nikon D750 with Sigma Art 35mm. it was perfect for such a small venue, it was great that there was a crowd barrier for me to be behind, however the space between stage and the barrier was a foot if that, I spent a majority of the set crouched/sat on the barrier steps to keep out the view of crowd.

No Consequences set was on fire, their lighting rig as always boosted the atmospheric feel to their music. Between snapping shot, awkwardly crouch level to Kaan, drinks be split on me from the crowd, it was a great night. Have a look through the shots!!

Chilling at the back with No Consequence I watched Monuments for the first time. With no surprise they were amazing. So I grabbed my longest lens on me Nikon 85mm prime, and shot a few snaps from the back of the room, my favourite shot of them being the crowd showing there metal horns. Also shot a quick live clip of Monuments last song when Kaan joined them on stage, enjoy :)

Rabbit Ear Record Label Launch

So I got invited down to shoot Rabbit Ear Records Launch Night down Sanctuary Live in Basingstoke. Always love shooting gigs merging my two passions in one. Just like to say big shout out to Christie at Rabbit Ear for putting on such a great event, with lovely like details such as disposable cameras and pop out CD cards of a compilation of bands. Great CD has been playing in my car since. Now I have played Sanctuary many time with my band and even headlined but I have never shot it before. Lighting wise its a very dark venue, a floor show and quite a intimate space. Luckily they do have multi-coloured park hands producing the light. Which is good for mood but a killer when they go red. Shooting I mostly was bouncing between my Sigma Art 35mm and my Nikon 85mm 1.8. I did bring out my new addition, my 17-35 2.8 but it was too dark, I could resort to flashing harshly but it would kill the mood of the shots.

The three bands that played were Redwood, Atiptoe, and Signals. Was a great blend on music? The atmospheric space of Redwood, the bluesy grooves of Atiptoe and the math poppy jams of Signals all blended into a great night of music.

Was my first time in a while shooting a floorshow. Remembered how little room you get to move and a lot of it being spent crouching looking up at the bands, and trying not to hinder the view of the audience. No big problems my end, temperamental focus due to lack of light at times and dodging Alex of Signals stabbing me with a headstock. Alex is one of my favourite people to shoot just purely cause of how much he moves.

All in all a great night, I’m happy with the shot and so were Rabbit Ear Records and the bands. What do you think? Check out the shots below

- Charlie Bluck

Moo Moo Clubrooms, Fleet Zoo Project 2

Back at my local club I work for, for their latest Zoo Project Party May 2016. It was a mental night, snakes, face painting, angle grinders, stilt walkers and more. So much to film, and at times I wished there were two of me. I was excited this night as it was the first time using my new Nikon D750 to film and in a club. I was really happy with how it came out. The best part of video work is watching all the footage back, there is a lot funny footage, which I couldn’t use in the video. I still get the freeze frame from people for a photo even though my video light has video in bold on it. I suppose video is still a new aspect in clubs.

Have a watch, drop me a comment or a like on my YouTube, thank you to you all for making my night a lot of fun :)

- Charlie Bluck

Signals @ The Star Inn, Guildford 20th May 2016

Signals were back in the area so I took the chance to have a catch up and shoot some promo and live shots for them. The promo shots were completely off the cuff, unplanned and just natural. I prefer to capture that natural essence of people rather than some stiff robot. I grabbed them after sound check and a pint. After a quick scout of the close surroundings we found some walls, which would work. We joked amongst ourselves and I just shot away, honestly this band has just as much chemistry off stage as onstage. Bouncing around ideas, I’m pretty open to do anything in a shoot, from band dog piles to flipping band members about. Managed to experiment with prisming and free lensing which is a first for me with band portraits.

The gig itself was on fire, always shamefully mouthing the lyrics while shoot Signals, just a band of feel good jams and being a musician I can appreciate the music even more. The lighting jockey did his best with the pre-set chains to make the lights not hinder the photos, but gig lighting is very unpredictable with reds and greens or even no lights. I used very low powered diffused flash just to give me that little bit more light for details. Not always used in gig photography but Signals were more than happy for it. Couldn't recommend you to go watch them more.

Catch Signals at Common People Festival in Southampton on Saturday 28th May on the Uncommon Stage at 4.25

Enjoy flicking through the shoot below, drop me a message for Band enquires

- Charlie Bluck

Playing with Fire

So recently I have been quite busy and at this time I’m fighting for time when it comes to shooting personal projects and ideas I have. One night a few weeks back I decided to test the low light capabilities of my Nikon D750. Originally going to do some wire wool sparking but I had a different idea, which kind of changed the whole direction of the shoot. So as I have spoke about wire wool sparking in previous blogs (See here) I won’t go into to much detail, I used the whisk on fire to light the subjects face. Enclosed in a dark wet woodland area at night while the light of the fire is the only light being captured. As always Mark being a top subject and helping me put my ideas into action. Even get to see my moody face for once.

-Charlie Bluck

Insta meet/ London With Ryan Winterbotham

There is always a reason to go up to London, and this time in particular was my third time in a week. Ryan Winterbotham asked me to come along to an Insta Meet called South Coast Sweep. Was interesting chatting to other photographer from around the south of England. Exploring Shoreditch and other areas. Got some amazing stone baked Pizza from a place called Block, lets get back to talking about photography.

The Meet was short and sweet, after me and Ryan just explored London. We spent a lot of time around Canary Wharf, found some amazing places and even found two street pianos and had a go. Trying to remember how to play after barely touching one in three years. Then hoping on tubes in wrong directions, going Greenwich to the observatory for a cityscape view. Strolling about ending up at South bank for a burger, and to finish it off with a pint at Hole in the Wall by Waterloo station. Always is great being out and about with photographers exchanging ideas, opinions and views.

Charlie Bluck

Second Shooting @ Nick & Sarah's Wedding

So for my second wedding I was blown away by the venue. Hengrave Hall Suffolk is a large plot of land with a beautiful buildings and a church on site with a long drive. For such a large plot of land and building it was nice that there was three of us shooting. Matthew Rowland, Lauren Henson, and me. I had the job of shooting the grounds as Matt did bridal prep and Lauren shot with the guys. I spent a lot of time walking around the front of the building, taking wide-angle shots straight on from the inner gate.

My next port of call was detailing the dining hall. Taking pictures of little details from the Mr&Mrs sign to the table decorations. Then moving on to the church, whilst looking around I found a passageway to the upper area in the church, thinking that this would be a great vantage point. As the guest started arriving I was shooting candid’s from above waiting for the ceremony to start. Matt shot from the front, Lauren shot from the back and I shot from above.

I spent the next part mostly taking candid’s and assisting Matt, whether it be organising people or holding an unstable ladder. Then the real hard part, organising 100 people into the groups and in order for the requested group photos, luckily enough the best man helped out.

We then took Nick and Sarah aside for the couple shots; again mostly assisting with lighting on this part, however I did manage to snap a few shots which I’m really happy with. After such a busy day the guests sat down to eat which gave us all a breather. Matt then had ideas of the couple outside the venue once it got dark, some amongst the lime trees and other intro of the beautiful venue.

Last port of call was the first dance, now it was not your usual room layout being a period building and all, the DJ was set you in the corner by a window, so the speakers weren’t parallel, meaning while matt shot from the balcony, I became and very stylish flash stand.

Honestly this wedding was great, not all weddings are the same, you never know what to expect. Just go with it and enjoy yourself as you work, and it all should go to plan. Each wedding is a experience and a lesson.

Charlie Bluck

Change from Canon to Nikon

I have been toying with the idea of going full frame for a long time, and the way my photography is heading at the moment. It was finally time that I took the plunge. However I had to make the long decision whether to stay with Canon or go Nikon, and it wasn’t an easy one to make.

I love Canon, in my eyes there the brand of camera, which I used in my big progression on photography. Started on a Pentax KX for college, terrible first camera, not much lens variety compared to Canon and Nikon, but back then I didn’t know much better. Then using my 18th birthday money I got a Canon 60D, I loved that camera. Honestly was sad to let it go, but now kind of a early 21st present to myself, I have just bought a Nikon D750.

I thought long and hard when taking the plunge. I researched the D750 against the 6D and 5Dmkiii, those three cameras really were the ones I was focusing on. I know loads of people who use the 6D, but spec-wise its out-dated, and if I was upgrading I would want it to be to something that will last me like 3 years at least and hold up with the new releases. I went to London Camera Exchange Guildford. Great staff and they really are helpful. Held and tested both the 5Dmkiii and the D750, and I couldn’t justify the price tag for the 5D. The video was lovely, another aspect I had to think about. I would be able to keep my lenses, but for the price tag compared to the D750, it wasn’t worth it. The D750 spec beat the 5D on many accounts, I also love to have a moveable screen, if the 6Dmkii was out with a vari angel screen, I know I would lean to it, but sadly they aren’t rumoured to be out by later this year and probably with a hefty price tag. I have seen a D750 in action and they are an amazing piece of kit. The details you pull from the shadows are incredible.

So trading in all my beloved Canon possessions, I then purchased a D750, Sigma Art 35mm 1.4, Nikon 85mm 1.8 SB800 flash and a 50mm 1.8 to brake toy with later.

Now I’m not one to judge by the brand, don’t get me wrong I was narrow minded when I first got my 60D, but a good photographer shouldn’t be brand dependent, they should take a risk and jump ship or dabble in other brands. I took the plunge, and I believe/hope it to be the right one for where I am now. Who knows I could follow my pattern and change again in 2-3 years. Let's see where this camera takes me.

Charlie Bluck

Second Shooting @ Graham and Stacey's Wedding with Matthew Lawrence 02/04/16

So the big day finally arrived. I'm not on about for Graham and Stacey; I'm on about shooting my first wedding, well second shooting at least. I was second shooting for Matthew Lawrence, I always learn a lot when I'm with Matt. The day started out lovely, the sun was out and it was the warmest it has been in a while, which then made me dread wearing a shirt, I just kept thinking at least I’m not in a full suit like the men. We got there really early to get shots of Stacey getting her makeup done/bridal prep, while Matt focused on that, I walked around the venue thinking of shots and areas which would look good in pictures. Matt gave me the task of photographing the venue and the journey of the day. I started outside moving towards the bridal suite. Then I shot the brides shoes and little details.

Throughout the day I was shooting candids. Now you can at times feel a bit intrusive, standing away taking pictures and staring at people who you don’t even know through a lens. But you capture natural faces and expressions of the day, documenting the event as it is and not invading.

The perk of being there early was we had time to grab a coffee or in my case a hot chocolate. Thank god for my first wedding it wasn’t on the go every minute of the day. It was nice to actually talk the groom and the best men before hand, made it feel more informal and down to earth rather than this big strict image I built up in my head.

The ceremony was next, so many things were going through my head but the main thing was DON'T MISS THE KISS!!!. I have been given the advice to make sure you always get the kiss, because at the off chance one of you haven’t got the snap the other will. I Shot from the back and Matt shot upfront, I kept quite low just so I wouldn’t be visible in Matt’s shots.

So there was a little mingling time after before the group shots. Now this is were a second shooter comes in. Ordering people and getting the group shots ready for Matt to take. Luckily for my first time there was only about 30-40 people there. Going through a pre made list of the group shots wanted. Very straight forward thank god. Now the next shot was the confetti shot, passing around confetti and Matt asked me to shoot on his Nikon D4. It was a lovely piece of kit, even though I’m Canon, I am tempted to move over, but that’s for another post. Walking behind matt moving with the couple, Matt with the wide 24m Sigma and me on his shoulder shooting with the 85m Sigma.

Now when I ask photographers what is the most boring part of a wedding, they mostly say speeches, due to they can take forever. However I actually enjoyed listening to them, probably because the best man turned out to be very funny and the speeches were quite short which was a bonus, but none the less the speeches were beautiful in what was said.

The first dance was next. Now I haven’t used much off camera flash in a while so watching Matt was a nice refresher. Matt went for setting up the flashes either side of the DJ on the floor, always love seeing this shot done.

One main thing Matt has shown me, is to be is a little crazy. For the couple portraits, one of them was staged in the restaurant. I kept looking for when it was empty and we lucked out. Now if you saw us you would thing what the hell is going on. Matt straddling on a table, with me standing there pointing a bright video light towards the couple, which are standing on chairs in front of a table covered in dirty plates. But the shots Matt got were amazing.

Sadly the beautiful weather didn’t hold up, which Matt kind of liked as he had ideas for rain shots, however that was bad for me as I was test subject and standing out in the rain for 20 minutes in just a shirt wasn’t my favourite part of the day. The couple was staged at the top of a bending stone stairway, flash rim lighting them and a video light front lighting them as they stand there lovingly under a umbrella.

I learnt that being a second shooter doesn’t always mean I need to be shooting. Yes I spent a lot of the day shooting candid’s, detailing and shooting parts like the ceremony and the confetti shots from other areas from Matt. But its about be assisting in shots to make them more epic and the main photographers life a lot easier. I would rather help Matt make an amazing shot which would make me think i helped make that, than matt take a good shot while i try to take another okay shot. The day really was a eye opener into wedding photography and its only the start. Below are some of the shots I took. Thank you for reading.

- Charlie Bluck

Matthew Lawrence Wedding Workshop 23.03.16

I believe that photography is forever changing and that you need to keep learning if you want to progress in this ever changing and overly saturated industry. I got offered the chance to attend a wedding workshop by Matthew Lawrence, and thought I do need to take the plunge and tackle weddings sooner rather than later. At the start when everyone arrived I felt such a beginner, there’s me who has never shot a wedding and I was surrounded by photographers who were booked up all year. Every person there was lovely, all friendly and it made discussions easier. The venue Broadway Barn was a well-decorated BnB with lots of photography potential, many windows, mirrors, rooms, a great little garden area and a long passageway to the front of the building.

Now I didn’t really know what to expect when it comes to a wedding workshop. I haven’t really been on a workshop as such before in general, let alone in an area of photography that I have always been afraid of. In my opinion wedding photography is one of the hardest in terms of, you cant redo a wedding day, the pictures are suppose to capture the event in ways people want to remember for a life time, and it all comes down to being confident enough and lucky in some respect to do so. Listening about stories generally has made me want to shoot weddings, before its always been like if you want good money for photography get into weddings, but it isn’t just that, your basically the story teller for that couples special day. Generally made me open my eyes and given me the urge to want to second shoot over the coming year. I wouldn’t want to be the first shooter as I want to learn, its not that I doubt myself its that I want to progress.

I honestly learnt alot at this workshop. Playing around with prisming and free lensing, with techniques that I will use in my photography for a while, and not just in weddings. Matt did a great job and I would recommend his workshops to any photographer at any stage. I can safely say I would go again.

Here are a few images below

- Charlie Bluck

Streetfight Silence @ Cellar Bar 20.03.16

So my friends in Streetfight Silence announced they were playing a hometown show, showcasing some new songs. So I thought why not go shoot them. The amount of times I have seen these lads play whether it be there shows or shows which my band Delayed Departure were playing with them. This is the first time I have actually shot them strangely.

Always a pleasure to watch and they're a great band to shoot also. They’re energetic which is always a bonus for action shots, whether is be Buddha bouncing and trying not to hit his head on the ceiling or Chrissy's lovely head banging drum gurns. You really feel the movement in the songs come alive through there playing.

Now Cellar Bar is a quirky little venue in the cellar of South Hill Arts Gallery, and as you can expect its quite small, being a cellar an all. Shooting angles wise it was very much shot from the front of the performance, no chance of behind shot and little space for side shots, however the lighting was probably the best I have seen in a while there.

I was bouncing between my Canon 35mm F2, and my Canon 50mm F1.4 mostly with the odd use of my Tokina 11-16mm F2.8, but the shallow depth of field just makes the images for me. I was kind of aiming towards intimate looking shots to capture the feel of the gig. Cellar Bar holds 100 people max and I wanted to relate the images in that sense of intimacy by using the depth of field by the primes.

Anyways enough words, Enjoy the Pictures

- Charlie Bluck

Sparking up on the Bridge

I tend to always have a shoot planned, and end up doing something different. This night was originally going to be shooting stars in the sky, however the sky wasn’t clear enough, and the first location in mind, was locked at night, thank god for a plan B.

So for anyone who is wondering how this picture is achieved. Spinning a whisk with burning wire wool inside creates the sparks. Capturing a long exposure creates the lines as the sparks fly. I was really happy with this shot; I told mark to spin slightly while he was spinning the whisk, which creates the ball of light. Mark is a burning fireball whisk swinger professional. Really pleased with the tones of the image, the way the sparks light the metal bridge, and the smooth glow of the light pollution in the background. Enough of what I think drop me a message and tell me what you think.

-Charlie Bluck