Yup – that’s right, I’ve just spent some of my own money on a Nikon camera! Here is my latest toy: A Nikon 1 v3 compact system camera 🙂 Granted, it’s not quite the investment that my Canon 1D X or 5D III along with all the lenses were – and it’s certainly pocket change compared to the cost of all of my Phase One gear, but I felt the need to buy it anyway. So, […]
I was asked last week, as part of a written interview, if I’d ever had to get out of my “comfort zone” in order to get the shot I wanted – the answer, of course, was “yes”, and many times over. The next question was, funnily enough, about how I approach a brand new city in terms of locations and what to shoot. So, what better than a live demonstration as answers to both questions […]
What happens when you mix an award-winning artist, the world’s first underwater spa, the world’s first underwater nightclub, the luxury of the Maldives and the creativity of the Per Aquum brand? Simple – a unique underwater exhibition titled “Phantasy Fairytale” – a collaboration between two amazing hotels and Andreas Franke, the artist responsible for previous underwater galleries such as his work on “The Sinking World”. Looking back at my blog, in part I feel sad […]
I still find it strange how much I rely on my friends around the world to let me know when images I’ve shot have made it out into the wild. Although the use of images is obviously something we negotiate all the time, exactly when and where they will turn up is quite often a mystery, and the past month or two has been no exception. Take my shot of the Hollywood sign, for example. […]
Featured in issue 141 of “Digital Photographer” magazine – my long exposure shots from the Northern Lights above Tromso in Norway during 2012. The feature focuses on the techniques required to capture different situations with long-exposure settings in-camera. From firework shows at 20 seconds to lightning captures to sports scenes, the whole spectrum is covered. My visit to view the aurora borealis didn’t go without the odd hiccup or two – as I wrote at […]
The camera system, above, is (as Phase One say) “the pinnacle of image quality, offering some of the highest resolution captures of any commercially available camera” – and that’s a picture of it sat on my dining table! That’s right, I’ve finally made the permanent switch to medium format. As a long-term Canon shooter (even my first compact film cameras were Canon) it’s a sad day in some respects as my Canon gear has been […]
The above is what’s left of a potentially disastrous mistake I made with an old camera, and trying to be “clever”. Note to self : Don’t try to be clever in future. You can buy some amazing things in Shanghai – and many of them are indeed a good deal. Take, for example, the “Lencarta Safari Li-Ion Flash System”. For sale in the UK for around £1,000 all-in (and I have one) – but if […]
Can a £50 compact digital camera really hold its own against a full-frame DSLR? I was contacted somewhat “out of the blue” a few weeks ago by Lucy at MoneySupermarket.com, the UK-based financial comparison and advice site, asking if I’d be willing to take on one of their challenges: to use a £50 camera (which they would provide) and write a comparison between that and my own (slightly) more expensive gear. How could I say […]
Welcome back to the W 🙂 That stunning view, above, was part of what prompted me to write about the W Retreat Koh Samui in February, after I returned from an amazing stay there. Realising that what made the place so special was in no small part down to the the talent of the staff at the retreat, Nick (the general manager) and I got talking… W Hotels pride themselves on being cool, hip, and vibrant […]
Thames Town – according to Wikipedia, has “architecture [which] is themed according to classic English market town styles. There are cobbled streets, Victorian terraces and corner shops.” So, what a nice change from the bustling polluted streets of Shanghai it would be to go and have a look around (besides, it’s always fun as a Brit to see how other countries look at us – take Disney’s Epcot Center for a perfect example!)… On very […]
The above picture is of my hotel “room” from last week in Koh Samui at the “W Retreat” in Mae Nam. What’s a hotel room doing on Paul’s blog? I hear you ask – Well, there’s a bit of a back-story to this one and the place is stunning enough to warrant me actually putting fingers to keys and writing about it (yes, it’s that good). And for once, I’m posting an entire page of images […]
Cool – I won “bronze” in Fashion, Hair & Beauty at the 2012 Professional Photography Awards – held at BFI Southbank in London last night 🙂 Last year’s awards were held at Blenheim Palace, in Oxford, and while it was a fantastic location – I have to admit I’m not really the formal dinner suit type… So it was with an element of surprise, as well as relief, when I found out that not only […]
It’s been a long-running debate: “How much photoshop is too much photoshop?”. In the same way that the word “text” didn’t used to be a verb, the word “Photoshop” (obviously copyright Adobe) has become synonymous with retouching or “airbrushing” worldwide. As a digital photographer, it’s one of the key tools I use every day, and provides me with a truly “digital darkroom” when it comes to fixing those small imperfections that often appear when you […]
It’s funny – as photographers, we always tend to rule out “miserable days”. The sky is dull and grey, no warmth to the light and not even any direct sunlight to cast an interesting shadow. So, having pre-booked tickets to go and visit “Sculpture By The Lakes” – an exhibition at Pallington Lakes by artist Simon Gudgeon – it was with a slightly heavy heart that we set off into the depths of the Dorset […]
With a backdrop of established businesses – La Senza, Peacocks, Comet, etc heading for (or indeed buried in) administration, I guess it was only a matter of time before one of the “big studios” would go to the wall. It seems first up is Doubletake Studios… For clarity, I am nothing to do with Double-Take studios, and never have been! (Some people seem to have confused themselves by not reading the content of my post […]
