The cross and the knife

Liz is going to save us from the undead with the cross and the knife.

That was the premise of this photoshoot - Liz is the kick ass, zombie slaying heroine of our future.  I am mildly obsessed with zombies but it's good to know I am not alone.  Offers to join the shoot were plentiful.

The shoot was rapid but Liz warmed to her persona from the start.  The make up by Charli Bignell worked a treat in transforming Liz from mild mannered artist to butt kicking zombie killer.

I think I''m going to trust in the knife if it is all the same to you.

pete

Zombie slayer delayed in traffic

Today's shoot with model and artist Liz Sterry almost never happened.

Liz, Charli Bignall  (make up artist), Emma (set designer) and Peter (lightning assistant) and myself headed off for a derelict location we had heard of but with only 2 miles left to go, got caught in crushing traffic.  We were on a tight time frame and having lost an hour and a half it made for a frantic shoot.

Despite all that nonsense we set up in super fast time and Liz switched into zombie slayer mode.  The new lights I use, Lencarta Li-on, worked brilliantly and helped turn daytime darker to add drama.

The end of the world was almost the result of bad traffic.  Who would have thought it?

pete

I'm a big fan

A lot of people have helped me develop my photography skills and I thought I should use one of my posts to say thanks to all the people I am a big fan of.

But first let me say thank you to Crimson Blush who was just a delight to work with on this shoot - I spent most of my time laughing which is a great sign.

Ok - bit of a list so bare with me:

• Emma Clark of dailyclothesfix blog who gave me so many opportunities to practice 
• Liz Sterry who is a great artist and a very talented model
• Marc and Tanya Newton at Skin Sorcerer tattoos who gave me my first front cover
• Some amazing models including Stephanie Jay, Cherrie May and many more
• The Essex Strobist group who gave me the chance to play and learn at the same time
• Various trainers including Jeff Turnbull  Nick Wood Mark Cleghorn Bert Stephani
• Joe Mcnally for his amazing books
• Michael Sewell who has been very generous with his time and knowledge 
• Gareth Dix and Graham Jarvis for advice and laughs
• Mrs pete for letting me do all this stuff
• You for taking the time to visit my site

And to the brides and grooms who let me capture their weddings in Essex.

pete

Crosstown traffic

I thought I'd take a short break from my role of Essex wedding photographer and return to a sequence I shot over the summer with model and artist Liz Sterry.

I have to admit this shot was seriously over exposed but it had some great movement in it and a great pose from Liz so I was keen to see if I could rescue it.

Thanks to the powers of Lightroom 4 I was and I'm liking the result.  I'm happy there was a good image in there needing some help to get out rather than an image made by processing.

It was a case of seeing the potential in an image.

pete

Rest a while

As myself and Liz strolled around Chelmsford recently (for an informal portrait session) we were looking for a place to take a short break.  We happened upon this bench and the light was perfect - the canopy of the trees creating an almost spotlight effect.

Truth be told we weren't really tired - the shoot was going so well and we were having such fun that neither of us considered we'd be on the go for a few hours.

Then again never pass up a chance to put your feet up for a moment.

pete