So when I was asked if I wanted to shoot the PR Press release for the upcoming opening of The LION KING in Manchester, I had to be held back in my eagerness to be there.

The presentation was made by Thomas Schumacher – Producer and President, Disney Theatrical Group at the Comedy Store in Manchester – members of the cast – in full costume – sang, and acted their way through a number of songs from the show, with full explanations as to how the costumes, sets and props were created to create Africa on stage.

The costumes were amazing, with so much detail, some of which I’m sure will be lost from the back of a huge auditorium.

I’m booking my tickets later this week……..

The rest of the images will be uploaded to the main site later this week.  Link to follow.

Kitty Brucknell - X-Factor

Peter Dickson - The Voice of the X-Factor

Jennie McAlpine - Coronation Street

Johnny Robinson - X-Factor

The rest of the images from the evening can be seen by following THIS LINK

We’d gone for the urban look, and on hunting down a backstreet, we came across the most absurd thing.  A toilet (brand new and complete with installation labels) had been discarded in a back alley.  The burning question then was …. “could we ignore it?”  the racing answer came back a a resounding NO !!!

Luceh was a star, and immediately agreed that it had to be used – all the other rubbish was already there, and we didn’t need to try and find extra props… it was all so surreal, and yet so much fun.

On a more serious note – we got some amazing images of her despite the cold grey day.

You can find the rest of the images by CLICKING HERE

The Press call was held at the Opera House Manchester earlier this week.  It was a pleasure to photograph Zach, and the rest of the cast performing here, before moving to London’s West End for a lengthy run.

To see Zach in the UK was a pleasure, and it was wonderful to photograph such a pleasant individual.  A consummate professional who knew exactly how to work the press photographers gathered together.

Many thanks to the Opera House, and to the cast for being so pleasant and co-operative on the day.

The cast of All New People pictured outside the Opera House, Manchester.
(Left to Right: Paul Hilton, Eve Myles, Susannah Fielding, Zack Braff)

I Had to go out towards New Mills in the Peaks, and so whilst I was there, carried on up to Mam Tor (The Shivering Mountain) the tops were beautiful, with enough snow for effect, but not too much to make things difficult.  We walked up the cycle track at the back of the Tor, and came back down the steps to the car park.  Right up on the trig point were some hang glider folk, waiting for the wind to drop before they set up to fly.

For me it was hard enough getting the camera stuff to the top of the Tor, never mind all the gear that this chap had with him.  He said he was off back down the hill to wait for the wind to lessen.  This means – from my point of view, that he’d have to lug it all back up again later if he wanted the chance to get airborne; and with the temperatures hovering around -5 it must have been much colder up there….. I wished him good luck and went for hot chocolate – much more civilised.

So yesterday – and just before a major shoot, for one of my clients, I decided to head out and give it a road test.  We headed out to the Peak District, and one of my favourite locations – Higger Tor, which is not far from Stanage Edge.  The rugged landscape is beautiful, and with a bit of winter sunshine in late afternoon it was superb.

The grouse were constantly calling, and the wind was fierce, which resulted in some images being a little blurred – I wanted to keep the ISO low, but it was impossible to shoot more than a handful of shots at lower shutter speeds.  However, the long shadows, and golden glow more than made up for it.

We’ve also had a great studio shoot right at the end of December – using a local place, right in the heart of Stockport.  The aim was to shoot images with a feel of the artist Jack Vettriano (and for those of you who don’t know who he is – he’s the chap who painted the dancers on the beach, who are being sheltered by a butler holding an umbrella).  His work has fascinated me for a long time, and now we have been able to emulate some of his images.

We are aiming to work up some more pictures in the spring, and to make a full collection for an exhibition later in the year.  I really hope we can make this come to fruition.

In the meantime, we wish you health, wealth, and happiness for the coming year.

With a whole week to myself, I’m looking forward to sharing some great photography with some great photo friends.  On Sunday – we ventured forth to Curbar Edge, which is in the heart of the Peak District – we arrived just before sunrise, and just before the snow flurries blew in.

Having sheltered from the snow under rocky crags, we waited for the wind to blow the cloud cover over, and were rewarded for our patience with a bit of blue sky, and tiny shafts of sunshine.  We could have shot all day, the light changed so fast, and so we stayed on the tops till nearly 11am, which was about 3 hours from sunrise, and almost 4 from when we first arrived.

Although Curbar Edge is easy to get to, and fairly easy to walk along, the high winds, snow (and some fog) can make it treacherous – so if you do venture up there – make sure you are well equipped with waterproofs, a good OS map, and a compass.  It’s easy to climb up to places, but there are 364 different ways down.  Some of them sheer drops.

We were rewarded back at the car park with hot Earl Grey Tea. And although we were wet through with the snow and very cold, it was a worthwhile treck.

More images will be uploaded to my Personal gallery/landscapes in the next day or two.

In the meantime, we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and a happy and prosperous New Year…. take care.