Justin Wilkes, and a round-up on the way...

I seriously cannot seem to find the time to update at the moment, which is sad, I don't like neglecting my blog, and there's so much exciting stuff going on!  But then that's part of the reason it has been so quite on here lately...

A couple of weeks ago, I did some shoots at PTP studio with the lovely Justin Wilkes from Kiss FM - he was in need of some new promo shots, so we threw some ideas around and eventually settled on this.....

So much fun to shoot, and actually quite fun to shop for as well.  I had an afternoon spent in Cash Converters (ok actually that is NOT exciting) buying crap old stereo equipment to be smashed up by a baseball bat - a look of horror and excitement on the faces of the people working there when I told them this.  A marvellous baseball bat borrowed from my mate Scott, some hazard tape and a can of smoke later and we were ready to go.

Let it be noted that the can of smoke was, frankly, shite - so I asked my good friend, and re-toucher extraordinaire Darran Robinson to retouch in some smoke, it was not what I expected - but I like it so it stayed!  Big thanks to Darran for spending time on this and liaising so closely with me - if anyone needs a brilliant retoucher get in touch (plus scroll down for an even better example of his re-touching after this image!).

Ok so you can imagine how fun it is to smash up a rubbish stereo with a baseball bat, really unleashing all your frustration right?  It's all in Justin's face below....

Then Justin wanted something a little different, for a different purpose - and so, we came up with this.  Shot outside with some remote flashes, and a little bit of ape placement courtesy of Darran... love this!

And there was also this....

More posts coming soon! 

New 85mm f1.4 lens...

Total geek out!  I got my brand new 85mm lens yesterday - and it's gorgeous!  The best thing is it is made by a lesser known Korean manufacturer called Samyang, who make third party lenses for big manufacturers, and I heard a lot of good things about this lens - especially via a big review in the BJP.  Which made me want it.  A lot.  What made me want it even more is that it's a fraction of the price of the Nikon equivalent - only £200!  Ok it's only manual focus - but this hardly matters when you are doing portraits.

So, I ordered direct from their distributors in Poland and it arrived a few days later...half expecting it to be plastic and not as good as they said, but, it's heavy, well made, and stunning.  The bokeh is amazing.  And I am going to stop before I look like a total nerd.

Enjoy...

New work coming very soon...

I can't believe I haven't posted anything for almost three weeks!  I have been manically busy - setting up the studio, shooting Quality Knitwear's new look book, testing in the studio and working on my new (and currently on going) project, which is really fun to work on and I am sure something people will love...more on that soon!

When I get a moment to get the edits ready I will start posting - expect Quality Knitwear photos to be hitting the blog on Monday.

Until then I hope everyone's out showing their opaque skins to the sun...

My 2010 Review!

As 2010 draws to a close I thought it would be great to take a look back on the year that has been for Annabel Staff Photography!

There's been a lot of live work this year - more gigs than ever in fact - I totalled up forty five this year!  You can see some of my favourite gigs in the video - the images I hope stand out the most.  Along with all the live work for Getty / Redferns I was able to fit in some other stuff as well.  I tried to engage in more personal work than I have in recent years - and that is something else I hope to grow even more next year, some of my favourite personal work from this year has been included in the video.

Also another new aspect that I hope to get into in a big way next year - showcasing new talent in the music industry.  My good friend and exceptionally original artist, Smatka, provided me with the soundtrack for my review - not only that, but it's also her latest work, so I am really excited to be showcasing it here.

I would like to produce a review every month starting next year, and I will be looking to get music from unsigned artists and bands to use as each month's soundtrack.  I know this is something that will take a while to get going - but I'd like to start spreading the word as soon as possible.
So if you know anyone who you think should be considered please point them in my direction - it's a great way to promote yourself and to get the best of the un-heard music out there into the open.  It would be a great thing to be able to support emerging artists, being one myself I know how hard it is.

More on that soon - in the meantime I hope you enjoy the review, and please leave some feedback if you feel so inclined!