Water is mindblowing, it can kill you yet keep you alive, destroy whole settlements and yet make them thrive.. It covers 70% of the earth’s surface, it’s in the air we breathe and the food we eat, there’s not a thing on earth that isn’t affected by water in some way, so here is a series of photos that show the beauty of water:
Closeup of lake in Camping Aritzaleku, Pamplona, Spain
A beach on the Suffolk Coast
A duck in Richmond park
London, North Bank
I love HDR, some people hate it.. a bit like Marmite, but not at all like Marmite..
HDR is basically three photos, one dark, one light, one in the middle (underexposed, overexposed and a control…) you then layer the photos in an HDR suite and adjust settings to bring out the highlights, shadows and other various effects.
Trafalgar Square fountain - West side, near to Canada House in HDR
You can really go as crazy, or as conservative as you like with HDR, the hatred for it stems with ‘overdone‘ HDR, photos that look way too unreal..
Summer in a Different Light - HDR of the BFI in Southbank
I think HDR takes talent and skill, not even to just produce good images, but the whole process – you need a tripod and a shutter release, minimum, to make sure that all three images you take are of exactly the same scene. It’s a planned day out, you can’t really just do it on a whim.
A building in my home village Ruskington that was up for sale
Now, if you own two Canon EOS 5D’s – then the next level is video – Soviet Montage have put together a nice little video that shows how capable the 5D is for more than photography.
Clouds produce fantastic effects in HDR
What I love most about HDR, is that you can emphasise the various elements in a photo that would otherwise be lost in a JPG, or point and shoot.
Near St. Pauls Cathedral in London
When it’s hundreds of people’s photos made into a mosaic of a seal, printed onto a big board and held by two PETA interns outside the Canadian High Commission!
PETA Interns hold the seal mosaic outside the Canadian High Commission in London
The girls were there to protest the annual seal slaughter in Canada - the mosaic is formed of 2,000 images (some people’s images were duplicated)
Two PETA interns holding a seal mosaic image outside the Canadian High Commission in Grosvenor Square
Chantelle Houghton, Celebrity Big Brother winner, socialite and vegetarian put on PETA’s iconic lettuce mini-dress to advocate vegetarianism in Covent Garden.
Chantelle Houghton in Covent Garden decked out in lettuce
Obviously another post filed sarcastically under “my difficult life as a PETA photographer”, can’t say there was much in the way of protest when I was asked to go and take photos of Chantelle!
Chantelle, on request of the press in attendance, throws lettuce up in the air
Okay, okay, so she’s a little bit ditsy – if you saw her on CBB you’ll understand, but fair play to the girl she put on a dress made of lettuce for a cause she believes in.. It’s also great to see that other sites picked up and used my photo!
Following on from my “how many of you..” comment – this one has to take the cake! Former Playboy models Victoria Eisermann and Monica Harris sitting naked in a bath – in the middle of Trafalgar Square – being a PETA photographer is just so.. taxing!
Former Playboy model Monica Harris stands ready next to a bath in Trafalgar Square
The two beautiful ladies were there to point out that it takes 50 baths full of water to produce 1 steak, as part of PETA’s campaign to promote vegetarianism.
Victoria and Monica frolicking in the bathtub
Both girls are really down to earth and super-friendly, taking time out of their busy schedules to take part in PETA’s varied demonstrations. I have all the time in the world for taking photos of the pair of them (not necessarily just naked) and I know that we’ll be seeing more of the pair of them in the future.
The inquisitive crowd draws in around the two girls
Ten giant bunnies! Well, ten PETA volunteers/activists dressed up as bunnies to protest fur at the statue of Eros in Piccadilly. Not much in the way of press turnout but still gave me a chance to add to my portfolio of demo photos.
Ten giant bunnies sitting on the steps of the statue of Eros monument
Let’s face it, how many of you have ever been asked in your office to pick up your camera, go into central, and take photos of ten giant rabbits? (if there’s a single one of you then I’ll eat my hat!)
Ten giant bunnies sitting on the steps of the statue of Eros, Piccadilly
Steven Berkoff – famed for playing Russian KGB defector General Orlov opposite Sir Roger Moore in Octopussy – joined forces with PETA to take on Fortnum & Mason. They’re the next target in PETA’s move to remove foie gras from the shelves of every UK department store, and coincidentally his nemesis Sir Roger Moore was the main player of PETA’s Selfridges campaign.
Steven Berkoff outside Fortnum & Mason to protest foie gras as part of PETA's campaign
He turned up on the day.. not exactly dressed as expected. The majority of celebs that attend PETA photo-ops are.. well.. at least well presented. No offence to Steven of course – he’s been in one of my top 5 films of all time; Clockwork Orange – but rocking up in slacks and a beanie hat.. everyone did a double take.
It was what he did next that stunned the PETA staff members. The manager of PETA UK had come along to make sure things ran smoothly and Steven proceeded to suggest that the shoot would look a lot better if she got down on her knees and he ‘force-fed’ her, using a pipe similar to those used to forcefeed ducks and geese in the foie gras industry.
Steven Berkoff with a sinister look as he forcefeeds PETA UK's Manager
She obliged of course and got down on her knees with Steven looming over her looking as sinister as any bad guy he’s played. As with any PETA photoshoot involving celebs, it’s short lived enough for press to get their choice photos and go off back to the office to edit and upload them, that was my aim too, but it had finished even before the press were picking up news releases off a volunteer.
Steven left after handing the pipe to a confused Fortnum & Mason staff member, and PETA’s campaign to get Fortnum & Mason to drop foie gras had another successful notch to add to its bedpost.
Steven Berkoff playing the 'bad guy' and looking maniacal
