31 October 2010

Miniature Las Vegas



While I was in Las Vegas a few weeks ago I took a bit of time out to film some scenes with my Canon S95 camera.   It's got this fun miniature / tilt shift feature that blurs the top and bottom of the image while speeding up the picture either 10 or 20 times (in this short film).

I enjoy doing the filming, but hate editing video, so this is basically just drag/dropped out of the camera with a couple of titles and some music added.

The Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas



The last time I visited Fremont Street in Las Vegas the lights of all the casinos there went dark every 20 minutes or so, and the street canopy light show would begin. Now its all changed. The light show runs all of the time, the casino lights don't go dark, and there is lots more to see there. Live music is on every corner, and there showgirls, Elvii (apparently that is the plural for Elvis), and much more.

30 October 2010

The Las Vegas Strip in 83 seconds



Just a bit of fun.  I was bored one evening in Vegas so I stuck my camera to the dashboard and drove down the strip.

Filmed with a Canon S95.

Hoover Dam



While I was in Las Vegas earlier in the month I had a few days to myself, and one of those days I headed on out to Hoover Dam.  I've been there a few times previously, but I really wanted to see the new bridge now construction had finished.

It was hot as hell, but so worth it to see two amazing man made structures.

I believe the bridge is opening in November and after which time traffic across the dam will be stopped, so next time I visit it'll be different again.  Hope to see you in April Hoover Dam!

Technical info:  All these pictures were taken with the Canon S95.

28 October 2010

A fitness photoshoot in Basingstoke



As anyone who read my Twitter status updates on Sunday afternoon will know, Basingstoke is not exactly one of my favourite cities.  To say I dislike the city would be an understatement.  Of course it wasn't helped by my stupid Tomtom sat nav taking me to the wrong place, and then me driving aimlessly around trying to find the gym we were to meet at shoot at.

To make matters worse, I'd forgot to ask for the mobile number for my subject, Darren Essex and he didn't have mine either.

Anyhow, ever-so-slightly stressed and an hour late I finally found Darren and the gym.  I'm normally early for everything, but Darren was thankfully cool about my tardiness.

My favourite photo from the shoot is above, shot only with daylight coming in from a window to Darren's left.

Special thanks to Georgiana for helping out throughout the shoot!

25 October 2010

Fighting in Romford



On Saturday I was thrown into the deep end when I was asked to photograph a day of fights, namely MMA, Thai Boxing & Boxing.  The event was Keddle's Gym vs All Comers at The City Pavilion in Romford, Essex.

I had been asked to concentrate on three fighters, Victor Espinosa, Mati Parks & Alexis Rufus.  Victor was up first, suffering from manflu needed to win quickly or risk coughing his lungs up.  I had just 18 seconds to get my shots in before the bout was over with Victor winning.  Mati was getting well beaten when the ref stopped the fight due to a cut above Mati's eye.  Alexis meanwhile won a world title!

My conclusion from the day that everyone involved is ever-so slightly bonkers, and that photographing fighting is rather difficult.  I'm fairly pleased with my attempts, but when I shoot my next fight, it'll be better.

19 October 2010

Transformers 3 filming on the streets of Washington DC



While I was taking photos of the Lincoln Memorial last week in Washington DC they were setting up lights for what looked like a movie.  I asked and found out they were filming Transformers 3 there tomorrow evening.

Later that evening while trying to park near to Capitol Hill we found our way blocked by a movie being filmed.  Yep, it was Transformers 3.  We stood for a while with the 100's of other people watching, before getting bored going back to photographing Abe Lincoln.



The light you can see peaking over the trees to the left of the Washington Memorial is actually from the set of Transformers 3.

18 October 2010

Photographing the Abe Lincoln Memorial



For a big lump of stone the Lincoln Memorial has so much character.  Every time I visit Washington DC I normally end up spending some time photographing it.

My previous visits have been in the middle of winter, and the last time I was there was just after a snow storm in Washington, early one morning, and I was the only person there.  This time, on a warm autumn afternoon there were hundreds of people around, so getting a decent shot of the whole statue without people was impossible.

These are a few of my favourite photos.

Cheers Abe!  Until next time.

17 October 2010

Shooting babies in the USA



Normally when I'm in the USA I shoot fitness, fitness and more fitness.  However my final shoot on my 2010 trip was rather different.  Tonya, a model I'd photographed almost ten years ago in Nevada wanted me to do a few photos of her 9 month old baby.  As I was staying with a friend in her town of Fredericksburg it seemed like the perfect time to get together.

So we did.

I am happy to report that no babies were harmed during the photoshoot, and amazingly I did not make the baby cry!

13 October 2010

Almost getting to shoot Monica Brant



For as long as I can remember it's been an ambition of mine to work with Monica Brant.  In Las Vegas just a week after her first win in 12 years on the WBFF stage in Toronto my ambition almost came good.

Monica was one of the models Aussie photographer Marc Thyssen was shooting for an upcoming Planet Muscle feature at his Fitheat photoshoot at the Mandalay Bay.

Although I was only able to grab a quick snap of Monica, it was great to be able to hang out with Marc and his models for the afternoon.

Update:  Since posting this a couple of weeks ago I've had Monica contact me with her approval.    She says "Michael, I have had so many compliments on this particular photo.. you captured a very soft and happy look from me.. my fans love it (as do I!).  Thanks ...xo MO"