February has already been busy with some interesting shoots coming our way. One of which was a two day shoot at Imperial War Museum Duxford near Cambridge. Aviation museum, IWM Duxford used to be a place purely for plane spotters but has recently had a complete revamp and is attracting a much wider audience including families. The exhibits have become a lot more interactive and family friendly so it certainly appeals to kids as well as adults, which I think, is a great improvement. Anyway, our brief from design agency, IRG, was to produce lifestyle images for Duxford’s advertising material that would appeal to this broader market, so we went with ‘family day out’ images rather than photos that would appeal purely to plane enthusiasts. The best part of the job was that we had a decent budget, so we got to work with 8 professional models from highly respected Norwich/London model agency Sandra Reynolds. Due to it being February, working with the elements, namely the fog, meant the shoot was challenging, but produced some interesting and dramatic images. (See image below) The adverts will be used in the press and on the London underground so you may well spot them on your way to work someday soon!

I do approx 30 days a year freelance teaching/lecturing at Norwich School of Art & Design (NSAD) where I was also a student 11 years ago. I’ve just discovered that the travel photographer, Philip Lee Harvey, whose work I greatly admire, left NSAD three years before me. Since then, he has worked in over 90 countries, ranging from Antarctica to the Sahara and his work has been featured in publications including National Geographic Traveller, The Independent, the Saturday Telegraph, Condé Nast Traveller, Tatler, Vanity Fair and Volvo magazine. His website is worth a look, I really like his energetic portraits; He has a great way of capturing people’s personalities within their own environment. The BA (Hons) Photography course run by Peter Sherwood is an excellent foundation for any enthusiastic young photographer and sets them in good stead for the workplace because the briefs are set to answer real life commercial scenarios instead of the ‘fine art’ approach. Graduates therefore have a high success rate at turning their BA into a realistic and profitable photographic career.

Finally with the workload increasing, it’s been a relief to welcome a new member to our team, Tara Peak, to deal with customer services. We advertised for the position through a Broadland Council training scheme and had a great response, with 13 applicants. I chose Tara for her excellent GCSE results, enthusiasm and above all for her very friendly temperament. It means I can get out of the office and on location more, knowing that I’ve left a friendly voice to answer any queries back at the studio. So next time you ring the office, it may not be me who answers, but the lovely Tara!

Sandra Reynolds:Sandra Reynolds: http://www.sandrareynolds.co.uk/
IRG: IRG: http://www.interregional.co.uk
Philip Lee Harvey: Philip Lee Harvey: http://www.philipleeharvey.com
NSAD’S BA (Hons) Photography course: http:NSAD’S BA (Hons) Photography course: http://www.nsad.ac.uk/courses/baphotography.php