Travels in professional photography Archives - Page 5 of 7

2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup

Posted on June 14, 2014 by mattbristow

2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup held at Lee Valley White Water Centre. Purpose built for the 2012 London Olympics and its still a world class venue.

2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup was held over 6th, 7th and 8th of June 2014. I was there for the final day to cover the womans K1 kayak finals and the men’s C2 canoe doubles.

Canoeing is such a dynamic sport to cover. Where you can get close to the action even as a spectator. So its all about capturing the athletes expressions and the action. Just what I like!

Red Bull athlete Jessica Fox totally focused in the final.

I posted another image of Jessica on Facebook here

I did witness a moment of history. Lu Li the first Chinese canoeist to win a major world canoe title.

Lu Li from China winning the first major canoeing crown any Chinese canoeist has ever won.

: Australian Rosalyn LAWRENCE 2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup. Lee Valley White Water Centre, London. (c) Matt Bristow

: Jana DUKATOVA SVK. 2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup. Lee Valley White Water Centre, London. (c) Matt Bristow

: Jana DUKATOVA SVK. 2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup. Lee Valley White Water Centre, London. (c) Matt Bristow

: Katerina Kudejova. 2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup. Lee Valley White Water Centre, London. (c) Matt Bristow

: Lu Li CHN. 2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup. Lee Valley White Water Centre, London. (c) Matt Bristow

: Jana DUKATOVA SVK. 2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup. Lee Valley White Water Centre, London. (c) Matt Bristow

: Katerina KUDEJOVA CZE. 2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup. Lee Valley White Water Centre, London. (c) Matt Bristow

: 2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup. Lee Valley White Water Centre, London. (c) Matt Bristow

And so onto the Mens C2 Doubles. Often referred to as the most exciting class in canoeing. With plenty of British interest with no less than 3 teams in the final.

Rhys Davis and Matthew Lister GBR. 2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup. Lee Valley White Water Centre, London. (c) Matt Bristow

But it was the Slovakian pairing of Luka Bozic and Saso Taljat that came out ontop.

Mens winners Luka Bozic and Saso Taljat SLO. 2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup. Lee Valley White Water Centre, London. (c) Matt Bristow

Britain’s world champions David Florence and Richard Hounslow could only mange 5th place. 2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup. Lee Valley White Water Centre, London. (c) Matt Bristow

: British pairing of Ryan Westley and Zachary Franklin

: Mens winners Luka Bozic and Saso Taljat SLO.

: Third place Ladislav Skantar and Peter Skantar SVK.

: ranked number 1 French pairing of Gautheir Klauss and Matthieu Peche.

: British hopefuls Rhys Davis and Matthew Lister GBR could only manage 9th place.

: Rhys Davis and Matthew Lister GBR.

: Third place Ladislav Skantar and Peter Skantar SVK.

: Britain’s world champions David Florence and Richard Hounslow could only mange 5th place.

: Britain’s world champions David Florence and Richard Hounslow could only mange 5th place.

: Pierre Pico and Hugo Biso from France

: Second place Franz Anton and Jan Benzien GER

So I really enjoyed the day and especially the sport. All my images are syndicated by SportPix so please take a look.

Canon 8-15mm – A New Perspective

Posted on May 29, 2014 by mattbristow

Canon 8-15mm – A New Perspective. So I have had a 8-15 in my box for a bit here’s what I thought about it.

Canon 8-15mm has been one of the lenses I have been considering for a while. I can already cover everything from 24mm all the way up to 600mm. I know I need something wider than 24mm but which one?

I had thought the 16-32 f2.8 was a good option. Mainly for the low light capabilities. But then again that is only a measly 8mm extra and loads of over lap. So that left the Canon 8-15mm L but was kit too wide. A kind of joke lens you would use a couple of times a year? So the only option was to test drive one.

The good folks at Lenses For Hire had one and at a reasonable price. So I made sure that I had enough variation of Press assignments to give it a true test. I thought the Chelsea Flower Show and the first time the FIA World Rallycross Championship came to England would be a fair test.

So here are a few frames from the Media Day at Chelsea Flower Show.

Canon 8-15mm – A New Perspective. RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Press Day 19th May 2014, Chelsea London.

RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Press Day 19th May 2014, Chelsea London.

I quickly started to really enjoy using the lens and the new angles it allowed for. One thing that is a bit daunting is how close to your subject you can get. The following picture I was so close I very nearly knocked the guy over!.

RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Press Day 19th May 2014, Chelsea London.

And so onto the FIA World Rallycross at Lydden Hill. Now motorsport isn’t normally associated with ultra wide angle glass but I wanted see what it would do in the paddock as well as trackside.

The Focus of Ollie O’DONOVAN (IRL) (2). Day 1 of the Autosport World RX of Great Britain. Round 2 of the new FIA World Rallycross Championship. Lydden Hill Race Circuit, Canterbury.

Supercar Driver Derek Tohill ready to head out on track. Day 2 of the Autosport World RX of Great Britain. Round 2 of the new FIA World Rallycross Championship. Lydden Hill Race Circuit, Canterbury.

Its ideal to simply ‘get everything in’ in alot of environments. There seems to be a growing trend on landscape type action shots and its damn perfect for that kind of thing.

As I got more used to it its great to use it to get get otherwise unachievable scene setting images. But you have to be careful on the framing

Day 2 of the Autosport World RX of Great Britain. Round 2 of the new FIA World Rallycross Championship. Lydden Hill Race Circuit, Canterbury.

To see a quick summery and for other links have a look on my other site www.rubberduckdoes.com.

In conclusion

Its great lens which I will be adding to my arsenal soon. Its not for everyone as some of the frames you get are a little ‘freaky’ but it adds a new look that will compliment the way I work. On a Full Frame sensors results will be interesting for sure and at 8mm you’ll be cropping shots with your toes in!. Its also not cheap so out of reach for most. Performancewise I was worried by the low light capabilities as its only F4. I didn’t need to as it handled every situation I used it in with no problem. So for me it ticks all the boxes.

Canary Wharf Squash Classic 2014

Posted on April 4, 2014 by mattbristow

Canary Wharf Squash Classic 2014 ran between 24th and 28th March.

I was lucky enough to get the nod to go and cover Canary Wharf Squash Classic 2014 this year. Not normally a sporting venue and as far as I am aware. This is the only one held at East Wintergardens.

East Wintergardens Canary Wharf a great Venue

I must admit covering squash was a sports photography first for me. I spent most of the week sat behind the glass back wall having supremely fit athletes smash a little white ball at me. It makes a kind of ping sound as well.

Adrian Waller returning to James Willstrop. Canary Wharf Squash Classic 2014. PSA World Tour Head to Head 1st Round.

All week long I was absolutely fine. As long as I was looking though the camera! The very moment I moved the camera away from my eye. I flinched at every stroke!

James Willstrop (ENG) PSA ranked 5th in the world. Canary Wharf Squash Classic 2014.

But enough of my moaning! Just to be able to watch these guys was awesome. their level of fitness was quite unbelievable.

Here are a selection from the rounds and the Quarter finals:

I only covered one half of the rounds then the other sides Quarter Finals and then the final. For me the decision was easy as the market is very small and niche so flooding the market with a load of similar images in my opinion was complete over kill.

The actual shooting was very strange. The only sport shot as wide as possible! as they are so damn close! I think I shot less than 50 frames on my 70-200 all week!

The final was an all English affair against PSA World number 1 Nick Matthew and James Willstrop. PSA World ranked number 5.

Nick Matthew (ENG) PSA World number 1 v James Willstrop (ENG) PSA ranked 5th in the world. 2014 Canary Wharf Classic.

The final was straight sets, but didn’t reflect the game. Yes Nick was playing the squash of his life. However, James also had moments of what can only be described as brilliance notably this behind the back return. But the very fact he had to play it signaled the control that Nick had over the game.

James Willstrop (ENG) PSA ranked 5th in the world. Makes a behind the back return. Canary Wharf Squash Classic 2014.

So Nick Matthew ran out the deserved winner.

Winner Nick Matthew (ENG) PSA World number 1. Canary Wharf Squash Classic 2014.

All my images are available through SportPix and Demotix where my set of images actually featured on the home page for a day (must have been a slow news day!) with this image as the lead one.

Kent Freelance Photographer – February

Posted on March 5, 2014 by mattbristow

Kent Freelance Photographer – February may be the shortest month but there’s always loads to be doing and planning for the year ahead.

Kent Freelance Photographer. Well February came and went. As usual blink and you’ll miss it! As the country slowly started to recover from the worst winter storms in living memory. I was busy planning what I am going to cover this year. Not easy as so much stuff clashes!

Due to the weather I found myself in the studio shooting looking at some product work. I was finally starting to have a play with TriggerTrap which is an amazing phone app and little box of tricks that you can use to trigger your camera in a load of interesting ways in a very accurate way.

High Speed Photography – Falling Dice

Something I have meaning to do for ages is to start to shoot some Kent Landscapes again when I get the time. On the way back from some press work I stopped at Kingdown Beach and shot a few frames. Needless to say this image is not what the camera actually captured. It is a technique (which if I get enough interest I’ll put a little ‘How To’ up) Its not HDR by the way.

Kingsdown Beach, Kent

It was nice to start the 2014 motorsport season. This year it all started with a bit of skidding at Lydden Hill. Galleries can be found here.

Lydden Hill, Drift Day 15th February 2014

The later in the month Rallycross got underway with the annual test day before the first round of the British Championship later on in March.

Rallycross Test Day 22nd February

I don’t think I have so eagerly awaited a rallycross season to get underway. The much publicized World Rallycross Championship will undoubtedly change the sport for the better. I will be avidly following it whether I am covering it as a photographer or watching it as a fan. Especially as Jacques Villeneuve will be racing in it this year. He was at Lydden testing in his Albatec Supercar and was blindingly fast.

Kent Freelance Photographer - Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve, Testing his Rallycross Albatec Peugeot 208 Supercar at Lydden Hill Race Circuit, Kent. 22nd February 2014.

If you want to see more picture of Jacques take a look on my automotive website www.rubberduckdoes.com where I have put some.

I have also been busy with press work. Covering as usual a varied selection of events throughout Kent. GEEK 2014 Expo was a challenge as it was held in the Winter Gardens in Margate, with all the lights off! So a little lateral thinking was in order as I didn’t want to blast my pictures with flash and loose the atmosphere.

Kent Freelance Photographer - GEEK 2014 Games Expo

GEEK 2014 Games Expo East Kent

The closest I came to covering any sport was an impromptu press shoot of skating. Which was actually the first time I had shot any skating. I quite fancy doing some more.

Kent Freelance Photographer - Lark Indoor Fun Day

James ‘Stub’ Barnes-Miller. Lark Indoor Fun Day, loads of activities – action, art craft, facepainting etc etc THis is put on by Pipeline – Thanet Extra’s charity of the year.

Press Photographer Kent – A wet start to 2014

Posted on February 7, 2014 by mattbristow

Press Photographer Kent – So the start of 2014 will be remembered for torrential rain, floods and biblical wind.

Press Photographer Kent. It’s been a very frustrating start to the year. With event after event being cancelled due to the weather. So I’m not going to mention that again! But there have been some nice sunny winter days. A couple of which I was out and about with my camera. Working in the beautiful winter sun.

Early on in January. I was sent to cover the Greek Orthodox Blessing of the Seas ceremony. Which takes place on Margate beach. I had never even heard about this but it made for some really nice frames.

Margate is the setting for a Blessing of the Seas in the Greek Orthodox celebrations at Epiphany (6th January) marking the baptism of Christ. Margate was chosen for the honour in the mid-twentieth century because there is a large community of Greek Cypriot residents in the town. It’s organised by the local Greek Orthodox Church whose Archishop leads the devotions and begins at the church of St Michael the Archangel. After a short service a procession of many dignitaries in full regalia, both religious and civic, follows the piper to Marine Sands & the beach . Doves are released, prayers given and a decorated cross is hurled into the waters to be retrieved by a young diver for the Archbishop.

I’ve also been doing a lot of PR Photography and editorial portraiture work. For various magazines. Along the way. I have met some amazing and brave people.

Press Photographer Kent - Charlotte Naylor who has Lupus

Charlotte Naylor who was diagnosed with Lupus aged 23 after developing blood clots on her lungs and legs. She had a stroke in 2012 caused by the condition and has memory problems since. Shot for You! Magazine

Quite unsurprisingly sport photography has been a rare experience. Mainly because of the weather. The wettest since the 1700’s apparently! With cancellations and postponements the norm rather than the exception:

Press Photographer Kent - Rugby Union Canterbury v Taunton Titans in National 2 South.

Guy Hilton (10) on the break with Hooker Mark Livesey (1) in support. Canterbury Rugby Club Merton Lane Nackington Road. Canterbury v Taunton Titans in National 2 South.

I have also been out scouting locations for some upcoming personal projects. On one such day I was checking out Dover’s Western Heights. I took this panoramic of Dover looking back over Farthinghoe and Maxton.

So Whats A PR Photographer?

Posted on December 6, 2013 by mattbristow

So what is a PR Photographer? and what makes a good one?

A very good question and one I must admit I struggled to answer when it was put to me the other day. My immediate reaction was to say its to promote something, be that an individual or a company. But that’s just a bit woolly and not very concise. It could also refer to commercial photography, product photography or even advertising photography.

My own opinion I think its a hybrid between press photography and editorial photography. Normally there are pretty tight time constraints on delivering a set of images and more often than not the images do appear in the press so lots of similarities there then. On the other hand you normally get to be a bit more creative and you certainly get more time to actually do the shoot. But really its just the ability to be able to answer a brief by creating great images.

The following three images are all press work all shot for and used by a newspaper.

The next three are all PR shots. Notice any difference? no? then I rest my case.

Its not always about people either a new restaurant or supermarket opening some of the best images are of the detail.

So how should you actually choose the right PR Photographer for your job? Ask as many questions as you can. For example do they shoot much PR?

Experience doesn’t always account for everything but an experienced PR Photographer will instinctively make sure that any branding is prominent in every shot. They will know what editors or designers like to see.

But do you agree with me? I’d like to hear what you might think.

Christmas is coming! Santas in November – Kent Press Photographer

Posted on November 29, 2013 by mattbristow

As a Kent Press Photographer, this time of year always full of images with Santa in. Which is fine but in November?

Last weekend alone I filed about twenty plus pictures of different Santas! from the weird to the wonderful!

Santa flies KLM its official I have seen it at Manston Airport!

All the Bah Humbug aside now. It really is a busy time of year. Which has seen me traveling far and wide. This year I’m determined to make some different images not just the run of the mill ones you see all the time, well that’s the plan. We shall see!

I got to cover the grand Christmas lights turn on in Dover this year by the cast of the Panto at the Marlowe Theater in Canterbury. Samantha Womack better known for playing Ronnie in Eastenders. Is one of the main celeb pulls. I personally remember and prefer her from Game On!

Phil Gallagher. better known as C Beebies ‘Mr Maker’ as well. I had shot him before a couple of days earlier. So I had already met him. A really nice guy who has the misfortune to support the Gills!

I have also been thrown some tough jobs lately not least shooting in dimly lit churches with varying results. Given more time the sceanareo screams for an Off Camera Flash setup, but when your rushing from job to job that’s just not possible.

With my Rubber Duck Does Automotive hat on. I have started shooting for the American car magazine European Car. My first job was shooting a feature of the simply awesome Ford Focus RS 500 ‘Optimus’ that belongs to the guys at RS Direct down in Bristol.

Unfortunately until they are published this is all I can let you see for now. Needless to say awesome car (I’m a real sucker for RS’s!) in an exceptionally cool location. Makes for some really great images and will deserve its own post in the future!

I’d also had the pleasure of getting some really great customer service this week. Which I’d just like to take a minute to tell you about. My external flash battery pack suddenly decided that it was no longer going to charge, not really the end of the world but I use mine on a daily basis as its quicker to charge than a load of AA Batteries! I duly contacted John at UK Photo Distro about it. I had only bought it back in the summer but I hadn’t spent a fortune on it so I wasn’t expecting much. However within about 5 minutes of sending the email he called me to reassure me that he was sending out a replacement. So I urge you to go and take a look at their website if your looking for any kind of accessory.

British Rallycross 2013 – Annual

Posted on November 22, 2013 by mattbristow

So I thought it would be a good idea to design and publish a book that covered this years British Rallycross championship. After a few conversations with motorsport journalist extraordinaire, and good mate, Hal Ridge. He finally succumbed to my nagging and conceded to do the words for the book.

Right from when I had conceived the idea I had wanted to include an image of every regular driver in every class, which basically resulted in over 90 pages of images and a few hundred images for Hal to caption and write about!

We also wanted the book to be of a decent quality that people, divers and rallycross fans would want to keep. I hate to use the term but a coffee table book! So we decided that a 10×8 hardback book with a wrap was the way forward. For this we decided to use the well known website Blurb for the fulfillment.

So after literally 100’s of texts and emails here’s the end product. There’s also an ebook version which is available at https://store.blurb.co.uk/ebooks/p6648271f40f254b7505e

Here’s a preview of the book

British Rallycross 2013 by Matt Bristow & Hal Ridge

We would welcome any comments that people have and also would like to hear any suggestions that you may have that would make it better. We are thinking about doing a give away so let us know what you think.

Matt Bristow Wedding Photography!

Posted on November 18, 2013 by mattbristow

Matt Bristow Wedding Photography. No your not seeing things I shot a wedding, well sort of!

Firstly let me clear a couple of things up! I haven’t taken leave of my senses.

I’m not starting to ‘do’ weddings.
Motorsport and sport in general are what I do and will continue to do so.
I was invited to the wedding in any case!

Here’s what happened. About a year ago I met up with a good mate Neil. Whom hadn’t seen for a while and over the first pint he calmly announces that he was getting hitched. So I felt it my solemn duty to celebrate with him. However after quite a few more celebratory ‘sherries’ the conversation went a bit like this:

Neil: So Matt, we are doing this on a budget can you bring your camera and take a few snaps

Me: erm OK, but you do know I mostly shoot press and sport stuff?

Neil: yeah we only want you to do a few little bits

And that was that I was to shoot my first wedding! As it transpired all that they wanted me to do was to take a couple of nice portraits. Which suited me perfectly. I remember a conversation I had with with Kevin O’Connor of the London Photographic Association (terrible name drop there!) a few years ago about shooting a wedding by only doing portraits! well here was my chance to try just that.

So it was off to Kingscote Barn near Tetbury in the Cotswolds for the wedding and the beautiful and unpredictable British weather, of all the weekends in an unseasonably warm and dry October it decided it was going to rain!

I couldn’t resist the classic first dance silhouette shot. One camera, one light set up.

Here’s a quick selection of a few of the rest. Well I couldn’t resist taking a few extra ones during the day. I also made the decision to shoot all this lot in black and white as I hadn’t shot any B&W in a while and also the light temperature was very strange at the venue!

: And shes holding a knife! – Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: The best man sung his speach! – Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: I dont even think I took this one I think my 7 year old daughter did! – Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: The attention to detail was just lovely – Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

: Neil and Ros Wedding, Kingscote Barn

Would I shoot a whole wedding if asked? possibly but it would have to be along the same lines as this one!

Congratulations Mr and Mrs Bodsworth it was a fantastic day.

ATP World Finals 2013 – O2 Arena, London

Posted on November 12, 2013 by mattbristow

What not to like about working indoors at Londons O2 Arena covering the ATP World Finals 2013. Especially when the weather is truly dreadful outside.

So at the beginning of November I was covering the ATP World Finals at the O2. I have not covered top level tennis before so I was looking forward to it. First game was a Group B singles match between Argentinian Juan Martin Del Portro and Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

Barclays ATP World Finals- Juan Martin Del Portro serves

Barclays ATP World Finals- Richard Gasquet

Juan Martin Del Portro come out winner in three sets. The following day I had another Group B match this time between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. At this point I want to point out that the Swiss are fanatical supporters of tennis. Not surprising as they had two players at the ATP World Finals Stanislas Wawrinka and of course Roger Federer.

With the strong support of the crowd Roger Federer was the clear crowd favorite. Which lifted him to pull back the second set by winning a tie break.

Barclays ATP World Finals – Roger Federer focused and driven

Barclays ATP World Finals – Roger Federer in between games

However, it was the tanasity and sheer athleticism of Novak Djokovic that won the day. It was clear he was the man to beat and indeed he went on to win the final and lift the trophy.

Barclays ATP World Finals – Novak Djokovic makes a dramatic return

Barclays ATP World Finals – Novak Djokovic drops a shot just over the net.

Barclays ATP World Finals – Novak Djokovic victorious

My third match was the deciding match in Group A between Rafael Nadal and Stanislas Wawrinka. Where Rafael Nadal would win in just two sets but both were taken to a tie break.