“Je ne viens pas avec vous” – Neil_Alexander

Made these earlier this week, thanks to a wonderful team – Jen Brook, Joshua Crow, Sarah Meredith make-up and the De Vere Royal in Cheadle. I’ve still a little work to do on them, but I thought I’d share them thus far.

“Vous écume sale tricherie” – Neil_Alexander

And for the creative wordsmiths amongst you, this image is just begging for a caption……

Your captions please?

Autumn sunset, Davenport Lane, Mobberley, Cheshire – Neil_Alexander

After a week of agency presentations, endless marketing and networking, and the realisation that I’d not actually hit a shutter button in ernest in almost a week, fate suddenly decided that I was owed a reward late Thursday afternoon. I’m still on the challenging and so far, fruitless pursuit of good autumn (fall) colour (color) this year, but on my way back from a local agency the clouds cleared and the late autumn sunlight brought out the reds and browns of autumn beautifully. There’s a few local areas that I know will make good photographs at the right time that I keep in my proverbial back pocket for such a moment. Time was tight. It was 3pm by the time I got back to the ranch, and the sun would be gone for the day in just over an hour. Quickly changing and grabbing my ready prepared backpack (which I am never actually disciplined enough to keep “always” ready), I trawled through my Evernote “locations” notebook (there’s no way I could keep all that information in my ageing grey-matter) and quickly decided on a location.

Ever the adventurous, I must have strayed all of around two feet from the car for this photograph and at the point of making it, I knew exactly how I was going to process it and how the final image would appear. The post would consist of merging a 5 stop exposure range using LREnfuse (it creates a far subtler HDR image than the likes of Photomatix or HDR Efex Pro and is now my go to tool for this kind of work), lifting the browns, reds and yellows a little and toning down the Tarmac a little.
That’s it. Nothing more to it.

Housekeeping:
The more regular readers amongst you will have noted that my publishing schedule has become increasingly erratic of late, and for this I apologise profusely. I’m currently in the middle of putting together a whole new website as part of a complete re-branding exercise. It’s been lengthy, and painful  but we’re nearly there. They new site should be live in a week or two. Watch this space for updates.

I’m going to try and do this every month, so if you’ve got any events forthcoming that you’d like to get listed for the month ahead, then drop me a line using this contact form before the 20th of the Month.

• Manchester In Art, Double Tree by Hilton just over from Piccadilly Station in Manchester until January 2013 – FREE. Read more about it here.
• Focal Points: Art and Photography, Manchester Art Gallery until Sunday 2 June 2013  - FREE
  Photography is at the heart of some of the most significant works of art of our times. This new display of around 30 photographs explores just some of the different ways contemporary artists have used photography in their work. It reveals how they have used the camera to explore traditional artistic themes in new and exciting ways. Taken from the 1980s onward, the photographs explore the body, reinvent still-life, examine our cultural identities and explore the places where we live, work and spend our leisure time. The artworks often find ways of making the familiar strange and the ugly beautiful. The display features work by influential photographer Keith Arnatt, famous British artist Helen Chadwick, Turner Prize nominee Catherine Yass and Young British Artists such as Sarah Lucas and Jane and Louise Wilson. It also includes a number of photographic works collected by the Gallery over the last 10 years, with support from the Contemporary Art Society’s Special Collection scheme. By artists including Craigie Horsfield, Cornelia Parker and Thomas Demand, these works explore the themes of photography and sculpture and the connections between the two. They are the inspiration for this photography display. The photographs in this display come from the collections of Manchester City Galleries, The Arts Council Collection at The Southbank Centre, London and other lenders.
• Adam Kerfoot-Roberts:Rochdale – Up Close and Abstract, Touchstones Rochdale The Esplanade Rochdale OL16 1AQ until – 10 November 2012 – FREE
  Local photographer Adam Kerfoot-Roberts has developed a series of abstracts based on architectural details of buildings around Rochdale which are showcased in this exhibition.
• Shirley Baker: Looking Outwards, Gallery Oldham, Oldham OL1 1AL until – 13 April 2013 – FREE
  Photographer Shirley Baker has captured the lives of ordinary people from Salford to the South of France. Her powerful images of northern life in the 1960s are the starting point for this exhibition that charts a long career. ‘I am interested in the trivia of everyday life and with a camera in my hand I have also had my eye on the unusual in the usual.’ Shirley Baker may have begun by documenting life in Manchester but she has also turned her lens on the inhabitants of Japan, New York and the French Riviera. Visitors will recognise recurring common themes and her eye for a striking image wherever she is. ‘I love the immediacy of spontaneous photographs and the ability of the camera to capture the serious, the funny, the sublime and the ridiculous.
• National Football Museum - HOMES OF FOOTBALL, Urbis Manchester. Until 31 December 2012 – FREE
  Kicking off our changing exhibitions programme is an introduction to the work of Stuart Roy Clarke, the number one photographer of football culture. His photographs of teams big and small, fans, grounds and football moments are known all over the world.
  Co-curated by designer Wayne Hemingway and with a specially recorded soundtrack by Mercury Prize nominated band British Sea Power, the exhibition promises to introduce an even wider audience to the artistry of Clarke. As The Times put it “If Nick Hornby gave the fan a voice in the nineties; Stuart Clarke has given the fan a face”.
• The Christmas Markets, Manchester open. Voted on of the world’s best traditional European markets and a wealth of photographic opportunities.
• New Manchester Walks.
  For the most entertaining and best informed Manchester guided tours, join New Manchester Walks, Manchester’s leading walks and talks outfit, bringing the 21st century city alive.
  We provide an unrivalled and unmatchable programme of historical trips and tours in and around Manchester – from the Gothic glories and cotton palaces of central Manchester to the gleaming new dock side towers of Salford Quays; from the coal face of industrial Eastlands to the winding alleyways of Knutsford in leafy Cheshire.
  We are the only Manchester guides to offer a complete programme on the history of all the city’s and area’s delights and sites: the Town Hall, Cathedral, Chetham’s, Art Gallery, John Rylands library, underground tunnels, music scene, political legacy, canals, cotton industry, football teams, wildlife, Jewish history and much more.
  If our guides don’t do it or know it, it’s probably not worth doing or knowing.
• Redeye are running a series of career development workshops. The next two are on “Pricing, Copyright & Legal” and “Fundraising” and they’re on the 14th & 28th November respectively.
• And finally for the environmentalists amongst you, Manchester Airport are planning a massive building expansion into my beloved Bollin Valley, which incidentally was Green Belt land until Manchester City Council decided it would look better covered in 90 acres of concrete. There’s a nature / protest walk taking place on Saturday 3rd November  - Save Sunbank Wildlife Walk.

So there you go. I hope you found it informative. Now get out there and go see some art.

November-2012-Desktop-Wallpaper – Shining Tor, Peak District

There goes another month in the blink of an eye, which means it’s time for a new desktop wallpaper. I’ve a little competition running revolving around this photograph, but to be eligible and party to the competition details you need to be in my “Image of the Month” club. Sign up here – you’ve got to be in it to win it!

Usual instructions apply – click the link most appropriate for your monitor and select “open in new tab” or “open in new window”. Then once the image has downloaded you can set it as your desktop background from there. Feel free to share around. If there’s a size that you want (you’ve some funky Dell tablet or some such), or it looks a little stretched on your monitor, simply ping me a comment below and I’ll fix one up for you.

If it’s more than a desktop wallpaper that you’re looking for, then you can purchase prints or a commercial license for this image here.

Finally before I sign off, I’ve put together some Christmas Card packages aimed at individuals or businesses. They can be branded to incorporate your own personal greeting and your company’s details and logo. What’s more, for every bundle sold £5 will be donated to the Manchester Christies Charity. Find out more here.

Enjoy.

N.

November 2012 Desktop Wallpaper – 2560 x 1600

November 2012 Desktop Wallpaper – 1920 x 1200

November 2012 Desktop Wallpaper – 1400 x 900

November 2012 Desktop Wallpaper – 1280 x 1024

November 2012 Desktop Wallpaper – 1024 x 768

Autumn in the Bollin Valley, Cheshire

Earlier this week I made an effort to get out and explore some Autumn colours. It’s a period every year I try to make the most of, and with rare exception I’ve really failed to find good Autumn colours, year after year. I love those rich brown, orange & yellow hues that criss cross the countryside for only a short period each year and transform the landscape to the same level of beauty as a thin smattering of the white stuff. It’s not for the lack of trying I can assure you, but my path has never yet managed to cross a good collection of Autumnal colours on anything other than a pouring wet day. And still hasn’t

Autumn in the Bollin Valley, Cheshire

I took a trip to one of my regular haunts for experimenting, down in the Bollin Valley, to be greeted by a lusciously green woodland, speckled with early Autumn sunlight. It’s a real sanctuary for me down there. Though without any particularly spectacular views, it still holds plenty of photographs that I’ve yet to find. Anyway to the point I hear you say. Well I wanted Autumn colours, and there was a little but nothing like I’d hoped. So with the use of Lightroom I changed it to how I saw it in my mind, all lovely and golden and warm.

Is it cheating? Personally I don’t think so. Shuffling a few sliders around in an application is no different to the lengths Ansel Adams went to with his dodging and burning.

What do you think?

Want to know how I  did it? I’ll post a quick video next week.

Autumn in the Bollin Valley, Cheshire

Earlier in the year I shot the Lake House at Gilpin Lodge. I was recently notified that one of the images in particular was being used as part of an ad campaign by Juiced Orange on behalf of the Cumbria Tourist Board and their Go Lakes campaign to promote the Lake District on the London Underground escalator screens.

“The creative was focused on grabbing the audiences attention and offering them a moment of escapism as they went about their journey to or from work, with strong imagery, simple messaging and a clear call to action of golakes.co.uk. The media consisted of 48 sheet, cross track posters and Digital posters at key interchange stations including Euston, Kings Cross, St Pancras and Victoria.”

I think it’s quite effective. What do you think?

Last week, with some assistance, I put together a lifestyle shoot in the interests of boosting my portfolio, and  I haven’t enjoyed myself behind the lens so much for a long time. It was a real buzz to work with such a creative team, and be without the shackles of a written brief, and simply my own vision of what I needed to achieve. Admittedly I did have my moments when I simply, creatively ran out of steam, but fortunately they were only ever short lived.

I felt free as essentially I was the client, and yet I felt awkwardly constrained especially in the edit. We got so many great photographs in comparatively such a short space of time that it was a true testament to putting a good team together. I was quite fortunate in this regard.

I used a virtual PA service to put this together. I’d never used someone like this before, and she likewise. I assumed too much. It wasn’t her fault that she didn’t know what TF meant or a MUA is. So it took quite a while to put together. Initially I’d planned on shooting two or three different groups of models in various locations around the city over a 48 hour period. Whammo. Nail a knew portfolio whilst I’m firing on all four. I know I can pull of the shots – it’s the co-ordination of the whole damn thing that’s a killer. I’m sure any Creative who’s been in the game for a wee while will understand the trials and tribulations of organising half a dozen people to be at the same place at the same time, all chosen specifically for their skill, and to be bursting at the seems with creativity. It ain’t easy. Val did an outstanding job of putting this all together, though I’m not sure whether she’s game for another one or not.

It was the team that made these shots, I simply lit them, composed them and clicked the shutter. Without the bounciness of Alex, the sharp wit of Pat, the brilliant hair and make-up by Steph, the stylish input from Pash, and the generosity shown us by Ann at the Castlefield Hotel, I’d never have been able to make these photographs.

So it’s now onto the next one. I’ve another couple of rather cool venues lined up to use this month, so I’m now putting together another team. If you’re a model, stylist or make-up artist looking to expand your portfolio then please do drop me a line.

Finally, before I sign off….

A woman measures chillis in a bowl at Can Cau market, Sapa by Neil Alexander

Last Sunday I had this image appear in the Sunday Times Travel Section, which was a rather pleasant, and slightly unexpected surprise, and I might add with a far better caption!  Check it out here. See more of my images from  Vietnam here.

Have a great weekend.

Neil

Desktop Wallpaper for October 2012

Boom! There goes another month in the blink of an eye. So that means it’s time for a new desktop wallpaper. I’ve a little competition running revolving around this photograph, but to be eligible and party to the competition details you need to be in my “Image of the Month” club. Sign up here – you’ve got to be in it to win it!

Usual instructions apply – click the link most appropriate for your monitor and select “open in new tab” or “open in new window”. Then once the image has downloaded you can set it as your desktop background from there. Feel free to share around. If there’s a size that you want (you’ve some funky Dell tablet or some such), or it looks a little stretched on your monitor, simply ping me a comment below and I’ll fix one up for you.

Enjoy.

N.

October 2012 Desktop Wallpaper – 2560 x 1600

October 2012 Desktop Wallpaper – 1920 x 1200

October 2012 Desktop Wallpaper – 1400 x 900

October 2012 Desktop Wallpaper – 1280 x 1024

October 2012 Desktop Wallpaper – 1024 x 768

I currently have some work on display as part of the “Manchester In Art” exhibition at the Double Tree by Hilton in Manchester. The show only opened a couple of weeks ago, and has been extremely well received. There’s all different styles and types of art on display, and all of a very high standard.

“Depicting one of Europe’s greatest cities, with over 70 pieces of artwork by 18 local artists and photographers our latest exhibition celebrates Manchester in a unique way.

The Manchester In Art exhibition is located within the hotel’s public spaces including the Lobby, Piccadilly Lounge, City Cafe, Mezzanine Breakout Space and the SkyLounge.

Curated by Ventures In Art, in partnership with Double Tree by Hilton Manchester Piccadilly.

If you would like to know more about any artist or artwork within the exhibition, please contact Simon Richards from Ventures In Art on venturesinart@virginmedia.com or via www.venturesinart.com”

The show is on until mid-January, but by all accounts work is selling fast. So don’t hang around.

I’ve been doing some work lately with a local branding and marketing business who were horrified to learn that I wasn’t creating any video as part of my output strategy. My principal argument for not doing any video has been that it’s just too time consuming. It was made clear to me in no uncertain manner that from a marketing perspective, video is an absolute must.

So, rather than jump straight in at the deep end, which is my normal manner, I decided I would start by adding some voice and music to a slideshow. No point biting off more than I can chew just yet. In any case whatever I did, it was going to be a learning curve. Simply recording and sequencing audio took far too long – but you got to start somewhere right?

So there’s my output. It’s a short slideshow.

Feel free to share and comment. And I’d love to know your thoughts. Would you prefer seeing my photographs in a slide show like this, or would you prefer to see them in an online gallery?