Mackney Photography PhotoBlog

Darley Abbey day 2013 - an open exhibition...

2013-06-12T11:42:00.000+01:00

What lovely weather it was for the annual Darley Abbey Day! The event happens every 2 years and we're so proud to be part of it! We decided to do an open day exhibition to showcase our VERY best photography. And no Darley Abbey day would be complete without a scarecrow - which was based on the "mills theme". A pretty tough one I think everyone agrees - we decided to do "Bob" the windswept scarecrow - which was great - till the Pole Dancers did an outdoor demonstration and thought "Bob" was taking the mick lol!!

The photo from the historical library kindly given to us by Roy Hartle - showing the Polishing shed as it was used back in the 1900s...amazing to now be part of such a great history!

Our exhibition, it's amazing how much work goes into EACH portrait...

The lovely Jo and family popping down to pick up their print order of Macey - some very HAPPY customers indeed! Our print quality is of the highest standards and we make sure that this is passed onto our customers so that the images can be treasured for years to come.

Our floor gallery showing off some of the creative ways to present portraiture...oh and of course vino to enjoy the exhibition with.

A lovely framed photo of Sophie which went down a storm with the public - she's such a cutie in real life too!!

The fantastic Matt & Marie with their photo in the exhibition - here's there lovely testimonial written:

"After running away to Brighton to get married and only having snapshots of the day we decided we needed some real wedding photos. We were looking for something a bit different that would reflect our personalities. Luckily we found Mackney Photography! The whole team got involved in our amazing wedding reshoot, we had so much fun. Mackney were brilliant at positioning us with imaginative ideas and themes from vintage to industrial, the photos are so varied and so much more original than could be achieved on the actual wedding day. We knew that the photos would be amazing and they were better than we could have imagined. The service was incredible and captured our personalities and style. The shoot was totally inspirational and I can’t wait to show our friends and family the album and hang our favourite picture on the wall. Thank you Mackney for recreating our wedding day and we will treasure the pictures forever."

Matt and Marie (and bump!) Waterman (Wedding Rewind)

Finally - even our neighbours from Pure Fitness got involved putting out rowing machines and equipment outdoors....Venice Beach meets Darley Abbey!!

We mustn't forget that all of this was to promote the Darley Abbey area and raise money for their selected charities. Thankyou to all the organisers for your hard work - we certainly enjoyed it!

Darley Abbey Day June 8th

2013-05-19T14:11:00.002+01:00

On Saturday June 8th, the annual Darley Abbey day is taking place with heritage walks, scarecrow fests and some businesses opening their doors to the public...that includes us! We're having an open day to showcase some of our best work we've done over the last decade, from commercial, industrial, to fashion and portraits. Come down and have a nosey at our fantastic images starting 11am - 6pm. For those who've seen us on Channel 4's Location, Location, Location - now is the time to see our amazing studio for yourselves.....See you on the 8th!

The Photographer...another national article published...woohoo!

2013-04-04T19:09:00.001+01:00

When Jonathan Briggs from "The Photographer" dropped us a line to see what we'd been up to in 2012....where the heck do we begin? Winning the Breatkthrough business of the year, a finalist in another photography competition which led to being called down to "the houses of parliament" and then finally expanding the Mackney Family by taking on two permanent members of staff...phew we hope 2013 will be quieter....will it heck! We've got a new commercial website coming your way, new photo's to show you from new clients and some big news on the portraiture front too..watch this space - we like to be busy...

A modern wedding fairytale...

2013-04-04T17:54:00.001+01:00

We don't normally shoot weddings - but couldn't resist it when the Hoptons approached us to record their special day down London...rustic, urban, creative jungle....a real specialty of ours! We don't call ourselves wedding photographers, as Simon is very much a portrait's photographer - we were aptly called portraits photographers at a wedding!!! Wendy was there to help "style" the shots and much research was done before heading down to the big smoke to make sure their wedding day went as smoothly as possible. All in all we were "mists" at the wedding - floating in and out - loved the day and here are the results:

We started off at the Malmaison, then Chelsea registry office - the first photo is down King's Road with the can't miss it "Cirque De Soleil" advert...strangely enough it was Debs and Mark's first date at the Cirque de Soleil so pretty apt its in the background!

This photo is a digitally manipulated reflection in the glass....spliced on it to reinforce the fact the happy couple are in fact in London!

There's something magical about Silver Birches...in the middle of the city - this was the start of our "wedding shots" of the couple - it only took 45 minutes as it was frreeeeezing and about to snow!! This photo is actually Debs and Mark keeping each other warm lol.

We got a newspaper to mark the day...I tell you it's hard to find a good "front cover" that doesn't involve negative wording.....

Right outside the Tate with the amazing Litchenstein exhibition..captured it quite well I think!

We ended up at "the swan" at the Globe theatre...a gorgeous venue that provided backdrops like the Tate gallery, Millennium bridge and St Paul's cathedral...what more could you want? It started off with blue skies...and snowflakes - so Debs & Mark did so well in braving the cold to get their stylish wedding shots!

This location they found on their own...the signage is REAL - the Hoptons...how funny :)

This was shot in a doorway...we just liked the vintage blue of the doorway....

It wasn't snowing but we had to put it in as the sky was definitely showing some snow flakes! Not all the people were there at once - an amalgamation of 4 images spliced in.

And of course our favourite shots - St Paul's Cathedral in the background with the happy couple still in main focus.....the last image is an amalgamation of a couple of images to "fill in" the background - another digital wizardry of Simon Mackney....

Here's to the newly weds and they've given us a great idea for us to do a spin on wedding photography...watch this space as we're going to be doing something rather exciting in Derby along the same lines...

Testimonal below:

"Dear Simon & Wendy, just to say a great big THANKYOU! For all your fantastic help on our wedding day! You were both so incredibly organised and professional and really went over & above all our expectations to make sure all our chosen shots (and so many more) got captured! Thankyou so much for helping to make our day totally unforgettable by ensuring that all our special moments & memories were recorded so beautifully and can be kept for us to look over in all our years to come together! You guys we're awesome! Thanks for sharing it with us! With all our love from Debs & Mark xxxx

https://www.facebook.com/mackneymakeovers

Easter at Lily O'Briens...

2013-03-28T17:39:00.001Z

Loving our Easter photos on the Lily O'Brien's website...using lots of natural light to create a "summer" time effect. Wendy even bought a teapot to use as a prop which came in handy for the "group" easter egg shot!

We think this is a perfect "egg-sample" of product photography...ahem...

http://www.lilyobriens.ie

March in the Park..photography video..

2013-03-19T20:12:00.001Z

Been working hard putting together a special video to show off our portraits at our lovely studios at Darley Abbey, we've done quite a few location shoots in the park...with it's every-changing backdrop - it truly is a stunning sight to behold! Have a look.....

Enterprising women awards 2013

2013-03-19T19:31:00.001Z

So here are the lovely photos from the Enterprising women awards which Wendy entered and won the Breakthrough business of the year 2013...no easy task as she was put against some stiff competition...eek! She looks great - but I think that's why I stay behind the camera lol...

In partnership with the DNCC - Mackney Photography was recognised for it's changes brought in

by Wendy as a higher end photography studio but with the ethos of quality, personality and of course stunning photography :)

Here's to you Wendy and your award - lets smash 2013!!

Winner at the DNCC awards 2013....

2013-03-09T14:03:00.000Z

So last night we attended the Enterprising women of Excellence awards 2013 as Wendy was nominated for her role in Breakthrough business of the year, after a heart thumping wait the winner was announced at the Raddison Blu hotel...it was Wendy Mackney!! Shocked to have won but deservedly so for all her hard work, not only instigating the move to new premises at Darley Abbey Mills, but also to new products and the employment of new members of staff to team Mackney. Things can only go up from here!! Watch this space as 2013 is Mackney's year :)

2013-01-16T17:43:00.000Z

Lily Mae Calendar Shoot 2013 - which image is your favourite?

The Sunni-Mae Trust Calendar

We've been photographing naked men for a very charitable cause, the Sunni Mae Trust, Lily Mae, Lily Mae tiny dancer.  Oh yes - it's a naked calendar shoot....using real men with real bodies!!  Due to time constraints, we photographed everything in the studio then using our Mackney computer wizardry...added that "zing" to make these boys more fun and zesty.  

To help raise funds for Lily-Mae, some of Derby’s ‘hunkiest’ guys, including Lily Mae’s Dad, Uncles and Cousin, have left very little to the imagination and produced a must have calendar for 2013. 

Each calendar will only cost £10.00 with the funds going towards supporting the Tiny Dancer and her family.  Please help us support this very worthwhile cause whilst putting a smile on your own face each month!

Lily-Mae Morrison, from County Galway, has been diagnosed with high risk neuroblastoma.

A charity cover version of Elton John's song, Tiny Dancer, was released to raise money for cancer charities.

The single has already spent two weeks at Number 1 in the Irish Single Charts.

Some of Ireland's biggest recording stars, including Paddy Casey, Declan O'Rourke and Camille O'Sullivan, have all recorded vocals for the single.

In total over 300 musicians sing or perform on the track.

Elton John has backed the project by encouraging his fans to buy the single.

Jay & Curtis Clarke Promotional Photography

2013-01-15T11:25:00.000Z

Latest project by Mackney Photography, we were asked to shoot and edit images of Jay and Curtis Clarke for promotional material, we used the fast flash duration Einstein E640 Flash Units to capture theses images with pocketwizard plus III transceivers.

Curtis and Jay Clarke are aspiring young tennis professionals from Derby. Curtis is 17 yeas of age and after a successful junior career, is now trying to secure a mens ATP ranking alongside studying for BTEC in Sports and Exercise Science.

Jay is 14 years old and after an incredible 2012 season, reached the pinnacle of his career, reaching the No1 spot in the U14 Boys in Europe and is currently 1 of 10 boys in the 1998 age group worldwide to hold an U18 ITF ranking.

Location Portrait Photography....

2012-12-08T14:00:00.001Z

So we wanted to challenge ourselves more (what??!! more??!!!) how? By doing Location photography of course! We have the beautiful Darley Abbey park on our doorstep and thought what a fantastic opportunity to use this as an ever-changing backdrop! I think the best comment someone made to me was "I have a camera - I photograph my kids outside all the time"....this made me chuckle...it's like saying to a chef - I have pasta in my cupboard....or to a fashion designer - I have a dress too! It's all about the knowledge, the equipment and most importantly..."the eye" we call it...not many people possess this...not even some 'qualified' photographers - but I believe Simon Mackney does as his location photography is stunning time and time again. Here's a few of his Location portraiture....

Eef finalist...but no cigar....ah well!

2012-12-08T13:44:00.001Z

So the House of Commons is a pretty good place to show off a photography exhibition.....shame no win, but what an amazing experience! It was fantastic to meet with like minded photographers and see the other tough talent out there!! Though no win this time....we were pretty chuffed to be even nominated out of 800 participants....maybe next year :)

Oooooh EEF competition at the House of Commons.....check us out!

2012-12-02T17:08:00.001Z

Derby photographer makes shortlist in EEF national award

Entry to be exhibited in the House of Commons

A professional photographer from Derby has been invited to a National Awards Ceremony at the Houses of Parliament after his images was shortlisted in the final of a national photography competition celebrating British design and manufacturing.
Eight of Simon Mackney’s photographs have been shortlisted for a nationwide competition run by the EEF, the manufacturer’s organisation and sponsored by Canon. Among his entries was Brawn GP Test Car, an image of a Brawn GP aerodynamics test car at Brackley, Northamptonshire.
The Made in Britain Photography Awards 2012 received over 800 images that celebrated the best of British design and manufacturing in three categories, professional, amateur and young person aged 14-19.
Simon’s images will be exhibited in the House of Commons as part of the total 87 shortlisted entries from around the country in December. An overall winner from the three entry groups; young, amateur and professional, will be awarded £5,000 with winners being presented with their prize by sponsor Canon.

Commented Richard Halstead, Region Director for Midlands, at EEF, “The standard of entries to the competition continues to grow and, yet again this year, they have highlighted the modern and vibrant sector that is modern manufacturing. Every shortlisted image is to be applauded for capturing the wide variety of products and processes that keeps UK manufacturing world class.”

Commented Nikki Paine, Manufacturing Business Development Manager, at Canon UK, “Canon’s sponsorship of the Made in Britain Photography Awards 2012 is part of our ongoing commitment to the manufacturing industry, and valued partnership with the EEF. We’ve been really impressed with the quantity and quality of entries received as part of these awards. A picture can speak a thousand words, and Canon is pleased to support the industry’s effort to change perceptions of manufacturing, and showcase its inherent spirit of innovation, through the power of image.’
Notes to Editor:
About EEF
EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, is the representative voice of manufacturing in the UK. It has a growing membership of almost 6,000 companies of all sizes, employing some 900,000 people from every sector of engineering, manufacturing, engineering construction and technology-based industries. www.eef.org.uk ;http://www.eef.org.uk, http://www.eef.org.uk

Freeloader Pro solar charger....how good are these??!!

2012-11-30T16:37:00.006Z

JP Distribution have sent us some fantastic freeloader Solar Technology

panels to test out in the field. FREELOADER PRO and the Freeloader Pico

solar charger

They have been really useful on long trips out on location, I wish we had

these units when we did the wild camping trip up Pike of Blisco Langdale.

http://photoblog.mackney.com/2011_04_01_archive.html

You can charge just about anything, we tested on the ipad ipone and my Canon

5d batteries and worked really well.

It comes with a FREELOADER PRO solar charger, a selection of different

adapter tips and the CamCaddy (which is a battery charger for SLR’s,

CamCorders and Compacts)

They live in my camera bag and I'm happier now I know I have a fantastic

back up to keep us going on the move, now we have no excuse not to update

the Facebook, twitter and our blog on the move.

Here's some more info

http://www.freeloadersolar.com/freeloader-pro-home.htm

FREELOADER PRO

Professional Solar Charger

Freeloader Pro is the ultimate solar charger capable of powering virtually

every electrical device, anywhere in the world, whether on a beach, a

mountain, jungle or the Polar ice cap.

Freeloader Pro uses its high power solar panels or USB (cable supplied) to

quickly charge its internal battery (7 – 9 hours in sunny conditions). Once

fully charged Freeloader Pro is capable of delivering enough power to give a

mobile phone 70 hours of standby time, 5000 page turns on an eBook or a 100%

full charge for a digital camera battery.

Also by switching its Multi voltage switch to “9.5v” Freeloader Pro is

capable of charging power hungry, high voltage devices such as MP4 players,

portable DVD players and SLR camera batteries.

The metallic push button “Power Halo” indicates how much power is in

Freeloader Pro’s battery.

Made in tough aluminium and finished in a stylish “piano” black, Freeloader

Pro is the perfect companion for adventure travellers, journalists,

explorers, expeditions, the armed forces and anyone who demands the best!

CamCaddy is a unique power cradle supplied with Freeloader Pro. CamCaddy

accepts virtually every type of camera battery whether a simple compact

digital camera, professional SLR or a video camera battery. CamCaddy suits

all sizes of battery (3.2v to 7.9v) using its variable slider bar and

adjustable contact pins.

Light weight and rugged CamCaddy is the ONLY camera battery charger capable

of powering virtually all camera batteries.

Calendar Shoot 2013

2012-11-22T19:40:00.001Z

The Sunni-Mae Trust Calendar

We've been photographing naked men for a very charitable cause, the Sunni Mae Trust, Lily Mae, Lily Mae tiny dancer. Oh yes - it's a naked calendar shoot....using real men with real bodies!! Due to time constraints, we photographed everything in the studio then using our Mackney computer wizardry...added that "zing" to make these boys more fun and zesty. Here's a sneak peak of the calendar boys.....this is THE only calendar to buy for 2013!!

To help raise funds for Lily-Mae, some of Derby’s ‘hunkiest’ guys, including Lily Mae’s Dad, Uncles and Cousin, have left very little to the imagination and produced a must have calendar for 2013. Each calendar will only cost €19.99 with the funds going towards supporting the Tiny Dancer and her family. Please help us support this very worthwhile cause whilst putting a smile on your own face each month!

BUY THE CALENDAR NOW....

Stars including Elton John help back Lily Mae in Tiny Dancer song...The Sun...Read on....

Before.....

After

Four year old Lily-Mae Morrison is suffering from Stage 4 Neuroblastoma, a rare and extremely aggressive childhood cancer of the nervous system. She is the daughter of professional ballet dancers, Judith Sibley and Leighton Morrison. When she grows up, she wants to be a ballet dancer like her Mummy and Daddy but Neuroblastoma is not playing nicely, it wants to kill her.

She likes the colour purple and dinosaurs, and particularly likes purple dinosaurs. She also likes fairies and, more often than not, imagines herself as one. She would like to ‘magic’ the pain away but there’s no magic in the real world and as a trainee fairy, she finds this a little bit confusing.

Lily-Mae has just undergone major surgery to remove the cancerous tumours from her body, however to be completely cured further surgery could be required and this treatment is not available in the UK and she will have to travel to Europe or America at a cost – minimum £300,000.

To help raise funds many fundraising events have taken place including to production of the Elton John song Tiny Dancer, which is currently number 1 in Ireland, where Lily-Mae is currently being treated you can download this song for just 79p on https://itunes.apple.com/ie/album/tiny-dancer/id576441815?i=576441894 The aim is for this song to be the Christmas number 1 in Ireland and beat the X-Factor winner along the way – only with your support can this is possible!

Male members of Lily-Mae’s family and close family friends have recently bared all to produce a calendar for 2013 which we hope will find a place in everyone’s home to allow us to offer further financial support to the family. The calendars are available to order online at www.asongforlilymae.org from Saturday 1^st December.

A little smile for everyone each month and one massive smile for Lily-Mae as she continues her brave fight for survival.

Photography Awards 2012...Made in Britain

2012-10-26T17:23:00.001+01:00

Well - it's that time of the year again where we keep our awards topped up nicely! First up, is the Sun Awards which recognise and reward the best commercial photography in the UK regions, working in the disciplines of Advertising, Design, Fashion or Editorial.....we got awarded in FASHION of course and ADVERTISING...The book is available to buy now!

Sun Awards 2012

The next competition we've been entered into is the Made in Britain awards - we've been shortlisted for the professional photography category and will find out who the winners are in the House of Commons in London in December.

Why do we put ourselves through these competitions? To show we're the best at what we do and to constantly challenge our photography techniques, views and creativity...our numerous awards prove that and we always win something :)

Made in Britain photography awards
http://www.eef.org.uk/photo/

Young Ideas fashion shoot at the Mills...

2012-10-06T17:47:00.005+01:00

What an exciting week it's been down the Mackney studio! We've been shooting the new Autumn/ Winter 2012 Belstaff range for Young Ideas in Ashbourne and what a please it's been. Using the beautiful Oona to model for us again and Natalie Clark for hair & makeup, I think we've pulled off our most fashion adventurous shoot to date! Wendy Mackney of course giving style direction, researching the brand and the look for our fashionable clients...below are the results - hope you like them!

Keenpac new commercial photography...

2012-10-04T16:39:00.001+01:00

We're proud to work closely with Keenpac on their newest bag campaign, a long established client of ours, and with our constant creativity...we know how to keep up with the trends! Check out their website:

Keenpac

Derbyshire's Best Business Awards 2012

2012-10-04T16:26:00.001+01:00

How funny to be nominated for Entrepreneur of the year at Derbyshire's Best Business Awards 2012...unfortunately we didn't win, that pleasure was won by Matt Wheatcroft at Purpose Media...so big claps for them! I'm happy to even be a finalist and got a little trophy and certificate to prove it! The competition though was seriously stiff and we were lucky to be nominated in the first place, the fact that I've only been involved in the business for 8 months when we were nominated speaks volumes! Next year we we're going to be in it to win it.

Nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year 2012!!!

2012-09-14T20:02:00.000+01:00

bestbusinessawards2012

Lily O Briens Chocolate shoot....

2012-08-16T10:54:00.000+01:00

Phew...it's been a busy few months, we've been working on some exciting projects but unable to disclose who our clients are...till now!! Thanks to the WONDERLAND marketing agency, we work exclusively for Lily O Brien's chocolates. Working together on ideas and using our knowledge of lighting, we recreated s bright sunny day...inside the studio. The chocolates look meltingly good...enjoy!

http://www.lilyobriens.ie/Default.aspx

Big Ant shoots our fashion makeover video...

2012-07-05T10:41:00.001+01:00

A few weeks ago we finally got round to doing a video shoot with Big Ant at our fantastic new studio. It's our first one as we really wanted to focus on the EXPERIENCE and professionalism of our photography. How the heck would you get something like that across....through a video of course :)

Sheila wanted a makeover and Steve was commissioned to capture it all on video! We wanted to show that there is a stylist who helps you move and groove, but also to show off the many backdrops round the studio we use during the shoot. Although this video is geared more towards the makeovers - it certainly shows off the studio for corporate and portrait clients too! Enjoy...

We think they did an amazing job and the blog Sheila from Big Ant wrote is amazing...

http://bigantvideo.co.uk/mackney-photography-makeover-and-sheila-from-big-ant-video

Mackney go national in "The Photographer"

2012-07-03T19:03:00.001+01:00

Ok...so we opened up the studio, made a cuppa tea and settled down to get through the post...bills, bills, invoices, bills....The photographer magazine...hmmmmm "splutter, choke, cough" goes the tea! Completely forgot the nice journalist man was putting our article in the magazine this month! Actually - it was a fantastic write up and a different take on the studio...it could have gone either way - but the article was VERY positive and made for a great read. This magazine goes up and down the country and thanks to POCKET WIZARD again for your kind support as the photography wouldn't be the same without you...enjoy the article and spot Simon and Wendy :)

Olympic torch at Darley Park 2012

2012-06-30T13:21:00.000+01:00

What an occasion - the Olympic Torch hits Darley Park....wowzers! A fantastic atmosphere with a big and proud to be British crowd welcoming the torch in the park...here are some photos - enjoy!

Crow & Jester suit shoot...

2012-06-19T17:31:00.001+01:00

After a tricky start where the location fell through - we finally got underway with Crow & Jester's premium suit shoot at our studio. With sharp tailoring and "all" about the fabric - we had to up our game and work hard on the lighting and the moves...I think the photos speak for themselves :)