Photographer Dad

Still There's More

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:19:00 +0000

A Review of A Wizard A True Star by Todd Rundgren
Hammersmith Apollo 6th Feb 2010

The night opened with TRs Johnson. A run thru with the band (Jesse Gresse, Praire Prince and Kasim Sulton) of 10 Robert Johnson songs including Crossroads. A little mundane, the crowd did not like it and a little under rehearsed. Good musicianship but apart from Todds voice to make it different say from Clapton these blues classics could have been played by anyone.

The main event however was classily done, very slick and emotional. Costumes changed for virtually every song. The larger band, Ralph Schuckett (Utopia), Greg Hawkes (Cars) Bobby Strickland (Tubes/TR) Michelle R and the afore mentioned played a note perfect slightly elongated in part version of the album. Remember in 1973 Todd played all the instuments on the album himself including saxophones, clarinets, keyboards, guitars, drums and on the list goes. (My picture below is not from the AWATS concert, I wanted to enjoy the concert and not take photographs)

A few songs Sunset Blvd and Le Feel moved toward the end. During set changes Bobby Strickland had us all stand up and do the Cool Jerk, 3,500 fans all stood and sang along until the end The encore was a mass crowd sing a long of Just One Victory, I could go on but....it was fantastic.

There were so many highlights Todd voice elastic as ever, what a range particularly on the soul medley (Proud, la,la, etc) and some fierce guitar playing on Is it My Name. Todds acting on Zen Archer and You Dont have to Camp Around.

A real show. Done in style. Todd rockin' out with guitar and voice. Bring on Ra!
And the kids? They were on a sleep over.

One Long Year (That Was)

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:09:00 +0000

Not my first blog of 2010. I was hoping my review of the year gone by would be. I have a few excuses with the snow, we were actually on the national news twice for being snowbound and the builders still not being finished and of course some photographic work.

2009 started off badly I caught pneumonia and was laid low for a month or so, the recession had bitten well and truly and work just dried up. Then we had some great weather around Easter time, my mood and the mood of the nation seemed to lift. I decided that I could not wait for work to come to me so I set up meetings with local companies, put marketing initiatives in place, plastered my name on free business network sites and worked with the local government business link to increase my profile. Which paid off toward the end of the year.

In May I took on some repeat business and worked again with the Royal Philharmonic Society and photographed and managed their award winners photo shoots. A mixture of studio and live stage shots including Thomas Quasthoff.

In June I traveled to Scotland and photographed a beautiful wedding in Glenfinnan. I also separated out my weddings and portrait side of the business and started the Portraits & Weddings website keeping
Simon Jay Price Photography for arts related business. More repeat business with the BBC and their Out and About series and through that pictures in the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

I also put my network of contacts in the music business to use and set up concert shoots with Ry Cooder (above) and Nick Lowe amongst others. I photographed festival and concert tours including legends Paul Jones (Manfred Mann) and Dean Friedman.

The key was to keep taking photographs even if customers were in short supply. I pushed myself to learn even more about concert photography and expanded the portfolio which bought me to the attention of folk artists and theatre groups. The summer was hot and long and I spent a few days working with the BBC on their Indian Music day, Piano Day and Inspire Day.

What a privelege to be able to hold a photo shoot in the Great Hall of Hampton Court Palace. I worked with Goat and Monkey and with Oxford Brookes University. The start times had to be early or late because of Hampton Cout being open to the public during the day. There is something special about the River Thames at 7.00am.

Portrait sessions and family portraits filled the rest of the year and I made picture framing part of the business.
I added actors headshots and social media photography to the business and raised my profile futher by getting involved with casting agencies.

The year ended with concert work for the New York Dolls and American composer George Crumb.

By getting up and doing I made what looked liked being apoor year into a great one. I was planning ahead for 2010 which has started well.

The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:58:00 +0000

Happy New Year 2010

The picture above is of the rock group The New York Dolls. They reformed a couple of years ago and recently made their fourth studio album produced by the man who did their first back in 1973, Todd Rundgren. This was taken on the Friday of my diverse weekend of photography.

Rock n Roll photography is great fun and a real buzz. You need the stamina of a mile runner and the ability to muscle in to get your spot and to be able to focus the camera(s) in the dark. I work off two camera bodies one with a wide angle 16mm to 35mm f2.8 and the other a 70mm to 200mm f2.8 zoom lens. You do not have time to change lenses so you have to have your selection right and these work for me. There are usually rules associated with photographing the band and simply they are; no flash and first three songs only.

In 2009 I have photographed many acts some of my favorites were Paul Jones (Manfred Mann & Blues Band) Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, New York Dolls and Dean Friedman. I also did a couple of festivals ans photographed and met folk star Eliza Carthy and in the late summer I captured two new up and coming bands White Denim from the USA and Joy Formidable from the UK.

You can take a look at more of my concert pictures here .

Cell On Cell

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:10:00 +0000

Following on from my last bog post Zen Archer which was about the different types of photographer you have to be in certain situations. All of the following were used by me in one weekend; A Reportage Photographer, Press Photographer, Classical Music Concert Photographer, Portrait Photographer, Rock Music Concert Photographer and Snapper. I wrote about the skills needed and to be developed to be a Reportage Photographer., so that leads me to my second type of photographer on the list. Press Photographer. The Above picture appeared in a double page spread in the London Evening Standard on Monday 7th December and the following link gives the online picture and review. Thunder & Light for George Crumb. Different pictures also appeared in the Guardian on Tuesday and in the Independent on Sunday

Press Photographer. This is not a term that sat comfortably with me at first. I remember going on my first press job and meeting other press photographers who worked for national newspapers and saw how quickly and efficiently they worked. They knew the shot that they were going to submit as soon as they had taken it. They were not just snapping away they moved the subjects around until they got what was required but they did it with speed and decisiveness. Lets be clear Press is not Paparazzi. I knew then that this was a different breed of photographer.

I also learned that it is a hard job with lots of knock backs. If you work for the London Evening Standard or the Times for example, the photographer may be out on 5 or 6 different jobs a day, process and submit work (wirelessly from your laptop) and still not get any of it in the paper that day. I took some great shots of musicians in action at the new Euro Star train station in London and then the news broke that Michael Jackson had died so no chance of getting anything in the paper that day and they were sent to many different press desks.

Press Photographers will not submit all the pictures that are taken they will only use the best 5 (sometimes up to 10 images depending on the photo editor at the press desk they are sending to).

It also helps if you are working as part of a well oiled machine. Press person will issue a PR release will follow up release with phone calls to arts/sports/news editors "haggle/nag" for space and will tell the editor that a "photog" has been sent to get THE photo and to expect it at whatever time was agreed. Sometimes it is difficult to manage expectations and this would be one of them.

So you have to think on your feet and get the shot. This is where "Every Picture Tells A Story" really counts. The more unusual the photo better. Style is important too. By looking at the different newspapers you will know that the Independent and Independent on Sunday are looking for very different arty shots, they encouarge angles and blurs, and they do a lot of arts coverage with more photographs than most. Other papers such as The Daily Telegraph like a less risky shot.

Apart from your camera, flashes, battery pack and other assorted goodies you need to have a wireless laptop, contact details set up, email address and phone numbers to hand. Once you have sent, you or the PR person should follow up and hassle to get the picture in the paper or online review. Get to know the press desks and who is who. I also shoot in jpeg for speed of processing.

Oh, and the above picture. I was not totally getting something different throughout this event/concert and I was conscious of time running out, so above the heads of the singers in the balcony I held the camera high and snapped away on the goings on below. There is definitely room for snapping.

Zen Archer

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:38:00 +0000

I spent last weekend photographing the New York Dolls and then for the BBC the influential and experimental American composer George Crumb (above).

It was actually surprising to me how many types of photographer I had to be. A Reportage Photographer, Press Photographer, Classical Music Concert Photographer, Portrait Photographer, Rock Music Concert Photographer and Snapper (there's always room for snapping). So when folks ask me what type of photography I do, I can tell them.....................

Now, these skills do not appear overnight. When I first turned professional in 2006 I was mainly photographing educational workshops using and developing a reportage style. You need to have a quick eye for this and capture interaction with educators and students. This includes facial expressions of "I don't get it" to "Ahhh the penny just dropped". With-in this there is also sense of place, time and project. Lots of these pictures have appeared in BBC Proms Guide since 2006 and in music magazines to illustrate the BBC's and other media organizations commitment to education and learning through music.

This is where I started learning about reportage and the message every picture tells a story. Sometimes it will but it is also the best 10 or 20 pictures that will define the day. Remember to synchronize your camera,s if using more than one (to get all the shots in time order) and shoot and compose with your legs. Move around.
The pictures I take are often used in a book or website to support and archive the learning project that I was working on.

The more educational workshops I do the more I am looking at the students face, without being over baring. I try to avoid using flash particularly in a studio or a concert hall and wind up the ISO to 800 and look for the light. There are times however where flash is good, to capture dance moves when stage lights are not there and to capture the violin bow on the up in a dark rehearsal. Most professional musicians however do not like flash and will not allow flash so then a tripod and cable release is essential.

More soon on press photography. Including some links and pictures of photos that have appeared in national newspapers this week.

Talking of skills not being honed overnight my daughter is one of the leads in the school Christmas play, where she is King Balthazar, one of the 3 Wise men. All of the major roles this year have gone to girls. Lots of budding Meryl Streeps but no budding George Clooneys.

She has practiced and practiced the lines, morning, noon and night. Not just the lines but all the songs that go with it. There were a few worries when the teacher told her that she would be riding a camel in the play. This was soon put aside when she was assured that the camel was just really a painted cardboard box with straps and dangling legs.

No time for tidying her room though!

Everything is Changed Everything is Still the Same

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:51:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago before my house was ripped apart by the builders and I had access to the famous Garden Studio I took some actor headshot pictures of Holly Marsella. She is an up and coming actress who has appeared in plays at Hampton Court and for the Goat and Monkey Theatre troop. If you click on the link to Goat & Monkey you will see some work I did with them. (Hey,I took that shot too!)

One of the things I liked about Holly is her Debra Winger like ability to look different in a lot of poses. We were able to do six scenes. Three outdoor shoots with a really nice 85mm lens and three indoor shoots in the studio with a variety of lenses and lighting set ups.

Sometimes two lights, sometimes three and sometimes one. I really like working with one light and maybe a couple of reflectors, it is amazing how responsive these reflectors are. You do not always see there worth with the eye and not always in camera but when processing and up there on the HD screen the difference is really noticable. One light helps push the creative urges too.

If you check out the headshots page then you may get to see what I mean.

I Went to the Mirror

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:13:00 +0000

I was on a workshop in Westbourne Grove/Notting Hill with photographer Martin Oliver, during a break I went out and about and got chatting to this lady. She is an artist and poet called Susan Hicks.

Check around her website for some insight into an artists life and angst. Watch out some of those doors might have an interesting suprice or too. www.susans-house.com

I like the picture because it was not set up, totally natural, very relaxed. An artist in Notting Hill taking a break with a cuppa and some Autumn rays of sunshine.
Susan says she likes it too.

It's In the Trees

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:40:00 +0000

This shot taken on a recent visit to Polesdown Lacy. On a day when we went to the toy shop and spent some pocket money buying Moody Faces, Plastic Purses, Bubbles and 40p Gliders x 2.

The children didn't even spend all their money, they are obviously getting too much for laying the table and taking the compost to the the tiger pit (bottom of the garden).

We had great fun with the gliders that flew just about everywhere including up into tree branches and I got some great photos. This one of Connie reminds me of her growing awareness of all things spooky and how unsettling that can be.

The other day I found a spell written in ancient symbols on her door apparently copied from a book at school, no she does not go to Hogwarts. The piece of paper it was on had a large circle which represented her room and on the outside of the circle
was an array of characters like Oods (Dr Who) Vampires, Mummies, Skeletons, Spiders and Giant Nits. The last one turned out to be Giant Rats (Princess Bride) but I had read it wrong and was told off for being so silly. Why would she be frightened of Giant Nits?

On the other side of this spectrum is the willingness to embrace all things spooky. She loves Halloween but could not go "Trick or Treating" this year but she entered a colouring competition held at a restaurant (where we were on holiday) to win a giant pumpkin full of sweets.

The restaurant rang us today to say that she had won the colouring prize. I have never seen such display of disbelief. "I can't believe it, no, oh my, I really can't, etc etc etc" This complete with hand wavering over the mouth and eyes fluttering just like she had won an Oscar. She was absolutely thrilled so much more than I would have imagined it is a big deal for her.

Eli says how can we ever get to sleep with Vampires and Skeletons and Creepy Crawlies and Burglars. He has a point.

Watchman

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:51:00 +0000

On a photoshoot recently I took this picture of Dec who is the dad of the two children I was taking pictures of. There was a certain look I was after. I was trying to emulate the style of Clay Enos and in particular the black & white stills he did for the Watchmen film. He also created a Streetstudio based on the work that he did for those black and white pictures.

I used only natural light and a F1.8 85mm lens. There has been some editing but generally this is the shot. I liked the picture so much I have put it in my portfolio on the Simon Jay Price Photography website I also took some great pictures of the children and they are in a private portfolio for the family to view on my other website dedicated to portraits and weddings. One or two pictures will appear here soon.

Company

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:12:00 +0000

I took a little time of from the demanding world of "Domestic God/Dad/" and went to take some pre arranged pictures of 70's & 80's singer songwriter legend Dean Friedman. He is in the middle of an extensive tour of the country (U.K.) playing to audiences in small & cosy venues. I had arranged to meet him at about 5pm but due to traffic problems the journey from the last venue took longer than he thought. A couple of hours later he arrived and went straight into a private concert for me and the sound check man.

Dean sang four songs including Company on the guitar and Woman of Mine on the piano. He allowed me to get really close in and was happy for me to click away as much as I needed. His big hit single was Lucky Stars which got to number 1 and his album Well, Well Said The Rocking Chair was only kept of the top spot by the Grease soundtrack.
It was great to meet him and talk for a while before the show.

I played the kids the greatest hits album and they really liked the songs particularly the uptempo numbers. They like anything uptempo. It is a licence to jump around like madmen and jump off the sofa, legs and hands in a star jump until they crash into something which puts an end to it all very quickly.

Proper(ty)

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:02:00 +0000

Welcome to all new followers. Its great to see the blog, which has been sadlly neglected in favour of work over the last 2 weeks and therfore more time to take photographs (properly), going from 3 followers to over 60 in the last few weeks.

I am sorry but I could not resist sharing this with you and it is a great reminder to us all about the golden rules of wedding photography or any photography for that matter................Plan. Plan. Plan. Review. Plan Plan Plan. Review.

UK (or is that uck) Wedding Photographer gets sued by couple
Click on the link.

From BBC website http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8292164.stm

The memorable shots from Marc and Sylvia Day's wedding are unusual, to say the least. Decapitated guests, a ceremony hardly visible through the gloom, and random close-ups of... not the bouquet, or a snatched kiss, but of carriage wheels.

The three-year-old bridesmaid - caught in one snap without her clothes on - could have done a better job.

The Days are so upset that they've taken their photographer to court for breach of contract over the £1,450 photo and video package.

But how hard can it be to get great shots at a happy occasion, where everyone is dressed up in picturesque locations? Most guests bring along their own cameras, after all.

Harder than it looks, says Paul Cudmore, a past winner of Wedding Photographer of the Year, who has been in the business for 18 years.

"It's all about emotions and capturing emotions. And obviously you've got to look out for vans driving past in the background."

A guest told me that at the last wedding she went to, the photographers were blowing whistles at them
Paul Cudmore

The secret is in the planning - knowing what the bride and bridegroom want, who will be there, where the best locations are.

Then there are the timings.

"Brides are always late arriving, so you have perhaps four or five minutes to get shots you'd normally spend an hour on.

"And brides and grooms - most of whom haven't been married before - don't realise that it can take quarter of an hour for people to leave the church and assemble for photos. I've had reception venues phoning me to ask where everyone is."

Most tricky of all is the group shot most couples want, if not for themselves, then for Mum and Dad, Auntie Mabel, and their grandparents.

To get that many people to stand in the right place, to look in the right direction - and to smile at the right time - can be like herding cats.

"It's all about communication, making the guests and the wedding party feel relaxed and happy," says Mr Cudmore. "At one wedding, a guest told me that at the last wedding she went to, the photographers were blowing whistles at them."

Neil Thayer, a wedding photographer based in Bath, says it's the photographer's job to keep everyone happy.

"It's like getting all your family together at Christmas - some people don't get on, there are husbands and wives who have split up and come together for this big set-piece. There can be a lot of tension. On one job I was on, there was very nearly a fight."

And even if fisticuffs aren't on the horizon, many of those being photographed simply want to crack on with the celebrating. They complain that the photos are taking too long, and itch to get off to the bar.

How does Mr Thayer keep things moving along, and still get the right shots? "I never stop talking to people, even if it's making silly jokes. I always make sure I work with the ushers, and know their names - because they will know the names of the people I don't."

Then there are the naturalistic reportage shots popular with couples today. The only trouble is, people often freeze when they sense a camera lens pointing in their direction.

"They stop, crack a smile, then say 'Are you finished?' I say yes, they breathe a sigh of relief, relax, and start talking and laughing again. I keep shooting," says Mr Thayer.
A professionally-taken photo of a wedding cake with two grooms
There's more to it than fancy kit

Both live in fear of mechanical failure, whether it's a camera card corrupting (which happened once to Mr Cudmore) or car trouble (Mr Thayer locked his keys in the boot and almost missed the reception).

"I always take two cameras and three or four lenses," says Mr Thayer.

"You've got to have back-up kit - I always take double. And I always pack a needlework kit in my bag in case of accidents," adds Mr Cudmore, who often finds himself helping to tie cravats and advising relatives on which side of the church to sit.

And if there are small children involved?

"So many people tell them 'you've got to be good, you've got to smile'. Then these little four and five-year-olds build up this big worry. I tell them 'we're going to have lots of fun, the bride will look like a princess and you'll be helping her'."

His advice for choosing a photographer for the big day? "Look at their portfolio and make sure it is all their own work."

Something to Fall Back On

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:45:00 +0000

These are the links to 2 of the many pages on the BBC website with my reportage pictures. The first is Inspire Day. This is a day spent with professional musicians and classical music composers teaching, coaching, encouraging and inspiring young composers. Some of whom composed the Fanfare that was used in this years Last Night of the Proms 2009.

The next is from Indian Voices in the Park. I have a blog on this already here.

It is "Something to Fall Back On" when I do not have too much time to blog. Busy with more portraits this week and the builders are starting work too.

WE had a great family day out for Eli's 5th Birthday. Howletts Wildlife Park and then Fish and Chips in a full force gale overlooking the offshore wind farms at Herne Bay. It was what he wanted to do, it must be great being five.

I Saw the Light (ing Diagram)

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:49:00 +0000

Lighting Diagrams

Following on from the wedding that I recently shot I have been working with actors photographing head shots. When work has cooled down a little I will post more about the wedding shoot and the head shots. But a little gem of a design from a neighbour of mine London photographer NGUYEN DINH Quoc-Huy will help make life easier when it comes to planning your next model shoot or actor head shots.

I have also discovered he runs workshops and The London Photographic Meetup Group Unfortunately I cannot go to the meet on Saturday because it is my little boy's 5th birthday weekend. Football on Saturday and his birthday on Sunday. I'm taking my little boy to play football!

September Rain

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:30:00 +0000

Sweet September rain, my life as a domestic dad takes a new turn this week when both of my children will be at school. No more nursery school, no more pre-school, no more last minute child care helpers (almost), they both are at proper school.

For nearly 4 years I have been looking after my little boy and for the last 3 trying to get the photography business off the ground. What a happy day. But certainly there will be a tear or too, won't there?

I guess the business is taking off. A very busy summer (where did it go, this was supposed to be an August post) with concerts, education projects, workshops, theatre projects, weddings and portraits.

The above picture is from a beautiful wedding, just shot last week. Its also the first wedding to be posted on the new site www.portraitwedding.co.uk

This new site is still being worked on and older wedding portfolios will need to be loaded on to it. I think it gives a clearer message about Portraits & Weddings and is able to focus on this alone. The sister site www.simonjayprice.com will continue with the music and arts photographs.

I will post more on the learning's from shooting the wedding soon. I am beginning to learn more about the limitations of even off camera Canon Speedlites particularly in a fast moving and ever changing light situation and like Syl Arena at Pixsylated am going to make it a mission to find out more about how to get the best out of them.

Get ready for school. Yes a tear will be shed.

Prana

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 10:17:00 +0000

Indian Voices in the Park

Indian Voices in the Park. A few images of groups and portraits from Sunday 16th August 09 Hyde Park in London. I was the official photographer.

Free performances of folk music and dance from Rajasthan (including ghoomer dance) and Gujarat (including ras and garba dances). The day was sunny and half of the canvas stage (without lights) was in the shade the other in bright white light. So some obstacles to overcome. I compensated for some bight light by using an (on camera flash...sorry to strobists) this was stopped down 1 or 2 stops and helps maintain a natural skin tone without blowing out all the highlights completely.

The canvas tent actually helped with shielding and filtering light onto the musicians and dancers and this had the effect of using reflectors and screens and gave me a nice light around peoples faces without any harsh shadows. So once under the shade of canvas I did not use flash and tended to use the lenses open to f2.8 and a relatively fast shutter for the dancers and kept that setting for the musicians.

A welcome to the new blog followers. The last week or so has seen me do 3 shoots with more coming up so not so much time to blog or post images to facebook etc.

A funny story to tell you about my little boy. When driving to a job last week with my wife and family in the car we were listening to The Archers (A radio programme about country folk in the made up village of Ambridge, its been going for 40 years).

My wife repeated the story line "Oh No, Jezza has slit up with Annette" my little boy as quick as a flash said " A net what sort of net, fishing net, a goal net, Mummy how do you split up with a net?"

He didn't like it when we couldn't stop laughing.

It's Different for Girls

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:04:00 +0000

In between shooting for theatre's and the Proms I managed to take the children to the park for a summer holiday meet up with some of their class mates. We had a great time and it actually quite relaxing to listen to the kids scream and shout and hit each other with sticks.

I suppose this was because I was able to sit back, eat picnic, and listen to the mums being extraordinarily candid about their builders and golf partners. Later, to rescue me, another domestic dad turned up later with his children. It really is quite revealing what other people talk about when they are relaxed too.

One mum mentioned that a certain builder was worth hiring because of his amazing six pack and tattoos. Another then said that she had hired the same builder earlier in the year but didn't get to see the tattoos because it was winter time and too cold for the poor old builder to take his shirt off. She was invited to tea to see the new extension in progress.

Whilst playing golf another mum mentioned she got lucky and was able to do a round with a 19 year old teen boy/man. Apparently most of the other women at her golf club were jealous to which the mum replied "Most of them were so old that being jealous was all they could manage."

Obviously I have changed, not mentioned names but.... I might later.
Also I have slightly exaggerated.

The picture is from the Piano Circus workshop at the RCM on Sunday 9th August. I also took pictures of the world famous Labeque Sisters that day too.

Past (Happy Anniversary)

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:41:00 +0000

The Play of the Weather by John Heywood
10 actors in 30 minutes all to look different. Shot in the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace, near London. I was not allowed to take pictures of the Tapestries which are second only to the Crown Jewels in value. Light stands also not allowed so flash units were placed on tables and floors, not ideal but some good results.

RSC Director Gregory Thompson directed performances of a play originally commissioned and performed for Henry VIII's court.

These performances are a collaboration between Historic Royal Palaces and Oxford Brookes University and are funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The play is part of a series of events at Hampton Court Palace to celebrate 500 years of "our 'enry" (Henry VIII) getting on the throne.

Whilst posting this blog and making the very quick montage the children have been making a hole in the fence to let the cats go in and out because it's cruel to make them jump up.

The children are now expert fence painters and repairers.

Find A City

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 16:27:00 +0000

A project I have been thinking about for a while was to add another strand to the website. I have also been thinking for sometime about launching some street photography pictures that have been taken over the last year. So now I have a STREET portfolio on my website, Street Slideshow here.

Most of the pictures were taken in winter time and I have concentrated the photography on mostly little known areas of London or chosen pictures that give impressions of lives on the move and solitary city life.

I will keep the Street project and develop it to the next level which will involve contacting magazines and getting a press release out, I know someone who can help with that (PR Wife).

Another projects are also knocking on the door and I look forward to letting the cat out of the bag soon.

The children are busy colouring in books in the garden, it is school holidays and they are with me most of the time. Oh I have just looked out of the office and the colouring in seems to have gone out of the window and the mini Olympics have started with pencils being thrown like javelins and cases being hurled (at each other) like shot puts and discus.

I go to break up the fight.

Telegraph Sam

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 11:00:00 +0000

On Saturday 11th July one of my pictures from the BBC SO Out & About day in London was printed in the Daily Telegraph Review section. From today it is also in Telegraph online.
This was used to illustrate the story by Ivan Hewitt about the BBC Family Orchestra.

Family Orchestra Daily Telegraph

Born to Synthesize

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:25:00 +0000

Last week I was Out & About with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. They were playing in quartets, quintets, family orchestras, young musicians and full orchestra all over London. On what turned out to be the hottest day of the year (so far). I started photographing at St Pancras International early in the morning and then I took in The Natural History Museum, Hammersmith and Westfield.

The shoot was great fun and I managed to get some great shots of all venues and groups including a set of pictures about the Family Orchestra that may get into the Daily Telegraph Newspaper on July 11th.

And the children want to go on holiday again (we just got back from Scotland where I was shooting a wedding and a holiday after). They would like to go to the city where there is the world biggest water slide. "We saw it on the telly DAD" It happens to be the new Barclaycard ad. I haven't yet broken their hearts and told them it is only CGI and not real.

Number One Lowest Common Denominator

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:38:00 +0000

Some very quick links, known also as Speedlinks.
There is news from my website with new publicity material that I photographed added, myspace updates and the Wisley Music Festival

http:www.rhs.org.uk/whatson/gardens/wisley/wisley-music-festival-home.htm

http://www.simonjayprice.com/news13279.html

http://www.simonjayprice.com/news13275.html

How About A Little Fanfare

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:13:00 +0000

It has been five long years in the wilderness, but today Wolverhampton Wanderers (my hometown team) were promoted to the best football (soccer) league in the world. Yes, The Wolves will be in The Premiership again next year.

To celebrate I have posted pictures of Derek Dougan who sadly died last year and Steve Bull (left) both prolific goal scorers for The Wolves.

This is something the team has not had since Steve retired a few years ago. Now we have a goal machine called Sylvan Ebanks Blake. His 25 goals this season have helped us get to the top of the league and stay there for 7 months.

Gaining promotion is a massive relief for a Wolves fan. Most of us have revelled in the odd victory but the nearly moments, finishing outside the play off places twice, getting to the play offs and then losing to our arch rivals, were for crying about.

Something really special happened today.
Yes, I opened a page on MySpace. here is the link: http://www.myspace.com/simonjayprice

Fair Warning

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:45:00 +0000

The other day the children and I took advantage of the fact that we can now all ride bikes without stabilizers and that it was sunny to go on a 2 miles round trip to the local tea room on the village green. This trip was in celebration that work is at long last slowly coming in. I have repeat business and a couple of weddings to mark on the calendar.

The children had juice, crisps and iced gems and I had coffee and cake.

Whilst the children were playing the ladies who serve were talking about the good weather and how much they admired one of the weather girl presenters on the local news. Apparently this weather girl (Caddy) speaks nicely, has a cheery disposition and you never quite know what she is going to say.

She is better than the other weather girl (Kate) who drawls and is not understood at all. The ladies who serve say that the BBC should chose the weather girls because of their personality and voice. I can think of a few more assets that they might be chosen on, even my wife comments on it.

My daughter was not privy to the conversation but told me some interesting facts about wind and the reason that she wears pants in bed is to make her farts less smelly because it cannot get through the fabric to wake her up when asleep.

I blame the mother.

Open Your Eyes

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:20:00 +0000

For some time now Eli has been saying that he is scared to go to bed because of the eyes in the garden. He showed me yesterday when it was dark and of course I said that I could not see them.

"Over here, you have to come down here to see them ". Getting low at the french window, or as double glazing sales people call it a combination door, I could see what he was talking about.

"What is it"? both my children cry.
"It's a mystery, I will have to get the torch and go outside and investigate".
"Ooooooo"

Before I took the torch we tried a few experiments involving the explanation of reflections and turning lots of lights in different rooms on and off.

First we tried turning off some of the lights in the lounge but the "eyes" were still there. Then we turned all the lights off in the lounge so that it was very dark and still the "eyes" were there. "They are still there" shouted the children.
This is where I explained about reflections and that the eyes in the garden were a light somewhere shinning on something in the garden.

So we tried the lights in the kitchen and turned them off. "Daddy, Daddy it's gone the eyes have gone" they shouted. "Where have they gone dad". This is where I explain again more carefully about reflections and the fact that the "eyes" have not really gone anywhere because they were just a reflection on something in the garden and if I turn the light on again they will appear again.

"Daddy they are back, what are they, is it a ghost and they're moving".

"Its just a reflection look if I turn the light off it will go away"

"Daddy they have gone, where have they gone, the ghost has gone"

"It is not a ghost it is just a reflection".

"Go outside and see dad"

This is the bit where I am reminded about the "eyes" that pop out and say "hello" to the unbelieving parent in the old 'Amityville Horror' film after denying the existence of ghosts to her son.

I grab the torch with great bravado and again tell the children not to worry because it is just a reflection and that it is just the kitchen light shining on something. I moved push along cars, tractors and piles of plastic chairs and finally the "eyes" went.

"Dad, they've gone, where have they gone, will the ghost come back" they shout from the back door.

No it was just a refection and now I have moved everything out of the way it will not come back. And then I see it a pair of red eyes shining at me as I point the torch down the garden. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

It was just a fox.

All Jacked Up

sjpphotography@btinternet.com (Simon Jay Price) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:09:00 +0000

This is a picture of a Hot Wheels car that I did a set up product shot for. This picture was taken using two off camera wireless flash, a dark background and a sheet of dark gel to give the reflection. The flash guns had to be angled to shoot over the car so that they did not leave flare on the acetate.

This is one from a set of five that were done for my little boys birthday a few months ago. In fact I have so much to catch up on that I probably will be visiting older photos and sessions to illustrate the blog. This is mainly due to the fact that I had pneumonia and it put me out of action for nearly two months. Getting better now though.

The children during this time have been really good and just getting on with it and helping out.

From laying the table for breakfast, lunch and dinner to taking the vegetable peel to the compost heap. They have also been getting on with it in other ways too.

Both have now cracked riding their bikes without stabilizers. First Eli did it last week after about 2 goes with me holding on to the back of the bike and he was off. Connie tried really hard to do it too but there were plenty of tears of frustration and throwing the bike down because plainly it was stupid and kept going out of control. Off to Greenwich park yesterday with it's nice wide cycle paths and she cracked it straight away. The only thing is she has not yet worked out how to brake. Watch ooooout!