Cape Town - Reflections

Recent shoot in Cape town…well, West of Cape Town to be precise, in the rolling sand dunes that dot the area inland from the coast. Sometimes you get an idea in your head and for this one I just wanted to build a huge massive mirror box. 

The sand dunes are protected from an environmental perspective so shooting on them comes with a number of restrictions and safeguards to ensure nature is protected. Shifting a huge and heavy box of mirrors around also involves jumping over some rather large logistical hurdles, including using specialist sand vehicles to move around the undulating dunes.

The wind on the southern cape can be fierce, so we shot at first light before the breeze had time to pick up. I wanted to create lifestyle images with an edge. A nod to tech, a nod to fashion but most importantly just something that stopped people in their tracks. The interplay between the blue of the sky, reflected in the mirror and the blue styling palette. 

I have included a few from the final set and behind the scenes below. You can see the full lifestyle set HERE.

Business Wales

Ever tried to set up a boxing ring on-top of a Welsh mountain during a weather warning for an advertising photography shoot? You haven't lived. 

Shot for Business Wales at a number of locations across Wales…from aforementioned windy rain soaked hilltops to rather more pleasant restaurants in Cardiff. 

The aim of the advertising shoot was to promote the range of help offered by the Welsh government to the full spectrum of businesses sectors that operate in the country.

Award Win

Last year I was named Food Photographer of the Year for my work on candy floss sellers in India at the Pink Lady Awards. Here are just some of the over 170 articles and press pieces featuring the work. Everything from The BBC, Der Standard, TimeOut to Bored Panda. Kudos to the food awards team. Lovely to win this award, even more pleasing when I consider myself an advertising and lifestyle photographer rather than a food photographer.

Here is a link to the full set: The Candy Men

Asahi Rugby World Cup

Some new advertising work for Asahi…. Travelling to Paris to shoot the Stade de France, and then back to London to shoot the rugby ball and bits. The whole image then came together in post, as these things so often do.

We’ve seen this all over London on bus stops, in train stations, and then in the supermarket on packaging, a real cross-platform campaign.

Shokz - Headphone Lifestyle Shoot

Some new lifestyle work for headphone brand Shokz. The headphones sit outside of the ear allowing you to hear the music without shutting off all external environmental noise. Kind of neat. The client wanted a range of lifestyle photography, showcasing the product but also alluding to the transformative design features. 

We shoot at a number of location sites across London - from a disused shopping mall to the roof at Big Sky. As a lifestyle photographer I love capturing the moment so I like to shoot in a simple, nimble way; capturing those little moment in between.  

TAG Heur

Just wrapped up an exciting and adrenaline-fueled photoshoot for TAG Heuer, featuring the incredible Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

I had the honor of capturing some truly dynamic shots of these two Formula 1 superstars for the renowned watch brand. 

One of the unique challenges we faced was the tight timeline. We had to meticulously plan the shoot and rehearse ahead of time. Shooting with multiple setups inside one studio complex.  Thanks to the incredible professionalism and dedication of the entire team, we managed to make every moment count in a very tight 1 hour window per driver.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were not only consummate professionals but also incredibly down-to-earth individuals. Their willingness to collaborate added an extra layer of authenticity to the final images.

I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to TAG Heuer for trusting me with this fantastic project - as an advertising photographer - it was an incredible experience to work with such a prestigious brand and showcase their iconic timepieces alongside two of the world's greatest racing talents.

The images are now out in the real world;  launched at the Monaco Grand Prix as part of a new collection, representing the remarkable partnership between TAG Heuer and the world of Formula 1.

Grolsch

Here is a recent shoot for global beer brand Grolsch. Shot in London the company wanted an entire bank of images that they could use across a wide range of platforms from out of home advertising in North America to a website refresh. Keen to push the beer's association with live music we spent a huge amount of time reccying London's live music venues to find the perfect location …..and then essentially putting on a gig. Shot over two long days at two locations. As a lifestyle photographer working in advertising all the elements are controlled but it's then a matter of allowing and coaxing those genuine moments of interaction to occur.

Win

Delighted to share this press release: 

An intensely powerful portrait, The Candy Man, by UK photographer Jon Enoch, has won the overall prize of Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2023, the world’s leading celebration of the art of food photography and film.

The photograph was taken in the streets of western Mumbai near the candy floss-selling grounds of the beaches and fairs. It is part of a wider series of images of the sellers, which capture the unique ways used to display the candy goods in the hope of attracting a buyer.

“This is a magnificent picture,” says Caroline Kenyon, Founder, Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year. “For me, it evokes the great late 18th and early 19th century portraits of Reynolds and Gainsborough - the gaze, the full-length figure, the subject’s position in the frame. The man in the picture may have a humble way of life, touting his wares of toxically-coloured candy floss, but he himself is splendid. Dignified, confident, direct, he is anyone’s equal in a society riven with division and caste differences. This image shows us beautifully the universal truth, we are all the same.”

“I’m ecstatic to receive this award, it's a real honour to get this recognition in such a prestigious competition laden with wonderful imagery,” says Enoch. “The winning image was part of a personal project - a huge amount of time and thought went into capturing it so it's great to be recognised by such an esteemed panel of judges. Ever since I first saw the candy floss sellers I was drawn to the shapes, colours and juxtaposition of the candy and the urban environment.”

The winners of the 36 categories were announced by acclaimed chef, author and television presenter, Nadiya Hussain MBE, in an exciting Awards ceremony at BAFTA, London on Tuesday 16 May 2023. The announcement was also streamed on the competition’s YouTube channel and was watched by an audience across the globe. 

This year’s global judging panel, tasked with assessing the thousands of entries submitted from over 65 countries across the world, was chaired by legendary food photographer, David Loftus, and included: Fiona Shields, Head of Photography, Guardian News & Media, Chef Ian Kittichai, Restaurateur, Author & TV Host, Ella Ravilious, Curator, The V&A Museum, Nik Sharma, Cookbook author, Photographer, Columnist and Rein Skullerud, Senior Photographer, Photo Editor at the United Nations World Food Programme. 

The exhibition of the 2023 Finalists will be premiering at The Royal Photographic Society, one of the world’s oldest photographic societies, in Bristol. The exhibition runs from Saturday 20th May. 

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Here are a few of the wonderful bits of press coverage the win has received including from The BBC, Guardian and China Daily. I see myself as an advertising and lifestyle photographer but food is such a large part of the human experience its impossible to work as a photographer and not shoot it.  

Too Good To Go

I love working for purpose driven brands and none come with greater ambition than Too Good To Go. The company matches consumers with restaurants and grocery stores to sell unsold food.

A technology company at heart, it operates across Europe and North America to tackle the enormous issue of food waste. Up until this point a lot of stock imagery had been used, leading to a fragmented style. We shot a bespoke collection of images and video to place the consumer at the heart.

Working with their wonderful in-house team, we shot in London. Creating lifestyle photography assets with a fresh spring feel (despite shooting in London in March) to serve their consumers in a wide range of territories. 

Sports Shoot

Some images from a recent week-long commission. Shot in a studio, well room, converted into a studio.  We had an ever revolving cast of sportsmen and women to shoot. The models were all excellent - you can really tell the difference between someone who knows a sport and someone who really knows a sport. Stills don't leave anywhere to hide. Casting is critical. 

I wanted to create a slightly gritty feel - not overly messed around with or reliant on post to create the images. A strong directional top light filled from the front and clipped from the back but this sort of lighting means the sweet spot is narrow - the difference between an image looking amazing and rubbish is a few inches so you really have to shoot through the arch of motion. So we shot lots. Sorry Macbook. A dream commission for a advertising photographer.

Stoke City

A lovely shoot here for Stoke City’s new kit launch. The 3 kits are interchangeable allowing fans to pair different short, shirt and sock combinations - resulting in……errr…loads and loads of end combinations.

We spent a couple of days up in Stoke using the team’s indoor astro training pitch to shoot. Like all team kit launches there was an element of secrecy so we had to hang large black drapes around the shooting area to prevent anyone from getting a peek. Using fast flash, we were able to capture a range of dynamic moves and shapes which were then stitched into the end image. The list of deliverables was long with various shapes and sizes need; everything from a huge window in the stadium to upright aisle ends in the club shop. Little BTS video at the end too…

Every One's Turf

A fun campaign shot in the studio - capturing some of the joy of a day at the races. With bold block styling and lighting to give the images punch, the strong graphical design of the campaign was at the heart of how we approached the shoot.

Dr Hannah Fry - World Gold Council - AKQA

Mathematician, author and broadcaster, Dr Hannah Fry, shot here as part of a recent commission for the World Gold Council. These stills were to accompany a wide ranging documentary series, which Fry presented, exploring the vast and various ways gold is used…from race cars to telecommunications. As a portrait photographer I love the challenge of working around film projects - utilising moments between takes to capture stills and having a highly tested lighting structure that talent can jump into at a moments notice.

Molly Renshaw - Swimming

A recent shot of olympic swimmer Molly Renshaw in action in the pool. Shot in a freezing (almost literally) unheated pool in South London just before christmas. A rather complex lighting set up to colour the water and freeze the motion. A touch shoot as in water time was very limited for fear of death by frost bite. below are also some behind the scenes images of the set up. As a sport portrait photographer i love these kind of shoot: where the technical mixes with the conceptual. Big thanks to Molly who needed to stand under the hot showers for about 40 minutes after the shoot to regain use of her fingers.

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Daniel Ricciardo - McLaren

Was lucky enough to spend the day at McLaren with Daniel Ricciardo. Shooting for new sponsors Party Casino. For anyone who follows F1, Ricciardo is exactly how you would expect him to be and how he appears on screen. As a sport portrait photographer I have shot sports stars from every discipline and Ricciardo was a joy to work with.

Shallow

I was in the studio recently just adding some image to the portfolio. I had an oldish image (the man in glasses) and wanted to create a slightly wider set around that style. Shooting ultra shallow at f1.2 and using continuous lighting to get a very specific look and feel. As a portrait photographer its vital to always find some time to play and experiment - you don’t get much time to do that on commissioned shoots.

Huel

Been enjoying shooting for Huel of late. It's always great to work for a brand you love. Shooting lifestyle imagery for a whole host of uses; showcasing their entire product range. For those not familiar with the brand Huel is a nutritionally complete meal replacement. I have included a very small selection of some of the hundred of images I have shot for them over a few days of shooting in London. The images are predominantly lifestyle and shot as people go about their everyday lives. Below are a selection of some if the lifestyle images produced for them.

Huel shoot in Herne Hill * not my copyright

ASOS

Lovely shoot I shot over the summer for ASOS. The ASOS design team created Paralympics GB’s opening and closing ceremony looks. Our focus for the shoot was all about what it means to be *extra* and how each athlete goes the extra mile in everything that they do. As a portrait and lifestyle photographer is was great working with sporting talent Ashley Facey-Thompson, Amy Conroy, and Thomas Hamer.  

St. James Quater

Some new work shot up in Edinburgh for the newly opened St.James Quater. The 1 billion pound, 850,000 square foot development houses retail and lifestyle attractions as well as residential. The building is home to a new W Hotel which provides previously unseen views of the city. The unique swirl shape of the building providing a new shape to the famous skyline. As a lifestyle photographer it was a great fun shoot up on the high roofs - and the weather played ball too.

Lifestyle Tech - London

A recent shoot for consumer electronics brand Mobvoi showcasing their new TicWatch.

Shooting with numerous models in numbers locations across the city to capture the wide versatility and features of the watch. We shot some sports set ups as well as more everyday, out and about, life in the city concepts. A classic lifestyle shoot, we used a nimble team to work quickly maximising the end options for the client.