Without doubt this is an opportunity NOT to miss where you’ll be spending 2 Photography and Photoshop packed days learning ‘hands on’ the lighting and editing techniques from one of ‘the’ best in the business.

With just over 4 weeks to go spaces are extremely limited so don’t delay, head over to Calvin’s blog for more details [Link] and I look forward to seeing you there at what promises to be an incredible weekend.

One more thing…
If you want to know more about Calvin check out his Guest Interview here on the blog [Link] where you’ll soon see why he’s in demand the world over!

Enjoy

ps> We’ve created a Facebook Event page especially for Calvin’s Workshop which you can check out here [Link] plus you can also check out the studio blog where the Workshop will be hosted here [Link]

So what is the Curry Club?
Just a group of like minded friends looking for an excuse for a regular get together, a catch up and of course a curry and give or take the odd month this we’ve made a point of doing on a regular basis.

Combining studio time and a curry was Noel’s (top right) idea, so seeing as that was the case he lead from the front and organised the first ‘Studio Day’ which carried with it the theme of ‘Film’ … but more on that later

Noel did a cracking job of organising the day with military precision which included the models and a delicious buffet lunch prpeared by his lovely wife Catherine. Three models came along for us to shoot: Elan & Rhianne both young Actors going through drama school and Loula Red who is very new to modelling. All came along at their own expense on a T.F.P. (Time for Prints) basis and were great fun to shoot, which was exactly what the day was all about…having fun

Anyway, here’s a few of my shots from the time spent in the studio …
Later in the week I’ll put a post together to show all the lighting set ups that I used for each shot along with a run through of some of the editing in both Lightroom and Photoshop to finish the images off…

Couldn’t resist the opportunity to take some ‘character’ shots of Elan…the ‘Man of a Thousand Expressions‘ and a total blast to have infront of the camera

It was great having Loula along for the day with her look being a complete contrast to Elan & Rhianne which gave the opportunity to make pictures with a completely different feel…

B.T.S. (Behind The Scenes)
From Left to Right we have Dave Clayton (@NAPPMEMBER_UK) photographing Elan, Brian Worley (@p4pictures) photographing Rhianne and then there’s Noel (@Noel_Hannan) photographing Lou and David Kelly (@Norn_Ironman) photographing Elan…

The theme of the day was ‘Film’
So, getting back to the theme of the day…

Originally Noel, as I’ve mentioned, said that the theme of the day was ‘film’ (hence the group portraits at the top) and this could be interpreted however you chose BUT a short while before the studio day he sent out an an email with the following Rules ‘Instructions’ …

Anyway, Rules are Rules …

And of course, being the #curryclub the day wouldn’t have been complete without a visit to a local curry house…

All in all a fab day with lots of laughs, lots of ‘shooting’ and topped off with a delicious curry. HUGE thanks to our models for the day…Elan, Rhianne and Loula…Noel for setting it all up and to his lovely wife Catherine for the food, and of course Gareth for the use of the studio [Link].

Can’t wait for the next one now but the question is though…who’s gonna be hosting it? Guys? Guys?

The Curry Club (From Left to Right)
Dave Clayton (@NAPPMEMBER_UK), Gareth Davies [Link], Brian Worley (@p4pictures), Me, Noel Hannan (@Noel_Hannan) and David Kelly (@norn_ironman)

Not forgetting those members who couldn’t make it this time …
Keith Hammond (@keithhammond), Scot Baston (@scotbaston), Tim Wallace [Link], John Ogden and Alan Brusky (@fireleafdesign)

• • •

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•    •    •

I’m really excited to announce that I’ll be one of the instructors at the very first TipSquirrel Photography Workshop which is to be on Saturday 13th August 2011 at the incredible Peterborough Cathedral.

Along with Photographer and Photoshop Trainer Gavin Hoey and the elusive TipSquirrel himself, I’ll be taking attendees around the Cathedral with an unprecedented ‘Access All Areas’ pass to take photographs of the Cathedral and it’s surroundings, Portraits in locations that you just wouldn’t normally have access to and also some HDR without having to worry about the Tripod Police ‘zip lining’ down from the roof tops.

Full details of the day long workshop can be found on the TipSquirrel.com website at this link.

See you there for a great day of Photography, Photoshop and some laughs along the way,
Glyn

*Note: The workshop is limited to 20 attendees, so to steal a phrase … “Book early to avoid disappointment”

Saturday 24th July 2010 will surely go down in history; a day when 33,000+ photographers in cities around the World took part in Photo Walks. This World Wide Photo Walk was the brain child of best selling author, Photographer & President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (N.A.P.P.) Scott Kelby and is the 3rd of it’s kind.

For those of you who don’t know, the idea of the Photo Walk is to get groups of no more than 50 people together in cities across the world and go on a photo ‘hunting’ exercise for 2 hours; basically a huge social event for anybody interested in Photography from Professionals to folks who use their camera phones. Each of the cities around the world will have a designated leader; someone who has organised and advertised a walk and who’s unenviable task it is then to choose a winning photograph from the day; the winner then being eligible for prizes valued in their £££’s in the overall World Wide Competition.

However it’s so much more than a ‘competition’ as my good friend Scot Baston said…“It’s not about the photography, it’s about the people” and having lead 2 previous walks and experienced the unforeseen benefits, he’s so right.

This year I lead a Photo Walk in Windsor, UK and had a fantastic day with a great bunch of people, great weather and plenty of laughs along the way; and for those who wanted to stay a little longer I put together a ‘mini’ workshop to go through just a couple of lighting techniques too.

I just want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone that came along and took part making the day a success and a big shout out in particular to those of you that had travelled a considerable distance and number of hours to be there; I really do value your friendship and support guys!

So, here’s to the next World Wide Photo Walk…wherever that may be
Enjoy.

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At the time of writing this post there are a few spaces available for the walk that I’m leading in Windsor, UK but if last year is anything to go by then spaces will get limited nearer to the big day. For those of you joining me in Windsor I’ll be sending out an email shortly with a few bits of information for you and also asking for numbers of those who may be wanting to stay around afterwards for something to eat and drink and also join in with the short ‘Lighting Workshop‘ I’ll be running.

Also just to let you know there’s still time to put in an order for one of the Official World Wide Photo Walk T-Shirts from Café Press (approx 3 days delivery time) where 100% of the profit goes to the Springs of Hope Orphanage in Kenya helping to provide vital food and shelter.

So whether you’re joining Mrs D and myself in Windsor or taking part in a Photo Walk elsewhere around the world, have a great time.
Enjoy

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If you’re taking part in the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk this year there’s now an official T-Shirt that you can order from Cafe Press. As you’d expect, a percentage of the profits from T-Shirt sales goes to Charity, but of course the question is how much? Well, to quote from the official Worldwide Photo Walk website:

“Just like last year Towner Jones Photography is helping us sell t-shirts to raise money for the Springs of Hope Orphanage in Kenya.
100% of the profits from the sale of these t-shirts will go to feeding and care for these great kids.”

With shipping and taxes the cost of the T-Shirts works out to $26.99 or roughly £18 so why not order yourself a T-Shirt as a ‘keep sake’ for what is sure to be a Record Breaking Event and at the same time be making a donation to a worthwhile cause

For those of you joining me at the Windsor Photo Walk on July 24th I’ll be updating the page over the coming few days with details of the route, timings plus the start and end points. I’m also looking to get your feedback on a couple of suggestions too such as maybe booking tables at Brown’s Restaurant & Brasserie for a bite to eat and drink and also putting together a Photo Shoot / Workshop for those who would be interested in making more of a day of it.

So if you haven’t already why not sign up and join me at what is sure to be a great day by clicking on this link: www.worldwidephotowalk.com

See you there

UPDATE: Ordered a T-Shirt on Tuesday 8th June 2010 and it arrived Today (Thursday 10th June 2010) … Now that’s good service!!!

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In December of last year I spend some time with some of the bravest and heroic people I have ever had the privilege and honour to meet. I was at Heathrow Airport at the time and met up with a group of 10 soldiers that had returned from active service out in Afghanistan and were flying onwards to family and friends. Each and everyone of them had suffered horrific injuries and indeed it was an absolute miracle that any of them was still alive. I’ll be honest with you and say that I really struggled to fight back the tears when one young guy in particular relayed the story of what had happened to him; I wanted to be strong but clearly the effect of hearing his story showed in my eyes but then he asked me if I was ok…I mean, here’s a 19 year old young man infront of me, wheel chair bound having lost a leg, severely damaged right arm and shoulder and loss of sight in one eye asking me if I’m ok…remembering this still leaves me speechless. However, as they put it, they are the lucky ones because they’re still alive as we know all too well from what seems like daily news reports, soldiers are losing their lives out there.

The reason for this post is to tell you that this week I received a letter from a woman…a mother of a soldier who had served and died on active service out in Afghanistan. Wendy Ellis Stafford is organising a Charity Ball in Support of Help for Heroes to be held on the 10th July 2010 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Marlow, UK which happens to be the anniversary of her son Daniel’s passing. Amongst other fund raising activities on the night an auction is to be held where all the winning bids will also go to the Charity. As a photographer I’ve donated a Photo Shoot to the auction where the highest bidder will join me for a Location Portrait Shoot and also get a framed picture of their choice.

By writing this post I guess I’m really asking ‘is there anything you could offer to the auction?’ Hair stylists, makeup artists, owners of hotels and so on…would any of the people you know be prepared to offer something to be auctioned?

It would be incredible if we could all help raise a significant amount of money for the Help for Heroes Charity so thanks for reading this and as my late Grandad Fred used to say…”If you don’t ask, you don’t get”

Speak soon.

At the party the guys played on an outdoor stage and blasted out sounds faultlessly to hundreds of people. Mick Colley, the bands drummer and a vocalist who originally contacted me, gave me my very own copy of their CD which I’m proud to say looks incredible, and makes me feel very proud to have contributed to.

You can find out more about The Deboanires by visiting their site, and to see some of the images from the shoot and behind the scenes, click here

Enjoy ;o)

July 18th sees Scott Kelby’s 2nd Worldwide Photowalk come to a City in the World near you.

Last year I lead a walk around Windsor, Berkshire and had a blast! Everyone that came along said how much fun it was and what a great social event where lots of new friendships were made as well as some great photographs.

This year I’m going to be leading a Photowalk around Guildford, Surrey between 1pm – 3pm. The finer details such as meeting place and route are yet to be worked out but we have space for 50 people. So why not come along on July 18th and join in; it’s FREE and you get the chance to win some awesome prizes; Digital SLR, Point and Shoot, Camera Phone etc … Everyone is welcome to come along.

To sign up and join us in Guildford simply visit the site and add your details by clicking here.

To find out more about what this massive, Worldwide event is all about, visit the dedicated website by clicking on this link.

* Remember: Only 50 places available so don’t delay, sign up today )

Scott was organising a World Wide Photowalk where photographers would get together for a couple of hours in cities around the world and take photos of whatever took their eye. Not only was this to be a social event, but there were prizes at stake … approximately £5000 worth of prizes. Scott asked if I would head a Photowalk in the UK, and I would guess that after a nano second of giving it some thought I said yes!!!

Anyway, Saturday just passed (23rd August) and we had a blast! The ‘well attended’ Windsor group stealthily (as well as 30 photographers can) made their way around locations within the town centre pointing their cameras in all sorts of directions hoping to create that winning image. After a couple of hours we all met up at Browns Brasserie which looks out onto the Thames, for coffee and lunch with just a few sneak peeks at what each other had taken.

All in all a great couple of hours. Nice to get out and do something completely different, and certainly a great social event where I’m sure alot of new friends and allies have been made. All that remains now is for me to decide on the winning image that will then go forward for the overall prize along with the winning entries from the other 100 or so cities around the world.

The picture of the group below (that’s me kneeling down) was taken by a complete stranger that I coerced into holding my camera … so whoever you were … thanks.