Blackpool Zoo with Talk Photography

So, button-moon (AKA Tracey) over at Talk Photography decided to organise a meet up at Blackpool Zoo last weekend.  The wife and I decided to go along (she'll go to the zoo at the drop of a hat) and take a few pics of the critters darted about their various homes within.

There was about 30 of us that met up, and it was a great day.  The weather was fantastic, and the other folks from the forum were a great bunch of people.

I hadn't had a chance to go through all of my pics from the day yet, although I did shoot quite a few, pretty much all of them with the D300s and the 70-200mm f/2.8VR, although I did break out the Sigma 10-20mm for a few of the ring tailed lemurs and the pelicans.  I even got told I was cheating when I pulled out an SB-900 in the reptile house (it was worth it though after seeing the results). :)

So, here's a few of my images from the day...

As I gradually get time to go through them, I'll be getting more online, and you'll be able to keep updated on the Blackpool Zoo set on my Flickr pool.

Liverpool Group Shoot

So, I made it through another group shoot, this time at VIP Studios in Liverpool.  Another excellent day, and loads of fun with some very cool people.  We all spent the day rushed off our feet, and everybody had such a great (and tiring) day.

It's not often I shoot in a studio (well, not for stills anyway), so I spent a bit of time playing around with beauty dishes, smoke machine and other gear I don't normally use.  Didn't get quite as much time playing with them as I would've liked (well, it was a group shoot, and everybody had to have a go), but it was still a very enjoyable time.

I know I've still not posted up any new pics from the Manchester shoot, but the models are still getting back to me on which they'd like me to edit for their portfolios.  Once they've all chosen, I'll post the finished works on here (although some are already up on my Flickr).

The only image I've really worked on from the Liverpool shoot so far is the one at the top right of this post.  As soon as I saw the frame I had to give this a go, and Marie was such a star reproducing several poses with and without clothes to try to get matching images.  It probably would've been more effective with a smaller frame, so next time we get the chance to shoot together again, we're going to be trying with a smaller frame, perhaps even several frames to make things a little more tricky. :)

A big thank you to Sabrina Atkinson, our MUA/Stylist for the day, she did a fabulous job, and didn't stop all day.  Also a big thank you to Marie, Raj, Ophelia, Kit and Keely, our models, you were all great, and thank you to all the other photographers for showing up and making it a great day for all.

Great day at the Victoria Baths in Manchester

So, Sunday's shoot was great, got to work with some fantastic people (Hi Annmarie, Jade, Jo, Emma, Keighley, Cindy, Sarah, Steve, Jonathan and everybody else I've failed to mention!) during the group shoot organised by TFPModels at the Victoria Baths in Manchester.

Had an absolute blast but was a very very exhausting day, and the temperatures really didn't help, but everybody was so nice and such great fun.  The models were all superstars, braving the cold and struggling to get poses in between big iron pipes, holes in walls and other crazy spots.

I'll be posting up more of the photos as I make my way through them, but here's a few images of the lovely Cindy to tide you over.  It did get awfully cold in those tunnels, and while not officially a part of the outfit, I couldn't resist getting a couple of shots in that big warm coat. :)

Cindy was a pleasure to shoot, and hopefully we'll get the chance to work together again real soon.

Oh, while I've got you here, saw this today, gave me a good chuckle. :)