The Clock Tower Tea Room

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with friends at their tea room near to Hartshill.  It's such a beautiful location and right by the canal bridge on Atherstone Road.  They serve the most delicious food, cakes and cream teas in a relaxed vintage setting.  Well they've offered me some space to exhibit my work on their walls, where all framed prints will be for sale.  So I took the opportunity to make some photographs there for that purpose.  I even went back after dark to take advantage of the full moon.  Here's a small selection of just some of the photographs that I created.

There is also a series that I created whilst following Mike around and walking along the canal in Atherstone and at the same time learning about the history of the area, the Sparkenhoe, the times of Bodeca and has sparked a curiosity that could lead to an almighty project.  I'll share those photographs another time but for now, have a look at last nights work.

Click on each photograph to enlarge.

Missing Street Photography

I'm aching.  My bones are twitching!  My eyes are doing somersaults.  I've been researching some of the most amazing street photographs and it's breaking me.  I just want to get out and do some.  It means taking a trip in to the city so I have more subjects, backdrops and people to work with. 

Just take a look at this absolutely perfectly timed street photograph by IIan Burla...

This sort of a shot is sometimes a once in a lifetime opportunity and requires such speed, skill and observation from the photographer.

The one time I managed to get something close to this is this next photograph that I created in Paris, Montematre, Artistes Square...

So, in light of this affliction, I'm going to plan a day or two in the city, perhaps Birmingham.  Yeah I'll go to Brum, I'm sure I'll find something there.  Just need to be carefull carrying around expensive kit.  I've been there many times and know just what it's like!!!  Perhaps I'll take a friend with me, one with a big stick!

Paul Hands Documentary Photographer - Portfolio

I've been working on my portfolio today and have been adding it as a new page to my website.

My portfolio shows a mixture of social documentary photography, commercial photography, landscape photography, street photography and wedding photography, you can click on this link to see my portfolio here.

Here's just a few photographs taken from my portfolio.  Click on each photograph to enlarge.

Commercial Photography For Business

I work with many different types of businesses across the UK to provide commercial photography to aid the promotion of their businesses.  Sometimes a company can need just head shots of their staff for their website or professional images that show their customers how they do do business.  Commercial photography is the face of your business and customers make their decisions on using a company based on image.  Go to any website and if they don't have good photographs, it doesn't sell them well.  They don't look as professional and leaves the potential customer feeling that their service won't be as good as the company with great looking photographs.

I have a very distinctive style that has been hired by the likes of Coventry City Council, Mode Transport, G. Seller & Sons, North Warwickshire & Hinckley College for a Royal visit from HRH Prince Edward.  

My rates are within the industry guidelines but more importantly, prior to becoming a professional photographer, I have worked commercially in business at senior management level. This makes it easy to do business with me.  

Here is a link that takes you directly to the section of my website that shows you examples of my previous work.

Please get in touch with me if you know that your company needs better photography for your website and marketing materials.

The Knitters

I'm creating a photo documentary on the community around Hinckley called 'The Knitters'.  The name was used by the local football team, Hinckley United.  It's coined from the history of the towns main industry, Hosiery.  My project is under scrutiny as it's towards my FMP and contributing a large proportion towards the grading, for my degree in photography.

Here's just a couple of my favourites from the project so far.  There's plenty more shoots coming up for this but here's a midway look at how it's coming along.

Click on each image to enlarge.

The Studio is almost finished and ready for new clients

We've been working really hard on getting the studio ready.  We've just got a small kitchen unit to build and fit and put some prints and canvasses up on the walls, then we're ready to open the doors.  We can still do portraits now as you will see in the photos below.  

I'm also including the very first photo of the studio so you can see how much hard work we've put in to making the studio a place to make fine art.  

We should also have our branding, packages and pricing structure ready this week, so we welcome any enquiries from now.

You can click on these links to see our websites (which open in a new window) for the following specialist areas; 

Fine Art Newborn Photography

Fine Art Pet Pawtraits

Fine Art Adult and Family Portraits

Fine Art Wedding Photography

Commercial and Documentary Photography on my own website.

Here's some photographs of how our studio looks now and one of how dirty and down trodden the space looked before we got our hands on it (click on each image to enlarge).


The Visitors...

...have been watching us for Thousands of Years.  They arrived in their flying machines and flattened the Earths natural habitat.  Humans were caged and kept as mice.  Life as we knew it had changed forever.  The Visitors were impossible to defeat with technology far more superior to ours.

Only messing!  The weekend is finally here, after a hard week.  I've been out on several location shoots this week. Both night and day.  The recent night shoot, I went with my mate Charlie Shelton who's just beginning to discover his love for creating photographs.  It was a good laugh and and a bit hair raising too.  We ended up at Greenhaven Woodland Burial Ground but got spooked by some unexplainable flapping around in the hedge rows.  Here's my series from this night shoot with the theme of The Visitors.

I've not been out on as many shoots as I'd like to have but let this be the beginning of a very active year with my camera.

Click on each image to enlarge.

Retirement, what must you have experienced by the time you get there?

 All of my working life, I've heard the men and women that I've met along the way, talk about how much they're looking forward to retiring from work.  Most people plan on enjoying retirement and hope that they can save enough money to keep them for their remaining years.  For some it becomes a worry and for others they just take it in their stride.

 It's led me to think about it in a deeper way and to explore what it must feel like.  I invited some pensioners  in to my rural portrait studio to chat with them and make a touching photograph of them, one that captured the very essence of thought.  

Some of the stories were heart breaking and some were filled with a zest for life.

 One couple were due to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in The Maldives. They'd traveled there for the last 7 years but this trip was going to be so special until they learned that their daughter had cancer.  It must tear them up inside and you could see the pain in their eyes.  Another couple had experienced real physical trauma.  The husband had a stroke during love making and hasn't been the same since.  One lady lost her husband just a few years prior to retirement, scuppering all of their long made plans.

 So in essence, most people look forward to retirement but it doesn't come with out flaws. Getting there is exciting but when you finally make it, you will have experienced so much during your time here and perhaps become apprehensive once it arrives as you enter the latter stages of your life.  

Click on each image to enlarge.


A Small and Proud Moment

I'm very proud to have been selected for one of my street photography images that has been picked to appear in an International Online Gallery.

A collaborative effort led by American Barbara Peacock is rising with increasing popularity.  They have a social platform on Facebook filled with some of the best Street Photographers from all over the World.

Of all the people to have made it in to this gallery is little old me from Hinckley in the middle of England.  It's a proud moment for me.

You can view the gallery by following this link

This is my image, click on it to enlarge.