Happy Father's Day

I picked up and scanned an image from one of my old photo albums today, mindful of the fact that my mum's albums lie patiently below my desk awaiting I pick up the piles of images and scan them into meaningful albums. 

I wish I can find the time to do this, as these photos are obviously very important to myself, as well as my family, but at the moment I just can't find the time.

However on this bleak and quiet June's day in Great Yarmouth I picked up one of my favourite images from the period when Matt was tiny, and scanned it to reveal how age it starting to get to my old 35mm prints.  It's a portrait of Matt with my dad, an image I'm particularly fond of.

I must have used 1600 film for this as it has very strong grain, and although I didn't use to keep notes of my 35mm work I remember I went through a phase of using red filters and high ISO film.  I loved Ilford but this roll was probably FUJI neopan.  Even then I was constantly trying to break the rules and used the red filter for this portrait.  Red filters on B&W were'nt recommended for portrait use as the resultant images were very punchy and contrasty, but in this case I guess I pulled it off well.  

This reminds me I've been a Nikon user for nearly 20 years now, maybe I should publish a small collection of work across the years soon, mindful that my work has been developing over a period of time and that my initial work only had few elements of interest.  

But before any of that, I must get my act sorted and scan all my mum's old albums.  It would be so nice to give my dad an album of his old hillclimbing days, days when he was so heavily engaged in football management, and the images of us growing up... it's his 75th in a couple of months....

In the meantime, a Happy Father's day to all you great dads out dad and particularly to my own dad.  Thank you for being who you are... we learnt so much from the good and less good, and for raising us with the good values that we are now transmitting to others  :) x

Obrigada Ayrton

I find it very difficult to write this post, primarily because it isn't easy for me to explain how much of a positive influence Ayrton Senna has been on my mindset and what inspiration he has been to me for many years.

I write this after having viewed a screening of Senna which troubled me no end as I relived those emotional times and I admit to feeling very surprised to the emotional link that is firmly nailed in my psychology.

I remember the time when we started to read about Senna in Lotus in the Motoring News, which my dad had on order at the local newsagents (only a few copies made their way down to Malta!); motorsport ruled the discussions in the family, dad was still very active in clubs and both my brother and myself had quite serious aspirations to be part of the world, though I was more preoccupied about academic achievements and my brother was busy bolting stuff together in my dad's Elan.

I saw Ayrton as an elder brother sort of figure, very similar in his mannerisms, expression, emotional involvement to us.  I was also greatly impressed by his ability to do things not better, but miles better, than anybody else... I always thought his focus and intensity were the secret to his success and I followed each and every race determined to let the experience influence me.

I could probably write a lot about the subject but I am not sure people will subscribe to my point of view, just because they do not know me well enough in person, and understand how intense a person I am myself and how connected I felt and continued to feel in all this.

I left the cinema yesterday feeling very raw and emotionally shattered.  Some people stared at my face and my bloodshot eyes smeared with mascara.  I was disappointed at the disengagement of the audience, I had half expected some cheering and clapping and the odd person with the Senna T-shirt.  There was none! Silly of me, this is England, this is Norfolk... should I not recall how difficult Ayrton found this county when he left Brazil to join Lotus?  He was branded cold and difficult, just because he was totally in focus and would let nothing come in his way. 

The film is brilliant, with an amount of documentary that has not been seen before and I thorougly recommend it to you if you want an insight into Senna and F1 at the time.  I thought the original documentary for the racing by Globo TV with subtitles in English was a brilliant idea as it transmits the energy and power of the country who looked up to him as he brought a beam of sunlight to the desperation they were living in. Kudos go to Manish Panday and the team that made the film for the intensity and passion that came through the well made documentary.

I would like to show you some clips from Senna which have provided me with inspiration in my personal and professional life, which I have viewed endless times when I felt I was getting nowhere and I could see no clear way forward, and I had to rely on my own personal strenght to move ahead.  This strength actually, probably had little to do with me but with the inspiration that I got from Senna....

Senna talking about the limit from Plamen Simeonov on Vimeo.

I am very lucky to have a friend in Melanie Whiting, as she totally understand my passion and inspiration from Senna.  Melanie Whiting used to lead the Respectfully Ayrton International Network which brought about Senna fans together every year in Australia.  It is great to have friends that share a passion at the same level!  Thank you Melanie!

Just for the point, I don't follow F1 anymore.  I stopped in 94.  I believe motorsport is about the interaction between man and machine, nothing more...

As for me, I respectfully quoting Ayrton... 'there is a lot to go, a lot to learn, a lot to do'

:)

Cupcakes to your Door

Anybody who knows me well is well aware of my passion for good food, so I am very pleased when opportunities arise that allow me to combine my love of photography and food together... :)

Gill Keeble runs a successful business selling lovely cupcakes for all occasions, from birthdays to weddings and as decadent self indulgent treats.  The cupcakes are stylish and decorated with sumptuous quantities of lovely soft icing and it has been a joy for me to photograph (and also eat them on occasion).  My favourites are Gill's wonderful Nutella and Peanut Butter filled cupcakes, designed to be soft and creamy, as well as pretty to look at and wonderful as a gift or tea party addition.

I was asked by Gill to photograph a cake and selection of cupcakes to as she needed images to use for her marketing, and also components of the cupcake kits Gill also supplies through her website.

Armed with my camera kit, an assortment of lovely cakes, some furniture and props, we ventured out into a windy field in the Norfolk coast a few weeks back to grab some delectable images for Gill to use.  The main problem was the sharp cold coast wind, and made it quite uncomfortable to work in at times, and was trying it's best to blow cakes and flowers away :)  Liberal use of elastic bands, ties and blue tack allowed us to proceed without any damage being done and for the cakes to be enjoyed later... :)

 

If you'd like to get in touch with Gill, please have a look at her site here. 

Hope you like the images and look forward to your comments.  Also please add yourself to my facebook page if you haven't done so already.

A lovely week to you all! x

Full post photoshoot with Zaira...

It was only supposed to be a test shoot with budding model Zaira and Millie Rose, a fantastic MUA who recently got in touch with me via my website.  However after three hours of work, which left us all a bit fazed, and some post processing has left me with a good number of photos I am really pleased with.  :)

Although Zaira is new to modelling I found her really easy to work with, and she followed my instructions well.  She is a very pretty model (can I say she resembles Chelsy Davy in some shots?!) and I am sure these images will boost her portfolio no end.

I'm really finding it difficult to choose which images to add to this posting, so it will be slightly longer than my usual blog posts :)

From the technical point of view I solely used natural as well as reflected light in the first set of images and a video light in the set of images in the library (the moodier images).  I used my trusty 50mm 1.4 (I rarely use anything else!!) on my Nikon D700 and shot in Manual in apertures of between F2 to F4.  ISO was between 200 and 3200.

The shoot flowed a treat apart from having to help a pigeon!!  The pigeon flew in through one of the narrow apertures in an open window, and thanks to Zaira's mum and aunt's prompt supply of a coat, we managed to wrap and safely get the pigeon out of the window. Phew!  I had never handled a live pigeon before!!

Many thanks go to Millie Rose who patiently worked before and during the shoot to make sure the make up was perfect.  I will be definitely be working with her again on other projects in the future....

And now for the photos...

Redesign and tidy up!

Hello,

Hope you are all doing well in this lovely long holiday that has given us it's share of history with the wedding of the Century...

It's that time of spring again, and time for a revamp of the blog's look in line with my website. :)

Let me know if you like the new design.  

Hope it will all streamline perfectly with my website in the next few hours... look forward to your comments!

preview post: shoot with Zaira

As time flies and photoshoots come and go, I am struggling with finding time to post to blog.   Not good, I know :(

I will attempt to make up a little by posting a preview shot from a shoot I did last week with stunning local girl Zaira who would like to dip her toes into professional modelling and who wanted some images for her portfolio.

It was merely intended as a test shoot with Zaira and the talented make up artist Millie Stammers, but a few dress changes later and some pigeon catching (long story!) later we came up with some wonderful shots. :)

Just one for you for now... more soon! ;)

Full post Silver Clay Designs Shoot

As promised, here is my full post from the shoot for Silver Clay Designs.  Elaine Martin discovered silver clay work whilst on holiday in Jersey six years ago and has not looked back since. She says "Since then it has become a major factor and influence in my life: enabling me to express myself through the media of silver and glass; sharing my skills with others; and now developing these into a creative and satisfying business"

I was asked to shoot a portfolio of work for Elaine, with an emphasis on connecting her work with nature, which is what inspires her work.

The portfolio work was shot over a couple of sessions, both in a studio setup and also on location, using a wooded area and the beach to convey a sense of being into the jewellery.  The following are some of my favourites from the portfolio.

You can find Elaine's website here.  Apart from designing and making wonderful jewellery items, she also teaches silver clay jewellery work, so do contact her if you would like to learn this wonderful craft.

Meanwhile please leave your comments on the images... I would love to know what you think!

Ciao! x

Preview post for Silver Clay Designs shoot

Hello everybody, a quick preview post today from a recent jewellery shoot I did for Elaine Martin's company, Silver Clay Designs Elaine is one of the clients I am building a business portfolio for and her brief for this shoot was for me to capture the style and beauty of the jewellery from within its inspiration - nature.

The images were shot on the beach and in the woods on the East Suffolk Coast.  In this particular image, I have used the shadows in the undergrowth to highlight the shine of the silver and the shapes of the leaves and curvature of the branch to bring out the texture and shape of the pendant.

I hope you like this image and look forward to posting the rest of the set in the coming days.

Please post any comments in the box below.  I look forward to reading them and replying to your feedback. :)

Cupcakes to your Door

I have sort of known Gill Keeble for a while, firstly via twitter where she posts as @Cupcakes_GY and via my friend Maureen Chadwick, as Gill has designed the Painted Tree website... but I only came to actually meet Gill last week, when she accepted our invitation to come over to our East of Norfolk WiRE event.  She also graciously brought a lot of yummy cupcakes for attendees to taste, plus a box of Nutella and peanut butter goodies I had ordered.

I may have seemed a little rude to Gill, spending less time saying hello and more time staring at the yummy cakes she brought.  I immediately moved my cupcake box to the side, dragged a chair to the table they were laid on and started shooting.  I only had a few minutes before we had to start, so I quickly took a few photos in the hope that they would do justice to the loveliness that they were....

The detail of the work is impressive, down to the presentation box and ribbon details....

The following images are of the rest of the cupcakes that Gill brought with her for viewing/tasting opportunities :) ...

The cakes are absolutely scrumptious, and they have a core of filling that is super yummy and very decadent, especially for a Nutellaphile like me!! ;)

I am so very sorry I haven't blogged any photos of individual cupcakes, but when the time came for my box of cupcakes to be shared, I had to quickly plunge into the box to reclaim a peanut butter one, before they all disappeared....

I hope to have the opportunity to properly photograph more of Gill's cakes soon, that is... if I can control the urge to eat them first... :)

You can have a look at Gill's cupcakes here or contact her at orders@cupcakes-to-your-door.co.uk

Meanwhile, if you run a business in East Norfolk or Suffolk and you would like to know more about my product photography packages please email me at contact@antonellamuscatphotography.co.uk

The Style Revolution

It may have started off with Twiggy's Frock Exchange three years ago, but maybe not.... I'm not really sure...  i spend so much time learning my craft I don't really follow many series on TV.  However my fashion conscious side quickly picked up on the new name on the block, swishing, and I became intrigued in following what it was.  A way of finding  fashionable or new (or almost) stuff to wear without breaking the bank is certainly always a good idea ;)

In the local scene, Valerie Le Goaziou and Claire Robilliard have been working hard on their successful creation, The Style Revolution, and their swishing events have become part of the must -follow calendar for Norwich-based fashionistas.

I grabbed my camera one evening last month to capture the event, held in the lovely Caistor Hall near Norwich, an impressive base for a fashionable event.  The ladies started trickling in slowly initially, but built up to a small crowd, whilst Val and Claire took stock of what was brought in for swishing and awarded points for exchange, and the stock pile of lovely stuff in all shapes and sizes just grew and grew!

I had half expected an angry mob of women dashing towards clothes (!) but I was surprised to see that the browsing time allowed the ladies to be really selective on what they wanted and actually most of them came away with the items they had been looking out for.

The ladies were also treated to goodybags by the Perfection Skin Clinic and Amy's Cupcakes set up a lovely stand with her yummy cupcakes, decorated in love and chocaholic themes.

 

Following on the success of this event, Val and Claire are organising a Designer Swish this Friday.  Please contact them via thestyle_revolution@yahoo.co.uk if you want more details about this event and to get a calendar of events to add to your diary.

Meanwhile, the rest of the images from the evening are available on the Antonella Muscat Photography business page on Facebook

Hope you love the work and look forward to hear from you if you would like me to document your events or business activities.

Have a good rest of the week! x