Tour of Britain 2013 cycle race – Stage 8

Well as I was up in London on Sunday anyway to shoot the catwalk shows at London Fashion Weekend, I thought I’d make it a real busman’s holiday and go and take some pictures of the final stage of this year’s Tour of Britain professional cycle race.

I’ve already posted some images from Stage 7 of the race, which ran from Epsom to Guildford in Surrey and passed quite near my home. The London finale was a very different affair – no hills, and instead of a continuous cross-country route it comprised ten laps of a course marked out along the Embankment between Whitehall and the Tower of London.

The useful thing about this format from my point of view was that I could park myself at a chosen spot on the route and have the cyclists come around in front of my camera ten times – or roughly every 12 minutes! This made it much easier to get a variety of interesting shots, as I could use different lenses, focal lengths and shutter speeds. On the normal road stages you get just one chance to take your pictures (lasting about 10 seconds) and that’s it, unless you can relocate to a different part of the course, which isn’t always easy when many of the roads are closed. (more…)

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23rd Sep 2013

Events / Photography

London Fashion Weekend – September 2013

So as the autumn season comes around, it’s time for London Fashion Week again – and another trip to Somerset House on the Strand to photograph the catwalk shows at Vodafone London Fashion weekend.

This season they featured the rising Indian designer Ashish, as well as a medley of designs on the themes of “Pretty in Pink”, “Back to Nature”, and “Victoriana”, reflecting the season’s trends. (more…)

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23rd Sep 2013

Events / Photography

Tour of Britain Cycle Race 2013 – Stage 7 photos

It doesn’t seem like a year since the last Tour of Britain – but of course it is!

Last time the race came right through the middle of the village of Wonersh where I live – this time the route was slightly different, so I jumped on the mountain bike and cycled a couple of miles to Peasmarsh, to watch the cyclists as they came past the 4km-to-go marker on their way to the finish of the penultimate stage of this year’s race in Guildford High Street.

By the time the racers got to the last 4km the usual breakaway group had been caught and the whole peloton were back together again, gearing up for the final game of cat-and-mouse on the way into Guildford to see who would snatch the stage win (which it turned out was Mark Cavendish of the Omega Pharma QuickStep team, British National Road Race Champion aka the “Manx Missile”). (more…)

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21st Sep 2013

Events / Photography

Choiroke 2013 choir festival at The Hawth, Crawley

If you’ve seen Gareth Malone’s “The Choir” series on TV then you’ll have an idea of what “Choiroke” is about – people who get together to sing, have fun, and put on a terrific show for family and friends. That was definitely the case at the Hawth Theatre in Crawley on Saturday night – Choiroke 2013 was in town!

Choiroke gives amateur choirs a chance to perform on a professional stage, which they otherwise would not be able to do. It’s also a great community event – and as you will see from the photos the audience gets involved as well… (more…)

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25th Mar 2013

Events / Photography

London Fashion Weekend catwalk photos

London Fashion Weekend, sponsored by Vodafone, gives members of the public a chance to see some of the new fashion trends showcased a few days earlier during London Fashion Week.

This year, courtesy of Canon and Calumet, I was privileged to photograph a couple of the catwalk fashion shows in the tent in the courtyard of Somerset House on the Strand. As a Surrey photographer I like to shoot in London from time to time, especially at a prestigious event like this. (more…)

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25th Feb 2013

Events / Photography

IHS Global sales event Sofitel Heathrow

Last week I covered a sales event for IHS Global, the leading business information, research and forecasting company, who have offices all around the world.

Their top sales and marketing people came together at the Sofitel Heathrow for two days of intensive discussion, seminars and networking – but also some fun as well! (more…)

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19th Jun 2012

Events / Photography

IOH Chairman’s Ball & Awards at Four Seasons Park Lane

Last Friday evening I headed up to the newly refurbished Four Seasons hotel in London’s Park Lane, to photograph the annual Chairman’s Ball & Aspiring Manager’s Awards for the Institute of Hospitality, London branch, ably assisted by my brother Simon.

Many of London’s top hoteliers were represented at the awards evening, which took the form of a masked ball… (more…)

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31st Oct 2011