Sam Faiers Book Signing

Sam Faiers
© Nat Jag/WireImage

Weekend book signings on the outskirts of London sometimes get missed by the regular London press guys, as such they can be quiet for some signings. One such event was Sam Faiers from The Only Way is Essex aka TOWIE signing copies of her book at WHSmiths in Brentwood, Essex. I'm not a fashion expert, Sam in my opinion made a good effort with her choice of outfit, certainly not a drab black outfit.

Blue perform at 1000th Thriller Live musical

Blue perform at Thriller Live
© Nathan J Hulse

26th May 2011 was the 1000th performance of Thriller Live. I've been a fan of Michael Jackson for some years. A chance to see some of this show was a real bonus for me. Blue were due to perform "Man in the Mirror" and I was one of a few photographers allowed to photograph this. A live performance and no miming, a rare thing perhaps these days.

I only had my 17-40 wide angle lens with me, luckily I was close to the stage. Shots only processing in Aperture 3, no photo manipulation. All shot between  iso 1000-1250.

Katie Price signs books in Welwyn Garden City

Katie Price in Welwyn Garden City
© Nathan J Hulse

Katie Price latest book signing seemed to avoid the big London stores, instead she went to a smaller shopping Mall called the Howard Center in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire as well as a few locations after. Also looking on from the side was Leandro.

Picture taken with 24-70 lens and processed in Apples Aperture 3.

X factor live tour - Cher Lloyd

I was lucky enough to be asked to cover the Matinee performance of the X factor Live tour on Sunday 6th March at Wembley Arena. Normally with live shows photographers will only get the first 3 songs. I once had 1 song only. With the X factor show, because they had pyrotechnics, we weren't allowed to shoot any acts then. In addition, all the top 10 acts from the X factor finals were spread across the whole show. This meant for some a long day, or a chance to see more than one song from the show. Great. 

 Cher Lloyd © Nathan J Hulse

I was very pleased to see they actually used a real band with real musicians, playing real instruments rather than just backing tracks. It was good to see more of a show than normal, I still left just before the end to avoid thousands of people all catching the same train.

Simon Cowell's Syco had a 6 month restriction on use for any photography from these concerts. They were only available for 6 months from the date the picture was taken. Other use had to be arranged via syco. 

Usually photographers photograph the first 3 songs of a concert. However, because this concert had many performers, we were there for almost the entire duration. After standing at the front, I managed to blag some ear plugs from a security officer. When I got back I decided it was time to get some proper ear plugs. Best decision I made.

Jaime Winstone and Paloma Faith at PPQ fashion show during London Fashion week

Pandemonia at PPQ Fashion show

At the time of writing, I'm in the middle of Jury service, which is interesting, yet it restricts me be able to get to events to photograph. It's a busy time at the moment as well, London fashion week is in full swing. I manage to get to one event to photograph some outside arrivals. Really I need to do much more than just one event, it's still great fun to get out to one though. I managed to get to the PPQ fashion show at Somerset House. A few people arrived including Paloma Faith and Jaime Winstone. I don't just photograph celebrities arriving at these event, here is one character that looked great Pandemonia. 

Nancy Sorrell at Stephane St Jaymes fashion launch

Nancy Sorrell

Currently I'm doing Jury service, which restricts my work for the next few weeks. It seems to be usual that I miss all the fun stuff when I'm busy with other commitments. I did manage to get to one last event before my service started. The  fashion launch for Stephane St. Jaymes Spring/summer collection. Just before London Fashion week starts, although by the time this post goes live, LFW will have ended. I could have stayed to cover the actual fashion show, I decided not. Here is a shot of Nancy Sorrell, wife of comedian Vic Reeves. Also in attendance was ex Eastenders actor Ross Kemp and Princes Michael of Kent.

As I normally mention, all the photos on my blog and on the first link included are taken by myself (except where I state otherwise). In this instance they are available for commercial use via Famous Pictures. If you are interested in prints of my pictures contact me for details.

2010 - A few favorite or special pictures

Jodie Marsh

I thought it would be interesting to have a look through my pictures and post a few pictures that either I like or were special to me for a reason. I've not included any shots that I have already posted. Non of these pictures were very successful for me. That's not always the point for me.

This first shot of Jodie Marsh was taken in February 2010 at a Haiti Earthquake fundraiser at the Roundhouse in Camden Town. There weren't many photographers at this. There weren't many celebrities either. As a result, many photographers left after an hour. Another photographer Brian Jordan of Celebrity photos UK and myself stayed, the promotors/pr promised free beer. Jodie Marsh arrived and Brian asked a busker outside the venue if we could borrow his guitar, he obliged.

Nicola Roberts

The second shot of Nicola Roberts of Girls Aloud was taken after a day in London. I had a few events to cover. A free concert "Music for Mum's" for Cancer in Covent Garden, with Gabriella Cilmi, follow by the variety Club annual dinner and ball at the Hilton Hotel in London. On my way back to the station I walked past the Mayfair Hotel to see a friend of mine. Within 10 minutes Nicola Roberts walked out wearing this stunning outfit.

Rihanna

This final shot was taken of US singer Rihanna at London's o2. It isn't technically a great shot. I found out the day of the concert photographers would be at the mix position 2/3 back in the venue. I would need to longer focal length than I had. I couldn't have hired a lens (which I didn't think about at the time) I decided to purchase a 2x extender. This creates problems,as I will loose 2 stops of light, in addition the quality isn't great unless stopped down to at least f8 (f5.6 is the minimum on the 70-200 f2.8 lens). There were many other photographers there with nikon cameras (great at high ISO) and 400mm prime lens. I was surprised how good some of the shots were, although not tack sharp, I had caught what I needed to of the concert. This taught me a few things; next time I should hire a lens.

Finally I would like to wish anyone that reads this best wishes and blessings for 2011. Thanks for looking and following.

I'm back in the country with Kylie Minogue on Sunday

I'm now back from my 2 month tour of Holland. This means I'm back to taking photos. My first job back was the 2nd day of the Jingle Bell Ball. The main person I wanted to photograph was Kylie Minogue. 20-25 years ago being in front of Kylie and taking her photo would have been a dream come true. It isn't the first time I'd been fortunate enough to take her picture. The first time wasn't so great for me. Unfortunately, concentrating on taking a picture means I don't remember the moment. I have to make sure I get the picture, rather than be in the moment. She looked stunning as you can see from the picture.

Please note:- not all pictures in the event gallery at famous are taken by myself.

Ultimate Big Brother Final and Parties to Follow

Winner Brian Dowling with Davina McCall

The end of Big Brother (or is it) with the final on 10th September. If you watch big brother you will know who the winner is. Here I have presented a favorite picture of mine from the Ultimate final. I wasn't a fan of the program, it was however great to be at the eviction nights. The crowd were great and I got friendly with a few regulars. In this picture is the winner Brian Dowling with the shows presenter Davina McCall. I wanted to try top capture spirit and excitement of the event,  with the house in the background the other photographers and camera crew. Taken on the wide angle 17-40 mm lens.

Naturally following the end of Big Brother is the wrap party.  Sadly, I found out about this too late and missed many of the housemates who arrived before I got there. Similarly, Josie had a reunion party later the same week. Again, I expected they would all arrive later in the evening, once again, they were early.

Big Brother Semi-Final and Final Josie Gibson wins

Mathew Firsht and Davina McCall

As many followers of the show will know the winner of Big Brother is Josie Gibson. I'm sure you have all seen pictures in the news by now. It is my aim to show you something different. At all the shows I have been to in the last few series there is always a warm up guy, Mathew Firsht. Mostly he tells the same stories and jokes each week. He does a great job of getting the crowd going. Rarely we see him with Davina McCall, as shown in the shoot to the right. Clicking on the picture will take you to the full gallery of pictures from the Big Brother Semi Final.

Camera Operator

Lastly from the final show. I've always noticed a few camera operators up high. They can't go anywhere once the show starts, if it rains tough. So below one of the many camera crew that bring you Big Brother. Finally a picture from the Final of Big Brother; Josie Gibson, the winner.

Davina McCall with Big Brother 11 winner Josie Gibson

More housemates enter the uk big brother house - 2010

More new housemates entered the big brother friday. Would you have chosen the same ones to enter the house. Click the picture for link to more pictures from the event.

Just as I went to push the post to blog button, my late catch up of big brother revealed that Laura (2nd from R) had already left the house. No staying power some of these contestants. Not that I'd want to go in the house.

T4 on the Beach - 2010

The Saturdays

I was lucky enough to be asked to cover T4 on the Beach at Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset (UK). Great, I couldn't wait. Apart from an early start which is never good for me. I managed to get up at 4:15, the press coach picked us up from Hammersmith Apollo at 6:45am. That is very early for me. We were looked after very well by the PR team. There was a down side, there were so many acts on we had to do our best to fit the live performances with the press runs backstage, where many of the artists pose for pictures as well. This was a great opportunity to photograph the acts on the other stage. For most of the day the weather was great, it did rain, quite heavy towards the end while JLS were performing. I gave that a miss, plus they were on the same time Diana Vickers was due backstage for the press run. The Saturdays (R) were minus Mollie King due to illness and performed as a four piece. They did looked a bit nervous at the start.

Diana Vickers

My notes for the day and future occasions I should do this event again. As a photographer we can take the live performance pictures from the golden circle. In the golden circle are also other members of the public. It's easy to get head in the way of your shot. Take a small step to get above them. The next point, don't try to cover both stages. The second T4 session stage is quite a distance to walk, plus we shot from the crowd, not even closer like the golden circle on the main stage. Finally, trying to edit pictures on a moving coach made me feel sick. Do it either before I get on the coach or at home.

Tech notes:- The main shots were taken on the canon 70-200 lens using the canon 1d mk111, while the shorter lens picture, eg backstage, were taken on the canon 1d mk11n and 24-70 lens. Many of the shot were shot using plus 1-2 stops exposure compensation as I was shooting against a white cloudy background. I have included an HDR image at the bottom of The Saturdays (still with the demo softwares watermark) which shows more how the scene really was; overcast. Clicking on the picture will take you to the shot submitted to Famous pictures. All RAW processed using aperture 3 (excpet the HDR shot). Which brings me to a final note, when the lap top is on battery power, the screen goes darker, remember to take that into consideration when editing pictures, otherwise they all come out a bit bright.

The Saturdays

So there you have it, a brief run down on the event and all the points I need to consider in the future. Also, please note all direct links supplied are pictures taken by myself and sold by famous pictures. They are not other photographer pictures. Clicking elsewhere on famous pictures will show pictures by other photographers.

I hope you enjoy. Click on the picture for the full gallery of images I took and sent to Famous Pictures.

Holly Valance and Gemma Atkinson all in black

Gemma Atkinson

Holly Valance

Gemma Atkinson (R), an actress who use to be in Hollyoaks and grace the pages of many lads magazines is trying to lose her usual vivacious look wearing a black dress with no hint of cleavage at all. This shot was taken at a premiere for a film she is starring in called "Baseline". It was a rather low key premiere with just a few of the key actors and actress' in attendance.

At another event for Elizabeth Ardens 100th anniversary, former Neighbours actress and singer (remember Kiss Kiss?) Holly Valance (L) and others attended. 

As nice as black outfits are, nice colourful ones would be much better. It's summer and a time to be bright and colourful.

Rock Choir to Queen of the Desert and some Wimbledon action

A quiet week for me at the moment. A really rewarding job on Sunday took me to Hammersmith Apollo to photograph the Rock Choir. 4000 plus people singing in tune together, amazing. Unfortunately transferring the sound to pictures isn't easy. The Photo is of the choir sitting in the stalls and standing on the stage. Click the picture to go to the complete gallery. This photo was made from 9 shots stitched together in photoshop. Exposures were 2 seconds hence some movement and blurring to some people.

Rock Choir
© Nathan J Hulse

Zoe Salmon

Ben Richards' opening night in "Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical" in London on 22 June 2010 brought out a few stars and some bright coloured costumes. Pictured is former Blue Peter presenter Zoe Salmon. Again, click on the photo to view to complete gallery at Famous Pictures. 

Kirsty Gallacher

Another interesting event was a slazenger party for Wimbledon. Slazenger are the ball providers for the yearly sporting event. The actual party was interesting with John McEnroe and Pat Cash playing a quick game of tennis in the street. Sadly, I wasn't expecting to take any sporting photos. Using a wide angle lens (17-40) at night with a flash isn't the ideal lens and camera set-up to capture the action. Pictured is Kirsty Gallacher. Click on the picture to see the full gallery of my pictures at Famous pictures. I found it mildly amusing both tennis players were using dunlop tennis rackets at a Slanzenger event.