Normal service resumed, news and disappearing models

An eventful week- you may have noticed the website has been out of action for a day or so. This is because I lost my bank card and had to cancel it, and therefore my stored details didn't work when it came to pay my hosting fees! I just managed to pay, and the site was back very quickly. If you wanted to book a portrait or modelling shoot but couldn't, you can now!

I also bought a new road bike, and it's stunning to look at! I've been cycling to work so should save on (overpriced) rail fares, and miss out on all the stress and overcrowding that goes with our transport network :) And I get healthier too! Can't be bad.

Lastly, a very small rant- I've now had three model shoots provisionally booked, only for people to 'disappear' before the shoot. This not only often disappoints, it stops other people getting a shoot as my time is limited! Please, if you have arranged a session and can't make it, do let me know :)

Until next time,

Mark

Famous faces

Just for fun, and also to give me some inspiration for painting, I've been trying to compile a list of great faces. By this I mean people I'd love to photograph or paint, if ever they happened to need another portrait :)

They don't have to be famous, but so far everyone is (As I'm now 40, some might be unfamilar to younger readers). I have the following list to date:

Sir Ian McKellen (I am currently painting him from a photograph)

Ciaran Hinds

Clive Owen (Uncannily like a younger Ciaran Hinds)

Paul Newman

Tilda Swinton

Cate Blanchett

Tom Hanks

Angelina Jolie (who wouldn't?)

I also found some great 'unknown' faces by searching including a homeless man who could have lived centuries ago and a girl who could easily become a model, discovered by a street photographer in Singapore.

As a portrait and model photographer I hope this exercise will help me to study poses and the way light affects mood, and it may also give me some interesting subject matter for my oil painting. Here's my takes on Thierry Henry and Sir Ian McKellen, both as yet unfinished.. I hope they look like the real thing!

Sexy models!

.. Railway Engines, that is. Last weekend I had a break with friends in the North of England, and we got to visit the National Railway Museum in York, where many old trains can be found. This may sound a bit boring, but once you get in there and see some of the engines, it really takes you back to childhood- if you're male, at least! There's plenty to see and also a large model railway track for the younger members of the family. I got plenty of photographs, and the rest of the weekend was spent in various pubs and restaurants around York, Huddersfield and Manchester. We joined the 'Real Ale Trail' which was extremely popular and great fun, then toured the streets of Manchester in the evening. A good break, and now back to the more serious business of photography!

Less work, more photography

I finally finished my degree course at Birkbeck College today, with an exam in 'Social Issues in Computing'. This is the culmination of four years hard toil - it takes that long when you're a part time student with a full time job. As well as being useful for my main job, many of the modules are also useful for a photography business, as included are accounts and presentation skills.

Now I'm finished, I have much more free time for photography and general laziness! I will get the results in August , and (unless I'm really unlucky) won't have to retake any exams, and will graduate around October/November time. Who will take the photographs I wonder?

Anyway, I'm having a weekend off soon to celebrate / take photos in York and Manchester, and will then try to concentrate on improving my fashion modelling portfolio by booking as many model photo shoots here in London as possible! Hopefully I will also get time at some point to shoot some landscapes - and also paint them, as I've just bought some oil paints. Wish me luck, i will post my efforts on this blog if they're any good..

Mark