I'm very happy with this!

When you have a sponsored event, coverage is King.

Not only to get better attendance numbers but giving sponsors the exposure after they have supported you.

It gets no better than this.

The exhibition and project was featured on the Team GB website.

Videos to follow soon, along with more tales of our adventures.

Revving up for Australian Workshops, with an eye on smoke machines.

As the heading says, I'm getting all the stuff together for the Australian workshops, which are filling quite nicely.

What is really on my mind at the moment is the smoke machine.....

No 'Forest' style shoot would be complete without one.

I own a Colt turbo from Peasoup, a truly amazing piece of kit.

Pea Soup are THE go to people for smoke machines and are involved in so many grand projects so they are a mine of information.

For sheer power and reach it is better than anything else I have used.

It is invaluable to be able to 'project' smoke to exactly where you want it, and it has so much power it excels at this.

It does have one drawback though - it is mains powered, and it draws so much current it makes mincemeat out of all but the biggest, baddest generator.

I have always managed to dance around the problem to some extent, the machine can operate for about 15 mins unplugged once it is up to temperature.

You can see how effective it was on my Zebra shoot.



Australia I think will present somewhat of a challenge, so I'm investigating battery powered options.

The Mini Rocket 12V DC 400W battery powered portable smoke machine seems to fit the bill and I'm toying with getting one for the workshops.

You can see it in action here

Seems a bit extravagant but I think it would see a lot of action for some time to come.

More info regarding venues and animals very soon.

Professional Imaging Show - Nieuwegein, The Netherlands

Nieuwegein.

I was there for 3 days and I still can't pronounce it.

That aside I had a great time presenting on the Adobe stage, talking about Location photography, The Olympic Golden Greats and The Descendants.

The Dutch crowd came from far and wide, as ever they were engaging and friendly.

From my perspective at least a vibrant photographic community with a thirst for knowledge.

I would not have been there if it had not been for the talented and prolific shooter Frank Doorhof, whom I shared the stage with, along with Dave Black, who is as talented with people as he is the camera(think of the 'James Stewart' of photographic world and you won't be so very far out)

Here is a short video Frank and his team put together on Day 1



In adition to the shooters the Adobe team were presenting Lightroom 4 to the delegates and was well received.

The super aggressive pricing, half the cost of Lightroom 3 on a permanent basis, will doubtless have an impact on the RAW processing software market and we will have to see how competitors react.

Interest was very strong on the Phase One and Leaf stand too, which following similar interest at Focus on Imaging would seem to back up my suspicions that medium format is very much in vogue right now.

Enough kit talk, what about my fellow speakers?

Frank Doorhof, yours truly and Dave Black...a serious event as you can see

Dave Black is a sports shooter with more than 30 years experience.

Just check out how he does it though, using big and small strobes at spotting events to give him an edge over fellow shooters.

I sat through all his presentations and learned a great deal, he is a pleasure to listen to.

His presentation on light painting really gave me food for thought.

If you would like to know more about how he gets such distinctive and classy shots I strongly suggest you check his blog out.

I know I will.

Frank Doorhof has been shooting for a good few years less but is so prolific it is remarkable.

I reckon he shoots more in a month than I do in a year!

Damn fine work too.

Take a look at this, the very first frame from a live shoot in a packed auditorium.

It is one thing to turn in a shot like this after a long shoot when you are not being scrutinised by hundreds of pairs of eyes, but live on stage it is another matter entirely.

Frank is a lovely guy and he shares his knowledge in a generous and accessible manner on his blog too.

Once again I learned a lot from him, and have dusted my light meter off too but I will talk about how he changed my thinking another time.

As we said our farewells, Frank very kindly gave me a copy of his latest DVD 'Live in Boston'

I will be taking a look at it in the next few weeks and will let you know what I think.

'Olympic Golden greats' featured in the 'Sunday Times' with a little help from the Fuji X100

The Olympic Golden Greats show in London Stratford centre has been sponsored by Manfrotto and supported by some fine companies.

When you are lucky enough to have attracted sponsorship, it is important to get as much exposure as possible for the project that they have backed.

So, on the Saturday morning after the private view we held a press call, where local school kids could meet Olympic Gold medalist Anne Packer.

We were hopeful that national papers would turn up and we would get coverage.

In the event not one turned up, which was disappointing.

So, it was down to Lucinda and I to shoot some images to submit to the National papers.

I picked up my Canon 5D MkII and to my horror I saw the battery was all but flat....the spare was some distance away too( bad, bad Drew...but as I say to anyone who will listen, if there is a photographic mistake to be made, I have have made it)

What to do?

A change of tack was called for and I switched to the Fuji X100 which calls for a somewhat different shooting style....fast it is not.

Am I complaining?

No way.

It did the job, we filed the pictures and we got a 4 column pic in the Sunday Times.

A PR dream come true.

We did it! Olympic Golden Greats opens at John Lewis Stratford City

It took Lucinda and I two years to pull it together but we made it.

Last night we had our private view of the exhibition which is on show at John Lewis in the stadium suite at Westfield Stratford City until 20th March.

With the passing of my Dad it meant that I had not seen the installed show until I walked through the door 15 mins before the party started.

It was only possible as Lucinda took the helm and with the help of my good friend Justin Sutcliffe, the show was hung in record time.

They did a fantastic job.

Never underestimate how long it takes to hang a show......

After Andy from John Lewis introduced us, I gave a short speech thanking all the people and companies who made it happen.

Manfrotto have sponsored the show and without them it simply would not have happened.

At all.

The images were printed on a Canon LFP printer by Velmex, if you are wondering why Canon LFP you could do a lot worse than have a look at the installed prints.

My good friend Brian mentioned on twitter that this show is a great place to see the difference between medium format and DSLR's

I will be posting specifically about this later this week, but if you go to the show before I do you might like to play a little game.....one of the images is shot on a DSLR, can you tell which one? I was surprised to note that EVERYONE got it right!

Not only are there prints on display but we have 4 videos on giant screens where some of the medalists talk bout their experiences and what it means to compete and win gold.

You will be able to see these on my blog next week.

Lucinda and I were also lucky enough to have 3 Olympic Gold medalists there too.

Judy Grinham, who won Gold for backstroke in Melbourne 1956

Terry Spinks, who won Gold for flyweight boxing in Melbourne 1956

Ann Packer who won Gold for the 800m in Tokyo 1964

Ann also came along to the press call where she spoke to kids from the local school about her achievements.

I will be blogging all this week as time allows, I'm in Holland speaking at the Professional imaging show along with Dave Black, Frank Doorhof and many others too.

I could not think of a more fitting way of closing my speech at the private view than by dedicating it to my Dad, he would have been so very proud.

What next after this two year long adventure?

Well, I have already done it, it's just a matter of when it will see the light of day.

This time I did not sell a car to make it happen, but a house.

The stakes are high, but the glittering prize is worth it.

Dark Days

My Dad died two days ago.

He was the very reason I took up photography aged 14.

We used to make temporary darkrooms in the kitchen, even a on school night.

Which did not particularly help my performance at school.

But my Dad got it.

He knew.

The most important thing is to nurture interest in your child, and watch the enthusiasm grow and the rest would follow, with luck, opening up whole new possibilities in their lives.

Without his encouragement I would never have been a professional photographer and had such a wonderful life.

As he passed away I told him he was my ladder to the stars.

And he truly was.

Sights and sounds from Focus on Imaging

A somewhat smaller show than last year.

With a whole hall closed off, no presence from Sony or Panasonic after their large stands last year.

Sunday was a little subdued but Monday was busy.

I had a somewhat hectic schedule on the Manfrotto and Phase One stands so I did not get a chance to look round a great deal, so consider this a snapshot.

I popped along to the Fuji stand to see the X1 pro.

Once again for sheer feel and build Fuji have hit the target, but then again they needed to at the price point, which is quite high.

I'm pleased to report that the autofocus is better than the X100 but by how much it is difficult to gauge just messing about on a show stand.

I am somewhat concerned but the time it seemed to take to write a RAW image to card though.

Perhaps I had it on some obscure setting, but it seemed to take an age.

Because of its interchangeable lenses Fuji has opted for a focal plane and not a leaf
shutter which gives the X100 it's stealthy abilities.

I did consider this to be a deal breaker but it was actually pretty quiet.

I can't see myself buying one of these but that is what I said about the X100 and then I went out and bought one.........

Speaking of quiet Camera's I did get a short amount of hands on time with the Canon 5d MKIII.

And my impression is WHAT A CAMERA!

Ok, followers of this blog will know I haved used Canon forever and know it is my DSLR of choice but from my very brief hands on time with it I did get the idea that this camera is a cut above.

Firstly build quality is in my opinion better than the MKII and that was never bad anyway, it felt a little 'tighter' with no flex whatsover around the memeory card door.

I tried out the AF in both oneshot and AI focusing mode and it was a revelation compared to the MKII or any other AF system I have used. It did not struggle focusing on low contrast and solid black objects, tracked moving objects with great precision. Not that this should come as a surprise at all as it utilises the AF system from the 1D X, but good to see all the same.

I tried the 'silent' setting too and it was really very impressive, not silent my any means but some people will buy it for this feature alone.

Overall one can only be impressed by the sheer responsive nature of this camera, somewhat reminiscent of a 1 series, dubtlessly down to the big fat Digic V processor.

One small demerit point,in some people's books at least, will be the weather sealing which though improved is still not the same extreme spec as the 1DX.

To be clear I have used both versions of 5d's extensively and have never encountered any water ingress issues at all, but I do know people who use the 5D in extreme situations and they would welcome 1 series weather sealing for peace of mind more than anything.
Canon have relaxed a little and finally let 1 series features to be used on the 5D (such as AF, Metering and a decent frame rate.
I just wish they had the confidence to let full weather sealing make it to the MKIII.
Doubtless they were concerned that it could steal sales from the 1dx, but I think they need not have worried, the 1Dx will never be used for the same type of photography.

But Canon should consider that due to its great form factor and sheer versatility the MKIII will see more extreme action in harsh conditions than the 1dx ever will in my opinion.

Drifting by the Olympus stand I saw the OM-D and it looked a tidy little package, though I'm not sure if the styling is quite as sweet as the original.

Finally another product which I have been eagerly awaiting is the Gitzo Systematic GT5562LTS tripod.

Why is that?

It is a Carbon fiber light weight but substantial tripod which will take all the really big lenses so beloved by bird watchers and wildlife shooters with ease.

Nothing special about that I hear you say, but the really clever part is just how small it is thanks to the 5 section legs which means it is a full sized heavy duty tripod which will fit in my small backpack, meaning amongst other things that when you fly you will not have to check it into the hold.

Film makers take note, as it is from the systematic range it will take the Gitzo fuild head (probably others too I suppose) and you will be able use a substantial full sized tripod in places you never have done before.

A game changing tripod like this does not come cheap but it well worth looking at as it could pay for itself in a few flights where you do not pay excess baggage for that tripod bag.


I have had to leave the show a day early due to a family emergency and my very good friend Justin Sutcliffe will be standing in for me on the Manfrotto stand, if you are interested in World Class photojournalism look no further. I'm sure his presentations will be riveting.