Dec
I am featured in the latest Nikon Pro Magazine, the tri-annual publication from Nikon Europe read by over 75,000 professional photographers and serious enthusiasts worldwide.
The magazine carries news and features that are intended to inspire, inform and engages its readers. Each issue selects “eight superb photos” and discusses “the motivations of the people who created them.
My picture of a school boy in a village in Rwanda, photographed for the organisation DelAgua, was selected for a two page spread. DelAgua’s project in Rwanda will provide individual households with a ready supply of clean water and a safer, more efficient means of cooking.
Under the project, 600,000 advanced water filters and 600,000 high efficiency cookstoves will be distributed to the poorest 30% of households. This equates to about 3 million people.
The water filters eliminate bacterial contamination - providing safe water for drinking and washing. The cookstoves use less wood and burn more efficiently - this helps prevent diseases caused by air pollution and reduces carbon emissions.
Nov
Mix Interiors magazine’s November issue ran a feature on the award winning Adobe workplace project with a selection of my pictures.
Mix Interiors is the leading magazine for the commercial interiors market. Aimed at the architectural and design community each issue of Mix Interiors includes a number of detailed case studies.
The Adobe scheme has been designed by Gensler and Hoare Lea, and managed by Turner & Townsend and is a mixture of open plan areas, meeting rooms, social hubs, a library, tech cafe and games room. The creative work environment equally prioritises both individual and group space and equips employees with the technology they need to easily and efficiently collaborate. A major feature includes a ‘Customer Experience Centre’ – providing UK and European customers with an environment to experience Adobe’s technology. The office boasts cutting-edge connectivity and technology alongside bright and open areas where teams can meet and work together, as well as quieter spaces for individual work.
An interconnecting feature staircase constructed in bold, red perforated metal mesh around a steel structure that sits on a combination of concrete and timber platforms. Light cubes on wire mimic falling pixels spreading through the void space. The feature stair connects staff across levels 7 and 8 and reflects the industrial feel of the building. The overall aim was to create a feeling of home, not just a workspace that tells the story of the Adobe brand and culture.
To read the online case study -
http://www.mixinteriors.com/adobe/
Nov
In August I photographed the new Nando’s restaurant in Altrincham. STAC Architecture has come up with another incredible unique design concept while adhering to Nando’s heritage.
Positioned in the prime location near the station and the main shopping area, the restaurant is spread over two floors. The dining space is generous with a mixture of large and small tables, plus intimate dining booths. STAC Architecture has worked with the original architecture of the building which was designed to showcase the latest products and attract shoppers through ornate detailing and sumptuous entrances. From the outside we can clearly see the distinctive bright yellow loose chain dividers around the booths and incorporated in the chandeliers plus in a sculptural curtain hanging from the ceiling.
If we move into the heart of the space, the design transitions from bold and vibrant, to the more natural, earthy elements of African design and materiality. The centre of the restaurant is a study in basics and calm, creating an oasis to enjoy and relax within. There is an amazing spiral stair case which is morphs from steel and glass to natural wood and cork. It joins the two floors with a natural fluidity. The lighting is a mixture of spots, Edison bulbs, concrete mounted bulbs and “Pulp Fiction Lamps” by Knus. The furniture ranges from bespoke benches and booths covered with leather and Kettal and Luna chairs.
Having photographed many restaurants in my time it always interests me how designers afford space for “the experience of dining” rather than maximising the number of diners. Most observers would say that chain restaurants are in the business of selling food. A strong counterargument is often made that these restaurants sell experiences, that food plays an important but by no means the only part. From the restaurateur’s viewpoint, however, a restaurants true inventory is the availability of a seat for the duration of the meal experience. To be able to increase the volume of sales, one needs to expand that inventory by increasing the number of available seats. Owing to the physical constraints of most restaurants, adding seats is not feasible. That leaves only one good way to increase inventory: turning tables more rapidly. Methods of increasing service efficiency and thus increasing seat turnover have been explored in depth. Improved server training is one popular approach; another is using operations engineering techniques to identify and correct service bottlenecks. But little attention has been paid to the power of the restaurant environment itself to contribute to table turns.
Design is an exciting and important component of a restaurant chain's success. Building an understanding of effective design can enhance the restaurant industry by creating more successful concepts for the customers to enjoy.
Nov
Occasionally I am asked to photograph events that cannot be discussed until after, interiors that are not to be seen by anyone other than the client and people whose portraits are restricted ... I can now add top secret food to that list!
I have been photographing for Pladis for a while now and earlier this year they contacted me to see if I would like to photograph a project as commissioned by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
In 1947, McVitie and Price made the official wedding cake for the young royal couple. Parent company Pladis offered its services to Buckingham Palace to provide a cake to celebrate the royal milestone, and in July, Pladis received a letter from the Master of the Household, stating that “Her Majesty would be very pleased to receive the cake.”
Pladis’s team of chefs created the one-of-a-kind cake on Hopwood Lane in Halifax, which was decorated in High Wycombe and has been delivered to Windsor Castle.
It was created by a team of specialist bakers lead by Esther Gamble, Product Design Lead, and Mark Schomberg, Global Development Chef at Pladis.
The cake includes intricate handmade sugar work details such as flowers replicating the Myrtle used in The Queen’s original wedding bouquet and intertwining initials to represent their union.
The cake is a fruit cake, weighs 35kgs, is 24 inches at its widest point and stands almost 2 feet tall.
