Out Of Town For A Few Days.

Congleton, July 2008

I've left for a few days to visit family. I'm staying at my parents in the home I grew up in. They still live in the same house in Congleton, a small town in the North West, just south of Manchester.
I went for a walk last night as the sun was starting to go down. I walked down this path that leads to the fields and brook near my parents home and came to the small bridge over the brook. I used to hang around here with friends when I was a kid but I haven't been to it for years now. Its getting overgrown now but we used to hang around here some evenings, it was our private place. We could do whatever we wanted; but that usually just meant we'd talk and joke around, meet up here. I remember sometimes later drinking beer here that we’d ‘borrowed’ from home. I must have been about twelve I guess when I first went here.
There wasn't much to do in Congleton.
When you're a little older you can go into town in the evening, but this bridge was my meeting place, and still somewhere I could go as a teenager when I wanted some time on my own.
It was strange being on it again last night. Its overgrown, and looks much smaller to me as an adult, but I could sit and watch the sunset...

Nostalgic & sentimental post over. :)

'I Like To Look At Pictures...'

'I like to look at pictures, all kinds. And all those things you absorb come out subconsciously one way or another. You'll be taking photographs and suddenly know that you have resources from having looked at a lot of them before. There is no way you can avoid this. But this kind of subconscious influence is good, and it certainly can work for one. In fact, the more pictures you see, the better you are as a photographer.' -- Robert Mapplethorpe

In The Studio With The Subways

The Subways (& Me)

Recent studio session with The Subways. This is me photographing them (shot by my friend Simon) against a white background in a studio in West London. I think it must have been the hottest day in June and there we are in a studio! Still, it was a fun shoot. I like The Subways, they're really nice and professional. I've photographed them before, maybe two years ago when their first album was out. Their second is just out. I'll post a couple of my actual portraits from the session here very soon once they've run.

New Work - Lisa Tse by MRW

Lisa Tse by Michael Robert Williams, 2008

I recently photographed the new press/PR portraits for my good friend Lisa Tse, the designer and creative director of Lisa Tse Ltd.
I've produced many portraits of Lisa over the last few years and she's always great to work with - very creative herself and open to ideas. These are a few of the recent portraits made just a few weeks ago. I especially love the first portrait (above) with Lisa on the stairs bathed in a pool of light.

Lisa Tse, 2008

Lisa Tse, 2008

Went To See; Vanity Fair Portraits, NPG London

I went to catch the Vanity Fair Portraits Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery recently before it finished. It was showing work from the entire history of the magazine. As the press release said;

'This is a unique opportunity to see 95 years of iconic imagery by some of the most renowned photographers of the twentieth century, including Baron De Meyer, Edward Steichen, Man Ray and Cecil Beaton, as well as portraits by celebrated contemporary photographers such as Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino, Helmut Newton and Herb Ritts.'

As much as its interresting to see the set-ups and techinical skills in the work of the modern era photographers like Leibovitz, I personally loved seeing the early portraits by Steichen & Man Ray. I admit I do often enjoy Leibovitz's portraits, but her music work mainly (and her older work really, especially a lot of her 1970's work). I find the Hollywood gatefold covers that she shoots for VF interesting to look at, well set-up, and technically well executed, but also a little empty. Everyone looks perfect. But thats all.
I like the sugestion of something more in portraits, that's one reason why I admire Anton Corbijn's work. There often seems to be something more going on in Cobijn's images, and that's a difficult trick to do. You get so little time on some of these shoots, and there are other people around on the shoot too. Its one thing to even have an idea what you want from the shoot, but another thing altogether to get it.

But getting back to the VF exhibition. I did enjoy seeing the work and I picked out two portraits, one from the first period of VF, and one from the period since VF's re-launch in 1983. These are two of my personal favourites from the exhibition. First Gloria Swanson by the great Edward Steichen photographed in 1924. Then Hilary Swank by Norman Jean Roy from 2004.

Above; Gloria Swanson by Edward Steichen, 1924

Above; Hilary Swank by Norman Jean Roy, 2004

Portishead Images in US Press

Quick post showing a few of the Portishead images used in recent US press.
First is the opening spread from XLR8R Magazine (XLR8R used this group portrait and then an individual portrait of each of the three members over the next pages). Next is the cover and opening spread from the Filter music festival supplement 'Good Music Guide'. Three Portishead portraits of mine also ran in the main Filter Magazine this month in the US but I don't have the spreads to put here as yet.
I went to see Portishead play in London recently too and they were fantastic live, playing a lot of their older songs and of course music from the new album too. Beth's voice is amazing.

Opening spead of the XLR8R Magazine feature.

Filter cover.

Opening spread of the Filter feature.

Working, editing...

I've spent much of the day sorting out recent work, editing etc, and looking over a few personal images shot over the last few months too.
Just thought I'd post this personal image shot while away on assignment in Boston U.S. before Christmas. I think it's my favourite recent personal image.