Happy New Year!

New Year's Day, Congleton

Happy New Year. Its 2009. And it's started with a dark, grey, cold day.
Booooo.....
So its all up from here... :)

Got up feeling really good and excited about a new year. I like the New Year. A chance to draw a line under the previous and start fresh.
Hope you had a great New Year's Eve, and best wishes for 2009!

Michael

Visiting family for Christmas...

Sunrise, Astbury Lake, Congleton © Michael Robert Williams

I'm back in Congleton for a few days visiting my family. It seems that whenever I'm back here where I grew up I get nostalgic and sentimental.
I got up early and took a walk around the lake. Its only a short walk from my parents house. It was a really beautiful morning, one of those great winter mornings - but freezing cold.
I love this lake. This still feels like one of the places where I learnt to photograph. All those times I dragged my younger brother over here for another 'photo session' - me trying to compose moody portraits, thinking I was Anton Corbijn shooting some band somewhere instead of my brother at the lake.
I think sometimes when I'm on a shoot now somewhere in the back of my mind I'm still at this lake...
Its just a really beautiful place. But sadly parts of it are being built on now, it makes me wonder how long the place I grew up will still be here. More houses are being built around parts of the lake. I personally wish they would leave this area alone.

Sunrise, Astbury Lake, Congleton © Michael Robert Williams

Astbury Lake, Congleton © Michael Robert Williams

Happy Holidays!

Hello...... It's been a little nuts over the last month - lots of end of year stuff to finish, deadlines, etc... So I'm sorry about the lack of new posts, and I'd been trying to be so much better about it too :p

I'll post some recent portraits etc very soon.
Will be better in the new year.
And on that note I hope you have a great holiday & best wishes for the New Year!

Thank you to everyone who helped this year - old friends, new friends... everyone I worked with :)
Merry Christmas!
Looking forward to 2009!

Best,
Michael

Samit Patel Portraits.

Samit Patel, 2008 © Michael Robert Williams

Recent portraits of Nottinghamshire and England cricketer Samit Patel photographed recently at The Oval in London. I shot a mix of portraits but these are two of my favourites.
I've been working in Black & White again more recently. I used to shoot mostly B&W but over the last couple of years its been about 90% colour, but I love B&W photographs.

Samit Patel, 2008 © Michael Robert Williams

News, stuff...

I'm tired today, I stayed up all night watching the US election. Sitting drinking a lot of coffee and editing images from two recent shoots to help keep me awake, and watching as results came in from the many states. I wished I could have voted too. But the end result was good, the right man won.

I've been working on music shoots recently. Photographed Cage the Elephant, and Alberta Cross, and a couple of new London bands. I'll post images here when I can.
I can post some recent portraits later this week.

I need a holiday, I was hoping to do something late in the year but the economy means I'm watching what I spend. There are a few people I've been planning to visit but I will have to wait until next year I think.
Everyone is watching what they spend.
Its been a strange year in every way. Lots of change. I need time to think about my personal life too, I think about work a lot, but I need to think about my personal life more.
I think I have a lot on my mind.

But back to work...

Rockarchive at Proud Soho.

I just thought I'd make a quick post about an exhibition I went to see, the Rockarchive exhibition at Proud Soho gallery. It's to celebrate Rockarchive's 10th anniversary. Started by Jill Furmanovsky, Rockarchive sells music-based images by a number of top photographers (including Kevin Westenberg, Gered Mankowitz, Kevin Cummins, Mick Rock, and of course Jill herself).
For anyone who loves music and photography a show like this is a must-see. Amazing current and archive images of artists including Radiohead, Oasis, David Bowie, Blondie, Iggy Pop, James Brown, Jeff Buckley, U2...
What can I say, I loved it. Seeing all of these great images, the beautiful prints, I wanted to take too many home.

Quick Update.

Over the last month a few new portraits have been added to the website portfolios. Also, among others, I photographed Nottinghamshire and England cricketer Samit Patel, and did a portrait shoot for Cosmopolitan magazine.