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William J Shaw Photography
Sep 23
by William Shaw in Nature, People, Rural 0 comments

Artist & Illustrators

Artist & Illustrator Magazine I have been commissioned by Artist & Illustrators magazine, link below, to photograph the Midlands illustrator Angela Harding  www.angelaharding.co.uk .http://www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/ I have already visited her for BBC Countryfile a while back. She has a studio at the bottom of her garden that over looks a very typical English country scene of fields and hedgerows. Her studio is set that she can sit and  look out of large windows to seek inspiration. Her work is mainly of wildlife, the majority being birds set in the countryside. She uses printing techniques as well as etchings and paints. And has illustrated for many a mainstream magazine, such as Country Living. I have not worked for the magazine Artist & Illustrators before. Angela had put my name forward, as she liked my previous pictures. I need to focus on the studio as the two page article is for a series titled “In the Studio”. So I will need a good place setting image, showing the rural position of the studio, the view she gets from her desk. Also the fact it is in her garden. Then I will need a lovely portrait and a few shots of her at work. […]
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Sep 19
by William Shaw in Nature, People, Rural 0 comments tags: gardening, photography

Garden photography

Garden Photography Part of my recent tour down South West, Garden Photography with the National Trust was a visit to Knighthayes in Exmoor, The house is a very dark and moody building, just on the edge of the moor. The walls were covered with Stags, that had been hunted over the generations, and it felt like this would be the perfect location for an Agatha Christie novel. We were tasked to get some photography of the visitors going around the house. But due to the poor light we did not really succeed in this. The second part of the day was garden photography. However the weather improved over the day and by the afternoon it was much better. We went out into the walled garden to get some lovely shots of the plants and potting sheds. They have a wealth of produce from the beds, and it made my life very easy. They were drying their onions in the glass houses, and sitting on the old wood, the textures and tones were truly beautiful. Their potting shed was very tidy and with the recently harvested squashes made great subject matter.  I rarely use a tripod, which I know a lot of […]
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Sep 08
by William Shaw in food photography, Nature, People, Rural 0 comments

Down on the farm part8

My farming journey continues. This time it is outdoors reared pigs. Again the fear of infection meant very strict bio hazard controls. We were all suited and booted and had to stay away from zoos and farms for 48 hours before our visit. This farm concentrated on the early days of the pigs. So lots of lovely piglets from a day old upto about 9 weeks old. They then go off to finishing school at another location. They seemed to be very content, it was interesting watching their pecking order in each group. Pigs are meant to be the most intelligent of farm animals and work well in a group set up. They struggle in bright sunshine as can easily get sunburn and also cannot sweat. We were shooting for a well known supermarket,  where these pigs will eventually end up in the various cuts. They have a very strict welfare and social standards for their farmers to achieve. But they do pay a premium if the farmers reach their gold level of enviromental and animal welfare measures. The piglets were very amusing, and due to their size could nip under the electric wires so had the run of the […]
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Aug 31
by William Shaw in Nature, People, Rural 1 comments

Restoration

I have just come back from a tour of the South West of England for the National Trust. We popped into the massive conservation project at Castle Drago. It is the Trusts second largest expense at the moment. I was struck by the care and attention to the work taking place. Even on the roof where most people will never venture. The exacting standards are impressive. you really got the feeling that the Trust are investing in the future heritage of this strange building. They are not the owners, but the guardians for future generations. Castle Drogo was only finished in the 1930’s and the roof leaked from a few years in. On top of a hill facing all that Dartmoor can throw at it. It has suffered greatly and is now getting a new roof and re pointed. The team working are based in Yorkshire so stay down while doing the work. They had to reopen a mine to get the Granite required to complete the works. They have also restored refurbished and replaced all the windows in the building. The building itself I think is not exactly pretty. Made to survive the extreme weather conditions it comes over […]
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Aug 17
by William Shaw in Nature, People, Rural 0 comments

Shooting on a phone

Shooting on a smart phone Wherever you go in the world today, you see people capturing it on a phone. The sight of someone using an actual camera is pretty rare nowadays. Then of course the pictures are instantly sent out into the world via the many social media platform. The cameras on the phones are catching up with this and getting better and better. As are the editing apps. These four were all taken on my i phone then put through instagram. If put through some software like photoshop you could get a 15 meg picture good enough to use in the press. Obviously you don’t have the best lens or the ability to zoom in but the fact you always have it on you, means you should never miss that moment. It has taken me back to my student days when I just went out with my camera for the day, using just one lens to keep it simple. This also makes you think about framing the shot as the choice is so limited. The other good thing about shooting on a phone is that you can share the images and learn from seeing the way other people […]
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Aug 08
by William Shaw in Advertisement, Cities, food photography, People 0 comments

Summer drinks

You may remember a few blogs back that I was shooting a Summer Drinks feature on a roof terrace in London. On one of the wettest days this Summer. The client tried to cancel the shoot and we had to keep emptying the canopy of huge volumes of water. Well here it is. Out now in Sainsbury’s magazine. I have to say it looks like we shot it on a beautiful Sunny day in a very trendy location with a party in full swing. That is the skill of photography. It at no pints hints at 3 people struggling against the elements. With the props balanced above the puddles. The food stylist using a mop to stop the canopy splitting from the weight of rain water. The client was very impressed and shows that we were correct in carrying on. To cancel would have cost over a grand in re shoot fees alone. So the lesson is that even in the bleakest of circumstances something usually can be salvaged. As they say don’t panic, carry on.
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Jul 27
by William Shaw in food photography, Nature, People 0 comments

Healthy food

Healthy  Food This week seems to be health week. Monday we had a manic day shooting recipes aiding your fertility! This is where this shot came from. We were on location in South London. a beautiful house with loads of old surfaces to use. There was a great garden with a Summerhouse. so plenty of choice for set ups. Then for the rest of this week I am back on the Owl Pellet book. Our editor is saying the food is too brown. Sadly this sort of food is exactly that…. brown. So I am trying to up the colour factor through props etc. Sara is luckily not too worried as we both know that we can’t do anything about the food being brown. It is also compacted by the weather. The studio seems to suck out any freshness, and leaves us in a atmosphere more akin to an oven. Luckily we have not needed the actual oven on a lot. There has been a lot of drinking of water. The weather is on the break now so should get easier. Lets get back to working on the potential cover trying to avoid the brown.  
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Jul 19
by William Shaw in food photography, Nature, People, Rural 0 comments

Modern Farming

Modern Farming Over the last few weeks I have visited 6 farms, looking at modern farming. Varying products and sizes. all have been intently keen on making a success in troubled times. The last farm I visited was quite an intensive enviroment. Their bio controls were very strict to help prevent the spread of disease. Hence the Welly shot. We had to wear these then once in the barn having dipped them twice into disenfectant. We the put a welly bag over them and only then could we enter the shed.
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Jul 18
by William Shaw in food photography, Nature, People 0 comments

Yet again down on the farm

I visited a chicken farm last week for a major supermarket. It was fascinating learning about the welfare and business side of modern farming. In quite a contrast to the smaller farms I have visited for the National Trust. The investment that goes into this industry and the infrastructure is immense, and I don’t think taken into account while we are eating our chicken pie.  
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Jul 12
by William Shaw in Nature, People 0 comments

Lake District

Part of the reason I love my job so much is I get to travel and see so many great locations. Last week for the National Trust I found myself in one of my favorite places Grasmere. So many happy childhood memories of people no longer around. I had a half day to myself so I dashed up Loughrigg to be rewarded with these views.
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