Joe Riley Photographer

So its War!! I'm off to the Battlefield!!...

2009-10-25T16:07:00.000-07:00

Just how many of the enemy I took down with my sealant gun, I really don't know, but I had fun doing it. This was just a lighting test, and also a chance to play a little with photoshop. I don't often have the time or patience to work on my photoshop skills outside of the accepted practice of levels/sharpen/colourbalance etc.. at work.

Sometimes I take my work too seriously, yet those who know me well are well aware that I will often play the fool. Its a way of getting through it all and keeping a smile on my face.

This week I met a ww2 veteran who also had a smile on his face. A lovely man who was more than happy to let me photograph him over and over again. There was a charm about him I really wanted to capture while I had the chance.

We sat and chatted about how he had recently visited the place where he had helped build a bridge over the river Rhine for Allied tanks to cross during 1945. He showed me a photograph of himself stood in a museum next to a jeep like the ones he used to drive. I really enjoyed listening to his stories and could have chatted with him for hours.

I've got lots more to post, but I'm just keeping this one simple, so keep tuning in for more episodes of G.I. (general idiot) Joe!!

A Varied Diet...

2009-10-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

(Originally posted 21/10/09, but blogger went mental...)

What a crazy day...

Firstly I photograph a cheque presentation. Pretty normal you might say...except this cheque was for £25,000 from a company called DONG (insert your own joke here). Then I was office bound for a while sticking stickers on photos for a window display.
After that it was time to get paid for carving pumpkins. "WooHoo!!" you shout, but its a lot harder when you're trying to film and photograph a "how to" guide to pumpkin carving, something I haven't done in years!

The whole process took longer than had been anticipated, so we got in trouble with the boss.
Then I'm doing a feature about 3 generations of a family genetically prone to cancer.

After this its time to drive 20 odd miles down country roads, park up, walk up to a tent in a wood, get told to walk to a set in the 3rd muddy field on the right...about a mile of 'muddy walking with a hole in my shoe' later I arrive on set to photograph a scene from a short film staring actress Vicky McClure (from 'This is England' etc) called Just Before Dawn.

(Vicky McClure and Andy Bates in 'Just Before Dawn')

A lot of standing around waiting for some action (insert own joke here...Ian), but it was nice to be doing something really different.

...I guess this was a good day at work. What do they say? Variety is the spice of life!

The specs....

2009-10-17T16:35:00.000-07:00

The first public siting of the specs... I think they make me look handsome.

Of course, I could be wrong.

I'll tell you what I did here sometime...maybe tomorrow.

Varied diet...

2009-10-16T16:05:00.001-07:00

See above for 'Varied Diet...' post. Blogger went all crazy on me. Comments here refer to above blog.

Going mobile

2009-10-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

Im writing to you from the confines of my mobile phone, or cell as you americans might call it. So it wont be a long one. im not the geekiest of people when it comes to understanding the ins and outs of modern technology. i got a little overwhelmed about 5 years ago, lost interest for a while and then got completely left behind.

now, using my thumbs to fumbley tap a qwerty keyboard on a touch sensitive screen that doubles as a cordless telephone, i can communicate with the whole world because of wifi connecting my mobile to a wireless router which connects me with the world wide web through the copper wires of my landline!

as i quickly approach my 29th birthday, its astonishing to think that most of the technology mentioned above that we all take for granted didnt exist before i was born.

even more startling is the speed in which digital photography is moving. it doesnt seem 2 minutes since nikon released the D3, now we have the D3s. i wonder where camera tech will be by the time i get my paws on a D3s?..

You wouldn't hit a man in glasses, would you?....

2009-10-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

Today was looking like it was gonna be a good day. Things in the morning went quite smoothly, photos were looking alright, nothing too hideous. Then in the afternoon I had to have my first of the company's bi-annual eye test, which must mean I've been here two years now, which in itself is a scary thought!
Now, being a photographer, my sight is quite important to me. I've always been blessed with good sight, so I wasn't too panicky at the thought of the test.
Firstly I nearly walked into the wrong opticians, which would have been a bit of a mr.magoo moment. Then, I climbed into the optician's chair which was a bit like the mastermind chair, black leather, big arms, high back. After lots of showing off, like reading the bottom line forwards with one eye then backwards with the other, she declared my long distance vision was excellent. "Tell me something I don't know!" I thought.... So she did.

"You have a slight astigmatism in your left eye" she said. "Yeah?, well you got a big nose!" I thought, but decided not to start up a slagging match. "I'm gonna prescribe you with some glasses for VDU use and reading" she added....."I'm sorry, I could have sworn you said something about glasses"......"Yes. For when you are using a computer monitor or when you're reading" she said. "But I don't wear glasses!" I thought... Oh, the horror!

I guess I'll get used to them... The good news is work will be paying most of the bill. I'll let you know how I get on with them when I pick them up next week.

Back in the office while still recovering from the shock of the opticians, I get sent out to another road accident. They seem to come in groups, like buses. None for ages, then a whole load happen in close proximity. I don't really enjoy doing these jobs, its just one part of being a press photographer. But its not often I actually get someone in my face shouting at me to delete the images I just took of his family members in the crashed car, calling me a sicko and threatening me...

Its not nice, and no amount of reasoning with him was going to get it through to him that it was part of my job, I don't enjoy it, and there was no way in hell I was going to delete any images. Rule number 1 - never delete anything. Nobody has the power to force you to delete anything (not by law anyway - they could take your camera by force and do it themselves, but then they would be in the poo legally). He started to yell at a police officer to make me delete the images (which they can't actually do) and they just asked me to leave, which I happily agreed to do. While leaving, I turned around and got a final shot of the scene. I don't mind telling you I was a bit shook up at being threatened like that. I stayed professional throughout and was complimented by my boss for doing so, I guess thats all I could do...

Anyone had an experience like that? Leave me a comment.

Storm in a teapot...

2009-10-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

Well... another day, another dollar. 2 more reception classes this morning, and 2 jobs involving mayors opening something (....like jam jars and other uninteresting paraphenalia :p). Seriously, the paper could have sent a poorly trained chimp to do the mayor jobs, paid him in bananas, and saved themselves a load of cash!...For heavens' sake don't give them that idea though!! I'll go to work tomorrow to find a suit-wearing hairy monkey sitting in my chair staring perplexingly at the instamatic duct-taped to his hand; face shaved like a human as to not scare the kiddies.

It's on days like this that I have to remind myself that most people go to work and complete menial tasks everyday of the year with only financial reward to look forward to. There are days when I have to do exactly the same, but a lot of the time I'm actually being paid to do something really interesting, with opportunities to go interesting places, meet interesting people and be creative. I try not to take this for granted...

I've become a Twitt... isn't that what you call someone who Twitters? Doe's one Twitter or Tweet?!? It's all a bit new to me, but I'm getting used to it slowly. Anyone got any pointers for me I'd be glad to hear from you guys.

I bet you all wanna see a picture, eh? I'll see what I can find for ya...

(Mad Hatter's tea party...this could very easily have been me today)

(These were done at a summer camp for little ones...this day's theme, as the smart ones among you may have already guessed, is Alice in Wonderland)

I shot these a couple of months ago now, back in the days of summer. See? Sometimes I don't even use flash! Shock, Horror!! :p

On my way back to the office a saw a car being overtaken by a speeding hearse. He was really shifting! I dunno, maybe someone was late for the grave. "Come on driver, I can't be late for my own funeral!"....on that note, I think I'll leave it there for today :P

Tune in next time for more ramblings of a twisted mind...

Messin' about at the beach...

2009-10-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

Some photos from today's antics at the beach...

Superman Joe

(My favourite)

More tk...

My new bike!!

2009-10-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

It's not real, it's only a model.

I built this a while ago now, my brother got it me as a present. I've been off work ill today, so got bored and started playing around with my latest toy er... I mean 'lighting tool'. The Lastolite TriFlip 8:1

What you will need in order to recreate this image is as follows;

- 1 dusty model of a Kawasaki zx10r (nothing else will do)
- 1 ridiculously messy dining room (or other totally unsuitable space)
- 1 overpriced trigrip reflector (or white bed sheet)
- 1 overpriced lumiquest softbox (or make your own cardboard softbox)
- 1 reasonably priced 12" silver reflector (or tin foil)
- 2 flash units
- 1 very expensive lightstand (or a nice friend prepared to stand perfectly still for hours while holding a flash unit)
- Wireless trigger system (or optical trigger system, depending on your flashes. I use Nikon SB800's)
- other bitz n bobz I've already forgotten I used...

I'm using the trigrip as both a diffuser and a table here, so I can light the underside giving an even shadowless (nearly) finish. The flash unit underneath is placed directly under the bike, about 2ft away. This makes the light fall off into the distance, giving a greyness to the background higher up the image.
I placed the softbox above and slightly behind the bike and used the little reflector to bounce some of the light into the shadows on the front of the bike.

I'm a newcomer to this, so there are probably (definitely) better ways of doing this sort of photography. This is just how I hashed mine together on a whim after seeing another overpriced gadget from Lastolite, and thinking "hmm...I wonder if I can do that?"

A little under the weather...

2009-09-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

Today, while shooting alpacas, I met a woman who told me about a trip to China she took as a teenager with a group of fellow cycling students, where her party came across a village deserted due to bubonic plague, complete with dead bodies. She honestly believed that she wasn't going to get out of there alive...

Well, I'm not quite that ill, but I have though been feeling a little off colour, a tummy bug me thinks. I blame it on all the schools I've been in recently. I don't think there has been a day gone by for 2 weeks when I haven't spent some time in a school with those little dwarf-like plague-carrying humans they call 'children'.

I'm not quite sick enough to take time off work, but just sick enough to make it a hindrance. My mind has not been fully on my photography, and I've struggled when trying anything taxing. But despite the grumbly-in-the-tumbly I've managed a couple of good photos today which has cheered me up a little.

One was a funny picture of the alpacas, the other was a portrait of a hairdresser who had just returned from London where she had spent the last 3 1/2 yrs styling the hair of celebrities like Sharon Stone. While trying to get her to smile for the birdie (while all my equipment was failing around me - which reminds me, gotta charge a load of batteries) she says "I hate my teeth"...Well, I wasn't quite sure what she wanted me to do about it. Lend her mine? Believe you me, that would have looked a lot worse! I couldn't see anything wrong with hers, so I told her to keep smiling and we got the picture.

Did someone say bad teeth?

I hate mondays...

2009-09-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

(It was only ever going to end one way from here on in for the player in blue/white. Today I can sympathize...)

This morning I was in work early...

An hour early to be precise. I had to be at a school before all the kiddywinkles arrived to photograph the head teacher (understand it was I that was photographing the head, not all the kiddywinkles...that would be insane) who was backing some crusade led by our leader (the editor) to revamp our roads, in particular an A-road running right through our leader's village. (Draw from this your own conclusion.) So I go pick up the car from work, along with the relevant reporter. Oh, since I'm out that way, could I also do another job just round the corner? "why, of course!" I say, drawing another much needed breath into my tired body which is starting to feel like its falling apart. The knot in my shoulder has flared up again, and I can't understand why my knee hurts!

Anyways, back to the job. We get there, the head is having a nightmare morning and the children haven't even got there yet. Its raining, the light is yucky dull and i'm far from being inspired. Trying to get anybody to do anything like what I wanted, when I wanted, was like trying to push a rhino in the opposite direction to what it wanted to go, and nearly as dangerous.

(This is Zimba, he is only a baby at 1 yr old)

That road really does carry a lot of traffic, and where we were was very narrow. It was hard work, my pics were rubbish and things didn't really get much better from then on...

My second job was just around the corner, but could I find it? Could I eckers like?!? I'm looking for 11. The house numbers I found went 5, 6, 1, 2, 12! Turned out to be right behind me all along, tucked behind a van that was parked taking up all of the narrow road. They were lovely people, and it came to light that I had photographed them before, which was nice. But, no time for hanging around, I was already late. No pratting around with flash, a straight f.2.8 portrait at 70mm and I'm away, now to track down my illusive reporter back at the school before attempting to be at my next job in 5 minutes. Easy, right? besides, its only 20 minutes away!

more tk...

Testing testing...

2009-09-26T06:58:00.001-07:00

I covered the Battle of Britain memorial service last weekend and got there early, giving me time to find some angles before the service kicked off...although I don't think one 'kicks off' a memorial service. Anyways, I shot the above without being harassed or arrested for photographing children in the park...and no, I didn't offer them any sweets. This was a test for what turned out to be the front page photo.

I was trying to find new, more interesting ways to shoot this annual event. I'm sure what I came up with was nothing that hasn't been seen before, but it was different to me and more interesting. I knew the paper would usually use a max of 2/3 pics, but I wanted to shoot more for myself, and let the subs choose what they wanted from that.
I think this is a healthier mentality for me than thinking "oh, they'll only use one, so I'll only shoot one" and "they'll be expecting this picture, so that's what I'll give them".
It's very easy to fall into thinking and doing just that (and at times I do) especially under time constraints and with several jobs in quick succession. But for the sake of sanity, I've started to have the confidence to shoot for myself while getting pics for the paper, and submitting them with (or instead of) the expected/safe options.
Heres a couple more from last weekend...

A veteran reads the names on the cenotaph...

Wreaths laid at the base of the cenotaph with veteran in the background...

Veterans lined up in rows at the service...

Three pipers piping...or not as the case may be.

More wreaths, more veterans...

In total I had 6 pics published (5 used big on one page, and 1 on the front), which is 4 more than I was expecting. They also stuck them all on a slide show on the web!...which is nice :)

What a day...

2009-09-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

So many things happened today, I dunno where to start. I had a hectic morning, including 4 reception classes and 2 other jobs (one 20 miles away from the office) all before noon. I was also on my last day of a 7 day stretch, so I'm pretty exhausted as its been a particularly heavy 7 days...

Here's a piece of advice for ya, if you are going to make a stupid joke about something someone said, make sure you actually hear what they said. Unlike me. I swear a teacher called one of the kids Lennon, so I said "which ones McCartney?" (BOOM BOOM!!) She smiled and said "I'm lost..." I then go on to explain I had made a reference to the beatles, "you know Lennon and McCartney?"...still nothing. Turned out she hadn't said Lennon, or anything close. And just to clear it up, there was no kid called Lennon. So next time you fancy making a stupid joke, don't. Just don't do it.

Having quickly changed the subject, I carried on shooting kiddies...

This evening, however, I remembered why I do what I do. I went out with Jo (one of our reporters) to do a feature on the local mountain rescue team, including a dog named Skye. Its something we had been trying to organize for a couple of months now having met them at another job I had been doing. Since that day I'd had a vision in my head of the picture I wanted to do. This evening, after weeks of obsessing, I was able to complete it. The team were super helpful and at times it felt like I had my own crew of assistants, shooting on location on top of a big mountain. It was an awesome experience, a feeling I would love to repeat often throughout my career. These people are amazing, dedicated humans who shy away from the hero status they deserve. They are thoroughly nice and kind, and I have nothing but the utmost respect for them.

A sneak preview...

More tk...

Website!

2009-09-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

Just a quick one. Matt Hammonde has been working very hard to finish off the rebuild of my new website. Its now gone live (still with a couple of little things to change and iron out the wrinkles). Let us know what you think...

www.joeriley.co.uk

The Prestige

2009-09-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

Anyone seen the film 'the prestige'? I just watched it, and had a revelation. My work, photography, lighting - its just like being a magician! Magicians create illusion, they know the secret and baffle everyone else who don't. But the audience don't really want to know, they enjoy being fooled. Once they know how it is done they lose interest.

I spend all my time slaving away, working out how to photograph something, how to light something, which angle will show/hide the important bits. I tell a story, I create an illusion. Everyone loves the illusion, but no-one wants to know how I did it. Once I've told them the illusion is shattered, their interest is lost.

When I talk to most people about how I set up a photograph, they are generally disinterested or show some interest out of politeness. The only people who want to know are the other magicians (and even some of them would rather not know), and only so they can perform the same trick!

So, my job. Illustration...or Illusion?

Do you like to know how things are done, or do you like to be fooled?

Your comments, please...

In the land of Giants...

2009-09-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

At the moment I am in the middle of an epic task. To photograph some 60-70 primary school reception classes in the area as part of the paper's First Class supplement. I agreed to do all of them, so that they would match in style. (As it turns out thats not quite logistically possible, so some will be done by the other staffers.) The other staffers think I'm mad, but I'd like to think they are appreciative of my sacrifice :p

Truth be told I'm quite enjoying the challenge. Dealing with little kiddies all day can be really hard work, but it can also be fun and some of the antics they get up to keep me amused. Today I had a bit of a nightmare, as one of my wireless receivers was playing up. Coupled with that I had a kid crying because the sun was too bright ( I looked up, all I saw has cloud! It was a little bright, but seriously kid...), and the teachers were worried and trying to understand what was wrong with the kid, as well as trying to keep all 28 children in check. I was also running late (no surprise there then) and needed to be somewhere else 5 minutes ago...

I ended up just shooting with one flash trying to light 28 kids. Not ideal. (don't tell anyone, but I used a frame when both flashes went off, then photoshopped a couple of heads that were, shall we say, 'unfavourable'.)

I was also filmed later on in the day for a little video preview for the First Class supplement. I wait with baited breath for the results of that...

More tk...

Welcome!

2009-09-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

After much deliberation I've decided to start a blog, so here goes...

A little bit about me;

Joe Riley, 28, Senior Press Photographer for a regional daily newspaper

This is me... perhaps it's best I don't explain.

I live in Cumbria, UK. My hobbies include motorcycling, rock/metal music and eating...mainly oranges.

So the reason for my blog is to share with you all some of my work, thoughts and influences. So I'll start with something I shot today...

I got told to get a shot of a girl who started a cinema club at the local theatre. I'd seen a Dan Winters pic with Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt in which I liked, so I set about having a go at copying it. I didn't have a 8 ft octabox, a studio or a room full of assistants. I had a bag full of portable gear and about 15 minutes...

I used a single snooted sb-800 at the back to act as the projection light, then lit their faces with a shoot through umbrella complete with black cover on reverse to turn it more into a softbox. Basically just trying to control any spill.

More tk...