london Apr 2008

The 2008 AOP Photographers Awards took place at Sadlers Wells in London on Wednesday, 19th March.

Around 1,200 people attended the gala presentation evening where Greg White was announced as the inaugural winner of the AOP Photographer of the Year Award, in association with Epson.

The crowds flocked to the event to see the Photographers' Awards exhibition in full and to find out who had won the coveted Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards. This year was a bumper year for the Awards with 2 Gold, 4 Silver, and 17 Bronze winners announced. This year's entrants had the opportunity to enter 18 different categories across commissioned and personal work.

Mask is a specialist production company offering direction, photography and motion graphics in a bespoke package for 'above the line' visual advertising.

The company's partners have over two decades of advertising industry experience, having worked as freelance directors, photographers and designers.

Mask's unique quality of being able to visually bind a campaign through all media sets it apart from the competition.

The company produces the highest quality treatment suggestions and storyboards, utilising a specifically tailored team to produce campaigns that carry across press, outdoor, TV, Web, and cinema sources.

For over ten years, Zap Productions has been providing first-class production support to film makers and photographers from all over the world.

Zap was established in 1996 by Mark Parsons. Mark's experience in advertising film production is extensive - his comprehensive knowledge of the UK production scene ensures Zap's clients are offered solutions that are reliable, cost effective and efficiently produced.

The company has managed productions from China, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, the USA, France, Italy, Germany and Spain, featuring celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Sting, Pierce Brosnan, Gong Li, Boris Becker, Mika Hakkinen and Michael Ballack.

Latest work from the Noelle Pickford photographers:

• Angus Fraser has been working with Andrew Long and James Millers at M&C Saatchi for Lucozade Sport.
• Jess Koppel produced some lovely work for Marks & Spencer.
• Paul Thompson won Silver at both The Association of Photographers awards and The Creative Circle awards with his images for the Natural History Museum.
• George Kavanagh also did well at the Association of Photographers awards and won a Silver at The Creative Circle awards with his shot for 4 Creative.
• Sara Morris has been shooting with Ravi Beeharry and Andy Mancuso at VCCP for Dunhill, and shot for Space Magazine from The Guardian.
• Spencer Rowell has been shooting for Tangible Financial and The Gate.
• Rob White has been busy shooting for Waitrose and Sainsbury's.
• No sooner had Carl Lyttle returned from LA after speaking about 3D photography/CGI at CGAM2008, but he jumped on a plane to the Middle East to shoot a press campaign for Barclays Wealth with Ogilvy London.

Featured in this Showcase are recent campaigns from Nick Georghiou, Andy Glass, Leon Steele, Lol Keegan, Nadege Meriau, and Liam Kennedy.

News from the Gill Turner photographers:

• This month has been another hectic one for Matt. He featured in a Saturday Times article on the perils of street photography, and then in a more conventional role was back behind the lens working with Elvis on their forthcoming work for Pizza Hut.

• David is enjoying continued success this year with nominations in two categories of the AOP Awards. His recent commissioned work has included a set of portraits for the National Geographic channel along with shoots for the Co-op, John Smedley, and Total Oil.

• Christopher is jetting-off yet again, this time to Cuba for Geo Magazine. He'll be covering the story of an unusual dance group who break the normal boundaries of 'dance' as we know it...

• Once again Tim has been busy working for The History Channel. Look out for the ads which are due to break at the end of April.

It has been a great start to the year for the Sharon Brandman Agency:

• Marie-Louise Avery shot some delicious food for Merchant Gourmet, Tracklements and Marks & Spencer.

• Ian Boddy has been busy shooting some great new baby work, as well as images of kids for the current healthy food drive in British schools. His work also featured in the recently aired 'Yummy Mummy' Find Me The Face TV show.

• Carlo has been jetting-off all over the world creating beautiful fashion and lifestyle imagery.

• Since recently joining the agency, award-winning Paul Bussell's book has been well received whilst making the rounds these last couple of months. He's working hard on testing for his next book of animal photography.

• Richard Seymour has been shooting some beautiful lifestyle projects.

Stephen has been invited to shoot two editorials for this year's Scottish Fashion Awards, showcasing work from the leading Scottish fashion designers.

He recently shot a stunning editorial for the May issue of Chic magazine, and has spent much of March and April between New York, Paris and London with his book.

He has just finished shooting new album covers for Jazz guitarist Martin Taylor and singer Alison Burns.

Some of his latest editorial shoots can be seen in Book 3 on his website.

Nigel continues to shoot digitally both on location and in the studio alongside his CGI work.

Recent campaigns include:

• Volvo Sweden - the XC70, XC90 and V70, shot around the coast and in the mountains of Scotland.
• Jaguar XF shot in Monaco, for the new model launch in February 2008.
• Ferrovie Dello Stato trains press ads, shot in Milan.
• Mercedes-Benz trucks, shot in the UK.
• The new Nissan GTR 35, due into the UK in 2009.
• Three press ads for Chevrolet, shot in Miami.

Nigel's new website is under development and should be up-and-running in the next few weeks.

London-based photographer Colin Streater specialises in architecture, interiors with clean modern styling, and urban landscapes for advertising, design and editorial clients.

Working in England, Europe and the USA, Colin is employed for his ability to add animation, drama and a human context to the buildings and places he photographs.

He is currently working on a book for the O2 in London, and is about to embark on a photographic project exploring the dynamic of large groups of people.

Lorentz Gullachsen has a new website, dedicated to his lifestyle and portrait photography.

Recent work will be featured alongside his signature images such as 'Sam' (Samantha) and 'Venice Flower Man'.

Lorentz has always shot people, but recently his lifestyle work has been attracting a great deal of interest. A separate site seemed the best way to present this alternative aspect of his work.

Visit gullachsenlife to see more.

Struan Wallace has just launched a new service for clients. Using his knowledge of lighting, composition and camera skills, new company How 2 Productions Ltd. will complement the existing London photography studio with a video filming production unit and 360 degree panos. The new service will be capable of producing high quality web and broadcast clips for promotions and product displays.

Struan says: "I'm always looking at new avenues to promote my talent. Recently a marketing client asked if I would be able to shoot a video recipe for a well-known supermarket chain. This is an area I have been working on, and I jumped at the chance to show off." The finished result can be seen in this Showcase.

Two companies under one roof - in a world of multi-tasking and client pressure, "it's reassuring that you can still have personal contact with a professional image maker and his team." Struan works in both stills and video media to bring the best of both worlds to each client's project.

"Productions: that's what we do."

Butterfly Images has developed a new photographic technique that produces unique ultra-high resolution images of butterflies and moths.

These immensely beautiful creatures are rarely seen let alone exposed on such a grand scale. Amazingly detailed and presented in perfect colour, the company's expertly produced images are printed on Foamex using a recently developed process that gives them a painting-like feel. Individual cells, scales and fine hairs can be seen in pin-sharp detail. Available as individual pieces of special art, these delightful images can be produced to a variety of sizes, from an inch Sq up to 6ft Sq or larger.

The company's latest project involves capturing images of extinct or near-extinct beetles, bees, and other insects to be produced using the same ultra-high resolution process that achieves such glorious results.

Hasselblad recently announced the ten winners of its Hasselblad Master Award for 2008.

Whereas in previous years Hasselblad has awarded 12 separate Master Awards for overall photographic ability, the 2008 Hasselblad Master Awards are presented across ten separate categories of photography and represent a wide and exciting range of both young talent and established professionals.

The full list of winners can be viewed here.

Cecil Beaton called it the most beautiful room in London. George Bernard Shaw sipped hock within its golden walls and the notorious Oscar Wilde wrote of "its glamorous mirrors under the clocks". To the bohemians of the late nineteenth century, the Grill Room within the illustrious Cafe Royal was the most iconic place to meet.

Recently refurbished, the re-launched Grill Room will harken back to the venue's glory days; complete with more intimate velvet banquette seating from which London's most stylish party people can sip cocktails unnoticed. Unlike other private clubs membership cannot be purchased for the Grill Room, simply because the venue is all about keeping its guests interesting and varied.

The Grill-Room is also available for private events (capacity 70-80), launches, salon shows, and fine dining for up to 45 people.

Since its doors opened, The Paper Club has become the most sought-after venue in London's West End. With three distinct areas including the restaurant, main bar and club, the 550 capacity venue is ideal for corporate parties, private events, product launches, screenings, and meetings.

Paper Club nights are Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Past events welcomed celebrities such as P Diddy, Helena Christiensen, Lindsay Lohan, Kimberly Stewart, and Beyoncé Knowles.